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Thr  Ti'  V 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 
LIBRARY 


THE  BEQUEST  OF 
EVERT  JANSEN  WENDELL 

(CLASS  OF  ISSS 

OF  NEW  YORK. 


1918 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


Digitized  by  LjOOQ IC 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


::rwELFTH  issue. 


1  i«- 


Iwo  Shillings  and  Sixpence. 


1891 


LONDON 

HUTCHINSON    AND    CO. 

25,  PATERNOSTER  SQUARE 


Printed  by  Hazell,  Watson,  &  Viney,  Ld.,  London  and  Aylesbury. 


4^ 


^♦C> 


"DRINK," 


»>♦<«■    - 


DECEMBER   26th.    1891, 

Augustus  Harris's  13tli  Annual  Drury  Lane 

PANTOMIME. 

UCDSTIIS  EABBIS'S  PROmCUL  COMPUIES, 

"ORPHEUS  AND  EURYDICE." 

"THE  LATE  LAMENTED." 

AND 

"IK  MILLION    OF   MONEY," 

W/LL   VISIT  ALL   THE  PRINCIPAL  CITIeS^^ 


Dramatic    Notes 


A    YEAR-BOOK 


OF 


The    Stage 


EDITED   BY 


CECIL    HOWARD 


LONDON 

HUTCHINSON    AND    CO. 
25,  PATERNOSTER  SQUARE 

jg  JigitizedbyCjOOgle 

[All  Rights  Rtstrvtd] 


.    ^-  ^  "«n»«nu  uULLtbl  LIBhii^t 

,  ^^  -/  FROM 

L  &  H.  Hknmr 

HAVE 

Made  the  Dresses,  Uniforms,  etc., 

FOR   THE   FOLLOWING 

H.M.S.   Pinafore,  School  for  Scandal, 

t 
Pirates  of   Penzance,  Lady  of  Lyons, 

Patience,  Fool's  Revenge, 

Children's  Pinafore,  Honeymoon, 

Adrienhe  Lecouvreur,  Marie  Stuart, 

As  You  Like  It,  Country  Girl, 

Ballad  Monger,  The  Stroller, 

The  Pompadour,  The  Spy, 

Fennell,  The  Red  X^amp, 

Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,  That  Doctor  Cupid, 

Beau  Austin,                     {  London  Assurance, 

King  John,  Ktc,  etc. 

AND    ABE    PREPARED    TO    TENDER 

FOR  THE 

SUPPLY  OF  COSTUMES  FOR  PRODUCTIONS,  MATINEES.  TOURS,  ETC. 

17,  COVENTRY  STREET,  PICCADILLY,  ^^ 


LONDON,    w.  ^^'-'^^'Google    ^ 


PREFACE. 

In  this,  the  twelfth  issue  of  **  Dramatic  Notes/'  the 
Editor  hopes  that  there  will  be  found  a  faithful  record  of 
the  plays  produced  in  the  year  1890.  It  has  been  again 
his  endeavour  to  notice  them  according  to .  their  merit, 
and  those  which  are  lightly  passed  over, '^^re  works  that 
will  probably  not  live  in  history.  The  only  novelty  that 
the  Editor  has  been  able  to  introduce  is  a  list  of  English 
plays  produced  in  Holland  and  Belgium  during  the  past 
year — their  production  being  worthy  of  note  as  having 
been  a  fresh  departure  by  foreign  managers. 

C  H. 

N.B. — "  Dramatic    Notes  "    was  for  some   time  edited    by  Austin 
Brereton. 


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Dootora  recommend  REAST'S  PATENT 

INVIGORATOR 

■  CORSET 

For  Ladies,  Maids,  Girls.  Boys,  and  Chfldren. 


Dr.  O.  KELLY,  L.R.C.P.  Edln..  Sept.,  »90,  says  he  believes  it  is  the 
best  mvenuon  of  the  kind  for  improving  the  carriage  and  appearance  of  the  figure 
without  the  injurious  effects  of  the  ordinary    Corset  EVEN   WHEN  Tlf^ — 


LACED. 


TIGHT 


The  COVNTESS  OF  SUFFOLK.  Aug.  M,  •90,  says  j  "  I  think  them 
such  very  good  stays,  and  those  you  sent  for  my  daughter  answered  admirably." 

*•  SALO^r,**  May,  *9a.— **  It  is  the  Queen  of  Corsets.     They  are  delightfblly 
comforuble,  and  give  great  relief  to  the  back." 


PRICES: 

Chllds',  3/4;    Boys'  and  Girls',  4/6;   Maids',  6/6; 
Ladles'.  6/6,  8/6,  12/9,  18/6.  22/6. 

If  any  difficulty,  send  P.O.  to  Patentee, 

15,     CLAREMONT,     HASTINGS. 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


Dramatic   Notes. 


JANUARY. 


As  is  usual  during  the  first  month  of  the  year  the  productions 
at  the  Theatres  were  not  of  very  great  importance. 

2nd.  William  Gilbert,  father  of  the  well-known  dramatic 
writer,  died  on  this  date,  Mr.  W.  Gilbert  was  the  author  of 
"  Margaret  Meadows,"  from  which  Mary  Warner  was  dramatized 
by  Tom  Taylor.  He  had  also  written  several  poetical  and  other 
works. 

4th.  Violet  Cameron  appeared  as  the  Prince  in  Cinderella  at 
Her  Majesty's. 

Sth.  Sam  Whittaker,  comedian,  of  the  Strand  Theatre,  died. 

5th.  Death,  at  91,  Euston  Road,  of  Westland  Marston,  LL.D., 
Dramatic  Poet,  born  at  Boston,  Lincolnshire  in  1820.  His  first 
work  The  Patricians  DauglUery  a  five-act  drama  he  published  in 
1 84 1.  This  was  followed  by  The  Heart  and  the  Worlds  1847, 
and  Ann  Blake^  1852,  Among  other  well  known  works  of  his 
were  A  Lif^s  Ransom^  Borough  Politics^  A  Hard  Struggle^  Pure 
Goldy  The  Wife^s  Portrait,  Donna  Diana,  The  Favourite  of  Fortune, 
Haymarket  1866  ;  Hero  of  Romance,  Haymarket  1867  ;  Life  for 
Life,  Lyceum  1868  ;  and  Under  Fire,  Vaudeville  1886.  He  had 
some  share  in  Trevanion  ;  or,  The  False  Position,  He  also  wrote 
some  novels  and  poems.     Was  buried  at  Highgate  Cemetery. 

6th.  Cutting  of  the  Baddeley  Cake  at  Drury  Lane  by  James 
Fernandez,  Master  of  the  Drury  Lane  Fund,  who  made  an 
excellent  speech.  Augustus  Harris  invited  nearly  two  thousand 
guests  to  supper. 

6th.  Death  of  James  Rodgers,  proprietor  of  Prince  of  Wales's 
Theatre,  Birmingham.  Was  the  son  of  an  officer,  and  at  1 7  years 
of  age  made  his  first  appearance  as  Lance  Linwood,  in  The  Dream 
at  Sea.  Toured  extensively  in  the  provinces,  was  well  received  in 
London,  and  was  at  one  time  co-lessee  with  Walter  Montgomery 


A  Sinless  Secret — Tra-La-La  Tosca.  cjah.,  1890. 


of  the  Haymarket.  Purchased  the  Prince  of  Wales's,  Birmingham, 
in  1866,  and  it  bore  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  best 
managed  houses.  He  was  familiarly  known  as  "Gentleman 
Rodgers,"  and  was  a  great  favourite.  Was  buried  in  King's 
Norton  Churchyard. 

7th.  Comedy.  {Matinee.)  A  Sinless  Secret. — By  Frank  Lindo. 
It  did  not  bear  out  the  promise  of  the  author's  former  efforts,  and 
proved  to  be  crude  in  construction,  and  slightly  bombastic  in 
language.  It  was  the  old  story  of  a  wife  losing  her  husband's 
confidence  through  her  concealing  from  him  the  fact  that  the 
man  she  was  meeting  clandestinely  was  her  own  father,  a  spy, 
and  everything  that  was  bad.  On  the  same  afternoon  a  sad  little 
play  Mademoiselle  de  Lira^  by  Mrs.  G.  Thompson  and  Kate 
Sinclair,  was  well  rendered  by  the  joint  authoresses,  the  latter 
particularly  distinguishing  herself  in  an  inginue  part  Total 
destruction  of  the  Th^Atre  de  la  Bourse,  Brussels,  by  fire. 

9th.  Royalty.  Tra-La-La  Tosca, — It  is  generally  admitted 
that  Mr.  Bumand  is  at  his  happiest  when  burlesquing  some  well- 
known  play,  and  his  skit  on  La  Tosca,  was  one  of  his  finest 
efforts.  He  had  most  humorously  seized  upon  those  situations 
which  were  best  suited  for  travestie,  and  parodied  them  in  the 
most  felicitous  manner.  Thus  the  opening  church  scene  is 
transferred  into  "  Nel-Museo  Kensintonia,"  hung  with  the  most 
atrocious  "  pot-boilers,"  and  Count  Cameradossi,  a  photographer  is 
interviewed  by  Angelotti,  who  is  escaping  from  tiie  peelerini  for 
being  found  in  a  gambling  saloon.  La  Tosca  comes  in,  and 
is  jealous,  because  she  fancies  she  hears  a  voice  which  Cameradossi 
explains  as  being  that  of  a  cat,  and  says — 

"  The  very  place  for  cats  is  a  Mew-seum," 

and  on  her  insisting  that  some  lady-love  of  his  is  hidden  in  the 
words, 

'*  Cher  chez  le  femme." 

he  replies — 

"  Mais  cher  chez,  cher  chez  done,  ma  chh-e^  chez  moi," 

and  in  the  true  spirit  of  burlesque,  makes  La  Tosca  entreat  him 
to  render  the  picture  of  which  she  is  jealous,  ugly.  After  her 
departure  Scarpia  enters  with  his  myrmidons  (whose  faces  are 
made  up  after  the  manner  of  the  "white-eyed  Kaffir")  and 
because  Jemmi  Rino  will  not  answer  his  questions,  orders 
them   to 

"  Take  him  to  a  Board  School  building  I    Go  ! 
Off  to  the  house  that  Jerry  built ! 

Fm  fond  of  torture  as  you  are  aware,        .  .,     , ,    C^  c\c\cs\c> 
And  slowly  you  will  learn  what's  taught  '0^^^^^^^^ 


Jam.,  1890.]  Tra-La-La  Tosca. 


In  the  State  Concert  Room  in  the  Palazzo,  Miss  Liddon  had  a 
clever  scene  in  which  she  gave  a  very  amusing  burlesque  imitation 
of  Rose  Leclercq  as  the  Queen  of  Naples  ;  and  Scarpia  works  on 
the  jealousy  of  La  Tosca  with  a  huge  fan.  What  was  probably 
the  best  situation  was  the  "  Studio  Obscuro  di  Conte  Camera- 
dossi,"  in  which  the  Count  is  supposed  to  undergo  the  torture  in 
the  billiard-room,  and  Scarpia  says — 

''  Give  him  his  cue 
And  then  hell  speak— if  not,  put  on  a  screw." 

and  the  unfortunate  count  is  to  be  subjected  to  Boulanger's  March 
played  on  an  organ  and  whistled  by  street  boys ;  to  an  "  amateur 
imitation  of  Henry  Irving,  with  a  recitation  ; "  to  listen  to  the 
reading  of  the  whole  Parnell  Commission  ;  all  the  letters  on 
Bi-metallism  ;  and  have  his  head  filled. with  puzzles  and  acrostics, 
the  result  of  which  was  that  after  La  Tosca  had  spoken,  the 
Count  staggered  in,  drawn  out  to  represent  an  enormously  tall 
figure  of  Henry  Irving  as  Robert  Landry  after  coming  out  of 
the  Bastille,  and  the  body  of  Angelotti  was  brought  in  as  a 
5th  of  November  Guy  Fawkes,  The  killing  of  Scarpia  is 
supposed  to  take  place  in  the  "  Camera  Segreta  del  Caffe 
Romano  Nello  Strando."  The  Baron  wooed  Flora  after  the 
most  grotesque  fashion,  and  finally  she  stabbed  him  with  a 
huge  bill  that  the  waiter  had  presented  for  payment,  and  before 
she  left  his  supposed  corpse  reverently  covered  the  face  with  a 
dish  cover!  Cameradossi's  execution  took  place  on  the  "Bastione 
del  Castel  Angelo  d'Islintonia,"  where  he  was  done  to  death  by 
being  "  taken  off"  by  ten  photographers  at  once,  and  La  Tosca 
jumped  from  the  ramparts  followed  by  the  peelerini  shouting 
"  yoicks  gone  away "  like  huntsmen  after  a  pack  in  full  cry. 
The  close  of  the  burlesque  was  brought  about  by  Mr.  Arthur 
Roberts  appearing  in  evening  dress  made  up  as  Mr.  Hare  of 
the  Garrick  Theatre.  On  the  first  representation  Mr.  Roberts 
did  not  know  his  lines,  or  at  least  did  not  give  them  as  set  down 
in  the  text,  and  there  were,  therefore,  loud  expressions  of  dis- 
approval at  the  close  of  the  evening,  not  at  Mr.  Bumand  (who 
was  most  cordially  received),  but  at  the  delinquent  actor.  Later, 
Mr.  Roberts  gave  the  humorous  lines  in  their  integrity,  and  at 
the  same  time,  a  very  amusing  representation  of  Scarpia.  Miss 
Margaret  Ayrtoun  was  almost  too  faithful  a  copy  of  Mrs.  Bernard 
Beere,  and  was  sometimes  so  realistic  in  her  agony  as  to  miss  the 
burlesque  side ;  but  it  was  a  clever  performance.  Miss  Agnes 
Delaporte  was  specially  bright  and  lively  as  Cameradossi.  Miss 
Laura   Hansen  was  a  sparkling  Angelotti.     Mr.  George    Prior 


8  Marjorie — Across  Her  Path.  [Jan.,  1890. 

gave  a  clever    travestie  of  the  original    as   Spiacroni.     Florian 
Pascal's  music  might  have  been  a  little  more  lively. 

nth.  St.  George's  Hall.  The  Sword  of  Damocles. — Farce 
adapted  from  the  German  by  Philip  Darwin,  and  Worcester  Fight 
"dramatic  episode"  by  Maurice  Dalton  and  Earnest  Genet. 
Neither  likely  to  be  seen  again. 

nth.  Intelligence  received  in  England  of  the  death  of  Philip 
Beck,  a  young  and  promising  actor.  He  died  by  his  own  hand, 
December  24th,  1889. 

1 2th.  Death  of  Mrs.  FitzGeorge,  wife  of  the  Duke  of  Cambridge, 
after  a  long  and  painful  illness  at  her  house  in  Queen  Street, 
Mayfair,  aged  74.  The  deceased  lady  was,  as  Miss  Farebrother, 
an  accomplished  and  favourite  actress  and  dancer.  She  was  a 
member  of  the  Vestris  company  at  the  Lyceum  in  1848,  and 
appeared  in  Planch^'s  extravaganzas.  Was  buried  in  Kensal 
Green  Cemetery. 

1 8th.  Prince  of  Wales.  Marjorie. — Was  put  on  its  trial  at 
this  same  theatre  on  July  i8th,  1890  {see  Dramatic  Notes  of 
that  date).  On  its  fresh  production  the  principal  alterations  in 
the  book  consisted  in  the  Earl  being  caught  in  his  own  trap  and 
married  to  Cicely,  and  in  Marjorie's  clever  ruse  whereby  she 
obtained  the  freedom  of  Wilfred,  the  Lady  Alicia  pairing  off 
with  Gosric.  The  book  had  been  generally  written  up,  some 
fresh  business  being  introduced  in  the  third  act,  on  the  approval 
of  which  opinion  was  divided.  Phyllis  Broughton,  however,  was 
very  bright  and  amusing,  and  H.  Monkhouse  and  Madame  Amadi 
were  excellent  in  their  comedy.  Camille  d'Arville  gained  the 
honour  of  the  evening,  for  Agnes  Huntington  disappointed  every- 
one, and  Hayden  Coffin  was  not  quite  up  to  the  mark  in  the  last 
act.  Walter  Slaughter's  music  was  tuneful  and  bright  On 
Monday,  January  27th,  Miss  Huntingdon  resigned  the  part  of 
Wilfred,  which  was  filled  for  three  nights  by  T.  A.  Shale,  and 
subsequently  by  Joseph  Tapley. 

2 1st.  Terry's.  Across  Her  Path, — In  Miss  Irish's  play, Barbara 
Dale  is  a  young  woman  who,  having  a  convict  brother,  marries  a 
man  devotedly  attached  to  her,  she  not  caring  one  iota  for  him, 
merely  that  his  name  and  position  may  shield  her  should  the 
unfortunate  little  family  occurrence  crop  up.  Later,  when  affection 
has  come  after  marriage  and  she  has  learnt  to  love  the  man  who 
worships  her,  and  who  would  in  a  moment  forgive  her  conceal- 
ment of  the  objectionable  relative,  Barbara  takes  an  evening  walk 
in  the  garden  with  a  rejected  suitor,  who  knows  all  about  her 
brother  and  has  spitefully  resolved  that  her  husband  shall  know 


Jan.,  X890.]  Taming  of  the  Shrew,  9 

as  much  as  he  does.  Further,  he  leads  the  poor  husband  to 
believe  that  Barbara  was  not  all  that  she  should  have  been  in 
past  days,  and  Barbara  still  keeps  the  secret  about  this  wretched 
brother,  the  divulgence  of  which  would  explain  everything  ;  and 
goes  off  in  a  cab  at  a  moment's  notice  with  an  old  servant,  leaving 
husband,  home  and  all,  to  resume  her  career  as  a  successful  novel 
writer.  There  is  no  occasion  to  say  much  about  the  former 
lover's  repentance  when  he  is  in  the  last  stages  of  consumption, 
and  of  the  missing  Barbara's  whereabouts  being  discovered 
through  the  style  of  another  novel  she  has  written !  What  we 
have  to  look  at  is  that  all  sympathy  with  the  heroine  is  destroyed 
by  her  selfishness  and  folly.  Her  guarding  her  secret  is  only  to 
preserve  her  own  comfort,  and  her  running  away  and  hiding  is 
simply  inexplicable.  Miss  Annie  Irish's  dialogue  was  so  good, 
and  her  drawing  of  one  or  two  of  the  characters  (in  particular 
Lady  Bassett  and  Elspeth  Carmichael,  both  played  to  perfection 
by  Miss  Le  Thidre  and  Mrs.  E.  H.  Brooke),  was  so  clever  and 
original,  that  all  those  who  saw  the  piece  could  only  regret  that 
the  authoress  had  wasted  good  labour  on  a  silly  plot.  Miss  Irish 
must  g^ard  against  becoming  almost  pedantic  in  her  delivery, 
otherwise  her  acting  was  sincere  and  intelligent  Henry 
Pagden  was  fairly  good  as  Jasper  Leigh,  the  vindictive  lover, 
and  Miss  T.  Roma  imparted  just  the  right  amount  of  hauteur 
to  the  most  objectionably  proud  Frances  Seveme.  Oscar  Adye 
did  not  shine  as  Sir  Adrian  Severne. 

23Td.  Lyceum. — looth  night  of  The  Dead  Heart 
23  rd.  Comedy.  Taming  of  the  Shrew. — Mr.  Benson  was 
fortunate  in  having  such  a  good-natured  audience  as  was  present 
on  the  first  representation  of  Shakespeare's  comedy ;  but  even  their 
patience  was  exhausted  at  last,  when  the  young  manager  clowned 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  produce  the  effect  of  a  pantomime  rally. 
Mr.  Benson  had  quite  mistaken  the  character  of  Petruchio. 
Shakespeare  intended  him  to  be  a  gentleman,  merry,  and  light- 
hearted,  but,  at  the  same  time,  firm  of  purpose,  and  so  strong- 
minded  as  to  be  able  to  cope  with,  and  overcome  the  domineering, 
spoilt  Katherina.  The  lady,  too,  should  be  womanly,  not  the 
cross-grained  vixen  that  Mrs.  Benson  made  of  her.  Of  the 
whole  cast,  only  Walter  Shaw,  Stephen  Phillips,  and  to  a  small 
extent  G.  R.  Weir  deserved  favourable  mention  ;  the  rest 
were  amateurish  in  the  extreme.  The  mounting  of  the  piece  was 
everything  that  could  be  desired,  but  this  did  not  compensate  for 
poor  acting,  nor  did  it  disarm  criticism.  Christopher  Sly  was 
omitted,  probably  with  advantage. 


10  CyriPs  Success — The  Best  Man  Wins.  Uaw.,  1890. 

25th.  Criterion.  CyriCs  Success, — Was  revived  here,  but  only 
ran  about  a  fortnight.  It  was  first  produced  at  the  Globe  Theatre, 
November  28th,  1868,  when  W.  H.  Vernon  made  his  dibut 
and  played  Cyril  Cuthbert ;  John  Clark,  Matthew  Pincher ; 
David  Fisher,  Major  Treherne  ;  Maggie  Brennan,  the  Hon. 
Frederick  Titeboy  ;  Charles  Warner,  Viscount  Glycerine  ;  Miss 
Henrade,  Mrs.  Cuthbert ;  Mrs.  Stevens,  Miss  Grannett ;  Fanny 
Hughes,  Mrs.  Singleton  Bliss.  The  piece,  though  artificial, 
was  long  considered  as  H.  J.  Byron's  best  achievement  in  pure 
comedy,  and  contains  some  of  the  author's  brightest  and  most 
witty  dialogue.  On  the  occasion  of  its  latest  revival,  all  the 
sparkle  seemed  to  have  disappeared,  the  jokes  fell  flat  and  there 
was  such  an  air  of  unreality  about  the  whole  performance  that 
the  audience  listened  apathetically,  and  left  the  theatre  as  though 
they  considered  an  evening  had  been  wasted.  And  it  must  be 
confessed  that  the  result  was  almost  entirely  due  to  the  actors 
and  actresses,  only  two  of  whom.  Miss  E.  Brunton  (a  sister  of 
Mrs.  Kendal),  as  Miss  Grannett,  and  Arthur  Elwood  as 
Major  Treherne,  appeared  to  enter  completely  into  the  spirit  of 
the  play.  Leonard  Boyne  as  the  hero  was  only  really  good 
in  the  club  scene.  David  James  as  Pincher,  the  journalist, 
quite  missed  the  cynicism  of  the  character,  but  redeemed  himself 
somewhat  in  the  last  act.  Miss  F.  Frances  was  a  colourless 
Hon.  Fred  Titeboy.  Olga  Brandon  played  Mrs.  Cuthbert  in 
far  too  lachrymose  a  vein,  and  Miss  Compton,  though  attractive- 
looking,  was  anything  but  a  fascinating  Mrs.  Singleton  Bliss. 
Two  small  parts,  the  Viscount  Glycerine  of  G.  Stanton,  and  the 
Pepper  of  G.  B.  Phillips  were  effectively  rendered. 

26th.  Death  of  Helen  Mathews  after  much  suffering,  was 
universally  esteemed,  and  especially  in  the  profession  in  which 
she  had  made  her  mark.  Ida  in  The  Two  Roses,  on  the  revival 
at  the  Lyceum,  and  Vere  Herbert  in  Moths  she  played  at  a 
few  hours*  notice.  She  joined  Henry  Irving's  company  on  an 
American  tour,  and  subsequently  appeared  in  England  in  a  round 
of  Shaksperian  heroines. 

27th.  Novelty.  The  Best  Man  Wins. — A  clever  and  amus- 
ing farce  by  Mark  Melford,  tells  of  two  foster-brothers,  who, 
both  loving  the  same  girl,  are  so  unselfish  as  each  to  plead  the 
cause  of  the  other,  and  in  order  to  induce  the  young  lady  to 
decide,  the  parson  is  called  in,  who  settles  the  matter  by  winning 
the  prize  himself.  In  it  the  author  and  James  Woodbridge  were 
good.  On  the  same  night  Kleptomania  was  revived^^Ai^he 
author,  Mark  Melford,  in  his  original  part.  ^ 


Feb.,  1890.J  Dr,   Bill.  1 1 

28th.  Ladbroke  Hall.  All  a  Mistake. — Comedietta  by 
Mrs.  Newton  Phillips. 

31st  Chelsea  Town  Hall. — Miss  Rosina  Filippi,  who  had 
already  shown  a  poetical  tendency  in  her  children's  pantomime, 
Little  Goody  Two  Shoes ^  produced  here  a  fairy  sketch  entitled  An 
Idyll  of  New  Year's  Eve^  which  was  graceful  in  sentiment  and 
design,  but  too  thin  for  the  general  public's  acceptance.  As  it 
was  made  the  medium  for  the  wearing  of  some  very  pretty  dresses, 
marshalling  in  review  as  it  did  the  various  months  of  the  year,  etc., 
it  might  find  favour  with  amateurs  for  home  representation.  The 
music  was  pretty,  and  by  Amy  Elsie  Horrocks. 


II. 

FEBRUARY. 


1st.  Avenue.  Dr,  Bill. — Mr  George  Alexander  commenced 
his  managership  propitiously,  for  seldom,  if  ever,  has  a  risky  French 
play  been  better  adapted  than  this  one.  Mr.  Aide  contrived  to 
retain  all  the  fun  of  Dr.  Jo-Jo,  and  yet  make  it  wholesome.  Dr. 
William  Brown  at  the  age  of  thirty-five  has  married  and  settled 
down,  and  having  a  competency  declines  to  practice.  He  has 
good  reasons  ;  in  the  past  he  has  been  known  as  Dr.  Bill,  the 
favourite  medico  of  ballerinas,  burlesque  actresses  and  ladies  of 
that  type,  and  been  a  persona  grata  at  petits  soupersy  dramatic 
balls,  etc.  So  he  does  not  wish  to  meet  again  his  old  acquaint- 
ances, but  fate  is  too  strong  for  him  ;  his  father-in-law,  Firman, 
looks  upon  idleness  as  the  root  of  all  evil,  and  so  he  has  a  brass 
plate  stuck  on  his  son-in-law's  door,  sends  out  circulars,  writes  to 
the  Pall  Mally  that  Dr.  Brown  was  the  unknown  medical  gentle- 
man who  rendered  such  assistance  to  a  lady  who  met  with  an 
accident  in  Hyde  Park ;  and  does  his  best  to  bring  the  doctor 
into  notoriety.  And  he  succeeds,  for  the  first  patient  is  Miss 
Fauntleroy,  a  lively  lady  who,  recalling  the  escapades  of  Doctor 
Bill,  induces  him  to  take  part  in  his  own  drawing-room  in  an 
eccentric  "Kangaroo  Dance."  Then  Mrs.  Horton,  an  opposite 
neighbour,  (married  to  a  jealous  Inspector  of  Police,)  imbued  with 
a  spirit  of  mischief,  induces  Louisa  Brown  to  allow  her  husband 
the  doctor  to  be  sent  for  to  attend  Mrs.  Horton,  who  is  persuaded 
he  will  "  like  all  the  men "  flirt  with  her.  She  does  not  know 
Doctor  Brown,  and  so  when  George  Webster,  sent  with  a  message 


12  The  Tidal  Hour — A  Noble  Brother,  [Feb.,  1890. 

from  the  doctor,  announces  himself  as  the  medical  man,  being 
already  smitten  with  the  lady,  he,  in  lieu  of  feeling  her  pulse, 
squeezes  her  hand,  etc.,  and  being  ordered  to  give  a  prescription, 
is  discovered  by  the  hand -writing  to  be  the  sender  of  a  handsome 
bouquet.  From  this  arise  all  sorts  of  misconceptions  ;  Mrs.  Brown 
is  sent  for  to  find  her  husband,  as  she  supposes  in  flagrante 
delicto^  and  being  shut  up  in  a  dark  room  with  Webster,  soundly 
boxes  his  ears.  The  real  Dr.  Brown  arrives  and  is  pushed  into 
another  dark  room  with  his  mother-in-law.  Papa-in-law  Firman 
is  taken  by  the  jealous  Horton  for  the  disturber  of  his  domestic 
peace,  and  in  the  third  act  Dr.  Brown  is  likely  to  be  charged,  not 
only  with  having  written  the  prescription  containing  ingredients 
enough  to  poison  a  whole  family,  but  also  with  being  the  man 
who  picked  the  pocket  of  the  lady  who  met  with  the  accident, 
the  man  who  pretended  to  assist  her  having  done  so.  Not  for  an 
instant  does  the  fun  of  the  piece  flag ;  the  last  act  was  infinitely 
better  than  might  have  been  expected  after  such  an  excellent  one 
as  the  second.  Fanny  Brough  was  inimitable  in  her  mock  heroics 
of  despair,  F.  Terry  was  scarcely  light  enough  in  his  touch,  but 
then  the  character  was  out  of  his  line.  Mr.  Chevalier  a  little  over- 
elaborated  his  part,  but  was  decidedly  droll.  Benjamin  Webster 
was  very  funny  as  an  empty-headed  young  fop,  and  G.  Capel, 
clever  as  the  victim  of  the  green  eyed  monster.  Elizabeth  Robins 
was  natural  and  attractive  as  the  loving  Louisa  Brown,  and  Marie 
Linden  did  much  in  the  small  part  of  a  spying  waiting-maid. 
Later  March  15th,  Mr.  Alexander  himself  assumed  the  character 
of  Dr.  Bill  and  made  a  success  of  it,  as  did  Edith  Kenward,  with 
her  Kangaroo  dance. — Dr.  Bill  was  preceded  by  Foots  Mate^ 
Fred.  W.  Broughton's  one-act  comedy,  originally  produced  at 
Toole^s  Theatre,  December  12th,  1889.  On  this  occasion  the 
cast  was  a  good  one.  Mary  Kingsley  was  womanly  and  dignified, 
as  Mary  Egerton  ;  Nutcombe  Gould  firm,  as  Arthur  Egerton  ;  and 
Frederick  Terry  very  good,  as  the  Earl  of  Somerdale;  Gracie 
Murielle,  as  the  very  unreal  Dorothy,  had  learnt  her  lesson  well; 
but  there  was  a  want  of  nature  and  spontaneity. 

1st,  Tlie  Tidal  Hour^  a  one- act  domestic  drama  by  Rex 
Watney,  was  played  at  the  VICTORIA  HALL,  Bayswater,  by  the 
West  London  Dramatic  Club,  and  was  followed  by  Noblesse  Oblige^ 
a  play,  written  in  a  prologue  and  three  acts. 

3rd.  Op^RA  Comique.  a  Noble  Brother, — Mr.  Gitten  Lons- 
dale commenced  a  short  season  with  this  play,  which  had  been 
successful  in  the  provinces,  for  which  it  is  better  suited  than  for 
London  ;  for  it  is  stilted  in  language  and  utterly  improbable.    The 


Feb.,  X890.]  Gringoire — Clarissa,  13 

hero  has  taken  upon  himself  the  guilt  of  a  murder  committed  by 
his  twin  brother,  has  been  confined  in  Sing-Sing  (the  scene  is  laid 
in  America)  for  some  seventeen  years,  escapes  and  wanders  the 
country  as  "  Jerry  the  tramp."  Recognized  by  Harry  Travers,  a 
villain  who  has  seen  him  in  prison,  he  is  compelled  by  his  tyrant 
to  claim  as  his  daughter  a  girl  who  has  been  adopted  by  some 
rich  people,  so  that  Travers  may  force  her  into  a  marriage  with 
himself.  Jerry,  however,  has  learnt  to  love  the  girl,  and  rather 
than  she  shall  be  sacrificed  he  goes  back  to  finish  his  term  of 
imprisonment.  Eventually,  of  course,  the  guilty  brother  on  his 
death  bed  confesses  to  the  crime.  Jerry  is  released,  and  inherits 
all  the  deceased's  wealth,  and  Travers  is  magnanimously  allowed 
to  go  scot  free.  W.  J.  Summers  proved  a  quaint  and  original 
eccentric  comedian,  and  in  the  third  act,  where  the  struggle  takes 
place  between  his  affection  for  his  daughter  and  the  horror  he 
feels  of  having  to  return  to  prison,  showed  considerable  strength 
and  pathos.  He  was  the  author  of  the  "  comedy-drama,"  which 
was  evidently  written  by  him  with  regard  only  to  his  own  special 
powers.  Ellen  Boucher  was  pleasing  and  intelligent  as  Mona 
Leigh,  the  tramp's  daughter. 

4th.  Park  Town  Hall,  Battersea  (an  excellent  little  theatre 
for  amateurs,  by  the  way),  a  very  poetic  version  by  Miss  E.  Bessie 
and  Mr.  S.  Herberte- Basing  of  Gringoire.  The  work  was  much 
applauded,  and  was  done  great  justice  to  by  the  author  in  the 
name  part,  the  authoress  as  Loyse,  and  by  Mary  Bessie  as  Nicole 
Andry.  Mr.  Frank  Westerton  had  a  good  conception  of  the 
character  of  Louis  XL 

6th.  Vaudeville.  Clarissa. — Robert  Buchanan's  version  of 
"  Clarissa  Harlowe  "  is  not  the  first  by  several  that  have  been 
produced.  He  admits  that  he  is  much  indebted  to  the  French 
dramatization  by  Dumanoir,  Guillard,  and  Clairville,  played  "  at 
the  Gymnase  in  1 842."  Since  then  it  has  been  at  the  Princess's 
in  1846,  the  adaptors  being  T.  H.  Lacy  and  John  Courtney, 
when  Charles  Mathews  (an  actor  who  we  all  know  had  not  the 
faintest  idea  of  sentiment  or  romance)  was  the  Lovelace  and 
Mrs.  Stirling,  Clarissa.  Then  there  was  Dion  Boucicault's 
version,  and  latest  W.  G.  Wills's,  produced  at  the  Theatre  Royal, 
Birmingham,  December  16,  1889.  Mr.  Buchanan  has  given  us  a 
workmanlike  and  most  interesting  play  ;  his  language  is  appro- 
priate and  the  introduction  of  Hetty  Belford  adds  to  the  strength 
of  the  drama.  There  are  blemishes,  however.  There  is  some- 
thing that  is  almost  too  horrible  in  the  first  act  where  Lovelace 
toys  with  one  of  his  victims  (Jenny)  and  holds  out  as  a  reward 


14  Clarissa.  [Feb.,  xSqo. 

to  her  that  if  she  will  aid  him  in  his  designs,  he  will  get  her  her 
situation  of  waiting  maid  with  Clarissa  so  that  Jenny  will  be  near 
him.     Again,  that  men  of  position  like  Sir  Harry  Tourville  and 
Aubrey  should  pander  so  openly  to  Lovelace's  brutal  instincts  is 
brought  too  much  in  evidence,  as  is  the  scene  where  these  men 
and  a  couple  of  infamous  women  drink  success  to  their  patron's 
designs  on  the  hapless  heroine.     Nor  does  it  seem  in  accordance 
with  the  repentance  of  Belford  (the  Morden  of  the  novel)  that  he 
should    immediately  after  his  promise   to  lead  a   new  life  slay 
Lovelace,  who  then  dies  at  Clarissa's  feet,  she  having  in  a  state 
of  ecstatic  delirium  kissed  and  forgiven  her  betrayer  as  her  soul 
departs.     In  the  last  act,  too,  there  is  an  almost  brutal  disregard 
for  the  feelings  of  the  repentant  Hetty,  whom  by  his  past  conduct 
he  has  actually  driven  to  the  streets,  when  in  her  very  presence 
Lovelace   offers   marriage    to   Clarissa   as    some,    though    tardy, 
atonement  for  the  evil  he  has  wrought.     Another  blemish  is  the 
frequency  with  which  the  name  of  the  Deity  is  invoked.     Mr. 
Buchanan  has  given  us  an  exquisite  character  in  Clarissa,  the  soul 
of  purity,  defiled  only  in  an  earthly  sense,  but  a  sublime  and 
spotless  martyr  in  Heaven's  sight,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  I 
should  have  esteemed  his  work  the  more  highly  had  he  not  so  con- 
spicuously brought  out  the  sensuality  and  animal  nature  of  some 
of  his  characters.     Though  in  the  first  act  I  thought  Winifred 
Emery  a  little  cold,  scarce  showing  sufficiently  the  possession  that 
Lovelace  had  taken  of  her  heart,  later  she  was  near  perfection  ; 
her  death  scene,  though  prolonged,  was  robbed  of  any  sense  of 
weariness   to  the   beholder  by  its  exquisite  poetry  and  beauty. 
The  actress  appeared  to  be  almost  transfigured,  and  to  be  already 
a  denizen  of  that  happier  world  in  which  she  was  so  soon  to  take 
her  place  for  ever.     T.  B.  Thalberg,  though  very  good  for  so 
young  an  actor,  was  neither  romantic  nor  passionate.     Such  a 
character  as  Lovelace,  a  man  who  can  obtain  the  conquest  over 
women  of  every  grade,  should  be  thoroughly  captivating  towards 
them ;  when  he  tires  of  his  playthings  of  an  hour  he  might  be 
heartless  but  he  should  not  be  cynical.     Ella  Bannister  surprised 
me  by  her  power  as  Hetty.     Her  elocution  was  very  faulty,  and 
her  bursts  of  emotion  were  undisciplined,  but  there  was  distinct 
evidence   of  a   capability,    which  study   and    experience   might 
develop  into  the  accomplishment  of  great  things.     Thomas  Thome 
was  earnest  and  sincere  as  Belford,  a  man  who  has  lost  faith  in 
woman  since  his  sister's  disgrace,  but  whose  heart  is  moved  at  the 
innocence  of  Clarissa.     Cyril  Maude  was  excellent  as  Solmes,  the 
old  lover,  intended  by  her  father  for  Clarissa's  husband.     Fred 


Feb.,  1890.]  New  Lamps  for  Old,  1 5 

Thome,  Mary  CoIIette,  and  Lily  Hanbury  also  deserve  very 
favourable  mention.  Mr.  Hemsley,  in  the  second  act,  gave  a 
capital  reproduction  of  Covent  Garden  Market  as  it  appeared  in 
1749,  and  the  dresses  by  Nathan  &  Co.,  from  designs  by  Karl, 
were  handsome  and  correct.  "Clarissa"  was  so  well  received 
that  it  was  placed  in  the  evening  bill  on  Saturday,  February  8th, 
1890. 

8th.  Terry's. — Miss  Cissy  Grahame  entered  on  the  manage- 
ment of  this  Theatre  and  produced  Jerome  K.  Jerome's  New  Lamps 
for  Old^  a  satire  on  the  doctrines  of  Mrs.  Mona  Caird,  with  a 
sly  poke  at  Ibsen,  and  showing  the  absurdities  of  yearning  for 
one's  "  affinity."  Though  very  smartly  written,  the  plot  was  thin. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Honeydew  have  both  been  perturbed  in  their  minds 
by  reading  the  correspondence  on  the  question  of  "  Is  Marriage  a 
Failure  ? "  And  so  Honeydew  listens  to  the  strong-minded 
principles  inculcated  by  Octavia,  a  married  woman,  and  Elvira 
is  won  over  by  the  poetic  Postlethwaite,  a  long-haired  individual 
who  rhapsodizes  on  the  charms  of  the  unattainable,  and  the  two 
pairs  elope  in  the  morning  to  arrive,  strange  to  say,  at  the  same 
hotel,  the  "  Sweetbriar  Arms,"  Swandale-on-Thames.  During  the 
few  hours  that  elapse  prior  to  dinner,  they  become  very  much 
disgusted  and  bored  with  their  "  affinities,"  and  long  to  return  to 
mutual  domestic  bliss,  for  Octavia  is  none  other  than  the  wife  of 
Postlethwaite,  whom  she  has  married  and  separated  from  as  per 
agreement  that  a  month's  notice  on  either  side  should  dissolve  the 
contract  Buster,  family  solicitor  to  the  Honeydews,  is  anxious 
to  figure  professionally  in  a  divorce  case,  and  scenting  mischief  in 
the  wind,  follows  the  couples  down  to  their  riverside  retreat,  where 
from  his  persistent  search  for  evidence  he  is  taken  by  Jemima,  the 
waitress,  for  a  Mormon,  and  the  husband  of  both  the  ladies. 
Anxious  to  hide  himself,  he  takes  refuge  in  what  he  thinks  is  a 
cupboard,  but  which  proves  to  be  a  dinner  lift,  which  being  out 
of  order  in  some  way  persistently  carries  him  up  and  down,  and 
reveals  him  to  the  audience  at  intervals  noting  down  scraps  of  con- 
versation he  overhears,  eating  scraps  of  food  he  finds  in  his 
hiding-place,  and  occasionally  uttering  smothered  scraps  of  pro- 
fane language  as  he  is  whisked  up  or  down.  The  failure  of  the 
electric  light  prevents  the  complete  recognition  by  each  other  of 
the  various  characters,  and  an  amusing  third  act  is  provided  by 
their  all  returning  in  a  more  or  less  bedraggled  and  miserable  con- 
dition from  their  night  journey,  which  they  have  accomplished  in 
all  sorts  of  queer  conveyances,  Swandale  being  miles  from  a  station. 
The  wretched  little  Buster  is  taxed  with  being  a  Lothario  and 


1 6  Our  Boys — The  Home  Feud,  [Feb.,  1890 

cause  of  all  the  trouble,  etc.,  and  goes  off,  protesting  that  he  wUl 
have  no  "case  "  after  all ;  the  poet  and  his  strong-minded  Octavia 
agree  to  re-unite  their  fortunes,  and  the  curtain  falls  on  Honeydew 
and  his  wife  locked  in  the  fondest  of  embraces.  W.  S.  Penley 
wonderfully  made  up  as  the  little  high-dried  lawyer,  Buster, 
created  much  laughter,  but  had  not  as  strong  a  part  as  is  usually 
supplied  for  him.  Bernard  Gould  was  amusing  and  natural  as 
Honeydew.  Cissy  Grahame  was  thoroughly  artistic  as  the 
romantic  silly  Mrs.  Honeydew.  F.  Kerr  gave  an  excellent 
character  sketch  as  the  "  great  Postlethwaite."  Gertrude  Kingston 
was  a  little  too  prononcie  as  Octavia.  W.  Lestocq  was  droll  as 
the  smug  complacent  butler  Jorkins,  who,  accepting  "  tips  "  from 
master  and  mistress  to  conceal  their  doings  from  each  other, 
pockets  his  douceurs,  and  laughs  at  both.  The  play  was  favour- 
ably received.  The  Parting  of  the  Ways,  played  on  the  same 
evening  as  a  first  piece,  was  by  Frederick  Bowyer  and  Edwardes 
Sprange,  and  was  not  in  the  happiest  vein.  Harold  Conybeare 
(Yorke  Stephens)  has  been  abroad  some  twenty  years,  during 
which  time  Margaret  Grey  (Miss  M.  A.  Giffard),  his  betrothed,  has 
been  true  to  him,  and  on  his  return  he  renews  his  vows,  yet  at 
the  same  tim-^  he  falls  in  love  and  asks  for  the  affection  of  Edith 
Hastings  (Helen  Leyton),  a  niece  of  Margaret's,  who  is  the  image 
of  what  her  aunt  was  when  Harold  left  England.  Margaret  over- 
hears the  confession,  and  sorrowfully  yields  up  her  lover  to  her 
younger  rival.  There  was  nothing  very  noticeable  either  in  the 
writing  or  the  acting. 

I  ith.  Criterion.  Our  Boys. — Was  revived  with  every  success. 
David  James,  Perkyn  Middlewick,  a  part  that  he  plays  to  perfec- 
tion ;  Leonard  Boyne  was  fairly  good  as  his  son  Charles ;  E.  W. 
Gardiner's  Talbot  Champneys  was  at  once  original  and  clever ; 
Arthur  Elwood  was  an  aristocratic  Sir  Geoffery  Champneys  ;  and 
Olga  Brandon  and  Fanny  Francis  were  pleasing  as  Mary  Melrose 
and  Violet. 

14th.  Comedy.  {Matinie.)  The  Home  Feud, — Original  play  in 
three  acts,  by  Walter  Frith,  altogether  too  sketchy,  and  in  places 
too  talky.  There  is,  however,  sufficient  in  the  original  idea  on 
which  the  play  is  based  for  the  foundation  of  a  good  drama. 
Captain  Hargreaves,  having  temporarily  lost  his  sight  in  Egypt, 
is  saved  from  death  and  nursed  back  to  health  by  Helen  Joliffe, 
and  they  fall  in  love  with  each  other,  but  without  any  mutual 
confession.  The  soldier  goes  to  Germany  for  treatment,  and  his 
sight  is  restored,  and  immediately  on  his  return  he  enters  and 
declares  his  love  for  Helen.     He  has  made  a  mistake)  however. 


PcB.,  1890.]  Isalda — My  Brother's  Sister,  17 

for  he  has  proposed  to  Louise  Brunton,  a  scheming  woman  with  a 
past,  who,  to  escape  from  poverty  and  dependence,  is  determined 
to  entrap  the  well-to-do  soldier  if  she  can,  and  she  succeeds,  for 
Hargreaves  weds  her.  She  has  already  been  married  to  John 
Beilby,  a  thorough  scamp  and  forger,  but  she  imagines  him  to 
be  dead.  He  re-appears,  but  as  his  wife  is  determined  not  to 
lose  the  position  she  has  fought  for,  she  makes  an  appointment 
with  him  for  the  dead  of  night,  and  he  is  to  enter  by  the  con- 
servatory, when  she  will  shoot  him  down  as  though  he  were  a 
burglar.  She  fires  and  misses.  Beilby  snatches  the  revolver 
from  her,  and  as  she  is  attempting  to  escape,  draws  upon  her, 
and  she  falls  dead — a  sudden  ending — leaving  to  the  audience 
to  conjecture  what  they  will  as  to  the  future  of  the  various 
characters.  Gertrude  Kingston  was  hard  and  jerky  as  Louise 
Brunton  ;  Nutcombe  Gould  sympathetic  as  Captain  Hargreaves ; 
May  Whitty  was  a  very  sweet  Helen  Joliffe ;  and  William  Herbert 
manly  and  honest  as  an  unselfish,  honourable  brother  to  the  scamp 
John  Beilby,  effectively  played  by  Scott  Buist  Eva  Moore  was 
natural  and  unaffected  in  an  inginue  part. 

14th.  Toole's.  Isalda. — Poetical  play,  in  one  act  and  in 
blank  verse,  by  Fred  Horner,  was  seen  for  the  first  time.  It 
proved  to  be  decidedly  tragic,  and  in  marked  contrast  to  the 
other  Item  of  the  programme,  The  Bungalow^  which  reached  its 
iSOth  performance.  Don  Antonio,  a  feudal  lord  of  the  borders 
of  Spain,  has  brought  before  him  one  Isalda,  a  girl  who  is  accused 
of  being  one  of  a  band  of  smugglers  who  cross  into  France.  Don 
Antonio  has  seen  and  loved  her,  and  promises  to  pardon  her  (for 
she  is  condemned  to  death  for  infringement  of  the  law)  if  she 
will  be  his.  Isalda,  however,  is  betrothed  to  a  Comte  Henri 
Delauriferes,  a  French  feudal  lord,  and  it  is  to  meet  him  that  she 
so  frequently  crosses  the  frontier.  The  Count  appears  and  de- 
mands her  release,  but  Don  Antonio  behaves  in  such  a  dastardly 
manner  that  the  Count  forces  him  to  a  duel  there  and  then. 
Don  Antonio  is  mortally  wounded,  but  does  not  die  till  he  has 
signed  a  "  passport  through  the  lines "  enabling  the  lovers  to 
escape.  The  dresses  were  picturesque,  and  the  parts  were  capably 
filled  by  Bassett  Roe,  Don  Antonio  ;  Matthew  Brodie,  the  Count ; 
and  Vane  Featherstone,  Isalda.  The  author  had  to  bow  his 
acknowledgments  in  response  to  a  hearty  call. 

15  th.  Gaiety.  {Matinee,)  My  Brotlut^s  Sister  {Only  in  fim) 
— Was  enthusiastically  received.  Originally  produced  at  the 
Prince's  Theatre,  Manchester,  September  3rd,  1888.  The  piece 
enabled  Miss  Minnie  Palmer  to  assume  the  character  of  a  shoe- 

2 


1 8  Les  Cloches  de  Comeville — Quicksands,  ci-'kb.,  1890. 

black,  a  little  "help/*  a  society  dame  full  of  espiiglerie  and 
mischief,  and  a  dashing  young  naval  cadet  ;  and  in  these  im- 
personations she  acted,  sang,  and  danced  with  her  accustomed 
grace,  vivacity,  and  charm.  Herbert  Sparling  was  an  original 
and  humorous  Waldcoffer  Grosserby  ;  C.  W.  Allison  and  George 
Bemage  gave  capital  character  sketches  of  Mr.  Parker  and  Officer 
Schultz. 

1 6th.  Died  Mrs.  Vyner  Robinson  (Miss  Florence  Plowden), 
aged  38  ;  was  a  pupil  of  Mrs.  Stirling,  and  had  long  engagements 
under  Mr.  Hare  at  the  old  Court  Theatre,  and  under  the  Bancrofts 
at  the  old  Prince  of  Wales's.  Retired  from  the  stage  in  i88i, 
and  taught  elocution  and  gave  dramatic  recitals  up  to  the  time 
of  her  death. 

1 7th.  Op6ra  Comique.  Les  Cloches  de  Corneville. — Was  revived 
at  the  Op^ra  Comique.  Though  Mr.  Shiel  Barry  had  played  the 
part  of  Gaspard,  the  miser,  some  3,000  times,  he  never  "  held  the 
house  "  more  completely  than  he  did  on  this  revival.  Charles 
Ashford,  the  original  Gobo,  was  also  excellent ;  Tom  Paulton 
quaint  as  The  Baillie.  Helen  Capet,  as  Germaine,  sang  true,  but 
her  voice  required  training.  Marian  Erie,  as  Serpolette,  acquitted 
herself  remarkably  well. 

1 8th.  Comedy.  {Matinee)  Tabithds  Courtship. — By  Eva  and 
Florence  Bright ;  wanted  severe  pruning.  The  characters  are  not 
at  all  badly  drawn,  and  there  is  a  good  spice  of  humour  running 
through  the  little  play.  By  the  clever  contrivance  of  one  Charlie 
Mordant ;  an  old  professor  of  natural  history,  and  a  lady  of  a 
certain  age  with  a  weakness  for  poodles,  are  brought  to  decide 
on  entering  into  matrimony,  though  but  for  his  plotting  they 
would  never  have  dreamt  of  it.  Cecil  Thombury  as  the  professor, 
and  Florence  Bright  as  an  ingenue  decidedly  scored. 

1 8th.  Comedy.  (Matinee)  Quicksands, — Comedy  drama  in 
four  acts,  by  Charlotte  E.  Morland,  adapted  from  Mrs.  Lovett 
Cameron's  novel,  "  A  Devout  Lover."  Might  at  least  claim  origfi- 
nality  in  its  final  scene,  but  the  dialogue  was  generally  common- 
place, and  the  work,  though  in  many  places  interesting  and  having 
grip,  was  to  a  certain  extent  crude.  The  plot  turns  on  the 
generous  (in  one  sense)  self-denial  of  a  man,  who  marries  a 
woman  he  does  not  love  in  order  to  save  a  woman  that  he  does, 
and  who  in  her  turn  sacrifices  her  life  to  save  her  rivars.  Walter 
Russell  as  Matthew  Dane,  Laurence  Cautley  as  Geoffi-ey  Liston, 
and  Gilbert  Yorke  (a  very  young  actor)  as  Albert  Trichet,  were 
particularly  good.  Edgar  Smart  as  Miles  Faulkner,  and  Ivan 
Watson  (in  a  dual  r6le)  were  worthy  of  praise*     Florence  Bright 


Feb.,  1890.]  All  Abroad— A  Pair  of  Spectacles.  19 

as  a  frank  sensible  English  girl,  Dulcie  Halliday,  was  clever  ; 
Elizabeth  Robins  was  impressive  in  the  strongly  emotional 
character  of  Rose  de  Brefour.  The  authoress  would  have  done 
wisely  not  to  have  appeared  as  Angel  Halliday. 

19th.  Death  of  E.  T.  Smale,  long  connected  with  the  Criterion 
Theatre. 

2 1st.  Prince  of  Wales's.  All  Abroad. — Operetta,  by 
Arthur  Law ;  music  by  A,  J.  Caldicott ;  Mr.  Bunting,  Fred 
Wood ;  Charles,  Templar  Saxe ;  Winkles,  Albert  James ; 
Mrs.  Bunting,  Amy   Abbott  ;    Jeannette,   Florence  Darley. 

22nd.  Garrick.  a  Pair  of  Spectacles. — Sydney  Grundy,  when 
he  was  unanimously  called  before  the  curtain  at  the  close  of 
A  Pair  of  Spectacles^  too  modestly  gave  the  credit  of  the 
excellence  of  the  piece  to  MM.  Labiche  and  Delacour,  whose 
play,  Les  Petits  Oiseaux^  Mr.  Grundy  had  adapted.  Delightful  as 
the  original  is,  it  would  not  have  achieved  such  a  brilliant  success 
had  it  not  been  for  the  adaptor's  charming  dialogue  and  the  true 
humanity  displayed  in  the  various  characters  under  their  English 
guise.  Benjamin  Goldfinch,  in  the  opening,  is  the  cheeriest  and 
kindliest  of  men.  He  is  possessed  of  means,  is  married  to  a  young 
wife  who  doats  on  him,  has  a  son  that  is  all  he  could  wish,  is 
beloved  by  his  tenants,  his  tradespeople,  and  his  servants.  These 
three  latter  classes,  perhaps,  take  some  advantage  of  his  easy  good- 
nature, and  impose  on  him  to  a  certain  extent ;  they  plead  piteous 
tales,  and  are  not  pressed  for  their  rent ;  they  overcharge  him,  and 
his  immediate  servitors  have  too  easy  a  time  of  it.  But  what 
matters  this  to  Benjamin }  His  only  wish  is  to  see  everyone  happy, 
so  far  as  he  can  secure  that  end.  He  looks  upon  himself  but  as  a 
steward  of  his  wealth,  and  so  he  is  rewarded.  Unexpectedly,  his 
brother  Gregory  appears  upon  the  scene.  He  is  the  very  opposite, 
a  self-made  man.  He  is  worth  ;f  200,000,  which  he  boasts  has 
been  accumulated  through  his  never  having  trusted  anyone,  given 
nothing  in  charity,  believed  in  no  tale  of  woe  or  distress ;  and 
when  kindly  Benjamin  speaks  to  him  of  some  suffering  creature, 
he  answers  always  in  his  north  country  accent,  "  I  know  that  mon, 
he  cooms  fra  Sheffield."  A  discharged  coachman  of  Benjamin's 
has  written  from  St  Giles's  craving  assistance.  Gregory  declares 
he  is  an  impostor  ;  the  two  brothers  go  together  to  find  out  the 
truth,  and  alas!  Gregory  is  right.  In  his  perturbation  at  the 
discovery,  Benjamin  breaks  his  spectacles  and  borrows  his 
brother's,  and  from  that  moment  he  looks  through  them  with  his 
brother's  sense.  He  returns,  and,  at  once  mistrustful  of  everyone, 
he  weighs  everything  that  comes  into  the  house,  he  puts  everything 


20  A  Pair  of  Spectacles.  [Feb.,  1890. 

under  lock  and  key.  His  old  bootmaker  he  discovers  puts  bad 
leather  in  his  boots,  his  old  butler  drinks  his  brandy,  and — worst 
of  all — he  searches  his  wife's  escritoire  for  letters  which  he  believes 
she  has  received  from  a  curate  whom  he  has  hitherto  respected  ; 
but  he  believes  in  his  brother.  From  a  genial,  happy  creature 
Benjamin  is  transformed  into  a  hard,  suspicious  being,  who  will 
not  save  his  oldest  friend  from  possible  ruin,  though  he  could 
well  spare  the  cash  that  would  avert  the  downfall.  Just  then,  the 
failure  of  a  bank  leads  people  to  suppose  that  Benjamin  himself 
is  ruined,  and  he  at  once  discovers  how  wrong  he  has  been  in  his 
surmises.  His  young  wife  offers  to  sell  her  diamonds;  the  packet 
of  love-letters  he  has  discovered  are  his  own  written  to  her  that 
she  has  so  treasured.  His  tenants  come  forward  and  pay  their  back 
rents  ;  his  nephew  tenders  to  him  the  only  valuable  he  possesses  ; 
his  old  friend,  whom  he  had  refused  to  help,  presses  on  him  quite  a 
little  fortune  ;  he  learns  that  the  old  butler,  who  wishes  to  remain 
with  him  without  wages,  is  trustworthy ;  and — most  wonderful  of 
all — the  hard-hearted  brother  Gregory  brings  out  a  deed  of 
partnership  for  him  to  sign.  For  Gregory  has  learnt  his  lesson. 
His  son  Dick,  whom  he  had  sent  forth  penniless  to  fight  the  world, 
is  not  the  prosperous  barrister  he  imagined,  but  steeped  in  debt, 
and  has  been  actually  arrested  in  his  father's  presence,  and 
Gregory's  heart  has  been  softened  by  the  spontaneous  kindness  of 
everyone  to  the  man  who  had  earned  their  gratitude  by  his 
nobility  of  nature  and  hitherto  unceasing  charity.  If  the  drama  of 
the  present  day  is  to  educate  and  to  raise  the  moral  standard  of 
an  audience,  surely  A  Pair  of  Spectacles  should  do  so,  for  there  is 
no  preachee-preachee.  It  is  deeply  interesting,  and  there  is  in  it 
so  much  humour  as  to  make  one  smile  and  laugh,  while  leaving 
its  best  impression.  Mr.  Hare's  acting  was  beyond  praise  ;  indeed 
it  was  not  acting,  it  was  nature  itself — so  cheery  and  happy  in 
his  belief,  so  miserable  while  struggling  against  his  new-formed 
suspicions,  and  once  more  so  truly  contented  when,  recovering  his 
own  spectacles  that  have  been  mended,  he  with  them  recovers  his 
belief  in  goodness.  Little  behind  him  was  Charles  Groves,  as  the 
grasping,  suspicious  ironmaster,  Gregory,  as  hard  as  the  metal 
in  which  he  deals  ;  so  confident  in  his  own  acuteness,  and  yet  so 
wofully  mistaken.  It  was  an  excellent  performance,  not  the 
least  exaggerated  in  treatment  or  appearance,  and  yet  in  such 
clever  contrast  to  a  brother  so  opposite  to  him  in  every  way. 
Rudge  Harding  as  Percy  was  a  manly  young  fellow,  and  Sydney 
Brough  as  Dick  played  with  great  tact.  F.  H.  Knight  gave  a 
remarkably  good  rendering  of  the  canny  but  true-hearted  old 


F«B.,  1890.]  Dream  Faces — Tra-La-La  Tosca.  21 


bootmaker,  Bartholomew.  Kate  Rorke  was  a  very  sweet  young 
wife.  Blanche  Horlock  occasionally  dropped  her  voice  so  much 
as  to  be  almost  inaudible.  The  other  parts  left  nothing  to  be 
desired  in  their  representation. 

22nd.  GarricK.      Dream   Faces. — ^When    first    produced    in 
London  at  Terry's  Theatre,  Nov.  ist,  1888,  Dream  Faces  was  so 
highly  spoken  of  that  it  was  fully  expected  it  would  form  part  of 
an  evening  bill  almost  immediately.     Its  reception  at  the  Garrick 
Theatre  fully  justified  the  verdict  then  passed   on  it     It   is  a 
charming  little  work.     Robert  is  an  individual  who,   up  to  the 
opening  of  the  play  has  been  everything  undesirable.     Engaged 
as  a  young  fellow  years  before  to  Margaret,  he  deserted  her  to 
marry  another  woman,  whom  he  treated  no  better.     His  wife  dies 
— leaves  a  child,  Lucy,  that  Margaret,  true  to  the  memory  of  her 
first  love,  adopts  and  brings  up  as  her  niece.     The  girl  grows  up 
and  is  betrothed  to  Philip,  when  Robert,  who  has  not  forsaken  his 
evil  courses,  and  desperately  pressed  for  money,  comes  to  demand 
a  loan  of  Margaret,  under  the  threat  that  if  not  granted  he  will 
claim   his  child     Margaret  will   not  afford  him  assistance,   but 
pleads  that  the  girl,  who  has  twined  herself  round  her  very  heart- 
strings, shall  remain  with  her.     Robert  persists  in  the  enforcement 
of  his  claim — at  any  rate  he  will  see  his  daughter.     This  is  con- 
sented to  on  one  condition — he  shall  announce  himself  a  friend  of 
Lucy's  father,  whom  she  has   all  along   supposed  to   be   dead. 
From  Lucy  he  learns  that  she  has  been  ever  brought  up  to  revere 
his  memory,  and  has  always  pictured  him  as  the  best  and  noblest 
of  men.     He  also  learns  that  for  years  past  he  has  been  living  on 
the  bounty  of  Margaret,  she  having  made  him  the  allowance  which 
he  thought  he  inherited.     His  better  nature  prevails  ;  he  beholds 
himself  the  ungrateful,  selfish  being  that  he  has  been.     Kissing  his 
child  he  gives  her  into  Margaret's  arms,  and  goes  forth  repent- 
ant, and  with  the  determination  to  lead  a  better  and  a  purer  life  in 
the  future.      It  forms  an  exquisitely  touching  picture.      Forbes 
Robertson,  both  as  the  devil-may-care,  hardened  criminal  and  as 
the  man  brought  back  to  a  sense  of  his  shame  and  the  noble 
purity  and  self-sacrifice  of  the  woman  who  has  loved  him  all  her 
life,  held  his  audience  completely,  while  Carlotta  Addison's  pathos 
and  tenderness  moved  them  to  tears.     Blanche  Horlock  was  sweet 
and  ingenuous,  and  Sydney  Brough  true  and  easy. 

22nd.  Last  performance  of  Tra-La-La  Tosca  at  the  Royalty. 
And  on  this  date  died  Leopold  Lewis,  adaptor  of  The  Bells^  The 
Wandering  Jew y  etc;,  aged  62.  He  was  seized  with  an  epileptic 
fit  on  the  2 1st,  and  died  from  the  effects  of  it     He  had  long  been 


22  As  You  Like  It.  [FkB.,  1890. 

supported  by  Mr.  Henry  Irving,  who  continued  the  munificent 
allowance  to  his  widow. 

24th.  St.  James's.  As  You  Like  It. — No  Rosalind  that  has 
yet  stepped  the  boards  has  ever  quite  satisfied  us,  but  Mrs.  Lang- 
try's  delineation  of  one  of  Shakespeare's  most  charming  and  most 
difficult  characters  may  take  fair  rank.  As  Ganymede  there  was, 
perhaps,  not  sufficient  of  "  a  swashing  and  martial  outside,"  that 
should  have  been  assumed  with  the  doublet  and  cross-gartered 
hose  in  which  Mrs.  Langtry  appeared  ;  it  was  a  little  too  feminine 
not  to  have  betrayed  the  sex  to  even  a  lover,  blinded  by  his  own 
passion,  but  it  was  very  bright  and  joyous,  full  of  arch  coquetry, 
longing  fondness,  and  dainty  charm.  It  was  the  embodiment  of 
a  consuming  love,  living  on  its  own  fire  and  taking  fresh  life  from 
every  verse  and  missive  that  Rosalind  reads ;  and  surely  never  did 
Rosalind  conjure  more  sweetly  and  coaxingly  for  the  success  of  a 
play  than  did  Mrs.  Langtry  in  speaking  the  Epilogue.  But  long 
before  the  words  were  spoken  the  success  was  assured,  and  the 
new  manageress  of  the  St  James's  could  not  but  be  well  content 
with  the  prospects  of  her  season.  The  play  was  produced  under 
the  direction  of  the  Hon.  Lewis  Wingfield  ;  and  it  is,  there- 
fore, perchance  due  to  his  guidance  that  the  clown  and  the 
philosopher  appeared  to  have  changed  characters ;  in  lieu  of  the 
lightsome,  merry  Touchstone,  chuckling  at  his  own  quips,  and 
oft  fooling  his  hearers  with  his  quaint  wordings,  we  had  in  Charles 
Sugden  almost  a  cynic,  who  laid  down  the  law  in  a  didactic 
manner  ;  and  whereas  Jaques  tells  us  that  he  loves  "  melancholy 
better  than  laughing,"  that  he  is  "wrapped  in  a  most  humorous 
sadness,"  we  had  in  Arthur  Bourchier  a  light-hearted  railing 
philosopher,  who  mocked  blithesomely  at  the  follies  of  his  fellows. 
It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  the  "  Seven  Ages  "  speech  was 
delivered  with  excellent  point,  even  with  the  new  reading  of  the 
character.  Lawrence  Cautley  was  just  such  a  romantic  youth  as 
the  lovesick  Orlando  should  be  ;  he  was  picturesque  in  appearance, 
impassioned  in  his  love  scenes,  and  with  that  spice  of  wonder  at 
his  own  folly  in  wooing  Ganymede  that  made  the  folly  the  more 
acceptable.  The  Adam  of  F.  Everill  and  the  Sylvius  of  Matthew 
Brodie  were  excellent — the  latter  specially  noticeable  for  the  pure 
delivery  of  the  text ;  and  he  had  a  pleasing  Phoebe  in  Miss 
Beatrice  Lamb.  Marion  Lea's  Audrey  was  the  best  that  has  been 
seen  for  years ;  her  open-mouthed  and  wide-open-eyed  bucolic 
admiration  of  Touchstone  and  his  fair,  and  yet  to  her  incompre- 
hensible, periods  were  above  praise  Amy  McNeil  played  with 
much  vivacity  and  grace  as  Celia.     Mention  should  aJso  be  made 


March,  189a]  The  Man  0'  Airiie — Meadow  Sweet.  23 

of  Roydon  Erlynne  as  Corin,  a  sterling  performance ;  and  of 
Charles  Fulton  for  his  kindly  dignity  as  the  banished  Duke. 
Ager  Grover  as  Amiens  led  the  music,  and  sang  his  solo  well ;  the 
chorus  was  efficient,  but  I  must  confess  I  was  a  little  startled  at 
Mr.  Wingfield's  introduction  of  the  shepherdesses  in  the  Forest  of 
Arden,  and  their  taking  part  in  the  music.  The  restoration  of  the 
Masque  of  Hymen  with  Violet  Armbruster  who,  spoke  her  lines 
well,  as  Hymen,  no  one  could  cavil  at,  nor  at  the  morris  dance  in 
celebration  of  the  nuptials. 


III. 

March. 

1st  Park  Town  Hall,  Battersea.  Queer  Lodgers.— OM-diCt 
farce,  by  Alfred  A.  Wilmot 

3rd  Grand.  {Revival.)  The  Man  d  Airiie.— ^y  W.  G.  Wills; 
was  oiginally  produced  at  the  Princess's,  July  20th,  1867,  and 
reproduced  at  the  Hay  market  in  1876.  It  is  a  somewhat  lachry- 
mose play,  turning  on  the  sorrows  of  James  Harebell,  a  poet  of 
the  Burns  type,  who,  deceived  by  the  falseness  of  a  friend,  and 
harrowed  by  the  loss  of  his  wife,  is  supposed  to  drown  himself, 
but  really  wanders  forth  into  the  world  a  harmless  imbecile, 
returning  after  some  twenty  years  to  die  at  the  foot  of  the  statue 
that  had  been  erected  in  appreciation  of  his  merits  as  a  poet  and 
a  man  of  genius.  It,  however,  afforded  Hermann  Vezin  an 
excellent  opportunity  for  the  display  of  his  remarkable  powers, 
but  the  excess  of  the  Scotch  dialect,  which  is  almost  incomprehen- 
sible to  general  audiences,  will  always  prove  a  bar  to  The  Man  d 
Airiie  taking  any  great  hold  on  Southern  audiences.  Mr.  Vezin's 
pupil,  Olive  Stettith,  showed  great  promise  as  Mary  Harebell. 

5th.  Annie  Irish  played  Julie  de  Noirville,  in  A  Man^s  Shadow, 
at  the  Haymarket. 

5th.  Vaudeville.  Meadow  Sweet. — One-act  comedy  by  "Terra 
Cotta."  If  this  be  the  first  dramatic  attempt  of  Miss  Provost  (for 
that  I  am  informed  is  "  Terra  Cotta's  "  real  name),  the  young 
lady  may  be  congratulated.  The  tone  of  her  little  play  is  healthy, 
the  sentiment  poetic,  and  the  humour  unforced.  Some  of  the  dia- 
logue, too,  is  bright  Benjamin  Barnes,  a  genial,  sturdy  old  farmer, 
determines  that  his  son  John  shall  hold  his  head  high  in  the  world ; 
so  he  gives  him  a  good  education,  and  gets  him  a  clerkship  in  a 
London  bonk.     Margery  Meadows  is  a  sweet,  unaffected  girl  (her 


Hamlet  [March,  1890. 


pet  name  gives  the  title  to  the  play),  who  had  been  brought 
up  with  her  cousin  -John,  and  when  he  leaves  for  the  great  city 
they  are  engaged.  There  must  have  been  some  natural  taint  in 
John's  disposition,  or  he  would  hardly  in  a  year  or  two  have 
developed  into  such  an  unmitigated  cad.  When  he  comes  home 
for  a  holiday  he  is  thoroughly  ashamed  of  the  old  farmhouse,  of  his 
honest  old  father,  and  lets  Margery  understand  that  his  aspirations 
are  far  too  high  to  wed  with  such  a  lowly  maid  as  she  is.  He  is 
full  of  his  grand  friends,  the  Topliffs,  brother  and  sister,  who 
have  come  down  to  spend  the  day.  To  them  he  makes  all  sorts 
of  excuses  for  the  boorishness  of  his  father,  the  homeliness  of  the 
farm  and  his  surroundings.  He  has  only  lowered  himself  com- 
pletely in  their  esteem,  however,  for  they  are  gentle  in  the  truest 
sense  of  the  word  ;  they  are  disgusted  with  his  meanness,  and 
when  he  proposes  to  Julia  she  administers  to  him  such  a  rebuff 
as  must  penetrate  even  his  thick  hide  of  self-complacency  and 
conceit  Fred  Topliflf  (F.  Gillmore)  is  so  smitten  with  the 
grace  and  natural  freshness  of  Margery,  that  he  at  once  lays  siege 
to  her,  and  the  curtain  falls  on  a  pretty  picture  of  a  hope  that 
the  girl,  who  has  discovered  that  the  idol  she  set  up  is  but  of 
the  commonest  clay,  will  soon  be  comforted  and  rewarded  with 
an  honest  man's  love.  Ella  Bannister,  as  Margery  Meadows, 
was  rather  too  emphatic  in  the  expression  of  her  emotion.  Lily 
Hanbury  was  excellent  as  the  outspoken  Julia  Topliff.  Cyril 
Maude  (John)  thoroughly  carried  out  the  author's  conception  of  a 
mean-spirited  contemptible  fellow;  and  F.  Thorne,  as  a  shrewd  old 
farm  servant  (Jokel),  was  very  amusing.  Meadow  Sweet  should 
be  in  request  for  amateurs,  for  all  the  parts  are  good. 

6th.  Globe.  Hamlet — Numerous  as  were  the  shortcomings  of 
Mr.  Benson's  Hamlet,  they  were  in  a  measure  redeemed  by  the 
conscientiousness  and  evident  study  bestowed  upon  the  text  by 
an  actor  who  was  young  enough  to  amend  his  faults,  and  who 
will  in  all  probability,  with  more  experience,  give  us  a  perform- 
ance that  is  at  least  not  disappointing  as  this  was.  To  begin 
with,  though  we  have  warrant  that  Hamlet's  appearance  had 
much  chan^nd  since  his  father's  death,  and  that  he  was  careless  of 
his  dress,  there  was  no  reason  why  Mr.  Benson  should  have  been 
so  slovenly  in  his  apparel  and  should  have  presented  such  an 
unpicturesque  figure.  Then  he  had  an  unfortunate  habit  of 
laying  the  stress  too  frequently  on  the  wrong  word,  thus 
destroying  the  rhythm  of  the  lines — he  was  at  times,  essentially 
modern  (notably  in  the  scene  with  the  players),  and  at  others  he 
ranted.     His  best  scenes  were  those  with  Ophelia  and  with  his 


March  1890.]       The  Favourite  of  the  King — A  Double  Dose,  25 

mother — the  love  he  felt  for  the  one  and  the  filial  affection  for  the 
other  were  convincing,  and  touched  his  audience  ;  but,  taken  as  a 
whole,  the  performance  was  one  of  promise  only — interesting,  but 
unimaginative,  and  without  the  matured  power  to  embody  the 
actor's  conception.  Much  of  the  business  introduced  was  novel, 
but  unsatisfactory — the  fall  of  Polonius  into  Gertrude's  closet,  in 
/ler  sight  and  that  of  Hamlet,  belied  the  lines ;  the  stamping  on 
the  picture  of  the  King  was  effective,  but  rather  claptrappy.  The 
bringing  in  of  Ophelia's  body  (in  the  person  of  Mrs.  Benson  herself) 
on  the  bier,  and  subsequently  bearing  it  to  the  grave,  was  carrying 
realism  a  little  too  far.  The  Ghost  of  Stephen  Phillips  was  one 
of  the  best,  if  not  the  best,  that  has  been  seen  for  years ;  it  was 
impressive  and  dignified,  and  his  elocution  of  the  highest  order. 
G.  F.  Black's  Polonius  was  good,  though  a  little  wanting  in  humour. 
The  Horatio  of Otho  Stuart  was  very  commendable.  G.  R.  Weirs 
First  Gravedigger  was  racy,  and  Athol  Forde,  as  his  assistant,  ably 
seconded  him.  Charles  Cartwright's  Claudius  was  a  great  disap- 
pointment, but  the  actor  had  just  recovered  from  a  most  serious 
illness,  which  had  enforced  a  long  absence  from  the  stage.  Mrs. 
F.  R.  Benson  was  a  weak,  unsympathetic  Ophelia.  The  Gertrude 
of  Ada  Ferrar  was  that  of  a  true  artist ;  it  was  full  of  dignity  and 
grace,  her  lines  were  admirably  delivered,  but  she  looked  decidedly 
too  young  for  the  character,  though  remarkably  handsome. 

nth.  Comedy.  {Matinee.)  The  Favourite  of  the  King, — 
Original  historical  play  in  four  acts,  by  F.  S.  Boas  and  Jocelyn 
Brandon.  This  was  in  blank  verse,  and  though  there  were 
moments  when  the  authors  appeared  to  have  struck  the  true 
keynote,  the  melody  too  soon  faded  away  and  was  lost  The 
plot  turned  on  the  assassination  of  the  Duke  of  Bucking[ham  by 
Felton,  out  of  revenge  for  unrequited  services.  The  principal 
female  character  was  that  of  Helen  Aston,  to  whom,  when  plain 
George  Villiers,  the  Duke  had  plighted  troth,  and  who,  when  he 
deserted  her  for  Lady  Manners,  vowed  an  undying  hatred,  but 
towards  the  close  tried  to  save  his  life.  The  cast  was  a  good 
one.  Royce  Carleton,  in  quite  a  new  line  of  character,  was  an 
impassioned  lover  as  the  Duke.  Bassett  Roe  was  most  effective 
as  the  astrologer.  Doctor  Lamb.  Dorothy  Dene  was  the  Helen 
Aston  ;  and  Annie  Rose  showed  great  improvement,  and  was 
a  lovable  Lady  Manners.  Louise  Moodie's  Lady  Villiers  was  a 
sterling  performance.  Mrs.  Carson  played  Cecilia,  a  coquettish 
lady-in-waiting,  with  charming  brightness  and    spontaneity. 

15  th.  Surrey.  A  Double  Dose, — Farce  by  Arthur  Shirley. 
Merry,  and  cleverly  written. 


26  Miss  Cinderella — Guinevere.  [March,  1890, 


15th.  Died  John  Maclean,  of  paralysis,  in  London,  aged  55. 
Universally  loved,  esteemed,  and  respected.  First  appeared  at 
the  Theatre  Royal,  Plymouth,  in  1859.  First  London  appearance 
at  the  Surrey  as  Peter  Purcell  in  TAe  Idiot  of  the  Mountain. 
Was  subsequently  engaged  at  the  New  Surrey  and  Princess's. 
Joined  John  HoUingshead's  Gaiety  Company  in  1868,  and 
remained  with  it  eleven  years.  Was  a  member  of  Miss  Mary 
Anderson's  Company  at  the  Lyceum,  and  was  highly  valued  by 
the  late  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Kean,  when  he  was  with  them 
during  their  last  provincial  tour.  Was  a  distinguished  Mason. 
Buried  at  Paddington  Cemetery. 

15th.  Avenue.  Miss  Cinderella. — One-act  comedietta,  by 
W.  R.  Walkes.  By  no  means  a  good  piece ;  but  it  enabled  Nut- 
combe  Gould  to  appear  to  advantage  as  Mr.  Wriothesley,  F.R.S., 
an  old  gentleman  whose  thoughts  are  constantly  fixed  on  the 
origin  of  the  jelly-fish  and  other  strange  denizens  of  the  deep. 
He  has  been  dragooned  into  a  second  marriage  with  a  most 
objectionable  lady,  who  makes  a  Cinderella  of  his  daughter 
Margery,  in  order  to  advance  the  interests  of  her  own  child 
Hester,  the  spiteful  sister  of  the  fairy  tale.  But  her  plottings 
come  to  nought,  for  Margery's  charms  have  secured  her  a  lover 
in  Lord  Raemore,  the  handsome  young  prince  that  the  artful 
mother  hoped  she  had  hooked  for  her  fair  but  disagreeable 
daughter.  Laura  Graves  played  Margery  with  considerable 
charm  and  ingenuousness  ;  Benjamin  Webster  was  Lord  Raemore  ; 
Mrs.  Leston,  Mrs.  Wriothesley ;  and  Miss  Lillie  Young,  Hester. — 
On  this  date  Frank  Kemble  Cooper  assumed  the  part  of  Frank 
Granville,  the  hero  in  London  Day  by  Day^  at  the  Adelphi,  with 
great  success. 

1 5th.  Last  night  of  Jack  and  the  Beanstalk — pantomime  at 
Drury  Lane  Theatre. 

17th.  Drury  Lane. — Benefit  of  the  Royal  General  Theatri- 
cal Fund.  The  programme  consisted  of  the  first  act  of  Dr.  Bill, 
with  the  Avenue  Company.  My  Aunts  Advice,  with  E.  S.  and 
Mrs.  Willard,  Herbert  Waring,  and  Violet  Armbruster.  The  duel 
scene  from  The  Dead  Heart,  Henry  Irving,  S.  B.  Bancroft,  and 
Arthur  Stirling.  Fourth  act  of  'Twixt  Axe  and  Crown,  Matthew 
Brodie,  Louis  Calvert,  Arthur  Bourchier,  Walter  Gay,  Amy 
McNeil,  Marion  Lea,  and  Mrs.  Langtry.  A  selection  from  the 
pantomime,  Jack  and  the  Beanstalk,  and  a  scene  of  The  Ballad-- 
monger,  by  the  Haymarket  Company.  The  usual  long  list  of 
incidentals. 

19th.  KiLBURN  Town  Hall.     Guinevere. — Comedy  opera  in 


March,  1890.1  MtSS    TofPlboy,  2J 

two  acts,  written  by  Stanley  Stevens,  music  by  Henry  T.  Pringuer. 
The  libretto  of  this  was  bright  and  amusing,  written  on  the  lines 
of  W.  S.  Gilbert's  method,  and  the  music  was  deserving  of  the 
very  highest  praise.  It  was  a  skit  on  competitive  examinations, 
King  Littlego  having  determined  that  his  daughter  Guinevere 
shall  be  given  to  the  man  who  passes  highest.  It  was  worthy  of 
being  placed  in  an  evening  bill.  Kate  Johnstone  specially 
distinguished  herself  as  the  heroine,  and  Henry  Baker  was  very 
humorous  as  Small. 

20th.  Vaudeville.  {Matinee.)  Miss  Tomboy. — Sir  John 
Vanbrugh's  The  Relapse ;  or^  Virtue  in  Danger^  is  announced  in  a 
life  of  the  author  as  " being  the  Sequel  of  The  Fool  in  Fashion*' 
and  was  first  played  at  Drury  Lane  in  1696  with  Gibber  as 
Lord  Foppington.  The  Sir  George  Matcham  of  the  present  play 
was  then  called  Coupler.  An  adaptation  of  the  play  was  made 
by  the  actor  Lee,  and  under  the  title  of  T/te  Man  of  Quality  was 
produced  at  Coven t  Garden  in  1773;  and  in  1777  Richard 
Brinsley  Sheridan  formed  on  it  another  play,  entitled  A  Trip  to 
Scarborough^  which  was  acted  in  that  year  at  Drury  Lane.  In 
1 846,  The  Relapse  was  played  at  the  Olympic,  with  Walter  Lacy 
as  Lord  Foppington,  Mrs.  Walter  Lacy  as  Miss  Hoyden,  and 
Leigh  Murray  as  Loveless.  It  was  seen  at  the  Strand  in  1850. 
John  Hollingshead's  version,  also  named  The  Man  of  Quality^  was 
done  at  the  Gaiety,  May  7th,  1870,  with  Alfred  Wigan  as  Lord 
Foppington,  and  Nellie  Farren  as  Miss  Hoyden,  and  the  late 
John  Maclean  was  Sir  Tunbelly  Clumsy.  I  think  Mrs.  Cross  was 
the  original  Hoyden.  Mrs.  Jordan  was  also  great  in  the  part, 
and  Mrs.  Abington  played  the  character  in  Sheridan's  adaptation. 
In  this  version  Mr.  Buchanan  did  away  completely  with  the 
objectionable  characters,  and  the  intrigue  of  Loveless  and 
Berinthia.  He  said  in  a  footnote  "  that  the  vein  of  heartlessness 
so  characteristic  of  an  artificial  period  has  been  abandoned 
altogether"  (in  this  I  scarce  agree,  witness  the  characters  of 
Foppington  and  Tom  Fashion),  and  had  written  almost  entirely 
fresh  dialogue.  His  very  great  improvement,  however,  was  that 
he  had  transformed  the  vicious  Miss  Hoyden  into  a  thoughtless, 
sunny,  and  impulsive  '*  tomboy,"  who  romps  and  kisses  and  owns 
to  a  sweetheart  or  two,  but  is  guileless  all  the  while.  Of  course, 
with  the  excision  of  the  characters  of  Loveless  and  Berinthia  goes 
"the  relapse  from  virtue  on  the  former's  part"  The  play  now 
turns  on  the  selfishness  of  Lord  Foppington,  who  refuses  his 
younger  brother,  Tom  Fashion,  any  assistance.  Tom's  valet,  Lory, 
by  spying  and  eavesdropping,  discovers  that  a  marriage  has  been 


28  Miss    Tomboy.  [March,  1890. 

arranged    by   Sir   George    Matcham,    a    professional   "coupler," 
between  my  Lord  and  Miss  Fanny  Hoyden,  a  wealthy  heiress  of 
some  seventeen  summers.     The  prospective  bridegroom  is  un- 
known to  his  intended  spouse  and  her  belongings,  and  so  Lory 
suggests    that  his   master   shall   steal   a   march  on   his  brother, 
purloin  the  letter  of  introduction,  and  go  down  to  Brambletree 
House,  introduce  himself  as  Lord  Foppington,  and  win  the  bride. 
Fashion  consents,  arrives,  and  is  duly  honoured  by  Sir  Tunbelly 
Clumsy,  Fanny's  stepfather,  as  the  peer  he  expected,  and  quickly 
wins  the  heart  of  the  girl.     Troubles  come  on  him  suddenly,  for 
Lory  intercepts  a  messenger  announcing  the  speedy  coming  of 
the  real  Lord.     Fashion  puts  a  bold  face  on  it,  and  warns  Clumsy 
that  the  man  who  is  at  hand  is  none  other  than  young  Fashion, 
who  is  trying  to  pass  himself  off  as  the  nobleman.     So  when 
Lord  Foppington  appears,  Sir  Tunbelly  determines  to  "roast" 
him,  plays  on  him  all  manner  of  tricks,  and  Fanny  pretends  to  be 
insane    until    the    poor    lord  fancies  he  has  got  into  a  lunatic 
asylum.     He  is  locked  up  in  the  strong  room  as  an  impostor, 
but  is  brought  out  to  be  confronted  with  Sir  George  Matcham, 
who  soon  proves  his  identity.      In  the  meantime  Tom  Fashion 
has  persuaded  the  parson,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Quiverwit,  to  marry  him 
secretly  to  the  very  willing  Fanny  Hoyden,  Tom  first  confessing 
to  her  who  he  really  is ;  and  when  his  imposture  is  discovered, 
he  and  his  new-made  wife  throw  themselves  on  Sir  Tunbelly 's 
mercy.     As  he  finds  that  Lord  Foppington  would  not  consent  to 
wed  Fanny  at  any  price  (for  there  is  a  salutary  doubt  as  to  the 
legality  of  the   marriage  ceremony  she  has  gone  through).  Sir 
Tunbelly  forgives  the  young  couple,  and  the  curtain  falls  on  a 
merry  dance  of  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley.     The  success  of  the  piece 
was  due  to  Winifred  Emery.     No  one,  I  am  sure,  gave  her  credit 
for    the    power    to   so   naturally   delineate   the  high  spirit  and 
mischief- loving  fun   of  the  "  Tomboy,"    who  loves   kissing,  but 
without  any  arriire  pens^e  of  harm  or  of  there  being  anything 
unmaidenly  in  it.     Hoydenish,  full  of  antics,  and  frolicsome  she 
might  be,  but  with  it  all  she  was  a  lady  and  a  pure  little  maiden. 
Frank  Gillmore  was  also  successful  as  Tom  Fashion  ;  his  imitation 
of  the  manners  of  his  vain  coxcomb  of  a  brother  was  excellent, 
and  in  his  own  proper  character  he  was  easy  and  yet  full  of  a 
rollicking,  happy-go-lucky  temperament,  but  one  in  which  the  sense 
of  chivalry  was  not  forgotten.     Tom  Thome  had  caught  the  tone 
of  the  fop.     Fred  Thome  was  good  as  the  fox-hunting,  hard- 
drinking  country  squire  ;  Cyril  Maude  subtle  as  the  valet  Lory, 
and  F.  Grove  did  well  as  the  sycophantic  Rev.  Mr.  Quiverwit. 


March,  isgo.]  Attdromeda — Lady  Lavington.  29 

Miss  Tomboy  is  not  the  most  cleverly  written  of  Mr.  Buchanan's 
plays,  but  he  was  called  for  at  the  end  of  the  piece.  It  was 
placed  in  the  evening  bill,  May   5th. 

22nd.  Henry  Young,  actor,  died,  aged  J 6. 
22nd.  Mr.  Wyndham  reappeared  in  London  after  his  most 
successful  American  tour,  and  revived  at  the  Criterion  Robertson's 
comedy,  David  Garrick — Charles  Wyndham  and  Mary  Moore, 
of  course,  appearing  in  the  name  rdle  and  as  Ada  Ingot  The 
only  very  noticeable  change  in  the  cast  was,  that  William  Farren 
played  Simon  Ingot,  of  whom  he  made  a  more  refined  and 
polished  character,  with  perhaps  advantage  to  the  play.  His 
performance  was  much  applauded. 

24th.  The  Stadt  Theatre,  Bromberg,  totally  destroyed  by  fire, 
which  commenced  at  1.30  p.m.  The  building  was  in  ruins  by 
3  o'clock. 

24th.  Surrey.  Hand  in  Hand. — Four-act  drama,  by  Edward 
Darbey.     First  time  in  London. 

24th.  Vaudeville.  (Matinee.)  Andromeda, — A  one-act  Greek 
tragedy,  by  Rose  Seaton,  was  far  too  sombre  and  without  that 
power  which  would  compensate  for  its  mournful  tone.  Some  of 
the  lines  were  excellent,  and  were  well  delivered  by  the  authoress, 
who  filled  the  title  rSle.  Of  Number  Two^  which  the  author, 
Harry  Croft  Hiller,  informed  the  public  it  took  him  three  years 
to  complete,  it  was  impossible  to  bestow  any  praise  whatever.  It 
was  incomprehensible  in  plot,  and  the  only  thing  that  could  be 
gathered  was  that  an  Irishman,  Mr.  Larry  O'Larrigan  (well  played 
by  Fred  Shepherd),  was  a  matrimonial  fortune-hunter,  although 
with  two  women  Hying,  with  whom  he  had  already  gone  through 
the  ceremony  of  marriage.  Venie  Bennett,  Charles  Medwin, 
and  George  Hughes  did  all  they  could  with  their  respective 
characters. 

24th.  Ladbroke  Hall.  Lady  Lovington  ;  or^  A  Soiree  Dra- 
matique, — By  "George  Villars,"  the  nom  de  plume  of  a  lady  of  title ; 
was  played  by  Madame  Madge  Inglis's  pupils  in  a  manner  that 
reflected  the  highest  credit  on  their  instructress.  The  story  of 
the  play,  though  slight,  is  entertaining,  and  the  dialogue  is  full 
of  sparkle.  A  stage  lover  in  an  amateur  performance  is  so 
bewitched  by  the  perfections  of  the  lady  with  whom  he  is  acting, 
and  whom  he  has  long  admired,  that  he  proposes  in  reality,  and 
another  young  lady  who  imagines  her  swain  faithless,  is  reconciled 
to  him  on  learning  that  the  ardent  avowal  she  has  overheard  is 
only  addressed  to  a  dummy  at  a  rehearsal.  Digitized  by  GoOqIc 

25th.    Adelphi.      {Matinee)      Jess, — In    its    then    form    (a 


30  Pedigree,  [ICasch,  1890. 

dramatisation,  by  J.  J.  Bisgood  and  Eweretta  Lawrence,  of  Rider 
Haggard's  novel  of  the  same  name)  would  certainly  not  have 
done  to  place  in  the  evening  bill.  It  must  be  reconstructed.  In 
the  play  Jess  is  made  to  murder  Frank  MuUer,  after  we  have  all 
along  been  led  to  believe  that  Jantze,  the  Hottentot,  will  revenge 
himself  on  the  slayer  of  his  mother  and  father.  Jantze  was  a 
very  powerful  performance  on  the  part  of  Athol  Forde.  As  a 
matter  of  record  the  cast  is  given.  Silas  Croft,  J.  D.  Beveridge, 
excellently  rendered  ;  John  Niel,  T.  B.  Thalberg ;  Frank  MuUer, 
Charles  Dalton,  vividly  played ;  Hans  Coetzer,  Julian  Cross, 
amusing  and  clever ;  Carolus,  J.  Clulow ;  Jan,  Gilbert  Yorke  ; 
Monte,  Mr.  Jerram ;  Hendrik,  Mr.  Calvert ;  Mrs.  Neville,  Miss 
St.  Ange  ;  Bessie  Croft,  Helen  Forsyth,  very  winsome  ;  Jess, 
Eweretta  Lawrence,  wanting  in  strength. 

28th.  Toole's.  {Matime)  Pedigree. — ^A  three-act  comedy  by 
C.  C.  Bowring  and  F.  H.  Court,  did  not  display  much  originality, 
but  was  made  amusing  by  the  excellence  of  the  acting.  Sir  Jabez 
Blair  (Edward  Righton),  a  purse-proud,  vulgar,  retired  soapboiler, 
who  worships  the  aristocracy,  is  determined  that  his  daughter  Nora 
shall  marry  rank,  and  wishes  her  to  accept  the  Hon.  Guy  Spavin 
(Compton  Coutts).  Nora  (Sylvia  Grey),  however,  is  determined 
on  choosing  Captain  John  Pollard  (Luigi  Lablache).  The  father 
objecting,  they  call  in  the  aid  of  their  friend,  Sydney  Calthorpe 
(Yorke  Stephens),  a  quick-witted  barrister,  who  enlists  to  help 
them,  his  own  lady-love,  a  bright  actress,  Kitty  Clifton  (Vane 
Featherston),  who  passes  herself  off  as  a  French  Countess,  makes 
old  Blair  fall  desperately  in  love  with  her,  and  at  last  propose ; 
and  amongst  them  all  the  conspirators  concoct  a  scheme  that 
Captain  Pollard  shall  be  introduced  as  an  Indian  Rajah.  He 
appears  in  that  capacity  to  be  so  struck  by  Nora's  charms  that 
he  proposes  for  her  hand  to  old  Blair,  who  is  delighted  that  his 
daughter  should  become  a  Ranee.  Then  they  turn  on  him,  and 
threaten  to  make  him  the  laughing-stock  of  all  his  friends  by 
exposing  the  impostures  that  have  been  practised  upon  him,  and 
so  he  consents  to  Nora's  and  Pollard's  marriage.  Lawrance 
d'Orsay,  as  Lord  Martingale,  an  antiquated  beau  ;  Robertha 
Erskine,  as  Mrs.  Fitzpatrick,  an  Irish  lady,  who  boasts  of  her 
"  pedigree  "  and  connections  ;  her  daughter  Diana  (Eva  Moore), 
and  a  pair  of  sweethearts,  Robert  (E.  M.  Robson)  and  Jane  (Mary 
Jocdyn),  who,  as  servant  and  soubrettey  bicker  and  coo  alternately 
— made  up  an  excellent  cast  The  success,  however,  was  due  to 
Miss  Featherston,  who  was  inimitable,  and  the  life  and  soul  of  the 
play.     Sylvia  Grey  showed  great  promise  as  an  actress. 


ApRtt,i89o.)  For  Her  ChUtTs  Sake — The  Gavotte,  31 

29th.  Lyceum.  (MatitUe.)  Henry  IV.  (First  Part). — Acted  by 
the  Irving  Amateur  Dramatic  Company.  Benjamin  Webster,  a 
dashing  Prince  Hal ;  Miss  Webster  bright  as  Lady  Percy.  The 
amateurs  generally  good. 

29th.  Terry's.  For  Her  Child's  Sake. — First  time  in  evening 
bill.  The  "  dramatic  episode  "  must  have  been  one  of  Sir  Charles 
Young's  juvenile  efforts,  for  it  is  altogether  artificial  in  sentiment 
and  very  weak.  Geraldine  (Helen  Leyton)  has,  during  her  mother's 
absence,  become  engaged  to  Aubrey  Verschoyle  (J.  Nelson).  On 
the  return  of  Mrs.  Ormonde  (Miss  Giffard),  she  will  not  then  listen 
to  the  idea  of  the  marriage,  and  we  learn  that  Stephen  Ormonde 
(Oscar  Adye)  has  many  years  before  deserted  his  wife  and  eloped 
with  Aubrey's  mother,  and  has  been  the  cause  of  the  elder 
Verschoyle's  death.  Mrs.  Ormonde  has  never  forgiven  the  wrong 
done  her,  and  has  always  led  her  daughter  to  suppose  that  her 
father  was  dead.  Her  husband  reappears,  and  is  so  penitent  that 
at  length  Mrs.  Ormonde, "  for  her  child's  sake,"  not  only  withdraws 
her  objections,  but  for  her  own,  we  suppose,  takes  the  reformed 
sinner  to  her  arms.  The  best  drawn  character  was  that  of  old 
Mr.  Marsham,  Geraldine's  grandfather,  excellently  acted  by 
A  Ellis. 


IV. 

April. 

istn  Stein  WAY  Hall.  The  Gavotte. — A  very  pretty  and  bright 
little  piece,  adapted  from  the  French  by  Minnie  Bell.  Two  girls, 
one  Dora  (Mrs.  William  Greet),  rather  sedate,  the  other  Sylvia 
(Sylvia  Grey),  a  happy  madcap,  leave  the  ball-room  to  go  to  their 
rooms  just  when  the  gavotte  in  which  they  hoped  to  join,  strikes 
up.  Sylvia  induces  her  sister  to  join  in  it,  and  then  they  talk  of 
husbands  and  partners  and  flirtations  and  various  things  interesting 
to  young  ladies  in  their  first  season,  and  then  before  they  take 
their  bedroom  candlesticks  Sylvia  must  have  a  last  waltz.  The 
dialogue  was  so  ^  smart  "  and  natural,  and  the  dancing  so  good, 
and  the  acting  so  easy  and  truthful,  that  the  trifle  was  pronounced 
a  decided  hit  Minnie  Bell  appeared  to  great  advantage  in  a  dia- 
logue. Is  Madame  at  Home  ?  and  also  recited  remarkably  well. 

1st  Theatre  Royal,  Darlington. — The  scenery  in  the  flies 
caught  fire,  but  happily  the  flames  were  soon  extinguished. 

3rd  Haymarket.  a  Village  Priest. — ^There  was  more  dis- 
cussion over  Mr.  Grundy's  latest  ^ork  dian  over  any  play  that 


32  A  Village  Priest  capril,x89o. 

has  been  produced  for  some  years  ;  for  he  set  the  thinking  play- 
goers two  problems  to  solve.    The  most  important  one  was :  Could 
it  be  right   under  any  circumstances  for  a  priest  to  betray  the 
secret  of  the   Confessional  ?     The  other :  Could  so  sternly  just 
a  man  be  found  as  Armand  d'Ar^ay,  who,  from  a  rigid  sense  of 
duty,  separates  himself  from  the  girl  he  adores,  brings  to  light  the 
adultery  of  her  mother,  shatters  the  reputation  of  his  own  father, 
whose   memory  he   has   always   revered,  and  might,  but   for  the 
generosity  and  self-sacrifice  of  the  innocent  man  who  has  suffered, 
crush  the  fond  delusions  of  his  own  mother  as  to  the  probity,  honour, 
and  affection  of  her  deceased  husband.    And  the  sad  part  of  it  is, 
that  the  priest's  betrayal  of  his  sacred  trust  is  to  no  purpose  ;  the 
innocent  man,  out  of  gratitude  to  the  woman  who  has  sheltered  his 
daughter,  returns  to  finish  his  term  of  imprisonment ;  the  lovers  are 
separated,  and  the  guilty  woman's  sin  is  made  known  to  all  but  one. 
Yet  Mr.  Grundy  gave  us  such  noble  sentiments,  drew  such  grand 
characters,  and  put  into  their  mouths  such  exquisite  language,  that 
the  play  could  not  but  interest  and  add  to  his  reputation.     The 
French  play,  by  MM.  Busnach  and  Carwin,  from  which  A   Village 
Priest  is  taken,  has,  as  the  author  states,  only  "  suggested  *'  his 
work.     It  was  played  at  the  Chateau  d'Eau,  October  I2th,  1889, 
and  in  its  French  guise,  a  half-mad  creature,  La  Terreuse,  shoots 
down  the  seducer  of  her  mistress  to  save  her  master's  honour ;  and 
the  judge,  to  shield  it,  descends  to  the  meanness  of  so  summing-up 
against  the  innocent  gamekeeper  as  to  ensure  his  condemnation. 
In  Mr.  Grundy's  play  the  Judge  d'Argay  is  made  a  monster  of 
baseness,  he  has   carried   on   an   intrigue  with  the  Comtes3e  de 
Tr^meillan,  the  wife  of  his  greatest  friend ;  he  (presumably  because 
the  intrigue  has  been  discovered)  murders  that  friend,  and  then 
from  the  bench  sentences  the  innocent  gamekeeper,  Jean  Torquenie, 
as  the  murderer,  pointing  out  as  the  motive  that  Jean  had  dis- 
covered that  his  wife  had  been  faithless  to  him  with  his  master 
the  Count.    The  judge  is  stricken  down  with  paralysis  on  the  day 
he  has  condemned  Jean,  and  on  his  deathbed  reveals  the  truth  to 
the  Ahhi  Dubois.     This  is  all  supposed  to  take  place  some  years 
before  the  opening  of  the  play.     Then  Jean   has  escaped  from 
prison — having  done  so  from  a  longing  to  see  his  child  Jeanie — 
and  he,  not  knowing  who  lives  in  a  certain  house,  but  only  that 
it  is  the  home  of  a  rising  young  advocate,  comes  to  beg  of  him 
to  take  up  his  cause  and  prove  his  innocence.     Armand  d'Argay 
is  at  first  indignant  at  the  reflection  cast  upon  the  memory  of  his 
father,  but  Torquenie's  earnestness  impresses  him  ;  the  idea  that 
his  upright  father  may  have  erred  in  judgment  haunts  him  ;  he 


April,  f89o.]  -Oiir*  Venables,  33 

hunts  up  the  law  reports,  catechizes  the  clerk  of  the  court  who  w 
present,  and  at  length,  by  the  mere  accidental  discovery  of  a 
cipher   correspondence  in    an    odd  volume   of   "  The   Vicar   of 
Wakefield,"  his  father's  character  is  revealed  to  him  in  a  new  and 
hateful  light    This  does  not  prevent  his  persistence  in  endeavour- 
ing to  repair  the  evil,  and  clear   the  innocent   man,  though  he 
knows  it  will  part  him  from  Marguerite.     He  taxes  the  Comtesse 
de  Tr^meillan  with  her  past  sin,  and  he  goes  to  the  AbW  to 
implore  his  help.     He  is  certain  the  AbW  knows  the  truth  from 
his  goodness  and  his  manner  to  Torquenie ;  he  even  entreats  the 
priest  to  betray  the  secret  of  the  Confessional.     His  importunity, 
the  pity  for  the  convict,  arouse  a  fearful  struggle  in  the  Abba's 
breast.     In  the  solitude  of  his  chamber  he  wrestles  with  himself, 
until  a  ray  of  moonlight  thrown  upon  the  volume  of  Holy  Writ 
decides  him.   He  reads  there  that  which  he  interprets  as  a  voice  from 
Heaven,  and  the  next  day  he  gives  up  his  priestly  office,  and  utters 
the  words  that  prove  Torquenie's  innocence.      There  can  be  no 
union  between  Armand  and  Marguerite,  the  future  of  the  latter  will 
be  devoted  to  the  comfort  of  her  guilty  but  penitent  mother.    But 
what  is  to  be  the  fate  of  Madame  d'Argay  as  a  truly  good  and  pure 
woman,  whose  one  happiness  in  her  blind  state  is  the  memory  of 
the  man  whom  she  has  worshipped  as  everything  that  is  upright 
and  pure  ?    Is  her  short  remainder  of  life  to  be  one  of  unutterable 
misery  ?    No,  Jean  Torquenie,  in  his  nobility  of  soul,  prevents  this. 
His  character  has  been  vindicated  in  the  eyes  of  his  child,  who  now 
loves  him  as  much  as,  before  she  knew  the  truth,  she  shuddered  at 
him — that  child  has  been  cared  for  by  Madame  d'Argay,  and  so, 
to  save  his  daughter's  benefactress,  he  returns  to  complete  his 
sentence,  and  will  let  the  world  still   believe  him  guilty.     The 
character  of  the  convict  was  grandly  played  by  Mr.  Fernandez ; 
and  the  Abb^  Dubois  of  Mr.  Tree  was  the  most  perfect  realization 
of  a  village  priest,  so  kindly  in  all  his  dealings,   so  severe  on 
himself,   and  yet  so  touching  in  his  miserable  struggle,  and  so 
determined  when  he  has  discovered  the  path  that  he  thinks  he 
should  take.    Fred  Terry's  was  also  a  very  fine  performance,  earnest, 
vivid,  and  most  natural.     Mrs.  Tree  has  never  done  anything  s^ 
well  as  in  the  part  of  Marguerite,  it  was  tender  and  human  ;  and 
Miss  Norreys  was  also  admirable.     The  piece  was  exquisitely  put 
on  the  stage ;  it  was  worth   a  visit,  if  only  to  see  the  Abba's 
garden  with  its  blossoming  apple  tree  and  wealth  of  flowers,  over 
the  welfare  of  which  their  owner  watches  with  such  loving  care. 

5th.  Shaftesbury.     Dick  VenabUs. — Drama  in  four  acts,  by 
Arthur   Law.     Mr.  Law's   new  play  was  one  full  of  the  roost 

3 


34  ^ick  Venables.  [April,  1890. 

extraordinary  coincidences  and   improbabilities ;   and  though,  of 
course,  written  with  a  view  to  afford   scope   for  Mr.  Willard  to 
appear   as    Dick  Venables — a    hardened,   resolute,   quick-witted 
criminal— did  not  give  him,  after  all,  a  character  in  which  he  could 
shine  as  he  had  done  in  many  other  plays.     Mrs.  Lisle  (Olga 
Brandon)  the  heroine,  has  taken  up  her  abode  on  the  borders  of 
Wildmoor,  on  which  also  the  convict  prison  is  established.     Now 
this,  one  would  imagine,  would  be  the  very  last  place  she  would 
have  chosen  for  a  residence,  as  she  is  no  other  than  the  wife  of 
Dick  Venables,  a  noted  criminal,  and,  as  she  has  led  with  him 
the  most  miserable  of  lives,  anything  that  would  recall  him  to 
her  memory  must  be  at  least  unpleasant.     Venables  is  supposed 
to  be  dead,  and  so  Mrs.  Lisle  is  at  liberty  to  accept  the  offer  of 
Captain  Lankester  (Arthur  Elwood)  the  newly  appointed  governor 
of  the  prison,  who  has  never  up  to  that  time  told  his  love,  but 
who   now  opportunely  appears.     Just   as  inopportunely,  almost 
immediately,  Dick  Venables  turns  up,  in  the  midst  of  a  hue  and 
cry ;  he  has  escaped  from  Wildmoor,  makes  for  Mrs,  Lisle's,  kills 
a  warder  who  tries  to  capture  him,  and  creeps  into  the  house. 
He   is,  of  course,  delighted   to   find   his  wife ;  she  is  in   mortal 
dread  of  him,  and,  working  on  her  fears,  he  makes  her  pass  him 
off  as  her  brother,  Charles  Kirby,  then  absent  with  his  ship.     In 
this  character,  he  boldly  shakes  hands  with  Captain  Lankester,  is 
introduced  to  Lady  Jellicoe  (Mrs.  Canninge)  and  her  reverend 
husband  (Alfred  Bishop),  whose  favourite  pursuits  appear  to  be 
birdnesting  and  pocketing  everything  he  can  lay  his  hands  upon  ; 
and,  in  fact,  he  is  an  amiable  kleptomaniac,  introduced  to  bring 
about  the   final   catastrophe.     Venables'   identity   is  nearly  dis- 
covered, however,  and  he  has  to  exercise  his  greatest  astuteness 
in  keeping  out  of  the  way  of  Helen  Jellicoe  (Annie  Rose),  for  she 
is  clandestinely  engaged  to  the  real  Kirby  (Henry  V.  Esmond), 
and   would  at  once  betray  the  counterfeit.     Then  there  is  Dr. 
Paganstecher  (E.  W.   Garden),   a  gentleman   whose    passion    is 
keeping  ;^  5  0,000  worth  of  precious  stones  in  a  bureau,  and  who 
entrusts  the  secret  of  their  whereabouts  to  Peters,  his  valet — a 
man  whom  he  has  taken  without  a  character,  but  on  the  faith  of 
his  **  bumps,"  for  the  Doctor  is  a  devout  believer  in  phrenology. 
Peters  is  a  criminal,  and  immediately  recognizes  Venables  as  a 
"  pal,"  and  insists  on  his  stealing  the  jewels,  so  that  Peters  may 
not  be  suspected,  and  they  are  to  share  the  proceeds.     Venables 
does  steal  the  casket,  and  hides  it  in  an  old  mill.    The  Archdeacon, 
with  his  magpie  propensities,  watches  him,  and  when  he  is  gone, 
carries  off  the  treasure,  and  takes  it  home  to  hide   it  under  a 


April,  1890.]  The  Sentry.  35 

laurel  bush.  All  the  characters  are  assembled  in  the  garden  at 
the  rectory,  when  Captain  Lankester  discovers  from  a  photograph 
that  the  Archdeacon  has  purloined,  that  the  supposed  Kirby  is  no 
other  than  Venables,  but  for  Mrs.  Lisle's  sake  promises  not  to 
betray  him.  Then  the  real  Kirby  suddenly  arrives.  Venables 
brazens  it  out  at  first,  and  makes  his  wife  disown  her  brother^  but 
his  identity  is  proved  by  Helen  Jellicoe,  and  the  climax  is  brought 
about  by  Peters,  who,  thinking  that  Venables  has  taken  the 
jewels  and  resold  them  to  their  owner,  without  intending  to  divide 
the  "swag,"  denounces  his  quondam  associate.  Venables  rushes 
on  his  accomplice  to  stab  him,  but  Peters  is  too  quick  for  him,  and 
mortally  wounds  Venables,  who  dies  in  the  arms  of  his  ill-treated 
wife,  for  whom  he  does  then  show  some  human  feeling,  and  at 
the  same  time  chuckles  that  he  has  cheated  the  gallows.  Miss 
Olga  Brandon  made  another  advance  in  her  profession  as  one  of 
our  best  emotional  actresses.  E.  S.  Willard,  in  a  powerful  and 
artistic  manner,  displayed  the  innate  savagery  of  the  man  with  the 
devil-may-care  hardihood  of  the  self-possessed  criminal.  Annie 
Rose  was  a  very  delightful  inghiue,  Alfred  Bishop,  Mr.  Garden 
and  Mr.  Cane  (Peters)  were  worthy  of  better  parts. 

5  th.  Lyric.  The  Sentry, — New  musical  vaudeville,  in  one  act, 
written  by  Felix  Remo  and  Malcolm  Watson ;  music  by  Ivan 
Caryll,  The  music  of  this  was  bright,  and  the  story  amusing, 
turning  on  the  adventures  of  Tim  O'Brian  (John  Le  Hay),  who, 
getting  into  trouble  with  his  commanding  officer.  Colonel  Petti- 
grew  (Frank  Wood)  enlists  the  good  offices  of  his  sweetheart 
P^gy  (Maud  Holland).  She  pleads  his  cause  with  the  amorous 
officer,  and  is  discovered  by  his  stately  wife  (Adelaide  Newton). 
Two  other  characters,  PoUie  Burchett  (Alice  Geoffreys),  and  the 
sergeant-major  (F.  L.  Scates)  added  to  the  attractions  of  a 
pleasant  little  first  piece.  Marie  Tempest  made  her  reappearance 
after  her  indisposition,  as  Kitty  Carroll,  in  The  Red  Hussar, 

7th.  The  new  Richmond  Theatre  was  opened  under  the 
direction  of  Horace  Lennard.  It  is  a  commodious  and  elegant 
building,  newly  decorated  in  a  tcisteful  manner,  and  forms  a 
portion  of  what  used  to  be  the  Castle  Hotel,  Richmond.  The 
theatre  is  90  feet  long,  40  feet  wide,  and  28  feet  high;  the 
stage  42  feet  by  25  feet;  and  is  provided  with  good  dressing- 
rooms.  The  seats  of  the  auditorium  are  handsomely  upholstered, 
and  are  very  comfortable  ;  and  there  are  numerous  exits.  After 
the  National  Anthem  had  been  sung  by  Bertha  Colnaghi  and  the 
company,  Mrs.  Langtry  delivered  a  prologue,  written  for  the 
occasion  by  Frederick   Bingham,  in  which  happy  reference  was 


36  Domestic  Economy — Nixie.  [Apiul,i89o. 


made  to  the  great  actors  who  had  appeared  on  the  boards  of  the 
old  Richmond  Theatre.  This  was  followed  by  Horace  Lennard's 
screaming  farce,  Namesakes  (played  more  than  a  thousand  times 
by  Toole's  Company) ;  and  in  it  Messrs.  Lawrance  d'Orsay, 
Reuben  Inch,  Wotty  Brunton  (original  character),  and  Misses 
Minnie  Inch  and  Susie  Vaughan  appeared.  After  various  in- 
cidentals, vocal  and  instrumental,  by  Nellie  Ganthony,  Amy 
Roselle  (who  recited  Clement  Scott's  "Woman  and  the  Law" 
and  "Brahma's  Paradise"),  and  Messrs.  Henry  Pyatt,  Templar 
Saxe,  John  Radcliffe,  and  Harry  Nicholls,  the  curtain  drew  up  on 
Bardell  v.  Pickwick^  in  which  some  of  the  best  known  members  of 
the  profession  appeared.  In  the  evening  Jim  the  Penman  was 
played,  with  Lady  Monckton  and  Arthur  Dacre  in  their  original 
characters. 

7th.  Comedy.  Domestic  Economy. — I  wrote  the  following  for 
The  Stage :  "  But  that  Burnand  has  turned  Tom  Smith  from  a 
soldier  into  the  steward  of  a  vessel,  there  is  little  change  in  the 
plot  of  this  favourite  farce.  The  operetta  is  distinguished  by  that 
happy  vein  of  humour  that  runs  through  Mr.  Burnand's  latest 
adaptations,  but  not  altogether  to  such  an  extent — nor  does 
Mr.  Solomon's  music  appear  quite  as  catching  as  in  some  of  his 
former  attempts  in  the  same  line,  though  it  is  very  tuneful  and 
quaint ;  and,  as  usual,  the  orchestration  in  particular  is  suggestive 
of  the  action.  The  most  notable  numbers  are  *  Shut  your  eyes,' 
a  duet  for  Mrs.  Grimley  and  Joey ;  *  With  a  ho,'  a  punning  solo 
for  Crumley ;  his  duet,  *  Haven't  a  notion  what/  with  Mrs. 
Crumley ;  an  excellent  number  for  Crumley,  *  When  I  was  in  the 
Militia,'  and  Joey's  solo,  which  gained  an  encore,  *  Father's  gone 
out,  Mother's  gone  out."  W.  Lugg  as  Tom  Smith  has  the  most 
difficult  song  to  render,  a  sort  of  medley,  the  burden  of  which  is 
'Steward,'  and  to  which  he  did  full  justice.  Alice  Yorke  and 
Mary  Clover  join  in  a  trio  with  Mr.  Dagnall,  and  it  went  well — 
the  gentleman  throwing  himself  completely  into  his  part ;  but 
the  honours  of  the  evening  fell  to  Alma  Stanley  and  Master 
S.  Solomon.  The  increased  orchestra  was  conducted  by  Edward 
Solomon.  The  operetta  was  favourably  received,  though  not 
enthusiastically.  Pink  Dominos^  which  precedes  it,  continues  to 
provoke  roars  of  laughter." 

7th.  Marriage  of  Annie  Hughes  (Annie  Hughes  Cass)  to 
Nicholas  Devereux,  at  St  Mary's,  Cadogan  Street 

7th.  Terry's.  {Matinee)  Nixie. — Three-act  play.  Of  this  The 
Observer  said  :  "  It  was  by  no  means  a  happy  thought  to  provide 
for  the  employment  of  a  clever  child-actress,  like  little  Miss  Lucy 


April.  1890.]  Harbour  Ltgkls—Camival  Time.  37 

Webling,  in  so  strained  and  unhealthy  a  romance  as  that  which 
Mrs.  Burnett,  in  collaboration  with  Mr.  Stephen  Townsend,  has 
constructed  by  way  of  framework  for  the  figures  and  motive  of  her 
familiar  story,  Edithds  Burglar.  Editha,  it  may  be  remembered, 
was  a  decidedly  precocious  and  deadly  didactic  little  girl,  who  by 
her  ingenuous  but  argumentative  prattle  convinces  a  would-be 
burglar  of  the  error  of  his  ways.  Editha  now  becomes  Nixie,  the 
eight-year-old  daughter  of  a  weak-minded  mother,  who  at  the  time 
of  the  burglary  is  meditating  an  elopement  with  a  scoundrel  named 
Belasys,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  before  her  marriage,  and 
when  she  was  the  most  innocent  of  schoolgirls,  this  same  Belasys 
nearly  accomplished  her  seduction.  Nixie  does  not,  of  course, 
appear  in  the  first  act,  which  sets  forth  the  childish  simplicity  of 
her  mother  and  the  rascality  of  her  mother's  married  lover.  The 
child's  opportunity — which  is  very  clumsily  introduced — comes  at 
the  end  of  the  play,  when  by  a  piece  of  odd  strategy  Belasys  hires 
a  burglar  to  help  him  carry  off  Nixie's  half- consenting  mamma.  It 
is  then  that  Nixie's  conversational  powers  overcome  the  evil 
designs,  not  only  of  the  '*  minion,"  but  of  the  superior  villain,  who 
overhears  what  the  good  little  girl  has  to  say,  and  is  suddenly 
brought  to  see  the  error  of  his  wa}rs.  All  this  fails  to  strike  us  as 
a  true  or  pleasant  sketch  of  the  influence  exerted  by  innocent 
childhood ;  but  praise  may  at  least  be  cordially  given  to  the 
rendering  of  the  unreal  characters  and  situations  by  the  company. 
Besides  little  Miss  Webling's  intelligent  delivery  of  Nixie's  lines, 
Helen  Forsyth's  winning  embodiment  of  the  childish  mother 
(Kitty),  and  Mr.  Waller's  powerful  rendering  of  Belasys  deserve 
special  note,  whilst  excellent  work  is  also  done  by  W.  Herbert 
(Bryan  Lawrence)  and  Mr.  Julian  Cross  (Bill  Hutchens)."  The 
play  was  produced  for  a  series  of  matinees. 

7th.  New  Theatre  Royal,  Angel  Road,  Edmonton. — 
Opened  under  the  lesseeship  and  management  of  Mrs.  Hall  (Miss 
Mabel  Hayes)  with  Sims  and  Pettitt's  Harbour  Lights.  The  act 
drop,  by  Telbin,  and  much  of  the  scenery  came  from  the  Olympic 
Theatre. 

7th.  St.  George's  Hall.  Carnival  Time. — For  the  Elaster 
novelty  at  St  George's  Hall,  a  new  piece  by  Malcolm  Watson,  set 
to  music  by  Comey  Grain,  was  tried,  and  was  much  liked,  for  the 
lyrics  were  pleasing,  the  music  flowing  and  harmonious,  and  the 
whole  bright  and  lively.  Alfred  Reid  had  a  capital  part  as 
Benjamin  Braid,  a  retired  London  tradesman,  who  goes  through  a 
number  of  adventures  in  Spain,  and  loses  his  heart  to  a  beauteous 
and    bewitching   widow,    Dofla    Carmen    (Fanny   Holland),    and 


38  April  Showers — The  Prince  and  the  Pauper,     capril,  1890. 

they  were  ably  assisted  by  Kate  Tully,  Avalon  Collard,  and  J.  C. 
Mackay.  Tommy  at  College^  Corney  Grain's  new  musical  sketch, 
was  one  of  the  merriest  and  wittiest  he  had  ever  written. 

9th.  Comedy.  April  Showers. — Three-act  comedy  by  Messrs. 
Romer  and  Bellamy.  First  of  a  series  of  Wednesday  and 
Saturday  matinees.  This  piece  was  originally  tried  at  a  fpiatinie  at 
Terry's  Theatre,  January  24th,  1889,  and  the  plot  was  given 
in  Dramatic  Notes  of  last  year.  Walter  Everard  and  Maude 
Millett  resumed  on  the  revival  the  characters  of  Charlie  Clincher 
and  Miss  Lawrence,  Nutcombe  Gould  played  Lord  Lacy  ;  Reeves 
Smith,  Frank  Lacy ;  E.  Dagnall,  Clincher  Senior  ;  Emily  Brunton, 
Mrs.  Lawrence ;  Annie  Hughes,  Miss  Lacy. — The  same  afternoon 
was  produced — 

Released, — One-act  drama  by  Charles  H.  Dickinson.  This 
proved  to  be  but  a  dreary  piece,  without  originality,  and  with  but 
one  situation  that  could  be  called  a  strong  one.  The  action 
s  supposed  to  take  place  in  Paris  in  1 848,  during  the  Revolution. 
Marie  is  looked  upon  by  the  world  as  the  unmarried  daughter  of 
Madame  Lasalle.  Under  this  supposition  she  is  courted  by 
Captain  Paul  Valette.  She  is,  however,  the  wife  of  Victor 
Ldroux,  a  swindler,  who  has  passed  five  years  at  the  galleys.  He 
ecscapes,  however,  and  returns  to  his  mother's  house,  demands 
a  sum  of  money,  and  insists  on  his  wife  accompanying  him  to 
America,  to  act  as  a  decoy  in  a  gambling  hell  he  means  to 
establish.  As,  however,  the  two  women  threaten  to  denounce  him 
as  a  leader  in  the  Revolution,  Victor  leaves  the  house,  to  re-enter 
it  again  almost  immediately,  mortally  wounded  by  a  shot  from  the 
soldiery  who  have  recognized  him.  As  he  dies,  and  his  wife  is 
thus  "  released,"  she  may,  we  imagine,  look  forward  to  union  with 
Captain  Valette.  Bassett  Roe  drew  a  forcible  picture  of  an 
unscrupulous  ruffian,  Victor  L^roux,  and  his  death  scene  was  well 
conceived.  Miss  Emmerson  as  Marie  Lasalle  was  hysterical,  and 
carried  conviction  neither  as  to  her  love  nor  her  despair,  and  her 
dress  was  quite  out  of  character.  Ada  Neilson  was  dignified  as 
Madame  Lasalle.  Hetty  Dene  as  Nanette  was  a  pert  and  pretty 
soubrette,  Luigi  Lablache  was  manly  as  Captain  Paul  Valette, 
and  Julian  Cross  made  the  small  part  of  Corporal  Geoi^es  stand 
out  in  bold  relief. 

1 2th.  Gaiety.  {Matinee)  The  Prince  and  the  Pauper. — Adapted 
by  Mrs.  Oscar  Beringer,  as  a  play  in  four  acts,  from  Mark  Twain's 
story  of  the  same  name.  Those  who  had  not  read  the  book, 
found  some  little  difficulty  in  following  the  play,  from  the  confusion 
arising  from  the  fact  that  Vera  Beringer  was  not  able  to  completely 


APRIL,  X890.]  Nixie,  39 

"  double "  the  parts,  and  was  compelled  to  call  in  the  aid  of 
Master  Alfred  Field-Fisher;  the  young  lady  and  gentleman 
changing  places  and  appearing  each  of  them  as  the  poor  boy  and 
the  Prince.  Tom  Canty,  the  pauper,  is  frightfully  ill-used  by  his 
drunken  father,  John  Canty.  He  strays  away  from  home  and 
arrives  at  the  gate  of  Westminster  Palace ;  there  he  is  brutally 
driven  back  by  the  sentry,  but  Exiward  Prince  of  Wales,  who  is  in 
the  courtyard,  causes  him  to  be  admitted,  and  to  him  Tom  dilates 
on  the  pleasures  of  bathing  in  the  river,  the  manufacture  of  mud 
pies  and  such-like  joys.  The  studious  boy-prince  is  fascinated  by 
the  freedom  of  such  an  existence,  and  makes  Tom  change  coats 
with  him.  The  Prince  then  goes  out,  forgetting  the  change  in  his 
appearance,  upbraids  the  sentry,  and,  as  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
threatens  him  with  punishment.  He  is  jeered  at  and  hustled  away 
by  the  crowd,  and  eventually  is  found  by  Mrs.  Canty,  who  takes 
him  for  her  own  boy.  John  Canty  comes  on  the  scene,  and  is 
nearly  strangling  him  for  running  away,  when  Miles  Hendon,  a 
kind-hearted  poor  gentleman,  takes  his  part,  and  a  brawl  ensuing, 
all  are  locked  up  in  the  Fleet  Prison.  There  the  Prince  announces 
himself  in  his  proper  character,  and  Hendon  after  humouring  him 
for  a  time,  at  length  is  led  to  believe  in  the  truth  of  his  story.  In 
the  meantime  Tom  Canty  has  been  treated  as  the  veritable  heir  to 
the  throne ;  his  insistences  that  he  is  only  Tom  Canty  are  treated 
by  the  courtiers,  and  even  by  his  father,  Henry  VHI.,  as  mental 
hallucinations.  The  Prince  and  Hendon  escape  from  prison,  and 
arrive  at  Westminster  just  in  time  to  prevent  the  coronation 
of  Tom  Canty  as  King  of  England  (for  Henry  has  died),  the 
Prince  being  able  to  prove  his  identity  by  the  production  of  the 
Great  Seal  of  England,  which  had  been  entrusted  to  him  by  his 
late  father,  and  which  the  lad  had  hidden  away  behind  a  suit  of 
Milanese  armour.  Grown-up  people  scarcely  approved  of  such  a 
very  strong  tax  on  their  imagination,  and  children,  who  so  enjoyed 
Lord  Fauntleroy  scarcely  understood  the  play  or  could  reconcile  it 
with  what  they  knew  of  English  history.  Vera  Beringer  was  best 
in  the  prison  scene,  but  was  for  the  most  part  affected  and  stagey. 
W.  H.  Vernon  was  the  very  fac-simile  of  Holbein's  pictures  of  the 
uxorious  king,  and  thoroughly  illustrated  the  petulance  and 
irritability  joined  with  the  sovereign  power  of  the  ailing  monarch. 
F.  H.  Macklin  was  excellent  as  the  generous,  kindly  Miles  Hendon, 
who  shelters  the  lad,  and  saves  him  from  being  scourged,  taking 
on  himself  the  punishment.  The  John  Canty  of  J.  G.  Taylor  was 
a  very  powerful  performance,  Edmund  Gurney  as  the  Earl 
of  Hertford,  Ernest  Hendrie  as   Lord  St.  John,  and  Annie  Irish 


40  She  Stoops  to  Conquer,  [April,  1890. 


as  the  unhappy  and  ill-treated  Mrs.  Canty^-deserved  favourable 
mention. 

12th.  Shaftesbury. — A  change  took  place  in  the  cast  of 
The  Middleman  at  a  matinee  performance  at  this  date.  Olga 
Brandon  appeared  as  Mary  Blenkarn  ;  Annie  Rose  as  Nancy ; 
Mrs.  Canninge  as  Mrs.  Chandler,  and  Alfred  Bishop  as  Joseph 
Chandler. 

14th.  Ladbroke  Hall.  All  a  Mistake. — One-act  comedietta, 
by  Mrs.  Newton  Phillips,  a  weak  attempt  at  making  capital  out  of 
a  presumed  heart-disease,  through  which  the  doctor  proposes  to 
his  patient. 

14th.  Park  Town  Hall,  Battersea.  Fickle  Fortune, — One- 
act  drama  by  Charles  D.  Steel,  produced  by  the  Pickwick  D.C. 

iSth.  Vaudeville.  {Matinee)  She  Stoops  to  Conquer. — ^The 
following  appeared  in  The  Sunday  Times  :  "  In  the  race  for  revival 
Thomas  Thorne  got  a  start  of  Mr.  Wyndham.  Truth  to  tell,  this 
production  appears  to  lack  the  spirit  that  artistic  rivalry  should 
have  prompted,  and  the  performance  was  certainly  dull.  Merri- 
ment and  characters  were  wanting,  and  Goldsmith's  essentially 
mirthful  comedy  dragged  its  five  acts  slowly  and  depressingly 
through  the  afternoon.  Thomas  Thorne  seemed  ill  at  ease  as 
Tony  Lumpkin,  and  could  not  get  hold  of  the  fun  of  the  character, 
though  he  performed  the  conventional  antics.  Winifred  Emery's 
Kate  Hardcastle  was  charmingly  girlish  and  graceful,  and  Mr. 
Kemble  and  Mrs.  Billington  were  admirable  exponents  of  the 
characters  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hardcastle.  Fred  Thome's  Diggory 
was  amusing,  but  the  performances  of  Messrs  Thalberg  and  Frank 
Gillmore  as  Young  Marlow  and  Hastings,  and  Ella  Bannister  as 
Miss  Neville,  call  for  no  particular  comment." 

ISth.  Globe. — looth  performance  of  A  Midsummer  Nights 
Dream. 

1 6th.  Adelphl     London  Day  by  Day. — Final  performance. 

1 6th.  Op£ra  COMIQUE.  {Matinee)  Juanna. — Tragedy  by  W. 
G.  Wills,  revived.  It  was  originally  produced  at  the  (old)  Court 
Theatre,  May  7th,  1881.  Forbes  Robertson  was  the  Don  Carlos 
de  Narcisso ;  Wilson  Barrett,  Friar  John ;  G.  M.  Anson,  Friar 
Philip ;  Madame  Modjeska  Juana  Esteban  ;  Ada  Ward,  Clara 
Perez.  The  play  was  then  produced  as  Juana^  and  was  in  four 
acts ;  it  obtained  but  a  succks  d'estime.  It  was  produced  in  its 
present  form,  in  three  acts,  at  the  Alexandra  Theatre,  Liverpool, 
in  October  1881,  under  the  title  of  The  Ordeal;  the  only 
notable  change  being  that  the  walling-up  of  Friar  John  as  a 
punishment  for  the  murder  of  which  he  accuses  himself  is  done 


April,  1890.]  Cmse  and  Co.  41 

away  with.  Frances  Ivor,  who,  on  May  24th,  1888,  achieved  a 
decided  success  as  Mathilde  Aerts  in  Midnight ;  or^  The  Wood- 
carver  of  Bruges^  enhanced  her  reputation  as  Juanna  Esteban  in 
the  play  under  notice.  Her  performance  was  not  altogether  a 
great  one,  but  in  the  tragic  scenes  and  in  her  madness,  the  actress 
manifested  considerable  power ;  it  was  a  want  of  passionate  love, 
in  the  first  act  particularly,  that  marred  her  representation  as  a 
whole.  Adrienne  Dairolles  was  disappointing  as  Clara  Perez. 
She  was  too  vixenish,  and  did  not  bring  into  prominence  the 
allurements  of  the  syren.  Leonard  Outram  carefully  illustrated 
the  depth  of  the  love  he  bore  the  woman  for  whom  he  risked  his 
life ;  but  the  best-played  part  was  that  of  Friar  Philip,  rendered 
with  a  racy  humour,  and  at  the  same  time  quaint  sententiousness, 
by  Sam  Johnson.  Ivan  Watson  was  good  as  Pedro,  a  Modus-like 
character. 

1 6th.  Fire  at  the  Theatre  Royal,  Birkenhead.  No  very 
extensive  damage  done. 

1 6th.  Death  of  Charles  Bull,  author  of  The  French  Doctor^  Love 
in  a  Lodge^  and  several  comediettas. 

17th.  Prince  of  Wales's.  {Matinee.)  Cerise  and  Co. — Mrs. 
Musgrave's  farcical  comedy  contained  very  clever  lines  and  some 
amusing  situations,  but  it  will  have  to  be  pulled  together  if  it  is 
to  make  such  a  reputation  as  Our  Flat  achieved.  It  has  no  plot  to 
speak  of,  but  is  simply  a  skit  on  ladies  of  title  associating  them- 
selves with  mercantile  concerns.  Lady  Kilkenny  is  the  Madame 
Cerise,  a  fashionable  milliner,  who,  to  start  her  business,  borrows 
;£^i,ooo  from  Lord  Adolphus  Perfect,  anything  but  a  perfect 
lord,  for  he  not  only  exacts  an  extortionate  interest,  but  actually 
obtains  the  money  he  advances  from  a  kind-hearted  American, 
Mr.  Penguine  Vanderbone,  under  the  plea  that  it  is  to  assist  a 
necessitous  lady.  Vanderbone  is  on  a  visit  to  Europe  with  his 
mother  and  cousin.  Miss  Virginia  Sutch,  a  wealthy  heiress,  who  is 
not  taken  with  the  craze  for  marrying  into  an  aristocratic  family, 
but  wishes  to  find  a  true-hearted  man,  with  some  "  grit  **  in  him, 
which  she  does  in  Mr.  Styleman,  an  impecunious  journalist.  He 
is  employed  by  Madame  Cerise  to  write  some  puffing  articles  on 
her  establishment;  to  make  these  more  fetching  he  engages  a 
photographer  to  take  views  of  the  show-room,  and  unluckily 
Vanderbone  is  caught  in  one  of  the  pictures  flirting  with  the 
pretty  manageress.  Miss  Blunt  This  brings  about  a  complication, 
which  of  course  is  eventually  cleared  up,  in  the  marriage  of 
Vanderbone  with  Madame  Cerise  (Lady  Kilkenny)  and  Miss 
Sutch   with   Styleman.     Myra    Kemble   was  pleasant  as    Lady 


42  The  Unendraper —  The  Green  Bushes,  [April,  1890. 

Kilkenny  ;  Lottie  Venne,  clever,  as  she  always  is,  as  the  American 
heiress,  Miss  Sutch.  Sylvia  Grey  as  Miss  Prettyman,  with  just  a 
soupfon  of  a  sauce,  and  an  amusing  flirtation  with  Barlow,  an 
amorous  page,  who  spends  his  pocket  money  on  sweeties  for  her 
(John  Le  Hay),  and  Eric  Lewis  as  Mr.  Styleman,  all  did  their 
best.  Emily  Thome  made  her  first  appearance  since  her  return 
from  Australia  as  Mrs.  Obadiah  Vanderbone,  a  "shoddy"  American 
millionaire,  and  played  the  part  well. 

1 7th.  Death  of  John  Bamett,  composer  of  The  Mountain  Sylphy 
1834 ;  Fair  Rosamond^  1836  ;  Farinelli^  1839  ;  ^^^  also  author  of 
The  Pet  of  the  Petticoats^  The  Carnival  of  Naples^  Before  Breakfast^ 
Mr.  Mallett,  and  Win  and  Wear  Her^  etc.  Was  director  of  the 
Olympic  Theatre  under  Madame  Vestris's  management,  1832, 
In  1839  married  a  daughter  of  the  violoncellist,  Robert  Lindley. 
Was  born  July  isth,  1802. 

1 7th.  Comedy.  {Matinie) — There  was  nothing  very  novel  in 
The  Linendraper.  Benjamin  Bazin,  a  retired  shopman,  the  linen- 
draper  (E.  Righton),  trusts  to  his  butler.  Lush  (Frank  Wood),  to 
teach  him  "  etiquette,"  and  Lush,  through  intercepting  a  telegram, 
imagines  from  the  information  contained  in  it  that  Sarah,  the 
housemaid,  is  Bazin's  daughter.  Sarah  (Cicely  Richards)  believes 
that  her  master  is  her  father,  and  her  outpourings  of  romantic 
filial  affection  are  taken  by  him  for  a  warmer  love.  Elinor  March, 
(Vane  Featherston),  who  has  been  adopted  by  Bazin,  refuses 
Captain  Harold  de  Broke  (Scott  Buist),  because  she  imagines  her 
union  with  him  will  bring  ruin  on  her  benefactor ;  but  eventually 
the  mistaken  notion  she  has  conceived  through  the  wiles  of  Mrs. 
Maitland  (Susie  Vaughan)  is  got  rid  of,  and  she  is  made  happy. 
The  applause  that  was  accorded  was  due  entirely  to  the  acting  of 
Messrs.  Righton,  Scott  Buist,  and  Frank  Wood,  and  Misses  Cicely 
Richards  and  Vane  Featherston.  Walter  McEwen  was  original 
and  clever  in  the  part  of  Reginald  Maitland,  a  naturalist  who 
discovers  that  his  love  for  the  pursuit  of  moths  and  butterflies  will 
not  altogether  shut  out  the  tender  passion. 

1 8th.  Victoria  Hall,  Bayswater.  Simon  the  Smith;  or,  A 
Mediceval  Strike. — Comic  operatic  romance.  Book  by  E.  W. 
Bowles  and  music  by  Louis  N.  Parker  and  Merton  Clark,  played 
by  the  "Folly"  Amateur  Dramatic  Company.  An  absurdly 
extravagant  piece  of  work. 

19th.  Adelphi.  Revival  of  The  Green  Bushes. — Buckstone's 
once  favourite  drama ;  but  the  play  was  not  received  with  quite 
the  enthusiasm  that  we  imagine  the  Messrs.  Gatti  expected 
Tastes  have  changed,  and  the  wild  improbabilities  of  travelling 


aprii^xSqo.]  London  Assurance — Delicate  Ground,  43 

showmen  figuring  among  "  Redsldns,"  and  taking  to  themselves 
squaws  as  wives  ;  and  an  American  Indian  Princess  suddenly 
developing  into  a  French  Countess,  with  all  the  distinction  and 
manner  of  a  grande  dame^ — are  incidents  not  accepted  as  readily  as 
they  were  some  years  aga  For  purposes  of  record  the  cast  of 
the  principals  is  given  elsewhere.  The  hit  of  the  evening  was 
made  by  Kate  James,  as  Nelly  O'Neil,  and  the  small  part  of 
Dennis,  the  blacksmith,  was  remarkably  well  played  by  Marshall 
Moore.  Bruce  Smith,  the  artist,  received  a  special  call  for  the 
beauty  of  his  scene,  a  street  in  Dublin  by  night,  in  act  iil 

2 1  St.  Gaiety. — ^Meyer  Lutz'  Annual  Matinee  :  A  Mere  BUnd, 
Little  Jack  Sheppard — Nellie  Farren  title  rdk  ;  Fred  Leslie,  Jona- 
than Wild ;  Minshull,  Blueskin  ;  Marion  Hood,  Winifred  Wood. 
Second  act  of  burlesque,  Ruy  Blas^  and  varied  programme. 

22nd  Avenue.  {Malin/e.)  London  Assurance. — F.  H.  Mack- 
lin.  Sir  Harcourt  Courtly  ;  Charles  Groves,  Max  Harkaway  ;  Yorke 
Stephens,  Charles  Courtly  ;  Charles  Dodsworth,  Spanker  ;  Sidney 
Valentine,  Dazzle ;  Mrs.  F.  H.  Macklin,  Lady  Gay  Spanker  ; 
Kate  Rorke,  Grace  Harkaway  ;   Lottie  Venne,  Pert 

22nd.  Shaftesbury.  Tie  Violin  Players. — ^Another  adapta- 
tion, in  one  act,  by  Alfred  Berlyn,  of  Francois  Copp^'s  Le  Luthier 
de  Crhnone^  in  which  Alfred  Bishop  played  Ferrari  ;  E.  S. 
Willard,  Phillipo ;  A.  Elwood,  Sandro ;  and  Olga  Brandon, 
Giannina.  Neither  the  acting  nor  the  piece  could  be  very  highly 
praised. 

23  rd.  Criterion.  {Matinee)  DelicaU  Ground,  Trying  It  On, 
and  Why  Women  Weep. — On  this  occasion  Charles  Wyndham 
showed  his  audiences  that  he  could  not  only  follow  in  the  footsteps 
of  Charles  Mathews,  but  in  some  respects  could  keep  pace  with  him 
in  the  race.  The  programme  contained  three  light  comediettas.  In 
two  of  these  Mr.  Wyndham  enacted  the  principal  parts,  so  we  will 
refer  to  them  first  In  Charles  Dance's  Delicate  Ground,  as 
Citizen  Sangfroid,  Mr.  Wyndham  was  true  to  the  character.  He 
was  always  cool,  calm,  and  collected  ;  as  Sangfroid  he  was  playing 
a  game  to  win  back  the  love  of  a  thoughtless  wife,  but,  with  all  his 
assumed  coolness,  he  took  care  to  convey  to  her  that  he  really  loved 
and  valued  her.  Citizen  Sangfroid  was  one  of  Charles  Mathews' 
favourite  characters — in  his  rapidity  of  deliverance  Mr.  Wyndham 
does  not  equal  the  great  original,  but  in  truth  and  earnestness  he 
certainly  surpasses  him.  Mary  Moore's  Pauline  showed  powers 
for  which  we  had  scarcely  given  her  credit  ;  the  pettishness,  the 
little  vanities  and  weaknesses  of  the  wife,  who,  loving  her  husband, 
did  not  wish  to  let  him  know  the  hold  he  had  on  her  affections^ 


44  7%^  Cabinet  Minister,  [April  1890. 

were  cleverly  displayed.  Geoi^e  Giddens,  as  Alphonse  de 
Grandier,  was  not  only  amusing,  but  apt  in  illustrating  how  a 
man  can  be  weak  in  his  words  and  empty-headed,  and  yet 
preserve  all  the  characteristics  of  a  gentleman. — Trying  It  On^ 
William  Droughts  farce,  gave  Mr.  Wyndham  an  opportunity  of 
contrasting  his  powers  as  a  rattle,  with  the  character  that  we  had 
seen  him  in  in  the  preceding  piece.  As  Potts  he  was  full  of  fun 
and  go,  and  caried  the  absurdity  along  most  successfully.  W.  Guise 
as  the  plodding  Mr.  Jobstock,  and  S.  Hewson  as  the  rather  dull- 
pated  Mr.  Tittlebat,  did  justice  to  their  characters.  Miss  FfoUiott 
Paget  was  a  handsome  Mrs.  Jobstock ;  E.  Leyshon  attractive  as 
Fanny  ;  and  E.  Penrose  filled  the  rdle  of  Lucy,  the  maid. —  Why 
Women  Weep  had  already  been  seen  at  the  Criterion.  F.  Emery 
resumed  his  character  of  Arthur  Chandos,  and  George  Giddens 
was  again  the  amusing  waiter,  Fritz  ;  C.  Crofton  was  a  little  tame  as 
Frank  Dudley.  E.  Leyshon  missed  her  opportunity  as  Madge, 
and  F.  Frances  was  not  quite  in  touch  with  the  part  of  Dora. 

23  rd.  Court.  The  Cabinet  Minister. — Even  the  brilliancy  of 
Mr.  Pinero's  dialogue — and  he  has  not  yet  written  any  so  brilliant 
in  its  pungent  satire  and  quick  repartee— could  prevent  some 
expressions  of  disapprobation  when  the  curtain  fell  on  The 
Cabinet  Minister.  The  fact  was,  that  the  audience  was  puzzled, 
Had  they  sat  out  a  farce,  which  was  merely  to  ridicule  the  follies 
of  modern  society  ? — or  was  it  a  comedy  in  which  they  were  to  feel 
interested  as  representing  the  troubles  and  anxieties  that  even 
those  in  the  higher  walks  of  life  must  suffer?  Some  of  the 
episodes  were  so  thoroughly  farcical,  whilst  on  the  other  hand  the 
distresses  of  the  unhappy  Lady  Twombley  were  so  real,  as  almost 
to  make  one  weep.  Then  there  were  so  many  characters  that  were 
mere  sketches,  clever  indeed,  but  that  seemed  to  require  elaborat- 
ing before  one  could  feel  that  they  were  realities.  The  plot  is  of 
the  slightest,  and  should  certainly  not  have  been  spread  over  more 
than  three  acts.  Sir  Julian  Twombley  is  the  Cabinet  Minister, 
but  a  disappointed  one.  He  is  anything  but  wealthy,  is  harassed 
for  money,  and  finds  a  comfort  and  soothing  of  his  troubles  by 
playing  on  the  flute  at  all  sorts  of  odd  times.  His  lot  is  none 
the  happier,  in  that  his  wife,  to  keep  up  appearances  and  to 
launch  her  son  and  daughter  well  in  life  by  prosperous  marriages, 
has  become  deeply  involved  in  debt,  and  is  in  the  power  of  the 
Hon.  Mrs.  Gaylustre  (really  a  fashionable  milliner),  and  the 
unmitigated  little  snob  of  a  broker,  Joseph  Lebanon.  These  two 
force  themselves  into  society  under  the  aegis  of  Lady  Twombley's 
introduction,  compel  her  to  obtain  them  an  invitation  to  one  of 


apru,  1890.]  Othello,  45 

her  great  relative's  houses  in  Scotland,  where  they  are  guilty  of 
all  sorts  of  offences  against  good  breeding.  Eventually  Lebanon, 
by  threats,  induces  his  victim  to  purloin  an  official  letter  relating 
to  a  canal  that  is  to  be  constructed  in  India,  that  he  may  use  his 
information  to  speculate  on  the  Stock  Exchange  Fortunately, 
Sir  Julian  Twombley  has  had  some  suspicions,  he  has  manu- 
factured a  letter  the  contents  of  which  are  in  direct  opposition  to 
the  intentions  of  the  Government  He  tells  his  wife  this,  when 
she,  in  an  agony  of  mind,  confesses  what  she  has  done.  She 
immediately  takes  advantage  of  her  knowledge  of  the  truth,  tele- 
graphs to  her  stockbroker  to  buy  shares,  and  thus  makes  such  a 
fortune  as  clears  off  all  their  liabilities,  and  enables  their  domestic 
barque  to  anchor  in  calm  water,  and  the  play  winds  up  with  a 
wild  dancing  of  the  "  strathspey."  People  are  used  to  laugh  at  Mrs. 
John  Wood's  eccentric  humour  ;  in  this  piece  they  not  only  had 
many  opportunities  for  doing  so,  but  of  seeing  her  in  another 
light,  that  of  a  woman  driven  almost  distracted  by  her  cares  and 
worries,  and  were  no  doubt  surprised  that  this  clever  actress  can 
so  powerfully  delineate  an  almost  new  line  of  character.  Arthur 
Cecil  was  truly  excellent  as  the  well  meaning,  not  too  brilliant, 
state  official ;  and  Brandon  Thomas  made  his  mark  as  a  High- 
land laird,  of  huge  stature,  vast  wealth,  and  of  few  words,  and 
completely  under  the  control  of  his  mother.  Lady  Macphail  (a 
talkative  dame  well  played  by  Mrs.  Edmund  Phelps).  Rosina 
Filippi  gave  a  clever  rendering  of  the  sly,  pushing  Hon.  Mrs. 
Gaylustre.  E.  Allan  Aynesworth  was  fresh  and  original  as  a 
young  man  of  the  present  day,  and  Florence  Tanner  as  a  reigning 
belle  Herbert  Waring,  as  an  unpolished  Colonial,  ai)d  Miss  Le 
Thi^re  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  society,  were  all  good  ;  in  fact,  the 
cast  generally  acquitted  themselves  well.  To  Weedon  Grossmith, 
however,  must  be  awarded  the  palm  for  his  novelty  of  treatment 
of  the  usurer  Lebanon.  It  was  a  thoroughly  natural  performance, 
without  any  apparent  straining  for  effect ;  and  yet  the  effect  came 
in  his  every  word  and  action,  and  though  many  could  but  say 
that  they  had  met  such  a  one  in  real  life,  no  such  picture  has  yet 
been  seen  on  the  stage. 

17th.  Globe.  Othello, — Mr.  Benson's  company.  The  lessee  as 
the  Moor  ;  Charles  Cartwright,  lago  ;  Ross,  Cassio  ;  Mrs.  Benson, 
Desdemona  ;  Rose  Mellor,  Emilia.  Of  this  the  Observer  said  : — 
Frank  Benson  has  won  much  credit  for  his  courage  in  including 
the  rdle  of  Othello  amongst  the  series  of  Shakespearean  imperson- 
ations which  he  has  just  brought  to  a  close  at  the  Globe.  It  is 
no  doubt  a  brave  thing  for  a  young  actor  of  Mr.  Benson's  very 


46  Changes — Esther  Sandraz,  cMay.iSqo. 

limited  histrionic  resources  to  undertake  a  task  which  tries  the 
mature  powers  of  the  most  experienced  tragedian  ;  but  whether 
it  is  bravery  of  a  kind  that  merits  commendation  is  another 
question.  Whether  it  be  praiseworthy  or  not,  however,  Mr. 
Benson's  bold  confidence  in  his  own  abilities  is  certainly  impres- 
sive, and  there  are  plenty  of  useful  lessons  to  be  learned  from 
the  spectacle  that  he  presented  when,  following  longo  intervallo 
Signor  Salvini's  reading  of  the  Moor's  jealous  rage,  he  turned  a 
strong  man's  passion  into  a  weak  woman's  hysteria.  He  left  us 
in  doubt  whether  he  less  suggested  the  Othello  of  Shakespeare  by 
his  loud  cries  of  forcible-feeble  frenzy  or  by  his  lackadaisical 
whispers  of  distress ;  and  if  the  "  promise "  conventionally 
attributed  to  such  inept  efforts  of  ambition  is  to  be  claimed  on 
behalf  of  this  impersonation  it  can  only  be  on  the  grounds  of  its 
limitation  to  a  couple  of  performances.  Much  may  be  forgiven 
to  an  experiment  which  is  only  once  to  be  repeated.  For  the 
rest,  the  support  secured  by  the  young  manager  was  careful,  if 
little  more,  except  perhaps  in  the  case  of  Stephen  Philips's  really 
dignified  Duke,  and  Mr.  Cartwright's  intelligent,  albeit  modern 
and  melodramatic,  lago." 

25  th.  Toole's.  {Matinee),  C/tanges. — A  three-act  comedy, 
written  by  John  Aylmer,  was  produced,  but  as  the  piece  will 
probably  never  be  heard  of  again — it  was  so  weak  and  the 
dialogue  so  puerile — there  is  no  occasion  to  dilate  on  it  Walter 
Arnauld  as  a  page,  and  Mary  Collette  as  a  bright,  impulsive  young 
lady,  were  the  only  two  in  the  cast  worthy  of  mention. 

26th.  Globe. — Last  night  of  Mr.  Benson's  season.  A  Midsum- 
mer Night's  Dream  was  played  ;  and  the  manager  received  an 
ovation. 

28th.  Grand.  Mary  Stuart — Mrs.  Bandmann  Palmer  ap- 
peared in  the  title  rdle. 


V. 

May. 

1st.  KiLBURN  Town  Hall.  Daisy. — Comedy  opera,  by  F. 
Grove  Palmer ;   music  by  Henry  J.  Wood. 

3rd.  St.  James's.  Esther  Sandraz. — This  was  referred  to  in 
Dramatic  Notes  of  last  year,  the  play  having  been  produced  at 
the  Prince  of  Wales's  Theatre,  on  June  i  ith,  with  Amy  Roselle  in 
the  title  rdle.     The  special  features  of  the  present  performance 


May,  is^o.]  Louis  XL — A  Miser,  47 

were  the  excellent  acting  of  Marion  Lea,  F.  Everill,  Charles 
Calvert,  and  H.  De  Lange.  Charles  Sugden  was  cold  and  un- 
impassioned,  Arthur  Bourchier  earnest  and  impressive.  Mrs. 
Langtry  was  unequal,  and  was  at  her  best  in  the  tragic  and 
contemptuous  passages.  After  a  time  Violet  Armbruster  appeared 
as  Blanche  in  place  of  Miss  Williams.  Esther  -  Sandraz^  which 
was  accorded  a  most  favourable  reception,  was  preceded  by 
The  Tiger^  a  musical  farce,  adapted  by  F.  C.  Bumand,  from 
Taming  a  Tiger^  and  set  to  music  by  Edward  Solomon.  It  met 
with  unqualified  disapproval — for  the  libretto  was  poor  in  fun, 
and  the  music  not  what  we  generally  have  from  the  composer. 
Charles  Colnaghi,  a  well-known  amateur,  who  made  his  professional 
dibut  as  Philip  Fuller,  did  his  best  to  save  the  fortunes  of  the 
piece. 

3rd.  Lyceum.     {Matinee) — Louis  XL  was    revived,   and  W. 
Terriss  reappeared  here  and  made  a  picturesque  Nemours. 

Sth.  Club  Theatre,  Bedford  Park.  A  Sicilian  LdylL — 
Original  pastoral  play  by  John  Todhunter.  Possessed  considerable 
merit,  though  his  flowing  and  vigorous  lines  were  only  done  justice 
to  by  Amaryllis,  Florence  Farr  (Mrs.  Edward  Emery),  whose  ex- 
perience enabled  her  to  cope  with  the  delivery  of  blank  verse, 
though  Lily  Linfield  delivered  them  with  archness  and  piquancy. 
As  Thestylis,  she  danced  with  the  abandon  of  a  very  Bacchante, 
and  gained  a  well-deserved  encore.  Alcander,  a  mountain  shepherd, 
who  conquers  the  aversion  of  Amaryllis  to  wedded  life  by  sheer 
force  of  will,  was  vigorously  portrayed  by  H.  M.  Paget ;  and  John 
Smith  as  Daphnis,  another  shepherd,  who  is  at  first  enamoured  of 
the  hard-hearted  Amaryllis,  but  is  consoled  by  Thestylis,  to  whom 
he  transfers  his  affection,  spoke  his  lines  well.  A  more  accurate 
judgment  would  have  been  formed  of  A  Sicilian  Ldyll  had 
Mr.  Todhunter  provided  a  few  printed  copies  of  his  work.  The 
incidental  music  was  composed  by  Bertram  Luard  Selby,  and 
was  melodious ;  and  the  very  appropriate  choruses  were  efficiently 
rendered  by  Mrs.  Campbell  Perugini,  Misses  Christine  and  Janet 
Connell,  William  Allen,  etc..  The  picturesque  processions  and 
dances  were  cleverly  arranged  by  Miss  Linfield,  more  particularly 
bearing  in  mind  the  circumscribed  space  at  her  command.  Mr. 
Lys  Baldry,  who  designed  the  artistic  costumes  and  properties, 
and  painted  most  of  the  tasteful  scenery,  deserved  great  credit  for 
the  production. 

5th.  Globe.  A  Miser. — One-act  drama  by  Julian  Cross  ;  was 
played  for  the  first  time  in  London.  There  was  considerable 
literary  merit  on  the  part  of  the  author,  who  filled  the  title  rdle 


48  Theodora — Rachel  CMay,  1890. 

as  Gabriel  Brandon.  The  plot  was  flimsy,  and  consisted  in  the 
endeavours  of  Harold,  a  nephew,  to  get  the  miser  confined  in  a 
madhouse,  a  conspiracy  which  is  defeated  by  the  opportune 
return  of  Gabriel  Brandon's  son,  Philip,  supposed  to  have  been 
drowned  at  sea.  On  this  evening  Nixie^  transferred  from  Terry's, 
was  the  principal  item  in  the  programme. 

5th.  Princess's.  Theodora. — Is  a  play  that  was  written  specially 
for  Madame  Bernhardt ;  it  is  one  in  which  she  is  great,  because 
she  is  a  great  actress,  but  it  is  not  a  good  play,  though  a  showy 
one.    For  the  critical  to  enjoy  it  the  heroine  must  be  impersonated 
by  an  artist  of  the  first  rank — for  she  has  to  show  us  how  a  girl 
who  began  life  in  the  circus  could  so  bewitch  an  Emperor  as  to 
become  his  consort ;  and  who  after  she  wore  the  diadem  could 
still  delight  in  mingling  with  her  former  companions  ;  who,  whilst 
being  the  ruling  power  of  the  state,  could  risk  all  in  her  wild,  mad 
passion  for  a  young  Greek ;  a  woman  who  can  wind  her  husband 
round  her  finger,  who  is  as  iron  to  her  enemies  but  as  wax  to  her 
lover,  to  save  whom  she  will  in  cold  blood  pierce  to  the  heart 
with  a  bodkin  taken  from  her  hair,  an  unfortunate  creature,  who 
might  under  the  agony  of  the  torture  betray  his  fellow  conspirator. 
Grace  Hawthorne  had  already  filled  the  part  with  considerable 
success  in  the  provinces,  and  though  she  could  not  altogether 
look  the  character  or  rise  to  the  heights  of  grandeur  that  it 
requires,  succeeded  in  rendering   it  a  capable  performance,  and 
one  far  greater  than  was   anticipated.     Leonard   Boyne  was  at 
his  best  when  confessing  how  unwittingly  he  had  betrayed  his 
fellow  conspirators.     Charles  Cartwright's  rendering  of  Marcellus 
left  nothing   to  be  desired ;    his    great    scene  when   beseeching 
Theodora  to  put  an  end  to  him  was  most  effective.     W.  H.  Ver- 
non was  to  the  letter  the  crafty,  superstitious,  and  craven  Emperor. 
George  W.  Cockburn,  Marie  Stuart,  and  Dolores  Drummond,  were 
good.     The  piece  was  splendidly  staged,  the  dresses  were  of  the 
costliest  description,  and  the  mounting  altogether  lavish,  so  that 
as  a  spectacle  alone  Theodora  managed  to  attract  large  audiences 
for  some  considerable  time.     Mr.  Buchanan's  version  is  a  good 
one,  but  though  his  allowing  the  Empress  to  poison  herself  and  so 
die  with  Andreas,  afforded  a  tableau  and  a  scene  for  the  heroine, 
I  doubt  whether  it  was  as  effective  as  the  curtain  falling  on  the 
supposition  that  she  would  suffer  from  the  silken  bowstring,  as 
in  the  original.     When  Miss  Hawthorne  took  the  play  on  tour 
again   Fuller  Mellish  was   highly  successful  in  the  character  of 
Andreas.  ^ 

7th.  Haymarket.     {Matinee.)     Rachel— I^'^'^&im^^V^Xx^, 


May.  iSgo.]  A  Modem  Marriage.  49 

by  Clo  Graves ;  introduced  Laura  Villiers  in  the  title  rSle,  and 
though  the  actress  was  not  equal  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
character,  there  were  glimpses  of  power  and  at  times  almost 
genius,  particularly  in  the  final  moments  of  the  death  scene, 
where  the  dead  actress  is  supposed  to  roll  down  some  steps. 
The  story  upon  which  the  piece  is  founded  appeared  in  Hood's 
Comic  Annual  under  the  title  of  "Death  and  Rachel,"  and  tells 
of  the  despair  of  the  great  French  actress  when  she  discovers  that 
her  fate  is  sealed,  and  that  she  has  only  a  few  more  hours  to  live. 
— ^The  event  of  the  afternoon  was  the  appearance  of  Julia  Neilson 
as  Clarice  in  Gilbert's  play,  Co^nedy  and  Tragedy.  Those  who 
had  formed  a  high  opinion  of  the  young  actress's  capacities  were 
not  disappointed.  Miss  Neilson  fairly  surpassed  every  expecta- 
tion, whether  as  simulating  the  "  comedy,"  or  in  her  agony  of  the 
'*  tragedy,"  and  took  the  position  of  the  coming  actress  of  the  day. 
Fred  Terry  was  a  distinguished  and  impassioned  d'Aulnay,  and 
Lewis  Waller  dignified  and  cool  as  the  Due  d'Orl^ans. 

8th.  Sale  at  Messrs.  Foster's  Gallery,  54,  Pall  Mall,  of  the 
theatrical  properties,  etc.,  used  under  the  Bancroft  management 
at  the  Haymarket  and  old  Prince  of  Wales's  Theatres. 

8th.  Comedy.  {Matinee)  A  Modern  Marriage — Play  in  four 
acts  by  Neville  Doone ;  turned  out  to  be  but  a  very*  crude  work, 
with  a  totally  unnecessary  fourth  act,  and  written  at  times  in  a 
very  slipshod  manner.  Walter  Trevor  (Royce  Carleton)  is  an 
adventurer  who  has  obtained  the  post  of  secretary  to  Sir  Richard 
Arlingford  (J.  Beauchamp).  He  is  also  a  Russian  spy.  He  steals 
important  despatches ;  abstracts  the  one  particular  document,  and 
puts  the  remainder  in  the  pocket  of  Henry  Edwards's  coat,  and, 
to  cast  suspicion  on  him,  leaves  an  envelope  addressed  to  the 
latter  in  the  bureau  from  which  the  papers  have  been  abstracted. 
Edwards  (Lewis  Waller)  is  an  artist  with  whom  Lilian  is  in  love ; 
he  has  just  been  accepted,  but,  of  course,  being  charged  with  his 
crime,  he  leaves  England  and  is  supposed  to  die  in  Russia. 
Lilian  (Alma  Murray)  at  the  instance  of  her  father,  marries 
Walter  Trevor,  now  Lord  Dacre.  Edwards  suddenly  reappears 
and  taxes  Trevor  not  only  with  having  stolen  the  despatches,  but 
also  with  having,  by  false  evidence,  assumed  his  (Edwards's)  title 
and  estates.  Trevor  braves  it  out,  feeling  sure  that  nothing  will 
be  done  to  him  on  account  of  his  wife.  His  career  is  ended  by 
his  accomplice,  John  Middleton  (Julian  Cross),  whose  daughter  he 
has  betrayed,  but  in  his  dying  moments  he  utters  words  that 
induce  Lilian  to  believe  that  Edward  has  shot  him.  The  fourth 
act  is  used  to  clear  up  this  mistake,  and  is  only  redeemed  by  an 

4 


50  She  Stoops  to  Conquer — Paul  Kauvar.  [May,  1890. 

excellent  love  scene,  most  unconventionally  and  naturally  played 
by  C.  Kent  (Major  Sportington),  and  Ellaline  Terriss  (Eva  Urling- 
ford).  Lady  Blessington  was  a  ridiculous  character,  who  sets  a 
canine  pet  above  the  whole  human  species,  but  was  made  almost 
possible  by  Robertha  Erskine.  The  universal  opinion  was,  that 
the  acting  of  the  remainder  of  the  principals  was  worthy  of  the 
greatest  praise. 

loth.  Criterion.      {RevivaL)      She    Stoops    to   Conquer. — 
Charles   Wyndham   knows  his  audience  so  well    that    the    fact 
in  a  measure   accounts   for  his   fresh  departure  in   the  general 
acting  of   Goldsmith's  time-honoured  comedy.     The  patrons  of 
the  Criterion  prefer  to   laugh  ;   they,  as  a   rule,  like  everything 
taken    in    a  lively,    rattling    manner ;    and    so    young    Marlow's 
bashfulness  was  made  almost  farcical  in  its  hesitation  and  ultra 
shyness.     Hardcastle,  as  represented  by  W.  Blakeley,  instead  of 
being  a  sententious,  well-informed,  and  rather  stately  character, 
was  a  fatuous  old   gentleman  who,  being  made  the  butt  of  his 
young  visitors,  became  a  laughing-stock ;  and  the  Tony  Lumpkin 
of  Mr.  Giddens  was  a  mischievous  rattlepated  youth,  not  by  any 
means  obtuse,  but  rather  cunning  than  otherwise,  and,  notwith- 
standing his  association  with  pot-house  companions,  retaining  the 
manners  of  a  gentleman.     The  Mrs.  Hardcastle  of  Miss  Victor 
was  most   in   accordance  with  tradition — still  a  vain  silly  lady, 
wrapped   up   in   her  cubbish  offspring  and   blind   to  his  faults. 
The  Miss  Hardcastle  of  Mary  Moore  was  ladylike,  but  a  little 
wanting  in  the  coquetry  and  dash  of  the  character.     W.  Draycott 
was  fairly  good  as  Hastings,  and  Eleanor  Leyshon  attractive  as 
Miss  Neville.    The  Diggory  of  S.  Valentine  was  good.    A  number 
of  "  gags  "  were  introduced  which  were  quite  unnecessary,  and  the 
play  was  reduced  to  three  acts,  with  tableau  curtains  to  allow 
for  the  changes  of  scene,  which  were  effected  with  marvellous 
rapidity.     Old  playgoers  scarcely  approved  of  the  new  reading. 
The  mounting  of  the  piece  was  very  handsome. — She  Stoops  to  Con- 
quer was  preceded  by  A.  C.  Troughton's  comedietta.  Living  Too 
Fasty  which  was  only  noticeable  for  the  efficient  manner  in  which 
the  character  of  Julia  was  represented  by  Miss  F.  Frances, 
loth.  Lyceum. —  The  Bells  revived  in  evening  bill. 
1 2th.    Drury    Lane.     Paul  Kauvar. — Mr.  Steele  Macka/s 
drama,  which  is  said  to  have  had  a  four  years'  continuous    suc- 
cessful run  in  America,  was  received  with  much  enthusiasm  on  its 
opening   performance  in  this   country — due    principally    to    the 
excellence  of  the  acting  of  three  of  the  principals.     The  language 
is  grandiloquent,  and  there  is  one  great  weakness  in  the  drawing 


May,  1890.]  Poul  Kouvar.  51 

of  the  heroine,  who,  loving  a  man  sufficiently  well  to  marry  him 
secretly,  should  yet  desert  him  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  her 
father.  The  scene  is  laid  in  France  in  1794,  the  time  of  the 
Revolution.  Honore  Albert  Maxime,  Due  de  Beaumont,  a 
Royalist,  has,  under  the  assumed  name  of  George  Leblanc,  been 
sheltered  with  his  daughter,  Diane,  from  the  persecution  of  the 
Revolutionary  Tribunal,  by  Paul  Kauvar,  "  painter  and  patriot." 
The  young  artist  has  so  won  the  heart  of  the  fair  aristocrat  that 
she  marries  him  secretly,  for  she  dreads  the  anger  of  her  proud 
father  should  he  hear  of  her  misalliance^  as  he  would  think  it. 
Masquerading  as  a  Jacobin  is  the  Marquis  de  Vaux,  known  as 
Gouroc.  He  is  also  in  love  with  Diane,  and,  with  a  view  to 
separate  her  from  Kauvar,  his  bosom  friend,  he  leads  the  Duke  to 
suspect  the  latter  of  a  design  to  betray  him.  The  Duke  informs 
his  host  of  his  intention  of  leaving  his  roof — of  course  taking  his 
daughter  with  him.  Kauvar  suggests  that  nowhere  else  will  they 
be  so  safe,  and  that,  at  least,  Diane  should  not  be  put  to  the 
dangers  attending  flight,  and  that  she  should  remain.  The  Duke 
insists  ;  so,  in  his  capacity  of  "  President  of  the  Revolutionary 
Section  of  Fraternity,"  Kauvar  signs  two  passes,  one  for  the  Duke 
alone,  the  other  for  his  daughter  also.  Diane  is  to  decide 
whether  she  will  go  or  stay,  and  she,  who  is  supposed  to  love  her 
husband  to  idolatry,  decides  to  leave  him  and  go  with  her  father. 
Worn  out  and  wearied  with  anxiety  and  excitement,  Kauvar 
hurriedly  signs  a  warrant  for  arrest,  the  name  in  which  is  illegible. 
This  is  compassed  by  the  Marquis — for  just  as  the  Duke  and 
Diane  are  leaving,  the  former  is  arrested,  and  at  once  brands 
Kauvar  as  having  betrayed  him.  The  second  act  takes  place  in 
the  "  Large  Hall  in  the  Prison  of  the  Conciergerie."  The  Duke 
is  tried  and  condemned  to  the  guillotine.  The  Marquis  promises 
he  shall  be  saved  if  Diane  will  consent  to  become  his  wife.  She 
yields,  determining  to  do  away  with  herself  once  her  father  has 
escaped.  Paul  Kauvar  appears,  and  is  informed  by  the  Marquis 
of  the  fate  awaiting  the  Duke,  and  so  the  unhappy  husband,  to 
prove  how  groundless  are  the  suspicions  entertained  against  him, 
tells  his  supposed  friend  of  his  marriage,  commits  his  wife  to  his 
care,  and,  assuming  the  cloak  of  the  Duke,  answers  to  the  name, 
and  goes  forth  for  execution.  In  the  third  act  we  are  taken  to 
the  "  Headquarters  of  the  Royalists  in  La  Vendue."  The  Duke 
and  his  daughter  have  found  refuge  with  General  Delaroche,  the 
commander  of  the  Royalist  forces,  and  in  attendance  on  them  is 
the  Marquis.  He  thinks  the  time  ripe  for  gaining  his  long- 
cherished   desire  ;  he  proposes  for    the  hand  of  Diane,  and   her 


52  .  Paul  Kauvar,  [May,  1890. 

father  at  once  commands  his  daughter  to  accept  him.     But  in  the 
meantime  Diane  has  learnt  how  Kauvar  (who  is  not  seen  in  this 
act  at  all)  has  saved  her  father's  life,  and  how  he  also  has  escaped, 
for  his  place  has,  in  turn,  been  taken  by  a  good  priest,  the  Abb^ 
St.  Cyr  ;  and  how  Kauvar  now  holds  a  command  in  the  Revolution- 
ary troops.     She  confesses  to  her  marriage  with  Kauvar.     This 
infuriates  her  father,  who  at  once  casts  her  off,  heaping  contumely 
on  her  for  her  treason  to  her  order  in  wedding  with  a    ^^  sans 
mlotte!*     This  changes  Diane  from  a  weak  and  suppliant  woman 
into  a  grand,  self-reliant  creature.     She  upbraids  her  father  for  his 
want  of  generosity  to  one  who  has  proved  himself  so  noble,  and  in 
her  turn  casts  off  her  father,  and   rushes  away,   determined   to 
discover  her  husband  and  follow  his  fortunes  and  that  of  his  party. 
In  the  fourth  act,  in  a  mSl^e  between  the  Republicans  and  the 
Royalists.     Kauvar   is  taken    prisoner,    and    is    brought    before 
General  Delaroche.    As  no  quarter  is  given,  Paul  is  to  be  shot,  but 
he  has  behaved  so  bravely,  and  is  so  bold  and  earnest  in  manner, 
that  the  General  wishes  to  save  his  life.      He  induces  him  to  tell 
his  name  and  to  speak  of  his  past,  and  eventually  liberates  him  on  his 
parole  that  he  will  not  bear  arms  against  the  King.     Just  then  the 
headquarters    are  carried  by  storm  by   the  Republicans.     They 
proceed  to  wreck  the  building,  and  drag  forth  from  their  hiding- 
places  the  Duke,  Diane,  and  the  Marquis.     The  latter*s  treachery 
in  obtaining  the  warrant  is  proved  by  Dodolphe  Potin,  and  he  is 
supposed  to  be  torn  to  pieces  by  the  mob  as  a  spy  and  a  traitor 
to  their  cause,  whilst  the  lives  of  the  Duke  and  Diane  are  saved 
by  the  entry  of  General  Kleterre,  who  announces  that  Robespierre 
is  dead,  and  that  the  Reign  of  Terror  is  at  an  end.     The  Duke 
heartily  accepts  Kauvar  as  his  son-in-law,  and  the  curtain  falls. 
The  part  of  Paul  Kauvar  is  of  that  romantic  order  which  is  well 
suited  to  W.  Terriss,  and  he  certainly  held  the  house.  Miss  Millward 
has  her  one  grand  opportunity  in  the  third  act,  and  the  actress 
fully  availed  herself  of  it.     Mr.  Henry  Neville  was  the  polished 
yet    contemptuous   noble    as    the    Due    de    Beaumont.      Arthur 
Stirling  was  genial  yet  impressive  as  General  Delaroche.     Ernest 
Hendrie  acted  to  the  life   as  Carrac,  one  of  those  bloodthirsty 
fiends  that  the  Revolution  produced.     Herbert  Lewin  (young  Mr. 
Terriss)  spoke  his   lines   remarkably  well.     The  comic   element 
was  quite  safe   in  the  hands  of  such   clever  representatives  as 
Victor  Stevens  and  Edith  Bruce ;  and  Mrs.  Clifton  as  Scarlotte 
was    a    true   type    of  the  sanguinary   hag.      Paul  Kauvar  was 
preceded  by  the   farce  of   The  Married  Rake^  in   which   Victor 
Stevens  as  Mr,  Flighty  successfully  bore  the  brunt  of  being    a 


may,i890w]  In  Love — As  Large  as  Life,  55 

gentleman  who,  in  punishment  for  his  flirtations  with  a  fair  lady 
at  Richmond,  is  in  his  turn  tricked  into  the  belief  that  his  wife  is 
receiving  letters  and  the  attentions  of  a  gallant  officer. 

1 3th.  Terry's.  {Matinee,) — Two  new  pieces  were  played  :  /;/ 
Love^  a  comedietta  (author  unannounced),  though  with  occasional 
flashes  of  humour  and  smart  dialogue,  was  generally  weak.  A 
young  fellow  who  is  loved  by  an  artless  and  very  charming  girl, 
disregards  the  treasure  he  may  possess,  and  wants  a  woman  who 
can  shine  in  every  way.  He  is  brought  to  his  senses  by  the  girl's 
sister-in-law,  who  assumes  to  be  a  perfect  paragon,  but  makes 
herself  hateful  by  the  airs  and  graces  she  gives  herself.  This 
part,  Amabel  Burton,  was  well  played  by  Irene  Rickards,  who 
also  sang  nicely. — ^The  trifle  preceded  As  Large  as  Life^  a  new 
farcical  piece  in  three  acts  by  Arthur  Shirley.  The  author  has 
captured  remarkably  funny  ideas,  but  must  rewrite  his  piece,  for 
it  hung  fire  lamentably  at  times ;  with  fresher  dialogue  and  the 
situations  brought  closer  together  it  would  be  very  amusing.  An 
impecunious  artist,  Mulready  Splurge,  for  want  of  a  model  makes 
sketches  of  his  opposite  neighbour,  Ulysses  Tinkler,  a  harmless 
fellow  in  love  with  Elsie  Bimble.  These  sketches  he  develops 
in  three  characters — all  with  the  same  face.  The  one  represents 
a  lion-tamer,  the  other  a  celebrated  actress  at  the  "  El  Dorado," 
and  the  third  a  private  gentleman.  The  canvasses  are  given  as 
security  to  a  landlord  for  an  unpaid  hotel  bill.  He  disposes  of 
two  of  them — the  actress  to  a  silly  little  fop  who  is  in  love  with 
her  ;  the  other  to  a  fascinating  widow,  Mrs.  Morency  (well  played 
by  Adrienne  DairoUes),  who  purchases  it  to  hang  in  her  drawing- 
room  as  the  portrait  of  her  husband,  and  so  put  a  stop  to  the 
attentions  of  Ruccio  and  Graccio,  two  Corsicans  who  persecute 
her  with  attentions.  These  parts  are  cleverly  written  and  were 
very  drolly  acted  by  Messrs.  Henry  Bedford  and  Ivan  Watson. 
Joshua  Bimble,  from  seeing  the  picture  of  the  private  gentleman, 
is  led  to  believe  that  it  is  Splurge,  whose  relatives  wish  to  bring 
about  a  match  with  Elsie.  Mrs.  Splurge,  with  her  baby,  comes 
in  search  of  her  truant  lord,  and  recounts  her  sorrows  to  Bimble, 
so  that  when  the  latter  tries  to  pay  his  addresses  to  Elsie,  he  is 
looked  upon  as  a  married  man  who  has  deserted  his  wife.  At 
Mrs.  Morenc/s,  when  the  picture  of  the  "  lion-tamer "  is  seen, 
poor  Tinkler  is  present  at  a  party,  and  the  artful  widow  makes 
him  own  to  being  her  husband,  and  he  is  regarded  by  Bimble  as  a 
bigamist,  and  is  challenged  by  both  Corsicans.  Fleeing  from  them 
he  takes  refuge  in  the  Zoological  Gardens,  and  meets  the  little 
silly  fop,  who  takes  him  for  the  beautiful  actress  masquerading 


54  The  Barrister — A  Convicts  Wife,  [Way,  i-s^o. 

in  men's  clothes,  the  actress  being  really  Tinkler's  twin  sister,  a 
virtuous  matron,  who  closely  resembles  him.  The  Corsicans  in 
pursuit  come  upon  Tinkler  and  throw  him  into  the  bear-pit,  from 
which  he  is  happily  rescued,  and  after  his  trials — Splurge  having 
explained  away  how  the  unfortunate  Tinkler  has  had  his  face 
made  unwarrantable  use  of — is  the  means  of  his  being  accepted 
•by  Bimble  for  Elsie.  The  character  of  Tinkler  was  one  that 
Charles  Hawtrey  or  Mr.  Glenney  would  have  revelled  in — but  as 
an  apology  was  made  for  Mr.  Kersley  that  he  was  suffering  from 
a  severe  cold,  etc., 'his  shortcomings  were  forgiven. 

iSth.  Death  of  Brinsley  Sheridan — proprietor  of  the  Theatre 
Royal,  Warrington,  and  an  actor  well  known  in  the  provinces 
— aged  SS.  He  played  Soft  Tommy  Shuttleworth,  in  Grelleys 
Money^  more  than  3,000  times. 

1 6th.  Lyric  Theatre. — Horace  Sedger  acquired  a  long  lease, 
and  entered  into  possession  of  this  theatre 

17th.  Royalty. —  The  Barrister,  by  J.  H.  Darnley  and 
G.  Manville  Fenn,  revived  under  Miss  Violet  Melnotte's  manage- 
ment. And  on  the  same  night  F.  W.  Broughton's  comedietta, 
The  Bailiff,  was  seen  for  the  first  time  in  London.  In  it  a  rather 
cruel  practical  joke  is  played  by  Benjamin  Grattan  (R.  Medlicott) 
on  his  brother  Daniel  (Walter  McEwen).  Benjamin,  having  been 
assisted  by  Daniel  some  years  before  to  emigrate  to  Australia, 
returns,  and  pretends  to  be  the  "bailiff"  in  possession,  whereas 
he  has  really  come  to  relieve  his  brother's  necessities  and  repay 
his  former  kindness.  Henry  Bedford  afterwards  played  Benjamin 
Grattan  with  great  humour. 

1 9th.  Lyceum. — Louis  XL  placed  in  evening  bill 

1 9th.  Grand.  A  Convicts  Wife ;  or,  The  Romance  of  Mar- 
riage. — The  four-act  drama,  by  W.  Sapte,  Jun.,  was  originally 
tried  at  the  Prince  of  Wales's  Theatre,  London,  on  Friday  after- 
noon, May  31st,  1889.  The  plot  of  the  play,  then  entitled 
Marah,  was  fully  given  in  DRAMATIC  Notes  of  that  year.  It 
has  since  that  date  been  strengthened,  and  was  certainly  well 
received  by  the  Islington  audiences.  In  the  revival  Mrs.  B.  M. 
De  Solla  (Mrs.  Grey),  Miss  M.  Schubert  (Marguerite  Cordaix), 
and  Ivan  Watson  (Bougeron)  most  satisfactorily  resumed  their 
original  characters.  The  remainder  of  the  cast  was  as  follows : 
Florence  West  (Lilian  Grey),  Mrs.  C.  L.  Carson  (Winifred,  a 
bright  performance),  J.  H.  Barnes  (Geoffrey  Blount,  R.N.),  Lewis 
Waller  (Paul  Gamant,  powerfully  played),  Scott  Buist  (Harvey 
Holmes,  good),  Willie  Drew  (Jack  Brande,  cleverly  acted),  C.  H. 
Thombury  (Mr.  Hunt),  and  Milton  Buist  (Waiter). 


May,  1890.]  My  Mother.  55 


20th.  Toole's.  {Matinee)  My  Mother, — Original  farce,  in  three 
acts,  by  Amy  Steinberg.  Like  many  farcical  comedies  the  strength 
of  this  one  lay  in  its  first  act,  which  was  remarkably  clever.  Amy 
Darlington  (an  assumed  name)  is  a  captivating  young  widow,  who 
has  been  mairied  to  an  old  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Turner, 
who  has  left  her  Job  Turner,  a  hulking  son  by  his  first  marriage, 
and  considerably  older  than  herself.  He  is  an  idle,  shiftless 
fellow,  gfiven  to  betting,  boxing,  and  who  will  insist  on  calling 
her  "Mother."  Adonis  Featherfield,  a  young  lawyer,  is  a  widower, 
and  his  late  wife  has  left  him  a  stout,  middle-aged  daughter, 
F^licit^  Blobbs,  who  calls  him  "  Papa."  The  respective  relicts  speak 
of  their  incubi,  for  they  are  nightmares  to  both,  as  mere  children 
— for  Amy  and  Adonis  are  thinking  of  trying  the  matrimonial 
lottery  again,  and  both  dread  that  either  should  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  their  being  burdened  with  such  grown-up  terrors. 
They  are  stopping  at  the  house  of  Sir  Dallas  Dallas,  when 
F^licit^,  of  whom  Adonis  is  in  salutary  dread,  follows  him  up. 
F^Iicit^  is  romantic ;  she  has  once  met  a  Captain  Compass,  and 
imagines  he  is  in  love  with  her.  Adonis  has  kept  up  the  delusion 
to  quiet  her  by  writing  her  letters  as  though  from  Compass.  If 
he  marries  before  F^licitd,  he  will  lose  a  great  portion  of  his  first 
wife's  fortune.  He  knows  the  stepdaughter  will  throw  every 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  his  union,  when  a  happy  thought  strikes 
his  friend,  Tom  Meredith — Why  not  get  somebody  to  impersonate 
Captain  Compass  ?  He  has  been  away  for  years  ;  he  must  have 
altered  considerably  in  appearance,  and  F^licit6  is  so  anxious  to 
get  married  that  she  will  not  be  too  particular.  The  conspirators 
think  the  plan  a  good  one,  and  each  set  about  finding  a  man. 
Meredith,  by  a  bribe,  secures  Dennis  McCarthy,  an  Irish  sailor, 
to  pass  himself  off  as  the  absent  Compass ;  but,  unfortunately, 
Adonis  at  the  same  time  gets  hold  of  Job  Turner,  who  has  come 
to  get  some  money  out  of  his  mother,  and  induces  him  to  assume 
the  name  of  Compass.  Then  come  a  series  of  complications. 
Mrs.  Darlington  is  obliged  to  introduce  Job  as  her  guardian. 
Adonis  speaks  of  Fdicit^  as  his  mother-in-law.  Dennis  McCarthy 
has  married  the  widow  of  a  Captain  Compass,  and  she,  hearing 
that  some  one  is  setting  her  cap  at  her  husband,  mistakes  Amy 
for  the  culprit,  and  has  a  scene  with  her,  and  it  becomes  at  first 
a  most  amusing  game  of  cross  purposes,  but  then,  as  we  have  said, 
the  fun  is  exhausted.  Of  course  it  results  in  Amy  and  Adonis 
having  to  confess  that  they  have  deceived  each  other  as  to 
the  ages  of  their  respective  children,  to  whom  they  have  even 
sent  toys,  and  F^licit^  consoles  herself  with  Job  Turner,  who,  in 


$6  Tiffins  Revenges — The  Wrong  Door.  [May,  1890. 

consideration  of  her  handsome  fortune,  fathers  the  letters  she  has 
received,  and  which  he  said  he  wrote  under  the  name  of  Compass. 
The  acting  was  good — better  than  the  dialogue,  some  of  which 
might  have  been  more  polished.  Vane  Featherston  as  Amy 
Darlington  was  sprightly  and  coquettish.  Eva  Eden,  a  pert 
Mary  Jane,  and  Joan  Vanderbilt  attractive  as  Florence.  Elsie 
Chester  was  excellent  as  the  irate  Mrs.  Compass,  and  secured 
emphatic  rounds  of  applause  on  her  exits.  Amy  Steinberg  was 
amusing  as  the  stout  and  pettish  F^licit^.  Yorke  Stephens  made 
every  line  tell  as  Adonis  Featherfield,  and  James  Nelson  was 
smart  and  ready  as  Tom  Meredith.  J.  B.  Seare  was  a  genial 
Sir  Dallas  Dallas  ;  Henry  Bedford  was  thoroughly  humorous  and 
original  as  Job  Turner ;  and  Harry  Monkhouse  was  a  rollicking 
sly  Irish  sailor  as  Dennis  McCarthy.  The  authoress  was  called. 
— On  the  same  afternoon  was  played  for  the  first  time  Timers 
Revenges,  a  one-act  piece,  by  W.  Edwardes-Sprange.  Vera  Vassa- 
liski  has  been  led  to  suppose  that  Prince  Alexis  Neirska  had 
betrayed  her  sister  and  been  the  cause  of  the  death  of  her  father 
as  an  exile  in  Siberia.  These  suspicions  have  been  instilled  into 
her  by  Paul  Petrovitch,  who  wishes  to  gain  her  for  himself.  Vera 
fascinates  the  Prince,  but  in  doing  so  falls  in  love  herself.  Gerald 
Leigh  is  the  good  genius  of  the  piece ;  he  discovers  that  Paul  is 
a  Nihilist,  and  at  the  same  time  a  police  spy  ;  and  the  escape 
from  Siberia  of  Michael  Boralak  (Vera's  father)  and  his  return 
completely  fix  the  crimes  on  Paul.  Vera  and  the  Prince  are 
supposed  to  be  united,  and  Leigh  pairs  off  with  the  fascinating 
Sophie  d'Esterre.  Oscar  Adye  was  earnest  and  a  good  lover ; 
A.  Ellis  was  rather  too  obvious  a  villain  as  Petrovitch ;  Sutton 
Vane  was  dignified  as  the  old  Michael  Boralak;  and  James  Nelson 
animated  and  yet  shrewd  as  Gerald  Leigh  ;  Marie  Illington  played 
Vera  Vassaliski  in  a  feeling  and  artistic  manner  ;  Elsie  Chester 
was  a  kindly  and  courteous  lady  as  the  Countess  Berstal. 

2 1  St.  Comedy.  (Matinee,)  The  Wrong  Door. — Farcical  comedy, 
by  Ina  Leon  Cassilis.  This  was  written  as  an  amusing  satire  on 
the  Church,  the  Stage,  and  fourth  estate,  and  the  principal  com- 
plications arise  through  mistakes  being  made  in  callers  on  the 
editors  of  journals  of  directly  opposite  interests,  and  a  vivacious 
actress  being  mistaken  for  a  sedate  lady  of  the  same  name. 
Charles  Landon,  Ernest  Hendrie,  Fanny  Robertson,  and  Agnes 
Thomas  ably  supported  the  piece,  in  which  there  was  some  smart 
writing. 

2 1  St.  Avenue.  {Matinee:)  The  Grandsire. — Was  originally 
produced  at  Terry's  Theatre,  May  15th,  1889.   ig(i5tf«y Dramatic 


BiAY,  1890.]  The  Bride  of  Love,  57 

Notes  of  that  year.)  George  Alexander  revived  the  play  here, 
himself  appearing  as  the  old  sailor,  Francois  Legoez  ;  and  though 
the  assumption  of  such  a  character  was  naturally  most  difficult, 
Mr.  Alexander  triumphed  and  displayed  great  feeling  and  truth 
to  nature  in  the  agonized  craving  of  the  old  man  once  more  to 
behold  his  idolized  grandson.  Nutcombe  Gould  was  excellent  as 
Jacquemin.  Benjamin  Webster  suited  well  the  part  of  Pierre, 
and  Carlotta  Leclercq  was  effective  as  Marie- Anne  Marie 
Linden  was  a  charming  Janik, — On  the  same  day  a  very  brightly 
written  duologue,  entitled  The  Will  and  the  Way ^hy  Justin  Huntly 
McCarthy,  was  tried  for  the  first  time,  and  proved  so  amusing  and 
so  well  played  by  Elizabeth  Robins  as  Sybil  Wisdom,  and  by 
Benjamin  Webster  as  Stanley  Grant,  that  it  was  at  once  put  in 
the  evening  bill.  It  only  tells  of  a  young  lady  who,  determined 
to  prevent  her  love  from  keeping,  as  she  fancies,  an  appointment 
with  a  rival,  puts  back  the  clock.  She  need  have  had  no  fears, 
however,  for  he  was  but  anxious  to  get  away  and  return  with  a 
Japanese  fan,  on  which  is  painted  a  love  scene  that  he  hoped 
might  enable  him  to  declare  his  passion  with  greater  ease. 

2 1st  New  Lamps  for  Old.  Hundredth  performance.  Alfred 
Bishop  appeared  as  Postlethwaite  in  place  of  F.  Kerr. 

2 1  St.  Adelphi.  {Matinee)  The  Bride  of  Lave, — Save  in  one 
character,  Mr.  Buchanan  has  turned  to  excellent  account  the 
beautiful  legend  of  Eros  and  Psyche.  It  was  a  hazardous 
experiment,  this  endeavour  to  submit  to  playgoers,  too  prone 
now-a-days  to  turn  everything  into  ridicule,  so  ethereal  a  subject ; 
but  by  his  poetic  verse  and  dramatic  treatment,  the  author 
commanded  the  interest  and  respect  of  an  unusually  critical 
audience.  The  legend  has  been  frequently  dramatized,  notably 
in  ballet  form  by  Moli^re,  and  has  been  the  foundation  of 
burlesque  and  extravaganza,  but  Mr.  Buchanan's  method  is  new 
and  original.  Aphrodite,  jealously  incensed  at  the  neglect  shown 
her  altars  in  Cyprus  and  the  almost  worship  bestowed  on  Psyche, 
through  her  oracle  proclaims  that  the  daughter  of  Methonos  shall 
be  chained  to  the  Rock  of  Sacrifice  to  be  devoured  by  a  sea- 
monster.  Eros,  eldest  born  of  Aphrodite,  is  beguiled  by  his 
henchman,  Zephyros,  into  gazing  down  the  mountain,  and  beholds 
Psyche.  The  god  who  has  implanted  love  in  every  human 
breast  has  never  yet  himself  felt  its  power — his  soul  is  at  once 
inflamed.  He  rescues  Psyche  from  the  rock,  and  bears  her  away 
to  the  Garden  of  Love.  Unalloyed  happiness  is  theirs  for  a  time, 
but  envy  and  jealousy  destroy  it.  Psyche's  sisters,  Hyla  and 
Creusa,  taunt  her  that  she  knows  not  who  is  her  lord.     Up  to 


58  The  Bride  of  Love,  [May,  1890. 

this  time  she  has  refrained  from  asking,  bh'ssful  in  her  ignorance, 
but  now  she  presses  Eros  to  grant  her  a  last  request,  and  he 
swears  by  *'  Styx  and  Acheron  "  to  comply.  She  questions  him 
as  to  who  he  is.  In  an  agony  of  grief  he  is  compelled,  by  his 
oath,  to  answer,  for  by  the  laws  of  Olympus  it  is  written  that — 

**  Should  a  god  reveal  himself 
In  godlike  guise,  or  name  his  heavenly  name 
To  one  of  morttil  birth,  that  mortal's  eve 
Never  shall  look  upon  the  light  again. 

Psydie  is  stricken  blind  as  Eros  vanishes  and  is  lost  to  her  for 
ever.  Aphrodite  rejoices  in  the  punishment  of  her  rival,  but  her 
maternal  love  is  so  great  that  it  conquers  her  hatred,  when  she 
beholds  the  agony  of  her  son.  Immortal,  he  cannot  die,  yet  the 
endless  future  is  to  be  to  him  one  of  heartbroken  misery  ;  sway 
as  he  will  the  destiny  of  others,  he  cannot  influence  his  own 
loveless  life.  Zephyros,  feigning  the  loved  voice  of  Eros,  entices 
Psyche  to  the  mountain  top,  where  abide  the  deities.  Sightless, 
she  follows,  until  once  more  she  finds  herself  clasped  in  the 
embraces  of  her  lover.  But  that  embrace  to  her  is  death.  Eros 
prays  the  gods  that  she  may  be  restored  to  him,  "  Give  me  back 
the  soul  which  ye  have  taken  from  me.  Say,  ye  gods,  that  love 
shall  conquer  death.*'  Aphrodite  petitions  Zeus  that  Psyche  may 
be  made  immortal.  Their  prayers  are  granted.  Psyche  returns 
to  life,  this  time  immortal,  with  the  words — 

"  Eros,  my  love,  where  art  thou  ? 
A  cloud  of  brightness — Light — and  thou  within  it, 
My  Lord— My  Master." 

The  discordant  note  that  was  struck  in  an  otherwise  exquisite 
allegory,  is  in  the  drawing  of  Zephyros,  servant  to  Eros  ;  his 
character  was  so  specially  modem  and  mundane.  And  exception 
might,  perhaps,  be  slightly  taken  to  the  mortal  and  spiteful 
attributes  of  the  sisters  in  the  Garden  of  Love — a  paradise — 
when  Psyche,  through  Eros'  power,  has  given  to  them  Lycas  and 
Atalantos,  the  men  they  had  long  loved,  but  who  had  hitherto 
been  insensible  to  passion  for  them.  The  scene  in  which  the 
several  kings  sue  for  Psyche's  hand  in  Cyprus  is  powerfully 
written,  and  affords  scope  for  good  delivery,  of  which  advantage 
in  most  cases  was  taken.  Ada  Cavendish,  in  her  long  retirement 
from  the  boards,  had  lost  none  of  her  dramatic  power,  and  her 
return  to  her  profession  was  cordially  welcomed.  Harriett  Jay, 
for  whom  the  part  of  Psyche  had  been  written,  after  the  first  few 
lines  delivered  the  text  with  sympathetic  grace  and  true  poetic 
feeling.     T.  B.  Thalberg  commenced  weakly,  hurrying  his  utter- 


MxT,i89o-]  Judah.  59 

ance  in  a  lamentable  manner.  This  was  evidently  from  extreme 
nervousness,  for  he  gradually  improved,  and  in  his  last  scenes  left 
little  to  be  desired.  Lionel  Rignold  was  not  altogether  to  blame 
that  he  made  of  Zephyros  a  cockney  attendant  on  his  master. 

2 1  St.  Shaftesbury.  Judah, — It  would,  at  first  sight,  seem 
almost  extravagance  of  praise  to  state  that  never  was  a  more 
complete  artistic  success  achieved  by  author  and  actors  than 
attended  the  production  of  Judah.  And  yet  such  was  the  case. 
It  was  a  new  departure,  bringing  before  us  a  woman  who,  really 
an  impostor,  yet  half  believes  in  her  own  semi-miraculous  powers, 
and  winning  her  back  to  uprightness  through  her  great  love  for 
a  fellow  creature  whom  she  also  reveres  ;  and  that  that  same 
fellow  creature,  an  enthusiastic  mystical  dreamer,  pure  in  mind 
and  soul,  can  be  so  influenced  by  his  almost  idolatry  for  the 
woman,  as,  although  a  minister  of  religion,  to  perjure  himself  to 
save  her  good  name.  Besides  these,  we  have  such  varied  types 
in  the  other  characters ;  in  Professor  Jopp,  who  believes  in 
nothing  that  he  cannot  mathematically  prove,  and  in  Mr.  Prall, 
who  is  so  weak  and  credulous  as  to  believe  in  anything  and 
everytiiing ;  in  his  son,  Juxon  Prall,  who  believes  in  himself,  and 
himself  only,  and  treats  with  corresponding  contempt  all  those 
with  whom  he  comes  in  contact ;  in  Mr.  Dethic,  who,  a  mean, 
pitiful  scamp,  makes  "the  world  his  oyster,"  and  forces  his 
daughter  to  a  life  of  deceit,  and  in  Lady  Eve,  a  dreaming,  con- 
sumptive girl,  who,  knowing  her  life  can  be  but  a  short  one,  does 
her  best  to  conceal  the  ravages  that  disease  is  making  on  her,  so  as 
to  console  the  broken-hearted  father  whose  one  pet  lamb  she  is. 
And  the  fortunes  of  these  characters  are  so  cleverly  woven 
tc^ether  as  to  appear  naturally  to  influence  each  other's  lives. 
Yet  there  is  but  little  so-called  plot.  Vashti  Dethic  has  earned 
a  reputation  for  almost  miraculous  cures^ — brought  about  by 
supposed  sanctity  of  life  and  self-imposed  long  fasts.  Hearing  of 
these  cures,  as  drowning  men  catch  at  straws,  the  Earl  of  Asgarby 
invites  her  and  her  father  to  take  up  their  residence  at  his  castle, 
for  her  to  try  her  powers  on  his  daughter  Eve,  the  last  of  his 
children  left  him,  and  who  seems  likely  to  follow  in  their  footsteps. 
His  friend,  Professor  Jopp,  being  appealed  to,  will  only  sanction 
the  proceeding  on  the  condition  that  he  and  his  daughter,  Sophie, 
are  to  be  allowed  the  strictest  surveillance  of  Vashti  Dethic 
during  the  twenty-one  days'  fast,  which  she  says  she  must  undergo 
prior  to  attempting  a  cure.  The  girl  is  shut  up  in  an  old  portion 
of  the  castle.  Needless  to  say,  her  fast  is  but  a  sham.  Her 
father  supplies  her  with  food,  but,  the  Professor's  suspicions  being 


6o  Judah,  [BiAT  1890. 

aroused,  is  at  length  prevented  doing  so.  He  has  obtained  a 
duplicate  key  and  is  endeavouring  to  convey  her  provisions  ;  he 
has  liberated  his  daughter  for  a  time,  when  the  fraud  is  on  the 
eve  of  discovery.  Judah  Llewellyn,  who  almost  worships  Vashti, 
as  too  pure  for  this  world,  overhears  the  conversation  between 
father  and  daughter,  but  though  he  then  learns  what  a  fraud 
Vashti  is,  his  overpowering  love  for  her  compels  him  to  screen 
hen  When  questioned  on  his  oath  by  the  Professor  he  solemnly 
states  that  Vashti  has  not  left  her  room,  and  that  she  has  had  no 
food  whilst  immured  in  it.  A  year  passes.  He  is  true  to  her, 
and  they  are  to  be  married.  The  Earl  of  Asgarby,  grateful  for 
the  beneficial  effects  produced  on  Lady  Eve's  health  by  her 
constant  association  with  Vashti,  and  in  recognition  of  the  earnest 
and  good  work  that  Llewellyn  has  done  amongst  the  poor  in 
the  neighbouring  city,  has  provided  for  their  future.  A  church 
is  to  be  built  for  the  young  minister  and  to  be  well  endowed. 
Llewellyn's  conscience  will  give  him  no  peace.  The  words 
"liar,"  "perjurer"  are  ever  ringing  in  his  ears.  And  so  he 
refuses  the  church  and  its  emolument  He  supports  and  cheers 
the  erring  woman  who  is  to  be  his  wife,  so  that  she  confesses 
herself  to  be  the  impostor  she  is,  and  then  he,  in  his  turn,  exposes 
his  own  falsehood  to  those  around  him.  He  is  going  to  leave  the 
scene  of  his  former  labours,  and  with  Vashti  work  out  their 
redemption  in  a  new  world,  but  is  persuaded  by  his  influential 
friends  to  remain  amongst  them  and  to  toil  on,  to  live  down  the 
past,  and  recommence  his  good  work  amid  those  who  know  of 
his  backsliding.  E.  S.  Willard  had,  before  this,  been  seen  in 
powerful  and  varied  characters,  but  in  none  had  he  shown  such  a 
depth  of  passion,  of  intense  love,  and  overwhelming  remorse. 
Olga  Brandon  had  to  play  the  sad  rdle  of  Vashti  in  its  melancholy 
earnestness.  There  is  but  little  brightness  in  her  life,  for  even 
her  love  for  Llewellyn  and  his  return  of  her  affection  is  shadowed 
by  the  sense  of  her  own  unworthiness  and  the  knowledge  that 
she  has  caused  him  to  sin.  But  Miss  Brandon  understood  what 
she  had  undertaken,  and  made  of  the  performance  a  great  and 
fascinating  one.  Sant  Matthews,  with  his  cold,  calculating 
outward  manner,  as  Professor  Jopp,  was  an  excellent  study  ;  the 
more  so  that  he  revealed  an  innate  goodness  of  heart  to  those 
who  did  not  try  to  deceive  him.  His  scene  with  Dethic  (admirably 
played  by  Royce  Carleton)  where  he  speaks  his  mind  to  the 
smooth-spoken  scoundrel,  was  one  of  the  best.  Mr.  Jones  has 
never  written  such  excellent  comedy  scenes  as  those  between 
Juxon  Prall  and  Sophie  Jopp,  but  it  myst  be  admitted  that  in 


May.  1890.]  A  Riverside  Story,  61 

less  clever  hands  than  those  to  whom  they  were  entrusted  they 
would  have  missed  much  of  their  point.  One  other  performance 
must  be  noticed,  that  of  Bessie  Hatton  ;  it  was  so  human  and 
tender.  There  were  but  two  scenes  in  the  play  :  "  The  Tapestry 
Room  at  Asgarby  Castle,"  and  "The  Terrace  and  old  Norman 
Keep ; "  but  they  were  triumphs  of  stage  production.  Vashti 
Dethic  was  afterwards  played  by  Annie  Hill  (under-study),  Miss 
Calhoun,  and  Winifred  Emery — these  two  latter,  though  on  differ- 
ent lines,  were  exquisite  performances. 

22nd.  Haymarket.    {Matinee,)     A  Riverside  Story. — I  wrote 
the  following  for   The  Stage :  "  Partiality  for  our  own  bantlings 
often  blinds  us  to  the  imperfections  in  them  that  are  so  patent  to 
others.     This,  we  suppose,  must  be  pleaded  as  the  excuse  for 
Mrs.  Bancroft,  who,  by  dragging  out  to  two  long  and,  it  must  be 
confessed,  wearisome  acts,  a  story  that  should  have  been  told  in, 
at  the  outside,  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  almost  entirely  destroyed 
its  poetry  and  attractiveness.     Strange  that  the  authoress  who 
for  so  long  a  time  controlled  a  theatre  with  such  skill,  and  that 
Mr.  Bancroft,  who  possesses  such  judgment  that  he  is  called  on 
to  arbitrate  in  cases  of  dispute,  and  who  stage-managed  on  this 
occasion,  could  not  have  discovered  the  error  that  had  been  made. 
Though  the  plot  itself  is  as  old  as  the  hills,  and  has  been  used 
before,    Mrs.    Bancroft    is    supposed    to  have    been    inspired    to 
dramatize  the  subject  from  an  actual  occurrence  which  took  place 
at  Broadstairs,  and  which  she  mentions  in  her  '  Reminiscences.' 
As   it    stands   now,  Tom   Harrington,  a  young  boat-builder,   is 
engaged  to  Alice,  a  coquettish,  weak  girl,  who  does  not  know  her 
own  mind.    She  listens  to  the  false  pleadings  of  Harold  Brandon, 
who  persuades  her  to  elope  with  him,  and,  after  a  time,  deserts 
her.      Susie  Leyton,   the  village  schoolmistress,  has  long  loved 
Tom,  and  comforts  him  in  his  sorrow  ;  and  nobly  pleads  the  cause 
of  the  girl  who  has  jilted  him.     So  when  Alice  returns  to  her 
friends  with  her  baby,  and  is  driven  out  by  them,  Tom,  though 
he  swears  he  will  never  look  upon  her  face  again,  has  her  installed 
in  the  cottage  in  which  they  were  to  have  lived  had  they  been 
married,  and  when  she  dies,  tells  Susie,  who  has  been  their  good 
angel,  to  bring  the  baby  to  him.     Mrs.  Bancroft  has  introduced 
Harold's  mother,  Lady  Carlton,  who,  a  visitor  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, takes  a  great  interest  in  the  blind  Mrs.  Harrington.     A 
gipsy  fortune-teller,  Mother  Sibby  (cleverly  played  by  Robertha 
Erskine) ;    a   guzzling,    selfish    yokel,    Joe    Evans,    that    George 
Giddens  contrived  to   make  amusing ;  and  a   number  of  noisy, 
chattering,  and  mostly  spiteful  girls,  amongst  whom  Kate  Phillips 


62  Gretna  Green — Queen*s  Counsel,  [BfAT.x89o. 

as  an  outspoken  vixen,  Polly,  and  Mary  Collette  as  Kitty,  who  at 
least  possessed  some  heart,  were  thoroughly  satisfactory.  Leonard 
Boyne,  though  giving  a  powerful  rendering  of  the  heart-broken, 
miserable  man,  driven  to  drink  by  his  wrongs,  dragged  his  scenes 
and  prolonged  his  agony  far  too  much,  Annie  Hughes  fell  into 
the  same  error,  an  error  that,  should  this  clever  young  actress 
continue  to  follow  her  profession,  she  must  guard  against,  as  in 
pathetic  scenes  it  has  been  growing  upon  her  of  late.  Kate 
Rorke's  was  a  very  sweet  and  womanly  performance,  and  true  to 
nature.  There  was  a  little  too  much  of  the  great  lady  at  times 
in  Rose  Leclercq ;  it  amounted  to  condescension,  which  should 
never  appear  in  true  kindness  to  an  inferior  in  station,  but  the 
actress  was  excellent  in  the  scene  when  she  discovers  that  it  is 
her  own  idolized  son  who  has  brought  about  all  the  wretchedness 
and  misery.  Mrs.  E.  H.  Brooke,  too,  was  good  and  natural  as 
the  afflicted  Mrs.  Harrington.  Bright,  honest-looking  Sydney 
Brough  should  not  have  been  cast  for  the  scoundrel,  Harold 
Brandon.  His  manner  of  love-making  was  so  sincere  and 
apparently  true-hearted,  that  one  could  not  picture  to  oneself  his 
ever  betraying  a  girl  who  put  her  trust  in  him.  Some  of  the 
dialogue  was  well  written,  and  Mrs.  Bancroft  was  called  for  at 
the  close  of  the  play,  but  I  doubt  whether  a  usual  evening 
audience  would  have  paid  her  a  like  compliment. — On  the  same 
afternoon  was  played  T/ie  Up  Train,  adapted  from  En  Wagon  by 
C.  T.  Colnaghi,  and  played  by  the  author,  Eustace  Ponsonby, 
and  by  Lottie  Venne. 

22nd.  Opera  Comique.  Gretna  Green. — By  T.  Murray 
Wood  and  Dr.  Storer ;  reproduced.  The  changes  in  the  cast 
were  that  William  Hogarth  played  Robin  Bates,  but  only  fairly. 
Villa  Knox,  a  young  singer  new  to  England,  made  a  favourable 
impression  as  Phyllis  Ferns.  A  new  character,  that  of  Peter 
Pong,  a  wandering  singer,  had  been  introduced,  and,  though  a 
little  out  of  place,  C.  Collette  made  much  fun  out  of  it. 

22nd.  Op6ra  Comique.  Mesmerism, — A  poor  farce  by  Caryll 
Clive. 

24th.  Comedy.  Queen's  Counsel. — Proved  to  be  anything  but  a 
happy  adaptation  of  Sardou's  Les  Pommes  du  Voisin.  James 
Mortimer  has  made  of  it  a  three-act  "  farce  "  so  called  ;  but  farces 
are  supposed  to  make  one  laugh — this  was  tedious,  and  made 
one  weary.  Joseph  Twitterton  (E.  M.  Robson),  after  many  years 
of  exemplary  conduct,  suddenly,  and  for  the  haziest  of  reasons 
determines  to  pose  as  a  gay  Lothario,  and  with  this  view  per- 
sistently follows  Katarina  (Marie  Lewes),  who  for  some  equally 


May,  1890.]  Adoption— The  New  Wing.  63 

incomprehensible  reason  is  masquerading  in  male  attire,  a  fact 
which  Twitterton  has  ascertained.  In  the  course  of  his  pursuit 
Twitterton  is  led  to  believe  that  he  has  committed  murder,  and 
finally  baked  Katarina  in  an  oven !  Mr.  Robson  was  at  times 
very  droll,  and  Miss  Lewes  managed  to  get  through  a  very  risky 
part  in  a  manner  worthy  of  a  far  better  one.  She  looked  and 
acted  well  W.  Lugg  as  an  Irish  landlord  was  clever  and 
humorous. — Lydia  Cowell  was  excellent  as  Sally  Smart  in  The 
Clockniaker^s  Haty  which  was  played  as  a  first  piece. 

26th.  Toole's.  Adoption. — A  new  "  matrimonial  mixture  by 
Richard  Henry."  This  amusing  curtain-raiser, "  founded  on  a  story 
by  the  same  authors,  published  in  Ally  Sloper^s  Christmas  story," 
has  more  than  a  spice  of  Gilbertian  humour  in  it.  But  clever  as  it 
is,  if  one  of  those  who  appeared  in  it  had  been  "  out  of  the 
picture "  the  success  would  scarcely  have  been  so  well  assured. 
As  it  was,  it  went  screamingly  from  start  to  finish.  Blockle, 
brother  and  sister  (Compton  Coutts  and  Cicely  Richards),  are 
wealthy  philanthropists  of  a  certain  age.  Having,  through  the 
agency  of  a  patent  pill  amassed  a  fojtune  from  an  easily  gulled 
public,  duty  and  inclination  point  out  that  some  of  their  wealth 
should  be  returned  to  the  public  in  Charity.  The  opportunity 
offers  itself.  Constantia  and  Theodosius  (Marie  Illington  and 
Reginald  Stockton),  having  been  engaged  for  five  years,  and 
seeing  no  prospect  of  their  marriage,  advertise  for  some  benevolent 
creature  to  adopt  them.  The  Blockles  answer  the  advertisement, 
with  the  result  that  Barnabas  falls  in  love  with  Constantia,  and 
Barbara  with  Theodosius ;  and  the  two  young  things  who  are  to 
the  world  so  loving,  but  who  have  really  got  heartily  sick  of  their 
long  engagement,  and  nag  at  each  other  perpetually  in  private, 
are  only  too  glad  to  seize  the  chance  of  wealthy  marriages.  A 
great  deal  of  fun  is  caused  by  the  bashful  love  of  the  two  seniors, 
and  quite  as  much  by  the  maid  and  manservant,  Clumber  and 
Whisker  (Alfred  Balfour  and  Mary  Jocelyn),  who  both,  in  their 
hearts,  hope  to  win  respectively  their  master  and  mistress,  but, 
finding  they  are  unsuccessful,  comfortably  pair  off  together. 
Adoption  was  so  well  acted  all  round  that  it  would  be  unjust  to 
single  out  any  one  of  the  cast.  The  piece  was  very  well 
received. 

27th.  Strand.  (Mating)  The  New  Wing, — Farcical  comedy 
by  H.  Arthur  Kennedy,  was  very  uneven  ;  at  times  the  dialogue 
and  situations  were  genuinely  funny,  but  at  others  the  action 
became  dull  to  depression.  There  was  one  thing  to  be  said  for  it, 
the  second  act  was  better  than  the  first,  and  the  third  did  not  in 


64  The  New  Wing,  [BiUy,  1890. 

any  measure  fall  off.  General  Singleside  is  an  old  warrior,  who 
has  determined  to  build  "  a  new  wing "  to  his  mansion  from  his 
own  designs  ;  but  to  assist  him  he  has  determined  to  call  to  his 
aid  Sir  Edward  Strangeways,  Bart.,  who  before  he  came  to  the 
title  and  property  was  a  rising  architect.  At  the  same  time,  the 
General  hopes  to  obtain  in  him  a  husband  for  his  ward,  Flossie 
Trivett  The  Baronet  has  been  struck  with  Hester  Singleside, 
whom  he  has  seen  at  a  theatre,  but  hearing  of  her  advanced 
notions  on  Socialism,  etc.,  he  determines  to  find  out  for  himself 
whether  she  would  quite  suit  his  ideas  of  a  wife.  As  the  "  new 
wing"  is  being  built,  one  George  Slab  is  employed  there,  and  so 
for  a  consideration,  this  workman,  a  type  of  the  laziest  of  his 
class,  agrees  to  pass  the  Baronet  off  as  his  brother  "  Bill,"  who  is 
assisting  him.  This  gives  Sir  Edward  plenty  of  opportunities  of 
meeting  Hester,  who  soon  loses  her  heart  to  the  good-looking 
young  workman.  In  the  meantime,  as  the  General  has  never 
seen  Sir  Edward,  on  the  arrival  of  Bobbie  Button,  Flossie's  lover, 
with  a  view  to  a  stolen  interview,  he  is  immediately  mistaken  by 
the  General  for  the  Baronet,  and  is  carried  off  to  view  the  new 
building.  Sir  Edward  fortunately  telling  Bobbie  who  he  is,  and 
priming  him  with  the  necessary  professional  knowledge.  Jobbings, 
another  architect,  who  wishes  to  be  employed,  eventually  discovers 
the  conspiracy,  and  betrays  the  conspirators,  but  by  this  time  their 
end  is  gained,  for  the  Baronet  has  won  Hester,  who  gives  up  her 
notions  about  "  equality,"  owing  to  George  Slab's  conduct.  She 
can  do  anything  with  her  father,  and  George  has  been  asked  (with 
his  pseudo  brother)  to  dinner.  He  gets  tipsy,  smokes  in  the 
drawing-room,  and  commits  other  enormities — and  the  General 
consents  to  Flossie's  marriage  with  Bobbie  Button,  the  most 
serious  charge  against  whom  is  that  he  possesses  ;^  1,500  a  year 
made  out  of  "  anti-corrosive  soap."  F.  Gillmore  was  frank,  natural, 
and  sunny.  Herbert  Ross  clever  as  the  nervous  Bobbie,  and 
Charles  CoUette  made  plenty  of  capital  out  of  the  character  of  the 
bibulous,  sponging  George  Slab ;  Athol  Forde  had  a  certain 
amount  of  dignity  as  the  General,  and  Eardley  Turner  was  good 
as  the  sneaking  Jobbings ;  Mrs.  Henry  Leigh,  as  Priscilla  Singleside, 
a  maiden  lady  of  a  certain  age,  a  would-be  authoress,  with  a 
weakness  for  reading  her  effusions  to  anyone  who  will  be  patient 
enough  to  listen  to  them,  was  amusing.  Ada  Barton  was  fairly 
bright  as  Flossie  Trivett.  Gertrude  Lovell  has  much  to  learn  ; 
her  sprightliness  and  attempted  archness  were  affected  and 
mannered.  In  more  experienced  hands  much  might  have  been 
made  of  Hester  Singleside. — On   the  same    afternoon  was  also 


May,  1890.]  Wanted  a  Wife.  65 

produced,  for  the  first  time,  a  new  one-act  piece  by  the  same 
author,  A  Throw  of  the  Dice.  This  was  an  extraordinary  h'ttle 
composition,  that  carried  us  back  to  the  invasion  of  Britain  in  the 
days  of  Domitian.  Caradoc  and  Mona  are  two  slaves  to  Agricola^ 
who  is  suddenly  recalled  to  Rome.  The  night  before  he  leaves, 
he  plays  deep  with  Lucius  ^milius,  and  loses  to  him  thirty 
sestertia.  As  a  pledge  he  leaves  with  him  one  or  other  of  the 
slaves,  that  he  may  take  away  with  him.  They  have  been  brought 
up  together  from  childhood,  and  love  each  other,  but  Mona,  who 
is  a  trifle  of  a  coquette,  will  not  confess  her  love  till  they  are  likely 
to  be  separated.  The  parting  appears  imminent  Which  of  them 
is  to  go  with  iEmilius  to  Rome  ?  Lucius  will  decide  by  "  a  throw 
of  the  dice,"  when,  happily  for  the  young  people,  a  letter  arrives 
from  Agricola,  repaying  Lucius  the  sum  due  to  him,  and  giving 
freedom  to  Caradoc  and  Mona.  There  were  some  good  lines  in 
an  otherwise  thin  play,  and  they  were  well  spoken  by  Leonard 
Outram  and  Oswald  Yorke ;  but  Gertrude  Lovell  did  not  avail 
herself  of  her  opportunities,  and  was  very  amateurish. 

28th.  Terry's.  {Matinee)  Wanted  a  Wife. — The  following 
appeared  in  The  Observer :  "  Mr.  J.  H.  Darnley's  new  farcical 
comedy  proved  to  be  very  wild  work  indeed.  The  playgoer  who 
could  follow  to  his  own  contentment  the  bewildering  cross 
purposes  of  its  plot,  and  the  extremely  crooked  answers  of  its 
dialogue,  must  be  either  exceptionally  quick  of  perception  or  un- 
usually easy  to  satisfy  with  a  minimum  of  intelligible  dramatic 
motive  and  sequence.  The  dramatis  personm^  prominent  amongst 
whom  are  three  married  couples,  are  for  ever  rushing  breathless  on 
to  the  stage  or  hurriedly  leaving  it  upon  one  another's  approach. 
If  they  were  taking  part  in  a  steeple-chase  or  an  obstacle  race  they 
could  hardly  be  more  rapid  or  more  excited  in  their  movements ; 
and  if  only  theatrical  success  depended  upon  agility  the  triumph 
of  Yorke  Stephens  and  his  comrades  would  have  been  secure. 
Unluckily,  however,  London  theatre-goers  have  a  fancy  for  asking 
when  they  are  introduced  to  a  prolonged  farcical  rally  of  this  kind 
what  it  is  all  about ;  and  •  to  this  question  Mr.  Darnley's  most 
tolerant  critic  could  hardly  give  a  satisfactory  answer.  All  one 
can  understand  is,  that  under  an  eccentric  will  of  the  kind  often 
made  upon  the  stage,  but  seldom  proved  anywhere  else,  three 
husbands  may  benefit  largely  if  they  show  to  the  executors  that 
they  are  living  happily  with  their  respective  wives.  Of  these 
provisional  legatees  one  has  lost  sight  of  his  spouse  for  months, 
though  when  he  b^ins  his  search  for  her  they  are  both  in  the 
same    hotel ;  and  efforts  not  less    complicated  than  sinister  are 

5 


66  Head  or  Heart — In  a  Day.  [May.iSpow 

made  to  keep  these  two  apart,  and  also  to  sow  dissension  between 
the  other  pairs  of  married  folk.  These  efforts  result  in  one  of  the 
husbands,  very  droUy  played  by  Arthur  Williams,  being  accused 
of  bigamy,  and  they  lead  to  mutual  misunderstandings  generally. 
But  they  afford  few  opportunities  for  comic  acting,  and  they 
exhaust  the  spectators  almost  as  much  as  the  performers,  amongst 
whom  Rose  Bearing,  Mr.  McEwen,  and  H.  Eversfield  may  be 
specially  praised,  in  addition  to  the  energetic  comedians  already 
mentioned. 

29th.  Comedy.  (Matinee.) — Two  very  bright  little  operettas 
were  produced.  The  music  of  both  was  composed  by  Martyn 
van  Lennep,  and  proved  tuneful  and  graceful.  In  the  former  the 
orchestration  was  scholarly,  but  the  composer  would  have  done 
better  to  allow  some  one  else  to  conduct.  The  libretto  of  Head  or 
Heart,  by  Arthur  Chapman,  was  in  every  way  acceptable,  though 
simply  telling  of  a  young  Royalist  in  the  time  of  the  French 
Revolution,  who  finds  that  he  is  mistaken  as  to  the  identity  of 
the  young  woman  with  whom  he  is  to  be  forced  into  a  marriage 
to  save  his  head,  and  that  she  is  in  fact  a  very  charming  young 
person.  These  two  parts  were  excellently  filled  by  Templar  Saxe 
(who  is  becoming  a  really  good  actor),  and  Annie  Schuberth, 
both  singing  with  great  charm.  B.  P.  Scare  was  dryly  humorous 
as  Francois.  Walter  Parke's  libretto  of  The  Dear  Departed 
was  quaint  and  droll.  The  story  is  very  slight,  though  founded 
on  Le  Clou  aux  Maris,  Mr.  Saxe  and  Miss  Schuberth  sang 
with  taste  and  expression  some  very  pretty  numbers  set  down 
for  them,  and  Florence  Marryatt  was  a  clever  Cassandra 
Doolittle. 

29th.  Vaudeville.  (Matinee), — Lucy  Buckstone,  an  actress 
that  should  always  have  an  engagement  in  London,  took  a 
benefit,  when  Married  Life  was  played  with  a  remarkably  good 
cast,  Ellen  Terry  appearing  as  a  waiting-maid.  A  feature  of  the 
afternoon  was  the  appearance  of  Creston  Clarke  (son  of  J.  S.  Clarke) 
*  as  Hamlet.  In  the  closet  scene  he  showed  great  promise.  An 
address,  written  by  R.  Reece,  was  charmingly  delivered  by 
Eleanor  Bufton. 

30th.  Terry's.  {Matinie)  In  a  Day,—Uxs.  Augusta  Webber's 
poetic  drama  has  not  sufficient  fibre  for  representation.  It  is 
more  than  gracefully  written,  and  will  be  ever  enjoyed  in  the 
study.  Miss  Davies  Webster  made  a  promising  London  d^but  as 
the  slave  Klydone.  Matthew  Brodie,  one  of  the  few  young  actors 
who  understands  the  delivery  of  blank  verse,  was  a  more  than 
competent  Myron  ;  and  Stephen  Phillips  (who  will  be  remembered 


Juki,  1890.]  The  Artful  Dodge — A  Buried  Talent  67 

as  a  member  of  Mr.  Benson's  Globe  company)  was^  acceptable  as 
Olymnios. 

31st.  Lyceum.  Olivia. — Revived  on  the  27  th,  and  played 
during  the  week ;  formed  the  programme  of  this,  the  last  night 
of  Mr.  Irving's  season,  and  the  occasion  of  Ellen  Terry's  benefit. 


VI. 

June. 

2nd.  Drury  Lane.  Mr.  Augustus  Harris  lent  the  theatre  for 
the  benefit  of  the  widow  of  the  late  E.  L.  Blanchard,  journalist 
and  dramatic  critic,  for  so  jnany  years  pantomime  writer  for  Old 
Drury.  Mr.  Jonas  Levy,  the  well  known  litterateur  originated  the 
idea  of  the  benefit  Mr.  Blanchard 's  amusing  old  farce.  The  Artful 
Dodge^  was  played  by  Arthur  Williams  (Demosthenes  Dodge), 
assisted  by  a  willing  cast  Managers  or  representatives  from 
most  of  the  principal  theatres  kindly  gave  their  services,  after 
which  the  lines  written  specially  for  the  occasion  by  Mr.  Blanchard's 
old  friend  Clement  Scott,  and  which  were  much  admired,  were 
delivered  by  Misses  Wallis,  Alma  Murray,  Carlotta  Addison, 
Carlotta  Leclercq,  Rose  Leclercq,  Hudspeth,  Victor,  Kate  Phillips, 
Mary  Rorke,  Kate  Rorke,  and  little  Minnie  Terry.  At  the  close  of 
the  address  Minnie  Terry  placed  a  wreath  and  bouquet  at  the 
foot  of  Mr.  Blanchard's  portrait 

4th.  Death  of  Mr.  F.  M.  T.  Vokes,  father  of  the  well-known 
Vokes  family,  by  a  strange  coincidence  the  same  date  of  the 
month,  and  hour  of  the  day,  as  his  son,  Fred  Vokes,  died  in 
1888. 

5th.  Vaudeville.  {Matinee)  A  Buried  Talent, — Written  in 
one  act ;  was  a  charming  I\ae  play,  and  will  bring  its  author,  Louis 
N.  Parker,  into  notice.  It  tells  a  simple  but  most  sympathetic 
story.  Maris  (Ben  Greet)  is  an  old  composer  who  has  done  some 
excellent  work,  but  who  will  not  allow  it  to  be  heard  in  public. 
The  director  of  the  theatre  endeavours  to  induce  him  to  part  with 
one  of  his  operas,  but  Maris  will  not  be  persuaded.  One  of  his 
pupils^  Pietro  (Bassett  Roe),  purloins  the  score,  and  passes  it  off 
as  his  own.  It  is  to  be  played,  when  the  prima  donna  throws  up 
her  part,  and  Pietro,  driven  into  a  corner,  is  obliged  to  confess  his 
theft  to  Maris's  young  wife  Stella  (Mrs.  Patrick  Campbell),  that 
she  may  consent  to  fill  the  principal  rdle.  Maris  is  led  to  believe 
that  his  wife  is  faithless,  and  is  in  an  agony  of  despair,  when  she 
returns,  tells  him  of  the  magnificent  success  of  his  opera,  and  how 


68  Sowing  and  Reaping — Nerves.  cjuhe,  1890. 

she  has  from  the  stage  told  the  audience  whose  work  it  really 

was.     A  Buried  Talent  was  most  excellently  played.     On  the 

same  afternoon  was  produced  a  "  cavalier  incident,"  in  one  act,  by 

Agatha  and  Archibald  Hodgson,  entitled  In  Olden  Days — slight 

but  pretty  ;  and  Picking  up  the  Pieces^  a  sketch  by  Julian  Sturgis. 

5th.  Criterion.     Sowing  and  Reaping, — "Proverb,"  in    two 

acts.     The  author  of  this  clever  and  most  amusing  piece,   Mr.  C. 

Vernon,  did  not  wish  for  the  criticisms  of  the  Press  on  its  first 

.  production.     And  this  led  the  lessee,  Mr.  Charles  Wyndham,  into 

'  a  correspondence  with  the  editors  of  various  newspapers  on  the 

subject.     The  play  was  placed  in  the  evening  bill  on  July  5th, 

under  which  date  it  will  be  found  noticed. 

7th.  Comedy.  Nerves, — Taken  fr^jm  Les  Femmes  Nerveuses^ 
the  three-act  comedy  of  Blum  and  Toch^  ;  was  seen  at  the  Royalty 
in  March  last  year.  Comyns  Carr  freely  adapted  the  French  work, 
giving  us  a  very  amusing  play,  containing  much  witty  dialogue, 
with  a  total  absence  of  anything  objectionable,  and  also  characters 
that  were  English,  not  French  people  disguised  as  English  ones. 
In  this  harum-scarum  present  life  of  ours,  ladies  do  suffer — or  fancy 
they  do,  which  amounts  to  the  same  thing — from  nerves.  Mrs. 
Armitage  does  so,  and  becomes  furious  at  the  phlegmatic  tem- 
perament of  her  husband  which  takes  everything  so  calmly.  As 
nothing  will  rouse  him  she  tries  extreme  measures.  She  deli- 
berately writes  a  letter  that  will  compromise  her  to  the  bearer 
of  a  name  picked  haphazard  from  the  directory.  The  name  is 
that  of  Hippolyte  Caramel,  a  little  confectioner,  who  is  already 
engaged  to  Madame  Zephyr  Elaine,  a  well-to-do  and  good-looking 
milliner,  and  hence  arise  all  the  complications  that  ensue.  Mrs. 
Buxom  Brittle's  nerves  produce  in  her  a  nagging,  perpetually 
lecturing  state  ;  she  is  everything  tha*:  is  objectionable  in  a  mother- 
in-law,  but  her  husband,  inured  tocher  attacks  by  long  usage, 
philosophically  smokes  and  takes  refuge  in  his  club.  In  the 
development  of  the  story,  the  usual  absurd  complications  and 
mistakes  that  are  inseparable  from  farcical  comedy  arise  and  are 
cleared  away.  Charles  Hawtrey  and  Maud  Millett,  Messrs. 
Righton  and  Kemble,  Sophie  Larkin  and  Lottie  Venne,  were 
admirable;  and  it  was  a  pity  that  Lydia  Cowell  had  not  more  to 
do.  Nerves^  of  which,  by  the  way,  the  first  act  was  pure  comedy, 
was  favourably  received. 

9th.  Lyric.  The  Bride  of  Love, — Robert  Buchanan's  poetical 
play  produced  at  this  theatre,  with  the  following  changes  in  the 
cast:  Eridon,  Laura  Linden;  Cupidon,  Emmie  Bowman;  Zephyros, 
Ernest  Hendrie;  Euphrosyne,  Miss  Luna;  Creusa,  Ada  Ferrar.     A 


juM£,i89o.]         Casting  the  Boomerang — The  Hurly-Burly,  69 

new  prol(^ue  was  written  by  the  author,  and  was  admirably 
delivered  by  Harriet  Jay. 

9th.  Opera  Comique.  Joan;  or.  The  Brigands  of  Bluegoria, — 
Comic  opera  by  Robert  Martin,  music  by  Ernest  Ford — performed 
by  amateurs. 

loth.  Lyceum.  Casting  t/te  Boomerang. — Eccentric  comedy  in 
four  acts,  by  Augustin  Daly,  who  elected  to  commence  his  fourth 
visit  to  London,  with  the  production  in  which  his  company  made 
their  first  appearance  in  this  country  at  Toole's  Theatre,  July  19th, 
1884.  The  play  is  by  no  means  the  best  in  their  repertoire  ;  it 
is  taken  from  Franz  von  Schonthan's  Schwabenstreich^  and  made 
a  great  reputation  in  America  under  the  primary  title  of  Seven- 
twenty-eight.  Another  version  of  the  German,  by  Herman 
Hendriks,  entitled.  The  Hurly-Burly ;  or^  Number  Seven-twenty- 
eighty  vf^s  produced  at  the  Globe,  June  21st,  1884,  and  some 
little  friction  arose  as  to  the  two  versions.  Of  the  one  now  under 
notice,  I  may  explain  that  728  is  the  number  of  a  picture  of  a 
lady  and  a  dog  which  has  been  hung  in  a  public  gallery.  A  real 
live  English  lord  (for  the  scene  is  laid  in  America)  is  most  anxious 
to  discover  tne  original  of  the  portrait,  and  employs  Signor 
Tamborini  (Frederick  Bond)  to  do  so.  Floss  (Ada  Rehan),  who 
is  the  coquettish  original,  plays  off  the  lord's  anxiety  against  her 
true  love,  Courtney  Corliss  (John  Drew).  " Casting  the  boomerang" 
is  an  expression  used  to  convey  that  at  least  one  of  the  great 
follies  that  we  commit  in  our  lives,  is,  like  the  Australian  weapon, 
sure  to  come  back  to  us,  sometimes  causing  considerable  mischief. 
Launcelot  Bargiss's  (James  Lewis)  "  boomerang "  is  the  idea  that 
he  is  a  poet  and  literary  star,  in  which  delusion  he  is  encouraged 
by  his  wife  and  Professor  Gasleigh  (Charles  Leclercq),  an  out-at- 
elbows  publisher,  who  fattens  on  his  credulity.  Under  the  pretext 
that  it  is  necessary  for  his  success  that  he  should  stay  in  New 
York,  Bargiss  leaves  his  comfortable  country  home  with  his  family 
and  comes  to  the  great  city,  where,  seduced  by  its  pleasures,  the 
old  gentleman,  under  the  pretence  that  he  is  at  work  all  night  in 
his  study,  sallies  forth  with  the  professor,  and  is  at  length  dis- 
covered with  his  own  son-in-law,  Hollyhock  (George  Clarke), 
behind  the  scenes  of  the  opera,  whence  they  are  unearthed  and 
brought  back  in  disgrace  by  Mrs.  Bargiss  and  Dora  (Adelaide 
Prince),  one  of  his  daughters.  Mrs.  Bargiss  (Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert) 
has  thrown  her  "  boomerang  "  in  getting  all  the  sonnets  that  her 
husband  sent  her  in  their  courting  days  printed  and  bound  up, 
under  the  impression  that  they  are  original  productions  of  Bargiss's 
muse,  whereas  the  humbug  has  simply  culled  the  best  specimens 


70  Twelfth  Night — Romeo  and  Juliet.  Uume^iSqo. 

from  well-known  poets,  and  to  save  himself  from  ridicule  has  to 
buy  up  the  whole  edition.  Instead  of  being  anxious  about  the 
lady,  it  turns  out  that  the  lord  wishes  to  find  the  owner  of  the 
dog,  with  a  view  to  purchasing  it.  John  Drew,  James  Lewis, 
Charles  Leclercq,  Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert,  and  Ada  Rehan  resumed 
their  original  parts,  and  all  acted  in  the  inimitable  manner  these 
several  clever  actors  possess.  As  old  friends  and  favourites  they 
were  more  than  warmly  greeted.  Frederick  Bond  was  most  clever 
and  amusing  ;  Adelaide  Prince  pretty  and  engaging ;  and  Kitty 
Cheatham  proved  to  be  one  of  the  merriest  and  brightest  little 
songstresses  and  dancers  that  I  had  seen  for  some  time.  The 
season  opened  quite  auspiciously. 

1 2th.  Royal  General  Theatrical  Fund  Dinner  at  the  H6tel 
M^tropole.  Mr.  Leopold  de  Rothschild,  chairman  of  the  forty- 
fifth  anniversary,  proposed  the  toast  of  the  evening,  to  which 
Mr.  T.  C.  Burleigh  responded,  the  subscriptions  amounting  to 
;^2,070,  the  largest  sum  yet  collected.  Luscombe  Searelle 
proposed  the  drama,  for  which  Mr.  Henry  Arthur  Jones  replied. 
Mr.  S.  B.  Bancroft  proposed  the  health  of  the  chairman,  and  Mr. 
Walter  Pallant  proposed  the  toast  of  the  musical  artists,  coupling 
it  with  the  name  of  Mr.  Ganz,  for  which,  in  the  latter's  absence, 
Mr.  Maybrick  replied. 

1 2th.  Vaudeville.  {Matinee).  A  Peoples  Hero. — Drama  in 
four  acts,  by  W.  Howell-Poole,  founded  on  Ouida's  novel, 
"  Tricotrin  " — a  free  adaptation,  not  altogether  devoid  of  merit,  in 
which  the  author  played  the  hero,  here  named  Lioncoeur. 

1 2th.  Twelfth  Night,^ — In  an  open  air  performance  given  of 
this  play,  Miss  Bessie  was  a  winning  Viola,  Alexes  Leighton 
excellent  as  the  Countess  Olivia,  and  Mary  Bessie  specially  bright 
as  Maria — ^her  laugh  was  so  merry  and  natural.  Sidney  Herberte- 
Basing  as  Malvolio,  John  Le  Hay  as  the  clown  excellent,  and  T.  J. 
Lambourne  as  Sir  Andrew  Aguecheek,  was  acceptable. 

14th.  St.  George's  Hall. — Corney  Grain's  new  musical 
sketch,  Tlie  Society  Peepslww  for  1890. 

17th.  Comedy.  Romeo  and  Juliet, — I  wrote  the  following 
for  The  Stage  :  "  Under  the  management  of  W.  B.  Moore  this 
theatre  reopened  its  doors  for  the  London  d^but  of  Adelaide  Moore. 
It  is  the  ambition  of  almost  every  actress  who  wishes  to  be 
reckoned  as  taking  a  front  rank  in  her  profession  to  appear  as 
Pauline,  Julia,  or  Juliet ;  but  how  few  ever  satisfactorily  fill  the 
latter  beautiful  rdle — that  of  *  an  innocent  Italian  child,  enjoying 
with  an  exquisitely  simple  honesty  the  first  passion  of  love,'  and 
transformed  by  that  very  love,  and  the  obstacles  that  hinder   its 


jiw»,x89o.]  Romeo  and  Juliet  7 1 

fulfilment  into  a  woman  and  a  heroine,  who  will  face  death  even 
to  rejoin  the  man  to  whom  she  has  given  her  whole  soul !  Where 
the  right  cue  is  not  touched,  the  innocent  archness  in  the  balcony 
scene  becomes  the  coquetry  of  a  woman  used  to  love  affairsr — the 
endearments  lavished  on  the  nurse  to  drag  from  her  her  story, 
become  the  almost  fretful  wheedlings  of  a  petted  and  spoilt  child. 
In  the  scene  in  Juliet's  chamber,  again,  how  difficult  it  is  for  the 
actress  to  properly  suggest  the  situation  !  Adelaide  Moore  in 
each  case  conveyed  the  wrong  impression.  To  her  must  be 
granted  an  evidently  intelligent  and  deep  desire  to  interpret 
correctly  the  text,  in  which  she  is  letter  perfect,  but  the  actress 
has  not  the  power.  There  is  a  peculiarity  in  her  delivery  which 
mars  the  lines,  a  want  of  that  true  ring  that  should  carry  conviction 
of  her  changing  moods.  Though  possessed  of  considerable 
natural  gifts,  the  features  do  not  express  her  feelings,  nor  has 
Miss  Moore  yet  learnt  the  grace  of  posture  which  adds  such 
charm  to  a  performance.  Could  anything  have  enabled  her  to 
realize  Shakespeare's  heroine,  it  would  have  been  the  firm  support 
afforded  her  by  Otis  Skinner  as  Romeo.  It  must  be  admitted 
that  a  very  little  more  romance  in  his  acting  would  have  been  an 
improvement,  that  his  love  was  rather  the  deep,  earnest  affection 
of  a  man  of  the  age  of  Othello  (a  part  which,  by  the  way,  we 
should  much  like  to  see  him  undertake),  than  the  headlong  passion 
of  a  youthful  Italian.  Otherwise  his  was  a  truly  impassioned 
performance,  replete  with  intellectual  outcomings,  and  with  several 
original  points.  His  was  the  success  of  the  evening,  and  a  well 
deserved  one.  The  Mercutio  of  Mark  Quinton  was  distinctly 
good  ;  his  delivery  of  the  Queen  Mab  speech  admirable,  though 
his  gestures  were  a  little  too  frequent  and  restless  ;  but  he  made 
amends  in  his  death  scene,  which  exactly  hit  the  mark  and 
brought  him  an  emphatic  call.  George  F.  Black's  Capulet  was 
distinguished  by  his  very  clear  enunciation  and  due  attention  to 
metre,  but  he  threw  rather  too  much  energy  into  the  rating  of  his 
daughter.  John  Nesbitt  was  an  impressive  Friar  Laurence,  but 
was  rather  monotonous  in  his  delivery.  Edwin  Wilde  was  good 
as  the  fiery  Tybalt,  and  G.  B.  Phillips  delightfully  stolid  as  Peter. 
J.  F.  Graham  scored  as  the  Apothecary,  his  misery  and  starvation 
were  real,  and  were  not,  as  is  too  often  the  case,  made  ludicrous. 
A  word  of  praise  must  be  allotted  to  S.  C.  Henry  (Paris)  and  to 
John  Humphries  (Benvolio) ;  Moreton  Baker  should  have  made 
more  of  Balthasar — though  a  small  part  it  has  its  opportunity. 
The  Nurse  of  Mrs.  Charies  Calvert  left  little  to  be  desired  ;  it  was 
fond  and  foolish,  yet  racy.    The  play,  which  had  been  divided  into 


72  As  You  Like  li — The  Dangers  of  London.        [June,  189a 

six  acts,  instead  of  five  as  usually  done— one  entire  act  being 
devoted  to  the  balcony — was  arranged  for  twenty-one  scenes,  all 
all  of  which  were  most  deftly  managed  by  Mr.  Hugh  Moss,  who 
directed  the  production.  The  tabkaux  were  effective,  the  costumes 
rich,  and  the  scene  painters  had  provided  some  beautiful  pictures. 
W.  Ozmond  had  arranged  a  graceful  dance  in  Capulet's  house. 
In  fact,  as  far  as  the  production  was  concerned,  nothing  was 
wanting  to  bring  about  a  success ;  but  we  fear  that  the  heroine 
so  far  failed  in  eliciting  the  sympathies  of  her  audience,  that  a 
very  considerable  portion  of  it  adopted  the  American  fashion  of 
quietly  stealing  away  by  degrees,  so  that  the  curtain  fell  at  last 
on  the  stalls  half-empty,  and  to  a  dead  silence 

17th.  Miss  Fanny  Josephs  (Mrs.  Frances  Adelaide  Wombwell) 
died  at  Margate,  aged  48,  having  been  for  some  years  manageress 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales's  Theatre,  Liverpool.  Made  her  first 
appearance  in  London  at  Sadler's  Wells,  Sept.  8th,  i860,  as  Celia 
in  As  You  Like  It  In  1861  began  her  successful  career  as  a 
burlesque  actress  at  the  Strand.  Played  Lord  Woodbine,  in  The 
Flying  Scud^  on  the  opening  night,  Oct  6th,  1866,  of  the  Holborn 
Theatre,  of  which  she  became  manageress  in  1868,  opening  with 

The  Postboy.  Was  subsequently  a  member  of  the  Globe  and 
Prince  of  Wales's  Companies,  at  the  latter  theatre  she  became  a 
great  favourite.     Was  at  the  Olympic  in  1876,  at  the  Criterion  in 

1877,  and  leased  and  managed  the  Olympic  Theatre  from  July 

1879  for  a  time.     No  lady  or  actress  was  more  universally  loved 

and  respected.     She  lies  buried  in  Brompton  Cemetery. 

17th.  Ladbroke  Hall.     Duskie, — One-act  comedy  by  Mrs. 

G.  Thompson  and  Kate  Sinclair ;  same  evening  Men  and  Wonten, 

one-act  comedy  by  Frank  Lindo. 

17th.  Miss  Mary  Anderson    married    to  Mr.  F.  Antonio  de 

Navarro,  of  New  York,  at  the   Roman  Catholic  Church  of  St. 

Mary,    Holly   Place,    Hampstead.     The   ceremony   was   strictly 

private. 

19th.  Haymarket.       (Matin/e.) — Mrs.    Erving   Winslow,  an 

American  lady,  accomplished  in  a  most  able  manner  the  reading 

of  Ibsen's  play,  An  Enemy  of  the  People, 

23rd.  Alhambra.     Salandra, — Ballet   by    Casati,    music    by 

Jacobi. 

23rd.  Surrey.      The  Dangers  of  London. — Four-act  drama,  by 

F.  A.  Scudamore.   This  had  been  frequently  done  in  the  provinces 

with  success,  and  was  as  fully  appreciated  in  London.     Powerfully 

written  and  cleverly  constructed,  with  plenty  of  sensation  scenes, 

among    which  the  discovery  of  a  crime  through  the  agency  of 


Juke,  1890.]  Art  and  Love — Punchinello.  73 

the  phonograph,  the  temporary  blinding  of  the  hero,  and  a  raft  in 
mid-ocean,  formed  conspicuous  features. 

23rd.  Pavilion.  Work  and  Wages,  Five-act  sensational  drama 
by  William  Bourne.     First  time  in  London. 

24th.  Avenue.  {Matinee)  Art  and  Lave. — One-act  comedy, 
by  A.  W.  Dubourg.  The  author  endeavoured,  in  not  too  happy  a 
manner,  to  illustrate  the  line  of  Pauline  Viardot,  which  he  quotes, 
**/i?  suis  femme^  et  je  suis  artiste*^  and  to  show  the  struggle  that 
goes  on  in  the  nature  of  a  woman,  who,  having  gained  fame  and 
renown  as  an  actress,  leaves  the  stage  to  marry  into  comfortable 
circumstances,  and,  while  loving  her  husband,  looks  back  with 
regret  on  her  former  triumphs,  and  compares  unfavourably  the 
homage  she  receives  from  the  society  in  which  she  mixes  with  the 
plaudits  that  greeted  her  nightly  appearances,  Lucy,  a  former 
actress,  has  married  Henry,  the  son  of  a  wealthy  manufacturer. 
His  family  are  straitlaced,  and  object  to  anything  relating  to  the 
stage,  but  they  accept  Lucy  on  the  understanding  that  she  must 
sever  herself  from  all  her  old  associations.  This  means  that  she 
must  see  no  more  of  Mr.  Jackson,  an  old  actor,  who  has  really 
brought  her  up  and  trained  her,  so  that  she  attained  a  high 
position  on  the  boards.  Mr.  Jackson,  not  knowing  that  his 
former  pupil  is  the  mistress  of  the  house,  calls  with  a  view  of 
securing  her  patronage  for  a  performance.  When  he  recognizes 
her,  he  upbraids  her  for  her  seeming  forgetfulness  of  those  who 
were  good  to  her  in  necessitous  times.  Lucy  explains  matters, 
and  they  are  reconciled,  and  become  once  more  as  they  were  in 
the  past — almost  father  and  daughter — when  Harry  enters,  and 
informs  her  that  by  a  reverse  of  fortune  he  is  ruined.  Lucy  is 
able  to  comfort  and  sustain  him  by  showing  that,  through  the 
exercise  of  the  art  which  he  and  his  have  so  despised,  she  can  earn 
sufficient  to  keep  him  and  his  parents  until  such  time  as  fortune 
shall  shine  on  them  again,  and  Harry  recognizes  the  poor  old 
player,  Jackson,  as  a  friend  and  equal.  The  dialogue  was  inflated 
for  the  most  part,  and  the  subject  a  somewhat  hackneyed  one,  but 
Miss  Wallis  did  all  that  was  possible  with  the  part  of  Lucy. 
Arthur  Stirling  was  a  good  exponent  of  the  old  school  of  actor, 
Mr.  Jackson  ;  and  Mr.  Basing  did  fairly  well  in  the  not  very 
congenial  character  of  Harry. — On  the  same  afternoon  PuncMnello, 
one-act  play  by  Dr.  Dabbs.  A  charmingly  poetical  work,  expressed 
in  blank  verse  of  high  character.  Sad,  perhaps,  but  very  human 
and  natural.  Nina,  a  columbine,  has  been  wooed  by  Roly  under 
the  semblance  of  a  poor  student  His  brother.  Lord  Reverie,  a 
gallant  of  the  Court  (the  period  is  that  of  the  licentious  Charles  II.), 


74  Nancy  and  Co,  Uum,  1890. 

comes  with  evil  designs  on  Nina,  but  is  so  impressed  with 
her  purity  and  innocence,  that  he  becomes  the  staunch  friend  of 
herself  and  her  guardian  and  devoted  lover,  Oliver  Retherdon,  who, 
though  now  appearing  as  a  clown  and  jester,  is  in  reality  a 
baronet,  proscribed  for  having  joined  Cromwell  in  the  past.  Nina 
learns  the  baseness  of  her  lover,  Roly,  for  he  never  intended 
marriage.  She  is  already  consumptive,  and  the  shock  kills  her  ; 
not  violently,  but  gently,  she  fades  away,  forgiving  the  man  who 
has  broken  her  heart,  and  pillowed  on  the  breast  of  poor  Oliver, 
who  has  been  so  true  to  her.  Elizabeth  Robins  was  exquisitely 
tender  as  the  betrayed  girl,  Nina.  W.  H.  Vernon,  as  Oliver 
Retherdon,  was  true  and  noble-hearted.  Bassett  Roe's  perform- 
ance of  Lord  Reverie  was  vigorous,  yet  well  balanced  ;  and  Mr. 
Webster,  besides  acting  well  as  Roly  Reverie,  sang  a  serenade 
with  most  perfect  taste  and  expression. 

24th.  Lyceum.  Nancy  and  Co. — Augustin  Daly's  version  of 
Julius  Rosen's  Halbe  Dichter  was  first  seen  in  London  at  the 
Strand,  July  7th,  1886.  It  has  never  been  considered  one  of  the 
best  pieces  in  the  talented  "  Daly  "  company's  repertoire.  For  all 
that-r-thanks  to  the  way  in  which  they  play  into  each  other's  hands, 
and  the  clever  drawing  of  at  least  two  of  the  characters — the  skit, 
though  thin,  is  very  amusing.  Ebenezer  Griffing  (James  Lewis) 
is  an  old  gentleman,  who,  though  very  partial  to  a  pretty  face  (as 
exemplified  by  his  accepting  photographs  of  the  "  new  girl "  Betsy, 
the  fascinating  help  in  his  household,  brilliantly  played  by  Miss 
Cheatham),  poses  as  a  strict  moralist.  He  is  watching  over  the 
doings  of  Kiefe  O'Kiefe  (John  Drew)  to  see  whether  he  is  worthy 
to  mate  with  Oriana  (Edith  Crane).  Judge  of  old  Griffings 
confirmation  of  his  own  dogma  that  "  no  men  reform "  when 
O'Kiefe  is  carried  off  by  Nancy  Brasher  to  her  hotel,  where  she 
has  given  herself  out  as  Mrs.  O'Kiefe.  The  fact  is,  she  has 
written  a  play,  and  O'Kiefe  has  collaborated  with  her,  and  she  is 
seized  with  a  desire  to  be  present  at  its  first  performance. 
Naturally  she  should  go  under  the  protection  of  her  good-natured 
husband  Tippy  (very  naturally  played  by  Burr  Mackintosh),  but 
she  has  told  him  nothing  of  her  writing,  and  insists  that  O'Kiefe 
shall  keep  the  secret  until  after  the  opening  representation,  when, 
if  a  success,  he  may  tell  all.  Complications  of  every  sort  arise, 
which  are  cleared  away  by  the  fortunate  reception  of  the  joint 
work.  Ada  Rehan,  who  had  been  the  life  and  soul  throughout, 
when  the  announcement  came  gave  us  one  of  those  exquisite 
touches  that  so  mark  her  capabilities.  The  success  assured,  it 
flashes  upon  Nancy  how  badly  she  has  behaved  to  her  devoted, 


juME,  1890.]  Macbeth — Elaine — Your  Wife,  75 

honest,  and  blundering  husband,  and  the  agony  she  must  have 
caused  his  loving  heart  when  he  thought  she  had  run  away  from 
him,  and  her  burst  of  grief  and  self-condemnation  was  so  heartful 
as  to  deeply  touch  her  audience.  James  Lewis,  John  Drew,  and 
Mrs.  Gilbert  (Mrs.  Huldah  Dangery)  were  excellent  in  their 
original  parts.  Frederick  Bond  was  very  amusing  as  the  "  dude  " 
Stockslow,  with  an  inane  chuckle.  Two  new  recruits  (at  least  as 
far  as  their  appearance  in  London  is  concerned)  were  Edith  Crane 
and  Isabel  Irving  (Daisy  Griffing)  both  very  pretty  and  engaging 
actresses.  Nancy  and  Co.  had  a  fortnight's  run  out  of  the  short 
period  the  Daly  Company  was  with  us. 

25  th.  The  recital  oi  Macbeth  by  Henry  Irving  and  Ellen  Terry, 
at  the  St.  James's  Hall,  was  well  attended,  and  thoroughly 
appreciated.  The  time  occupied  was  just  two  hours.  The 
murder  and  the  witches'  scenes  created  the  greatest  enthusiasm, 
and  considerable  surprise  is  expressed  at  the  lasting  power  of  Mr. 
Irving,  who,  after  the  arduous  task  of  representing  almost  all  the 
characters  but  one,  and  keeping  them  so  marvellously  distinct, 
could  throw  such  vigour  into  the  closing  scene  with  Macduff. 

26th.  Mr.  and.  Mrs.  Kendal  were  much  fdted  at  a  "home- 
welcoming  "  accorded  them  at  the  H6tel  M^tropole.  Mr.  Kendal 
spoke  most  gratefully  of  the  kindness  he  had  experienced  at  the 
hands  of  our  American  cousins,  whom  he  and  Mrs.  Kendal  would 
shortly  again  re-visit  professionally. 

26th«  Fred  Homer's  tenancy  of  Toole's  Theatre  came  to  an 
end,  and  Tke  Bungalow  was  played  for  the  last  time  in  a  scene  of 
much  enthusiasm,  the  popular  manager  being  heartily  greeted  on 
his  appearing  at  the  end  of  the  evening. 

26th.  KiLBURN  Town  Hall.  Elaine. — A  daintily  written 
one-act  play,  by  Royston  Keith.  The  author,  who  himself  took 
the  part  of  his  hero.  Jack  Steele,  tells  of  the  young  fellow  being 
engaged  to  Elaine  Groyn.  He  has  to  go  abroad,  and  is  supposed 
to  be  lost  in  a  shipwreck.  Nothing  is  heard  about  him  for  eight 
years,  when  a  letter,  announcing  his  return,  arrives.  Elaine  has 
gone  blind,  and  has  adopted  a  little  girl,  Muriel  (cleverly  played 
by  Bessie  Thompson),  and  teaches  her  to  call  her  Mother. 
Muriel  thinks  that  on  account  of  her  blindness  she  should  release 
Jack  from  his  engagement,  and  he,  knowing  that  she  is  not 
married,  yet  thinks  that  Muriel  is  her  child.  The  misconceptions 
are  cleared  away  through  the  little  girl.  The  part  of  Elaine 
was  sympathetically  filled  by  Mrs.  Thompson. 

26th.  St.  James's.  Your  Wife. — ^A  three-act  farcical  comedy. 
If  not  the  actual  play    of    Prite   Mot  ta  Fetnme,    by   Maurice 


^6  Your  Wife — Old  Friends.  Quke,  1890. 

Desvalli^res,  the  idea  has  been  often  used  for  production  in 
English,  sometimes  for  better,  sometimes  for  worse.  Mr.  Justin 
McCarthy  was  only  able  to  accomplish  the  latter,  for  he  exhausted 
himself  in  the  first  act,  and  gave  us  nothing  fresh  or  particularly 
enlivening  in  the  last  two.  We  have  only  the  old  story  of  a 
scapegrace,  Jack  Daryl  (A.  Bourchier),  who,  in  order  that  he  may 
obtain  necessary  supplies  from  a  suspicious  uncle,  Appleton 
Crabbe  (F.  Everill)  passes  himself  off,  by  letter,  as  a  husband  and 
father.  Uncle  Crabbe,  unexpectedly  returning  from  Africa  with 
the  reputation  of  an  explorer  (cheaply  earned,  by-the-way,  for  he 
is  a  bit  of  a  humbug),  insists  on  seeing  Mrs.  Daryl  and  her 
offspring.  In  his  dilemma.  Jack  borrows  Amy  (Edith  Chester), 
the  wife  of  his  friend  Tom  Verity  (Ernest  Lawford),  who,  rather 
simple  and  very  good-natured,  lends  himself  to  the  deception  until 
his  sluggish  temperament  is  roused  to  jealousy  by  the  attentions 
which,  as  every  married  man  should  do,  Jack  pays  to  Amy. 
Jack,  being  really  but  secretly  engaged  to  Lucy,  Crabbe's 
daughter,  the  old  gentleman  is  much  scandalized  by  noticing  that 
their  heads  are  often  a  great  deal  too  close  together.  Josephine 
(Adrienne  Dairolles)  Mrs.  Verity's  bontUy  who  has  charge  of  the 
supposititious  baby,  finds  in  Arminius  Appenberg  (H.  de  Lange)  a 
former  lover,  who  had  deserted  her,  and  who  is  also  supposed 
to  be  a  second  Stanley,  but  without  foundation.  These  two 
did  all  that  was  possible  to  redeem  the  shortcomings  of  the  play 
itself,  and  were  very  successful.  Arthur  Bourchier  did  not  shine  in 
what  may  be  called  a  "  Wyndham  "  part  Edith  Chester  and  Annie 
Irish  were  neither  of  them  light  enough.  F.  Everill  was  thoroughly 
amusing,  and  Ernest  Lawford  was  not  only  droll,  but  humorous  ; 
a  little  more  experience,  and  he  will  do  great  things  in  this  line. 
Your  Wife  was  preceded  on  the  same  evening  by  Old  Friends^ 
a  play  in  one  act  by  Lady  Violet  Greville.  In  one  sense  Lady 
Greville's  very  pretty,  but  rather  sad,  play  reminds  one  of  Barbara^ 
and  other  productions  in  which  an  elder  sister  sacrifices  herself  to 
secure  the  happiness  of  a  younger.  For  ten  long  years  Alice 
(Annie  Irish)  has  waited  for  Dick  Fitzroy  (Laurence  Cautley). 
When  he  returns  he  sees  in  Dolly  the  reproduction  of  the  picture 
of  the  love  he  has  carried  in  his  breast,  whilst  the  original  has 
from  waiting  and  anxiety  somewhat  faded.  She  is  the  sweeter 
and  the  better  woman,  but  with  love's  blindness  he  does  not  see 
this,  and  so  transfers  his  affections,  and  his  suit  is  accepted  by  the 
madcap  Dolly,  and  certainly  too  easily  by  the  peppery  father, 
Captain  Mowbray  (Gilbert  Farquhar).  All  the  characters  were 
excellent  played,  and  materially  helped  to  secure  the  call  awarded 


juHB.  1890.]  Cyrene.  yy 

to  the  authoress.  Mr.  Arthur  Bourchier,  who  commenced  his 
managerial  career  with  the  above  plays,  had  certainly  engaged  a 
good  company,  but  he  did  not  utilize  their  talents  to  the  best 
advantage,  as  events  proved. 

27th.  Avenue.  {Matinee)  Cyrene, — Mr.  Calmour  enhanced 
his  reputation  as  a  poet  and  a  dramatist  by  his  latest  work.  One 
could  not  but  feel  interested  in  the  development  of  his  story,  or 
refrain  from  admiring  the  strength  and  beauty  of  some  of  his 
lines.  The  weakness  of  the  whole  lay  principally  in  the  char- 
acters of  Zembra,  Gustrell,  and  Nina,  which  had  little  or  scarce 
any  bearing  on  the  play  itself,  and  to  make  them  of  real  con- 
sequence required  to  be  considerably  strengthened.  Due  credit, 
however,  must  be  given  to  John  Carter,  the  alchymist  Zembra, 
who  lauds  the  potentiality  of  the  gold  he  worships,  and  to  the 
discovery  of  which  he  devotes  his  life ;  and  to  Gustrell  his  pupil 
(F.  Hamilton  Knight),  who,  wearied  of  the  fruitless  search  after 
wealth,  turns  his  attention  to  the  more  congenial  occupation  of 
making  love  in  a  bright  and  airy  way  to  the  equally  coquettish 
Nina.  Mr.  Calmour,  it  was  understood,  wished  to  portray  in 
Cyrene  the  conflict  between  the  angels  of  good  and  evil  that  is 
ever  raging  in  a  man's  breast.  His  heroine  has  nursed  back  to 
moral  and  physical  health  the  barbarian  Prince,  Fantea  (Henry 
Neville) ;  he  has  been  stricken  with  blindness,  but  longs  for  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  woman  he  has  learnt  to  love.  She,  in  a  sportive  mood, 
draws  a  picture  of  her  designing  foster-sister,  Ciprissa.  Moretus, 
the  ph3^ician,  restores  to  Fantea  his  sight,  and  the  Prince,  believ- 
ing Ciprissa  to  be  his  love,  weds  her,  boldly  repulsing  Cyrene. 
Learning  of  the  wickedness  of  Ciprissa,  who  has  taken  Brancho 
for  her  paramour,  -Cyrene  allows  herself  to  be  reported  dead,  re- 
turns in  the  garb  of  her  brother  Sebastian  to  be  near  to  comfort 
Fantea.  Her  gentleness  wins  him  back  again  to  nobler  thoughts, 
for  he  has  almost  relapsed  into  his  former  state  of  savagery.  The 
anxiety  and  furious  passion  have,  however,  once  more  rendered 
him  sightless.  His  troubles  are  not  increased  by  this,  but  lessened, 
for  he  will  have  Cyrene  to  guide  him  in  the  future,  she  revealing 
herself  in  her  own  character  when  Ciprissa  is  struck  dead  by 
Brancho,  through  revenge  for  a  slight  put  upon  him.  The  author 
was  fortunate  in  securing  Marion  Terry  and  Henry  Neville — the 
one  for  her  tender  womanliness,  the  other  for  his  impassioned  and 
true  delivery.  Arthur  Stirling,  too,  though  a  little  ponderous, 
understood  the  value  of  his  lines.  Edmund  Gurney  did  good 
service  as  the  vengeful  gipsy,  Brancho,  and  that  P.  J.  Kirwan 
should  acquit  himself  well  was  only  to  be  expected,  esteemed  as 


78  Papa's  Honeymoon.  ain«,i89o. 


he  IS  as  an  elocutionist  The  surprise  of  the  afternoon,  however, 
was  the  rendering  of  the  character  of  Ciprissa  by  Lilian  Hingston, 
a  young  and  unknown  actress,  who  took  up  the  part  at  the  very 
shortest  notice  (owing  to  Miss  Vane's  illness),  and  who  exhibited 
a  power  and  subtlety  that  were  greatly  to  be  admired,  and  which 
promised  greatness  in  the  future.  The  incidental  music,  composed 
by  John  Crook,  and  a  dance  arranged  by  Sylvia  Grey  (the  latter 
encored),  were  characteristic  and  graceful.  "  Karl's  "  designs  for 
the  dresses  were  tastefully  carried  out  by  Messrs.  Nathan. 

27  th.  Criterion.  {Matint^e)  Papers  Honeymoon. — Three-act 
comedy,  by  Silvain  Mayer  and  W.  B.  Tarpey.  We  have,  on 
more  than  one  occasion,  seen  considerable  fun  extracted  from  the 
pedicament  in  which  an  elderly  and  uxorious  widower  is  placed, 
when  he  marries  again  and  keeps  the  secret  of  his  second  nuptials 
from  his  family.  That  is  what  happens  to  Mr.  Benjamin  Bush 
(W.  Blakeley).  He  marries  Annette,  and  she  insists  on  the  union 
being  kept  secret  lest  she  should  jeopardize  a  certain  legacy  that 
may  come  to  her.  She  is  therefore  introduced  by  her  husband 
as  a  governess  and  companion  that  he  has  engaged  for  his  three 
daughters,  Ida  (Angela  Cudmore),  Agnes  (Ellaline  Terris),  and 
Lucy  (Mabel  Hardinge).  They  treat  her  in  a  very  de-hauUen- 
bos  fashion  ;  his  deceased  wife's  sister,  Amelia  Clutterbuck  (Miss 
Victor),  in  an  even  more  cavalier  manner.  Arthur  Hall  (George 
Giddens),  a  former  lover  of  hers,  who  fancies  that  he  is  still 
engaged  to  her,  to  keep  her  in  good  humour  flirts  with  her, 
clandestinely,  for  he  is  afraid  that  she  will  betray  their  connection, 
which  would  militate  against  his  success  with  Ida,  to  whom  he  is 
now  engaged.  Miss  Clutterbuck  is  much  incensed  at  his  atten- 
tions to  Annette  (Helen  Forsyth),  but  not  so  much  as  at  the 
frequent  meetings  she  comes  across  between  her  brother-in-law 
and  the  fascinating  newcomer.  Played  briskly  all  this  would 
have  been  very  amusing  if  done  in  one  act,  but  spun  out  to  three, 
it  was  only  a  repetition  of  the  same  incidents  relieved  occasionally 
by  the  humours  of  Mr.  Joseph  Sniffle  (a  character  that  w^s  well 
played  by  J.  G.  Grahame),  who  is  a  very  simple  and  unsophisticated 
gentleman  that  has  come  into  a  little  property  and  therefore  thinks 
it  incumbent  on  himself  to  find  a  wife  at  once.  His  desire  is 
gratified  at  last  by  Lucy,  who  accepts  him,  Agnes  pairing  off*  with 
Walter  Emden  (L.  Hewson),  and  the  opportune  death  of  Annette's 
guardian  permitting  her  to  announce  her  marriage.  Mr.  Blakeley 
can  scarcely  help  being  funny,  and  as  on  him  fell  the  burden  of 
the  play,  he  caused  considerable  laughter.  Helen  Forsyth  and 
the  other  young  ladies  in  the  cast  had  really  little  more  to  do 


juNB,  189a]  The  Cloven  Foot— La  LuUe  pour  la  Vie.  79 

than  to  look  pretty ;  in  this  they  were  bound  to  acquit  themselves 
well,  and  so  far  as  they  could  strengthen  the  characters  they  did 
so.  Miss  Victor  played  very  drolly  one  of  those  gushing  ladies 
of  a  certain  age  for  which  she  is  so  often  cast  Sydney  Valentine 
and  Miss  E.  Vining  did  well  as  a  pair  of  highly  moral  servants 
(Martin  and  Caroline),  whose  sensibilities  are  shocked  at. the  goings 
on  of  their  elderly  master.  The  comedy  may  be  original,  but  it 
has  a  suspiciously  French  flavour,  particularly  in  one  incident, 
which  might  with  advantage  have  been  omitted.  This  was  the 
occasion  on  which  the  best  known  London  critics  paid  for  their 
admission  and  took  their  seats  in  the  pit,  Mr.  Charles  Wyndham| 
having  again  wished  to  prevent  any  criticism  on  the  first  production 
of  a  play  at  his  theatre. 

30th.  Pavilion.  Tke  Cloven  Foot — Play  dramatized  by 
Janette  Steer  and  F.  Mouillot,  from  M.  E.  Braddon's  novel. 
First  time  in  London. 

30th.  Grand. — Mr.  Henry  Irving  and  his  Lyceum  company 
appeared  during  the  week  in  The  Bells  to  enormous  houses  ;  the 
only  regret  felt  was  that  there  was  no  part  for  Ellen  Terry. 

Her  Majesty's.     French  plays. — On  June  2nd,  Mr.  Mayer 
commenced  a  season  with  La  Lutte  pour  la    Vie^  five-act  drama 
by  Alphonse    Daudet,  with   the  following : — MM.    Paul  Astier, 
Marais ;  Vaillant,  Devaux ;  Chemineau,  Noblet ;  Antonia  Caussade, 
Boui^et ;  Conte  Adriani,  Paul  Plan  ;  Lortigne,  Hirch  ;  Heartebize, 
Lagrange  ;  Le  Notaire,  Ricquier  ;  Due  de  Bretigny,  Seiglet ;  First 
Chasseur,  Torin ;  Second  Chasseur,  Alphonse ;  Un  Commissionaire, 
Boudier  ;  Un  Valet,  Lorianne  ;  Un  Marchand,  Adrien  ;  Mmes.  Paul 
Astier,  Maria  Antonia,  Duchesse  de  Padovani ;  Pasca  ;  Mar^chale 
de  S^leny,  Desclauzas ;  Esther  de  S^l^ny,  Demarsy ;  Lydie  Vaillant, 
Darland  ;  Mme.  de  Rocandre,  Varley  ;  Mme.  de  Foder,  Auge. — On 
June  9th  was  produced  Paris  fin  de  Siecle^  play  in  five  acts  by 
Ernest  Blum  and  Raoul  Toch^  ;  the  cast  was  as  follows  : — MM. 
Alfred  de  Mirandol,  Noblet;  Marquis  de  Boissy,  Grodet-Lagrange ; 
Roger  de  Kerjoel,  Berguet ;  Due  de  Linares,  Paul  Plan  ;  La  Faloise 
Num^s  ;  La  Fauchette,  Hirch  ;  Rivolet,  Nicolini ;  Jules,  France  ; 
M.  des  Epiglottes,  Renoux ;  Un  Domestique,  Ricquier ;  Un  Valet, 
Seiglet ;  Adrien,  Torin  ;  First  Gar5on  de  Caf^  Debray ;  Second 
Gargon  de  Caf<6,  Alphonse ;  Mmes.  Claire  de  Chancenay,  Sisos  ; 
Marquise  de  Boissy-Godet,  Desclauzas  ;  Berthe,  Depoix  ;  Judith 
Fripier,  Darland  ;  Mme.  des  Epiglottes,  Demarsy ;  Mme.  de  Val 
Chevrette,  Varly  ;  Mme.  Fripier,  Renard  ;  Mme.  de  la  Roche  qui 
Pleure,  Lecuyer;  Mme.  de  la  Verpilli^re,  Auge ;  Albertine,  Arbel ; 
Juliette,  Lorianne ;  Une  Femme   de   Chambre,  Davenay ;  Une 


8o  Jeanne  (VArc—A  Silician  Idyll—Fazio,  uuly.iSqo. 


Caissi^re,  Miramont — On  June  23rd  was  produced  Jeanne  d'Arc, 
drama  in  five  acts  by  Jules  Barbier  : — Mmes.^  Jeanne  d'Arc, 
Sarah  Bernhardt ;  Iseult,  Jane  Mea ;  Isabelle  Romde,  Marie 
Grandet ;  Mengette,  Seylor  ;  Loys,  Andran  ;  AfJ/.,  Jacques  d'Arc, 
Lacroix  ;  Lahire,  Rebel ;  Thebaut,  Rosny  :  Siward,  Herbert ;  Un 
Viellard,  Perrier ;  Warwick,  Gamier ;  Le  Roi ;  Charles  VII., 
Dencubourg;  De  Thouars,  Darmont;  Dunois,  Darles ;  Xaintrailles, 
Cartereau  ;  Nicolas  Loyseleur,  Piron  ;  Pierrelo,  Pr(5vost  ;  Gordon, 
Duberry ;  Maitre  Jean,  Mallet ;  Manchon,  Jegu  ;  Jean  d*Estivet, 
Lacroix  ;  Laurent  Guesdon,  Besson. 


VII. 

July. 

1st  St.  George's  Hall.  A  Sicilian  Idyll. — First  produced  at 
the  Club,  Bedford  Park,  on  May  5th  of  this  year,  was  played  again 
here.  Professor  Todhunter's  play  treats  of  the  wooing  of  a 
scornful  shepherdess,  hitherto  deaf  to  love's  blandishments,  by  a 
persevering  and  eventually  conquering  tender  of  the  flocks  ;  and 
of  the  lighter  loves  of  another  shepherd  and  shepherdess.  Florence 
Farr  was  again  Amaryllis  ;  Lily  Linfield,  Thestylis ;  and  H.  M. 
Paget,  Alcander.  On  the  present  occasion,  C.  Crofton  was 
Daphnis  ;  Mowbray  Marras,  W.  H.  Roe,  and  Miss  C.  Connell  also 
lent  their  aid.  The  chorus  of  shepherds  and  shepherdesses  con- 
sisted of  Mrs.  Campbell  Perugini,  Miss  Beaton,  and  Misses  C.  and 
J.  Connell,  and  Messrs.  W.  Allen,  Hamilton,  Jackson,  and  Taylor, 
etc  The  choruses  were  excellently  rendered.  The  scenery, 
dresses,  and  groupings,  picturesquely  furnished  by  Mr.  A.  Lys 
Baldry  and  Messrs.  Paget  and  Harrison,  had  better  scope  for 
display,  and  Lily  Linfield  could  do  herself  better  justice  in  her 
own  dance  (which  was  encored),  and  in  the  dances  and  vintage 
procession  arranged  by  her.  Was  it  absolutely  necessary  to  the 
realism  of  a-  Theocritan  pastoral  age  that  some  of  the  ladies'  feet 
and  the  shepherds'  limbs  should  be  bare  ? 

1st.  Strand.  {MatifUe)  Fazio. — I  wrote  the  following  for  The 
Stage  :  "  Dean  Milman's  powerful  but  gloomy  tragedy,  in  which 
Miss  Ivanowa  has  made  her  London  d^but^  has  not  been  seen  in 
the  metropolis  for  some  years.  Published  in  1 8 1 5,  it  was  pro- 
duced without  licence  at  Bath,  January  i6th,  1 8 1 8,  with  Conway  as 
Fazio,  Chatter  ley  as  Bartoldo,  and  Miss  Somerville  (Mrs.  Bunn)  as 
Bianca.     The   reception  accorded   it  secured   for  it  almost  im- 


july,t8<)o,]  Fazio.  8 1 

mediate  representation   at   Covent  Garden,   where  the  principal 
characters    were    played    by    C.    Kemble    (Fazio),    Miss    O'Neil 
(Bianca).    Mrs.    Faucet    (Aldabella),    and   by    W.   Blanchard    as 
Bartoldo.     In   1853,  at  Sadler's  Wells,  Marston  was  Fazio  ;  Miss 
Glynn,  Bianca ;   Mrs.   Brougham,  Aldabella ;    and    A.    Younge, 
Bartoldo.     Madam  Ristori  was  one  of  the  greatest  representatives 
of  Bianca,  and  the  character  has  been  a  favourite  one  with  Miss 
Wallis.    Miss  Bateman  and  Miss  Anderson  have  also  appeared  in 
it  in  the  provinces.     Though  a  very  trying  part  it  has  its  reward 
in  that  it  enables  the  actress  to  embody  the  representation  of  the 
most  trusting  love,  almost  insane  revenge,  harrowing  remorse,  and 
incipient  madness.     As  the  play  has  not  been  seen  for  so  long 
we    may   perhaps    be  allowed  briefly    to  recapitulate  the  plot 
Fazio,  living    in   humble  circumstances  with    his    wife,    Bianca, 
discovers  that  the  old  miser  Bartoldo  has  died ;  and,  that  he  may 
take  possession  of  all  his  available  gold,  buries  the  body  in  the 
garden  and  begins  a  new  life  of  pleasure.       He  is  bewitched  by 
the  heartless  but  beautiful    Aldabella.     Bianca,   merely  to   tear 
him  from  her  rival's  arms,  denounces  him  to  the  council  which  is 
sitting   to    inquire  as    to  the  disappearance  of  Bartoldo.     The 
unhappy  wife,  little  thinking  of  the  terrible  consequences  she  will 
draw  down  upon  her  husband,  lets  it  be  understood  that  he  is 
the  murderer  of  the  miser — Fazio  is  condemned  to  death,  and 
then  comes  her  unavailing  sorrow  and  remorse.     She  pleads  even 
to  Aldabella  to  save  his  life,  offering  to  surrender  him  to  her 
altogether.     Fazio  is    executed.     Aldabella  is    entertaining   the 
Duke  of  Florence  and  the  court,  when  Bianca  enters,  charges 
her  with  being  dissolute,   and  with  having  taken    her  husband 
from  her,  and  then  dies,  Aldabella  being  sentenced  to  a  life-long 
seclusion    in   a   convent     It  is    daring   in    a  young   actress  to 
attempt  the  character   of   Bianca,  but  Miss  Ivanowa  from    her 
capabilities  was  fully  justified  in  doing  so.     Though  said  to  be  of 
Russian  birth,  there  is  but  the  faintest  trace  of  any  foreign  accent, 
and  that  but  occasionally.     Her  features  are  pretty  and  mobile  ; 
her  eyes  are  good,  she  possesses  a  very  rich  and  sweet  voice,  and 
her    movements    are   graceful    and    unstudied.     Miss   Ivanowa's 
faults    are   those   which    come    from    inexperience,   and    should 
disappear  with  the  increased  exercise  of  her  profession.     She  can- 
not quite  manage  her  voice  yet,  and  she  is  rather  abrupt  in  her 
transitions  of  emotion.     Her  love  was  tender,  her  regret  poignant, 
the  scorn  for  her  rival  bitterly  expressed,  and  her  dying  moments 
pathetic.     Lewis  Waller  proved  himself  a  master  in  the  delivery 
of  blank  verse,  in  this  case  none  too  easy,  and  acted  with  fervour 

6 


82  Vera — Illusion.  uly,  1890. 

and  strength.  Mrs.  Bennett,  unused,  perhaps,  to  so  small  a  house 
as  the  Strand,  was  a  little  too  emphatic,  and  a  trifle  hard ;  there 
vas  a  want  of  seductiveness,  and  she  had  forgotten  the  reference 
in  the  text  to  her  *  jetty  locks,'  for  her  hair  was  fair.  Julian  Cross 
was  duly  impressive  and  dignified  as  the  Duke  of  Florence  ; 
John  Carter  good  as  Bartoldo,  and  Henrietta  Cross  pleasing  as 
Clara.     K.  Gran  spoke  his  lines  well." 

1st.  Death  of  W.  Oliver  Cromwell,  manager  of  the  Alexandra 
Theatre,  Sheffield. 

1st.  Globe.  (Matin/e.)  Vera. — By  Ellis  Smith.  The  author 
could  not  be  complimented  on  his  work,  for  a  more  crude,  sketchy 
piece  had  not  been  seen  for  some  time.  Its  greatest  merit  was 
its  brevity,  for  it  only  played  one  and  three-quarter  hours.  The 
author  shows  us  "  Russian  life "  under  its  most  debased  aspect. 
Vera  de  Saviloff*  (Madame  de  Nauca^e),  we  can  infer  to  have 
been  a  favourite  of  the  Czar,  and  though  the  mother  of  a  grown 
up  son  is  still  an  intriguante.  She  has  deserted  her  son  Feodor 
(Alfred  B.  Cross)  when  he  was  a  baby ;  he  returns  to  Russia  on 
his  attaining  manhood  to  assert  his  claims  to  his  estates.  His 
papers  are  stolen  by  Leon  d'Arblay  (Cecil  M.  York),  who 
endeavours  to  pass  himself  off*  as  the  rightful  Shapiroff*.  To 
further  his  ends  he  makes  love  to  Vera,  who  accepts  his  pretended 
affection,  and  is  eventually  horrified  to  find,  as  she  imagines  for 
a  time,  that  she  has  permitted  the  addresses  of  her  own  son,  an 
unpleasant  feature  in  any  play,  and  too  much  dwelt  on  in  this. 
An  intriguing  minister  of  police,  Baron  Alexis  (Edmund  Gurney), 
who,  to  revenge  a  slight  put  upon  him  by  Vera,  tries  to  get 
everybody  sent  to  Siberia ;  and  some  rather  good  love  scenes 
between  Isadora  (Violet  Thomycroft)  and  Feodor  (well  played  by 
the  representatives)  make  up  a  disagreeable  story.  Madame  de 
Naucaze  should  have  chosen  a  better  play  for  her  reappearance  in 
London  ;  the  actress  did  more  than  justice  to  her  character,  a 
repulsive  one  in  itself,  and  should  be  capable  of  great  things,  her 
handsome  stage  presence  fitting  her  well  for  many  parts.  Edmund 
Gurney  and  Cecil  M.  York  helped  the  play  to  some  extent 

3rd.  Strand.  {Matinee.)  Illusion. — Three-act  play,  by  Pierre 
Leclercq.  There  was  so  much  to  interest  one  in  Mr.  Leclercq's 
first  play,  A  Love  Story,  that  it  was  generally  hoped  that  this,  his 
later  production,  would  exceed  the  former  in  beauty  and  power. 
We  were  doomed  to  disappointment,  for  Illusion  is  infinitely  more 
artificial,  and  has  only  real  strength  in  its  last  act  We  have 
that  frequent  weakness  of  concealment,  whereby  a  man  wrecks 
his  own  life  and  that  of  his  wife  for  no  adequate  motive.     We 


July.  1890,]  Illusion,  83 

have  a  husband,  after  an  absence  of  only  seven  days,  not  being 
recognized  by  his  wife,  and  we  go  over  and  over  the  same  ground 
of  a  woman  first  believing  and  then  distrusting  her  husband, 
though  she  vows  she  will  not  credit  anything  to  his  disparage- 
ment Una  (Marion  Lea)  has  eloped  with  John  Revellin  (Lewis 
Waller)  to  escape  a  marriage  with-  Mr.  Eyres  Higginson  (G.  Foss), 
a  rich  and  elderly  suitor,  that  her  father,  Mr.  Lullworth  (W.  H. 
Vernon),  a  selfish,  brutal  scamp,  wishes  to  force  upon  her. 
Finding  that  she  has  foiled  his  designs,  and  is  married,  Lullworth 
revenges  himself  by  plainly  telling  his  daughter  that,  all  the  time 
her  husband  is  pretending  such  devotion  to  her,  he  is  still 
enthralled  by  a  notorious  courtesan,  "La  Faneuse"  (Rose  Leclercq), 
with  the  result  that  he  separates  the  Revellins.  John  has  to  sail 
for  America,  but  induces  his  brother  Joseph  (H.  Amcliffe)  to  take 
his  place.  A  collision  occurs,  and  John  is  supposed  to  have  been 
drowned.  He  remains  in  hiding  for  a  week,  and  then  visits  his 
wife  in  the  character  of  Joseph,  and  she  actually  does  not  re- 
cognize him,  though  he  assumes  no  disgfuise  whatever !  Presently 
he  reveals  himself,  and  she  believes  his  protestations  of  innocence, 
and  promises  to  be  patient  until  he  can  explain.  Her  father, 
however,  is  anxious  to  induce  her  to  obtain  a  divorce,  and 
presently  informs  her  that  John  Revellin  is  actually  at  the  house 
of  her  fancied  rival.  Una  follows  him  there,  and  in  the  grounds 
she  poses  as  one  of  the  statues,  and  then  overhears  the  interview 
between  her  husband  and  La  Faneuse.  From  it  she  learns  that 
La  Faneuse  is  the  wife  of  Lullworth,  and  her  own  mother,  who, 
when  she  left  her  home,  deserted  her  child  ;  that  Revellin  has 
been  trying  to  reform  her,  and  persuade  her  to  leave  the  life  of 
infamy  she  has  been  leading.  La  Faneuse  has  always  retained 
a  love  for  the  memory  of  Una — has  constantly  kept  herself 
informed  of  her  doings,  and  when  she  hears  that  she  is  to  be 
married  to  Revellin,  puts  herself  in  communication  with  him.  In 
a  really  exquisite  scene  she  confesses  the  horrors  of  her  past 
mis-spent  existence,  and  vows  to  amend  it.  She  parts  with  all 
her  wealth,  and  determines  to  enter  a  religious  house  and  live  a 
life  of  expiation.  In  this  scene  Rose  Leclercq  completely  held 
the  house  by  her  pathetic  rendering  of  the  shame  and  remorse  of 
the  repentant  woman,  and  gave  a  most  perfect  touch  of  nature  in 
lowering  the  veil  before  she  ventured  to  kiss  the  pure  lips  of  her 
child,  lest  her  own  sullied  ones  should  bring  contamination  by 
their  actual'  touch.  Marion  Lea  was  spasmodic  and  hysterical ; 
allowances,  however,  must  .be  made  for  her  nervousness,  for  she 
gave  the  matinie^  and  the  character  was  a  difficult  one,  but  it  was 


84  The  Solicitor.  CJuly,  1890. 

only  occasionally  we  had  a  glimpse  of  that  of  which  the  young 
actress  is  capable.  Lewis  Waller  did  his  best  with  a  very  thank- 
less part,  and  redeemed  much  that  was  weak  in  it  W.  H.  Vernon 
was  to  the  life  an  unprincipled  selfish  creature,  whose  only  object 
in  life  is  his  own  pleasure  and  gratification.  Ivan  Watson  was 
excellent  as  a  fire-eating  madly  jealous  Frenchman,  the  Count 
de  Buci  ;  Louise  Gourlay,  very  clever  as  a  waiting  maid  ; 
C.  Ramsay,  amusing  as  a  cockney  serving  lad  ;  and  Lawrance 
D*Orsay  well  represented  an  old  roiid^  the  Earl  of  Bramber.  The 
dialogue  was  often  very  good. 

3rd.  Toole's.  The  Solicitor. — Mr.  Darnley's  most  amusing 
farce  had  its  trial  trip  at  the  Court,  Liverpool,  on  Monday, 
May  5th  of  this  year.  The  situations  are  intensely  funny,  though 
wildly  improbable ;  but  then  we  do  not  expect  probabilities  when 
we  are  asked  to  see  a  farce.  The  great  Jove  is  said  to  have 
nodded  at  times,  and,  therefore,  we  may  pardon  a  staid  lawyer 
(Brandon)  if,  after  having  dined  freely,  he  is  induced  to  drive  a 
hansom,  whose  owner  has  left  it  unattended.  In  farce,  what 
more  natural  than  than  Brandon's  first  fare  is  his  own  wife,  and 
that  on  arriving  at  her  destination  she  is  kissed  by  a  soldier } 
Then  the  enraged  husband  is  next  hailed  by  a  pair  of  burglars, 
who  threaten  him  with  a  revolver  unless  he  drives  them  and  the 
"swag"  they  have  just  carried  off  from  Colonel  Sterndale's 
quarters.  In  the  natural  course  of  things  Brandon  is  engaged  by 
the  genuine  cabman's  daughter,  Mary  Kingston,  to  defend  her 
father,  who  has  been  taken  up  for  aiding  the  escape  of  the 
burglars  in  his  cab.  Mary  is  very  pretty,  and  excites  the  ad- 
miration of  Colonel  Sterndale  and  Captain  Midhurst,  and  they 
both  go  on  different  excuses  to  7,  Vere  Street,  Kensington,  where 
she  lives,  and  where  they  are  discovered  by  their  respective  wives. 
Brandon  also  turns  up  there,  for  it  is  the  house  to  which  he  drove 
his  wife,  and  there  he  finds  her  again.  This  time  she  has  come 
by  appointment  to  meet  the  swell  mobsman,  Peter  Flagan,  alias 
Percy  Fitzgerald,  to  endeavour  to  recover  her  diamonds,  which 
were  stolen  from  her  when  she  was  on  her  way  to  raise  money 
on  them  to  pay  debts  which  she  had  incurred  unknown  to  her 
lord  and  master.  Of  course,  the  soldier  is  there  again,  for  he  is 
courting  Mary  Kingston.  He  falls  into  the  error  that  she  is 
encouraging  the  attentions  of  the  "cracksman."  Brandon  re- 
cognizes Flagan  as  one  of  the  thieves  he  drove  on  the  eventful 
night,  but  as  he  is  already  nearly  distracted  with  the  fear  that  his 
escapade  will  become  known,  and  his  professional  reputation 
ruined — he  dare  not  give  the  fellow  up  to  justice.     Everything 


July,  1890.]  Kit  Marlowe.  85 

comes  right  at  last.  The  soldier  turns  out  to  be  Mrs.  Brandon's 
brother ;  he  in  turn  discovers  that  Mary  is  faithful.  Mrs.  Stem- 
dale  and  Mrs.  Midhurst,  after  threatening  divorce  in  a  very 
amusing  scene  in  the  third  act,  forgive  their  husbands ;  the 
Colonel's  plate  is  recovered,  the  cabman  is  acquitted,  and  Mrs. 
Brandon  gets  the  whip  hand  of  her  husband  through  his  indis- 
cretion, and  all  ends  happily,  except  for  Flagan  and  his  "  pal," 
who  are  likely  to  pay  for  their  light-fingered  proceedings.  Mr. 
Damley  wove  together  all  these  embroglios  in  a  most  ingenious 
way,  gave  us  some  smart  dialogue,  and  Miss  Violet  Melnotte, 
who  opened  her  season  at  Toole's  with  the  play,  had  got  together 
a  capital  company.  John  Tresahar  never  flagged  for  one  moment, 
and  his  comic  despair  at  the  network  of  compromising  circum- 
stances which  enwrapped  him  was  a  remarkably  good  piece  of 
acting.  Susie  Vaughan,  too,  was  most  diverting.  Ruth  Rutland 
was  an  imposing  Mrs,  Stemdale.  Graham  Wentworth  was  easy 
and  polished.  These  four  were  in  the  original  cast.  F.  Kaye 
was  now  the  Colonel  Stemdale,  a  little,  grey-haired,  frisky  lady- 
killer,  quaint  and  amusing.  A.  B.  Francis  was  fresh  and  natural 
as  Lieutenant  Arlington.  Lawrance  d'Orsay  was  not  quite  what 
an  orderly  should  be.  Henry  Bedford  was  genuinely  comic  as 
Peter  Flagan.  Blanche  Wolseley  was  an  attractive  Mrs.  Midhurst 
The  part  of  Mary  Kingston  was  played  in  a  charmingly  unaffected 
manner  by  Clara  Ellison,  who  made  quite  a  hit.  Delia  Carlyle 
was  smart  and  pert  as  a  soubrette.  The  author  received  a  double 
call. — The  Solicitor  was  preceded  by  Fred.  W.  Broughton's  pretty 
comedietta,  The  Bailiffs  lately  seen  at  the  Royalty.  Henry  Bed- 
ford (Benjamin),  H.  W.  Brame  (Daniel),  A.  B.  Francis  (Frank), 
Irene  Rickards  (Minnie  Grattan). 

4th.  Shaftesbury.  {Matinee.) — Performance  in  aid  of  the 
Marlowe  Memorial,  which  is  to  be  erected  at  Canterbury,  his 
native  place  and  where  he  was  educated.  Kit  Marlowe^  one-act 
play,  by  W.  L.  Courtney,  written  on  the  hero  of  the  afternoon,  is 
not  without  literary  merit,  but  is  devoid  of  incident  until  the 
dramatist  is  stabbed  to  death  by  Francis  Archer,  landlord  of  the 
Red  Lion,  Deptford,  one  of  Marlowe's  favourite  haunts.  Archer 
resents  Nan's  love  for  Marlowe,  and  kills  him  out  of  jealousy, 
poor  Kit  regretting  in  his  dying  moments  that  he  will  not  live  to 
see  the  fruition  of  his  hopes  to  become  one  of  the  mighty  writers 
of  the  age.  Arthur  Bourchier  had  evidently  studied  the  character 
of  the  roystering,  thoughtless,  yet  poetic  Marlowe,  and  his  death 
scene  was  worthy  of  praise.  Annie  Irish  made  much  of  the  part 
of  Nan. — There  was  also  played,  for  the  first  time  in  England. 


86  Vanity  of  Vanities — Sowing  and  Reaping,  [July,  1890. 

Miss  Hoyderis  Husband^  Augustin  Daly's  version  of  Sheridan's 
Trip  to  Scarborough,  Though  ingeniously  embodying  in  one 
act  the  principal  features  of  the  wooing  of  Miss  Hoyden,  the 
piece  is  much  weakened  by  all  the  other  characters  being  made 
so  much  subservient  to  hers.  Nor  is  there  anything  very  brilliant 
in  the  manner  in  which  the  dialogue  was  fitted  together.  Ada 
Rehan  has  been  seen  to  much  greater  advantage  than  as  Miss 
Hoyden.  Her  continuing  to  nurse  her  doll  after  her  suitor  had 
arrived  was  certainly  out  of  place.  As  to  the  other  parts  they 
could  reflect  but  little  credit  on  the  very  best  exponents; — The 
concluding  piece  was  a  new  duologue  by  Justin  Huntly  McCarthy, 
entitled  Vanity  of  Vanities,  and  contained  infinitely  more  plot 
than  is  generally  bestowed  on  such  short  pieces.  The  Princess 
Nicholas  is  an  Englishwoman  who  has  allowed  ambition  to  stifle 
her  love  for  Morris  Hastings.  So  she  marries  a  prince  and 
wrecks  her  lover's  life.  Her  husband  dies,  but  all  that  wealth 
and  station  can  give  her  do  not  make  her  happy.  The  two  meet 
after  five  years :  she,  blasee,  and  so  weary  of  the  world  that  she 
has  determined  on  committing  suicide ;  he,  on  his  part,  is  quite 
willing  to  give  up  an  existence  that  has  no  value  for  him,  so  he 
says  he  will  die  with  her,  but,  before  doing  so,  he  once  more 
pours  out  his  love  for  her.  This  gives  her  her  one  desire,  and 
so  they  come  together  again,  determined  to  lead  better  and  purer 
lives,  and  not  to  live  for  themselves  alone.  Vanity  of  Vanities  is 
well  written,  but  gives  one  the  idea  of  an  adaptation,  from  the 
French  sentiment  that  pervades  it  Unfortunately,  Herbert 
Waring  was  unable  to  appear  as  Morris  Hastings,  but  E.  S. 
Willard  read  his  part  admirably,  and,  notwithstanding  this  dis- 
advantage, May  Whitty  gave  a  most  expressive  rendering  of  the 
outwardly  worldly  Princess  Nicholas. 

5  th.  Criterion. — Sowing  aiid  Reaping  placed  in  evening  bill. 
"  For  the  last  three  weeks  of  his  season  Charles  Wyndham  placed 
in  his  evening  bill  C.  Vernon's  comedy,  upon  which,  though 
previously  played  on  two  occasions  at  matinies,  criticism  was 
not  invited  until  Saturday.  There  was  apparently  no  reason 
why  the  piece  should  not  have  been  noticed  before — except 
that  the  matinees  were  given  in  the  cause  of  charity,  when 
every  seat  should  be  of  value — for  Sowing  and  Reaping  is  well 
written  and  amusing,  and  points  a  moral.  Were  it  not  that  his 
work  bears  strong  evidence  of  a  French  origin,  we  should  say 
that  the  author  has  been  so  pleased  with  The  Profligate  and 
A  Pair  of  Spectacles  that  he  has  taken  a  portion  of  the  plot 
of  the  first  and  the  principal  character  of  the  second,  used  them 


July,  1890.]  SowfHg  and  Reaping,  87 

in  a  comedy  vein,  introducing  some  farcical  touches,  and  made  of 
the  compound  something  that  was  bright  and  fresh,  if  not  original. 
The  author  impresses  on  us  the  precept  that,  as  we  sow  so  shall 
we  reap,  and  that  perfect  love  and  confidence  on  the  part  of  a 
husband  will  ensure  fidelity  and  the  truest  affection  from  a  wife. 
Mr.  Sampson  Paley  has  cause  to  imagine  that  without  any 
encouragement  on  her  part,  his  wife  is  beset  by  temptation  from 
the  attentions  of  Joseph  Shenston.  In  this  he  is  mistaken. 
Shenston  is  the  most  innocent,  loyal,  and  chivalrous  of  men — 
it  is  Harry  Grahame  who  is  the  real  culprit  Grahame  is  an 
inveterate  male  flirt — not  really  bad,  perhaps,  but  thoughtless  of 
the  consequences  his  follies  may  entail.  To  forward  his  design 
on  Mrs.  Paley,  he  makes  of  Shenston  his  scapegoat  To  deceive 
him,  Grahame  pretends  that  he  is  in  love  with  Julia,  Mrs.  Pale/s 
sister.  By  this  deception  Grahame  brings  on  himself  his  fate ; 
for  Shenston  actually  proposes  to  Julia  on  his  friend's  behalf. 
She  loves  Grahame — she  accepts  him.  He  cannot  retreat  with 
honour,  so  is  forced  to  accept  the  situation.  They  are  married. 
Grahame  has  learnt  to  love  his  wife  with  all  his  heart,  but  his 
own  conduct  in  the  past  with  other  men's  wives,  makes  him 
frantically  suspicious  of  every  man  with  regard  to  his  own.  He 
is  racked  with  jealousy.  In  a  posy  of  flowers  he  reads  an  as- 
signation— in  a  present  from  a  neighbour  he  scents  a  rendezvous 
— ^a  signal  given  by  one  of  his  servants  to  her  follower  he  con- 
strues into  one  arranged  by  Julia — he  suddenly  remembers  that 
Shenston  has  confessed  to  him  that  he  once  loved  her,  and  so  he 
suspects  his  dearest  friend,  and  feeds  his  suspicions  in  watching 
their  whispered  conversations.  He  catches  Dick  Hobbs,  the 
maid's  follower,  who  tells  him  his  object  in  coming,  and  then 
he  recognizes  what  an  egregious  and  wicked  fool  he  has  made 
of  himself.  The  bouquet  is  but  one  cut  by  the  gardener,  the 
present  a  harmless  brace  of  birds  sent  by  a  friendly  married 
man ;  the  whispered  conversations  only  relate  to  the  arrange- 
ments that  are  being  made  for  a  surprisal  for  him — a  little  y?/^ 
in  honour  of  his  birthday.  He  has  been  so  confident  in  his  own 
acuteness  in  detecting  an  intrigue,  for  he  has  constantly  remarked, 
•  I  have  done  it  all  myself,'  that  his  false  suspicions  recoil  on  him 
with  redoubled  force.  But  he  has  learnt  and  profited  by  his 
lesson  ;  as  he  has  sown,  so  has  he  reaped.  Love  and  confidence 
shall  be  his  watchword  for  the  future.  The  onus  of  the  play  falls 
on  Mr.  Wyndham :  as  the  light  butterfly  of  the  first  act  he  is 
excellent  ;  but  in  the  second  part  he  is  even  better,  for,  with  all 
the  comedy,  there  is  nearly  a  ring   of  pathos    in  his  worries. 


8^  Delicate  Ground — The  Taming  of  the  Shrew.        [July.  1890. 

W.  Blakeley  misses  the  genial  warmth  and  beauty  of  the 
character  he  represents.  He  is  amusing,  as  he  must  be,  but 
he  quite  fails  in  his  delivery  of  one  of  the  most  charming 
speeches  ever  put  into  an  actor's  mouth.  George  Giddens  is 
true-hearted  and  full  of  manly  simplicity  as  the  studious  Joseph 
Shenston,  and  S.  Valentine  draws  a  capital  character-sketch  of 
Dick  Hobbs.  Mary  Moore  is  winning  as  Julia,  Eleanor  Leyshon 
very  modest  and  sweet  as  Mrs.  Paley,  and  there  is  much  quiet 
humour  in  Miss  Victor's  assumption  of  Mrs.  Charity  Smith,  a 
well-meaning  but  rather  indiscreet  busybody,  who  prides  herself 
on  the  keen  insight  into  everything  that  goes  on  around  her. 
Emily  Vining  is  an  assertive  Mrs.  Watkins.  C.  Edmunds  and 
E.  Emery  gave  their  help  to  the  success  of  the  piece. — At  8.30 
Charles  Dance's  comic  drama,  Delicate  Ground,  is  played.  Charles 
Wyndham  is  a  capital  Citizen  Sangfroid,  and  George  Giddens 
enters  into  the  spirit  of  the  character  of  the  foolish  but  gentle- 
manly Alphonse  de  Grandier.  Mary  Moore  exhibits  just  the 
proper  amount  of  pettishness  and  romance  as  Pauline,  and  is 
very  charming ;  but  is  her  dress  quite  in  keeping  with  that  of 
the  other  characters }  Arthur  Matthison's  farce.  The  Wall  of 
China,  is  the  first  piece :  in  it  Miss  F.  Francis  and  F.  Atherley 
keep  the  shuttlecock  of  fun  well  up  in  the  air  as  Rose  Petal  and 
Peter  Pottle ;  and  Emily  Vining  is  a  bustling  landlady." 

Sth.  Florence,  daughter  of  Mrs.  John  Wood,  married  to  Ralph 
R.  Lumley,  author  oi  Aunt  Jack,  etc. 

8th.  Lyceum. — Augustin  Daly's  Company.  The  following 
appeared  in  The  Observer :  "  The  Taming  of  t/te  Shrew  has  been 
the  play  of  the  week  at  the  Lyceum.  ...  It  is  no  doubt  the  case 
that  for  two  out  of  the  quartette  of  players  whose  work  gives  the 
troupe  its  whole  distinction  this  play  provides  no  chance  of 
making  a  characteristic  mark.  Mr.  James  Lewis's  dry  humour  and 
Mrs.  Gilbert's  appreciation  of  a  joke,  if  they  are  not  exactly 
wasted  upon  the  r6les  of  Grumio  and  Curtis  respectively,  are  at 
any  rate  employed  to  very  little  advantage,  while  the  rest  of  the 
cast  is  not  of  the  even  adequacy  which  has  characterized  the 
rendering  by  the  company  of  less  classical  comedy.  It  must,  for 
example,  be  pointed  out  that  to  an  English  ear  the  Biondello  of 
the  occasion,  though  full  of  sprightliness  and  intelligence,  cannot 
hope  to  appeal  with  much  success  until  he  can  tone  down  his 
uncompromising  accent ;  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Charles 
Fisher's  dignified  Baptista  loses  much  through  his  tame  and  faulty 
elocution.  Miss  Edith  Crane,  who,  consciously  or  unconsciously, 
reproduces  many  of  Miss  Rehan's  tricks  of  speech,  is  too  modern 


JULY,  1S90.]  The  Taming  of  ihe  Shrew,  89 

a  Bianca,  nor  do  Messrs.  C.  Leclercq  and  S.  Herbert  seem  quite 
at  home  in  their  work.  But,  although  the  subordinate  im- 
personations rank  individually  below  rather  than  above  the 
artistic  level  attained  under  our  own  managements  of  similar 
pretensions,  the  production  as  a  whole  has  the  harmony  and 
symmetry  of  effect  to  be  looked  for  only  from  members  of  a  stock 
company  accustomed  night  after  night  and  season  after  season  to 
play  into  one  another's  hands.  The  play,  too,  is  arranged  and 
mounted  with  much  tasteful  skill,  the  cuts  being  made  judiciously, 
and  the  transposition  of  scenes  finding  fair  justification  in  the 
simplified  flow  of  the  action.  Prettiest  of  all,  in  picturesque 
design,  is  the  scene  in  the  banqueting-hall  of  Lucentio,  where  the 
introduction  of  "Should  He  Upbraid,"  as  sung  by  Miss  Kitty 
Cheatham  and  chorus,  gains  and  deserves  a  hearty  welcome  for 
its  thoroughly  appropriate  effect  It  is,  however,  to  see  Miss  Ada 
Rehan  and  Mr.  John  Drew  as  Katherine  and  Petruchio  rather 
than  the  Daly  company  in  The  Taming  of  tlie  Shrew  that  most 
playgoers  have  been  paying  their  visit  to  the  Lyceum  this  week. 
Happily  they  have  been  rewarded  by  finding  these  now  familiar 
impersonations  as  full  of  spirit  and  as  admirably  balanced  as  ever. 
The  performance  of  this  actor  and  actress  is  almost  as  remarkable 
for  what  it  avoids  as  for  what  it  achieves — for  the  restraint 
displayed  in  resisting  all  the  temptations  to  farcical  and  even 
pantomimic  extravagance  which  here  offer  themselves  to  any 
player  possessed  of  a  broad  humorous  touch  and  a  rich  sense  of 
fun.  There  is  plenty  of  colour  alike  in  the  Shrew  of  Miss  Rehan 
and  the  mock  tyrant  of  Mr.  Drew,  but  the  colour  is  never  laid  on 
too  thickly,  and  it  just  escapes  the  impossible  hue  so  often  given 
to  sketches  of  the  scold  and  the  bully.  It  is  specially  to  the 
credit  of  the  actor  that  he  makes  up  in  his  air  of  all-conquering 
command  what  he  lacks  in  personal  impressiveness,  and  that  he 
is  able  to  hold  his  own  dramatically  with  a  creation  of  so  much  im- 
pulsive power  as  Miss  Rehan's  Katherine.  The  force  thrown  by  the 
actress  into  her  outbursts  of  petulance  is  something  irresistible,  but 
the  temper  is  never  quite  unwomanly,  and  the  door  is  never  shut, 
as  it  is  with  so  many  angry  Katherines,  upon  the  possibilities  of 
reformation.  The  sweet  significance  given  by  Miss  Rehan  to  the 
closing  lines,  in  which  Katherine  points  the  moral  of  her  lesson, 
is  perhaps  too  monotonously  serious  in  its  heavy  cadence  ;  but 
the  grave  tenderness  is  at  least  not  wholly  inconsistent  with  what 
has  gone  before,  and  all  that  the  art  of  acting  can  accomplish  is 
done  towards  bringing  the  rapidity  of  the  change  within  the 
bounds  of  reason  and  conceivability." 


90  FroU'Frou—  Sweet  Nancy,  uuly,  1890. 

loth.  St.  James's  Theatre.  {Matinee)  Frou-Frou. — In  aid 
of  the  Buttercup  and  Daisy  Fund.  Edith  Woodworth  in  the 
title  r6U  ;  Arthur  Bourchier  good  as  the  old  roui^  Brigand  ;  Henry 
Neville,  Henry  Sartorys ;  Forbes  Dawson,  Pitou ;  Gilbert 
Farquhar  and  Fanny  Brough  as  the  Baron  and  Baronne  de 
Cambri  ;  Fred  Terry,  Comte  de  Valrfeas ;  Gertrude  Kingston, 
Louise  ;  Edith  Chester,  Pauline. 

1 2th.  Lyric.  Sweet  Nancy. — Robert  Buchanan  just  missed 
writing  an  excellent  comedy  in  this  by  making  his  second  act  a 
little,  and  his  third  act  very  much,  too  long.  The  conduct  of  all 
the  characters  except  the  heroine  is  very  natural.  Hers  is,  in  a 
manner,  inexplicable  save  on  the  stage.  Nancy,  as  will  be  seen  by 
the  programme,  is  one  of  a  large  family,  of  whom  she  is  very  fond, 
except,  perhaps,  of  her  father,  who  is  a  tyrannous  old  humbug. 
He  has  made  up  his  mind  that  one  of  his  daughters  shall  marry 
his  rich  middle-aged  friend.  Sir  Roger  Tempest,  a  noble  fellow, 
whose  thoughts  turn  to  Nancy.  In  a  charming  scene  he  proposes 
and  is  accepted,  for  the  girl  likes  him,  and  thinks  of  the  benefits 
she  will  be  able  to  confer  on  her  brothers  and  sisters.  Three 
months  after,  we  find  her  married,  very  happy,  for  she  has 
everything  she  can  desire  and  has  become  really  attached  to  Sir 
Roger — the  only  cloud  on  their  domestic  bliss  is  her  husband's 
familiarity  with  Mrs.  Huntley,  "  a  grass  widow."  They  call  each 
other  by  their  Christian  names,  and  are  certainly  on  the  best  of 
terms ;  but  this  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  she  is  the  wife  of 
one  of  Sir  Roger's  oldest  friends  and  brother  officers,  who  has 
entrusted  her  to  his  comrade  whilst  he  is  abroad.  Sir  Roger  is 
ordered  on  foreign  service,  and  has  to  leave  to  take  up  a  command. 
Nancy  feels  the  separation  deeply,  and  is  delighted  when,  after 
a  year's  absence,  a  telegram  arrives  announcing  Sir  Rear's 
immediate  return.  Frank  Musgrave  has  been  constantly  about 
the  house  on  the  assumable  pretext  that  he  is  attached  to  Barbara. 
This  is,  however,  only  a  cloak  to  hide  his  designs  on  Nancy,  for 
whom  he  feels  a  mad  passion.  When  he  learns  of  Sir  Roger's 
approaching  coming,  Musgrave  declares  his  love  for  Nancy.  She 
at  first  takes  his  words  as  conveying  a  proposal  for  Barbara,  but 
when  she  understands  them  as  addressed  to  herself,  she  bursts 
into  a  fit  of  hysterical  weeping,  for  she  knows  how  her  sister  loves 
him,  and  as  he  is  leaning  over  her  still  pleading  his  cause,  they 
are  discovered  by  Mrs.  Huntley  and  Algernon,  who  is  over  head 
and  ears  in  love  with  the  heartless  coquette  who  has  led  him  into 
even  more  than  a  flirtation.  Sir  Roger  returns,  and  almost 
immediately  hears  from  Mrs.  Huntley,  who  hates  Nancy,  the  very 


July.  1890.]         Aft  Old  Man* s  WootHg— A  Village  Pfiest.  91 

worst  account  of  her  conduct  during  his  absence.  He  will 
scarcely  believe  evil  of  the  woman  he  loves,  but  naturally  asks  for 
an  explanation.  This  Nancy  will  not  give,  but  retaliates  on 
Mrs.  Huntley's  character  for  her  open  encouragement  of  Algernon, 
and  insists  on  being  brought  face  to  face  with  her.  Mrs.  Huntley 
justifies  her  statements,  and  there  seems  but  little  hope  of  a 
reconciliation,  when  Barbara,  who  becomes  aware  of  the  sufferings 
Nancy  is  undergoing  for  her  sake,  fetches  Musgrave,  who  actually 
before  Sir  Roger  and  Barbara  admits  his  base  conduct  and 
acquits  Nancy  of  ever  having  treated  him  otherwise  than  as  her 
husband's  friend,  and  acknowledges  how  badly  he  has  treated 
Barbara.  And  so  the  curtain  falls  on  the  reconciliation.  Henry 
Neville  represented  completely  the  noble  loving  nature  of  a  man 
who  cannot  but  see  the  danger  of  having  married  a  girl  so  much 
his  junior,  but  who  is  determined  to  win  her  entire  love  by  his 
devotion.  Annie  Hughes  surprised  every  one  by  the  strength 
she  displayed,  and  really  carried  the  play  almost  entirely  on  her 
shoulders.  Harriett  Jay  was  a  very  sweet,  brave  girl  as  Barbara. 
Mr.  Bucklaw  did  well  in  a  very  repulsive  part ;  and  Henry  V. 
Esmond  deserves  the  greatest  praise  for  his  acting  of  a  youth, 
just  at  that  age  when  he  fancies  he  thoroughly  understands  the 
world  and  is  made  a  victim  to*  "  calf  love,"  Ernest  Hendrie 
was  quaint  and  amusing.  Frances  Ivor  was  too  supercilious  in 
her  manner.  Beatrice  Ferrar  was  delightful  as  the  tomboy. 
Tow- Tow.  On  the  fall  of  the  curtain,  there  were  some  expressions 
of  disapproval  of  the  piece,  but  the  "  cast "  was  enthusiastically 
called  at  the  end  of  each  act. — Sweet  Nancy  was  preceded  hy  An 
Old  Maid's  Wooing^  by  Arnold  Goldsworthy  and  E.  B.  Norman, 
a  pretty  idea,  but  one  that  has  been  used  several  times  before. 
Hester  Grayson  (Ethel  Hope)  is  placidly  drifting  into  becoming 
**  an  old  maid,"  when  the  even  current  of  her  life  is  disturbed  by 
proposals  from  the  rich  squire,  Henry  Higgins  (E.  Hendrie),  and 
the  poor  clergyman,  the  Rev.  James  Braithwaite  (E.  B.  Norman) 
— the  latter  offering  himself  and  being  accepted,  when  he  learns 
that  his  lady-love  has  dismissed  his  wealthy  rival.  A  lighter 
vein  of  comedy  is  introduced  into  the  more  poetic  vein  in  the 
loves  of  Naomi  Wild  (a  little  serving  maid,  remarkably  well 
played  by  Beatrice  Ferrar)  and  George  Gammon,  a  young 
poacher,  effectively  rendered  by  Henry  Bayntun.  E.  Hendrie 
threw  much  kindly  feeling  into  the  part  of  the  disappointed 
squire. 

12th.  Haymarket  season  came  to   a   close  with  A    Village 
Priest,  Beerbohm  Tree  having  arranged  for  a  provincial  tour. 


92  The  Besi  People — As  You  Like  It.  [July,  1890. 

12th.  Athenaeum  Hall. — His  Little  Mania  requires  no 
comment. 

14th.  Globe.  {Matinie)  The  Best  People, — Described  as  a  new 
original  comedy,  was  produced,  and  Mrs.  Fairfax,  the  authoress,  an 
actress  of  some  reputation  in  the  past,  made  her  last  appearance  in 
public.  As  to  the  play  itself,  there  is  no  occasion  to  speak,  for  it 
will  certainly  not  be  seen  again.  One  of  its  many  absurdities  was 
a  young  married  woman  disguising  herself,  singing  before,  and 
being  accepted  by,  the  public  as  a  noted  primd  donna,  and  being 
made  love  to  by  her  own  husband  for  days  together  in  that 
character  without  his  recognizing  her  as  his  own  wife!  Miss 
Essex  Dane  was  good  as  the  supposed  singer,  and  Adrienne 
Dairolles  as  the  real  one.  John  Le  Hay  proved  himself  as  usual 
an  excellent  comedian,  possessing  dry  humour,  as  Pat,  a  faithful 
and  inventive  Irish  page-boy. 

iSth.  Lyceum.  As  You  Like  It. — The  fairly  effective  repre- 
sentation given  by  the  above  talented  company  of  The  Taming  of 
the  Shrew,  and  Ada  Rehan's  striking  impersonation  of  Katherine, 
could  but  arouse  the  greatest  interest  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
this  favourite  actress  would  acquit  herself  as  Rosalind  in  As  You 
Like  It,  Ada  Rehan  simply  took  the  house  by  storm.  There 
was  a  royal  dignity  in  the  opening  scenes,  to  be  followed  by  a 
poetic,  scholarly,  and  most  womanly  assumption  in  the  forest 
scenes.  It  was,  perhaps,  exuberant  in  the  flow  of  high  spirits,  but 
then  the  exuberance  was  so  graceful,  so  eminently  feminine,  that 
if  Miss  Rehan  was  not  always  the  Rosalind  we  had  pictured  to 
ourselves  that  Shakespeare  drew,  we  forgave  the  actress's  novel 
conception  of  the  character  in  our  delight  at  the  confidence  and 
boldness  with  which  it  was  carried  out  Miss  Rehan  looked 
admirable  in  her  drab-coloured  male  attire,  with  a  ruby-coloured 
cloak  and  her  brown  hose.  Her  Rosalind  will  never  be  forgotten 
by  those  who  witnessed  it,  and  they  will  always  remember  with 
pleasure  the  exquisite  delivery  of  Shakespeare's  lines.  John  Drew 
was  a  gallant  Orlando,  but  entering,  perhaps,  a  little  too  gaily  and 
lightly  into  the  wayward  humour  of  Ganymede  to  woo  him.  The 
Celia  of  Adelaide  Prince  was  very  charming,  but  Isabel  Irving 
was  a  commonplace  Audrey.  Charles  Wheatleigh  most  worthily 
represented  the  banished  Duke  ;  and  had  George  Clarke  not  taken 
his  speeches  quite  so  slowly  his  Jaques  would  have  been 
admirable.  James  Lewis,  though  quaint,  was  not  the  Touchstone 
of  Shakespeare.  In  Mr.  Bosworth,  as  Charles  the  Wrestler,  we  had 
one  who  not  only  looked  and  acted  the  character  well,  but  who 
could  speak  the  lines  set  down  for  him — ^an  essential  that  is  too 


July,  1890.]  How  Dreams  Come  True — A  Gold  Mine,  93 

often  lost  sight  of  in  casting  the  play.  The  only  other  unsatis- 
factory performances  were  those  of  Charles  Fisher  as  Adam,  who 
was  indistinct  in  his  utterance,  and  too  feeble  to  fulfil  the  require- 
ment of  the  text,  "  Though  I  look  old,  yet  am  I  strong  and 
lusty ; "  and  the  Corin  of  Charles  Leclercq,  of  whom  I  expected 
better  things.  Though  admissible,  the  speaking  the  name  of 
Rosalind  throughout  with  the  final  syllable  long,  as  in  *'wynd," 
rather  jarred  upon  the  ear,  as  did  an  occasional  American 
intonation.  Mr.  Daly  has  given  us  a  very  pure  version  of  the 
play  (restoring  to  the  first  Lord  his  rightful  lines.)  He  has  also 
retained  the  charming  song  sung  by  the  two  pages,  "In  the 
Springtime,"  as  charmingly  rendered ;  and  we  have  also  the 
masque  of  Hymen,  as  done  lately  (but  infinitely  better  in  this 
case)  at  the  St.  James's.  Mr.  Macaulay  sang  delightfully  as 
Amiens,  and  was  supported  by  a  thoroughly  efficient  chorus.  The 
orchestra,  too,  embellished  the  whole  by  its  valuable  aid.  Of  the 
scenery  and  general  arrangement  it  is  impossible  to  speak  too 
highly,  and  Augustin  Daly  had  his  reward  in  the  enthusiastic 
reception  accorded  him  when  he  came  before  the  curtain.  I  need 
hardly  say  that  Miss  Rehan  was  forced  to  appear  after  each  act. 

17th.  E.  C.  Silverthorne  presented  with  an  illuminated  address 
by  Henry  Irving,  on  behalf  of  the  trustees  and  his  co-directors  of 
the  Royal  General  Theatrical  Fund,  in  recognition  of  the  kindly 
and  valuable  services  he  had  for  many  years  rendered  to  the 
institution  and  its  members. 

1 7th.  How  Dreams  Come  TnUy  a  sketch  by  Dr.  Todhunter,  given 
at  the  Grosvenor  Gallery. 

19th.  Gaiety.  Last  performance  of  Ruy  Bias  and  the  Blasi 
Rou(  previous  to  the  departure  of  the  Gaiety  company  on  an 
extended  tour. 

2 1  St.  Gaiety.  A  Gold  Mine, — Original  comedy,  in  three 
acts,  by  Brander  Matthews  and  George  H.  Jessop.  Once  more 
we  find  that  plays,  which  are  so  successful  in  America,  fail  to  give 
satisfaction  here,  and  vice  versd,  A  Gold  Mine  was  specially 
written  for  Mr.  Goodwin,  who  made  his  dibiit  in  it  in  this  country. 
It  was  a  great  favourite  with  the  New  York  playgoers,  and  yet  to 
us  it  seemed  to  be  very  far  from  being  an  average  play.  There  is 
really  no  plot,  the  characters  are  extravagantly  drawn,  and  most 
of  the  jokes  are  as  old  as  the  hills  ;  some  are  incomprehensible  to 
Londoners.  Silas  K.  Woolcott  (Nat  C.  Goodwin)  may  be  very 
good-hearted,  but  he  cannot  be  quite  as  "  spry  "  as  those  gentle- 
men who  have  knocked  around  the  world  and  been  ever3^ing  by 
turn  generally  are  supposed  to  be.     After  various  ups  and  downs. 


94  Nap — A  Womaris  Woiit,  cJuly^iSqo. 

he  discovers  a  gold  mine,  and  comes  to  England  to  dispose  of  it. 
He  has  an  introduction  to  Sir  Everard  Foxwood  (William  Farren) 
a  company  promoter.  Woolcott  asks  ;f  20,000  ;  the  City  man  will 
only  bid  £  1 5, 000.  At  Sir  Everard's  house  he  meets  an  old  friend, 
Gerard  Riordan  (Charles  Glenney),  who  is  courting  Una  Foxwood 
(Jennie  MacNulty).  He  also  meets  young  George  Foxwood,  to 
whom  he  takes  a  great  fancy,  and  most  important  of  all,  he  loses 
his  heart  to  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Meredith,  George's  Aunt,  (Kate  Forsyth), 
a  very  charming  woman  certainly,  but  one  who  appears  to  take  a 
delight  in  snubbing  him.  However,  his  love  for  her  is  so  great 
that,  when  young  George  Foxwood  (Harry  Eversfield)  is  likely  to 
be  branded  as  a  defaulter,  in  consequence  of  having  speculated  and 
lost  ;f  1 0,000,  Woolcott  actually  parts  with  his  mine  for  this  sum 
(Sir  Everard  taking  care  to  beat  him  down  when  he  finds  the 
money  is  wanted  at  once),  and  hands  it  over  to  George's  creditor 
to  free  him,  leaving  himself  penniless.  He  has  sworn  the  youth 
to  secrecy,  but  his  good  deed  leaks  out,  and  the  fair  Mrs.  Meredith 
is  so  grateful  to  him  for  his  generosity  that  she  not  only  by  a 
clever  ruse  manages  to  overreach  her  generally  astute  brother  and 
get  back  the  mine  for  Woolcott,  but  actually  bestows  on  him  her 
hand.  Mr.  Goodwin  was  very  neat  in  his  acting,  his  humour  was 
unforced,  and  he  can  express  pathos.  His  love  scene  with  Mrs. 
Meredith  was  a  very  charming  little  bit  of  acting,  for  Kate 
Forsyth  was  also  excellent  in  her  character.  C.  Glenny  was  good 
as  an  Irish  M.P. — Home  Ruler,  of  course — and  made  love  to  Una 
very  naturally,  Jennie  MacNulty  playing  up  to  him  well.  William 
Farren  was  to  the  life  the  hard  pompous  City  magnate ;  and 
Carlotta  Leclercq,  in  an  utterly  ridiculous  and  far-fetched  character, 
Mrs.  Vandervas,  by  her  tact  and  judgment  saved  it  from  being  too 
wearisome.  Frank  Wood  cleverly  represented  an  old  City  clerk, 
Julius  Krebs.  Harry  Eversfield  had  an  unpleasant  character  to 
play,  and  could  not  show  to  much  advantage. 

2 1st  Elephant  and  Castle. — Nap;  or,  A  Midsummer 
Nights  Scream.  Fairy  burlesque  by  Stanley  Rogers.  First  time 
in  London. 

23rd.  Gaiety.  {Matinee).  A  Womaris  Worit — which  was 
played  some  four  years  ago  by  the  Daly  Company  at  the  Strand, 
was  given  in  aid  of  a  charity.  The  idea  is  a  funny  one.  A 
footman  (F.  Bond)  and  maidservant  (Kitty  Cheatham),  sweet- 
hearts, quarrel  because  the  girl  will  not  repeat  after  her  swain 
"  Thank  goodness,  the  table  is  spread  1 "  when  they  have  just  set 
on  the  covers  for  luncheon.  Their  master,  a  newly  married  man 
(G.  Clarke),  recounts  this  to  his  wife  (Isabel  Irving),  and  they  are 


July.  1890.]  The  Wttches'  Haunt — Dear  Friends,  95 

gradually  drawn  into  a  quarrel  through  the  same  reluctance  on 
her  part  to  utter  the  words  merely  to  please  her  husband,  and 
to  show  that  she  would  say  or  do  anything  to  please  him. 
Presently  the  wife's  parents,  who  come  to  lunch,  fall  out  on  the 
same  subject,  for  the  old  gentleman  (James  Lewis)  tries  to  assert 
his  authority  by  insisting  on  the  old  lady  (Mrs.  Gilbert)  repeating 
the  words  at  his  command.  The  young  husband  is  wise  in  his 
generation.  He  bribes  his  wife  with  a  new  shawl,  and  so  proves 
the  value  of  "  a  woman's  won't."  The  old  lady,  without  meaning 
it,  lets  the  words  slip  out,  and  the  maidservant  makes  peace  with 
her  lover  on  the  promise  of  an  immediate  marriage.  Capitally 
acted  all  round. 

24th.  Crystal  Palace.  The  Witched  Haunt. — Open  air 
ballet,  invented  by  Oscar  Barrett,  and  arranged  by  Katti 
Lanner. 

24th.  Vaudeville.     {Matin/e)     Dear  Friends. — Comedietta, 

by  Mary  Righton,  was  seen  for  the  first  time  in  London.    It  is  only 

a  duologue  between  two  girls,  who,  anxious   to  impart  to  each 

other  the  intelligence  that  they  are  about  to  be  married,  at  first 

imagine  that  they  have  both   been  courted  by  the  same   man. 

Their  minds  are  set  at  rest,  however,  by  discovering  that  their 

swains  are  cousins,  with  the  same  Christian  names  and  as  like 

as  two  peas.     The  dialogue  is  schoolgirlish,  but  well  played  it 

might   have   passed    muster.       It  would  be   appreciated   in  the 

T.  R.  Back  Drawing-room.- — Little  Nobody  was  decidedly  better. 

Fay  (Little  Nobody,  delightfully  played  by  Miss  Righton,   well 

known  as  Emma   Ritta)  has  been  brought  up  by  the  late  Mrs. 

Kenward,  out  of  pure  kindness,  for  the  girl's  parentage  is  unknown. 

The  son.  Captain  Kenward,  has  become  very  much  attached  to  her. 

She  has  a  sneaking  affection  for  him,  till  a  rouS^  in  the  person  of  Sir 

Dennis  Hai^aves  (J.  R.  Crauford),  comes  across  her  path,  when 

she  is  rather  fascinated  by  him,  but  eventually  discovering  that  he 

has  deserted  a  poor  girl  whom  he  has  betrayed,  Fay  returns  to  her 

first  love.      There  are,   I   might  say,  two  under-plots.      Fay   is 

proved  to  be  the  daughter  of  Colonel  Forbes  (Walter  Russell),  by 

a  former  marriage,  his  second  one  being  rather  unhappy,  owing  to 

the  jealousy  of  his  second  wife  (played  with  much  tact  by  Isa 

Johnson).     The  flirting  propensities  of  Georgie  Grahame  and  the 

inane  stupidity  of  Dolly  Bruce,  whom  she  manages  to  entrap  after 

considerable  angling,  form  the  comic  element.    With  the  exception 

of  Messrs.  Crauford,  Walter  Russell,  and  G.  B.  Phillips — ^who  did 

all  that  could  be  expected — Miss  Righton's  work  suffered  from 

most  inadequate  representation. 


96  The  Judge.  Uuly,  1890. 

24th.  Terry's.  The  Judge. — "  The  jury  could  not  agree 
upon  their  verdict."  Take  the  audience  as  the  jury  deciding  on 
the  merits  of  Tfie  Judge  at  Terry's,  on  the  first  night,  and  we  have 
the  report,  for  there  were  expressions  of  disapproval,  though  un- 
doubtedly they  were  from  the  minority.  If  Arthur  Law  will 
bring  up  fresh  evidence  in  the  shape  of  as  smart  lines  as  he  has 
already  written,  and  the  case  is  better  got  up  by  the  more  rapid 
action  of  the  players,  The  Judge  may  yet  be  looked  upon  as  a 
dramatic  luminary.  The  fact  is,  the  piece  went  by  fits  and  starts — 
at  times  provocative  of  hearty  laughter,  then  suddenly  dropping 
to  a  dead  level  of  dulness.  Mr.  Penley  was  not  at  his  best — he 
seldom  is  on  first  nights — but  he  was  very  droll  as  the  little 
wizened  hypochondriac.  Sir  John  Pye,  the  Judge  of  Assize, 
suddenly  disturbed  and  appearing  wrapped  in  a  blanket  to 
confront  a  stalwart  lady.  This  is  Mrs.  Shuttleworth,  a  prisoner, 
that  he  is  to  try  the  following  morning  for  bigamy,  and  who  has 
escaped  from  the  lock-up  and  taken  refuge  in  his  house.  He 
discovers  she  is  an  old  flame  of  his,  and  so  he  consents  to  give 
her  shelter.  She  lies  down  on  the  sofa,  and  Sir  John  takes  her 
baby  into  his  room.  His  daughters,  Chloe  and  Daphne,  have 
been  to  a  party,  and  return  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  attended 
by  Herbert  Styver  and  Algernon  Pringle,  their  admirers,  and 
discover  Mrs.  Shuttleworth.  She  announces  herself  to  be  Lady 
Pye,  and  the  Judge  actually  accepts  the  situation.  Presently  Mr. 
Shuttleworth  appears,  and,  as  he  has  been  abroad,  he  imagines 
that  his  wife,  believing  him  to  be  dead,  has  actually  married  Sir 
John.  Mrs.  Ricketts,  a  female  detective,  traces  the  escaped 
prisoner  to  Sir  John's  quarters,  sets  her  son  Jacob,  a  numskull  of 
a  policeman,  to  watch,  and  he,  thinking  that  Sir  John  is  Mrs. 
Shuttleworth's  accomplice,  and  that  they  are  trying  to  escape, 
actually  handcuffs  the  Judge,  in  his  ermine  and  scarlet  robes,  to 
Mrs.  Shuttleworth.  We  do  not  look  for  anything  like  probability 
in  farcical  plays  nowadays,  but  this  is  straining  good-natured  be- 
lief in  possibility  to  an  alarming  extent  The  three  best  played 
parts  on  the  opening  night  were  those  of  Mowle,  the  Judge's 
valet  (Mark  Kinghome),  Mr.  Shuttleworth  (W.  Lestocq),  and 
Mrs.  Ricketts  (Elsie  Chester).  W.  Herbert  and  Frank  W.  Fenton 
were  fair  as  the  barristers,  who  cannot  make  up  their  minds  as  to 
which  of  the  girls  they  shall  marry ;  and  Helen  Leyton  and  Cissy 
Grahame  were  amusing  as  Chloe  and  Daphne.  Emily  Thome  a 
trifle  overbore  Mr.  Penley  in  her  scenes,  and  took  the  character 
a  little  too  assertively.  One  thing  should  be  recorded — ^the  first  use 
of  the  phonograph  on  the  English  stage  ;  from  it  were  repro- 


joLv,  1 890.]  Married  Life.  97 

duced  the  cries  of  a  real  baby  as  coming  from  the  dummy  used 
in  the  piece. 

25th.  The  annual  examination,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  of  the 
students  attending  Neville's  Dramatic  Studio,  was  held  at  41, 
Fitzroy  Square,  when  a  performance  of  Married  Life  was  given, 
and  showed  at  least  that  good  work  was  being  done  there,  and 
that  no  pains  are  spared  to  render  the  students  efficient  If  I 
did  not  see  any  proofs  of  positive  genius,  all  concerned  evinced 
an  artistic  desire,  and  the  faults  that  are  inevitable  in  amateurs 
who  lack  professional  training,  were  almost  entirely  absent  I 
noticed  specially  that  the  students  had  been  taught  to  speak 
clearly  and  distinctly ;  to  gesticulate  appropriately  ;  to  "  pose  " 
with  effect;  to  express  the  emotions  facially;  had  learnt  the  value 
of  "  bye-play,"  and  to  characterize  tolerably  well.  The  profession 
must  be  recruited,  and  it  is  better  that  the  young  soldiers  of  our 
*'  professional  army  "  should  have  to  start  with  such  a  knowledge 
of  their  art  as  Messrs.  H.  Neville  and  Fred  Gartside — two  actors 
of  great  experience — can  impart  to  them,  than  to  commence  their 
career  with  all  the  crudities  that  are  so  perceptible  in  those  who 
have  had  no  training.  Those  who  particularly  deserved  mention 
were  Alice  Mackness  as  Mrs.  Lynx ;  Sarah  Brook  as  Mrs.  Coddle  ; 
S.  Prince  Lloyd  as  Mr.  Lynx ;  and  F.  G.  Brandon  as  Mr.  Dove. 
The  attendance  was  large,  Mr.  Henry  Neville's  discourse  upon  the 
dramatic  art,  which  followed  the  performance,  having  been  looked 
forward  to  with  much  interest  He  prefaced  his  discourse  by 
complimenting  the  students  who  had  taken  part  in  the  practice 
rehearsal  on  their  admirable  exemplification  of  the  rules  and 
principles  laid  down  for  their  guidance.  Mr.  Neville  then  pro- 
ceeded with  his  lecture  on  dramatic  art,  the  purport  of  which  was 
to  "  impress  the  necessity  for  certain  efforts,  and  the  importance 
of  certain  requirements "  closely  associated  with  the  practice  of 
dramatic  art,  which  he  described  as  "  imperishable,"  founded  on 
the  most  irrepressible  instincts  of  humanity,  which  could  only 
perish  with  humanity  itself.  The  speaker  maintained  tliat  the 
perfection  of  art  in  all  countries  is  the  faithful  realization  and 
representation  of  the  passions,  and  to  attain  that  desired  result, 
diligent  study  was  required — not  necessarily  with  a  master,  but 
**  study  from  the  great  models  Nature  has  provided ;  then  the 
beauties  of  psychology,  the  value  of  temperament  in  the  develop- 
ment of  character,  are  revealed  to  you.  Nothing  must  be  left  to 
chance  on  the  stage.  Study  to  give  a  faithful  representation." 
The  different  branches  of  study  were  then  described  at  some 
length   with   amusing  examples.     "Respect  the  art  you  follow, 

7 


98  Guy  FawkeSf  Esq. — That  Girl.  uwly,  1890. 


cultivate  a  due  sense  of  the  responsibility  and  importance  of  your 
calling.  You  have  a  great  study  before  you,  in  every  way  worthy 
of  your  best  efforts.  Remember,  earnestness  is  the  soul  of  art ; 
use  the  art  according  to  your  own  style,  manner,  individuality. 
Learn  to  feel  for  yourselves,  and  act  with  heart  and  soul  and 
enthusiasm." 

2  sth.  Shaftesbury.  {Matinee)  Sweet  Will. — One-act  comedy, 
by  Henry  Arthur  Jones.  This  proved  a  success,  for  the  idea  was 
a  pretty  one,  and  the  two  principal  characters,  Judith  Loveless 
and  Will  Darbyshire,  were  very  well  played  by  Miss  Norreys  and 
Lewis  Waller.  The  girl  loves  the  man  and  he  returns  it,  but  will 
not  speak  out  because  he  is  poor.  He  accepts  an  appointment 
to  go  abroad,  but  the  leave-taking  brings  about  a  mutual 
explanation. 

26th.  Gaiety.  {Matinee)  Guy  Fawkes^  Esq. — Arthur  Roberts, 
wishing  to  appear  once  more  before  Londoners,  previous  to  his 
entering  on  a  lengthy  provincial  tour,  gave  a  special  farewell. 
The  burlesque  was  written  by  A.  C.  Torr  and  Henry  F.  Clarke, 
who,  if  their  work  was  given  in  its  integrity,  cannot  be  compli- 
mented on  it.  There  was  really  nothing  of  a  story,  but  the  whole 
piece  was  an  enlarged  variety  entertainment,  evidently  written  for 
the  display  of  Mr.  Roberts's  drollery  and  eccentric  humour.  That 
he  was  amusing  as  Guy  Fawkes  goes  without  saying,  and  he  was 
well  supported  by  W.  H.  Rawlins  as  James  L,  by  Fanny  Marriott 
as  Robert  Catesby,  by  G.  B.  Prior  as  Grovel,  and  Amelia  Gruhn 
as  Viviana  Radcliffe  (particularly  good).  Minnie  Thurgate  was 
good  as  Angelica,  and  introduced  a  very  pretty  dance  in  that 
character.  Sam  Wilkinson  was  very  amusing  as  Badcorn,  a  Friar 
Tuck  sort  of  creature. 

26th.  J.  G.  Grahame  took  the  place  of  George  Alexander  in 
Dr.  Bill  at  the  Avenue. 

28th.  Theatre  Royal,  Stratford.  Fortunes  Fool. — Adapted 
from  the  French,  by  Charles  Harbury. 

30th.  Haymarket.  {Matinc^e)  That  Girl. — Comedy  in  three 
acts,  by  Henry  Hamilton  and  Mrs.  Oscar  Beringer.  The  joint 
authors  must,  in  all  probability,  bear  the  blame  of  having  materially 
weakened  a  play  that  possessed  some  strength  and  freshness,  by 
writing  up  the  part  of  a  most  objectionable  character,  the  child 
Aphrodite  Dodge,  who  has  not  one  redeeming  point,  but  is  simply 
obtrusive,  disagreeable,  and  wearying.  In  a  measure  resembling 
Digby  Grant  in  Two  Roses^  Captain  Wentworth  (C.  W.  Somerset) 
is  a  selfish  gentleman  out-at-elbows,  who  does  not  care  very  much 
how  he  gets  money  so  long  as  he  does  get  it.     He  has  been 


July.  xSqo.]  That  Girl. 


99 


floating  about  the  Continent,  and  has  used  his  daughter  Iris  (Miss 
Norreys)  as  a  decoy  for  the  young  men  he  rooks  at  cards  and 
billiards.     As  a  rule  she   meets  with  the  treatment  such  girls 
generally  receive;  this  renders  her  miserable,  for  the  poor  creature 
is  pure  and  modest,  and  she  is  therefore  the  more  grateful  for  the 
kind  attention  and  respectful  consideration  bestowed  on  her  by 
Philip  Challoner  (H.  Reeves  Smith),  a  none  too  rich  gentleman, 
who  has  the  sense  to  read  her  true  character.     Her  father  has 
encouraged  Lumley  Brereton  (E.  W.  Gardiner)  in  the  belief  that 
Iris  shall  be  his,  but  when  the  young  fellow  is  cleaned  out  he 
shows  him  the  door.     Lumley  urges  his  suit  almost  insultingly, 
and  he  is  knocked  down  for  his  pains  by  Challoner.     As  he  rises 
he  vows  to  be  revenged.     Challoner  unexpectedly  inherits  a  large 
property,  and  he  is  recalled  to  England  to  claim  it  (the  scene  is 
laid  in  Switzerland).     In  a  few  days  a  letter  comes  from  him 
apparently  proposing  for  the  hand  of  Iris  ;  she  is  only  too  happy 
for  she  has  given  him  her  heart,  and  her  father  is  delighted  for 
he  will  have  a  rich  son-in-law.     On  the  strength  of  the  coming 
alliance  he  orders  new  clothes,  gets  an  extended   credit  from 
Fraulein  Schwabe,  his  landlady ;  calls  together  his  acquaintances, 
and  in  a  grandiloquent  speech  toasts  the  future  bride  and  bride- 
groom in  bumpers  of  champagne.     Wentworth  is  of  good  family, 
and    in    consequence    of   this    and    his    daughter's    approaching 
marriage,   Mrs.   Cyrus    P.   Dodge   (Helen    Leigh),    a    "shoddy" 
widow,  very  rich,  and  with  a  reverence  for  high  birth,  has  over- 
looked the  fact  of  his  having  had  to  retire  from  the  army  for 
cheating  at  cards,  and  has  accepted  him  as  her  husband  to  be. 
Judge,  then,  of  the  consternation  of  those  immediately  concerned, 
and  the  delight  of  the  acquaintances  who  have  looked  down  upon 
the  father  and  daughter  when  Challoner  does  not  arrive  by  the 
boat  as  expected.     The  reason  is   soon   found.      Challoner  has 
never  written  a  line ;  the  proposal  and  subsequent  letters  are  all 
forgeries  written  by  Brereton  to  bring  ruin   and  disgrace  on  the 
Wentworths.     Iris  is  utterly  broken  down  with  shame  and  self- 
contempt ;  she  has  poured  out  her  whole  heart  of  love  in  reply 
to  Challoner's  supposed  letters.     Things  end  happily,  however. 
Challoner  does  come,  and  actually  offers  his  hand  to  Iris  ;  he  has 
loved  her  but  would  not  declare  himself  so  long  as  he  was  poor, 
but  he  learns  from  the  eavesdropping  Aphrodite  how  Iris  loves 
him  for  himself,  and  what  Brereton  has  done.     He  gets  back  Iris's 
letters   from  the   scoundrel,  and  Mrs.   Dodge,   who,  despite  her 
vulgarity,  is  a    loyal-hearted  though    silly  woman,   consents   to 
marry  Wentworth,  and  one  is  led  to  hope  from  his  manner  that 


100  Judah — Adrienne  Lecouvreur.  cjult,  1890. 


her  kindness  and  generosity  may  make  of  him  a  better  man  in 
the  future.  Alexander  McNab  is  a  Scotch  tutor  to  Harold  Leigh, 
a  youngster  that  Aphrodite  is  determined  to  "  mash,"  as  she  calls 
it  The  part  of  the  Scotchman  was  very  well  played  by  Earle 
Douglas ;  C.  W.  Somerset  again  distinguished  himself ;  his  study 
of  the  broken-down  rou^  and  gambler — plausible,  polished,  and 
hypocritical — was  excellent ;  Miss  Norreys  was  rather  uneven 
in  her  performance,  but  generally  it  was  tender  and  womanly  ; 
H.  Reeves  Smith  played  with  manly  sincerity  and  decision  ; 
E.  W.  Gardiner  gained  second  honours  for  his  finished  impersona- 
tion of  the  scampish  Lumley  Brereton.  The  part  of  Mrs.  Dodge 
could  not  have  been  better  played.  As  to  Vera  Beringer's 
Aphrodite,  I  suppose  she  carried  out  her  instructions,  but  the 
young  lady  certainly  did  not  attempt  to  soften  any  of  the 
repulsiveness  of  the  character. 

30th.  Death  of  William  Rooles  Lonnen,  professionally  known 
as  William  Champion,  for  many  years  connected  as  actor  and 
stage- manager  with  the  Adelphi  Theatre,  Liverpool.  Father  of 
E.  J,  Lonnen  and  Lonnen  Meadows,  actors,  and  of  Victor 
Champion,  musical  director. 

31st.  Shaftesbury.  Miss  Calhoun  appeared  as  Vashti  Dethic 
in  H.  A.  Jones's  play,  Judahy  Miss  Olga  Brandon  having  from 
prior  engagements  been  compelled  to  relinquish  the  character. 
It  was  an  excellent  performance,  exhibiting  much  intensity  and 
some  power,  but  was  wanting  in  that  weird,  almost  mystic,  aspect 
which  Miss  Olga  Brandon  imparted  to  it. 

Her  Majesty's.  French  Plays. — July  4th  and  7th,  Adrienne 
Lecouvreur  : — Madame  Sarah  Bernhardt  in  the  title  rdle  ;  Lacroix, 
Michonnet ;  Rebel,  Maurice  de  Saxe ;  Munie,  Le  Prince  de 
Bouillon  ;  Piron,  M.  Quinault ;  Jane  Mea,  Princesse  de  Bouillon. 
July  5th  and  8th,  La  Dame  aux  Camclias : — Sarah  Bernhardt, 
Marguerite  Gauthier  ;  Dumeny,  Armand  Duval  ;  Piron,  Georges 
Duval ;  Angelo,  Gaston  Rieux ;  Madame  Grandet,  Prudence  ; 
Jane  Mea,  Olympe.  July  9th,  La  Tosca  : — Sarah  Bernhardt, 
Floria  Tosca ;  Gamier,  Le  Baron  Scarpia ;  Dumeny,  Mario 
Cavaradossi  ;  Rebel,  Spoletta  ;  Piron,  Schiaronne ;  Jane  Mea, 
La  Reine  Marie  Caroline. 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


Aug.,  1890,]  This  Woman  and  That — Dr,  Bill,  101 

VIII. 

August. 

1st  Elephant  AND  Castle.  Jimmy  Watt. — Three-act  drama 
(author  not  announced)  for  copyright  purposes.  It  proved  to  be 
by  Dion  Boucicault,  and  only  his  play,  The  Tale  of  a  Coat  (produced 
in  Philadelphia,  August  4th),  renamed. 

2nd.  Globe.  {Matinee)  This  Woman  and  That. — When  an 
author  has  written  one  really  good  play,  like  The  Love  Story ^  and 
another  which,  though  far-fetched,  still  possessed  considerable 
merits,  as  did  Illusion^  curiosity  is  naturally  excited  as  to  his  next 
production.  Such  was  the  case  in  reference  to  Pierre  Leclercq's 
This  Woman  and  That,  The  result  was  most  disappointing  ;  there 
was  no  originality,  and  but  little  point  in  the  dialogue.  The  one 
excuse  that  may  be  made  for  the  result  was,  that  Adelaide  Moore, 
who  played  the  heroine,  brought  to  the  proper  rendering  of 
the  character  neither  that  brightness  nor  pathos  that  it  required. 
Mr.  Leclercq,  I  imagine,  wished  to  show  us  how  we  may  be 
mistaken  in  a  woman's  nature  from  her  outward  manners.  He 
scarcely  succeeded.  Lady  Ingleside,  a  seeming  prude,  with  a 
loving  husband,  elopes  with  a  good-for-nothing  roui^  Percy 
Gauntlett,  who  pleads  in  palliation  of  his  wasted  life  that  he  has 
been  refused  by  Eve  Fleurier,  a  gay,  light-hearted  girl.  Although 
Eve  knows  of  his  utter  baseness,  for  he  has  betrayed  his  best 
friend,  she  resolves  to  save  him  and  the  faithless  wife  despite 
themselves.  This  she  accomplishes,  restoring  Lady  Ingleside 
to  the  arms  of  her  forgiving  husband,  and  promising  to  give  her- 
self to  Gauntlett  if  he  is  a  redeemed  character  at  the  end  of  the 
year.  Emilie  Calhaem's  performance  was  the  best  in  the  cast 
Otis  Skinner  could  do  nothing  with  his  most  thankless  part,  and 
Mark  Quinton  availed  himself  of  his  one  opportunity.  As  I  yet 
hope  that  we  shall  see  good  work  from  Mr.  Leclercq,  I  have 
noticed  the  play  and  recorded  the  names  of  those  who  appeared 
in  it. 

2nd.  Avenue.  Dr.  Bill. — Alma  Stanley  replaced  Fanny 
Brough  as  Mrs.  Horton ;  and  Mrs.  Leston  Carlotta  Leclercq  as 
Mrs.  Firman.  Wilfred  Shine,  Mr.  Firman  ;  Lilian  Kingston,  Mrs. 
Louisa  Brown  ;  C.  Vernon,  Bags.  When  Edith  Kenward  went 
to  America  to  produce  Dr.  Bill  her  part  of  the  "  Kangaroo  dance'* 
girl  was  filled  by  Lillie  Young. 

2nd.  Adelphi.  The  English  Rose. — I  wrote  the  following  for 
The  St.  Jame^s  Gazette:  "The  reception  accorded  to  the  new 


I02  The  English  Rose.  [Auo.,  1890. 

play  by  Geo.  R.  Sims  and  Robert  Buchanan,  was  most  favourable 
to  its  success,  and  enthusiastic  applause  was  bestowed  on  it  when 
the  curtain  was  finally  dropped.  Although  we  have  some  of 
the  conventional  situations  which  are  expected  in  an  Adelphi 
drama,  the  dialogue  is  much  above  the  average  of  such  produc- 
tions, and  the  second  and  third  acts  are  very  strong  ones. 
The  first  and  fourth  will  require  to  be  a  little  condensed,  and 
more  reality  thrown  into  the  conflict  between  the  mob  and  the 
soldiers  and  constabulary.  As  at  present  represented  it  is  almost 
ridiculous.  The  hero,  Harry  O'Mailley,  has  won  the  love  of 
Ethel  Kingston,  niece  of  Sir  Philip  Kingston,  an  Englishman,  who 
had  purchased  the  estates  of  the  beggared  Knight  of  Ballyveeney, 
Harry's  father.  The  evil  genius  of  the  play.  Captain  Macdonell, 
the  agent,  looks  upon  any  prospect  of  the  lovers'  union  with 
special  disfavour,  as  he  intends  to  make  "  the  English  Rose,"  Ethel, 
his  wife.  Being  called  upon  suddenly  to  make  up  his  accounts, 
he  determines  that  Sir  Philip  shall  be  put  out  of  the  way.  He 
therefore  persuades  the  Moonlighters,  under  the  leadership  of 
Randal  O'Mara,  a  discontented  tenant,  to  shoot  their  landlord. 
As  he  is  driving  home  on  an  outside  car  with  his  niece,  he  is 
attacked  and  killed.  Harry  O'Mailley  has  learnt  from  Patsie 
Blake  of  what  is  going  to  take  place,  and  rides  his  hardest  to 
prevent  the  murder,  but  arrives  only  just  in  time  to  wrest  a  gun 
from  one  of  the  disguised  assassins  ;  and  Ethel  accuses  him  of  the 
deed,  which  she  imagines  he  has  committed  in  revenge  for  the 
insult  put  upon  him  that  day  by  her  uncle.  The  agent  has  over- 
heard her  words,  causes  Harry  to  be  arrested,  and  on  Ethel's 
unwilling  testimony  he  is  condemned  to  death.  She,  however, 
is  by  this  time  convinced  of  his  innocence,  which  is  at  length 
proved  by  Patsie  and  one  Nicodemus  Dickenson  (a  creature  of 
Macdonell's),  and  the  tardy  avowal  of  O'Mara.  This  is  the  main 
thread  of  the  story  ;  but  there  is  much  collateral  interest  in  the 
anguish  that  Father  Michael  O'Mailley  (the  hero's  brother) 
suffers — for  though  he  has  heard  the  confession  of  O'Mara,  he 
dares  not  clear  his  innocent  brother  by  breaking  his  priestly  vow. 
There  is  also  much  tender  pathos  in  the  life  and  disappointment 
of  Bridget  O'Mara,  who  is  devoted  to  Harry  O'Mailley,  but  finds 
that  he  only  cares  for  her  with  a  brother's  love.  This  part  was 
very  sweetly  played  by  Miss  Mary  Rorke.  The  stirring  events 
of  the  drama  are  :  A  steeplechase,  in  which  the  hero  and  his  rival 
take  part ;  the  Moonlighters'  ambush  ;  the  rescue,  by  his  Irish 
friends,  of  Harry,  as  he  comes  out  of  prison  ;  and  the  search  for 
him  by  soldiers  after  his  escape.    To  give  reality  to  the  situations, 


AuG^  1890.]        Shadows  of  a  Great  City — My  Milliner^ s  Bill  103 

horses  are  introduced  and  real  water  flows  and  bounds  under  the 
*  Devirs  Bridge ' — a  very  beautiful  set.  Mr.  Leonard  Boyne, 
when  he  let  himself  go,  was  excellent  as  the  hero,  but  dragged 
his  scenes  a  little  at  times.  Miss  Olga  Brandon,  though  still  suf- 
fering from  throat-weakness,  without  any  rant  or  playing  to  the 
gods,  completely  held  her  house.  Mr.  Beveridge  was  the  kind- 
liest and  cheeriest  of  Irish  gentlemen  as  the  knight,  and  Mr. 
T.  B.  Thalberg  was  impressive  as  the  priest.  Mr.  Dalton  was 
powerful  as  the  remorseful,  half-crazed  murderer,  O'Mara  ;  Mr.  J. 
L.  Shine,  as  a  merry  sergeant  of  constabulary,  and  Miss  Jecks,  as 
his  sweetheart,  were  amusing ;  and  Miss  Kate  James  brightened 
the  stage  by  her  snatches  of  song  and  clever  acting  as  Patsie 
Blake,  an  Irish  gossoon.  Mr.  Bassett  Roe,  as  the  English  land- 
lord, did  well ;  but  Mr.  W.  L.  Abingdon  was  not  quite  as  good 
as  he  usually  is  in  a  villain's  part.  Mr.  Lionel  Rignold  was 
excessively  droll  as  Nicodemus  Dickenson,  without  unduly  ex- 
aggerating the  peculiarities  of  a  cockney  *  welsher.* 

4th.  The  New  Queen's,  hitherto  known  as  the  Novelty,  was 
opened  by  G.  F.  Tolhurst,  with  J.  A.  Cave  as  manager.  The 
Corsican  Brothers  was  played.  Charles  Sennet  as  the  Dei  Franchi  ; 
George  Byrne,  Chateau  R6naud  ;  Mrs.  J.  F.  Bryan,  Madame 
dei  Franchi ;  Jessie  Robertson,  Emile  de  TEsparre. 

4th.  Sadler's  Wells,  opened  under  the  management  of 
Charles  Wilmot  and  H.  A.  Freeman,  with  Shadows  of  a  Great 
Cityy  an  American  five-act  play  by  Joseph  Jefferson  and  R.  L. 
Sherwell.  A.  E.  Percival,  Jim  Farren  ;  Evelyn  Nelson  doubled 
the  characters  of  Elsie  and  Nellie  Standish  ;  Grace  Temple, 
Biddy  Roonan.  The  scheme  of  the  managers  was  to  give  fresh 
attraction  in  the  shape  of  melodrama  by  different  companies  every 
week. 

4th.  Parkhurst  Theatre,  Holloway. — The  Earl's  Daughter, 
one-act  comedy-drama,  by  E.  Haslingden  Russell. 

4th.  The  "Old  Stagers,"  at  Canterbury,  commenced  their 
annual  week.  Their  most  laudable  and  successful  efforts  to  amuse 
must  not  be  passed  over  without  some  mention.  We  always  have 
good  acting  from  them,  for  the  gentlemen  number  amongst  them 
some  of  our  very  best  amateurs,  and  they,  with  excellent  judg- 
ment, invariably  select  the  best  professional  actresses  to  support 
them.  This  year  they  were  particularly  happy  in  their  choice. 
It  was  almost  daring  to  attempt  My  Milliner^s  Bill,  made  so 
famous  by  the  acting  of  Mr.  Arthur  Cecil  and  Mrs.  John  Wood, 
but  G.  W.  Godfrey's  piece  went  capitally,  thanks  to  the  contagious 
high  spirits  of  Miss  Laura  Linden  as  Mrs.  Merrydew,  and  the 


104  T'ife  Silver  Shield — The  Great  Unknown.  [Aug.,  1890. 

really  clever  performance  of  "  Herr  Scrobbs  "  (E.  Ponsonby)  as  her 
husband.  Nor  was  Sydney  Grundy's  The  Silver  Shield  less 
fortunate  in  its  representation.  In  the  first  place,  there  was  Miss 
Annie  Irish  to  appear  as  Alma  Blake,  and  this  clever  and  rising 
young  actress  has  a  complete  command  over  her  audience,  and 
can  at  her  own  will  move  them  to  tears  and  laughter ;  she  effec- 
tually succeeded  in  doing  both.  Miss  Ethel  Norton  was  the  Lucy 
Preston  ;  Miss  Laura  Linden,  Susan  ;  Mrs.  George  Canninge,  Mrs. 
Dozey ;  Colonel  Naghi,  Sir  Humphrey  Chetwynd  ;  Mr.  Lafite, 
Ned  Chetwynd  ;  Mr.  Dodson  Fogg,  Tom  Potter ;  The  McUsque- 
bagh,  Rev.  Mr.  Dozey  ;  and  Mr.  Oliver  Twist,  Mr.  Dodson  Dick. 
The  piece  went  capitally.  The  other  two  pieces  were : — A.  W. 
Pinero*s  Money  Spinner^  with  the  following  cast :  Lord  Kingussie, 
The  McFingon  ;  Harold  Boycot,  Dodson  Fogg ;  Jules  Faubert, 
Colonel  Naghi ;  Porter,  A.  Smith  ;  Baron  Croodle,  Oliver  Twist ; 
Millicent  Boycot,  Annie  Irish ;  Dorinda  Croodle,  Laura  Linden  ; 
M argot,  Mrs.  George  Canninge; — and  An  Amateur  Pantomime 
Reheafsal^  of  which  the  cast  was :  Jack  Deedes,  The  McFingon, 
Lord  Alfred  Fitzfrizzle,  Herr  Scrobbs ;  Captain  Tom  Robinson, 
Colonel  Naghi ;  Servant,  Mr.  de  la  Pluche  Smith  ;  Lady  Muriel 
Beauclerc,  Mrs. George  Canninge;  Lady  Violet, Ethel  Norton;  Lady 
May,  Annie  Irish  ;  Lady  Rose,  Laura  Linden.  The  performance 
of  The  Money  Spinner  was  accounted  the  best  of  the  week. 

5  th.  Lyceum.      The  Great  Unknown. — I  wrote  the  following 
for  The  St.  James's  Gazette  :  "  The  number  of  Americans  who  are 
at   present  in    London   may  account  for   Mr.   Augustin   Daly's 
production  last  night  of  his  adaptation  of  Franz  von  Schonthan's 
and    Gustav    Kadelburg's    Die  Beruhmte  Frau.     It  teems  with 
what  we    are  afraid    we   must    call  American   *  slang,'   compre- 
hensible to,  and  appreciated  by,  Americans,  but  which  loses  its 
point  as  far  as  an  English  audience  is  concerned.     We  cannot 
but  regret  that  Mr.  Daly,  after  giving  us  such  excellent  dramatic 
fare    as    Tlie    Taming   of  the    Shrew    and    As    You    Like   It^ 
should  have  chosen  for  his  final  production  such  a  meaningless 
piece    of    work    as    the    one   now    under   notice.       The    Great 
Unknown    has    no    consistency ;    it    is    for   the    most    part    but 
detached  duologues  between  the  several  couples  who  make  up  the 
characters.     The  play  takes  its  name  from  Mrs.  Arabella  Jarraway, 
a  very  silly  woman,  who  is  not  seen  till  the  third  act.     Fancying 
herself  a  poetess,  she  leaves  husband  and  children  for  three  years 
that  she  may  gain  inspiration  in  Italy,  '  the  land  of  song.'    A  line 
in  the  programme — *  When  the  cat's  away  the  mice  will  play' — 
gives  the  key  to  the  consequences  of  her  absence.     Mr.  Jeremiah 


Aug.,  1890.1  Welcome^  Little  Stranger!  105 

Jarraway,  the  husband,  runs  after  a  pretty  widow,  who  fools  him 
to  the  top  of  his  bent,  laughing  at  him,  and  eventually  bestows 
herself  on  an  honest  admirer.  The  Jarraway  girls,  Etna  and 
Pansy,  deprived  of  maternal  care,  talk  slang  and  hoodwink  their 
credulous  father.  Fortunately  for  them,  there  is  at  hand  to  watch 
over  them  *  Cousin  Ned,'  a  sterling  fellow,  who  wins  the  elder 
girl  to  better  things  by  his  kind  counsel  and  honest  affection, 
while  Pansy  is  sobered  down  by  the  sensible  advice  of  hard- 
headed  but  soft-hearted  Aunt  Penelope.  Mrs.  Jarraway  returns 
to  her  home  a  lump  of  affectation  and  absurdity  ;  but  is  brought 
to  a  healthier  state  by  the  whole  family  posing  in  the  very  worst 
light.  Her  husband,  whom  she  has  neglected,  makes  love  before 
her  face ;  her  children  shock  her  by  their  purposely  assumed 
tomboy  propensities ;  and  Aunt  Penelope  tells  her  some  home 
truths  about  the  trash  she  writes.  But  all  this  will  not  be  amusing 
or  make  a  play  unless  it  is  brilliantly  written,  and  this  was  by  no 
means  the  case.  Miss  Ada  Rehan  has  some  opportunities  as 
Etna  for  the  display  of  her  bewitching  changes  from  grave  to 
gay ;  but  it  was  almost  saddening  to  see  an  actress  who  could 
play  so  artistically  a  Katherine  and  a  Rosalind  descend  to  the 
dancing  of  a  nigger  step-dance.  Mr.  James  Lewis,  Mr,  John 
Drew,  and  Mrs.  Gilbert  are  too  clever  not  to  earn  some  praise  by 
their  endeavours  to  make  something  of  parts  utterly  unworthy  of 
them.  The  Great  Unknown  is  so  weak  that  we  hope  Mr.  Daly 
will  see  his  way  to  give  us  a  revival  of  A  Night  Off^  or  some 
other  of  the  bright  plays  that  his  company  include  in  their 
repertoire. — A  Wofnan's  Won*t,  a  very  amusing  farce,  which  was 
produced  in  England  some  four  years  ago,  and  revived  lately  (see 
Gaiety,  July  23rd),  at  a  matinfe  in  aid  of  a  charity,  preceded  the 
novelty,  and  was  remarkably  well  played." 

6th.  Criterion.  Welcome,  Little  Stranger! — I  wrote  the 
following  for  The  Stage :  "  It  might  almost  be  gathered  from 
the  wording  of  the  programme  that  the  play  under  notice  was  an 
original  one.  It  is,  however,  an  adaptation  from  the  French  Le 
Petit  Ludovic,  written  by  Henri  Crusafelli  and  Victor  Bernard, 
and  produced  with  great  success  at  the  Menus  Plaisirs  (then  Le 
Th^tre  des  Arts)  March  17th,  1889.  The  adaptation  has  been, 
it  is*said,  for  some  years  in  Mr.  Charles  Wyndham's  possession, 
but  it  never  saw  the  light  until  last  year  about  this  time,  when  a 
performance  of  it  was  given,  under  another  title,  at  the  Shake- 
speare Theatre,  Liverpool.  The  audience  was  then  not  large, 
and  was  certainly  not  enthusiastic  over  the  play.  Welcome,  Little 
Stranger!  is    not  by   any   means    one   of   the   most   favourable 


io6  Welcome,  Little  Stranger/  [Aug.,  1890. 

specimens  of  Mr.  Albery's  usually  brilliant  writing ;  it  is  only 
now  and  then  that  we  have  scintillations  of  his  wit  and  charac- 
teristic epigram.  The  main  subject  on  which  the  story  relies  is 
not  the  most  pleasant  for  consideration,  that  of  a  middle-aged 
lady  who  has  been  childless  for  some  twenty  years  again  becoming 
a  mother,  at  the  same  time  that  her  only  daughter  bears  a  son. 
To  describe  the  play  as  briefly  as  possible,  we  may  say  that 
Mr.  Darrtell  Roe  has  just  married  Cecilia,  the  only  daughter  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cranberry  Buck,  who  are  celebrating  their  silver 
wedding.  Mr.  Buck  is  quite  wild  at  the  certainty,  as  he  takes  it, 
that  Mrs.  Roe  will  have  a  son  bom  to  her — and  lays  out  all  sorts 
of  plans  for  his  future  heir.  Awaiting  this,  his  wife  and  he  travel 
— they  visit  the  Engadine,  which  makes  them  so  young  again 
that  when  Mrs.  Buck  returns  to  England  at  the  end  of  a  year 
there  is  a  little  son.  This,  of  course,  transfers  Mr.  Buck's  af- 
fection from  his  grandson  to  his  own  child.  He  is  ridiculously 
proud  of  this  *  December-hatched  chick,'  as  his  son-in-law  calls 
it ;  for  Mr.  Roe  arrives  on  a  visit  with  his  wife  and  heir,  and  is 
naturally  much  disturbed  at  the  discovery  of  the  interloper  as  he 
looks  upon  it,  for  the  young  couple  have  been  kept  in  the  dark 
as  to  the  arrival  of  the  *  welcome  little  stranger.*  The  end  of  it 
all  is  that  the  respective  fathers  quarrel  fiercely.  Roe  is  going  to 
take  his  departure  in  high  dudgeon,  when  the  nurse  tearfully 
imparts  to  him  the  intelligence  that  he  cannot  take  his  baby  with 
him,  as  she  does  not  know  which  is  his ;  the  children  have  got 
*  mixed '  in  the  process  of  dressing.  The  mothers  are  in  the 
conspiracy  (arranged  by  Mr.  Paragon),  and  pretend  that  they 
cannot  distinguish  between  the  two,  and,  as  the  fathers  are  even 
at  a  greater  loss  to  claim  each  his  own  special  property,  they 
agree  at  last  to  share  the  youngsters  in  common.  There  is  a 
capital  underplot,  which  might  of  itself  make  a  good  farce.  Mr. 
Paragon,  nephew  to  Mr.  Buck,  receives  from  his  uncle  a  card,  on 
which  is  written,  *  Meet  me  outside  the  Haymarket  Theatre ; 
don't  tell  your  aunt.'  He  goes  into  the  theatre  with  his  uncle, 
and  is  suddenly  bewitched  by  a  beautiful  woman  (Mrs.  Llorencourt) 
seated  in  a  box  opposite.  He  scribbles  on  a  card  a  request  to  be 
allowed  to  call  upon  her,  and,  when  she  has  got  into  her  carriage, 
rushes  up  and  presents  this  request  of  his,  as  he  fancies,  *in  a 
handkerchief,  which  he  pretends  she  has  dropped.  Unluckily  he 
has  given  her  the  card  his  uncle  wrote  him.  The  lady  is  naturally 
indignant  at  such  a  request  as  that  conveyed  to  her,  and  plainly 
tells  him  so  when  they  meet ;  but,  though  a  shy  man,  he  per- 
sistently follows  her,  and  will   take  no  rebuff  until,  when    the 


Aug.,  1890.]  Jilted — The  Bookmaker,  107 

circumstance  is  explained,  she  accepts  him,  on  the  condition  that 
he  makes  Mr.  Buck  and  Mr.  Roe  friends  again.  The  parts  of 
Paragon  and  Mrs.  Llorencourt  were  made  most  diverting  by  the 
clever  acting  of  George  Giddens  and  Vane  Featherston.  No 
better  representative  could  have  been  found  for  the  fussy,  con- 
ceited, young-old  man  than  W.  Blakeley,  who  really  caused  the 
laughter  of  the  evening.  Miss  Victor's  well-known  ability  stood 
her  in  good  stead,  for  the  part  of  Mrs.  Buck  is  one  that  requires 
very  careful  playing,  or  it  might  be  made  an  unpleasant  one. 
Edmund  Maurice  was  decidedly  good  as  the  fond  husband  of  the 
first  and  the  enraged  one  of  the  later  acts.  Helen  Forsyth  was  a 
very  fascinating  little  wife  to  him,  and  the  servants,  Fanny  and 
Ann,  found  clever  representatives  in  Emily  Vining  and  F.  Francis. 
In  fact,  it  was  not  the  fault  of  the  players  that  the  piece  itself 
was  not  a  success. — Mr.  Albery's  adaptation  was  preceded  by 
Jilted^  the  very  neatly-written  comic  drama  in  two  acts  by  Alfred 
Maltby.  The  fun  is  healthy,  and  the  characters  are  well  drawn, 
and  there  is  considerable  fidelity  to  human  nature  in  the  story. 
Although  an  oft-told  tale,  Samuel  Pott,  Junr.,  a  rich,  good,  simple- 
hearted  fellow,  is  beguiled  into  an  engagement  with  her  daughter 
Marguerite  (F.  Francis)  by  the  scheming  of  Mrs.  Daulton  (Emily 
Miller).  Carrie  Dalrypple  {sic)y  Sam's  cousin,  who  loves  him,  sees 
through  their  manoeuvres.  She  lets  it  be  understood  that  Sam 
has  lost  all  his  money,  with  the  natural  consequence  that  he  is 
freed  from  his  engagement.  He  turns  to  Carrie  for  his  solace, 
whflst  Marguerite  takes  up  with  his  worthless  friend,  the  Hon. 
Henry  St.  Cloud.  The  part  of  a  nervous  lawyer,  Mr.  Equity 
Transfer,  was  a  little  overacted  by  F.  Emery.  S.  Valentine  was 
good  as  Carrie's  uncle,  Samuel  Potts,  Senior.  F.  Atherley  well 
represented  the  sponging  rou^^  St  Cloud.  EUaline  Terriss  ex- 
hibited considerable  dramatic  force,  as  well  as  sweetness  of 
character,  as  Carrie  Dalrypple ;  and  George  Giddens  artistically 
mingled  touches  of  pathos  with  the  more  comic  side  of  Samuel 
Potts,  Junior.    Jilted  was  remarkably  well  received. 

9th.  Gaiety.  The  Bookmaker. — I  wrote  the  following  for  The 
Weekly  Times  and  Echo:  "In  this  play.  Sir  Joseph  Trent, 
the  bookmaker,  unlike  most  men  connected  with  the  turf  as 
'penciller,*  is  the  essence  of  good  nature  and  kindliness.  He 
has  been  thrust  out  on  the  world  at  an  early  age,  been  a  jockey, 
and  eventually  turned  *  booker.'  He  is  doing  fairly  well,  when 
it  is  suddenly  announced  to  him  that  he  is  a  baronet,  and 
possessed  of  ;f  100,000.  He  at  once  sets  about  being  the  good 
genius  of  damsels  in  distress.     He  does   not  feel   at  home  in 


io8  Casting  the  Boomerang— Judah,  [Aug.,  1890. 

society,  and  so  he  is  very  grateful  to  Lady  Jessie  Harborough,  a 
frank  and  generous  girl,  because  she  talks  to  him  about  racing 
and  horses,  for  which  she  has  a  great  affection.  But  she  is  still 
fonder  of  Jack  Carew ;  her  father,  however,  will  not  hear  of  the 
match  on  account  of  Jack's  poverty.  Sir  Joseph  buys  her  a  horse 
and  backs  it  so  heavily  for  her  that  she  wins  ;£^40,ooo.  Sybil 
Hardwick  and  Lord  Maidment  love  each  other,  but  the  young 
fellow  has  to  confess  to  her  that  in  the  past  he  has  married  a 
worthless  woman,  and  that  she  is  still  alive.  Sir  Joseph  helps 
them  out  of  their  trouble  by  proving  that  the  Lady  Maidment  is 
none  other  than  his  Polly,  who,  married  to  him,  had  deserted  him 
and  committed  bigamy.  He  does  not  even  threaten  to  prosecute 
her,  but  sends  her  away  repentant.  Nat  Goodwin  was  quaint, 
original,  and  amusing  as  Sir  Joseph  Trent,  outwardly  vulg^ian, 
but,  at  heart,  the  truest  of  gentlemen.  His  conversations  with 
the  butler,  with  whom  he  fraternizes,  were  thoroughly  racy,  and 
he  was  very  genuine  in  his  kindheartedness.  William  Farren 
was  a  genial  Earl  of  Harborough,  and  Reeves  Smith  most  capably 
resumed  his  original  character  of  Lord  Maidment.  Christine 
Mayne  was  agreeable  as  Lady  Jessie  Harborough ;  Adelaide 
Gunn  was  a  gentle  Sybil  Hardwicke ;  Jenny  MacNulty  made  a 
decided  hit  as  Polly,  the  adventuress  ;  Charles  Glenney  and  Frank 
Wood  were  excellent  as  Jack  Carew  and  Bubbles  the  butler. 
The  piece  was  received  with  every  sign  of  approval,  and  Nat 
Goodwin  was  warmly  applauded." 

9th.  Globe. — Last  performance  of  Romeo  and  Juliet^  and  close 
of  Adelaide  Moore's  tenancy. 

nth.  Lyceum. — Casting  the  Boomerang  was  revived  for  the 
final  week  of  the  Augustin  Daly  Company's  appearance  in  London, 
when  the  manager  made  a  little  speech,  and  said  that  he  should 
return  to  the  Lyceum  in  the  autumn  of  1891. 

I  ith.  Ada  Ferrar  appeared  on  this  and  several  following  nights 
as  Ethel  Kingston,  in  TIte  English  Rose,  in  consequence  of  Olga 
Brandon's  indisposition,  and  acquitted  herself  admirably. 

17th.  Queen's  Theatre,  Manchester,  destroyed  by  fire. 
Mr.  Pitt  Hardacre  was  the  lessee. 

20th.  Henry  Neville  sailed  to  fulfil  a  lengthened  engagement 
in  America. 

2 1  St.  Shaftesbury. — E.  S.  Willard  invited  ministers  of  all 
denominations  to  a  morning  performance  of  Judah.  The  clerics 
came  in  their  numbers,  and  in  many  cases  accompanied  by  their 
sisters  and  their  cousins,  and  their  aunts — and  their  better  halves. 
Actors  could  not  have  had  a   more  sympathetic   or   interested 


Aug.,  1890.]  Captain  Therise,  1 09 

audience.  Every  point  Wcis  taken  up,  and  the  applause  Wcis 
general  and  hearty.  The  whole  company  were  on  their  mettle 
and  at  their  best  Mr.  Willard  came  forward  at  the  close  of  the 
performance  and  expressed  his  gratification  at  so  many  being 
present,  as  it  did  away  with  the  "  cuckoo  cry  *'  that  the  clergy 
would  not  enter  a  playhouse.  Twelve  hundred  invitations  had 
been  sent  out ;  of  the  replies  only  eight  had  expressed  disap- 
probation of  the  playhouse  and  everything  appertaining  thereto, 
and  their  expressions  were  very  forcible.  The  manager  could 
only  r^ret  that  any  minister  should  not  sanction  performances 
by  his  presence,  as  his  being  in  evidence  could  but  tend  to  the 
further  purification  of  the  stage. 

2Sth.  Prince  OF  Wales's.  Captain  Th^rhe. — Unlike  most  of 
the  comic  operas  that  we  have  given  us  in  England,  which  are  the 
work  of  foreign  authors  and  composers.  Captain  Thirhe  was  written 
especially  for  a  London  audience,  and  had  not  been  tried  abroad 
before  it  was  first  produced  at  the  Prince  of  Wales's.  The  plot 
is  a  good  deal  involved  and  somewhat  inconsequential,  but  there  is 
in  the  original  idea  sufficient  drollery  for  a  groundwork,  on  which 
the  respective  representatives  of  the  characters  have  built  up 
some  laughable  situations,  the  humour  of  which  was  considerably 
increased  after  the  opening  night,  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
entire  performance,  which  then  occupied  nearly  four  hours,  was 
most  judiciously  curtailed  to  three.  The  Marquis  de  Vardeuil 
has  arranged  for  a  mariage  de  convenance  between  the  Vicomte 
Tancrede  de  la  Touche  and  his  daughter,  Mdlle.  Th^r^se.  The 
Vicomte,  a  gay  young  rake,  without  caring  particularly  about 
the  union,  accepts  the  situation,  but  Th^r^se  strongly  objects. 
She  has  been  educated  in  a  convent,  and  has  never  set  eyes  upon 
her  future  husband,  but  has  from  her  childhood  had  a  lover  in  her 
cousin  Philip  de  Bellegarde.  He  is  equally  fond  of  her,  so  this 
family  arrarangment  is  anything  but  to  their  liking.  The  Vicomte, 
in  his  amorous  escapades,  has  been  smitten  with  Mercedes 
(who  is  only  spoken  of,  but  not  seen),  the  young  wife  of  Colonel 
Sombrero,  and  to  forward  his  views  on  her,  as  she  has  never  seen 
either  himself  or  Philip  the  Vicomte,  assumes  the  latter's  name, 
as  the  coquettish  Mercedes  has  been  heard  to  express  a  wish  to 
be  introduced  to  him.  The  Vicomte's  visit  is  discovered,  and  poor 
Philip  gets  the  blame,  and,  in  consequence,  is  ordered  off  to  his 
uncle's  chdteau.  There  he  is  soundly  rated  by  his  uncle  and 
his  aunt,  Mme.  la  Chan6inesse  Herminie,  who  look  upon  him 
as  a  Lothario  ;  but  he  meets  his  lady-love,  and  they  vow 
constancy,  for  she  will  not  believe  in  the  stories  that  arc  told  of 


no  Captain  Th&ese,  [Aug.,  1890. 


him.  Philip  is  ordered  close  confinement  in  his  chamber,  but 
being  determined  to  get  back  to  camp  to  clear  his  character,  he 
lets  himself  down  from  his  window  in  private  clothes,  leaving  his 
uniform.  He  is  no  sooner  gone  than  an  order  comes  for  him  to 
take  a  batch  of  recruits  to  the  front  Th^rese  foreseeing  the 
disgrace  that  will  be  brought  upon  him  by  his  absence  from  duty, 
assumes  his  uniform  and  name,  and  prevails  on  her  aunt  La 
Chan6inesse  and  M.  Duvet,  the  notary  (who  has  been  summoned 
to  draw  up  the  marriage  contract),  to  accompany  her  in  the 
disguise  of  the  two  sergeants  who  were  in  charge  of  the  raw  levies, 
but  whom  her  maid,  Marceline,  has  made  tipsy.  The  maid  also 
joins  the  party  in  the  character  of  a  vivandikre.  Arrived  at  the 
camp,  their  troubles  begin  at  once,  for  instead  of  the  Marquis, 
whom  they  reckoned  on  finding  in  command  of  the  troops, 
Colonel  Sombrero  is  temporarily  in  office,  and  as  he  is  a  very 
martinet,  he  puts  them  to  considerable  inconvenience  from  their 
lack  of  military  knowledge.  Worse  than  this,  however,  is  his 
desire  to  punish  the  Philip  de  Bellegarde,  who,  he  learns,  hcis  been 
flirting  with  his  wife.  Here  he  is  in  a  fix,  for  he  has  Th^rese  as 
one  Philip,  Tancr^de,  who  still  assumes  the  character,  as  another, 
and  the  real  Philip  as  a  third.  The  Colonel  puts  them  all  under 
arrest,  and  tries  them  all  by  an  amusing  travesty  of  a  court- 
martial.  Happily,  the  Marquis  returns  to  resume  his  command, 
and  identifies  the  several  parties,  who  stood  a  good  chance  of  all 
being  shot  Tancr^de  owns  to  his  misdemeanours,  refuses  the 
hand  of  Th^rese,  which  is  bestowed  on  Philip,  and  Marceline  pairs 
off  with  M.  Duvet,  My  province  is  only  to  deal  with  the  acting 
and  the  book  ;  M.  Planquette*s  music  was  pronounced  to  be 
melodious  and  scholarly.  As  to  the  book,  it  contains  some 
"  happy  thoughts "  from  Mr.  Burnand,  such  as  Tancride's  bold 
assertion  that  "  a  soldier  has  no  business  with  a  wife  of  his  own," 
and  the  old  Chan6inesse's  explanation  that  "  to  love  is  an  irregular 
verb,  which  does  not  require  a  third  person  present;"  but  as  a  rule 
the  libretto  was  none  too  lively  a  specimen  of  English  adaptation. 
The  lyrics,  some  of  which  Gilbert  k  Becket  had  contributed,  are 
above  the  average.  Hayden  Coffin  has  never  before  acted  with 
such  spirit ;  he  was  quite  gay  and  jaunty.  Joseph  Tapley,  too, 
was  more  animated  and  natural  in  his  manner,  though  occasionally, 
from  excess  of  zeal,  he  was  a  trifle  too  melodramatic.  Harry 
Monkhouse  was  very  amusing  as  the  notary,  a  superstitious 
gentleman,  who  having  been  told  by  a  gipsy  that  he  will  not  be 
safe  under  a  roof  until  a  certain  date  is  passed,  ludicrously  ex- 
presses his  fear  at  ever  sleeping  in  a  house.     He  was  well  seconded 


Aug.,  1890.]  The  Deacon,  III 

by  Phyllis  Broughton,  with  whom  his  scenes  principally  lay,  and 
who  had  a  charming  and  graceful  mazurka  to  dance.  Henry 
Ashley  burlesqued  the  jealous  husband  and  strict  disciplinarian 
capitally  in  Colonel  Sombrero  ;  and  Harry  Parker  was  quietly 
droll  as  the  old  Marquis.  Madame  Amadi  was  a  valuable 
aid  in  her  character ;  and  Florence  Darley  played  her  small 
part  very  well.  Attalie  Claire,  an  American  lady,  quite  new 
to  England,  made  a  favourable  impression,  though  she  was  very 
nervous  on  the  opening  night,  and  did  not  do  herself  justice. 
The  remainder  of  the  characters  were  well-played,  and  the  chorus 
excellently  drilled.  As  "  the  date  of  the  action  of  the  play  is 
between  1585  and  1590,  when  the  Duke  of  Mayenne  was 
assisted  in  his  struggle  for  the  throne  of  France  by  the  troops  of 
Philip  of  Spain,"  there  was  ample  scope  for  handsome  armour  and 
gorgeous  uniforms,  of  which  the  management  has  lavishly  availed 
itself,  the  designs  of  the  dresses  having  been  most  literally  and 
and  tastefully  carried  out  by  Messrs.  Nathan  and  Mons.  and  Mme. 
Alias.  The  scenery,  which  was  very  beautiful,  was  supposed  to 
represent  the  country  about  Dijon  ;  and  the  opera  was  produced 
in  the  most  effective  manner  by  Charles  Harris.  The  principals 
and  the  composer  were  called  at  the  end  of  the  performance, 
but  no  great  anxiety  was  expressed  for  the  appearance  of  the 
authors.  On  witnessing  Thirise  a  second  time,  I  found  that  several 
of  the  characters  had  worked  up  their  parts  themselves  to  their 
very  great  improvement,  and  that  the  whole  went  much  more 
gaily. 

27th.  Shaftesbury.  {Matinee)  The  Deacon. — The  following 
was  written  by  me  for  The  Topical  Times:  "A  rather  cold-blooded, 
but  at  the  same  time  most  sensible,  piece  of  advice  given  to  young 
people  by  sapient  elders  is,  'Do  nothing  without  a  motive.* 
Mr.  Henry  Arthur  Jones,  the  author  of  some  very  good  plays,  is 
following  out  this  doctrine.  His  motive  is  a  good  one — he  wishes 
to  inculcate  moral  lessons  through  the  medium  of  the  stage,  and 
as  the  stage,  to  carry  out  its  mission,  should  be  in  itself  moral, 
Mr.  H.  A.  Jones  is  doing  his  best  to  elevate  its  tone  and  to  show 
what  effects  it  can  produce  on  mankind  in  general.  We  had  the 
last  proof  of  this  in  Tfte  Deacon,  Here  was  a  Mr.  Abraham 
Boothroyd,  albeit  that  he  was  a  wholesale  bacon  factor,  and  a 
mayor,  and  a  senior  deacon  of  his  chapel,  a  very  silly  old 
gentleman,  for  he  looked  upon  a  theatre  as  a  very  sink  of  iniquity, 
though  he  had  never  entered  one,  and  only  founded  his  convictions 
on  the  strength  of  his  father  and  his  grandfather  never  having 
seen  the  inside  of  a  playhouse.     Well,  he  comes  up  to  London  to 


112  Light  o'  Day.  [Aug.,  1890. 


see  his  nephew,  Tom  Dempster,  en  passant^  and  then  to  go  to 
some  specially  bigoted  meeting  at  Exeter  Hall.  But  at  his 
nephew's  he  meets  the  captivating  Mrs.  Bolingbroke,  a  former 
actress,  who  has  made  a  bet  with  Tom  that  she  will  so  bewitch  the 
strait-laced  Boothroyd  as  to  carry  him  off  to  a  theatre.  And 
she  succeeds,  for  she  takes  him  to  see  Romeo  and  Juliet^  and  the 
old  gentleman  is  perfectly  delighted,  and  declares  that  he  will  go 
to  the  theatre  every  night  for  ever  afterwards  ;  nay,  more,  he  will 
build  one  himself  in  Chipping  Tadbury,  and  attract  all  those  whom 
he  has  hitherto  joined  in  railing  at  it.  I  need  hardly  say  that  the 
young  lady  who  plays  Juliet  is  Rosie,  Tom  Dempster's  sweetheart, 
and  that  in  her  the  recalcitrant  Mr.  Boothroyd  discovers  his 
grandchild,  offspring  of  his  own  daughter,  who  had  eloped  with  a 
strolling  mummer.  And  so,  as  in  the  fairy  tales,  they  all  live 
happy  ever  after — that  is,  supposing  the  worthy  Mayor  does  not 
encounter  a  rather  warm  reception  from  his  fellow-townsmen  on 
his  return  for  his  changed  opinions  as  to  the  iniquity  of  stage 
plays.  Tfie  Deacon  is  very  prettily  written,  and  is  perfectly 
harmless,  but  I  do  not  think  it  will  inculcate  a  very  high  moral 
lesson.  Still,  whoever  sees  Mr,  Willard  in  the  character  of  Mr. 
Boothroyd  will  be  very  much  pleased,  for  it  is  a  part  that  suits 
him.  He  has  to  show^  finesse  in  being  gradually  won  over  by  the 
captivating  actress  who  upsets  all  his  preconceived  notions  as  to 
the  wickedness  going  on  behind  the  scenes ;  he  has  to  exhibit 
considerable  pathos  as  he  talks  of  his  past  lonely  life,  and  he  has 
to  show  what  an  extraordinary  change  one  visit  to  a  theatre  can 
produce  in  a  hitherto  staid  and  rather  sanctimonious  old  gentle- 
man ;  and  E.  S.  Willard  showed  all  this  remarkably  well.  Mrs. 
Macklin,  too,  was  excellent  in  her  coquetry  and  cosseting  of  the 
worthy  Mayor's  little  weaknesses ;  and  the  two  lovers,  played  by 
Annie  Hill  and  Charles  Fulton,  were  as  foolishly  in  love  as  two 
desperately  *  spoony '  young  people  should  be.  The  Deacon  will 
make  a  very  pleasant  little  curtain-raiser,  and  but  little  more.  The 
author  originally  intended  to  name  his  work  The  Play's  the  Thing, 
— In  The  Violin  Players,  which  preceded  it,  Mrs.  Willard  was 
sympathetic  and  engaging  as  Giannina." 

29th.  Laurence    Cautley    sailed    for  Australia   to    appear    as 
Harry  O'Mailley  in  The  English  Rose, 

30th.  Novelty.    Light  d  Day, — Sensational  comedy-drama  by 
Brian  McCullough. 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


SuT.,  x89«>.]      A  Legend  of  Vandale — A  Million  of  Money.  113 


IX. 

SEPTEMBER. 

1st  Grand.  A  Legend  of  Vandale, — By  A.  E.  Drinkwater. 
Brightly  written,  and  turning  on  a  legend  in  the  family  of  the 
Loraines  which  sets  forth  that  once  in  every  four  years  the  ghost 
of  a  cavalier  who  was  murdered  in  Vandale  Towers  will  re-visit 
the  place.  Norah  Loraine  (Mary  Jocelyn),  the  present  proprietor 
determines  to  sit  up  and  await  the  ghost's  coming.  Leonard 
Leinster  (Scott  Buist),  a  young  fellow  who  has  been  to  a 
fancy  ball  in  the  neighbourhood  in  the  dress  of  a  cavalier,  seeks 
shelter,  having  known  the  place  formerly  as  an  inn,  is  mistaken 
for  the  ghost  by  the  old  servitor  Dennis  (A.  E.  Drinkwater), 
whom  he  nearly  frightens  out  of  his  wits,  but  makes  himself  very 
agreeable  to  the  heroine.     The  trifle  was  very  well  acted. 

6th.  Drury  Lane.  A  Million  of  Money, — ^The  hero,  Harry 
Dunstable,  is  the  ward  of  the  Rev.  Gabriel  Maythome.  He  has 
been  brought  up  from  childhood  in  his  household,  and  an 
affection  has  sprung  up  between  him  and  Mary  Maythome,  the 
parson's  daughter.  The  clergyman  has  evidently  some  doubts  as 
to  Harry's  steadiness,  who  is  in  the  army,  and  having  but  a 
small  allowance  from  a  rich  uncle,  has  rather  over-run  the 
constable.  From  a  betting  transaction  he  is  very  short  of 
money,  and  borrows  jf300  from  Dick  Bounder,  a  low  book- 
maker and  creature  of  -Major  Belgrave,  the  vi  llain  of  the  play. 
The  Major  has  really  found  the  money,  and,  foreseeing  that 
Harry  will  have  some  difficulty  in  repaying  it,  has  advanced  it 
in  order  that  he  may  put  pressure  on  the  debtor,  so  that  the 
knowledge  of  his  liabilities  may  come  to  Mr.  Maythorne's  ears, 
which  will  probably  lead  to  a  separation  between  Harry  and 
Mary,  for  whom  the  Major  has,  strange  to  say  for  a  man  of  his 
sort,  conceived  a  violent  aflfection.  That  which  he  foresees  comes 
to  pass ;  Harry  is  served  with  a  writ  in  the  presence  of  Mary 
and  the  clergyman,  who  at  once  says  that  all  communications 
between  the  young  fellow  and  his  daughter  must  cease,  and  that 
a  marriage  is  quite  out  of  the  question,  when  Harry  considerably 
astonishes  everyone  by  announcing  that  he  and  Mary  are  already 
married,  and  just  at  that  moment  a  lawyer — Daniel  Whetstone — 
informs  him  that  the  rich  uncle  is  dead,  and  that  Harry  has  come 
into  a  million  of  money  ;  the  Major  having,  only  the  instant  before 

8 


114  -^  Million  of  Money,  [Sept.,  1890. 

this,  offered  to  lend  Harry  the  ;f  300,  for  which  the  young  soldier 
is  intensely  grateful,  although  he  little  thinks  that  Belgrave  has 
done  this  merely  with  a  view  of  obtaining  an  ascendency  over  him. 
In  the  next  act  we  find  that  Harry  is  spending  his  money  right 
royally.     Amongst  his  other  tastes,  he  has  developed  a  liking  for 
the  turf.      Major  Belgrave,  who  is  now  his  greatest  friend,  has, 
through  Harry's  valet,  obtained  possession  of  his  private  cipher  and 
uses  it  to  telegraph  to  his  trainer,  John  Pawter,  telling  him  not 
to  run  a  horse  called  White  Stockings  for  the  Derby,  and  makes  a 
very  big  book  accordingly  on  the  event.    He  also  introduces  him 
to  a  notorious  but  beautiful  woman,  Stella  St.  Clair.     Harry,  only 
too  readily,  falls  under  her  influence,  and  offers  her  a  seat  on  his 
drag  for  the  races.     Fortunately,  however,  he  discovers  in  time 
that  his  cipher  has  been  used.      White  Stockings  duly  runs  and 
wins,  and  so  upsets  the  plans  of  the  conspirators.     Stella  is  the 
wife  of  Geoffrey  St.  Clair,  a  man  who  has  been  brought  to  ruin 
and  penury  through  her  and  her  friend.  Major  Belgrave.      The 
husband  is  desperately  incensed  against  her,  and  is  almost  insane 
from  drink  and  the  unsettled  life  which  he  leads.      He  is  seeking 
the  means  to  expose  her  and  her  accomplice,  on  both  of  whom 
he  is  determined  to  be  revenged,  and  with  this  view  he  allows 
himself  to  be  made  the  tool  of  the  Major,  and  apparently  enters 
into  their  plot.     The  connection  between  Stella  and  Harry  is  to 
be  allowed  to  go  on  until  it  is  patent  to  the  world  that  Geoffrey 
St.  Clair  shall  be  able   to   sue  for  a  divorce  and  obtain   heavy 
damages,  of  which  he  is  to  have  his  share  with  his  wife  and  the 
Major.     By  these  means  also,  Belgrave  hopes  to  separate  Mary 
from  her  husband,  and  that  she  will  legally  free  herself  and  be  in 
a  position  to  accept  Belgrave.     The  third  act  takes  place  in  the 
exhibition   grounds.     The    Major  so  arranges    that    Stella   and 
Harry  shall  meet.    .  The  beautiful   fiend  tells  her  lover  that  it 
must  be  for  the  last  time,  that  her  reputation  is  suffering,  and  that 
she  can  no  longer  trust  herself;  that  she  loves  him,  and  therefore 
for  her  own  sake,  must  go  away.       Harry,  in  a  weak  moment, 
yields  to  the  ascendency  she  has  obtained  over  him  and  entreats 
of  her  to  stay  with  him.     His  wife  overhears  this,  and  tells  him 
that  for  the  future  they  must  be  strangers.      Geoffrey  St.  Clair 
now  has  his  revenge.     He  exposes  the  plot  that  has  been  hatched 
against  Harry,  and  the  villainy  of  Major  Belgrave.     He  lays  open 
the  whole  life  of  the  woman  who  bears  his  name,  but  in  doing 
this,  the  excitement  it  causes  in  him  is  so  great  that  he  is  seized 
with  a  fit  and  dies.     In  the  following  act  Harry  appears  to  be 
going  headlong  to  destruction.     He  has  invested  large  sums  in  a 


Sept.,  iSqow]  A  Million  of  Money.  1 1 5 

supposed  bubble  company,  of  which  Belgrave  is  the  promoter, 
and  ruin  stares   him  in  the  face.     Stella,  Who  has  been  living 
under  his  protection,  now  comes  out  in  her  true  character.     As 
she  imagines  he  can  no  longer  support    her   extravagance  she 
dismisses  him,  telling  him  that  she  has  never  cared  for  him,  and 
that    she   has  had    her    revenge    for  the    scorn    with    which  his 
wife  has  treated  her.     The  scales  fall  from  his  eyes,  and   Harry 
determines  to  try  and  redeem  the  past.     His  regiment  is  ordered 
on  immediate  active  service,  and  we  see  the  troops  prepared  to 
march,     Mary,   in  the   hopes    that    her  husband  has   repented, 
comes  to  Wellington    Barracks   prepared   to    grant    him  a    last 
interview,  but  there  she  sees  Stella,  who  in  the  meantime  has 
entrapped    Frank    Hastings,  a   mere  beardless   youth,  but  very 
wealthy,  into  a  marriage  with  her,  and  as  Mary  is  not  aware  of 
this,  she  is  led  to  suppose  that  Stella  means  to  accompany  Harry 
Dunstable,   and,  therefore,  when  he  pleads  for  pardon,  Mary  is 
obdurate  and  unforgiving.     The  last  act  takes  place  in  Dunstable 
Hall,  which   is  liable  to  be   sold   under  a  mortgage,  of  which 
Belgrave  has  managed  to  obtain  possession.     Here  Mary  has  a 
dream,  which  is  realised  to  the  audience.     As  she  sits  in  an  old 
tapestried  chamber,  the  scene  is  rendered  quite  dark,  and  then,  in 
an  instant,  we  are  transported  to  a  "  reef  on  the  Indian  Ocean." 
The   vessel   in    which    Harry    and    the    troops  have  sailed  has 
evidently  been    wrecked,   and    the    only    survivors  are    himself, 
Stella,  and  her  husband,  Frank  Hastings.     The  latter,  who  has 
discovered  what  a  notorious  creature  his  wife  has  been  in  the  past, 
is  only  seeking  for  an  opportunity  to  revenge  himself  by  killing 
her.     She  throws  herself  on  the  protection  of  Harry,  and  when  her 
husband  sleeps  from  exhaustion,  she  confesses  to  the  man  she  so 
much  injured  the  last  wrong  she  has  done  him  in  allowing  his 
wife  to  believe  that  she  was  still  his  mistress,  and,  almost  as  she 
makes  the  only  reparation  she  can,  she  falls  dead.      The  scene 
then    is  rapidly  changed  back  to  the  room  in  Dunstable   Hall. 
Hetty  Nestledown   is   kneeling  at    Mary's    side,    and  is   gently 
breaking  to  her  the  news  that  intelligence  has  been   received  of 
Harry,  and  when  she  has  been  gradually  prepared  for  the  joyful 
shock,  he   appears,  and  husband  and  wife  are  reconciled.     The 
utter  discomfiture  of  Major  Belgrave  is  brought  about  by  the  fact 
that  the  shares   which  Harry  has  held  in  the  supposed  bubble 
company  prove  to  be  of  immense  value.     The  humorous  charac- 
ters in  the  play  are  those  of  Hetty  Nestledown,  a  good-hearted, 
outspoken,   pretty,  but   coquettish  girl,  who   pairs  off  with  Tom 
Cricklewood,  a  young  gentleman  who  cannot  quite  make  up  his 


Ii6  A  MiUton  of  Money.  [s»pt.,  1890. 

mind  whether  he  will  go  into  the  church  or  turn  comic  singer. 
His  fate  is  decided  by  his  being  plucked.  In  the  hands  of  such 
clever  artists  as  Fanny  Brough  and  Harry  Nicholls,  these  parts 
were  bound  to  be  amusing.  Dick  Bounder,  too,  is  a  droll  character 
in  the  hands  of  Fred  Shepherd,  though  I  think  he  might  have  made 
it  a  little  more  refined,  as,  such  a  cad  as  he  makes  him,  would 
scarcely  be  tolerated  by  even  a  fast  set  Herbert  Standing  is 
always  good  as  a  polished  villain,  and  his  present  character  fits 
him  exactly  ;  it  could  not  be  better  played.  Charles  Warner, 
who  made  his  re-appearance  in  England,  was  very  warmly 
welcomed,  and  appeared  to  be  as  acceptable  to  a  Drury  Lane 
audience  as  he  had  been  in  the  same  line  of  character  at  the 
Adelphi.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Jessie  Millward.  Charles 
Glenney  fairly  brought  down  the  house  by  his  powerful  represen- 
tation of  the  half-crazed  GeoflTrey  St  Clair.  His  frenzied  bursts  of 
passion,  his  semi-idiotic  laughs,  and  exhibition  of  low  cunning,  were 
triumphs,  and  obtained  for  him  a  special  call.  Alice  Lingard,  by 
her  fascination  of  manner,  cleverly  concealed  the  depravity  of  the 
woman  who  had  lured  so  many  to  their  ruin.  Her  death  scene, 
too,  was  impressive  and  touching,  and  she  added  much  to  the 
success  of  the  piece.  Mark  Quinton  was  very  good  as  Frank 
Hastings ;  and  Guy  Stanton  played  the  small  part  of  Lord 
Heatherdown  neatly.  The  other  representatives  in  the  cast 
were  efficient.  Augustus  Harris,  who  produced  the  play,  almost 
surpassed  himself  in  the  various  tableaux  that  he  had  arranged. 
The  scene  at  the  races,  with  its  real  drags  and  horses,  the  four- 
in-hand  actually  being  driven  off  by  Charles  Warner — in  fact  all 
the  details  that  we  see  on  Epsom  Downs  were  correctly  copied, 
faithfully  reproduced,  and  created  quite  a  furore  ;  so  did  the  march 
out  from  Wellington  Barracks  of  the  troops,  preceded  by  their 
band,  a  wonderfully  well-managed  stage  effect ;  and  the  reef  on  the 
Indian  Ocean  was  a  triumph  of  scenic  display.  Another  remarkably 
pretty  scene,  too,  was  the  parsonage,  with  sportsmen  going  to  a 
meet  in  the  background.  The  interior  of  Belgrave's  chambers 
in  Piccadilly,  of  Squander  Mansion,  and  Dunstable  Hall,  were 
perfect  in  their  designs,  and  rich  in  the  extreme.  The  "  illuminated 
fete  "  in  the  exhibition  grounds  was  also  wonderfully  true  to  the 
original.  On  the  first  night  the  play  occupied  four  hours  and  a 
quarter,  but  this  was  not  to  be  wondered  at,  considering  the 
heavy  change  of  scenery  which  naturally  took  some  time  to  get 
into  perfect  working  order,  but  the  performance  was  afterwards  got 
within  reasonable  limits,  and,  is  supposed,  will  take  rank  as  one.  of 
the  most  successful  productions  ever  seen  at  Drury  Lane. 


ScPT^x89o.]  The  Middleman — Truth,  117 

6th.  Shaftesbury.  T/te  Middleman. — Revived  with  Mrs. 
Willard  and  Bessie  Hatton  as  Bessie  and  Nancy  Blenkarn,  Mr. 
Harbury   as    the    Middleman    and    E.    W.    Gardiner    as    Jesse 

nth.  Criterion.  Truth, — For  this  I  wrote  the  following 
notice  for  The  Topical  Times: — "  Truths  revived  on  Thursday  at  the 
Criterion,  was  played  there  eleven  years  ago  (February  8th,  1879) 
and  had  then  the  great  advantage  of  Charles  Wyndham  playing 
the  principal  character ;  Herbert  Standing  and  the  late  W.  J.  Hill 
were  also  in  the  cast,  with  the  almost  inevitable  Mrs.  Stevens 
included  as  the  '  strong  woman '  and  mother-in-law.  Of  the 
play  itself  I  may  own  that  it  made  me  laugh  a  great  deal,  though 
it  was  only  founded  on  one  of  those  escapades  which  married 
men  are  so  prone  to  in  farcical  comedy  ;  but  at  the  same  time  I 
must  own  that  the  second  act  is  but  a  repetition  of  the  first, 
though  the  third  strikes  fresh  gp-ound  in  the  cross-examination  of 
the  four  culprits.  Three  of  these  four  gentlemen  have  been 
seduced  by  Sir  Partridge  Compton  (W.  Blakeley),  a  jolly  but 
pleasure-loving  oldish  humbug,  to  accompany  him  to  a  masked 
ball  under  the  plea  that  they  are  attending  a  meeting  in  the 
'  Consolidation  Working  Men's  Interest*  As  they  have  married, 
or  are  engaged  to,  young  ladies  in  the  Quaker  interest  this  would 
be  unpardonable.  Mrs.  Stonehenge  Tuttle,  the  mother-in-law, 
who  used  to  lock  up  her  defunct  husband's  wooden  leg  at  ten 
o'clock  to  prevent  his  gadding,  has  her  suspicions,  and  overhearing 
them  talking  about  Fatimas,  Spanish  dancers,  and  Hungarians, 
reveals  all  she  has  learnt  to  the  wife  and  sweethearts.  The  rakes 
of  the  night  declare,  however,  that  they  have  only  been  preparing 
a  charade  as  a  surprise  for  Mrs.  Sterry,  so  the  women  believe 
this,  until  Mrs.  McNamara,  at  whose  house  they  are  supposed  to 
have  been  rehearsing,  turns  up  and  bowls  the  men  out  in  another 
taradiddle.  She,  however,  induces  them  at  last  to  tell  the  plain 
truth,  and  the  prying  Mrs.  Tuttle  relieves  them  of  her  presence. 
T.  G.  Warren  had  not  quite  the  light  touch  required  for  the 
peccant  husband,  Mr.  Alfred  Sterry.  W.  Blakeley  was  very 
hilarious  and  droll,  and  George  Giddens,  in  the  character  of  John 
Penryn,  who  like  Geoi^e  Washington  *  never  told  a  Ire,'  was  quietly 
funny,  whilst  Aubrey  Boucicault,  was  clever  as  Frederick  Fry, 
who  shelters  himself  under  the  *  umbrella  *  of  his  friend's  reputed 
veracity.  Maria  Daly  was  a  little  too  stern.  Helen  Forsyth  and 
Misses  Frances,  E.  Terriss  and  M.  Hardinge  were  very  nice.  Miss 
Fitzroy,  a  new  comer,  an  Australian  lady  I  believe,  is  handsome 
and  will  take  well.     I  think  it  would  have  been  wiser  to  have 


ii8  The  Village  Forge — Ravenstvood.  [Sept.,  1890 

awaited  Mr.  Wyndham's  return  before  reviving  TrutA ;  he  would 
have  added  greatly  to  its  sucfcess." 

1 3th.  Shaftesbury,  /udak — Revived.  Winifred  Emery  as 
Vashti  Dethic,  an  exquisite  performance,  and  E.  W.  Gardiner 
dryly  humorous  as  Juxon  Prall. 

iSth.  Surrey.  TAe  Village  Forge. — Five-act  drama  by 
George  Conquest  and  Tom  Craven  ;  C.  J.  Hague,  Harry  Grey- 
ling  ;  Philip  Cunningham,  Greorge  Rylands  ;  E.  S.  Vincent,  Daniel 
Brand  ;  Cruikshanks,  Martin  Rackstone ;  Mrs.  Bennet,  Grace 
Glynd  ;  Jenny  Hum,  Tulip,  a  little  servant. 

1 5th.  Sadler's  Wells.  Joan  of  Arc. — Historical  drama  in 
four  acts  by  G.  W.  Innis,  played  for  the  first  time  in  London. 
Follows  the  accepted  story  of  the  Maid  of  Orleans  fairly  closely. 
The  heroine  was  played  by  Isabel  Beresford. 

1 8th.  Death  of  Dion  Boucicault  in  New  York  in  his  seventieth 
year.  He  was  born  in  Dublin,  December  26th,  1820,  and  his  first 
and  most  brilliant  comedy,  London  Assurance^  was  produced  at 
Covent  Garden  in  1 841,  with  a  very  brilliant  cast.  Its  success 
caused  him  to  adopt  his  own  name  in  future  (for  his  first  work  he 
used  the  nom-de-plume  of  Lee  Morton).  He  wrote  many  plays, 
amongst  his  best  being  Old  Heads  and  Young  Hearts^  1844; 
Janet  Pride^  1855;  ^^  Colleen  Bawn^  1 860  ;  The  Octoroon^  1 86 1  ; 
Dot,  ii62  \  Streets  of  London,  1863;  After  Dark,  1868;  The 
Shaughraun,  1875.  Other  famous  plays  from  his  pen  were 
The  Flying  Scud,  1866  ;  and  Formosa,  1869.  He  first  appeared 
as  an  actor  in  The  Vampire,  a  piece  of  his  own,  at  the  Princess's 
in  June  1852.  His  best  character  was  that  of  Myles-na- 
Coppaleen.  He  married  Agnes  Robertson,  a  very  charming 
actress,  and  leaves  two  of  his  sons,  Dion  and  Aubrey,  on  the 
stage.  For  some  years  Mr.  Boucicault's  health  had  been  failing, 
and  he  sank  from  pneumonia  and  weak  action  of  the  heart 

20th.  Lyceum.  Ravenswood. — It  was  by  no  means  the  first 
time  that  Sir  Walter  Scott's  novel  has  been  utilised  on  the  stage. 
It  is  of  course  best  known  as  the  foundation  of  Donizetti's  Lucia 
di  Lammermoor,  produced  at  Her  Majesty's  in  1838,  but  was 
first  tried  in  1823,  in  Edinburgh,  as  a  five-act  drama,  under  the 
same  title  as  the  novel,  when  the  greatest  prominence  was  given 
to  the  character  of  Caleb  Balderstone.  This  was  reproduced  at 
the  Marylebone  in  1848.  Early  in  1828,  under  the  title  of 
The  Mermaideris  Will ;  or.  The  Fatal  Prophecy,  it  was  seen  as 
the  opening  piece  at  the  Brunswick,  in  the  East  of  London,  then 
only  just  rebuilt,  and  which  from  some  fault  in  the  construction 
collapsed  three  days  after.      In  this  adaptation  Alice  Gray  was 


sbft.,  1890.]  Ravenswood,  119 


almost  the  principal  character.  In  March  of  the  same  year, 
a  piece  called  La  Fiancie  de  Laminermoor  was  produced  at  the 
Porte  St.  Martin  in  Paris ;  it  was  described  as  a  pii^ce  hiroique, 
and  again  Caleb  Balderstone  was  made  a  prominent  character, 
and  the  tragic  ending  consisted  in  the  lovers  taking  refuge 
together  on  a  rock  and  being  engulphed  by  the  rising  waters. 
Another  version  of  it,  entitled  Brot/ier  and  Bride^  was  done  in 
New  York  at  the  Olympic  Theatre,  but  was  a  complete  failure. 
The  latest  and  most  effective  version  was  that  by  Palgrave 
Simpsons-called  The  Master  of  Ravenswood^  and  produced  at  the 
Lyceum,  December  23rd,  1865,  by  Charles  Fechter,  in  which  the 
latter  appeared  as  Edgar  of  Ravenswood  ;  Carlotta  Leclercq,  Lucy 
Ashton  ;  Hermann  Vezin,  Hayston  of  Bucklaw ;  Miss  Elsworthy, 
Lady  Ashton  ;  Mrs.  Ternan,  Old  Alice  ;  George  Jordan,  Sir 
William  Ashton ;  Miss  E.  Laveme,  Henry  Ashton  ;  J.  H.  Fitz- 
patrick,  Colonel  Douglas  Ashton  ;  Widdicomb,  Captain  Craigen- 
gelt ;  and  Sam  Emery,  Caleb  Balderstone.  The  special  scenes 
were  "The  Mermaiden's  Well,"  with  the  Wolfs  Crag  and  the 
desolate  Ravenswood  Castle  in  the  distance,  "  A  Hall  in  Ravens- 
wood Castle,"  and  the  "  Chapel  Cloisters  ; "  the  great  feature  of 
the  scenery  (which  was  all  painted  by  T.  Grieve)  being 
the  "  Kelpie's  Flow,"  a  marvellous  moonlit  picture  in  which 
the  rising  of  the  tide  was  seen.  As  the  moon  sunk,  peals 
of  thunder  were  heard,  and  amidst  flashes  of  lightning  the 
lovers  were  swallowed  up  and  drowned  in  the  raging  sea. 
A  keen  interest  was  aroused  in  the  theatrical  world  as  to  the 
treatment  Herman  Merivale  would  bestow  upon  the  subject. 
Much  was  expected,  for  the  adapter  had  previously  given  us  some 
excellent  work,  and  expectation  was  not  disappointed,  for  the 
dramatisation  has  been  accomplished  in  a  more  than  satisfactory 
manner,  the  original  having  been  only  so  far  departed  from  as  was 
necessary  in  order  to  fit  it  for  stage  representation,  and  to  produce 
situations  that  would  prove  effective.  Mr.  Merivale  has  retained 
the  poetic  spirit  of  this  most  tragic  novel ;  he  has  used  both 
blank  verse  and  prose,  and  has  made  all  his  characters  interesting. 
The  play  opens  with  a  most  picturesque  scene  of  "  The  Chapel 
Bounds  ; "  on  the  left,  the  porch  of  the  semi-ruined  chapel,  on 
the  right  the  steep  and  rugged  pathways  leading  from  "The 
Wolfs  Crag,"  the  remains  of  the  old  building  standing  forth 
prominently,  perched  on  high.  Here  meet  the  two  old  cronies, 
Ailsie  Gourlay  and  Annie  Winnie,  the  former  answering  to  the 
seer,  to  whom  even  to  this  day  Highlanders,  in  particular,  ascribe 
such  miraculous  powers  of  foresight ;   and  here  Ailsie  utters  the 


I20  Ravenswood.  [Sbpt.,  1890. 

portentous  rhyme  that  tells  the  fate  of  Edgar,  the  last  of  his  race, 
and  also  marks  out  to  Hayston,  of  Bucklaw,  the  choice  that  he 
will  make  between  honour  and  worldly  advantage.  Presently  a 
procession  enters,  bearing  the  mortal  remains  of  Edgar's  father, 
which  are  to  \  :  buried  within  the  sacred  edifice.  Edgar  requests 
to  be  left  for  a  while  to  commune  with  the  dead,  and  in  a  soliloquy 
lets  us  know  the  hatred  he  bears  to  Sir  William  Ashton,  and  hear 
his  oath  of  vengeance.  When  the  retainers  return,  prepared  once 
more  to  raise  the  corpse,  and  the  priests  are  in  attendance,  the 
officer  and  soldiers  of  the  Presbytery  appear  with  a  warrant, 
forbidding  the  sepulture,  and  almost  immediately  Sir  William 
Ashton  and  his  daughter  Lucy  arrive.  Edgar  taxes  Sir  William 
with  the  wrongs  he  has  done  him,  and  for  which  he  is  about  to 
take  summary  revenge,  when  his  eye  falls  upon  the  beautiful  girl 
as  she  rushes  between  the  combatants.  Edgar  sheathes  his  sword, 
his  friends  and  clan  hold  the  soldiers  at  bay  for  the  funeral  to 
proceed,  and  with  the  words  full  of  meaning  the  first  act  ends — 
with  Edgar's  utterance  of  the  motto  of  his  race,  "  I  bide  my  time." 
The  second  act  opens  in  the  library  of  Ravenswood,  a  fine  old 
wainscotted  apartment  with  stained  glass  windows,  now  inhabited 
by  the  Ashtons.  Lucy  has  heard  so  much  good  of  Edgar  that 
she  is  evidently  interested  in  him,  and  with  a  woman's  sweet  pity 
successfully  pleads  with  her  father  that  he  will  not  send  off  some 
despatches  to  the  government  which  will  bring  trouble  on  the 
young  man.  Her  brother  Henry  calls  her  forth  to  witness  his 
prowess  with  a  crossbow,  and  then  Edgar  comes  to  force  a  duel 
on  Sir  William  ;  the  sight  of  Lucy's  portrait  brings  him  to  a  softer 
mood,  and  he  again  stays  his  hand.  A  shriek  is  heard  without, 
Lucy  is  in  imminent  danger  from  a  wild  bull,  Edgar  seizes  a  gun 
that  is  hanging  against  the  wall  (most  opportunely  loaded,  by  the 
way)  and  firing  through  the  window,  saves  Lucy's  life.  It  must 
be  confessed  that  this  incident  fell  flat  and  tame ;  there  is  but 
little  chivalry  in  a  man  aiming  in  safety  at  even  an  infuriated 
animal.  This  was  afterwards  altered ;  Edgar  rushed  out  and  was 
supposed  to  confront  the  beast  In  the  next  scene,  "  Tod's  Den," 
Bucklaw  and  the  blustering  Craigengelt  are  awaiting  Edgar,  who 
is  to  sail  with  them  to  join  the  Pretender.  He  is  known  to  have 
gone  with  the  intention  of  challenging  his  enemy,  and  when  he 
enters  and  refuses  to  give  his  reasons  for  having  changed  his 
mind,  Bucklaw  taxes  him  with  cowardice,  they  draw  upon  each 
other,  Bucklaw  is  disarmed,  and  exits,  breathing  bitter  words  of 
hatred  against  Edgar.  The  third  scene  is  a  dilapidated  chamber 
in  "  The  Wolfs  Crag,"  an  exquisite  piece  of  painting  with  high 


Sbpt.»z89o.]  Ravenswood.  I2I 

pitched  arches  and  crumbling  ornamentation.  Lucy,  however, 
constantly  occupies  Edgar's  thoughts,  his  heart  is  softened  towards 
her  and  hers,  and  when  she  and  her  father  seek  refuge  in  his 
dwelling  from  a  storm,  she  gradually  wins  him  from  his  vengeful 
mood  to  one  of  forgiveness,  and  he  promises  that  next  day  he 
will  become  their  g^est.  In  the  third  act,  his  intercourse  with 
Lucy  has  developed  into  mutual  affection  ;  at  "  The  Mermaiden's 
Well,"  a  lovely  woodland,  they  plight  their  troth  in  a  charming 
love  scene,  most  charmingly  and  naturally  rendered.  But  here 
again  the  legend  of  the  well  points  to  the  unhappy  ending  of 
their  wooing.  Sir  William  is  a  consenting  party  to  their  future 
union,  but  the  imperious  Lady  Ashton  utterly  forbids  it  Won 
over  by  Bucklaw,  who  wishes  to  marry  Lucy  himself,  and  at  the 
same  time  avenge  himself  on  his  rival.  Lady  Ashton  declares 
Lucy  to  be  intended  to  be  Bucklaw's  bride.  The  Marquis  of 
Athole  has  obtained  for  Edgar  an  important  appointment  abroad, 
and  promises  to  interest  himself  in  recovering  possession  of 
Ravenswood  for  him ;  and  so  with  a  very  strong  situation,  in 
which  Lucy  vows  to  be  true  to  Edgar  during  his  one  year's 
absence,  the  curtain  again  descends.  The  last  act  is  the  most 
powerful.  It  again  opens  in  Lucy  Ashton's  home.  She  is 
beset  on  all  sides  to  sign  the  deed  of  betrothal  to  Bucklaw ;  her 
mother  urges  it  as  her  duty.  Though  still  constant  to  Edgar, 
she  cannot  understand  his  silence;  no  line  has  she  had  from 
him,  and  her  letters  have  remained  unanswered.  This  is  easily 
accounted  for ;  the  tender  missives  from  both  sides  have  been 
suppressed  by  Lady  Ashton.  Lucy's  weak  nature  yields  to  the 
imperious  one  of  her  mother,  and  she  consents  to  accede  to  her 
wishes,  but  in  doing  so  you  can  see  that  she  is  signing  her  own 
death  warrant.  The  yearning  look  in  her  eyes  for  escape,  her 
half-dazed  expression,  her  deadly  pallor,  too  plainly  show  the 
agony  she  suffers.  At  length  she  musters  courage,  and  with  a 
burst  of  almost  maniacal  laughter,  she  puts  pen  to  paper  and 
decides  her  future.  The  ink  is  not  yet  dry  when  Edgar's  voice 
is  heard  without.  He  has  risen  from  a  bed  of  sickness,  and  has 
travelled  night  and  day  to  answer  in  person  the  last  and  only 
letter  from  her  which  has  reached  him.  Haggard,  worn  and 
weary  he  at  once  learns  his  fate.  In  an  interview  with  Lucy  he 
upbraids  her  with  her  faithlessness.  She  is  too  broken  to  reply 
or  plead  much  excuse.  He  demands  from  her  her  half  of  the 
ring  which  they  had  broken  in  gage  of  their  betrothal.  Lady 
Ashton  takes  it  from  her  swooning  daughter's  neck.  Edgar 
grinds  it  into  the  ashes  with  his  heel,  he  mourns  his  lost  love, 


122  RavenSWOOd.  [Sept., '1890. 


and,  after  arranging  for  a  deadly  meeting  with  Bucklaw  the  next 
day,  rushes  forth.  Lucy  recovers  from  her  faint,  calls  widely  for 
Edgar,  and  drops  dead,  a  fatal  ending  of  her  young  life  which 
does  not  seem  improbable  to  the  audience  from  one  or  two  apt 
refere.ices  as  to  her  heart  which  Lucy  has  previously  made.  On 
the  sands  of  the  "  sea-coast "  Eldgar  and  Bucklaw  meet  and  fight, 
and  Bucklaw  is  killed,  but  as  he  dies  he  reveals  to  Edgar  the 
treachery  that  has  been  practised  upon  him,  and  tells  him  of 
Lucy's  death.  Caleb  Balderstone  and  Edgar's  old  and  faithful 
servant  and  Ailsie  Gourlay  have  come  to  meet  Edgar,  and  to 
once  more  impress  on  him  their  warning  about  the  quicksands. 
Edgar,  mad  with  grief,  mounts  his  horse  to  ride  back  to  Ravens- 
wood,  and  look  once  more  on  his  lost  love.  Caleb  watches  his 
progress  as  he  rides  furiously  to  meet  his  doom  and  fulfil  the 
prophecy.  The  distracted  old  man  vividly  and  most  powerfully 
describes  his  progress,  how  nobly  his  master's  horse  struggles  to 
free  itself  from  the  engulphing  quicksands,  and  at  last  with  a 
heart-rending  cry  Caleb  proclaims  how  man  and  steed  have 
disappeared  beneath  the  waters.  In  the  last  scene, "  The  Kelpie's 
Flow,"  not  a  word  is  spoken.  You  see  but  a  sandy  border  to  a 
wild  waste  of  water,  on  which  the  sun  shines  with  a  lurid  glow 
and  poor  heart-broken  Caleb  gazing  at  one  small  dark  patch  that 
marks  the  spot  beneath  which  his  ill-fated  master  lies.  It  was 
wondrously  touching,  and  effective  far  beyond  any  attempt  that 
might  have  been  made  to  actually  represent  the  catastrophe. 
Although  Edgar  and  Lucy  are  not  by  any  means  the  strongest 
parts  in  which  Mr.  Irving  and  Miss  Terry  have  been  seen,  they  will 
certainly  be  classed  with  their  best  impersonations — the  one  from 
its  tragic  and  gloomy  intensity,  changed  for  a  time  to  bright  and 
joyous  happiness,  and  the  other  from  its  girlish  charm  and  pathetic 
grief.  Everyone  remarked  on  the  surprising  youthfulness  in  their 
appearance.  Mr.  Terriss  acted  with  remarkable  dash  and  fire  as 
the  dissolute  handsome  Bucklaw.  Mr.  Mackintosh  richly  deserved 
the  special  marks  of  approbation  bestowed  on  his  acting  of  Caleb 
Balderstone  ;  it  certainly  was  some  of  the  finest  that  had  been 
witnessed ;  and  Miss  Marriott  was  deeply  impressive  as  the 
fateful  Ailsie  Gourlay.  Mr.  Wenman  was  quaint  and  amusing 
as  the  cowardly  swashbuckler  Craigengelt ;  and  Alfred  Bishop 
showed  considerable  subtlety  in  his  reading  of  Sir  William 
Ashton's  character.  Mr.  Macklin,  strange  to  say  of  him,  did  not 
quite  impart  the  necessary  dignity  to  the  powerful  Marquis  of 
Athole.  The  youthful  Harry  Ashton  was  neatly  played  by 
Gordon  Craig,  but  not  so  marvellously  well  as  to  entitle  him  to 


Sept.,  1890.]        The  Follks  of  the  Day — The  Black  Rover.  1^.3 

appear  with  the  principals  in  the  scene  when  they  were  called 
for.  Miss  Le  Thiere,  one  of  our  best  representatives  of  stern 
unbending  women  of  rank,  was  excellent  as  Lady  Ashton.  It 
is  impossible  to  speak  too  highly  of  the  mounting  of  the  piece. 
The  scenery,  for  the  most  part  by  Hawes  Craven,  was  some  of 
the  best  that  has  been  seen  even  at  the  Lyceum.  The  costumes, 
designed  by  Mr.  Seymour  Lucas,  A.R.A.,  and  Mrs.  Comyns 
Carr,  were  in  the  most  perfect  taste,  Miss  Terry's  dresses  and 
Mr.  Terriss's  wedding  suit  deserving  special  mention.  The 
overture,  preludes,  and  incidental  music,  composed  expressly  by 
Dr.  A.  C,  Mackenzie,  were  most  appropriate,  and  the  funeral 
chant  and  the  bridal  song,  both  melodious,  were  artistically  sung. 
In  fact,  nothing  was  wanting  to  make  Ravenswood  a  success. 
Admitted  that  it  is  a  sombre  play,  yet  it  keeps  the  interest 
enthralled.  It  is  only  in  the  first  two  scenes  of  the  second  act 
that  it  appeared  to  require  a  little  more  strength.  Mr.  Irving 
commenced  his  thirteenth  season  well,  and  was  able  truly  to  say 
at  the  close  of  the  performance  that  he  would  convey  to  Mr. 
Herman  Merivale  the  cheering  news  of  the  success  of  his  play. 

22  nd.  Grand.  Veims. — Burlesque  in  three  acts,  by  William 
Yardley,  Edward  Rose,  and  Augustus  Harris ;  the  music,  by 
John  Crook  was  revived,  previous  to  going  on  tour  with  Lady 
Dunlo  in  the  title  rdle ;  Agnes  Delaporte,  Adonis ;  Victor  Stevens, 
Vulcan ;  Grace  Huntley,  Cupid  ;  Kitty  Loftus,  Psyche  ;  Harry 
Fischer,  Pluto ;  Daisy  Baldry,  Proserpine  ;  Whimsical  Walker, 
Mercury  ;  Alice  Lethbridge,  Euphrosyne. 

22nd.  Standard,  The  Follies  oftfie  Day, — Four-act  realistic 
drama,  by  H.  P,  Grattan  and  J.  Eldred.  A  story  of  fast  life,  in 
which  the  hero,  Guy  Livingstone  (T.  N.  Walter),  after  nearly 
going  to  ruin,  is  saved  by  the  staunch  love  of  his  sweetheart, 
Florence  Graham  (Agnes  Knights). 

23  rd.  Globe.  The  Black  Rover. — It  is  certainly  a  novelty  for 
the  libretto  and  the  music  of  an  opera  to  be  the  work  of  one  man ; 
and,  judging  from  the  lyrics  of  The  Black  Rover,  Mr.  Searelle 
would  perhaps  have  acted  more  wisely  had  he  called  in  the  aid 
of  another.  The  opera  is  justly  qualified  as  "  melodramatic"  It 
is  founded  on  the  legend,  so  universal  throughout  the  world 
almost,  of  a  phantom  vessel  doomed  to  sail  the  ocean,  until  inter- 
cession or  expiation  shall  release  it  from  its  ban.  In  this  case 
the  pirate  king  has  thrown  overboard  the  mother  of  the  heroine 
Isidora,  and  he  and  his  crew  will  only  find  release  from  their 
mortal  torments  when  they  shall  once  more  hear  the  lullaby  that 
the  mother  sang  to  her  child.     Isidora  is  intended  by  her  reputed 


124  7^  Siruggk  for  Life,  [Sbpt..  1890. 

father  Fatronio,  for  the  bride  of  a  Count  Montalba,  but  she  is  in 
love  with  a  poor  fisherman,  one  Felix.  They  have  heard  of  a 
treasure  buried  by  the  pirates,  and  they  go  in  search  of  this.  It 
is  specially  guarded  by  the  "  Black  Rover/'  who  suddenly  appears 
and  carries  them  off  to  his  ship.  There  they  are  to  walk  the 
plank,  and  so  Isidora  asks  permission  to  utter  the  prayer  she 
learnt  at  her  mother's  knee.  She  sings  the  lullaby,  which  releases 
the  pirates  from  their  thraldom,  the  vessel  falls  to  pieces  and 
sinks,  but  Isidora  and  her  lover  and  companions  (for  Chickanaque, 
Jacob  and  Fatronio  have  also  been  made  prisoners),  are  all  washed 
ashore  on  the  Island  of  Cuba,  where  the  scene  is  laid.  They  find 
the  negroes  in  revolt,  and  are  likely  to  be  burned  by  them  at  the 
stake,  but  are  saved  by  Chickanaque,  who  being  a  half-crazed 
creature,  is  looked  upon  with  reverence  by  the  blacks,  and  is 
allowed  to  go  at  large.  The  underplot  consists  in  the  fact  that 
Pedro  Guzman,  the  valet  to  the  Count  Montalba,  assumes  his 
master's  names,  and  that  Sabina  changes  with  Isidora,  and  passes 
as  the  rich  heiress.  Whatever  success  the  piece  achieved  was  due 
to  the  excellence  of  the  scenery,  for  the  Black  Raver  was  mag- 
nificently put  on  the  stage,  and  to  the  very  fine  impersonation  of 
the  title-r<?^  by  Mr.  Ludwig.  Neither  Felix  nor  Isidora,  the  hero 
and  heroine,  found  good  exponents.  John  Le  Hay  was  very 
clever  and  droll.  Shiel  Barry's  Chickanaque  was  almost  a  repeti- 
tion of  his  Gaspard  in  the  Cloches  de  Comeville.  Charles 
CoUette  did  all  that  was  possible  with  a  thankless  part.  Effie 
Chapuy  should  have  had  more  to  do,  for  the  little  she  had,  she 
did  well,  and  sang  very  charmingly.  Royden  Erlynne  gave  a 
vivid  colouring  to  the  part  of  the  bloodthirsty  Moro. 

24th.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kendal  sailed  for  America. 

25th.  Avenue.  The  Struggle  for  Life, — When  La  Lutte  pour 
la  Vie  was  produced  at  her  Majesty's  in  June  last  by  M.  Meyer,  it 
was  not  appreciated  by  the  English  public  even  in  its  original, 
and  with  the  powerful  and  sympathetic  acting  of  Mme.  Fasca 
and  of  M.  Marian.  One  reason  of  this  may  have  been  that  the 
author  evidently  mistook  the  teaching  of  the  Darwinian  theory  as 
to  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  and  chose  to  impute  to  him  the 
doctrine  that  a  man,  sans  foy^  sans  loy^  may  to  gain  his  own  ends 
sweep  every  obstacle  from  his  path,  reckless  of  the  consequences 
to  others  ;  the  other  reason  may  have  been  that,  as  a  rule, 
English  people  look  with  some  contempt  and  even  ridicule  on  a 
middle-aged  wonan's  foolish  love  for  a  young  husband.  Such 
a  character  as  the  Duchess  Fadovani,  who  really  shares  the 
main    interest  of  the  play   with    Paul   Astier,  is    therefore  out 


StePT..  1890.3  The  Stmggk  for  Life.  125 

of   sympathy  with    her  audience.      The    English    adaptation  is 
announced  to  have  been  made  by  Robert  Buchanan  and  Fred 
Homer.      Mr.  Buchanan  is  stated  in  an  interview  recorded  in 
a  London  newspaper  to  have  laid  claim  to  the  entire  adaptation. 
If  so,  whatever  merits  or  shortcomings  there  may  be  in  the  work 
are  attributable  to  him.     The  drama  has  been  curtailed  to  four 
acts  with  some  advantage,  but  there  is  a  want  of  lightness  and 
relief  in  it.     It  will  be  remembered  that  Paul  Astier,  having  dissi- 
pated the  fortune  of  the  Duchess,  seeks  to  gain  her  consent  to 
a  divorce.     As  she  strenuously  opposes  this,  he  determines  to  rid 
himself  of  her  by  poison  ;  but  just  as  she  is  about  to  drink,  his 
courage  fails  him,  and  he  stays  her  hand.    A  wealthy  Jewess,  Esther 
de  S^l^ny,  is  willing  to  accept  him   for  her  husband,  and  the 
Duchess  having  at  length  freed  him  to  save  him  from  the  crime  of 
further  attempts  upon  her  life,  he  is  about  to  marry  Esther,  when 
he  is  shot  down  by  the  father  of  the  girl  Lydie  whom  he  has 
seduced,  in  refutation  of  Astier's  theory  that  the  strong  always 
destroy  the  weak,  the  latter  sometimes   in  their  turn  rising  in 
self-defence  and  destroying  the  strong.     In  the  English  version 
Antonin  Caussade,  the  lover  of  Lydie,  is  made  the  instrument  to 
avenge  the  wrongs  inflicted  on  her  and  her  father,  who  both  die 
from  the  consequences  of  Astier's  misdeeds.     This,  I  am  inclined 
to  think,  is  an  improvement  on  the  original.     The  young  fellow 
has  a  double  motive  for  taking  the  law  into  his  own  hands.     He 
has  borne,  almost  with  submission,  the  loss  of  the  girl  he  loved, 
but  when  he  finds  her  father,  the  man  who  has  been  also  as  a 
father  to  him,  dead  of  a  broken  heart  on  her  grave,  an  implacable 
hatred  for  the  man  who  has  wrought  the  double  mischief  fills  his 
breast ;  he  looks  upon  him  as  a  monster  that  should  no  longer 
cumber  the  earth,  and   finding  Astier  in   the    arms  of  Esther, 
gloating  over  the  present  success  of  his  schemes,  and   looking 
forward  to  even  greater   preferment  before  men    in  the    future, 
Antonin  unhesitatingly  puts  an  end  to  his  career.     There  is  a 
fatal  want  of  sympathy  for  all  the  characters  in  The  Struggle  for 
Life.     Even  to  poor  Lydie,  a  weak  confiding  almost  child,  very 
sweetly  played  by  Laura  Graves,  our  hearts  cannot  go  out,  for  we 
know  that  she  reckons  on  the  divorce  of  the  Duchess,  and  that 
she  will  then  become  Mme.  Astier.     Perhaps  we  feel  most  for 
Antonin  Caussade,  the  struggling,  honest,  retiring  young  chemist, 
but  it  must  be    admitted   that  average  audiences  do  not  look 
beneath  the  surface  ;  that  a  stuttering,  hesitating  man  is  not  gener- 
ally looked  upon  as  a  hero.     All  the  more  credit  to  Frederick  Kerr, 
who  through  almost  the  entire  second  act  could  not  only  uphold 


1 26  The  Struggle  for  Life.  [Sept.,  1890. 

the  interest,  and  not  cause  the  titter  which  his  supposed  infirmity 
is  prone  to  raise,  but  could  actually  draw  tears  from  many,  and  in 
the  last  act  could  rise  to  manly  dignity,  cold  and  stern — the  in- 
strument of  justice  though  the  slayer  of  his  fellow  man.     Mr.  Kerr's 
performance  was  a  great  one,  and  has  not  received  the  praise  which 
in  my  opinion  it  deserves.     Vaillant  is  made  a  cheery  grateful  old 
man  by  Nutcombe  Gould  in  accordance  with  his  text.  The  character 
was  well  played,  but  we  see  but  too  little  of  him  in  his  sorrow  to  feel 
any  great  pity  for  him.     And  what  are  we  to  say  of  Chemineau  i 
He   is  a  thoughtless  little  Boulevardier.     He,   like  Astier,  has 
risen  from  nothing,  but  is  different  from  Astier  who,  with  readier 
wit  and  tact,  can  accommodate  himself  to  his  improved  position. 
Chemineau  remains  but  little  better  than  a  gamin  de  Paris,  with 
an    intense    admiration,   almost    worship,  for   the    patron  whose 
dirty  work  he  does  without  thinking  of  the  consequences.     He 
wears  good  clothes,  but  he  cannot  look  a  gentleman  in  them  ;  he 
wears  a  good  hat,  but  it  is  of  the  pattern  to  which  he  has  been 
accustomed.     He  is  almost  intended  for  a  ban  diable,  and  this  is 
the  only  fault  I  find  with  Mr.  Chevalier's  acting  ;  we  should  have 
had  at  least  a  suspicion  of  the  cloven  foot  in  him.     But  he  was 
almost  too  genial.     His  broken  French  was  excellent  (as  it  should 
be,  for  Mr.  Chevalier  is  a  Frenchman),  and  he  contrived  to  light 
up  the  scenes  in  which  he  figured  by  his  quaint  manner.     Still 
it  would  have  been  better  had  a  light,  instead  of  an  eccentric, 
comedian  been  cast  for  the  character.      Alma  Stanley  did   well 
as   Esther   de    Sdleny — who  is   only  a  fictitious  Countess.      In 
reality  she  is  a  wealthy  Jewess,  ambitious,  believing  that  Astier  is 
the  man  who,  through  her  fortune,  can  raise  her  to  the  position 
to  which  she  aspires,  and  what  little  of  heart  there  is  in  her  she 
gives  to  him.     She  is  not  an  estimable  character,  but  handsome 
and   striking.     Kate  Phillips's  talents   are  thrown  away  on  the 
part  of  the  foolish  tearful  Mar^chale  de  S^ldny,  who  after  all  is 
an  arrant  humbug,  for  while  she  weeps  over  the  memory  of  her 
warrior  husband,  she  accepts  time-serving,  fortune-hunting  little 
Chemineau.     Mr.  Bucklaw  is  earnest  as  Vddrine,  a  character  that 
is    superfluous  ;    and    Ben    Webster   shines    most    in   the    latter 
portion  of  his  acting  as  the  foppish  Count  Adriani,  another  foolish 
character   that    could    well    be    spared.      Those    who    filled   the 
remaining  minor  parts  were  equal  to  the  occasion.     It  now  comes 
to  speaking  of  the  two  principals.     Genevieve  Ward  fully  em- 
bodied the  nobler  attributes  of  the  miserable  wife  of  Paul'  Astier, 
and  her  scene  with  him  where  he  intended  poisoning  her  was 
highly  wrought  out ;  where  the  strength  was  wanting  was  that  she 


Srpt.,  iSqo.]  a  Pair  of  Spectacles — Sweet  Lavender,  127 

gave  almost  a  maternal  tone  to  her  affection  for  her  sinful  partner 
— it  was  chastened  enduring  love  with  scarcely  one  touch  of  that 
passion  which  one  would  imagine  should  have  inspired  her 
persistent  forgiveness  of  the  insults  heaped  upon  her.  Miss 
Ward's  reading  may  have  been  a  correct  one,  but  it  did  not  tell 
so  much  with  the  audience  as  a  more  vivid  rendering  would  have 
done.  Only  praise  could  be  bestowed  on  George  Alexander's 
Paul  Astier.  Cold  and  heartless  in  the  means  to  gain  his  end, 
he  could  warm  into  the  semblance  of  the  most  passionate  lover  or 
cajole  his  humble  victim  with  his  honeyed  words  ;  he  could  be 
stem  and  relentless  and  yet  tremble  and  turn  coward  at  the 
thought  of  the  consequences  his  crime  might  bring  upon  him. 
In  his  death  scene  he  could  endeavour  to  defy  that  fate  which  he 
so  persistently  through  his  life  ignored,  and  in  his  last  moments 
could  prove  there  was  one  soft  spot  in  his  black  heart  as  he 
uttered  his  only  true  words  of  love  to  Esther  as  he  died  in  her 
arms.  If  good  acting  could  have  made  a  play  a  success.  The 
Struggle  for  Life  should  have  succeeded.  The  mounting  of  the 
piece  was  superb,  and  yet  in  the  very  best  taste,  the  dresses  of 
the  ladies  who  figfured  as  gfuests  were  made  by  the  most  fashionable 
modistes,  and  as  they  were  ladies  who  wore  them,  and  not  the 
ordinary  supers,  they  looked  at  home  in  them  ;  the  male  guests 
consisted  of  young  gentlemen  who  wish  to  adopt  the  stage  as  a 
profession,  and  are  gaining  confidence  by  "  standing  on."  Though 
personally  I  was  much  interested  during  the  entire  evening,  I 
could  not  but  feel  that  the  existence  of  The  Struggle  for  Life  on 
the  boards  might  not  be  a  very  prolonged  one.  It  played  but 
a  short  time. 

27th.  Elephant  and  Castle.  The  Whirlwind. — Four-act 
comedy,  by  Sydney  Rosenfeld  (for  copyright  purposes). 

27th.  Standard.  Fallen  Among*  Thieves, — Five- act  drama, 
by  Frank  Harvey.     Acted  by  the  Beatrice  Company. 

27th.  Shaftesbury. — Last  appearance  of  Mr.  Willard  previous 
to  his  departure  for  America.  fudaJt  and  the  second  act  of  The 
Middleman  were  played. 

27th.  Garrick. — George  Raiemond,  who  had  been  filling  the 
rdle  of  Benjamin  Goldfinch  in  A  Pair  of  Spectacles  with  such 
success  during  John  Hare's  absence  for  his  holiday,  relinquished 
it  to  the  original  on  his  return  for  the  200th  performance. 

29th.  Terry's.  Sweet  Lavender. — Revived  with  the  following 
cast : — Mr.  Geoffrey  Wedderbum,  W.  H.  Vernon  ;  Clement  Hale, 
H.  Reeves  Smith  ;  Doctor  Delaney,  Julian  Cross ;  Dick  Phenyl, 
Edward  Terry  ;  Horace  Bream,  Henry  Dana ;  Mr.  Maw,  Fred. 


128  Carmen  up  to  Data.  [Oct.,  zdpo. 

W.  Irish;  Mr.  Bulger,  Prince  Miller;  Mrs.  GilfiUian,  Dolores 
Drummond ;  Minnie,  Marie  Linden ;  Ruth  Rolt,  Mrs.  F.  H. 
Macklin  ;  Lavender,  Elinore  Leyshon.  In  most  cases  the  original 
representatives  were  sadly  missed. 

29th.    St.   George's   Hall. — Comey   Grain's    new  sketch, 
Seaside  Mania. 


X. 

October. 

1st.  BiRKBECK  Institute.  Clement  Scott  delivered  a  most 
interesting  lecture,  which  detailed  his  own  experiences  under  the 
title  of  "  Thirty  Years  at  the  Play."  Prior  to  his  having  become 
known  to  the  world  as  the  talented  dramatic  critic  to  The  Daily 
Telegraphy  Mr.  Scott  had  filled  the  same  position  on  The  Sunday 
TimeSy  and  it  was  from  that  date,  1 860,  that  he  traced  the  history 
of  the  English  stage,  which,  at  that  time,  he  looked  upon  as  in 
"  a  wretched,  down-at-heel,  untidy,  and  deplorable  condition." 
Its  improvement  and  gradual  rise  was  explained  and  commented 
on  in  an  able  mannef,  and  was  illustrated  by  various  anecdotes 
relating  to  authors,  actors,  and  plays  that  were  passed  in  review. 
(The  lecture  was  fully  treated  in  The  Stage  of  October  3rd,  1 890.) 

1st  Circus  at  Bordeaux  completely  destroyed  by  fire  Loss, 
;f30,ooo. 

4th.  Gaiety.  Carmen  up  to  Data. — The  following  was  con- 
tributed by  me  to  The  Topical  Times : — **  The  Gaiety  reopened  its 
doors  for  the  autumn  burlesque  with  the  St.  John-Lonnen  com- 
pany, as  it  is  now  spoken  of,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Farren- 
Leslie  troupe.  Carmen  up  to  Data  is  a  travesty  of  the  famous 
opera,  passing  in  review  the  topics  of  the  day  *  up  to  date,'  and 
burlesquing  the  characters  in  a  fairly  humorous  manner — ^with 
one  exception,  that  of  Escamillo,  who  is  made  anything  but 
prominent ;  rather  fortunately,  perhaps,  for  Jenny  Dawson,  though 
looking  very  handsome  and  resplendent,  did  not  artistically  shine. 
As  everyone  knows  the  story  of  the  coquettish  gipsy  girl,  there 
is  no  occasion  for  me  to  go  into  it.  Florence  St.  John,  looking 
wonderfully  well  and  in  the  very  best  form,  was  just  fitted  for  the 
character.  There  is  such  quiet,  arch  comedy  about  this  favourite 
singer  and  actress  that  she  invests  every  part  of  a  humorous 
nature  with  interest.  She  had  some  charming  songs  :  *  Ask  me 
to    marry,  I  laugh,'  'One  who    is   life    to    me,'    'Calasera,*  and 


Oct.,  1890.]  Sweet  Nancy.  129 

*  Where  all  is  love/  which  were  exquisitely  rendered  and  encored. 
The  Jos^  of  E.  J.  Lonnen  was  overflowing  with  humour  and  fun 
— his  mock  heroics  are  delicious,  and  his  song,  *  The  Jolly  Boy's 
Club,*  gained  a  treble  encore.  He  was  excellent,  too,  in  his  duets 
with  Carmen,  and  also  in  a  bolero  which  he  dances  with  her.  It 
was,  however,  in  the  opening  song  of  the  second  act,  *  Hush  !  the 
bogie,'  that  he  was  heard  at  his  best ;  there  was  a  weird  im- 
pressiveness  about  it,  joined  to  his  singing  of  a  charming  melody, 
that  took  the  house  by  storm,  more  particularly  as  it  was 
emphasized  by  an  effective  chorus  d  bouches  ferm^es.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  this  is  the  number  of  the  burlesque,  and  will 
soon  be  hummed  by  everyone.  Lonnen's  dance  here,  too,  was 
wonderfully  graceful  Arthur  Williams's  make-up  as  Captain 
Zuniga  was  excellent ;  he  has  a  good  song,  *  The  fashionable 
villain/  and  a  topical  duet  with  Jos^  *  It  will  cause  unpleasant- 
ness/ one  verse  of  which,  however,  did  not  please.  As  usual, 
he  gags,  but  his  gags,  those  of  an  old  stager  well  up  in  the 
business,  are  generally  happy.  Letty  Lind  has  two  very  pleasing 
dances ;  one  it  la  toreador^  which  was  novel,  and  the  other, 
accompanying  *The  farmyard'  song,  in  which  she  gives  imita- 
tions of  turkeys,  fowls,  and  parrots.  Both  were  redemanded. 
Katie  Barry  was  a  dashing  little  Alphonze,  and  quite  made  her 
mark.  I  was  sorry  that  clever  Maria  Jones  had  not  more  to  do 
as  Michaela,  the  artless  village  maid  ;  she  has  a  capital  fandango, 

*  Kiss  me  and  go,*  with  Jos6.  The  choruses,  *  A  saucy  lot  of 
girls  are  we,'  *  Hark  !  hark !  what  was  that } '  and  *  Better  go 
home  to  your  mother,'  will  become  favourites.  A  Gaiety 
burlesque  would  not  be  imcomplete  without  a  pas  de  quatre, 
and  so  John  d'Auban  has  supplied  an  eccentric  one  for  Florence 
Levey,  Eva  Greville,  Alice  Gilbert,  and  Maud  Wilmot,  which  had 
to  be  gone  through  thrice,  so  pleased  were  the  audience.  These 
four  are  joined  by  Blanche  Massey,  Maud  Hobson,  Grace  Wixon, 
and  Hetty  Hamer  in  a  '  Cachuca  de  Ocho/  which  was  very 
effective.  There  was  also  a  telling  violin  quartette  by  Misses 
Ashby,  Burk,  Champion,  and  d'Alcourt  in  the  opening  of  act  ii. 
The  piece  was  produced  under  the  stage  management  of  Thomas 
W.  Charles." 

6th.  Royalty.  Sweei  i^ancy. — Revived  under  the  management 
of  Harriett  Jay.  The  changes  in  the  cast  consisted  in  Yorke 
Stephens  as  Sir  Roger  Tempest,  which  he  played  very  well,  his 
only  fault  being  that  he  was  a  little  too  juvenile.  Mr.  Garthorne 
was  but  a  stolid  conventional  Frank  Musgrave ;  Jennie  MacNulty 
was  a  very  fascinating  Mrs.    Huntly.     The  third  act  had  been 

Q 


130  A  Village  Priest — The  Sixth  Commandment.       [Oct.,  1890. 

considerably  amended.  During  the  last  few  nights,  Beatrice  Ferrar 
took  Annie  Hughes's  place  as  Nancy,  and  played  remarkably  well. 
In  the  provinces,  where  the  piece  was  sent  on  tour  by  Horace 
Sedger,  Miss  Calhaem  made  a  great  hit  as  Nancy. — This  was 
preceded  by  Peppet^s  Diary^  comedietta,  by  Arthur  Morris,  one  of 
the  wildest  ideas  that  can  ever  have  entered  the  mind  of  man,  but 
amusing  withal.  The  Hon.  Robert  St.  John,  a  vacuous  young 
gentleman  bored  with  doing  nothing,  gets  hold  of  Pepper's  diary, 
and  proceeds  to  carry  out  every  entry  therein  contained — one  of 
which  is  to  propose  to  a  fascinating  widow,  Mrs.  Dorothy  Pringle, 
who,  fascinated  by  his  impudence  and  his  want  of  brains,  accepts 
him.  The  vacuous  gentleman  was  smartly  played  by  E.  Hendrie, 
and  the  part  of  a  peculiarly  choleric  old  gentleman.  Major 
Bunderput,  who  eases  his  feelings  by  smashing  vases  on  every 
possible  occasion,  by  Henry  Esmond,  who  was  capitally  made 
up,  and  racily  filled  his  character.  Jennie  MacNulty  looked  quite 
the  fascinating  widow.  The  trifle,  taken  from  the  French, 
pleasantly  passed  half-an-hour  away. 

6th.  Haymarket. — Mr.  Beerbohm  Tree  and  his  company  re- 
appeared after  a  most  successful  tour  in  the  provinces.  The 
interrupted  run  ol  A  Village  Priest  y/2is  resumed,  3ind  Mr.  Grundy's 
play  was  again  most  favourably  received.  Julia  Neilson  for  a  few 
nights  appeared  as  Margaret,  and  played  the  part  with  great  tender- 
ness. She  was  also  seen  to  much  advantage  in  W.  S.  Gilbert's 
Comedy  and  Tragedy ,  as  Clarice,  with  Nutcombe  Gould  as  the 
Due  d'Orl^ans,  F.  Terry  as  d'Aulnay,  Charles  Allan  as  Doctor 
Choquart,  and  Mr.  Leith  as  the  Abbe  Dubois.  Carl  Armbruster's 
selection  of  new  pieces  with  which  he  returned  from  abroad, 
aftorded  a  great  treat  to  musical  amateurs. 

7th.  Playgoers'  Club. — W.  Davenport  Adams  delivered  a 
most  interesting  and  chatty  discourse,  for  it  could  not  be  called 
a  lecture,  of  his  recollections  and  reflections  during  twenty  years 
passed  as  a  dramatic  critic.  The  information  and  anecdotes  were 
the  more  valuable,  in  that  they  referred  to  provincial  doings,  and 
were  really  fresh  information.  The  evening's  doings  were  fully 
reproduced  in  The  Stage  of  October  i  oth. 

7th.  Globe.  The  Crusader  and  the  Craven. — ^A  mediaeval 
opera  in  one  act,  words  by  W.  Allison,  music  by  Percy  Reeve. 
Sir  Rupert  de  Malvoisie,  William  Hogarth  ;  Blondel  FitzOsbome, 
John  Le  Hay;  Dame  Alice,  Effie  Chapuy.  A  very  amusing 
trifle,  with  some  charming  music  excellently  rendered. 

8th.  Shaftesbury.  The  Sixth  Commandment.  —  In  an 
"Author's  Note"  appearing  on  the  programme,    Mr.  Buchanan 


Oct.,  1890.]  The  Sixth  Commandment,  131 

states  that  he  has  taken  certain  suggestions  from  Dostoievsky's 
novel  "  Crime  and  Chastisement/'  but  that  he  disclaims  any 
endeavour  to  dramatize  the  work.  And  this  statement  may  be 
thoroughly  accepted,  for  though  the  main  incidents,  but  slightly 
altered,  take  place  both  in  the  novel  and  the  play,  yet  under 
Mr.  Buchanan's  treatment,  they  are  but  such  as  have  been  used 
in  many  a  melodrama.  In  the  novel,  Fedor  commits  a  murder 
on  two  women,  partly  to  work  put  a  theory  of  his  own,  and  partly 
for  the  sake  of  plunder  ;  in  the  play  he  strangles  an  old  Jew,  for 
having  been  accessory  to  the  ruin  of  the  girl  he  loves.  In  the 
novel  Sonia  gives  herself  to  a  life  on  the  streets,  that  she  may 
save  from  starvation  her  worthless  father  and  hungry  family  ;  in 
the  play  she  is  made  the  unwilling  victim  of  the  lust  of  a  Prince. 
The  novel  is  a  study,  curiously  minute  and  searching  of  the  work- 
ings of  the  human  heart  and  brain,  and  sets  forth  that  a  woman 
may  be  but  a  very  outcast  in  the  ^yes  of  the  world,  and  yet  be  as 
pure  as  snow  in  her  innermost  self.  The  play  makes  almost  an 
idol  of  a  man  who  has  no  ruler  but  his  own  strong  will,  which  he 
enforces  under  the  light  definition  of  caprice,  and  in  the  culprit 
all  that  is  in  any  way  interesting  is  that,  like  the  young  minister 
in  Judah,  from  the  moment  he  commits  the  crime,  although  an 
unbeliever,  he  has  no  rest,  but  hears  for  ever  the  voice  of  conscience 
ringing  in  his  ears,  and  only  obtains  peace  when  he  confesses,  and 
makes  atonement  through  the  punishment  meted  out  to  him. 
This  last  character  is  Fedor  Ivanovitch.  His  sweetheart  Liza,  is 
beguiled  to  Prince  ZosimoflTs  palace  by  Abramoff,  who  delivers 
to  her  a  letter  which  he  knows  will  bring  about  her  ruin.  Fedor 
discovers  this,  and  in  his  rage  seizes  the  Jew  by  the  throat,  and, 
without  perhaps  intending  to  do  so,  strangles  him.  A  prey  to 
remorse,  Fedor  unwittingly  gives  Zosimoff  the  clue  by  which  he 
can  hunt  out  the  murderer — ^he  uses  the  knowledge  gained,  to 
force  Anna  into  a  marriage  with  him  ;  he  brings  her  to  an  adjoin- 
ing room  to  that  which  Liza  occupies,  that  Anna  may  overhear 
her  brother  Fedor's  confession  to  the  young  girl  that  he  wants  to 
make  his  wife.  Liza  insists  that,  fallen  as  she  is,  she  is  unfit  for 
him.  He  tries  to  prove  that  he  is  no  better  than  she  is  by  con- 
fessing that  he  is  a  murderer.  When  Fedor  learns  that  Anna 
will  sacrifice  herself  to  a  man  that  she  abhors,  to  prevent  him 
from  giving  her  brother  up  to  justice,  he  publicly  owns  to  the 
crime,  and  accepts  the  consequence  in  exile  to  Siberia.  In  a 
most  improbable  manner,  the  author  brings  all  his  principal 
characters  to  that  remote  and  inhospitable  spot  (even  a  young 
couple  on  their  honeymoon  trip).     Retributive  justice  overtakes 


132  La  Cigale,  [Oct.,  1890. 

the  Prince.     He  has  followed  Anna  (to  carry  out  his  now  shame- 
ful designs  upon  her),  but  finds  that  by  an  "  order  of  the   Czar," 
he  is  to  be  stripped  of  rank  and  riches,  and  be  sent  to  the  mines ; 
whilst  Fedor  is  pardoned,  and  restored  to  society  for  having  saved 
the  governor  Snaminski's  life.     Liza  is   made   happy   in   Fedor's 
repentance,  for  it  is  she  who  has  first  pointed  out  to  him  that  it 
was  only  by  confession  that  he  could  make  his  peace  with  Heaven  ; 
and  Anna  is  supposed  to  marry  her  lover  Alexis.      Passing  over 
such  a  glaring  mistake  as  the  rites  of  the  Greek  Church  being 
performed  in  Russia,  of  all  places,  over  a  Jew^  there  was  a  fearful 
waste  of  words  throughout  the  play,  which  was  prolonged  to   an 
inordinate  length  (later,  it  took  nearly  one  hour  less  in  performance 
through  judicious  excision),  and  the  interest  was  in  a  g^reat  measure 
lost     It  is  pleasant  to  pass  from  the  shortcomings  of  the  play  to 
the  excellence  of  the  acting.     Miss  Wallis,  with  rare  self-denial  in 
a  manageress,  did  not  take  to  herself  the  best  part,  but  as  Anna, 
increased  her  reputation  by  her  power  in  depicting  agony  of  mind, 
and  tenderness   and    affection    towards    her   lover   and    brother. 
Elizabeth  Robins  (who  is  more  the  heroine)  was  very  sympathetic 
as  the  betrayed  Liza.     The  confession  of  outrage  inflicted  on  her 
was  most  delicately  conveyed.     Lewis  Waller,  had  a  very  trying 
part,  as  Fedor,  and  made  a  distinct  advance  by  his  exhibition  of 
remorse,  and  the   workings  of  a   troubled  conscience.     Herbert 
Waring  was  almost  grand  in   his  villainy,   it  was  so  thoroughly 
consistent    throughout,    and    was   shown    with  such  quiet  force. 
Marion  Lea  played  the  hoyden  well,  and  brightened  up   the  play 
a  little,  as  did  William  Herbert  as  her  lover,  and  M.  Marius  as  a 
police  official.     A  good  little  bit  of  character  acting,  was  that  of 
Ivan  Watson,  as  a  deaf  and  decrepit  general.    Maud  Brennan  and 
J.  St.  Ange,   were  also  welcome    in   their  respective  characters. 
The  play  was  splendidly  mounted,  and  it  was  no   fault  of  Miss 
Wallis's,  or  that  of  her  company,  that  it  was  not  accepted  as  a 
success.     Later,  a  more  probable  ending  was  given.     The  newly 
married  couple  did  not  appear  in  the  Siberian  scene,  and   Prince 
Zosimoflf  was  killed  by  Liza's  father. 

9th.  Lyric.  La  Cigale, — Mr.  Horace  Sedger  was  to  be  con- 
gratulated on  the  complete  success  of  the  "  opera  comique  "  with 
which  he  inaugurated  his  management  of  the  most  beautiful 
theatre  in  London.  His  productions  at  the  Prince  of  Wales's 
have  ever  been  distinguished  by  their  elegance  and  the  good  taste 
displayed.  La  Cigale  surpassed  any  of  them  in  the  beauty  of  the 
dresses  and  the  perfection  of  the  scenery,  and  the  action  of  the 
play    taking  place   in  the   environs  of   Bruges,   the  picturesque 


Oct.,  1890.]  La  Cigale.  133 

Flemish  costumes,  and  the  gay  doings  at  a  "  Kermesae,"  are  most 
effectively  introduced.  The  pretty  fable  of  "  La  Cigale  et 
la  Fourmi "  has  been  followed  and  turaed  to  good  account  by  the 
English  librettist,  only  that  he  gives  to  it  the  required  happy 
ending  for  the  heroine.  Marton  is  one  of  two  nieces  of  Matthew 
Vanderkoopen,  gay,  thoughtless,  and  longing  to  go  on  the  stage ; 
her  cousin  Charlotte,  married  to  William,  finds  all  her  pleasure  in 
rural  domesticity.  The  festivities  at  the  farm  attending  the 
wedding  of  the  last  two  are  at  their  height  when  the  Chevalier 
Franz  de  Bernheim  arrives  with  the  Duchess  of  Fayensberg,  with 
whom  he  is  carrying  on  a  strong  flirtation.  They  hear  the  voice 
of  the  Duke,  who  has  brought  out  La  Frivolini  and  a  number  of 
the  Bruges  Opera  Company  to  a  picnic.  The  Duchess  hides 
herself  in  a  summer-house,  and  insists,  in  order  that  the  Duke's 
suspicions  may  be  disarmed,  that  her  cavalier  shall  make  love  to 
the  first  girl  he  meets.  This  is  Marton,  who  presently  expresses 
her  desire  to  become  an  opera-singer.  The  Duke  says  that  this 
may  be  managed  through  his  influence  if  her  capabilities  are 
sufficiently  good,  and  so  she  sings  the  song, "  One  among  Three," 
which^  though  not  the  most  musicianly,  is  the  most  taking  number 
in  the  entire  score,  and  gained  a  treble  encore.  Marton,  a  year 
later,  is  the  prima  donna,  spending  freely  all  she  earns,  her  rustic 
lover  Vincent  is  her  secretary,  and  her  uncle  her  manager.  She 
has  become  deeply  attached  to  the  Chevalier,  but  as  he  is  forced 
through  the  jealousy  of  the  Duchess  to  pay  the  latter  considerable 
attention,.  Marton  is  led  to  believe  that  he  is  faithless,  and  so  at 
a  grand  ball  given  at  the  Ducal  Palace,  where  she  is  to  entertain 
the  guests,  she,  after  the  manner  of  Adrienne  Lecouvreur,  sings, 
exposing  in  her  song-  the  supposed  intrigue  of  the  Duchess,  and 
exhausted  by  the  emotion,  faints  away.  Whilst  unconscious,  a 
transparency  shows  to  her  her  old  home,  and  she  herself  ragged 
and  forsaken  after  dissipating  all  her  wealth,  sinking  at  the  portals 
of  the  home  in  which  she  was  once  so  happy.  But  when  she 
recovers,  and  the  ball-room  is  seen  again,  her  peace  is  restored,  for 
the  Duchess  assures  Marton  that  she  is  truly  loved  by  the 
Chevalier,  who  throws  himself  at  her  feet,  the  Duchess  silencing 
anything  that  the  Duke  may  have  to  say  about  his  wife's 
indiscretion  by  reminding  him  of  his  own  peccadilloes  with  La 
Frivolini.  Audran's  music  pleased  every  one,  it  was  so  bright  and 
melodious,  and  the  considerable  portion  of  the  opera,  for  which 
Ivan  Caryll  is  responsible,  gave  equal  satisfaction.  Mr.  Bumand's 
book  is  witty  and  poetic,  and  the  lyrics  contributed  by  Mr.  Gil- 
bert k  Becket  are  graceful.     Geraldine  Ulmar  sang  charmingly 


134  sail  Waters  Run  Deep — The  School  for  Scandal,   [Oct.,  1890. 

throughout,  and  surprised  everyone  by  her  talents  as  an  actress. 
Effie  Clements*  very  sweet  voice  delighted  all,  the  only  regret  being 
that  she  had  not  more  numbers  allotted  to  her.  Chevalier  Scovel 
was  very  nervous  in  his  opening,  but  after  his  first  song  he  much 
improved,  and  before  the  end  of  the  evening  had  established 
himself  as  a  favourite.  Eric  Lewis  was  admirable  as  the  foppish, 
finicking  Duke.  Michael  Dwyer  sang  with  great  taste  and 
expression  ;  and  Lionel  Brough,  though  last  not  by  any  means 
least,  was  droll  and  very  amusing.  Lila  Clay  and  her  ladies' 
orchestra,  which  performed  a  very  charming  gavotte  written  by 
their  conductress,  must  not  be  forgotten.  La  Cigale  was  a 
complete  success,  and  Charles  Harris,  under  whose  stage  direction 
it  was  produced,  was  with  the  principals,  authors,  composers,  and 
Mr.  Sedger,  applauded  to  the  echo  for  the  result. 

1 1  th.  Court.  Cabinet  Minister. — Revived  jifter  the  recess. 
There  were  only  two  changes  from  the  original  cast — Frank 
Rodney  played  well  as  Valentine  White,  and  Carlotta  Leclercq 
was  impressive  as  the  Dowager  Countess  of  Drumdurris. 

13th'.  Criterion.  Still  Waters  Run  Deep. — Revived.  Charles 
Wyndham  and  Mary  Moore,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mildmay;  W.  Blakeley, 
Potter;  Arthur  Elwood,  Captain  Hawksley,  an  excellent  and 
original  reading;  Rodney  Valentine,  Dunbilk.  Mrs.  Bernard  Beere, 
who  had  been  for  a  considerable  time  absent  from  the  stage  owing 
to  a  severe  illness,  most  effectively  resumed  the  character  of  Mrs. 
Sternhold. — Dearest  Mamma  was  also  played,  in  which  W. 
Blakeley  was  a  very  amusing  Browser,  E.  Maurice  a  thoroughly 
cynical  Nettle  Croker,  M.  A.  Victor  genuinely  comic  as  the 
meddling  Mrs.  Breezley  Fizzle,  and  Ellaline  Terriss  delightful  as 
Edith  Clinton. 

13th.  Gaiety.  His  Last  Cltance. — Written  and  composed  by 
Herbert  and  Ethel  Harraden.  The  little  musical  comedietta  was 
well  interpreted  by  Loie  Fuller  who  sang  nicely,  and  by  G.  T. 
Minshull,  the  lady  having  to  entice  a  very  bashful  lover  into 
making  a  proposal. 

1 6th.  Crystal  Palace.  T/te  School  for  Scandal — Beerbohm 
Tree  made  Sir  Peter  Teazle  far  too  old  and  silly  a  man  ;  the 
character  was  wanting  in  humour  and  courtliness.  Mrs.  Tree 
needed  greater  experience  and  power  of  expressing  the  varying 
emotions  of  the  part  before  she  could  hope  to  become  anything 
of  an  ideal  Lady  Teazle.  Like  everything  Mrs.  Tree  does,  how- 
ever, her  performance  was  ladylike.  Fred  Terry  was  scarcely 
hearty  enough  as  Charles  Surface,  and  made  him  too  much  of  a 
fop.     Lewis  Waller,  on  the  other  hand,  was  far  too  hearty  for  the 


OcT.,x89o.]  Madcap — 714^  Outsider,  1^5 

sneaking  hypocrite  Joseph.  Rose  Leclercq  was,  of  course,  an 
excellent  Mrs.  Candour ;  Henrietta  Lindley,  a  clever  Lady  Sneer- 
well,  and  Effie  Williams  an  ingenuous  Maria.  There  were 
several  who  could  scarcely  be  improved  on  in  the  cast.  H. 
Kemble  was  a  glorious  Sir  Oliver,  and  Edward  Righton's  Moses 
was  genuine  comedy.  Eric  Lewis,  as  Backbite ;  Charles  Brook- 
field,  Trip  ;  Charles  Allan,  Rowley ;  and  Forbes  Dawson,  Careless, 
all  scored.  Wilford  Morgan  sang  **  Here's  to  the  Maiden,"  and 
gained  an  encore. 

17th.  Comedy.  Madcap. — Comedietta  by  Alec.  Nelson.  Was 
pleasing,  and  touched  the  right  chord.  It  tells  how  Daphne  has 
been  brought  up  by  Mrs.  Barton  whose  son  Jack  has  for  a  tutor 
one  John  Read.  Though  participating  in  all  Jack's  games,  and 
with  a  strong  partiality  for  racing,  cricket,  lawn  tennis,  etc.. 
Daphne  has  a  true  heart  in  her  little  bosom,  and  prefers  the  more 
staid  tutor  to  the  volatile  Jack,  who  proposes,  but  is  refused  in  a 
very  pretty  little  scene.  The  tutor  says  that  he  must  leave,  but 
Daphne  is  sufficiently  clever  to  lead  him  on  to  an  avowal  whilst 
he  is  announcing  his  intention.  This  would  have  been  very 
charming  had  it  not  been  spoilt  to  a  certain  extent  by  Daphne's 
having  only  a  moment  before  appeared  as  a  poor  boy,  she  having 
put  on  this  dress  which  was  intended  to  be  worn  in  some  coming 
private  theatricals.  Rhoda  Larkin  played  Daphne  naively  and 
with  very  great  charm.  She  contrived  to  give  one  the  idea  of  a 
madcap,  but  yet  of  a  gentlewoman  at  the  same  time.  P.  S. 
Champion  was  fresh  and  natural  as  the  youthful  Jack  Barton,  but 
G.  Kennedy  was  too  staid  as  the  tutor  John  Read.  Helen 
Lambert  was  a  pleasant  Mrs.  Barton.  The  audience  appeared 
pleased  with  the  little  piece,  gave  it  a  good  reception,  and  called 
for  the  author.  The  character  of  John  Read  was  afterwards  filled 
by  Leonard  Outram. — At  this  time  there  were  changes  in  the 
cast  of  Nerves.  Owing  to  the  illness  of  Gilbert  Farquhar,  H. 
Kemble  resumed  the  part  of  Buxon  Brittle,  and  Vane  Featherston 
strengthened  the  cast  by  her  most  capable  rendering  of  Violet 
Armitage,  originally  played  by  Maud  Millett,  and  which  had  also 
been  very  charmingly  rendered  by  Ethel  Matthews. 

17th.  Park  Hall,  Camden  Town.  The  Outsider. — A 
racing  drama  in  four  acts  by  Forbes  Dawson  (for  copyright 
purposes). 

1 8th.  Shaftesbury. — Miss  Wallis  made  the  somewhat  extra- 
ordinary departure  of  appealing  to  her  audience  by  asking  them 
now  that  the  alterations  and  improvements  suggested  by  the 
critics  had  been  made  in  The  Sixth  Commandment,  *'  Do  you  like 


136  Monsieur  Moulon;  or.  The  Shadow  0/  Death,      [Oct.,  1890. 


the  play  ? "  and  "  Shall  we  go  on  with  it,  as  it  is  very  important  to 
my  husband  and  myself  ? "     The  reply  was  a  shout  of  affirmation. 

1 8th.  Globe. — Giulia  Warwick  took  up  the  rS/e  of  Isidora,  in 
TAe  Black  Rover. 

19th.  Garrick.  a  Pair  of  Spectacles. — During  KateRorke's 
short  absence  her  part  was  played  by  Laura  Hansen. 

25th.  Prince  of  Wales's. — Violet  Cameron  appeared  in  the 
title-rSle  of  Captain  TkMse.  Gypsies, — One-act  operetta.  Li- 
bretto by  Basil  Hood,  music  by  Wilfred  Bendall. 

2Sth.  St.  George's  Hall.  Foiled. — Three-act  drama,  by 
Warwick  Buckland. 

27th.  Surrey.  Mystery  of  the  Seven  Sisters. — Four-act  drama, 
by  F.  A.  Scudamore. 

27th.  Gaiety. —  Alma  Stanley  appeared  as  Escanillo  in 
Carmen  up  to  Data. 

29th.  Death  of  Wallace  Roberts,  partner  in  the  firm  of 
Roberts,  Archer,  &  Bartlett,  managers  of  the  Croydon  Theatre. 
Resulted  from  blood-poisoning,  arising  from  a  severe  cut  on  one 
of  the  fingers. 

29th.  Shaftesbury.     Monsieur  Moulon ;  or,  The  Shadow  of 
Death. — Four-act  play.  I  wrote  the  following  for  The  Topical  Times. 
"  Monsieur  Moulon  made  his  bow  at  the  Shaftesbury  Theatre  on 
Tuesday  afternoon,  and  so  did  the  author  of  this  most  wearisome 
play.     The  performance  confirmed  me  in  my  opinion  that  we 
Britishers    are   the    most   patient    and   long-suffering  nation  on 
earth.     Charles  Hannan,  F.R.G.S.,  F.R.Hist.S.,  may  be  entitled 
by  his  knowledge  to  rank  as  a  member  of  the  societies  to  which 
he  belongs,  but  Monsieur  Moulon  does  not  entitle  him  to  rank 
as  a  playwright.     He  had  one  strong  dramatic  situation  ;  a  very 
dangerous  one,  mark  you,  but  strong  in  the  hands  of  the  capable 
actors  and  actress  who  had  to  interpret  it.       He  led  up  to  this 
in  a  ridiculous  way ;  held  the  house  whilst  it  was  going  on  ;  and 
afterwards  could  do  nothing  with  his  characters.     Jacques  Moulon 
is  a  rich  gentleman  who  falls  in  love   with  Marie  Lupin,  *  The 
Fisher-girl*     She  is  apparently  a  coquette  at  first,  and  hesitates 
whether  to  accept  Pierre  Carot,   *  A  Fisher-boy,'  or  her  wealthy 
and    aristocratic    lover.     She    finally    accepts    Carot,    but   soon 
repents  her  choice,  and  just  as  she   is  becoming  tired   of   life 
Moulon    seeks    shelter   at    the  cabaret   which  Carot  has  taken. 
Here  Carot  drugs  and  robs  his  former  rival,  and  then  disappears, 
the  play  seeing  him  no  more.     Marie  then  attempts  to  suffocate 
herself  with  charcoal,  and  curiously  enough  selects  Moulon*s  bed- 
room   (with    its    occupant)   for    the  experiment.     Changing  her 


Oct.,  1890.]  Moths,  1 37 

mind  before  the  final  moment  comes,  she  rushes  from  the  room 
and  closes  the  door  after  her,  leaving  the  unfortunate  sleeper  to 
asphyxiate.  He  is  rescued,  however,  and  eventually  marries 
Marie.  Later  on  Moulon's  mind  gives  way  under  pressure  of 
jealousy,  inspired  by  a  wicked  marquise,  its  restoration  being 
finally  brought  about  by  means  of  the  well-wom-supposed-to-be- 
dying-child  method.  Of  course  all  then  ends  happily.  I 
generally  try  to  approach  a  notice  of  a  play  in  a  spirit  of  respect, 
but  I  am  sorry  I  could  not  take  Mr.  Hannan  in  earnest.  It  does 
seem  such  a  pity  that  an  actress  like  Alma  Murray  should  be 
wasted  on  such  a  production  ;  or  that  Luigi  Lablache.  should 
fritter  his  talents  on  such  a  part  as  that  of  Moulon.  Charles 
Sugden,  too,  who  was  fairly  good  as  Carot,  the  drunken,  sodden 
husband,  was  thrown  away  ;  but  they  saved  the  play  from  being 
gibed  at — except  at  intervals.  Miss  Vane  as  the  Marquise, 
clever  Adrienne  Dairolles,  and  funny  E.  M.  Robson,  did  their 
best  with  the  worst  of  materials.  I  must  say  that  almost  the 
whole  of  the  scene  of  the  charcoal  stove  was  strong,  and  was  a 

good  idea  ;  as  to  the  rest !     I  must  also  own  that  I  look 

upon  myself  as  having  been  defrauded  of  a  novelty.  The  hero, 
Carot,  was  to  have  been  a  wooden-legged  man  ;  but  the  author 
was  persuaded  to  make  him  only  lame.  There  would  have  been 
something  so  refreshing  and  absolutely  new  in  a  '  peg-leg ' 
making  romantic  love." 

29th,  Lyric.  (Matinee.)  Moths. — H.  Hamilton's  adaptation 
of  Ouida's  novel  of  the  same  name — was  performed  for  the  first 
time  at  the  Globe  Theatre,  March  2Sth,  1882.  Marion  Litton 
was  then  the  Vere  Herbert ;  Louise  Willes,  Fuchsia  Leach  ; 
Carlotta  Addison,  Lady  Dolly  Vanderdecken  ;  A.  Estcourt,  Prince 
2k>uroff ;  the  adapter  played  the  Duke  of  Mull  and  Cantyre  ; 
Herbert  Standing,  Lord  Jura ;  Kyrle  Bellew,  Raphael  de  Corrfeze ; 
Maude  Brennan  was  the  Duchess  de  Sonnez ;  Lizzie  Claremont, 
Princess  Nadine  Nelaguine  ;  and  Mrs.  Cantley,  Evan.  Since  its 
original  production  it  has  been  several  times  played.  One  notable 
performance  was  that  on  November  24th,  1887,  for  the  benefit 
of  W.  H.  Griffiths,  at  the  Prince  of  Wales's,  when  Kate  Vaughan 
was  the  Vere,  C.  Cartwright  the  Prince  Zouroff,  F.  H.  Macklin  the 
Lord  Jura  ;  Lewis  Waller,  Corrfeze ;  Henrietta  Lindley,  Princess 
Nadine  Nelaguine  ;  Carlotta  Addison,  Lady  Dolly  Vanderdecken  ; 
and  Fanny  Brough,  Fuchsia  Leach.  At  this  special  matinie^ 
given  in  aid  of  the  Actors'  Benevolent  Fund,  these  last  five  again 
appeared  in  the  characters  in  which  they  had  so  distinguished 
themselves,  and  one  and  all  gained  universal  praise  and  applause. 


138  Divor^no — Sunlight  and  Shadow,  (Nov.,  1890. 

On  this  last  occasion  R.  T.  Boleyn  played  Prince  Zouroflf.  The 
one  or  two  evidences  of  the  man's  better  nature  were  most 
artistic  ;  but  the  execution  of  the  character  wanted  that  savage 
power  mingled  with  refinement  that  the  Russian  Prince  should 
command.  Sydney  Brough  was  a  very  genial  and  hearty  young 
peer  as  the  Duke  of  Mull  and  Cantyre  ;  and  Herberte-Basing 
effectively  filled  the  part  of  Ivan.  Adrienne  Dairolles  was  the 
scheming,  treacherous  Duchess  de  Sonnez,  and  had  all  the  beauty 
as  well  as  the  cunning  of  the  tigress.  Beatrice  Lamb  must  be 
congratulated  on  the  power  and  tenderness  she  displayed  as  Vere 
Herbed: ;  she  quite  realized  the  character  in  its  purity  and  high- 
souled  honour,  and  at  times  was  so  good  as  to  lead  one  to  hope 
that  the  young  actress  would  in  the  future  be  a  second  Mrs. 
Kendal,  of  whose  voice  and  method  she  constantly  reminded  one. 
The  matinie  was  very  well  attended,  and  although  the  amount 
was  not  announced,  Mr.  William  Greet  gave  us  to  understand  that 
that  about  £,\IS  would  be  added  to  the  fund.  Horace  Sedger 
kindly  gave  the  use  of  the  theatre. 

29th.  Sadler's  Wells. — Don  Edgardo  Colona  appeared  as 
Richard  III.,  and  also  during  the  week  as  Hamlet  and  Othello. 
"  Possessed  of  a  robust  style,  but  wanting  in  finish." 

St.  James's.  French  plays. — Under  Mr.  M.  L.  Mayer's  manage- 
ment. 27  th,  DivoTfons  comedy  in  three  acts,  by  Sardou  and  de 
Najac.  Des  Prunelles,  M.  M.  Jaeger;  Adhemar  de  Gratignan, 
Hurtaux  ;  Clavignac,  Lenorman  ;  Bafourdier,  Ricquier  ;  Jainarot, 
Daumerie  ;  Bastien,  Lagrange  ;  Joseph,  Millaud  ;  Cyprienne,  Mme. 
Chaumont ;  Mme.  de  Brionne,  Cheller ;  Mme.  de  Valfontaine, 
Davryl ;  Mile,  de  Losignan,  Gaudin  ;  Josepha,  Brunet 


XI. 

November. 


1st.  Avenue.  Sunlight  and  Shadow, — This  was  one  of  the 
most  delightful  plays  that  had  been  seen  for  a  considerable  time. 
There  was  sufficient  incident  to  keep  the  interest  thoroughly  alive. 
The  dialogue  was  crisp,  epigrammatic,  and  infinitely  above  the 
average ;  and  the  two  types  of  English  womanhood  in  the  sisters 
were  specially  true  to  life.  Granted  many  of  the  audience  said 
the  writing  reminded  them  of  that  of  Robertson  and  Albery,  it 
might  have  done  so ;  but  it  was  no  mere  imitation — the  memory 


Nov.,  189a]  Sunlight  and  Shadow,  1 39 

was  revived  in   the  sparkle   and  the  humanity.      Sunlight  and 
Shadow  does  not  contain  very  much  of  a  story.     Helen  Latimer 
is  the  daughter  of  a  hard-working  country  doctor,  and  though 
from  his  position  she  has  not  too  many  pleasures,  she  finds  her 
happiness  in   ministering  to  the  comforts  and   wants    of  those 
around    her.      Like    many   an   unselfish    woman,  she   is    rather 
tyrannized  over  by  her  younger  sister,  Maud,   a  bright,  saucy 
English  girl — a  little  spoilt,  perhaps,  on  account  of  her  beauty  ; 
and  so  Helen  is  her  willing  slave,  and  makes  her  pretty  gowns 
and  dresses  her  nut-brown  hair.     Maud  in  the  meantime  enjoys 
her    love-making   with   good-natured   but  empty-headed  young 
Bamfield.      Helen's  glimpse   of   lifelong   happiness   is    revealed 
to  her.      Mark  Denzil,  an  old   friend  of  her  father's,  proposes 
marriage  to  her ;  it  is  not  the  ardent,  impulsive  love  of  a  younger 
man,  but  it  is  deep-felt.      Denzil's  youth  has  been  stormy  ;  he 
married  beneath  him,  and  his  wife  turned  out  all  that  was  bad. 
He  believes  her  to  be  dead,  and  so  he  looks  forward  to  a  new 
life  with  Helen.     Just  as  she  has  accepted  him,  Janet  Felton,  his 
wife,  breaks  in  upon  them,  and  so  their  dream  is  broken.     Four 
months  elapse,  and  Helen  has  become  almost  resigned,  when  she 
learns  that  George  Addis,  the  poor,  plain,  crippled  choir-master 
has  loved  her  all  his  life.     By  a  turn  of  fortune  he  is  now  in  a 
position  to  offer  her  his  hand.     She  cannot  marry  the  man  she 
loves  ;  but  she  has  been  as  a  sister  to  Addis,  and  he  thinks  that 
in  time  she  may  give  him  her  heart     Whilst  she  is  weighing  the 
momentous  question  of  her  future,  Addis  opens  a  letter  that  has 
been  handed  to  him,  which  assures  him  of  Janet  Felton's  death. 
Shall  he  keep  this  knowledge  to  himself  and  profit  by  his  silence 
to  obtain  the  one  hope  of  his  existence  ?     He  is  tempted  almost 
beyond  human  strength  ;  but  he  is  honourable,  and  he  loves  with 
an  unselfish  love,  and  so  when  Denzil  returns,  only  for  one  last 
interview  with  Helen,  Addis  tells  them  that  the  obstacle  to  their 
union   is  now  removed.      I  cannot  say  which  played  better — 
Marion  Terry,  in  her  pure,  unselfish,  graceful   womanhood ;    or 
George  Alexander  in  his  noble,  long-suffering  self-denial  :  both 
afforded  an  artistic  treat.     Maude  Millett  was  very  sunny  and 
natural,  and  Yorke  Stephens  manly  and  sympathetic ;  Nutcombe 
Gould  was  the  essence  of  cheeriness  and  bonliomie ;  Ada  Neilson's 
part  was  a  little  melodramatic,  therefore  once  or  twice  the  actress 
was  out  of  the  picture,  but  scarcely  through  her  own  fault ;  Ben 
Webster  was  good  as  one  of  those  vacuous,  good-tempered  young 
men  that  "  smart "  young  ladies  on  the  stage  appear  to  fall  in 
love  with — I  suppose  that  they  may  rule  them  the  easier  ;  and 


140  Douglas — Beau  Austin  [Nov.,  iSgo. 

Alfred  Holies,  in  the  small  part  of  a  bibulous  gardener,  gave  a 
capital  character  sketch.     The  piece  was  a  decided  success. 

1st  Death  of  Ann  Nunn,  in  her  eightieth  year.  Maiden  name 
Boyle.  First  appearance  as  Young  Norval  in  Douglas^  when  only 
fourteen,  at  the  Royalty,  Duke  Street,  London.  Played  lead  with 
Madame  Vestris  when  only  nineteen.  Last  appearance  in  London 
at  Sadler's  Wells,  under  Osbaldiston.  Went  the  Nottingham, 
Worcester,  and  Norwich  circuits ;  subsequently  the  York.  Was 
equally  good  as  Rosalind,  Lady  Macbeth,  Constance,  Miami,  and 
the  male  rSles  of  Romeo,  Hamlet,  and  Claude  Melnotte.  Made 
her  last  appearance,  in  1863,  as  Mrs.  Haller  in  The  Stranger^  and 
William  in  Black-eyed  Susan  in  the  same  evening.  Was  much 
esteemed  in  private  life. 

3rd.  Haymarket.  Beau  Austin, — Although  there  was  much 
to  charm  in  the  language  that  W.  E.  Henley  and  Robert  Louis 
Stevenson  have  put  into  the  mouths  of  their  characters,  yet  the 
play  was  not  very  stirring,  and  the  plot  was  still  less  so.  Then 
the  characters  are  so  contradictory  you  do  not  know  how  to 
take  them.  Here  is  Dorothy  Musgrave,  a  young  lady  of  good 
family,  engaged  to  a  good-hearted  fellow,  John  Fenwick,  a  country 
squire,  and  when  he  comes  to  claim  her  for  his  wife,  she  does  not 
hesitate  to  tell  him  that  she  has  been  seduced  by  one  whom  her 
lover  soon  discovers  to  be  Beau  Austin.  Naturally  Fenwick 
threatens  dire  vengeance ;  but  Dorothy  persuades  him  to  forego 
this,  and  so  he  appeals  to  the  Beau,  whose  conduct  he  shows  in 
such  a  light  that  Austin  promises  to  repair  the  evil  by  marriage. 
This  is  strange  in  a  heartless  rou^  to  be  so  easily  persuaded. 
Stranger  still,  when  he  most  humbly  offers  himself  to  Dorothy, 
though  she  still  adores  him,  she  refuses  his  offer ;  he  is  not  the 
idol  she  has  worshipped.  Her  brother,  Anthony  Musgrave, 
meets  the  Beau  on  the  "  The  Pantiles,"  Tunbridge  Wells,  in  the 
company  of  the  Duke  of  York,  and  not  being  able  to  force  a 
quarrel  on  Austin  in  any  other  way  strikes  him  in  public.  The 
Beau  actually  puts  up  with  the  insult,  pleads  excuses  for  the 
aggressor,  owns  before  everyone  that  he  has  been  rejected  by 
Dorothy,  and  she  immediately  throws  herself  into  his  arms  as  a 
reward  for  his  magnanimity.  As  a  picture  of  the  appearance  of 
our  ancestors,  in  the  year  of  grace  1820,  the  play  is  perfection, 
and  it  is  worth  seeing  for  this ;  but  good  as  is  the  acting  of 
Mr.  Tree  and  his  valet  Menteith,  how  much  of  the  attraction  is 
due  to  the  costumiers  (Messrs  Nathan)  who  have  done  their  work 
so  well }  Mr.  Tree's  make-up  is  marvellous — no  one,  perhaps, 
could   at   first   recognize   him — and   the  peculiarly   courtly,  old- 


Nov.,  xSqo.]  Beau  Atisiin,  141 

fashioned  grace  and  imperturbable  demeanour  was  excellently 
carried  out.  C.  Brookfield's  sketch  was  a  highly  polished  gem. 
Rose  Leclercq,  too,  as  Miss  Evelina  Foster,  was  a  replica  of  old- 
world  behaviour  and  presence ;  and  Miss  Aylward,  as  Barbara 
Ridley,  was  true  in  her  bearing  and  manner  to  the  times  in  which 
she  lived.  Fred  Terry  was  at  his  best  as  John  Fenwick.  Mrs. 
Tree  is  always  graceful,  and  to  an  extent  winning,  but,  as  Dorothy 
Musgrave,  she  never  altogether  reached  the  height  that  might  be 
attained.  Edward  Maurice  scarcely  knew  how  to  handle  the 
most  difficult  character  of  Anthony  Musgrave — one  moment  he 
was  all  empty-headedness,  bombast,  and  foppishness,  and  the 
next  fire  and  fury.     The  audience  was  not  enthusiastic. 


Time^  1820. 

PROLOGUE  TO  BEAU  AUSTIN. 

*<  To  all  and  singular,"  as  Dryden  says, 

We  bring  a  fancy  of  those  Georgian  days, 

Whose  style  still  breathed  a  faint  and  fine  perfume 

Of  old-world  courtliness  and  old-world  bloom ; 

When  speech  was  elegant,  and  talk  was  fit. 

For  slang  had  not  been  canonized  as  wit ; 

When  manners  reigned,  when  breeding  had  the  wall, 

And  Women — yes ! — were  ladies  first  of  all ; 

When  Grace  was  conscious  of  its  graceliness. 

And  Man— though  Man ! — ^was  not  ashamed  to  dress. 

A  brave  formality,  a  measured  ease, 

Were  his — and  hers — whose  effort  was  to  please. 

And  to  excel  in  pleasing  was  to  reign, 

And,  if  you  sighed,  never  to  sigh  in  vain. 

But  then,  as  now — it  may  be,  something  more — 

Woman  and  man  were  human  to  the  core. 

The  hearts  that  throbbed  behind  that  quaint  attire 

Burned  with  a  plenitude  of  essential  fire. 

They  too  could  risk,  they  also  could  rebel. 

They  could  love  wisely — they  could  love  too  well. 

In  that  great  duel  of  Sex,  that  ancient  strife 

Which  is  the  very  central  fact  of  life. 

They  could — and  did — engage  it  breath  for  breath. 

They  could — and  did— get  wounded  unto  death. 

As  at  all  times  since  time  for  us  began. 

Woman  was  truly  woman,  Man  was  man ; 

And  joy  and  sorrow  were  as  much  at  home 

In  tnliing  Tunbridge  as  in  mighty  Rome. 

Dead — dead  and  done  with !    Swift  from  shine  to  shade 

The  roaring  generations  flit  and  fade.  C^  r\r\ri\o 

To  this  one,  fading,  flitting,  like  the  rest,  ^'^'^'^^^  ^^  ^^OOglL 

We  come  to  proffer — be  it  worst  or  best — 


142  My  Friend  Jfarkt — Smoke.  [Nov.,  1890. 

A  sketch,  a  shadow  of  the  brave  old  time ; 
A  hint  of  what  it  might  have  held  sublime ; 
A  dream,  an  idyll,  call  it  what  you  will, 
Of  man,  still  Man,  and  Woman — Woman  still ! 

W.  E.  Henley. 

Haymarret  Theatre, 

November  yd,  1890. 

In  the  above  Prologue,  which  was  distributed  to  the  audience,  but 
which  might  with  advantage  have  been  spoken,  the  part  author 
gave  us  a  foretaste  of  that  which  he  and  his  collaborator  desired 
to  set  out. 

3rd.  Brother  Tom  de  Brunnolo  Holmes  elected  W.  M.  of  the 
St.  Asaph  Lodge. 

Sth.  Park  Hall,  Camden  Town.  Returning  the  Compliment. 
— Comic  operetta  in  one  act,  written  by  Otto  Waldau  and  F. 
Grove  Palmer ;  music  by  Henry  J.  Wood. 

Sth.  Terry's.  My  Friend  Jarlet. — One-act  play  by  Arnold 
Goldsworthy  and  E.  B.  Norman.  This  little  piece  was  done  by 
the  "Old  Stagers"  during  the  Canterbury  Week  of  1887,  and 
Mr.  Terry  soon  after  purchased  the  rights  of  it.  It  is  rather 
strong  for  a  one-act  drama.  Emilie  Jarlet  (Julian  Cross)  is  a 
scamp  who  has  been  living  on  Paul  Latour  (Henry  Dana),  a  rich 
young  fellow  of  good  family.  The  two  are  shut  up  in  a  village 
near  Paris  by  the  Prussians,  the  action  of  the  play  occurring 
during  the  Franco-German  war  (1870.)  In  the  house  where 
they  are  staying  is  Marie  Ldroux  (Eleanor  Leyshon),  a  humble 
girl,  with  whom  Latour  falls  in  love  and  proposes  to  marry.  As 
his  settling  down  will  not  suit  Jarlet,  he  points  out  to  him  that 
ill-assorted  marriages  seldom  turn  out  happily,  and  quotes  his 
own,  showing  how  he  wedded  beneath  him,  soon  got  tired  of  his 
wife,  and  left  her  and  her  child.  Presently  he  questions  Marie  as 
to  her  antecedents,  and  discovers  that  she  is  his  own  daughter. 
He  is  so  shocked  at  his  conduct  in  trying  to  destroy  his  child's 
happiness  that,  to  make  amends,  he  goes  as  a  substitute  for 
Latour,  who  has  drawn  a  lot  which  sentences  him  to  be  shot 
with  others  for  taking  part  in  a  sortie.  Julian  Cross  acted  with 
rugged  force  in  the  principal  character,  and  Miss  Leyshon  was 
sympathetic. 

6th.  Opi^RA  COMIQUE.  {Revival.)  Smoke. — This  little  play  was 
well  spoken  of  by  critics  at  the  time  of  its  first  production  at  the 
Adelphi  on  December  26th,  1870,  when  Mr.  Billington  played 
Armstrong;  Miss  Furtado,  the  wife  Ellen ;  Mr.  Ashley,  Brown  ; 
Mr.  C.  H.  Stephenson,  Burton  ;  and  Mrs.  Billington,  Abigail.  It 
was  then  described  as  *'  serio-comic,"  a  definition  that  may  well 


N<nr.,  1890.3  Two  ReCTUttS.  I43 

be  permitted  to  stand,  Armstrong,  who  has  been  up  to  a  certain 
time  a  good,  loving  husband  and  a  steady  workman,  suddenly 
neglects  his  home,  and  takes  to  drink.  His  wife  Ellen,  loving 
him  dearly,  tries  by  all  the  means  in  her  power  to  win  him  back 
by  gentleness  and  by  shutting  her  eyes  to  his  faults  ;  but  in  vain. 
He  has  become  madly  jealous,  at  first  owing  to  his  wife's  frequent 
absence  from  home,  and  at  length  because  he*  discovers,  as  he 
thinks,  the  cause  :  she  goes  to  visit  a  baby  which  is  not  his,  and 
the  disappearance  of  her  trinkets  is  accounted  for — she  has 
pawned  them  and  devoted  the  proceeds  to  the  support  of  the 
child.  An  old  friend  of  the  family,  Mr.  Richard  Burton,  returns 
from  the  Cape  just  when  things  are  at  their  worst.  Ellen  screens 
her  husband's  backsliding,  and  endeavours  to  (hake  him  out  all 
that  is  good  to  his  former  employer ;  but  Mr.  Burton's  suspicions 
are  aroused,  and  at  length  he  discovers  the  unhappy  state  of 
things.  Reuben  then  tells  the  cause  of  his  misery.  He  loves 
his  wife  still,  but  he  cannot  live  with  her  since  she  has  been 
untrue.  The  mystery  is  then  explained.  The  child  that  Ellen 
visits  is  the  illegitimate  offspring  of  her  sister,  who,  on  her  death- 
bed, had  confided  it  to  her  care,  and  made  Ellen  promise  not  to 
betray  its  shameful  birth.  The  comic  scenes  lie  between  James 
Brown  and  Abigail,  Armstrong's  sister.  Brown  k)ves  the  brave- 
hearted,  outspoken  woman,  who  tries  so  hard  to  keep  the  home 
together ;  and  therefore,  at  her  instigation,  allows  himself  to  be 
made  the  scapegoat.  And  he  smokes  and  drinks,  that  Reuben's 
weakness  for  both  of  these  stimulants  may  not  be  laid  bare, 
Reuben  having  previously  to  Mr.  Burton's  departure  for  the  Cape 
been  a  total  abstainer.  Compton  Coutts  and  M.  A.  Giffard 
played  the  parts  of  Brown  and  Abigail  with  excellent  humour. 
R.  Boleyn  gave  a  very  powerful  impersonation  of  Reuben  Arm- 
strong, and  Cissy  Grahame  did  remarkably  well  in  one  of  those 
tender  domestic  characters  of  which  she  is  so  capable  an  exponent. 
W.  Lestocq  was  a  genial,  honest,  and  kindly-hearted  Mr.  Burton. 
The  piece  was  well  received,  and  all  the  performers  were  called 
for  at  its  close. 

8th.  Toole's.  Two  Recruits. — Three-act  farcical  play.  A 
more  extraordinary  piece  of  work  than  Frank  Wyatt's  play  was, 
perhaps,  never  seen  on  any  stage.  Very  laughable  at  times,  and 
with  a  surprise  in  it,  of  which  the  author  gives  one  no  inkling 
until  it  comes,  and  then,  like  some  of  the  dialogue,  not  quite  in 
the  best  taste.  The  father  of  Frank  (H.  Eversfield)  and  Jack 
Selwyn  (W.  Guise)  has  made  an  extraordinary  will,  by  which 
they  are  left  almost  completely  in   the  power  of  a    despicable 


144  Called  Back,  [Nov.,  i89(». 


creature,  Mr.  Eldred   (Albert   Chevalier).     He  has  sole  control 
over  their  education,  pocket-money,  etc. ;   in  only  one  thing  is 
his  authority  divided — they  may  marry  if  they  can  obtain  the 
consent  of  his    mother,   Mrs.    Eldred's  (Ruth  Rutland),   or  his. 
Frank  is  so  disgusted  with  his  treatment  and  Eldred's  endeavour 
to  force  on  him  his  shrewish,  spiteful  daughter  Tricksey  (Delia 
Carlyle),  that  havmg  to  escort  Mrs.  Eldred  (a  lady  old  enough  to 
be  his  grandmother)  to  town,  he  carries  her  off  to  a  registrar's 
office  and  marries  her.     When  he  returns  he  has  become  Eldred's 
stepfather,  and  reminding  one  of  Vice   Versdy  he  lords  it  over  his 
quondam    tyrant,    sends    him    to    bed    early,    makes    him    write 
impositions,  and  generally  bullies  him.     Jack  Selwyn  is  engaged 
to  a  romantic  young  lady  who  thinks  he  should  do  something 
heroic,  and  so  he  determines  to  enlist,  but  from  some  unexplained 
cause  instead  of  doing  so  he  goes  into  retirement  at  Highgate  for 
some  months,  during   which   time  Thomas  Gurgles  (Henry  W. 
Brame),  who  has  enlisted  under  his  name,  covers  himself  with 
military  glory,  but  at  the  same  time  takes  unto  himself  Sally 
Flapper  (Julia  Seaman).     This  comes  to  the  ears  of  Violet  Fane 
(Violet  Thorneycroft),  through  Colonel  Gunning,  and  she  is  pre- 
pared to  discard  her  supposed  hero,  when  he  appears  in  military 
uniform — why,  we  know  not,  as  he  has  no  right  to  wear  it.     He 
explains  matters.     Violet  overlooks  his  not  having  gone  to  the 
wars,  and  been  thoroughly  deceitful,  and  at  once  forgives  him. 
Some  of  the  most  amusing  bits  of  the  play  are  those  in  which 
Joe  Gurgles  and  Martha,  two  old  servants,  take  part     These  two 
were  most  excellently  played  by  F.  Kaye  and  Mrs.  H.  Leigh.    A. 
Chevalier  who  has  to  represent  a  Pecksniff  in  his  most  odious  form, 
added  another  clever  performance  to  his  eccentric  rdle  of  characters. 
Julia  Seaman,  too,  was  very  good.     Violet  Thorneycroft  played 
charmingly,  and  is  very  pretty.     The  other  parts  were  done  full 
justice  to. 

lOth.  Haymarket.  (Revival)  Called  Back. — Play  in  four  acts 
by  Hugh  Conway  and  J.  Comyns  Carr.  This  play  was  originally 
produced  at  the  Prince's  Theatre,  London,  May  20th,  1884.  It 
was  a  success  then,  and  brought  into  prominent  notice  Mr.  Beer- 
bohm  Tree.  There  is  but  little  occasion  to  enter  into  the  plot  of 
a  drama  which  follows  so  closely  the  story  that  most  of  us  have 
read.  The  main  incident  is  in  the  first  act — (as  it  is  now  played  ; 
when  first  produced  it  was  in  "a  prologue  and  three  acts  and 
seven  tableaux  ") — from  where  Gilbert  Vaughan,  temporarily 
blind,  having  followed  Pauline  (Julia  Neilson),  to  her  guardian's 
lodgings,  comes  upon  what  he  imagines  to  be  her  dead  body,  to 


Nov,,  iggo.]  Called  Back — A  Needless  Lie.  145 

the  murder  of  her  brother,  Anthony  March  (Webster  Lawson), 
which  has  just  been  committed  by  Macari.  Later,  when  Gilbert 
recovers  his  sight,  he  mourns  Pauline  as  dead,  and  determines 
to  track  down  her  murderer.  Eventually,  finding  her  still  alive 
but  bereft  of  her  senses,  he  is  led  to  suppose,  through  the  lies 
of  Macari,  that  it  was  her  lover  who  fell,  and  that  she  was  dis- 
honoured. Dr.  Ceneri,  through  the  betrayal  of  Macari,  is  sent  to 
Siberia,  and  Gilbert  follows  him  there,  ascertains  from  him  in  his 
dying  moments  that  Pauline  is  worthy  of  his  love,  and  Macari 
is  hunted  down  and  slain  by  Petroff  (Charles  Hudson),  another 
conspirator,  for  his  perfidy.  It  will  be  remembered  that,  in  the 
novel,  it  is  an  old  nurse  who  looks  after  Gilbert  in  his  blindness — 
in  the  play,  for  this  character  is  substituted  a  winsome  sister, 
Mary  (Blanche  Horlock),  who  marries  his  friend,  Arthur  Kenyon. 
Granted  that  Macari's  is  a  showy  part,  it  would  become  but  a 
commonplace  ruffian  in  less  skilful  hands  than  those  of  Mr.  Tree, 
whose  every  look  and  action  are  of  relative  value  to  the  situation. 
Mr.  Anson,  the  original  Dr.  Ceneri,  did  not  play  the  part  very 
long,  and  was  succeeded  by  J.  Fernandez,  who  now  once  more 
shows  us  a  naturally  kind  and  good  man  becoming  almost  a 
plague-spot  on  society  through  his  revolutionary  principles,  to 
the  furtherance  of  which  he  sacrifices  honour,  humanity — all. 
J.  Fernandez  illustrates  this  skilfully  and  with  considerable  power 
— his  death-scene,  a  little  prolonged  perhaps,  being  impressive.  The 
part  of  Gilbert  Vaughan  is  not  a  new  one  to  Fred  Terry,  as  he 
had  acted  it  on  tour ;  it  was  a  fine  impersonation — thoroughly 
human  and  sympathetic.  F.  Kerr  and  Blanche  Hodock  were 
excellent  Webster  Lawson,  quite  a  young  actor,  made  nis  mark  ; 
and  Mrs.  E.  H.  Brooke,  as  Mrs.  Wilkins,  showed  what  can  be 
done  when  even  only  a  few  lines  have  to  be  spoken.  Julia 
Neilson  promised  to  be  one  of  our  finest  actresses  if  she  would 
only  guard  against  a  tendency  to  throw  too  much  force  into 
strong  situations.  Up  to  the  last  act  Miss  Neilson's  acting 
was  almost  perfection ;  then  there  was  a  little  exaggeration. 
Experience  should  modify  this.  I  am  the  more  inclined  to 
call  attention  to  this,  as  I  noticed  the  same  tendency  to  exaggera- 
tion when  I  saw  this  clever  young  actress  a  second  and  a  third 
time  in  Comedy  and  Tragedy.  Called  Back  as  a  revival  was  an 
undoubted  success. 

I  ith.  Steinway  Hall.   A  Needless  Lie. — Duologue,  by  Frank 
Lindo, 

1 2th.  George  Grossmith  gave  his  musical  entertainment,  before 
Her  Majesty  the  Queen,  at  Balmoral. 

10 


146  New  Year's  Chimes — May  and  December.         [Nov.,  1890. 

13th.  Park  Hall,  Camden  Town.  New  Yearns  Chimes. — 
Drama  by  Arthur  Shirley  (for  copyright  purposes). 

14th.  The  "Eccentric"  Club  opened  in  Denman  Street, 
Piccadilly. 

15  th.  Comedy.  May  and  December, — There  is  ajittle  history 
connected  with  this  play.  It  is  taken  from  La  Petite  Marquise 
of  Meilhac  and  Hal^vy,  and  was  originally  tried  at  a  private  per- 
formance at  the  Globe  Theatre,  September  28th,  1882,  the  Licenser 
of  Stage  Plays  having  refused  his  permission  that  it  should  be  given 
in  public  The  adaptation  was  then  made  by  Sydney  Grundy  and 
Joseph  Mackay ;  and  Lydia  Cowell  played  Kathleen  Lady  Ffolliott, 
and  asked  the  audience  at  the  close  of  the  performance — "Do 
you  consider  it  so  very  awful  ? "  and  though  there  were  some 
objectionable  features  no  doubt,  still,  more  risky  plays  had  been 
licensed.  Under  its  present  title,  and  by  the  same  adaptors,  the 
piece  was  done  at  a  matinie  at  the  Criterion  on  April  26th,  1887. 
Gilbert  Farquhar  was  the  old  bookworm,  the  December  of  the 
play ;  and  Kate  Rorke,  Kathleen  Lady  Ffolliott,  the  May ; 
E.  W.  Gardiner,  the  Captain  TEstrange ;  W.  Blakeley,  the 
Babbington  Jones  ;  Ffolliott  Paget,  the  Madeline  Fenton  (now 
Judy  Belsize) ;  and  Lydia  Cowell,  as  now,  Jane.  G.  Farquhar  and 
Kate  Rorke  were  most  deservedly  highly  complimented,  but  they 
played  the  piece  in  the  vein  of  pure  comedy  in  which  it  was  then 
written.  Mr.  Grundy  has  now  founded,  alone,  on  the.  play  in 
which  he  collaborated,  his  present  version,  which  he  endeavoured 
(I  imagine  to  suit  the  requirements  of  the  Comedy  Company)  to 
make  fardcal — and  unsuccessfully.  Some  of  his  writing  was  as 
bright  and  clever  as  any  he  has  furnished  us  with,  but  there  were 
some  lines  which  are  not  at  all  in  good  taste.  And  then  the 
action  was  so  uncertain ;  at  one  moment  you  have  an  almost 
pathetic  touch  in  the  strained  relation  of  husband  and  wife,  and 
then — ^presto ! — you  are  presented  with  the  wildest  of  farce.  Sir 
Charles  Ffolliott  is  an  old  bookworm  married  to  a  mere  girl, 
Kathleen,  romantic  and  with  a  devotion  to  sensuous  poetry  and 
Ouida's  novels.  She  cannot  take  an  interest  in  her  husband's 
antiquarian  researches,  and  so  he,  wishing  for  her  happiness, 
determines  to  give  her  good  cause  for  a  separation  by  amicably 
turning  her  out  of  doors,  at  the  same  time  expressing  the  tenderest 
interest  in  her  well-being,  and  telling  her  to  wrap  up  well  as  the 
night  is  cold.  Kathleen  starts  with  the  intention  of  joining  her 
friend,  Judy  Belsize,  who  has  just  told  her  she  has  a  cottage  in 
Hampshire,  and  that  she  is  in  search  of  a  certain  Captain  who 
has  courted  her  by  the  sad  sea-waves  and  then  run  away.     This 


Nov.,  x89o.]  The  Pharisee.  147 

proves  eventually  to  be  Captain  I'Estrange,  who  has  also  played 
upon  Katherine's  romance  and  induced  her  to  believe  that  he  cares 
for  her.  When  he  hears  she  is  gone  to  Hampshire  he  follows 
her.  She  quite  artlessly  tells  him  that  she  shall  soon  be  free  and 
then  he  can  marry  her.  But  he,  of  course,  only  wants  her  as  a 
mistress — and  soon  lets  her  know  this.  Kathleen  comes  to  her 
senses — ^returns  home,  and  is  at  first  (forgetting  her  own  conduct) 
quite  indignant  when  she  hears  from  the  tattle  of  eavesdropping 
servants  that  Sir  Archibald  has  been  "  carrying  on."  However, 
when  it  turns  out  that  there  is  no  foundation  for  this,  but  that  it 
was  only  her  friend  Judy  who  had  been  in  his  company,  she  prays 
her  husband's  forgiveness  and  he  takes  her  to  him  again  and 
burns  his  magnum  opus.  The  Captain  goes  off  humming  a  tune, 
but  Nemesis  will  overtake  him  in  the  shape  of  an  action  for 
breach  of  promise,  brought  against  him  by  the  gushing  Judy. 
This  last  character  had  been  specially  written  up  for  Lottie 
Venne,  who,  as  an  attractive  little  widow  with  an  eye  to  the  main 
chance,  makes  it  an  amusing  one.  Miss  Norreys  had  an  almost 
impossible  character  to  attempt  to  do  justice  to ;  allowance  must 
be  made  if  she  was  not  quite  successful  in  it.  Charles  Brookfield 
was  essentially  a  gentleman,  though  rather  an  unworldly  and  silly 
one,  as  Sir  Archibald.  Charles  Hawtrey  did  his  best  in  one  of 
those  light  feather-brain  parts  which  he  appears  to  look  upon  as 
his  own.  J.  F.  Graham  was  humorous  as  a  barrister,  with  one 
case  that  is  ever  upon  the  point  of  being  heard.  W.  Wyes  and 
Lydia  Cowell  were  excellent  May  and  December  was  but  coolly 
received. 

1 6th.  Death,  at  158,  Westgate  Street,  Gloucester,  of  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Fletcher,  said  to  be  a  direct  descendant  of  Shake- 
speare's sister  Joan. 

17th.  Shaftesbury.  T/ie  Pharisee. — Considerable  discussion 
arose  as  to  the  conduct  of  the  heroine  of  this  play.  We  are  led 
to  suppose  that  in  her  youth  she  fell,  not  viciously,  but  from  an 
imperfect  understanding  of  good  and  evil.  She  repented  and 
became  a  good  woman.  All  chance  of  the  discovery  of  her  sin 
disappears,  yet  she  feels  compelled  by  the  stings  of  conscience  to 
confess  the  misdeed  of  her  past  life  to  the  husband  who  worships 
her.  Would  any  woman  so  jeopardize,  in  one  sense,  her  worldly 
happiness  }  My  opinion  is,  that  a  really  good  woman,  loving  her 
husband,  would  confess,  as  she  would  know  that  her  secret  would 
be  a  torture  to  her — that  she  would  be  unable  to  endure  her  life, 
knowing  that  while  all  the  time  her  husband  considered  she  had 
been  ever  pure  as  snow,  she  was  living  ^  lie      In  whatever  light 


148  The  Pharisee.  [Nov.,  1890. 

her  conduct  may  be  viewed,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  authors 
maintained  the  interest  in  their  heroine  (and  her  husband)  to  the 
very  last  The  audience  watched  with  intense  curiosity  the 
denouement  of  the  plot,  and  appeared  to  be  satisfied  with  its 
ending  ;  at  least  such  was  the  apparent  verdict  on  the  opening 
night  Kate  Landon  has  been  brought  up  by  a  bad  father, 
Captain  James  Barrel,  amid  scenes  of  vice.  Anxious  to  get 
away  from  them,  loving  him  in  a  sense,  and  dazzled  by  Lord 
Helmore's  specious  arguments  in  favour  of  "  free  love,"  she  lives 
under  his  protection  for  some  three  months.  Then  her  eyes  are 
opened  to  the  wickedness  of  her  life.  She  leaves  him  and  com- 
pletely reforms.  Geoffrey  Landon  asks  her  to  be  his  wife.  She 
commissions  her  father  to  tell  Geoffrey  of  her  antecedents.  The 
Captain,  to  serve  his  own  ends,  divulges  nothing,  but  brings  back 
a  message,  as  though  from  Geoffrey,  that  he  forgives  the  past  on 
the  condition  that  it  is  never  to  be  mentioned  between  them. 
They  have  been  married  eight  years,  and  love  each  other 
devotedly,  when  Lord  Helmore,  knowing  that  he  may  at  any 
moment  die  of  heart-disease,  is  pricked  by  conscience.  He 
determines  to  provide  for  the  woman  he  betrayed  in  his  youth, 
and  that  his  resolutions  may  certainly  be  carried  out,  entrusts  a 
packet  of  her  letters  and  her  portrait  to  his  old  friend,  Geoffrey 
Landon,  who  is  to  discover  her  whereabouts.  Through  a  photo- 
graph shown  him  by  Mrs.  Landon's  little  girl,  Katie,  Lord 
Helmore  learns  that  the  woman  he  wronged  and  Kate  Landon 
are  one  and  the  same.  Just  as  Geoffrey  is  on  the  point  of  breaking 
the  seals  of  the  packet,  the  contents  of  which  will  inform  him  of 
his  wife's  shame.  Lord  Helmore  steps  in  and  takes  them  from  his 
hands.  The  near  approach  to  discovery  is  too  much  for  Kate  ; 
she  has  learnt  from  her  father  how  he  has  deceived  her  in  not 
telling  her  husband,  and  she  feels  that  she  can  never  accept 
Geoffrey's  affection  and  trust  in  her  till  he  knows  all,  and  so,  in 
an  agony  of  shame,  she  confesses,  Geoffrey,  who  has  hitherto 
esteemed  her  the  most  peerless  of  women,  is  horrified,  and  cannot 
forgive ;  for  the  sake  of  their  child  she  shall  still  live  under  his 
roof,  but  be  to  him  a  wife  only  in  name.  Then  comes  a  letter 
from  the  (now  dead)  Lord  Helmore,  in  which  he  pleads  to 
Geoffrey  for  a  woman  that  was  betrayed,  should  Geoffrey  ever 
meet  with  her.  The  heart  of  the  husband  is  softened  ;  he  looks 
into  his  inner  self,  sees  the  hardness  and  self- righteousness  of  his 
nature,  and  that  he  is  wanting  in  "  charity."  He  goes  forth  for 
a  time  to  find  it,  but  before  doing  so  sends  by  the  pure  lips  of 
their  little  child  a  message  of  peace  and  forgiveness  to  his  un- 


Nov.,x89o.]  The  Waiertnan — Antony  and  Cleopatra.  149 

happy  wife — a  message  that  bears  the  hope  of  a  reunion  of 
hearts  at  no  distant  date.  Mrs.  Lancaster- Wallis  was  very 
tender,  and  rose  to  a  great  height  of  passion  in  the  agonizing 
scenes  she  had  to  pass  through,  first  where  the  packet  is  in  her 
husband's  hands,  and  she  tries  to  persuade  him  not  to  open  it, 
but  to  entrust  it  to  her  to  discover  the  woman  that  was  to  be 
found  ;  and  afterwards,  when  she  has  to  make  the  humiliating 
confession  at  the  feet  of  her  husband.  Lord  Helmore*s  character, 
which  has  to  be  played  in  a  most  subdued  manner,  as  the  man 
is  supposed  to  be  almost  dying  before  one's  very  eyes,  was  most 
earnestly  and  pathetically  portrayed  by  Lewis  Waller.  Geoffrey 
Landon  has  comparatively  little  opportunity  till  the  last  act,  but 
then  Herbert  Waring  brought  out  his  characteristics  admirably. 
M.  Marius  was  a  typical  roui  and  scoundrel,  but  made  love  most 
amusingly  to  the  silly  old  maid.  Miss  Maxwell,  excellently  played 
by  Sophie  Larkin,  and  Henry  Esmond  and  Marion  Lea  bright- 
ened up  the  play  as  a  pair  of  young  lovers.  Minnie  Terry  again 
proved  herself  the  most  natural  child-actress  we  have  on  the  stage. 
It  should  be  added  that,  in  point  of  literary  merit,  The  Pharisee 
was  much  above  the  average. 

17th.  Lyric  Opera  House,  Hammersmith  (hitherto  known 
as  the  Lyric  Hall). — Re -opened  after  considerable  alterations 
under  the  management  of  Charles  Cordingley.  The  Watermany 
His  Last  LegSy  and  a  new  and  original  fairy  extravaganza  entitled 
Pucky  an  "  after  dinner  version  *'  of  A  Midsummer  Nights  Dream^ 
formed  the  programme. 

1 8th.  Death  of  Henry  Jeffries  Ashley.  Began  life  in  the  office 
of  Maudsley  &  Co.,  engineers.  First  appeared  in  Glasgow,  came 
to  London  in  i860,  and  obtained  an  engagement  with  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Alfred  Wigan  at  the  St  James's.  Was  subsequently  a 
member  of  the  Adelphi  company,  and  remained  with  them  seven 
years.  Made  his  mark  as  William  in  Doray  as  Geoffrey  Gordon 
in  The  Great  Divorce  Casey  but  specially  as  Joskin  Tubbs  in  Pink 
Dominos.  His  greatest  successes  were  achieved  in  the  parts  of 
old  noblemen  in  comic  opera,  etc.  Last  appeared  as  Colonel 
Sombrero  in  Captain  TUrisey  at  the  Prince  of  Wales's.  Was  a 
nephew  of  Dr.  Doran.     Lies  buried  in  Brompton  Cemetery. 

19th.  Princess's.  Antony  and  Cleopatra, — Shakespeare's  five- 
act  tragedy  revived.-  Qeopatra,  we  are  told,  has  been  made  the 
leading  character  in  the  drama  in  "  two  Latin,  sixteen  French,  six 
English,  and,  at  least,  four  Italian  tragedies,"  and  yet  Shakespeare's 
play  oi  Antony  and  Cleopatra  has  not  been  a  favourite  with  managers. 
There  appears  to  be  some  doubt  as  to  when  it  was  first  produced. 


ISO  Antony  and  Cleopatra.  [Nov.,  1890 


Garrick  played,  in  1759,  Antony  to  the  Cleopatra  of  Mrs.  Yates, 
then  a  young  actress,  and  neither  of  them  shone  ;  nor  was  the 
play  a  success,  for  its  withdrawal  took  place  in  a  few  nights.  In 
Dryden*s  All  for  Love^  drawn  from  this  source.  Booth  and  Mrs. 
Oldfield  played  the  principal  characters.  In  1 8 1 3  John  Kemble 
made  a  hash-up  almost  of  the  two  plays.  Mrs.  Faucit  was  then 
the  Cleopatra.  How  little  Macready  thought  of  his  part,  when 
the  play  was  revived  in  1833,  was  proved  by  his  almost  passing 
it  over  in  his  diary ;  Miss  Phillips  was  then  the  Cleopatra. 
Shakespeare's  play,  in  its  integrity,  was  produced  at  Sadler's 
Wells  in  1 849,  and  we  had  the  best  Cleopatra,  perhaps,  that  had 
been  seen,  in  Miss  Glyn,  who  frequently  reappeared  in  the  character. 
The  work  was  revived  by  Charles  Calvert,  of  Manchester,  and  by 
Chatterton,  at  Drury  Lane,  both  with  splendour.  The  latter 
was  in  1873,  and  the  production  so  crippled  the  manager's 
resources,  that  he  never  recovered  from  it ;  James  Anderson  and 
Miss  Wallis  (Mrs.  Lancaster)  were  in  this  the  principals.  The 
Drury  Lane  revival  was  the  latest  until  Mrs.  Langtry's  produc- 
tion. I  can  understand  that  the  character  of  Cleopatra  should 
be  an  attractive  one  to  such  a  beautiful  woman  as  Mrs.  Langtry, 
but  unfortunately  she  miscalculated  her  dramatic  strength,  and 
neither  as  the  woman  who  could  conquer  all  hearts,  or  as  the 
powerful  queen,  did  the  actress  fulfil  the  requirements  of  the 
character.  Where  Mrs.  Langtry  was  not  languid  or  pettish,  she 
played  with  undisciplined  force,  and  it  was  here  that  the  value 
of  an  early  and  life- long  training  is  so  apparent.  Mrs.  Langtry 
wore  her  own  beautiful  hair,  did  not  alter  her  complexion,  and 
was  exquisitely  apparelled.  The  Antony  of  Charles  Coghlan  will 
be  recorded  as  one  of  his  greatest  successes,  from  the  energy  and 
passion  which  he  threw  into  the  portraiture  of  the  enamoured 
king.  F.  Kemtle  Cooper's  appearance  and  grand  delivery  of  the 
text  entrusted  to  Octavius  Caesar  were  the  theme  of  universal 
praise.  The  Enobarbus  of  Arthur  Stirling  was  of  the  old  school, 
and  of  great  elocutionary  merit.  Of  the  younger  school  of  actors 
who  acquitted  themselves  well  must  be  mentioned  Oscar  Adye 
as  "  A  Messenger ; "  Charles  Burleigh,  as  Eros  ;  and  Henry 
Loraine  as  Proculeius.  Amy  McNeil  was  an  attractive  Char- 
mian,  and  Frances  Ivor  a  dignified  Octavia.  It  will  not  be  for 
the  acting,  however,  that  the  Princess's  production  will  be  specially 
remembered,  but  for  the  gorgeousness  of  its  pageants.  On  these 
the  expenditure  must  have  been  enormous,  and  the  Hon.  Lewis 
Wingfield,  if  he  erred,  did  so  on  the  score  of  liberality.  The 
pictures  he  presented  to  us  in  the  "  Alexandrian  Festi\^,"  and 


Nov.,  1890.]  In  Chancery.  151 

the  "  Triumphal  Reception  of  Antony  by  Cleopatra,"  were 
magnificent  and  faithful  reproductions  of  the  Eastern  displays 
of  the  period.  Whilst  retaining  Shakespeare's  text,  and  only 
transposing  a  scene  or  two,  Mr.  Wingfield  gave  us  processions  of 
Egyptian  soldiery  and  Roman  legions,  and  Egyptian  dances  in 
the  form  of  ballet,  which  feasted  the  eye,  but  detracted  from  the 
attention  that  should  have  been  devoted  to  the  play,  which,  on 
the  first  night,  occupied  over  four  hours  in  representation.  Such 
pictures  as  "  The  Exterior,"  and  "  'A  Hall '  in  Cleopatra's  Palace," 
"The  Banks  of  the  Nile,"  and  the  "Interior  of  an  Egyptian 
Monument,"  were  in  the  very  best  style  of  scene-painting,  and, 
with  the  general  accessories,  attracted  the  public  for  a  time, 
independently  of  the  merits  of  the  performance.  It  should  be 
mentioned  that  during  the  run  of  the  piece,  F.  Kemble  Cooper 
frequently  played  Antony,  and  invariably  with  the  greatest 
success. 

19th.  Shaftesbury. — Mr.  John  Lancaster  most  kindly  gave 
the  use  of  his  theatre  for  the  purposes  of  a  benefit  for  the  widow 
of  Charles  Du  Val,  the  late  most  popular  entertainer.  Clement 
Scott  took  great  interest  in  the  matter,  and  acted  as  chairman  of 
the  committee,  of  which  Cecil  Howard  was  secretary,  and  W.  H. 
Griffiths  treasurer.  All  the  members  of  the  theatrical  profession 
and  managers  came  forward  in  the  most  generous  manner,  and 
rendered  their  services ;  with  the  result  that  altogether  the  sum  of 
;f  300  was  handed  to  Mrs.  Du  Val. 

22nd.  Terry's.  {Revival,)  In  Chancery. — Three-act  farce,  by 
A.  W.  Pinero.  This  is  one  of  the  author's  earlier  pieces  (it  was 
produced  at  the  Lyceum,  Edinburgh,  September  19th,  1884;  was 
revived  at  the  Gaiety,  December  24  of  the  same  year;  and  later  was 
given  by  Edward  Terry  during  his  short  season  at  the  Olympic). 
It  contains  much  of  the  clever  drawing  of  character,  amusing 
situations,  and  crisp  dialogue,  for  which  Mr.  Pinero  has  since 
become  so  distinguished.  It  is  absurdly  laughable,  and  the 
principal  character  fits  Terry  like  a  glove.  Montague  Joliffe, 
whose  real  name  is  Marmaduke  Jackson,  is  in  a  railway  collision, 
from  the  shock  of  which  he  loses  all  memory  of  the  past,  and  of 
his  own  identity.  From  a  card  found  in  the  pocket  of  the  great 
coat,  which  is  supposed  to  be  his,  he  imagines  he  must  be 
Montague  Joliffe.  After  the  accident,  he  is  carried  to  an  hotel 
kept  by  a  blathering  Irishman,  Captain  Dionysius  McCafferty, 
where  he  is  nursed  by  the  buxom  Patricia  McCafferty,  the  land- 
lord's daughter.  As  Joliffe  has  run  up  a  long  bill,  which  he  is 
unable  to  pay,  the  Captain  insists  that  he  shall   liquidate  it  by 


152  In  Chancery.  [Nov.,  1890. 

marrying  the  fair  Patricia.  The  preparations  are  all  made  for  the 
wedding,  when  Mrs.  Smith  arrives.  She  is  a  ward  "  in  Chancery/' 
who  has  been  married  without  the  consent  of  her  guardians,  to 
the  real  Montague  Joliffe,  who  travels  in  her  train  as  her  servant 
John.  A  reward  of  ;^200  has  been  offered  for  the  arrest  of  the 
defiant  husband.  The  spurious  Joliffe  reads  this,  and  imagines 
he  has  committed  some  crime  which  he  has  forgotten,  and  as 
Hinxman,  a  detective,  is  after  him,  and  Mrs.  Smith  claims  him 
as  her  husband,  to  screen  her  real  one,  whom  Hinxman  says  he 
shall  also  arrest  for  conspiring  to  commit  bigamy,  the  miserable 
Joliffe  plucks  up  courage,  locks  up  the  wedding  guests  in  a  room, 
and  escapes.  He  by  chance  gets  back,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Smith, 
to  his  wife's  house  at  Gravesend,  where  the  sight  of  the  familiar 
objects  of  home  brings  back  his  memory.  Mrs.  Jackson  is  de- 
lighted to  see  him,  but  she  begins  to  ask  awkward  questions  as  to 
how  he  has  spent  the  two  months  of  his  absence,  and  as  he  is 
supposed  to  have  another  wife  in  esse  and  a  third  in  posse^  his 
position  is  peculiar — very.  But  Doctor  Titus  comes  like  an  angel 
to  the  rescue,  and  takes  Patricia  off  his  hands.  The  guardians 
have  written,  giving  their  consent  to  the  ward's  marriage,  and  so 
John  comes  forth  in  his  rightful  character  of  Montague  Joliffe,  and 
Marmaduke  Jackson  resumes  his  proper  name.  Edward  Terry 
was  excessively  funny,  as  Montague  Joliffe,  in  his  bewilderment  as 
to  his  identity- — his  wonderful  vacuity,  and  attempts  to  remember 
who  he  absolutely  is,  combined  with  his  ludicrous  agony  when  he 
fancies  he  is  some  daring  criminal,  were  intensely  droll,  and  were 
as  amusing  as  his  delight  when  he  meets  with  his  own  beloved 
spouse,  who,  by  the  way,  was  agreeably  rendered  by  Alice  Yorke. 
Julian  Cross  was  droll  as  the  Irish  Captain  McCafferty,  who 
labours  under  the  delusion  that  he  has  a  bullet  somewhere  roving 
about  in  his  internal  economy,  said  bullet  being  all  the  while  in 
the  possession  of  his  medical  attendant,  Doctor  Titus,  neatly  played 
by  F.  W.  Irish.  Prince  Miller  did  well  as  the  detective,  Hinxman, 
and  Robert  Soutar  and  G.  Belmore  were  both  quaint  and  funny 
as  Buzzard  and  Gawge,  two  friends  of  McCafferty.  Eleanor 
Leyshon  had  little  more  to  do  than  to  look  pretty,  as  Mrs.  Smith, 
and  that  she  could  not  help  doing,  and  she  had  almost  as  attractive 
an  attendant  in  Violet  Armbruster  as  her  maid  Walker.  Kate 
Mills  missed  a  splendid  opportunity  as  Patricia  McCafferty — she 
was  very  wanting  in  go — and  Henry  Dana  did  not  hit  the  mark 
as  John.  One  of  the  cleverest  bits  of  acting  was  that  of  Rose 
Dearing  as  Kittles,  the  lodging-house  slavey-^^i^  ^\^(^^[^of 
humour.  ^ 


Nov.,  i89o.]  The  Mock  Doctor — My  Lady  Help.  153 

24th.  Grand.  The  Mock  Doctor. — Comic  opera  in  three 
acts.  Music  by  Gounod,  book  by  Richard  Semple,  lyrics  by 
Charles  Lamb  Kenney.  This  is  an  adaptation  of  Moli^re's  Le 
Midecin  Malgri  Lui.  It  will  be  remembered  that,  in  the  original, 
Lucinda  pretends  to  be  unable  to  speak,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
marriage  which  G^ronte,  her  father,  wishes  to  force  upon  her,  she 
being  in  love  with  Ldandre.  Martine,  out  of  spite  to  her  husband, 
Sagnarelle,  who  is  in  the  habit  of  beating  her,  revenges  herself 
by  giving  out  that  he  is  a  doctor  who  can  cure  all  diseases,  but 
will  do  nothing  until  he  has  been  well  thrashed,  and  so  he  attends 
Lucinda  and  gets  a  good  beating  to  make  him  own  himself  a 
doctor.  The  humour  of  the  play  is  most  prominent  in  Sagnarelle 
himself,  who  makes  ludicrous  mistakes  in  his  attempt  to  fill  the 
position  of  the  medico.  Richard  Temple  gave  a  very  spirited 
rendering  both  as  to  music  and  words,  and  was  ably  assisted 
by  Effie  Chapuy  and  Susetta  Fenn.  The  rest  of  the  cast  were 
vocally  efficient,  but  did  not  prove  themselves  very  great  actors. 
The  piece  was  excellently  staged  both  as  to  costume  and  scenery ; 
the  chorus  was  efficient,  and  there  was  a  pretty  ballet,  arranged 
by  Mdlle.  Marie,  of  the  Alhambra  ;  but  the  opera  did  not  prove 
a  great  attraction  to  Islington  audiences,  although  the  book  is 
not  deficient  in  cleverness ;  but  Gounod's  music  is  too  good  for 
the  subject,  and  is  not "  catchy  "  enough.  The  original  production 
was  seen  at  Coven t  Garden  in  1864. 

24th.  Shaftesbury.  My  Lady  Help. — The  following  ap- 
peared in  The  Observer :  "  In  this,  which  was  played  before  The 
Pharisee  at  the  Shaftesbury,  Mr.  Arthur  Macklin  has  constructed 
out  of  familiar  materials  a  fresh  and  pleasant  little  play.  His 
heroine  is  a  certain  young  lady  of  title  who,  having  married  a 
Bohemian  painter,  finds  herself  in  danger  of  scaring  away  a 
benevolent  but  narrow-minded  uncle,  who  mistrusts  all  fine  ladies, 
especially  if  they  have  handles  to  their  names.  Lady  Eva  easily 
wins  the  old  man's  heart  by  making  him  think  her  a  lady-help 
with  all  the  capabilities  of  a  notable  housewife,  and  she  wheedles 
him  to  such  purpose  that  he  ends  by  giving  the  youn^  couple 
;f  2 0,000.  My  Lady  Help  goes  capitally,  a  result  mainly  due 
to  the  light-hearted  spirit  infused  into  the  rdle  of  Lady  Eva  by 
Miss  Florence  West,  who  has  not  often  been  seen  in  anything 
so  frivolous.  Mr.  H.  V.  Esmond  is  so  indistinct  that  it  is 
impossible  to  say  how  near  the  mark  he  comes  as  the  young 
husband  ;  but  as  the  avuncular  good  fairy  Mr.  Beauchamp  is 
quite  at  home."  Dig,,,,  by  GoOqIc 

25th.  Playgoers*   Club. — ^J.   T.  Grein   read    an    interesting 


154  London  Assurance.  [Nov.,  1890. 

paper  on  subsidized  theatres,  giving  details  and  figures  as  to  the 
subsidy  system  in  Continental  houses,  and  unfolded  his  own  scheme 
for  the  establishment  of  a  subsidized  theatre  in  London,  which 
was  to  be  upheld  by  private — not  state — subscription. 

27th.  Criterion.  {Revival,)  London  Assurance. — "More than 
forty-nine  years  ago  (March  4th,  1841)  London  Assurance  was 
first  produced  at  Covent  Garden,  and  announced  as  the  work  of 
one  Lee  Moreton,  to  be  better  known  in  after  years  as  Dion 
Boucicault.  And  what  a  cast  there  was  I  Old  William  Farren 
(father  of  the  present)  was  Sir  Harcourt  Courtly ;  Charles 
Mathews,  Dazzle ;  Harley,  Meddle ;  Robert  Keeley,  Dolly ; 
Mrs.  Nesbitt  (with  her  gay  melodious  laugh).  Lady  Gay  Spanker  ; 
the  beautiful  Mme.  Vestris,  Grace  Harkaway;  W.  Anderson, 
Charles  Courtly  ;  and  a  very  clever  actor,  Brindal,  Cool  the  valet. 
A  notable  revival  was  that  at  the  Olympic,  December  26th,  1866, 
when  Charles  Mathews  resumed  his  original  character ;  and  Mrs. 
Charles  Mathews  played  Lady  Gay ;  Milly  Palmer  (Bandmann) 
was  the  Grace ;  Horace  Wigan,  Sir  Harcourt ;  Henry  Neville, 
Charles  Courtly  ;  and  the  boys'  *  Our  Nellie '  Farren,  Pert,  the 
waiting-maid.  Since  then  we  have  seen  it  among  the  revivals 
under  the  Marie  Wilton  management,  and  at  matinees — ^for  Lady 
Gay  is  a  favourite  character  with  novices  who  wish  to  make  a 
stir  and  to  wear  a  riding-habit.  Boucicault's  play  was  charmingly 
produced,  and  in  the  cast  were  some  who  specially  distinguished 
themselves.  The  character  of  Dazzle  is  one  for  which  Charles 
Wyndham  is  thoroughly  fitted,  and  he  filled  it  with  that  dare- 
devil effrontery  and  bonhomie  that  the  polished  adventurer  should 
show.  I  should  like  to  have  seen  him  in  the  part  of  Charles 
Courtly  ;  he  would  have  made  of  it  a  feature.  Arthur  Bourchier 
looked  too  old  for  the  supposed  innocent  youth,  and  was  ponderous 
instead  of  light  and  bright.  Mary  Moore  looked  simply  charming 
as  Grace  Harkaway ;  but,  unfortunately,  she  did  not  ever  get 
*  inside  '  the  part,  and  the  play  lost  considerably  in  consequence. 
Mrs.  Bemard-Beere  gave  some  original  touches  as  Lady  Gay 
Spankef^,  but  I  have  seen  better  exponents  of  the  part ;  she  was 
light-hearted  and  mischievous,  and  yet  showed  how  deeply  she 
loved  her  good-natured  but  silly  husband,  *  Dolly ' — capitally 
played  by  George  Giddens.  W.  Blakeley  was  very  amusing  as 
Meddle,  but  missed  one  or  two  of  the  recognized  *  points.'  We 
had  a  true  and  natural  picture  of  the  English  squire,  '  one  of  the 
olden  times,'  in  H.  H.  Vincent's  Max  Harkaway,  and  the  best 
Cool  that  has  been  seen  for  years  in  Cyril  Maude.  I  have  left 
William  Farren  till  the  last       His  Sir  Harcourt  Courtly  was  a 


Dec,  x89o.]  The  Middleman — Possession.  155 

veritable  picture  of  the  vain,  deluded  old  beau,  who,  once  rid  of 
his  conceit,  was  the  truest  gentleman.  The  man's  dress  of  fifty 
years  ago  was  faithfully  reproduced  by  Messrs.  Nathan — it  was 
in  a  degree  picturesque,  particularly  that  worn  by  Dazzle.  It 
was  curious  to  see  again  the  frilled  shirts  and  the  tightly-strapped- 
down  trousers.  There  was  a  treble  call  on  the  final  fall  of  the 
curtain." 

St.  James's.  French  plays. — 3rd,  Les  RevolUes,  by  Edmond 
Godinet;  V Autographed  by  Henri  Meilhac;  ^xALolottey  by  Meilhac 
and  Hal^vy,  all  one-act  plays.  loth.  Vami  des  Femmes. — Five- 
act  comedy  by  Alexandre  Dumas  fils :  Cast ;  De  Ryons,  M.  Valbel ; 
De  Mont^gre,  Lenormant ;  De  Simerose,  Rouvenat ;  Des  Tar- 
gettes,  Ricquier  ;  De  Chantrin,  Lagrange  fils.  Leverdet :  Daumerie ; 
Joseph,  Debarsa ;  Jane  de  Simerose,  Mdlle.  Stuart ;  Mme. 
Leverdet,  Gaudin  ;  Mdlle.  Hackendorf,  Cheller  ;  Balbine  Leverdet, 
Davril  ;  Justine,  Brunet. 


XII. 

December. 


1st  Grand.  The  Middleman. — Was  represented  during  the 
week  by  a  company  headed  by  C.  W.  Somerset,  who  interpreted 
the  character  of  Cyrus  Blenkam  with  much  pathos  and  force,  and 
with  an  agreeable  independence  of  Mr.  Willard's  reading.  Mary 
Blenkam  was  played  prettily  by  Agnes  Verity,  and  the  Nancy  was 
Miss  Hall  Caine,  a  young  sister  of  the  novelist,  whose  imperson- 
ation was  marked  by  much  vivacity  and  sprightliness.  The 
remainder  of  the  cast  was  as  follows  : — ^Joseph  Chandler,  Henry 
Crisp  ;  Captain  Julian  Chandler,  E.  A.  Coventry ;  Batty  Todd, 
J.  Phipps ;  Jesse  Pegg,  Harry  Halley  ;  Epiphany  Danks,  F.  O. 
Backster  ;  Felicia  Umfraville,  Jessie  Lee. 

1st.  Haymarket. — Revival  of  The  Ballad-monger,  with  J. 
Fernandez  as  Louis  XI, 

1st.  St.  George's  Hall.  Possession. — Written  by  Walter 
Browne  ;  music  by  Alfred  J.  Caldicott.  Fanny  Holland,  amusing 
as  a  gushing  and  pretty  widow,  Mrs.  Lavinia  Limpet ;  Kate  Tully, 
very  bright  and  engaging  as  Ella  Willoughby  ;  Alfred  Reed,  droll 
as  Thomas  Trotter,  the  man  in  possession;  Avalon  Collard,  a  good 
lover,  as  Jack  Weldon  ;  J.  L.  Mackay,  clever  as  a  'cute  Yankee, 
Samuel  Washington  Tubbs.  Strange  that  on  Tuesday  evening, 
June  20th,   1 87 1,  Miss  Fanny  Holland  took  her  benefit  at  the 


156  The  Penalty— The  PeopUs  Idol  [d«c..  1890. 

Gallery  of  Illustration,  and  a  new  operetta,  entitled  In  Possession^ 
by  R.  Reece,  with  music  by  Frederick  Clay,  was  produced  for  the 
first  time,  and  that  the  plot  of  the  play  bore  considerable  likeness 
to  Walter  Browne's. 

2nd.  Terry's.  {MatinSe)  The  Penalty. — The  new  three-act 
play  by  Julian  Cross,  must  be  re-written  if  the  author  wishes  it  to 
be  of  any  service.  Evidently  starting  with  a  motive  sufficiently 
strong  for  an  interesting  drama,  Mr.  Cross  has  so  cumbered  his 
plot  with  side  issues  as  to  make  it  almost  incomprehensible.  It 
is,  in  a  great  measure,  a  one-part  play.  The  heroine,  Cora  Montez, 
formerly  wife  of  a  Mr.  Loombe,  a  Brazilian  merchant,  has  in  the 
past  poisoned  her  husband  that  she  may  join  her  paramour.  Her 
late  husband's  friend,  Bentry,  had  discovered  the  murder,  and  she 
has  served  twelve  years  at  the  galleys,  and  the  partner  in  her  guilt 
has  been  hanged.  On  her  release  her  beauty  captivates  a  wealthy 
planter,  who  dies  and  leaves  her  a  rich  widow,  and  she  comes  to 
England  to  try  and  win  the  affection  of  her  son  and  daughter, 
George  and  Iris  Loombe,  who  have  been  brought  up  by  Bentry. 
This  gentleman,  however,  will  not  countenance  her  in  any  way, 
and  threatens  to  denounce  her  past.  Cora  tries  to  poison  him, 
but  her  son  George,  who  is  a  doctor,  discovers  the  attempt,  and 
so  the  wretched  woman  takes  the  poison  herself  and  dies.  The 
part  of  Cora  Montez  requires  very  powerful  acting.  Ruth  Rutland 
was  not  equal  to  it.  The  author  played  a  foreign  scoundrel,  Cirio 
Antonelli,  well ;  Henry  Bedford  was  earnest  as  John  Bentry ;  and 
A.  Wood  quaint  and  amusing  as  Jack  Barnard,  an  old  sailor. 
Eleanor  Leyshon  exhibited  some  power  and  enlisted  sympathy  as 
Iris  Loombe,  an  undisciplined  but  loving  girl ;  and  George  Belmore 
gave  a  clever  character  sketch  as  Sam.  Rose  Dearing  played 
quietly,  but  very  effectively,  as  Lizzie  Willis. 

4th.  New  Olympic  was  opened  by  Mr.  Wilson  Barrett,  with 
The  PeopUs  Idol.  Ever  since  the  year  1806,  at  least  a  portion 
of  the  site  on  which  Mr.  Wilmot  had  built  the  New  Olympic  for 
Mr.  Wilson  Barrett  has  been  occupied  by  a  house  affording 
entertainment.  Originally  there  stood  on  it  Craven  House,  in 
which  dwelt  Elizabeth,  sister  of  Charles  I.,  who  was  privately 
married  to  the  Earl  of  Craven.  The  mansion  was  afterwards 
turned  into  a  hostelry,  known  as  the  "  Queen  of  Bohemia,"  but 
business  dropped  off,  and  as  the  house  fell  into  decay,  Philip 
Astley,  in  1803,  secured  a  sixty-three  years'  lease,  and  in  1806 
opened  the  Olympic  Pavilion,  a  circular  building  with  a  dome 
roof,  in  which  equestrian  entertainments  were  given — the  lessee 
having  obtained  his  licence  for  music  and  dancing  through  the 


Dec.  1890.]  The  Peoples  Idol.  157 

influence  of  Queen  Charlotte,  for  whose  children  he  had  trained 
an  exceptionally  pretty  pair  of  ponies.  After  keeping  the  place 
open  for  some  seven  years  at  a  loss,  he  parted  with  the  lease  to 
EUiston,  who  made  great  alterations  in  the  building,  and  opened 
it  in  April  1 8 1 3,  as  the  Little  Drury  Lane  Theatre.  He  was 
charged  with  invading  the  patent  rights,  and  the  house  was 
shortly  closed,  but  re-opened  at  the  end  of  the  year  as  "The 
Olympic."  Elliston  was  fortunate  here,  for  out  of  the  re- 
ceipts of  the  house  he  was  in  a  position  to  become  lessee  of 
Drury  Lane.  Barlow  and  Reeve  were  the  next  lessees  (1820), 
then  Egerton  (1821),  Oxberry  (1822),  Frampton  (1823),  Scott 
(1826),  George  Wild  (1829),  Madame  Vestris  (1831).  The 
theatre  under  her  management  was  noted  for  the  excellence  of 
the  company,  and  for  the  charm  of  Planchd's  productions. 
Samuel  Butler  took  the  house  in  1 840  next ;  George  Wild  again 
in  1841,  T.  D.  Davenport  (1844),  Miss  Kate  Howard  (1845), 
George  Bolton  (1846),  Davidson  (1847),  under  whose  manage- 
ment G.  V.  Brooke  made  his  first  appearance  in  London,  January 
2nd,  1848.  Soon  after  Spicer  joined  Davidson,  and  during  their 
joint  rule  the  theatre  was  burnt  down,  March  29th,  1849.  It 
was  rebuilt  on  a  larger  scale,  and  re-opened,  December  26th, 
1849,  by  Mr.  Watts,  who  came  to  a  tragic  end  by  suicide  in 
Newgate,  where  he  was  confined  for  forgery  and  frauds  on  the 
Globe  Insurance  Company  amounting  to  ;f8o,ooo.  G.  Bolton 
again  took  the  house  in  1850,  but  only  for  a  month,  for  in 
September  old  William  Farren  became  the  lessee.  Mrs.  Stirling 
and  Leigh  Murray  were  prominent  members  of  his  company. 
Then  came  the  Alfred  Wigan  management,  and  the  appearance 
of  the  great  F.  Robson  at  Easter  in  1853.  In  August  1857 
he  became  joint  manager  with  W.  Emden,  and  some  of  the  best 
works  of  Wilkie  Collins,  John  Oxenford,  and  Tom  Taylor  were 
produced.  Soon  after  Robson's  death,  Emden  retired  in  favour 
of  Horace  Wigan  (1864).  Benjamin  Webster  followed  in  1868, 
W.  H.  Liston  in  1869,  Ada  Cavendish  (1872) — great  in  The 
New  Magdalen — Henry  Neville  (1873),  who  held  the  house 
till  1880.  Since  that  date  the  theatre  has  had  many  lessees,  but 
they  have  almost  all  been  unfortunate — most  of  all,  perhaps, 
Mrs.  Conover,  who  lost  many  thousands  on  it.  The  New 
Olympic,  opened  December  4th,  is  considerably  enlarged — nine 
houses  and  gardens  having  been  taken  in  to  form  the  stage, 
which  begins  where  the  back  wall  of  the  old  theatre  stood,  and 
has  a  depth  of  50  ft. ;  a  width,  including  scene  docks,  of  90  ft ; 
opening  at  proscenium,  30  ft. ;  and  height  from  floor  of  stage  to 


IS8  The  Peoples  Idol.  [DicxSgo. 

flies,  65  ft.  The  house  will  hold  £iSO,  from  nineteen  private 
boxes,  157  stalls,  205  dress  circle,  266  upper  boxes,  1,200  pit, 
and  1,000  gallery.  The  theatre  was  built  by  Messrs.  Holiday 
&  Greenwood,  from  Messrs.  Crewe  &  Sprague's  designs  ;  the  orna- 
mentation, carried  out  in  the  Louis  XVI.  style.  Rose  Dubarry, 
white  and  gold,  by  Messrs.  AUard  &  Sons ;  the  furniture  and 
upholstery  by  Messrs.  Oetzmann  &  Sons;  the  electric  lighting 
by  Mr.  Henry  South  ;  and  the  gas  arrangements,  electric  fittings, 
hot-water  apparatus,  and  canopy  outside  by  Messrs  Vaughan  & 
Brown.  The  building  is  on  the  cantilever  principle,  thus  doing 
away  with  columns,  so  that  a  good  view  of  the  stage  is  obtained 
from  every  part  of  the  house.  The  pit  is  one  of  the  best  in 
London,  and  all  the  seats  have  backs  to  them.  There  are  in  all 
eighteen  exits  from  the  house,  and  all  readily  available.  The 
main  entrances  are  in  Wych  Street,  the  stage-door  in  Maypole 
Court.  The  saloons,  cloak-rooms,  etc,  are  well  arranged,  and 
particular  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  ventilation  before  and 
behind  the  curtain,  and  to  the  sanitary  condition  and  comfort  of 
the  dressing-rooms.  The  house  presents  a  very  pretty  appearance. 
Of  The  Peoples  Idol  I  wrote  the  following  for  The  Topical  Times  : 
"  Lawrence  St  Aubrey  is  an  ironmaster,  who  deals  most  kindly  with 
his  workmen.  Strikes  are  going  on  among  the  men  employed  at 
the  foundries ;  and  Jim  Stevens,  the  leader  of  the  strike,  has  a 
special  animosity  to  the  St.  Aubreys,  having  been  dismissed  from 
their  employ  for  drunkenness.  He  has  had  some  cause  for 
drinking,  for  he  has  been  jilted  by  Myra  Keith,  and  he  has  vowed 
to  kill  her  and  the  man  who  robbed  him  of  her.  Arthur  St  Aubrey, 
we  soon  discover,  was  Myra's  lover ;  but  he  is  now  married  to 
Lydia,  an  American  girl,  and  has  settled  down.  Myra,  constantly 
pestering  him  for  money  and  threatening  disclosure,  comes  to 
St.  Aubrey  Hall ;  and  in  order  to  get  rid  of  her  he  promises  to 
meet  her  at  the  ruins  of  Fairfield  Abbey  in  an  hour's  time.  To 
satisfy  her  former  demands,  he  has  been  compelled  to  raise  money 
on  bills.  These  come  into  the  hands  of  Lawrence,  who  questions 
him  as  to  them.  Arthur  then  confesses  all,  so  Lawrence  arranges 
to  meet  Myra  and  stop  her  extortions.  In  the  next  scene  the 
great  meeting  of  the  strikers  takes  place.  Jim  Stevens,  the 
demagogue,  harangues  them,  the  *  Strikers*  Song  *  (most  ex- 
cellently given  by  Curtis  d*Alton)  is  sung,  and  the  workers  march 
oflf  to  the  following  chorus : — 

*  Then  shoulder  to  shoulder  we'll  march  to  the  fray. 
An  honest  da/s  work  for  an  honest  day's  pay.  C^  r\r\ci\o 

Capital  and  tyrants  have  long  had  their  day.    igitized  by  vjOOglC 
The  people  are  coming  along.* 


Die,  iSgo.]  The  Peoples  Idol.  159 

One  of  the  women  taunts  Jim  Stevens  with  the  information  that 
Myra  has  been  seen  going  in  the  direction  of  Fairfield  Abbey,  so 
Stevens  follows,  and  on  arriving  meets  Lawrence  St  Aubrey. 
Stevens  imagines  him  to  be  Myra's  lover,  and  so  tries  to  shoot 
him  ;  they  struggle,  and  Lawrence  throws  Stevens  so  heavily  that 
he  is  rendered  senseless.  Lawrence  then  goes  for  assistance. 
Whilst  he  is  away  Stevens  recovers,  and  Myra  arrives  at  the 
rendezvous.  Stevens  swears  that  unless  she  will  disclose  her 
lover's  name  he  will  murder  her.  In  an  ensuing  struggle  she 
kills  him  with  a  blow  from  an  iron  bar,  and  Lawrence,  returning, 
believes  himself  to  have  been  his  murderer.  Looking  up  he  sees 
Myra,  and  each  supposes  the  other  to  be  a  witness  of  the  crime — 
a  most  telling  situation.  In  the  third  act,  the  first  scene  of 
importance  represents  the  iron-foundry,  where  the  strikers  come 
in  a  body  to  force  Lawrence's  hands  to  join  them.  There  is  every 
appearance  of  a  desperate  struggle  being  about  to  take  place, 
when  a  litter  with  the  dead  body  of  Jim  Stevens  arrives.  Myra, 
trying  to  hide  herself,  is  dragged  out  by  old  Stevens,  and  is  likely 
to  be  torn  to  pieces  by  the  followers  of  The  People's  Idoly  when 
Lawrence  and  his  men  rescue  her,  and  the  curtain  falls  on  his 
promising  that  within  twelve  hours  steps  shall  be  taken  to  bring 
the  murderess  to  justice.  This,  as  may  be  imagined,  forms  an 
engrossing  tableau.  In  the  last  act,  at  Fairfield  Hall,  there  is  a 
fine  situation  in  the  meeting  between  Myra  and  Lawrence,  each 
alternately  trying  to  learn  the  other's  knowledge  of  the  supposed 
crime.  After  all  it  is  proved  that  neither  was  the  actual  cause  of 
Stevens's  death,  which  Dr.  Wheeler,  who  has  attended  him  for 
some  time,  pronounces  to  have  resulted  from  heart-disease,  brought 
on  by  dissipation.  And  so  the  curtain  falls  on  the  prospect  of 
happiness  for  Lawrence  and  his  future  wife,  repentance  for  Myra, 
and  the  resumption  of  amicable  relations  between  St.  Aubrey  and 
the  workmen.  Wilson  Barrett  exhibited  that  fire  and  energy, 
earnestness  in  love-making,  and  passionate  remorse,  that  have 
distinguished  his  acting  for  years  past.  Winifred  Emery  was 
charming  in  her  love  scene — ^so  pettishly  loving  at  first,  until  she 
discovers  that  the  man  to  whom  she  has  given  her  promise  is  in 
trouble ;  then  so  womanly  and  tender.  Lillie  Bel  more  specially 
distinguished  herself  by  the  reality  of  her  acting  ;  she  completely 
identified  herself  with  the  character  she  represented,  and  not  a 
gesture  or  a  glance  was  inappropriate.  Austin  Melford  drew  an 
almost  grand  picture  of  the  ambitious,  yet  well-nigh  broken-hearted, 
people's  idol,  and  W.  A.  Elliott  scored  immensely  as  a  loafing 
Cockney    workman,    who    never    works,    but    is    loudest    in    his 


i6o  The  Mock  Doctor — The  Red  Lamp,  [Dec,  1890. 

denunciations  against  the  tyranny  of  capital.  George  Barrett  was 
thrown  away  in  such  a  part  as  Gabriel's.  Of  an  exceptionally 
good  cast  I  must  specially  mention  H.  Cooper  Cliffe,  Staflford 
Smith,  and  Franklin  McLeay,  Louie  Wilmot  (a  spoilt  younger 
daughter),  and  Lily  Hanbury  as  the  outspoken  wife  of  an  operative. 
Summed  up,  the  enthusiastic  reception  accorded  the  piece,  the 
actors  and  actresses,  the  really  magnificent  staging,  and  the 
splendid  house  augured  well  for  Wilson  Barrett's  enterprise. 
Later  on  the  play  was  further  strengthened  in  the  eyes  of  many 
by  the  introduction  of  a  dynamite  explosion  and  destruction  of 
the  St.  Aubrey  works  though  the  instrumentality  of  the  London 
agitator,  *The  Buster/  This  part  had  been  'written  up*  for 
George  Barrett,  who  played  it  in  the  place  of  W.  A.  Elliott,  the 
latter  then  appearing  as  old  Gabriel  Stevens.  Without  disparag- 
ing the  acting  of  George  Barrett  in  any  way,  I  may  say  that  he 
was  as  good  but  not  better  than  his  predecessor.  The  People* s  Idol 
to  the  surprise  of  many  did  not  take  that  hold  on  the  public  that 
was  anticipated." 

6th.  Globe.  The  Mock  Doctor — ^was  put  on  for  a  fortnight's 
season.  Richard  Temple,  Sagnarelle ;  Susetta  Fenn,  Martine ; 
Effie  Chapuy,  Lucinda ;  Annie  Dwelley,  Jacqueline. 

8th.  Haymarket.  {Revival)  The  Red  Lamp — by  W.  Out- 
ram  Tristram,  better  known  as  a  novelist,  was  the  play  with 
which  H.  Beerbohm  Tree  inaugurated  his  management  of  the 
Comedy  Theatre.  He  revived  the  piece  at  the  Haymarket  for 
one  of  his  special  Monday  nights.  Nihilism  as  the  motive  for  a 
drama  is  played  out,  and  had  not  Mr.  Tree  filled  so  extremely 
well  one  of  his  best  characters,  Paul  Demetrius,  I  doubt  whether 
The  Red  Lamp  would  have  been  so  well  received.  But  there 
he  was,  so  artistically  made  up  as  to  be  almost  unrecognizable, 
and  yet  so  true  to  nature  ;  nothing  exaggerated  in  the  appearance, 
the  quaint  little  oddities,  the  chuckling  laugh  of  satisfaction,  and 
his  marvellous  intonation  of  "  I  wonder  ! "  Mrs.  Tree  resumed  the 
character  of  the  Princess  Claudia  Morakoff,  and  played  it  re- 
markably well,  too.  Julia  Neilson  was  the  Olga  Morakoff,  but 
was  stagey  and  artificial.  One  of  the  best  performances  was 
that  of  F.  Kerr,  as  Allan  Villiers,  "  correspondent  of  Tlie  New 
York  Herald ;  "  he  was  manly,  cool,  and  incisive,  but  he  should 
not  have  given  us  the  Yankee  accent  only  by  fits  and  starts. 
Kemble  was  too  soft-hearted  in  manner  for  General  Morakoff — a 
man  who  exiles  hundreds  on  the  slightest  pretence  to  Siberia  ; 
and  I  have  seen  Fred  Terry  to  much  greater  advantage  than 
as  Prince  Alexis  Valerian,  he  posed  too  much.      J.  Fernandez 


Dec,  1890.]  The  Tempest.  161 

was  better  as  Ivan  Zazzulic  when  he  had  played  it  two  or  three 
times  more  ;  he  did  not  seem  at  home  in  it,  and  made  one  very 
curious  mistake,  which  caused  a  titter.  In  speaking  of  Babing- 
ton's  Conspiracy  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  time  he  said  :  "  This 
happened  in  1857."  I  missed  Rosina  Filippi  as  Fdise,  the 
intriguing  lady's  maid,  with  a  taste  for  diamonds.  Her  acting  was 
delicious.  Miss  M.  Floyd,  the  present  representative,  was  a 
perfect  Frenchwoman,  but  wanting  in  subtlety  ;  she  made  of 
F^lise  but  a  commonplace,  grasping  serving-woman,  and  it  is  a 
part  with  which  so  much  can  be  done. 

8th.  Lyceum.  {Afternoon,) — M.  Maurel  delivered  a  lecture  on 
The  Modem  Development  of  the  Lyric  Art, 

9th.  St.  George's  Hall. — Irving  Amateur  Dramatic  Club. 
"  It  was  a  bold  thing  of  amateurs  to  raise  The  Tempest  on  the 
stage  ;  but  though  there  was  very  squally  weather  and  a  rough 
sea,  as  far  as  the  incidents  of  the  play  were  concerned,  behind  the 
footlights,  in  front  of  them  all  was  fair  and  smooth,  and  the 
audience  was  highly  gratified.  The  Tempest  had  not  been  seen  in 
London  since  October  1871,  on  the  28th  of  which  month  it  was 
revived  at  the  Queen's  Theatre,  and  was  made  a  magnificent 
spectacle.  In  this  latter  respect  it  was  astonishing  what  excellent 
results  were  obtained  at  the  St  George's  Hall  on  a  comparatively 
small  stage  and  by  an  amateur  undertaking.  Some  of  the  scenes 
were  really  beautiful,  the  ballets  were  pretty,  and  the  costumes, 
etc,  by  C.  H.  Fox,  were  handsome.  The  Irving  A.D.C.  numbers 
among  its  members  some  of  the  best  amateurs  that  tread  the 
boards,  and  I  was  surprised  at  the  delivery  of  some  of  the 
'  Irvingites ' — it  was  so  excellent  Let  me  specially  pick  out,  for 
his  unforced  humour,  W.  T.  Clark  as  Stephano ;  F.  Rawson 
Buckley,  for  his  nobility  and  earnestness  as  Ferdinand  ;  and 
F.  H.  Macey  for  his  savage  voice  and  truculent  bearing  as  the 
brutish  Caliban.  But  that  he  was  a  trifle  modern  F.  Sherbrooke 
would  have  been  an  excellent  Trinculo.  The  part  of  Prospero  is 
a  long  study,  and  Augustus  Littleton  had  not  quite  mastered  it ; 
but  when  (and  it  was  often)  he  felt  assured  of  his  lines  he  spoke 
them  with  dignity  and  power.  An  apology  was  made  for  Miss 
Kate  Johnstone,  who  was  suffering  from  hoarseness ;  it  did  not 
effect  her  acting,  for  she  was  one  of  the  brightest  and  tricksiest 
of  Ariels  that  one  could  wish.  And  we  had  such  a  charming 
Miranda  in  Mrs.  Willian  Bell  (formerly  known  and  admired  as 
Miss  Webster)  ;  and  lovely  goddesses  as  Juno,  Venus,  and  Iris,  in 
Misses  Inderwick,  Edith  Dixon,  and  E.  M.  Churchill ;  whilst 
Misses  Maud  Cunningham  and  Leila  Barry  sang  the  duet  in  the 

II 


1 62  Captain  Swift — Hamlet,  [D»c.,  1890. 

fourth  act,  and  were  most  artistically  assisted  in  the  choruses  by 
pupils  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Music.  The  orchestra,  an 
excellent  one,  ably  conducted  by  Battison  Haynes,  was  also 
drawn  from  the  same  source.  I  must  not  forget  the  prompter, 
E.  Combe  Williams,  for  his  office  was  no  sinecure.  Yet,  taken 
altogether,  the  performance  was  a  commendable  one,  and  any 
shortcomings  may  be  condoned  in  the  cause  of  charity,  the 
proceeds  going  to  the  funds  of  the  Medical  Aid  and  Cyprus 
Societies." 

I  ith.  The  Adelphi  of  Terence  was  chosen  for  the  Westminster 
play  this  year. 

nth.  Manor  Rooms,  Hackney.  A  Secret  Sorrow. — One- 
act  play,  by  G.  J.  Dowse. 

1 3th.  Adelphi.  Alfred  B.  Cross  played  Harry  O'Mailley  in 
The  English  Rose,  owing  to  Leonard  Boyne's  indisposition. 

15  th.  Haymarket.  {Revival)  Captain  Swift. —  Special 
Monday  evening  performance.  The  character  of  Mr.  Wilding  in 
this  play  is  one  of  Beerbohm  Tree's  most  capable  renderings,  and 
is  a  great  favourite  with  the  public.  In  it  he  exhibits  wonderful 
pathos.  Lady  Monckton,  H.  Kemble,  Rose  Leclercq,  Mrs.  Tree, 
and  Charles  Allan  appeared  in  their  original  characters  with  their 
former  success.  The  changes  were :  Webster  Lawson,  who 
played  young  Harry  Seabrook  very  naturally  ;  Fred  Terry  suc- 
ceeded Macklin  as  Mr.  Gardiner,  but  was  not  quite  as  impressive 
as  he  might  have  been ;  James  Fernandez  was  thoroughly 
effective  as  the  scoundrelly  Marshall  ;  and  Miss  Aylward  played 
the  inginue  part  of  Mabel  Seabrook  nicely,  but  hurried  her 
delivery  a  little. 

15th.  Grand.— Miss  Laura  Johnstone,  a  very  young  actress, 
made  her  London  dibut  as  Ophelia  in  Hamlet,  and  showed  the 
very  greatest  promise.  She  was  supported  by  Hermann  Vezin 
(who  had  trained  her  in  her  art)  as  Hamlet.  Helen  Ferrars  was 
the  Gertrude ;  G.  R.  Foss,  Claudius  ;  Herbert  Loring,  Laertes. 

iSth.  Elephant  and  Castle.  A  Foundered  Fortune. — 
Drama  by  W.  R  Morton. 

15  th.  ^  Million  of  Money. — Transferred  from  Drury  LANEto 
COVENT  Garden.     F.  Kemble  Cooper  as  Harry  Dunstable. 

I  sth.  Grand  National  Amphitheatre. — Opened  by  Geoi^e 
Sanger  with  Scenes  in  the  Circle  and  a  water  carnival. 

17th.  New  Olympic.  {Revival)  Lady  of  Lyons. — Special 
Wednesday  afternoon.  Wilson  and  George  Barrett  as  Claude 
Melnotte  and  Colonel  Damas.  Cooper  Cliffe,  Beauseant ;  Mrs. 
Henry  Leigh,  Madame  Deschappelles ;  Alice  Cook,  Widow  Melnotte 


Dbc,  xSgo.]  Female  Barbarian— Jane,  163 

— all  excellent  in  characters  that  they  have  played  before. 
Winifred  Emery  as  Pauh'ne  Deschappelles  exhibited  with  greater 
truth  the  more  tender  side  of  the  character.  The  performance 
was  an  intellectual  one,  but  was  wanting  in  power. 

17th.  KiLBURN  Town  Hall.  Female  Barbarism. — An 
original  operetta  or  "  Curtain  Razor  "  in  one  act,  the  libretto  by 
E.  La  Touche  Hancock,  the  music  by  Clement  Locknane. 
Though  written  in  a  merry  vein,  the  lines  are  not  of  the  very 
highest  class  of  poetry,  but  they  are  set  to  really  charming  music. 
The  idea  is  a  fanciful  one.  A  strong-minded  lady  who  has  left 
her  husband  sets  up  a  barber's  shop,  and  is  assisted  by  a  number 
of  pretty  girl  assistants,  who  cut,  and  curl,  and  shave  the  male 
customers.  Presently  the  deserted  husband  enters,  and  a  mutual 
recognition  between  him  and  his  wife  takes  place,  but  she  will 
at  first  have  nothing  to  say  to  him.  He  then  fetches  a  host 
of  young  fellows  who  have  flirted  with  and  kissed  the  pretty 
attendants,  and,  their  joint  entreaties  prevailing,  the  couple  are 
reconciled.  The  trifle  was  done  excellent  justice  to  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  W.  Edgar  Fisher,  Messrs.  Frank  Stratton  and  Meirion 
Davies,  Misses  Tamar  Buck  and  Maude  Evans,  and  quite  a  bevy 
of  beauty  in  the  shape  of  female  customers,  who  formed  the 
chorus. 

1 8th.  Comedy.  Jane. — The  authors  of  this  merry  play 
publicly  announced  that  they  were  not  indebted  to  Des  Velliere's 
Prite  moi  la  Femme,  but  that  the  idea  was  originally  used  in 
Harry  Nicholls's  farce,  Timsotis  Little  Holiday,  of  which  Jane  is 
but  a  development.  There  was  really  no  occasion  for  the  lucky 
and  clever  authors  to  say  anything  on  the  matter,  for  the  motive 
has  been  used  in  several  other  pieces,  notably  in  Your  Wife. 
They  treated  it  freshly  and  it  found  favour,  so  they  might  have 
been  satisfied,  for,  after  all,  there  is  nothing  absolutely  new  under 
the  sun.  Charles  Shackleton  has  been  left  a  certain  fortune  on 
condition  that  he  marries.  To  obtain  a  portion  of  it,  he  induces 
his  trustee,  Mr.  Kershaw,  to  believe  that  he  is  no  longer  a 
bachelor,  and  even  draws  a  further  sum  on  the  plea  of  his  wife's 
extravagance.  The  sudden  coming  to  town  of  Mr.  Kershaw 
forces  Shackleton  to  endeavour  to  induce  some  one  to  pass  as 
his  wife  ;  Lucy  Norton,  to  whom  he  is  really  engaged,  indignantly 
refuses  to  accept  the  position  ;  but  Jane,  his  housemaid,  for  a 
consideration  agrees  at  once.  There  is  one  little  drawback  to 
this,  however,  for  that  very  morning  Jane  has  been  secretly  united 
in  wedlock  to  William  Shackleton's  valet,  and  he  objects  strongly 
to  the  endearments  lavished  upon    his  new-made  bride  by  her 


1 64  Jane,  [Dec,  1890* 

supposed  husband  and  the  rather  amorous  Kershaw.  William, 
in  the  endeavour  to  assist  his  master  in  his  dilemma,  has  equalled 
his  master  in  duplicity  by  informing  Mrs.  Chadwick,  a  middle-aged 
but  gushing  widow,  that  she  may  really  become  Mrs.  Shackleton 
if  she  will  assume  the  character  at  once.  She  is  only  too  willing, 
and  so  when  Kershaw  first  arrives  he  wonders  at  Shackle- 
ton's  taste,  and  proceeds  to  lecture  the  lady  on  her  extravagance. 
The  mistake  is  rectified  in  his  eyes  by  his  being  informed  that 
the  widow  suffers  from  hallucinations  ;  but  the  fun  of  the  piece 
is  considerably  strengthened  by  this  particular  scene.  Then 
Shackleton  unfortunately  forgets  some  of  his  statements,  one  of 
which  is  that  he  is  a  happy  father,  and  so  a  baby  has  to  be 
borrowed  from  Mrs.  Pixton,  which  has  to  be  reclaimed  by  her 
diminutive  but  valiant  husband  in  a  very  droll  encounter  with 
the  Shackleton  household.  William  at  last  can  bear  his  position 
no  longer ;  he  blurts  out  the  whole  truth,  and  Kershaw,  like  all 
stage  guardians  or  trustees,  relents  and  forgives  on  the  condition 
that  Shackleton  marries  Lucy  at  once,  and  thus  relieves  the 
impudent  perverter  of  the  truth  from  the  anxiety  he  has  been 
suffering  under,  as  to  whether  he  will  be  charged  with  obtaining 
money  under  false  pretences.  William  is  once  more  happy  in 
having  his  Jane  all  to  himself,  and  Jane  is  at  the  summit  of 
human  bliss,  for  she  and  her  husband  will  now  be  able  to  purchase 
the  special  "  milk  walk  "  on  which  she  has  looked  with  such  a 
longing  eye.  The  piece  was  admirably  suited  to  Mr.  Hawtrey*s 
company,  for  it  must  be  owned  that  some  of  the  situations,  and 
especially  some  of  the  lines,  required  the  very  lightest  treatment, 
or  they  might  be  looked  upon  as  objectionable.  Fortunately 
Lottie  Venne  is  so  bright  and  quick,  so  full  of  life,  and  has  such  a 
neat  and  piquante  way  of  saying  things,  that  she  glosses  over 
what  might  be  unpleasant  and  is  really  daring.  Her  Jane  was 
inimitable.  Charles  Hawtrey,  too,  can  so  perfectly  assume  the 
unblushing  effrontery  of  the  most  impudent  and  barefaced  story- 
teller with  an  air  of  such  perfect  innocence — he  can  put  on  a  vacuous 
look,  better,  perhaps,  than  any  other  actor  in  his  line,  and  made 
of  Shackleton  a  sad  scamp,  but  an  amusing  one  withal.  He  was 
much  assisted  by  Charles  Brookfield  as  William,  whose  jealous 
woes  and  tortures  were  depicted  in  the  most  comically  lachrymose 
manner.  As  a  good  foil  to  those  two  was  the  genial,  simple 
Kershaw  of  H.  Kemble  ;  then  E.  Robson  did  much  with  a  small 
part.  Miss  Ewell  was  amusing,  and  Ethel  Matthews  graceful  and 
interesting.  Master  R.  Saker,  as  an  impudent  "  Buttons,"  proved 
himself,  on  his  d^but^  the  clever  son  of  a  clever  father. 


Dec.,  1890.]  The  Rose  and  the  Ring.  165 

1 8th.  St.  George's  Hall.  At  the  Pantomime, — New  musical 
sketch,  by  Corney  Grain. 

1 8th.  Death  of  Mrs.  George  Conquest,  from  the  result  of 
an  accident,  The  horses  in  her  carriage  having  run  away,  she 
jumped  from  it  and  fell  on  her  head.  On  the  same  day  the 
previous  year  Mr.  Conquest  lost  a  daughter.  On  each  date  it 
was  the  occasion  of  Clarence  Hague's  benefit  at  the  Surrey. 

20th.  Prince  of  Wales's.      The  Rose  and  the  Ring, — (A 
series  of  afternoon  performances.)     "  Strange,  as  the  result  proved, 
that  Thackera/s  charming  Christmas  story  had  not  been  adapted 
for  the  stage  earlier.     Certainly  it  presented  difficulties,  but  these 
were  completely  overcome  by  Savile    Clarke,  who,  knowing  he 
could  not  improve  upon  them,  made  use  of  the  author's  own 
lines,   only    introducing    some    very   pretty    lyrics.     It    will    be 
remembered  that  the  story  was  written  in  Rome,  thirty-seven 
years  ago,  to  amuse  some  children  in  a  city  where  not  even  a 
magic  lantern  could  be  obtained  to  delight  them  at  the  festive 
season,  and  Thackeray  had  his  work  printed  the  next  year.     The 
drawings    which   he   himself   made   of  the   various    personages 
were  faithfully  realized  on  the  stage,  together  with  such  various 
incidents  as  the   King  and  Queen  of  Paflagonia  at  breakfast. 
The  transformation  of  Jenkins  into  a  door-knocker,  the  reprieve 
of  Prince  Bulbo  on  the  scaffold,  Betsinda  and  her  warming-pan, 
and  the  two  Kings,  Padella  and  Valoroso,  in  their  monks*  dress, 
flagellating    each    other,   were    as    faithfully    reproduced.     But 
as   the  story  itself  alone   would    hardly   satisfy    without    some 
display — ^the  fairy  element  was  made  the  vehicle  for  the  intro- 
duction of  some  charming  ballets,  and  in  the  second  act  for  a 
grand  array  of  guards  most  picturesquely  uniformed  and  armed ; 
and  all  these  parts  were  filled  by  children,  who  also  sang  the 
choruses,  and  were  put  through  their  exercises  by  the  Commander- 
in-Chief,  Miss  Empsie  Bowman,  with  a  coolness  and  precision, 
and  a  pretty  little  assumption  of  authority  that  are  marvellous 
in  such  a  mite.     I  must  also  mention  her  graceful  dancing  and 
singing  of  "  Pooty,   very  pooty ! "   in  the  first  act  as  the  little 
beggar  girl,  Polly.      Harry  Monkhouse  and  John  Le  Hay  make 
up  to  perfection  for  their  respective  characters,  and  were  wonder- 
fully droll,  the  latter  especially,  but  then  he  is  one  of  the  cleverest 
eccentric    comedians    we  have.      Violet    Cameron   was   a   trifle 
wanting  in  animation,  but  was  still  very  pleasing,  and  Attalie 
Claire  was  a  most  charming  Betsinda,  but  was  seen  and  heard 
to  even  greater  advantage  as  Rosalba.     W.  Cheesman  was  funny 
as  Padella.     I  must  not  forget  Maud   Holland,  who  was   fresh 


1 65  The  Bells— Whittington  and  His  Cat  [D«c.,  1890. 

and  bright,  nor  Isa  Bowman,  who  was  an  ideal  fairy.  The  stage 
management  of  Charles  Harris  ensured  the  effective  use  of  the 
brilliant  scenes  and  costumes,  which  Horace  Sedger  and  Augfustus 
Harris  had  provided,  and  which  the  little  folks  thoroughly 
enjoyed.  Lastly,  let  us  speak  of  Walter  Slaughter's  music,  which 
was  quite  appropriate,  and  very  tuneful.  Let  me  specially  mention 
the  fairy  chorus,  "  The  Winds  and  the  Waters  obey  Thee  ;  "  "  The 
Housen^aids'  Chorus  ; "  the  duet,  "  Dearest  Prince  ; "  the  quintette, 
"  I  have  simply  to  remark.  Sir ; "  Giglio's  solo,  "  Take  off  the 
Ring  ; "  and  Betsinda's  solo,  "  I  look  and  love." 

20th.  Lyceum.  The  Bells. — Leopold  Lewis's  adaptation  of 
Le  Juif  Polonais  of  Erckmann-Chatrian,  was  revived,  and  though 
it  was  some  twenty  years  since  it  was  first  produced,  was  received 
with  not  only  the  affection  that  one  feels  for  an  old  friend,  but 
with  the  warm  greeting  afforded  to  a  play  in  which  the  public  is 
thoroughly  interested.  When  Henry  Irving  made  his  entry,  his 
reception  was  enthusiastic  and  prolonged — partly  due  to  his  own 
individuality,  but  also  to  the  character  of  Mathias,  one  of  the 
most  perfect  conceptions  of  his  repertoire.  The  assumed  gaiety, 
the  ever-haunting  presence,  and  the  agony  of  mind  could  not 
possibly  be  conveyed  more  truthfully.  The  actor  held  his  audience 
enthralled  and  almost  dazed  with  the  contagion  of  his  varying 
emotions.  Mr.  Irving  was  supported  by  Mrs.  Pauncefort,  as 
Catherine  (her  old  part)  ;  Mr.  Howe,  as  Walter  ;  Mr.  Haviland, 
as  Christian  ;  Kate  Phillips,  as  Sozel  ;  and  Miss  Coleridge,  as 
Annette.  The  Bells  was  preceded  by  The  King  and  the  Miller^ 
in  which  appeared  Messrs.  Tyars,  Harvey,  Johnson,  and  Lacy, 
Master  Harwood,  Mrs.  Pauncefort,  and  Miss  Foster. 

24th.  Crystal  Palace.  Whittington  and  His  Cat. — Pantomime 
by  Horace  Lennard,  music  by  Oscar  Barrett  Dick  Whittington, 
Edith  Bruce ;  Alderman  Fitzwarren,  Charles  H.  Fenton  ;  Jack, 
J.  J.  Dallas ;  Eliza,  Mat  Robson  ;  Emperor  of  Morocco,  Susie 
Vaughan  ;  Azalea,  Alice  Bruce ;  Tommy  Tittlemouse,  the  Cat, 
David  Abrahams.  Tom  Lovell,  Clown  ;  Tom  Rice,  Pantaloon  ; 
Tom  Melrose,  Harlequin.  Transformation  scene,  Catland.  Edith 
Bruce  and  Susie  Vaughan  specially  distinguished  themselves,  and 
the  pantomime  was  one  of  the  best  of  the  season. 

24th.  Elephant  and  Castle.  Bluebeard  PasJia;  or.  The 
Wicked  County  Councillor  of  the  Darky  Dark  Continent. — By  Frank 
Butler.     Bluebeard,  W.  Wardroper. 

26th.  Drury  Lane.  Beauty  and  t/ie  Beast. — By  William 
Yardley  and  Augustus  Harris.  Beauty,  Lady  Dunlo  ;  Sarah  Ann, 
Herbert  Campbell ;  Mary  Anne,  Harry  NichoUs  ;  Mr.  Lombarde 


Dec.,  x89o.]       The  Babes  in  the  Wood — The  Forty  Thieves,  167 

Streete,  Dan  Leno ;  Maxwelton  and  Sheepshead  (donkeys), 
Brothers  Griffiths  ;  King  Courage,  Vesta  Tilley  ;  the  Beast,  John 
d'Auban  ;  Private  Block,  Fred  Walton  ;  King  of  Diamonds,  Sybil 
Grey ;  Clowns,  Whimsical  Walker  and  Harry  Leopold ;  Harlequin, 
Fred  Leopold  ;  Columbine,  Georgina  Cook ;  Pantaloon,  Joseph 
Leopold.  The  specialities  were  the  scene  at  the  Docks  and  the 
Grand  Hall  in  the  Beast's  Palace,  with  the  procession  of  guests, 
guards,  and  everything  that  is  required  for  a  wedding  breakfast. 

26th.  Grand.  The  Babes  in  the  Wood ;  or^  Bold  Robin  Hood 
and  His  Foresters  Good. — By  Geoffrey  Thorn.  King  Avarice,  G.  W. 
Pain  ;  Fairy  Queen,  Miss  G.  Cramer  ;  Sweetsong,  Maud  Leighton  ; 
Baron  de  Rotter,  George  Capel ;  Simon  the  Slayer,  George  de 
Lara ;  Robin  Hood,  Florrie  Hey  wood  ;  Little  John,  Daisy  Hughes  ; 
the  Town  Crier,  Harry  Gardner ;  Bertie  and  Bella,  Sisters  Lloyd ; 
Maid  Marion,  Kate  Everleigh  ;  Clown,  Alfred  Ashton  ;  Pantaloon, 
E.  Austin  ;  Harlequin,  H.  Gardner ;  Columbine,  Rose  Martin. 

26th.  Surrey.  The  Sleeping  Beauty  with  the  Goldeft  Hair; 
or^  Valentine  and  Orson  and  the  Big  Black  Bear, — By  George 
Conquest  and  H.  Spry.  Maligna,  Jenny  Lee  ;  Fairy,  Sunshine, 
Amy  Farrell ;  the  Bear,  Walter  Hassan  ;  Dame  Hatteras,  G. 
Conquest,  Jun. ;  Robert  and  Richard,  Misses  Issy  Holt  and 
Willes  ;  Valentine,  Isabel  Lindon ;  Eglantine,  Laura  Dyson  ; 
Orson,  William  Walton  (in  this  character  the  actor  was  especially 
strong,  his  performance  was  certainly  one  of  the  great  attractions 
of  the  piece) ;  the  Goblin  Spider,  Master  A.  Conquest. 

26th.  Marylebone.  Robbin{g)  Robin  Hood,  the  Babes  in  the 
Wood;  or,  The  Crooked  Beau  {Bow)  and  the  Arrow-gant  Uncle. — 
By  Horace  Barri. 

26th.  Pavilion.  Aladdin. — By  Geoffrey  Thorn.  Aladdin, 
Louie  Gilbert ;  Abanazar,  Huntley  Wright ;  Wishee-Washee, 
Harry  Pleon  ;  Widow  Chow-Chow,  H.  M.  Edmunds ;  Princess 
Badroulbadour,  Katie  Cohen  ;  So-Shi,  Polly  Albert. 

26th.  Standard.  T/ie  Forty  Thieves. — By  Martin  Byam  and 
A.  Melville.  Morgiana,  Alice  Leamar  ;  AH  Baba,  Charles  Carte ; 
Cogia  Baba,  Lloyd  Townrow ;  Cassim  Baba,  Harry  Lorreano  ; 
Good  Humour,  Nelly  Gertine ;  Sinbad,  Alice  Vane ;  Beauty, 
Bertha  Warren  ;  the  Beast,  Ernest  Deane ;  Clown,  Harry 
Lorreano ;  Pantaloon,  Ben  Baker ;  Harlequin,  James  Ewins ; 
Columbine,  Laura  Perry. 

26th.  Britannia.  The  Spider  andt/te  Fly. — By  J.  Addison. 
Tarantala,  George  Lupino,  Jun. ;  Scorpion,  Edward  Leigh  ;  Spirit 
of  Morning,  Floretta ;  King  Jokose,  Fred  Cairns :  Queen 
Margarine,  Mrs.  S.  Lane.  igitizedbyLnOOgle 


1 68  Beau  Austin — The  Peoples  Idol.  [Dec,  1890. 

26th.  Lyric,  Hammersmith.  Little  Bo-Peep  and  Little  Boy 
-ff/?^.— The  Bogie  Man,  Signer  Delevanti  ;  Little  Bo-Peep,  Katie 
Neville  ;  Johnny  Stout,  Frank  Purcell ;  Master  Hammersmith, 
Alice  Lawrence  ;  Little  Miss  Muffett,  Emmie  Eldred. 

26th.  Theatre  Royal,  Stratford.  Aladdin  and  the 
Wonderful  Lamp. — The  Great  Typhoo,  Will  Preston  ;  Princess 
Badoura,  Amy  Ellam  ;  Zobeide,  Minnie  Leverentz ;  Heck  Kosir, 
Edith  Chester ;  the  Poodle,  Mons.  Eugene. 

30th.  Haymarket.  Beau  Austin. — Placed  in  evening  bill. 
The  changes  in  the  cast  were :  Robb  Harwood  in  place  of 
E.  Maurice,  as  Anthony  Musgrave,  and  Charles  Allan  in  that  of 
Charles  Brookfield,  as  Menteith. 

30th.  Opera  Comique.  ArmorelofLyonmsse;  or.  The  Cleverest 
Man  in  Town. — Adapted  from  Walter  Besant's  novel  by  W. 
Heron  Browne  and  S.  Boyle  Lawrence  (for  copyright  purpose). 

30th.  New  Olympic. — The  part  of  Buster,  in  The  Peoples  Idol, 
was  played  by  Paul  Belmore  on  Tuesday  and  following  nights, 
owing  to  George  Barrett's  indisposition. 

During  this  month,  on  several  occasions,  Emily  Fitzroy  appeared 
as  Lady  Gay  Spanker,  in  London  Assurance^  at  the  CRITERION, 
owing  to  Mrs.  Bernard  Beere's  indisposition. 


The  earlier  part  of  this  year  saw  the  beginnings  of  a  movement 
destined,  in  the  future,  to  issue  in  important  results  to  the 
theatrical  order.  The  Stage  proposed  in  a  long  series  of  articles 
that  the  profession  should  take  extended  and  collective  measures, 
more  or  less  as  a  trade  body,  for  the  remedy  of  abuses, 
protection  of  interests,  and  general  advancement  of  the  stage 
as  a  profession.  It  may  be  added  that  when  the  views  of  the 
journal  had  been  fully  set  forth,  professional  opinion  was  skilfully 
organized,  and  in  such  a  way  that,  great  as  were  the  obstacles, 
eventually  the  Actors'  Association  came  into  existence,  with 
Mr.  Henry  Irving  at  the  head  of  it,  and  with  the  flower  of  the 
town  and  the  country  stage  gathered  about  it. 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


NEW    PLAYS   AND    IMPORTANT    REVIVALS. 

FROM  JANUARY  ist   TO  DECEMBER  3IST,  1890. 
WITH  THE  DATES  OF  PRODUCTION  AND  CASTS  OF  CHARACTERS. 


JANUARY. 
9th.     Royalty.    First  Perfoimance. 

TRA-LA-I-A  TOSCA  ;  OR,  THE 
HIGH  -  TONED  SOPRANO 
AND  THE  VILLAIN  BASE. 

A  Burleque,  in  Two  Acts,  by  F.  C.  BuR- 
NANt,  on  Messrs.  Grove  and  Hamilton's 
versioi  of  Sardoa*s  La  Tosca  ;  music  by 
Florun  Pascal. 


The  Quem  of 
Naples    .    .    . 

Fioria  Tra-la^la 
Tosca^originaUy 
a  Strut  Singer . 

Baron  Scamfia 
Scarpia,  CnUf 
of  the  Italian 
PeeUrim     .     . 

Count  Mario  di 
Cameraiossif 
Socialistic  Art" 
ist  and  Pkoto- 
grapher  .    .    . 

Cetsare  Angektti^ 
Proprietor  of 
Casa  Gamblvta 

Spiacronif  Scot- 
picis  Chief  Spy. 

femmi  Rino^  Bey 
in  the  service  of 
Ccuneracbssi 

BumbUnif  Guar- 
dian of  a  Mu- 
seum .... 

Marchesa  Tutti 
Tuttit  Contessa 
Ann  Cora  .    . 

Contessa  Lotti 
Totti,  Admiralo 
Benbom  .    .     . 

Signorina  Larki 
DaremOf  Gene- 
ralissimo  Trom- 
bonio  .... 

Marchesa  Nonpica 
Mesta^  etc.^etCf 
(with  power  to 
add  to  their 
number') ,    ,    . 

Signer  FcarfaUone 

Signorine  Connie 
Mo  to,  Anne 
Dante,  Ada  do, 
Ann  Diamo     . 

n  Capitano  Batti 
Baltic  Marchesa 
Fan  Tutti    .     . 


Miss  liddon. 

Miss  Margaret  Ayrtoun. 

Mr.  Arthur  Roberts. 

Miss  Agnes  Delaporte. 

Miss  Laura  Hansen. 
Mr.  George  Prior. 

Miss  H.  Bennett. 

Mr.  A.  Wheatman. 

Miss  Morton. 

Miss  Maud  Royal. 

Miss  Lily  Marsden. 


Miss  Frances  Denton. 
Miss  Maggie  Douglas. 


Miss  Paddy  St.  Clare. 
Miss  Fannie  Merton. 


Spaghetti    , 
Maccaroni  . 
Spermaceti  . 
Ravioli 
Niuncli 
Nianti 
Jolinosia 
Dogerini 
St^o 
Tentosa 


Mr.  Hampton  Gordon. 
Mr.  Walter  Tilbury. 
Mr.  William  Gillxjrt 
Mr.  James  Delaney. 
Mr.  Robert  Mason. 
Mr.  William  LovelL 
Mr.  Harry  Daniels. 
Mr.  Arthur  Dodson. 
Mr.  Guy  Fane. 
■Mr.  Arfliur  Withers. 


18th.    Prince  of  Wales's.    First  Per- 
formance. 

MARJORIE. 

Three-act  English  Comic  Opera,  words  by 
Lewis  Clifton  and  Joseph  J.  Dilley  ; 
music  by  WALTER  Slaughter. 


Wilfrid.    .    .    . 

Cicely 

The  Lady  Alicia . 
Marjorie  .  .  . 
Ralph,    Earl    of 

Chestermere .  . 
Sir  Simon  Strive- 

ling  .... 
Nicholas  .  .  . 
WitgUls.  .  .  . 
The  Captain  of  the 

Guard  .  .  . 
Martin  .... 
Gosric    .... 


Miss  Agnes  Hunting- 
ton. 
Miss  PhyllisBroughton. 
Madame  Amadi. 
Miss  Camille  d* Arville. 

Mr.  C.  Hayden  Coflin. 

Mr.  Henry  Ashley. 
Mr.  Frederick  Wood. 
Mr.  Albert  James. 

Mr.  T.  A.  Shale. 
Mr.  A.  T.  Hendon. 
Mr.  Harry  Monkhouse. 


21st.    Terry's.    First  Performance, 

ACROSS   HER  PATH. 

New  Play,  in  Four  Acts,  written  by  Miss 
Annie  Irish,  founded  on  Miss  Annie 
S.  Swan's  Novel. 


Sir  Adrian 
Seveme  .  .  . 
/as per  Leigh  .  . 
Markham  .  .  . 
fohnson .... 
Lady  Seveme  .    . 

Frances  Seveme  . 
iMdy  Bassett  .  . 
Elspet  Carmichad 
Barbara  Dale .    . 


Mr.  Oscar  Adye. 
Mr.  Henry  Pagden. 
Mr.  G.  Arliss. 
Mr.  G.  Belmore. 
Miss    Josephine     St. 

Ange. 
Miss  T.  Roma. 
Miss  Le  Thiere. 
Mrs.  E.  H.  Brooke. 
Miss  Annie  Irish. 


I/O 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals.       [Jau.-fib..  1890. 


23rd.    Qlobe.    Revival. 

THE 

TAMING   OF    THE 

SHREW. 

A  Comedy,  by  William  Shakespeare. 

As  presented  by 

F.  R.  Benson's  Shake- 

spearean 

Company. 

Baptista 

Mr.  G.  F.  Black. 

VincenHo 

Mr.  H.  Athol  Forde. 

Lucentio 

Mr.  Otho  Stuart 

Grtmio  . 

Mr.  Stephen  PhUlips. 

HorUmio 

Mr.  Gerald  Gumey. 

Tram'o  . 

Mr.  Herbert  Ross. 

BiofuUlh 

Mr.  Walter  Shaw. 

Petruchio 

Mr.  F.  R.  Benson. 

Grumio . 

Mr.  G.  R.  Weir. 

A  Peda$U 

Mr.  G.  M.  Howard. 

Tailor    . 

Mr.  A.  GrenviUe. 

Sugarsop 

Mr.  H.  Gordon  Tom- 
kins. 

Nathaniel 

Mr.  Chas.  BarweU. 

Nicholas 

Mr.  C.  M.  Hallard. 

Adam 

Mr.  L.  Rosoman. 

Ralph     . 
Gregory . 

Mr.  G.  Hippisley. 
Mr.  A.  E.  George. 

Gabriel  . 

Mr.  T.  B.  Croft. 
Mr.  Hugh  Meadows. 
Mr.  E.  Major. 

Phillip   . 

Peter,    . 

fValler  . 

Mr.  Edgar  Stevens. 
Mr.  Alfred  Brydone. 

Servantto  Baptista 

Katherina 

. 

Mrs.  F.  R.  Benson. 

Bianca   , 

•    •    . 

Miss  Marion  Grey. 

Widow  . 

... 

Miss  Hawkins. 

Curtis    . 

.    .    . 

Miss  Alice  Denvil. 

FEBRUARY. 

1st.    Avenue. 

First  Performance. 

DR 

.   BILL. 

Farcical  Comedy,  in  Three  Acts,  adapted 
from  the  French  of  Albert  Carre,  by 
Hamilton  A'id£. 

Dr.       William 


BrowH         • 
Mr,  Firman   , 
Mr,  Horton 
George  Webster 


Mrs,  Horton  ,     . 
Louisa  Brown 
Jenny  Firman 
Mrs,  Firman  .    , 
EUen      .     .     .     , 
Miss  Fauntleroy  , 


Mr.  Frederick  Terry. 
Mr.  Albert  Chevalier. 
Mr.  George  Capel. 
Mr.  Benjamin  Webster. 
Mr.  Harry  Grattan. 
Miss  Fanny  Brough. 
Miss  E.  Robins. 
Miss  Laura  Graves. 
Miss  Carlotta  Leclercq. 
Miss  Marie  Linden. 
Miss  Edith  Kenward. 


6th.    Vaudeville.    Maiinie. 
CLARISSA. 
New  Drama,  in  Four  Acts,  by  Robert 
Buchanan,  "  founded  on  Richardson's 
world»famous  novel." 
Mr,  Harlowe  ,    .    Mr.  Harbury. 
Captain  Harlowe    Mr.  Oswald  Yorke. 
Mr,  Solmes     .    .    Mr.  Cyril  Maude. 
Stohes     ....    Mr.  J.  S.  Blythe. 


Lovdace.  .  .  . 
Captain  Macshane 
Sir  Harry  Tour* 
ville  .... 
Aubrey  .... 
Watchman ,  ,  , 
Richards  ,  ,  , 
Coffee-stall  Keeper 
Drawer  .... 
Philip  Belford.  , 
Clarissa  Harlowe 
Hetty  Belford ,  , 
Jenny  .... 
Mrs,  Osborne  ,  , 
Lady  Bab  Law- 
rence .... 
Lady  May  Law- 
rence .... 
SaUy 


Mr.  T.  B.  Thalberg. 
Mr.  Fred  Thome. 

Mr.  F.  Grove. 

Mr.  Frank  Gillmore. 

Mr.  Wheatman. 

Mr.  C.  Ramsey. 

Mr.  Bray. 

Mr.  Austin. 

Mr.  Thomas  Thome. 

Miss  Winifred  Emery. 

Miss  Ella  Bannister. 

Miss  Mary  Collctte. 

Miss  C.  Owen. 

Miss  L.  Bryer. 

Miss  Florence  Wemyss. 
Miss  Lily  Hanbury. 


8th.     Terry's.     First  Performance. 
NEW'  LAMPS  FOR  OLD. 
A  (comparatively  speaking)  new  and  origi- 
nal Play,  in  Three  Acts,  by  Jerome  K. 
Jerome. 

Mr.  Bernard  Gould. 
Miss  Cissy  Grahame. 
Mr.  F.  Kerr. 
Miss    Gertrude   King- 
ston. 
Mr.  W.  Lestocq. 
Miss  Houston. 
Mr.  W.  S.  Penley. 


Edwin  Honeydew 
Elvira  Honeydew 
Postlethwaite  .  . 
Octavia  .... 

Jorkins  .... 
Jemima  .... 
Buster    .... 


22nd.     Qarrlck.      First   Performance. 
A  PAIR  OF  SPECTACLES. 

A  Comedy,  in  Three  Acts,  adapted  from 
the  French  by  Sydney  Grundy. 

Mr.       Benjamin 

Goldfinch     ,    .    Mr.  John  Hare. 

Uncle  Gregory     .    Mr,  Charles  Groves. 

Percy     ....     Mr.  Rudge  Harding. 

Dick Mr.  Sidney  Brough. 

Lorimer,    .    .    .    Mr.  C.  Dodsworth. 

Bartholomew  .    .     Mr.  F.  H.  Knight. 

Joyce Mr.  R.  Cathcart. 

Another    Shoe- 
Mr,  John  Byron* 
Miss  Kate  Rorke. 
Miss  B.  Horlock. 
Miss  F.  Hunter. 


maker 
Mrs,  Goldfinch 
Lucy  Lorimer , 
Charlotte    .    . 


22nd.    Qarrick.    Re-production. 

DREAM    FACES. 

A  Dramatic  Fancy,  in  One  Act,  by  Wynn 

Miller. 
Robert    ....     Mr.  J.  Forbes  Robert- 
son. 
Philip    ....     Mr.  Sydney  Brouch. 
Servant  ....    Mr.  Stanley  Pringle. 
Margaret    .    .     .     Miss  Carlotta  Addison. 
Lucy Miss  Blanche  H(^ock. 


FEB.-APIUL,  1890.]     Ne^  Plays  and  Important  Revivals, 


171 


24th.    St  James's.    Revival 
AS    YOU    LIKE    IT. 

Shakespeare's  Comedy. 


Duke,    .    .    . 

.    Mr.  Charles  Fulton. 

£>uk<  Frederick    .    Mr.  George  Canninge. 

Jaqties    .     , 

.    Mr.  Arthur  Bourchier. 

AmUns  .    . 

.    Mr.  Ager  Grover. 

First  Lord,     , 

.    Mr.  Norman  Forbes. 

Le  Beau.    , 

.    Mr.  Ernest  Lawford. 

CharUs  .     . 

.    Mr.  F.  Teale  Lingham. 

Oliver    ,     , 

.    Mr.  Walter  Gay. 

Jaqtus    ,     , 

.     Mr.  Henry  Amcliffe. 

Orlando .    . 

.    Mr.  Lawrence  Cautley. 

Adam     .    . 

.    Mr.  Fred  Everill. 

Dennis   ,     . 

.    .    Mr.  G.  Yorke. 

Touchstone . 

.    Mr.  Charles  Sugden. 

Silvius   .     . 

.    Mr.  Matthew  Brodie. 

Corin     ,    , 

.    .    Mr.  Royden  Erlynne. 

William     , 

.    Mr.  Erskine  Lewis. 

Celia,    .    . 

.    .    Miss  Amy  McNeU. 

Phc^be    ,    , 

.    .    Miss  Beatrice  Lamb. 

Audrey  .    . 

.    .    Miss  Marion  Lea. 

A    Person   rei 

^<f- 

senling  Hym 

\en,    MissVioletArmbruster. 

Rosalind     . 

.    .     Mrs.  Langtry. 

MARCH. 

6th. 

Globe.     Revival. 

HAMLET,    PRINCE    OF 
DENMARK. 

A  Tragedy,  by  William  Shakespeare, 
as  presented  by  Mr.  F.  R.  Benson's 
Shakespearean  Company. 

Claudius 
Hamlet  . 
Polonius 
Laertes  , 
Horatio  . 
Rosencrantz 
Guildenstem 
Osric.    .    . 
MarceUus    . 
Bernardo    , 
Francisco    . 
Reynaldo     , 
A  Pnest      . 
1st  Grofvedigger   . 
2Md  Gravedigger  . 
1st  Actor    ,    ,    , 
2nd  Actor  .    .    . 
"^d  Actor    ,    ,    , 
4/^  Actor    .    .     . 
Sth  Actor    ,    ,     , 
Messenger  .     .    . 
Ghost  of  Hamlets 
Father    ,    .    . 
Gertrude     .     .     . 
Ophdia  .... 


Mr.Charles  Cartwright. 
Mr.  F.  R.  Benson. 
Mr.  G.  F.  Black. 
Mr.  Herbert  Ross. 
Mr.  Otho  Stuart. 
Mr.  Arthur  Grenville. 
Mr.  G.  M.  Howard. 
Mr.  Gerald  Gumey. 
Mr.  E.  Perry.  ' 
Mr.  E.  Sherard. 
Mr.  C.  M.  Hallard. 
Mr.  L.  Rosoman. 
Mr.  Walter  Shaw. 
Mr.  G.  R.  Weir. 
Mr.  H.  Athol  Forde. 
Mr.  Alfred  Brydone. 
Mr.  Edward  P.  Major. 
Miss  Edith  Selwyn. 
Mr.  Hugh  Meadows. 
Mr.  Charles  Barwell. 
Mr.  G.  Harrod. 

Mr.  Stephen  Phillips, 
Miss  Ada  Ferrar. 
Mrs.  F.  R.  Benson. 


20th.    Vaudeville.    First  Performance. 

MISS  TOMBOY. 

Comedy,  in  Three  Acts,  by  Robert 
Buchanan,  founded  on  Sir  John  Van- 
brugh*s  famous  comedy.  The  Relapse. 

Lord  Foppington .  Mr.  Thomas  Thome. 

Tom  Fashion  ,    .  Mr.  Frank  Gillmore. 
Sir        George 

Matcham     .    .  Mr.  J.  S.  Blythe. 
Sir    Tunbelly 

Clumsy  ...  Mr.  Fred  Thome. 

Squire  Ditch  ,    ,  Mr.  Austin. 

Lavarole     ,    .    .  Mr.  O.  Yorke. 

Lory Mr,  Cyril  Maude. 

Jabez Mr.  Wheatman. 

Jacob Mr.  Ramsey. 

Rev,  Mr,  Quiver- 

wit     ....  Mr.  T.  Grove. 

Mendlegs    ,    .    .  Mr.  J.  Chrichton. 

Glitter    ....  Mr.  S.  Freeman. 

Hyde Mr.  Harbury. 

Coates    ....  Mr.  S.  Lawrence. 

Tierce    ....  Mr.  T.  Walters. 
Miss  Fanny  Hoy- 

den     ....  Miss  Winifred  Emery. 

Mrs,  Sentry    ,    .  Miss  Silvia  Hodson. 

Nancy  Ditch  ,    .  Miss  Hanbury. 

Dolly  Primrose    ,  Miss  Collette. 


APRIL. 

3rd.    Hay  market.    First  Performance. 

A  VILLAGE  PRIEST. 

New  Play,  in  Five  Acts,  by  Sydney 
Grundy,  suggested  by  the  French  play, 
Le  Secret  de  la  Terreuse, 


The  AbbS  Dubois , 
Jean  Torquenie  . 
Armand  d'Arcay 
Captain  of  Gen- 
darmes ,  .  . 
Madame  dArfay 
Comtesse  de  Tri- 
meillan  .  .  . 
Marguhite .  .  . 
Jeanne  Torquenie 
Madeleine  .    .    . 


Mr.  Tree. 
Mr.  Fernandez. 
Mr.  Fred  Terry. 

Mr.  Allan. 

Mrs.  Gaston  Murray. 

Miss  Rose  Leclercq. 
Mrs.  Tree. 
Miss  Norreys. 
Mrs.  E.  H.  Brooke. 


7th.    Comedy.    First  Performance. 

DOMESTIC  ECONOMY. 

*  New  "  Comic  Operetta,  by  F.  C.  BUR- 
nand  and  Edward  Solomon. 


John  GfumUy, 
Tom  Smith 
Joey  .... 
Mrs.  Shackles  . 
Mrs,  Knagley . 
Mrs,  Grumiy . 


Mr.  E.  Dagnall. 
Mr.  W.  Lugg. 
Master  S.  Solomon. 
Miss  Alice  Yorke. 
Miss  Mary  Glover. 
Miss  Abna  Stanley. 


172 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals, 


[April,  1890. 


12th.    Qaiety. 

THE    PRINCE    AND    THE 
PAUPER. 

Play,  in  Four  Acts,  adapted  by  Mrs.  Oscar 
Beringbr  from  Marie  Twain's  romance 
of  the  same  name. 


Edward,     Prince\ 
of  fVa/es     .    .  \ 
Tom  Canty     .    J 
//tnry  VIII.  .    . 
Miles  Hendon .     . 
John  Canty     .     . 
Earl  of  Hertford . 
Lord  Si,  John,    . 
Father  Andrew  . 

Bat 

Dot'gO'^nu  ,  .  . 
Mrs.  Canty  ,  , 
Lady  Jane  Grey  , 
Sergeant  ,  .  . 
Sentry  .... 
Gaoler  .... 
First  Courtier .  . 
Herald  .... 


Miss  Vera  Bcringer. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Vernon. 
Mr.  F.  W.  Macklin. 
Mr.  J.  G.  Taylor. 
Mr.  £dmund  Gumey. 
Mr.  Ernest  Hendrie. 
Mr.  John  Beauchamp. 
Mr.  A.  Wood. 
Mr.  Barry. 
Miss  Annie  Irish. 
Miss  Ethel  Matthews. 
Mr.  Francis. 
Mr.  Hill. 
Mr.  Walker. 
Mr.  KeUy. 
Mr.  SirrelL 


17th.    Prince   of  Wales's.    First  Per- 
formance. 

CERISE  AND  CO. 

New  Three-act  Farcical  Comedy,  by  Mrs. 

MUSGRAVB. 


Lady  Kilkenny  . 
Mrs.     Obaaiah 

Vanderbone ,  . 
Miss   Virginia 

Sutch.  .  .  . 
Miss  Blunt     .    . 

Miss  Prettyman  . 
Miss  Sweet .  ,  , 
Mr,    Penguine 

Vanderbone ,  , 
Mr,  Styleman ,  , 
Lord      Adolpkus 

Perfect  .  .  . 
Mr.  Flutter  .  . 
Barlow  .... 
Servant  .... 


Miss  Myra  Kemble. 

Miss  Emily  Thome. 

Miss  Lottie  Venne. 
Miss     Josephine     St. 

Ange. 
Miss  Sylvia  Grey. 
Miss  Ettie  Williams. 

Mr.  F.  Kerr. 
Mr.  Eric  Lewis. 

Mr.  H.  H.  MoreU. 
Mr.  Gilbert  Trent. 
Mr.  John  Le  Hay. 
Mr.  Sefton. 


19th.    Adelphi.     Revival. 
THE    GREEN    BUSHES. 


Drama,  by  J. 

ConncrO  Kennedy 
George  .... 
WildMurtogh  , 
Muster  Grinnidge 
Jack  Gong  .  .  . 
Captain  Dartois  , 
Paddy  Kelly  .  . 
Dennis  .... 
Larry    .... 


B.  BUCKSTONE. 

Mr.  Frank  Cooper. 
Mr.  W.  L.  Abinp[don. 
Mr.  J.  D.  Bevendge. 
Mr.  J.  L.  Shine. 
Mr.  Lionel  Rignold. 
Mr.  Arthur  Styan. 
Mr.  Howard  Russell. 
Mr.  Marshall  Moore. 
Mr.  James  East. 


NedKeogh,    . 
Darty  Donovan 
Edwards     ,     . 
LittU  Bear.     , 
Rattlesnake,    . 
Geraldine   ,     , 
NellyaNeU  . 
Miami   ,     .     ,     .\ 
Ma  dame     St,\  Miss  Mary  Rorke. 
Auhert    . 


Mr.  W.  Northcote. 
Mr.  J.  Northcote. 
Mr.  E.  Bantock. 
Mr.  Victor. 
Mr.  Collins. 
Miss  Ada  Ferrar, 
Miss  Kate  James. 


Louise    . 

Eveleen  . 
Tigertail 


Mrs.  Bnmton. 

Miss  Constance  Beau- 

foy. 
Miss  Jenny  Humm. 
Miss  Clara  Jecks. 


22nd.   Shaftesbury.  First  Performance. 

THE  VIOLIN  MAKERS. 

One-act  Play,  by  Alfred  Berlyn. 

.    .    Mr.  Alfired  Bishop. 
.    .    Mr.  Willaid. 
.    .    Mr.  Elwood. 


Ferrari  , 
Filippo  . 
Sanaro  , 
Gianmna 


Miss  Olga  Brandon. 


23rd.    Court.    First  Performance. 

THE    CABINET    MINISTER. 

Original  Farce,  in  Four  Acts,  by  A.  W. 

PiNERO. 


Earl  of  Drum" 
durris     ,     ,     , 

Viscount  Aber* 
brothock  ,    ,    , 

Rt.Hon,  Sir  Julian 
TwotnbleyjG.Ci 
M.G.,    ,    ,    , 

Brooke  Twombley 

Macphail  of  Bui- 
locheevin ,    ,    , 

Mr,  Joseph  Leba'\ 
mm     ,    ,    ,    .) 

Valentine  White  . 

Mr,  Mitford   ,     . 

The  MunkUtrick  , 

Probyn  .... 

Dowagfr  Countess 
of  Drumdurris 

Lady  Euphemia 
Vibart     .     .     , 

Countess  of  Drum- 
durris    .     .     , 

Lady  Twombley   . 

Imogen  .... 

Lady  Macphail    , 

Hon,  Mrs,  Gay- 
lustre .... 

Af^U    .... 

Miss  Munkittrick 


Mr.  Richard  Saunders. 


Mr.  Arthur  Cecil. 
Mr.  E.  Allan  Aynes- 
worth. 

Mr.  Brandon  Thomas. 
Mr.     Weedon     Gros- 

smith. 
Mr.  Herbert  Waring. 
Mr.  Frank  Farren. 
Mr.  John  Clulow. 
Mr.  Ernest  Paton. 

Miss  R.  G.  Le  Thiere. 

Miss  Isabel  EUissen. 

Miss  Eva  Moore. 
Mrs.  John  Wood. 
Miss  Florence  Tanner. 
Mrs.  Edmund  Phelps. 

Miss  Rosina  Filippi. 

Miss  Marianne  Cald- 
well. 

Miss  Florence  Harring- 
ton. 


Mat,  189a] 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivak. 


173 


MAY. 

3rd.     St.  James's.     Placed  in  evening 
biU. 

ESTHER  SANDRAZ. 

Play,  in  Three  Acts,  by  Sydney  Grundy, 
founded  on  Adolphe  Belot's  Femme  de 
Glace. 


Henri  VancUlle  . 
Olivier  Deschamps 
Fourcanade  .  . 
Boisgommeux .  . 
Justin  . 
Joseph  . 
Jules .  . 
Madofne 
canade 
Henridte 
Clarisse  . 
Berthe  . 
Blanche . 
Esther  Sandraz 


Four- 


Mr.  Charles  Sugden. 

Mr.  Arthur  Bourchier. 

Mr.  Everill. 

Mr.  H.  de  Lange. 

Mr.  Erskine  Lewis. 

Mr.  Munro. 

Mr.  Lambarte. 

Mrs.  Charles  Calvert. 
Miss  Marion  Lea. 
Miss  Carrie  Benton. 
Miss  Lena  Mevers. 
Miss  Ettie  WiUiams. 
Mrs.  Langtry. 


5th.    Princess's.    Placed  in  evening  bill. 

THEODORA. 

Play,  in  Six  Acts,  adapted  by  Robert 
Buchanan,  from  Sardou's  masterpiece. 


Justinian    , 
Marcdlus    . 
Belisarius  . 
Euphratas  . 
Caribert 
Michael .    . 
Timocles     . 
Agathon 
Faber     ,     . 
Styrax  .    . 
.  The  Executioner . 
Mundus 
Priscus  .     . 
Lycostratcs . 
Orthes    .     . 
Amrou  .    . 

Calchas  .  . 
First  Lord . 
Second  Lord 
Third  Lord 
Fourth  Lord 
Chief  of  the  Osti- 

aries  . 
Andreas 
Antonini 
Tamyris 

Callirhoe 
Macedonia 
Iphis,  . 
Alexis  . 
Columba 
Zena,  . 
Theodora 


Mr.  W.  H.  Vernon. 
Mr.  Chas.  Cartwright 
Mr.  Cecil  Morton  York. 
Mr.  Geo.  Bemage. 
Mr.  Geo.  W.  Codbum. 
Miss  Mabel  Champion. 
Mr.  Alfred  B.  Cross. 
Mr.  Howard  Sturge. 
Mr.  Henry  de  Solla. 
Mr.  Charles  Lander. 
Mr.  Chas.  Forsev. 
Mr.  Henry  Ludlow. 
Mr.  W.  H.  Gunn. 
Mr.  Walter  Lawrence. 
Mr.  Chas.  Anson. 
Mr.      George      Lake 

Grange. 
Mr.  Thomas  Blacklock. 
Mr.  Wm.  Price. 
Mr.  C.  Downey. 
Mr.  Thos.  Harris. 
Mr.  Arthur  Prior. 

Mr.  Geo.  Aubrey. 
Mr.  Leonard  Boyne. 
Miss  Clarice  Trevor. 
Miss    Dolores    Dnmi- 

mond. 
Miss  Marie  Stewart. 
Miss  Alice  de  Wynton. 
Miss  A.  Lloyd. 
Miss  Dora  de  Wjrnton. 
Miss  Barbara  Meade. 
Miss  Lucy  O'Connor. 
MissGrace  Hawthorn  e. 


10th.    Oriterion.    Revival. 

SHE  STOOPS  TO  CONQUER. 

Goldsmith's  Comedy  divided  into  Three 
Acts. 


Young  Marlow  . 
Hardcastle  .  *  . 
Hastings  .  .  . 
Sir  Charles  Mar- 
low  .... 
Tony  Lumpkin  . 
Diggory,  .  .  . 
Roger  .... 
Ralph  .... 
Gregory .... 
Stingo  .... 
Tom  Tickle  .  . 
Tom  Twist  .  . 
Jack  Slang .  .  . 
Mat  Muggins .  . 
Mrs,  Hardcastle  . 
Miss  Neville  .  . 
Maid  .... 
Barmaid  .  .  , 
Miss  Hardcastle  . 


Mr.  Chas.  W3mdham. 
Mr.  Wm.  Blakeley. 
Mr.  W.  Draycott 

Mr.  F.  Atherley. 
Mr.  Geo.  Giddens. 
Mr.  S.  Valentine. 
Mr.  S.  Hewson. 
Mr.  C.  Steyne. 
Mr.  L.  Chapuy. 
Mr.  J.  Francis. 
Mr.  C.  Edmonds. 
Mr.  F.  Emery. 
Mr.  W.  Guise. 
Mr.  H.  Esmond. 
Miss  M.  A.  Victor. 
Miss  Eleanore  Lejrshon. 
Miss  E.  Penrose. 
Miss  R.  McNeiU. 
Miss  Mary  Moore. 


12th.    Drury  Lane.    First  Performance. 

PAUL    KAUVAR. 

Drama,  in  Four  Acts,  written  by  Steele 

Mackayb. 


Paul  UTauvar  .  . 
Honori  Albert 

Maxime  .  .  . 
General  Delaroche 
Marquis  de  Vaux 
Dodolphe  Potin  . 
Carrac  .... 
Colonel  La  Hogne 
First  Orderly  .  . 
General  Kleterre  . 
Second  Orderly  . 
Diane   de   BeaU" 

moni  .... 
Nanette  Potin .  . 
Scarlotte     .    .     . 


Mr.  William  Terriss. 

Mr.  Henry  Neville. 
Mr.  Arthur  Stirling. 
Mr.  Charles  Hudson. 
Mr.  Victor  Stevens. 
Mr.  Ernest  Hendrie. 
Mr,  Wallace  Moir. 
Mr  Herbert  Lewia 
Mr.  Acton  Bond. 
Mr.  J.  L.  Stoner. 

Miss  Millward. 
Miss  Edith  Bruce. 
Mrs.  Clifton. 


21st.    Adelphi.    First  Performance. 

THE   BRIDE  OF  LOVE. 

New  Poetical    Play,   in    Four    Acts,   by 
Robert  Buchanan. 


The 


Immortals. 

Goddess 


Aphrodite    .     .    Miss  Ada  Cavendish. 
Eridon  ....    Miss  Clara  Jecks. 
Erotion  ....    Miss  Marie  Eraser. 
Cupidon     .    .    .    Miss  Jenny  Humm. 
Euphrosyne    .     .    Miss  Letty  Lind. 
Zephyros     .    .    .    Mr.  Lionel  Rignold. 
Phosphoros .    .    .    Miss  Somerset 
Tw 0        You  ng\  Miss  Stead. 

Zephyrs   .    .    ./  Miss  B.  Ferrar. 
The  God  Eros.    .    Mr.  T.  B.  Thalberg. 
Chorus  of  Graces  and  Elementary  Spirits. 


174 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals.      [Mat-juke,  1890. 


"/ 


Methoncs 

of  Cyprus) 
Lycos    {King 

Atalea)  .  .  . 
Atalanios    {King 

of  Thessaly)  . 
Kassrad  {King  of 

Ethiopia)  .  . 
The  King  of  Cir- 

cassia  .... 
TheKingofThaU 
Glaucus    [a    Sea 

King) 


Mortals. 

{King 


Mr.  Alfred  Brydone. 

Mr.  Bassett  Roe. 

Mr.  Leonard  Outram. 

Mr.  E.  Lennox. 

Mr.  C.  M.  Hallard. 
Mr.  Henry  Bayntun. 


Mr.  H.  Arncliffe. 

Nyla Miss  Francis  Ivor. 

Creusa   ....    Miss  Ada  Ferrar. 
Psyche    ....    Miss  Harriett  Jay. 
Attendants,  Cupbearers,  Soldiers,  etc. 


21st.    Shaftesbury.    First  Performance. 

JUDAH. 

New  and  original  Plav  of  modem  English 
life,  in  Three  Acts,  by  Henry  Arthur 
Jones. 


The  Earl  of 
Asgarby  .    .    . 

Professor  Jopp^ 
ER.S,,  F.L.S., 
F.G.S.,  etc.  .    . 

Mr.  Prall  .     .     . 

Jujcon  Prall    ,    . 

Afr,  Dethic      .    . 

Afr.  Pafnvorthy    . 

Roper     .... 

Judah  Llewellyn 
{Minister  of  the 
Welsh  Presby- 
terian   Church) 

Lady  Eve   .     .    . 

Sophie  Jopp      .     . 

Mrs.PraU.     .     . 

Vashti  Dethic ,    . 


Mr.  C.  Fulton. 


Mr.  Sant  Matthews. 
Mr.  H.  Cane. 
Mr.  F.  Kerr. 
Mr.  Royce  Carleton. 
Mr.  E.  W.  Thomas. 
Mr.  H.  Harting. 


Mr.  Waiard. 
Miss  Bessie  Hatton. 
Miss  Gertrude  Warden. 
Miss  A.  Bowering. 
Miss  Olga  Brandon. 


22nd.    Haymarket.    Fiist  Performance. 
A  RIVERSIDE  STORY. 

An  original  little  Play,  in  Two  Acts,  written 
by  Mrs.  Bancroft. 

iMdy  Carlton  .     .  Miss  Rose  Leclercq. 

Mrs,  Harrington,  Mrs.  E.  H.  Brooke. 

Susie  Leyton    .    .  Miss  Kate  Rorke. 

Alice Miss  Annie  Hughes. 

Sarah  Grebe    .    .  Miss  Maria  Daly. 

Polly Miss  Kate  Phillips. 

Kitty Miss  Mary  Collette. 

Hetty     ....  Miss  Georgina  Kuhe. 

fenny     ....  Miss  Fc^erty. 

Tilly MissClive. 

Mother  Sibby  .    .  MissRoberthaErskine. 

Harold  Brandon  .  Mr.  Sydney  Brough. 

Tom  Harrington .  Mr.  Leonard  Bovne. 

Joe  Evans  .    .    .  Mr.  George  Giddens. 


JUNE. 
5th.    Criterion.    First  Performance. 

SOWING  AND   REAPING. 

Comedy,  in  Two  Acts,  by  C.  Vernon. 


Harry  Grahame  . 
Joseph  Shenston  . 
Mr.SampsonPaley 
Dick  Hobbs  .  . 
Robert    .... 

John 

Mrs,     Sampson 

Paley .  .  .  . 
Mrs.      Charity 

Smith.  ,  .  . 
Mrs.  IVatkins.  . 
Julia 


Mr.  C.  Wyndham. 
Mr.  Geo.  Giddens. 
Mr.  W.  Blakeley. 
Mr.  S.  Valentine. 
Mr.  C.  Edmonds. 
Mr.  F.  Emery. 

Miss  E.  Leyshon. 

Miss  M.  A.  Victor. 
Miss  Emily  Vining. 
Miss  Mary  Moore. 


7th.    Comedy.    First  Performance. 

NERVES. 

Farcical  Comedy,   in  Three  Acts,  by  J. 
Comyns  Carr. 


Captain  Armitage 
Mr,      Buxom 

Brittle  .  .  . 
HippolyteCaramel 
James  .... 
Commissionaire  . 
Customer  ,  ,  . 
Violet  Armitage  , 
Mrs,    Buxom 

Brittle  , 
Emma  . 
Iphigenie  . 
Clarisse  .  . 
Lady.  .  , 
Juliette  .  , 
Anna  ,  . 
Madame     Zephyr 

Elaine     .    .    . 


Mr.  C.  H.  Hawtrey. 

Mr.  H.  Kemble. 
Mr.  Edward  Righton. 
Mr.  G.  Kennedy. 
Mr.  W.  Wyes. 
Mr.  P.  S.  Champion. 
Miss  Maude  Millett. 

Miss  Sophie  Larkin. 
Miss  Lydia  Cowell. 
Miss  E&el  Mathews. 
Miss  Eleanor  May. 
Miss  Helen  Lambert 
Miss  Jennie  Coppinger. 
Miss  Carrie  Hunt. 

Miss  Lottie  Venne. 


27th.    Avenue.    First  Performance. 

GYRENE. 

Dramatic  Fancy,  in  Three  Acts,  by 
Alfred  C.  Calmour. 


Fantea  , 
Moretus . 
Brancho 
Zembra  , 
Gustrell, 

Drega  , 
Cyrene  , 
Ciprissa . 
Nina .     . 


.    Mr.  Henry  Neville. 
.    Mr.  Arthur  Stirling. 

Mr.  Edmund  Gumey. 
.    Mr.  John  Carter. 
.    Mr.       F.      Hamilton 

Knight. 
.    Mr.  P.  J.  Kirwan. 
Miss  Marion  Terry. 
p..  .^.  Miss  Lilian  Hingston. 
.    l^iss  Clara  Jecks. 


July,  1890.] 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals. 


17s 


JULY. 

1st.    Strand.    Revival. 

FAZIO. 

Tragedy,  in  Five  Acts,  by  the  Rev.  Henry 

Hart  Milman. 
Duke  of  Florence .    Mr.  Julian  Cross. 
Gonsdtvo     ...     Mr.  T.  Blacklock. 
Aurio     ....    Mr.  Harold  Eden. 

fazio Mr.  Lewis  Waller. 

Bartoldo     ...     Mr.  John  Carter. 
PhUans,    .     .    .    Mr.  A  Courtenay. 
Falsetto  ....    Mr.  O.  Bamett. 

Pigro Mr.  C.  Milton. 

Theodore     ...    Mr.  K.  Gran. 
Antonuf.     .    .    .     Mr.  F.  Jacques. 
Bianca  ....    Miss  Claire  Ivanowa. 
AldabeUa    .    .    .    Mrs.  Bennett. 
Clara     ....    Miss  Henrietta  Cross. 


3rd.    Toole's.    First  time  in  London. 

THK  SOLICITOR. 

Original  Farce,  in  Three  Acts,  by  J.  H. 

Darnley. 


Gilbert  Brandon  . 
Colonel  Sterndale. 
Captain  Midhurst 

Lieut,  Arlington 
Private  Manners. 
Hobson  .... 
Peter  Flagan 
{alias  Percy 
Fitzgerald)  .  . 
Baxter  .... 
Mrs,  Brcmdon 
Mrs.  Stemdale 
Mrs.  Midhurst  . 
Maty  Kingston 


Mr.  John  Tresahar. 

Mr.  F.  Kaye. 

Mr.    Graham     Went- 

worth. 
Mr.  A.  B.  Francis. 
Mr.  Lawrance  d*Orsay. 
Mr.  Henry  W.  Brame. 

Mr.  Henry  Bedford. 
Mr.  Fred  Burton. 
Miss  Susie  Vaughan. 
Miss  Ruth  Rutland. 
Miss  Blanche  Wolseley. 
Miss  Clara  Ellison. 


Bella Miss  Delia  Carlyle 

4th.    Shaftesbury.    First  Performance. 
.  KIT  MARLO^WE. 
One-act  Play,  by  W.  L.  Courtney 
Kit  Marhnue  . 
Thomas  NcLsh . 
NedAUeyne    . 
Henry  CheUle . 
Francis  Archer 


Mr.  Arthur  Bourchier. 
Mr.  R.  G.  L^e. 
Mr.  Erskine  Lewis. 
Mr.  Cyril  Maude. 
Mr.  Charles  Fulton. 


Nan Miss  Annie  Irish. 


4th.     Shaftesbury.     First  time  in 

England. 

MISS  HOYDEN'S  HUSBAND. 

One-act  Comedy,  arranged  by  Augustin 

Daly. 
Young  Fashion   .     Mr.  Geoi|[e  Clarke. 
Lord  Foppington  .     Mr.  Charles  Leclercq. 
Sir  Tunbelly\Ux,    Charles    Wheat- 

Clumsy   .    .    ./     leigh. 
Colonel  Tawnley  .    Mr.  Eugene  Ormond. 

/^ Mr.  Frederick  Bond. 

Nicodemus  ...    Mr.  H.  Bosworth. 

\  Messrs.     Nisbitt    and 
•5^^«^     •    •    7      Sampson. 


Mistress  Coupler . 

Miss    Hoyden's 

Nurse.    .    .     . 

Miss  Hoyden  .    . 


Miss  Adelaide  Prince. 

Miss  May  Sylvie. 
Miss  Ada  Rehan. 


8th.     Lyceum.    Revival. 

THE    TAMING    OF    THE 

SHREAV. 


Characters  in 
A  Lord  .... 
Christopher  Sly   . 

A  Huntsman  .  . 
The  Hostess  .  . 
A  Page  .... 
Huntsmen  .    .    . 

Players  .... 

Persons 

Baptista     .  . 

Vincentio    .  . 

Lucentio     .  . 

Petruchio    .  . 

Gremio  .    .  . 

Hortensio    .  . 

A  Pendant.  . 

Grumio  .    .  . 

Biondello    .  . 

Tranio  .    .  . 

The  Tailor.  . 

Katherine  .  . 

Bianca  .    .  . 

A  Widow   .  . 

Curtis    .     .  . 


the  "Induction." 

Mr.  George  Clarke. 

.    Mr.    Charles    Wheat- 

leigh. 
.    Mr.  Bosworth. 
.     Miss  May  Sylvie. 
.    Mr.  Will  Sampson. 
Messrs.    Nisbett,    Ma- 

cauley,  etc 
.    Messrs.      Bond      and 

Moore. 
In  the  Comedy. 
.    Mr.  Charles  Fisher. 
.    Mr.  John  Moore. 
.    Mr.  Eugene  Ormond. 
.    Mr.  Jomi  Drew. 
.    Mr.  Charles  Leclercq. 
.    Mr.  Sydney  Herbert 
.    Mr.  Sampson. 
.    Mr.  Tames  Lewis. 
.     Mr.  Edward  WUks. 
.    Mr.  Frederick  Bond. 
.    Mr.  Hobart  Bosworth. 

Miss  Ada  Rehan. 
.    Miss  Edith  Crane. 
.    Miss  Adelaide  Prince. 
.    Mrs.  G.  H.  GUbert 


12th.     Lyric.    First  Performance. 
SW^EET  NANCY. 
Comedy,    in    Three    Acts,    founded    by 
Robert    Buchanan,   by    express    ar- 
rangement with  the    novelist   and  her 
puWishers,  on  Miss  Rhoda  Broughton's 
fkmous  story,  **  Nancy.** 
Sir  Roger  Tempest    Mr.  Henrv  Neville. 
■  -'  Mr.  Bucklaw. 

Mr.  Ernest  Hendrie. 
Miss  Ethel  Hope. 


Frank  Musgrave 
Mr.  Grey   .    .    . 
Mrs.  Grey  .    .    . 
Barbara     Grey 

{aged  2$)^    .    . 
Algernon       Grey 

{aged  20)     .    . 

Nancy  Grey  {(^ed    ^^.      ^      .    „    v 
19) Miss  Anme  Hughes. 

Robert  Grey{called  ^  ,,  „  „     , 

Bobby,  aged  l^)    Mr.  C.  M.  Hallard. 

James  Grey  {called\  ^^^^^  ^^Iter 
the  Brat,   aged\     ^^^^ 

14) J 

Teresa  Grey  {called 

Tow- Taw,  aged 

12)      ....    Miss  B.  Ferrar. 
Mrs.  Huntley.    .     Miss  Frances  Ivor. 
Pendleton    .     •     -    Mr.  Smithson. 
^man     .    .  Dpti^r.  A  R.  Bemiett 


Miss  Harriett  Jay. 
Mr.  Henry  V.  Esmond. 


High- 


1/6 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals.      [July-aug., 


X890. 


16th.    Lyceum.    RcvivaL 
AS     YOU     LIKE     n, 

Shakespeare's  Comedy,  in  Five  Acts. 
The  Duke,  Hving\  Mr.    Charles    Wheat- 

in  Banishment.  J      leigh. 
Frederick,    his 


Brother       i 

%nd 

Usurper  of  his 

Dofntnions  .    . 

Mr.  Bond. 

Amiens  .    . 

Mr.  Macauley. 
Mr.  George  Clarke. 

Toques    .     . 

A  Lord,    . 

Mr.  Hobart. 

LeBeau,    . 

Mr.  Sidney  Herbert 

Charles  .     . 

Mr.  Bosworth. 

Oliver    .     . 

Mr.  Eugene  Ormond. 

/agues    .     . 

Mr.  W.  Sampson. 

Orlando .    . 

Mr.  John  Drew. 

Adam    .    . 

Mr.  Charles  Fisher. 

Denis     ,    . 

Mr.  R.  Nisbett. 

Touchstone . 

Mr.  James  Lewis. 

Corin     ,    . 

Mr.  Charles  Leclercq. 

Silvius  .     . 

Mr.  Frederick  Bond. 

William 

Mr.  Edward  Wilks. 

'I  wo  Pages  of  the^ 

i  Miss  Florence  Conron. 

Duke,  who  singf  Miss  Louise  Smith. 

A    Person    repre- 

senting Hymen 

Miss  Kitty  Cheatham. 
Miss  Adelaide  Prince. 

Celia 

Phcebe    .... 

Miss  Edith  Crane. 

Audrey  .... 

Miss  L<abel  Irving. 

Rosalind     .     .     . 

Miss  Ada  Rehan. 

21st.    Qaiety. 

First  time  in  England. 

A    GOLD    MINE. 

Original  Three-act 

Comedy,  by  Brander 

Matthews  and  George  H.  Jessop. 

Silas  AT.  Wolcott . 

Mr.  Nat  C.  Goodwin. 

Sir  Everard  Fox- 

wood,  Kt.     .    . 

Mr.  William  Farren. 

Gerald    Riordan, 

M,P.  .... 

Mr.  Charles  Glenney, 
Mr.  Harry  Eversfield. 
Mr.  Frank  Wood. 

George  Foxwood  . 

Julius  Krebs    .     . 

WUson  .... 

Mr.  Eric  Thome. 

The    Hon,    Mrs, 

Meredith     .     . 

Miss  Kate  Forsyth. 

Mrs,  Vandervas  . 

Miss  Carlotta  Leclercq. 

Miss    Una    Fox" 

wood  .... 

Miss  Jennie  MacNulty. 

24th.    Terry's.    First  Performance. 

THE    JUDGE. 

Farcical  Play,  in  Three  Acts. 


Sir  John  Pye 
Herbert  Stryver  . 
Algernon  Pringle 
Mawle  .... 
Mr,  Shuttlrivorth 
Jacob  Ricketts  .  . 
Mrs,Shuttleworth 
Mrs,  Ricketts  ,  , 
ChlcePye  .  .  . 
~     hn€P!ye    .    . 


Mr.  W.  S.  Penley. 
Mr.  Wm.  Herbert. 
Mr.  Frank  H.  Fenton. 
Mr.  Mark  Kinghome. 
Mr.  W.  Lestocq. 
Mr.  G.  Belmore. 
Miss  Emily  Thome. 
Miss  Elsie  Chester. 
Miss  Helen  Leyton. 
Miss  Cissy  Grahame. 


AUGUST. 


2nd.    Globe.    First  Performance. 
THIS    "OTOMAN    AND    THAT. 

Play,  in  Three  Acte,  by  Pierre  Leclercq. 
Sir  George  Ingle- 
side     ...,    Ux.  Mark  Quinton. 
Percy  Gauntlett  .     Mr.  Otis  Skinner. 
Charles   Tetterton    Mr.  J.  H.  Manley. 
Funge    ,    .    .     .     Mr.  t.  F.  Graham. 
Blight    ....     Mr.  E.  Bondy. 
Lady  Ingleside     .     Miss  Emilie  Calhaem. 
Raskins  .        .    .    Miss  M.  Baker. 
Eve  Fleurier  .     .     Miss  Adelaide  Moore. 

2nd.    Adelphi.    First  Performance. 
THE    ENGLISH    ROSE. 
New  original  Drama,  in  Four  Acts,  by 
Geo.  R.  Sims  and  Robert  Buchanan. 


Sir  Philip  King- 
ston    .... 

The    Knight     of 
BaUyveeney .     . 

Harry  a  MaUley  .-X 

Fathir  Michael  I 
OMaiUey  {hist 
Sons)  ...     J 

CaptainMacdonell 

Nicodemus  Dicken- 
son  

Randal  a  Mara  . 

Sergeant  a  Reilly, 

Patsie  Blake    .     . 

Shaun    .... 

Larry  MacNulty . 

Casstdy  .... 

O'Brien,     ,     .     . 

FarmerFlannigan 

a  Shea  .... 

Ethel  Kinpton    , 

Bridget  C/Mara  . 

Louisa  Ann  Fer- 
guson 

Judy, 

Biddy 

Norah 

Mary 


Mr.  Bassett  Roe. 

Mr.  J.  D.  Beveridge. 
Mr.  Leonard  Boyne. 

Mr.  T.  B.  Thalberg. 
Mr.  W.  L.  Abingdon. 

Mr.  Lionel  Rignold. 
Mr.  Charles  E&lton. 
Mr.  J.  L.  Shine. 
Miss  Kate  James. 
Mr.  W.  Northcote. 
Mr.  James  East. 
Mr.  J.  Northcote. 
Mr.  E.  Bantock. 
Mr.  H.  Cooper. 
Mr.  J.  Howe. 
Miss  Olga  Brandon. 
Miss  Mary  Rorke. 

Miss  Clara  Jecks. 
Miss  Essex  Dane. 
Miss  Madge  Mildren. 
Miss  Janette  Reeve. 
Miss  Nellie  Carter. 


6th.     Lyceum.     First  Performance. 
THE  GREAT   UNKNOWN. 
Eccentric  Comedy,  in  Three  Acts,  adapted 

bv  AuGUSTiN   Daly  from  a  German 

play. 


Mr,JeremiahJar' 
raway     .     .     . 

Ned  Dreemer 
{''Cousin  Ned'') 

The  O'Donnell 
Don    .... 

Tom  Prowde  .    . 

Patrick 


ISfna Miss  Ada  Rehan. 


Mr.  James  Lewis. 

Mr.  John  Drew. 

Mr.  Frederick  Bond. 
Mr.  Eug^e  Ormond. 
Mr.  wm  Sampson. 


AU6.-SEPT.,  1890.J     New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals. 


177 


Pansy  .... 
Mrs,    Arabella 

Jarraway  •  . 
Aunt  Penelope  . 
Shirley    MunHt- 

trick  .... 
Miss  Twitters .  . 
MdlU.Agathe.    . 


Miss  Isabel  Irving. 

Miss  May  Silvie. 
Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert 

Miss  Edith  Crane. 
Miss  F.  Conron. 
Miss  Adelaide  Prince. 


6th,    Criterion.    First  Performance. 

IVELCOME,    LITTLE 
STRANGER  I 

Comedy,  in  Three  Acts,  by  James  Albbry. 


Cranberry  Buck 
DarrteURoe  .  . 
Janus  Paragon  . 
Mrs,  Amelia  Buck 
Mrs.  Cecilia  Roe . 
Mrs.  Uorencourt. 
Fanny  .... 
Ann 


Mr.  W.  Blakeley. 
Mr.  Edmund  Maurice. 
Mr.  George  Giddens. 
Miss  M.  A.  Victor. 
Miss  Helen  Forsyth. 
Miss  Vane  Featherston. 
Miss  Emily  Vining. 
Miss  F.  Francis. 


9th.    Gaiety.    Placed  in  evening  bill. 

THE    BOOKMAKER. 
Original  Comedy,  in  Three  Acts,  by  J.  W. 

PlOOTT. 


Sir  Joseph  Trent . 
The  Earl  of  Har- 

borough  .  .  . 
Geraldy    Lord 

Maidment  .  . 
The    Hon,   Jack 

Carew  .  .  . 
The  Marquis   of 

BudUigh .  .  . 
Mr,  Mortmain  . 
Bubbles  .... 
James  .... 
Lculy  Harborough 
Lady  Jessie  Har- 

%"  bit  Hardwiche  . 
liy 


Mr.  Nat  C.  Goodwm. 

Mr.  William  Farren. 

Mr.  H.  Reeves  Smith. 

Mr.  Charles  Glenney. 

Mr.  George  Dalziel. 
Mr.  Eric  Thome. 
Mr.  Frank  Wood. 
Mr.  C.  Walker. 
Miss  Carlotta  Ledercq. 

Miss  Christine  Mayne. 
Miss  Adelaide  Gunn. 
Miss  Jennie  MacNulty. 


25th. 


Prince  of  Wales's, 
formance. 


First  Per- 


CAPTAIN    THERESE. 

Comic  Opera,  in  Three  Acts,  written 
by  MM.  Alexandre  Bisson  and 
F.  C.  BURNAND ;  composed  by  R. 
Planquette. 

Vicomte  TancrMe 

de  la  Touche     .    Mr.  C.  Hayden  Coffin. 
Philip   de   Belle- 

garde  ....    Mr.  Joseph  Tapley. 
Coupkourt .     .    .    Mr.  J.  Ettinson. 
Marquis  de  Var- 

deuU  ....    Mr.  Harry  Parker. 


CaptainBoulignac 
Lieutenant   Cam" 

pastro,  .  .  . 
Major  de  la  Gon- 

friire,  .  .  . 
M,  Duvet  ,  .  . 
Colonel  Sombrero . 
Sergeant  Vadebon- 

coeur  .... 
Sergeant  La  Tulipe 
Marceline  .  .  . 
Mme,  la  ChanH- 

nesse  Herminie , 
Claudine  .  .  • 
MdlU.  ThJrhe     . 


Mr.  T.  A.  Shale. 

Mr.  A.  T.  Hendon. 

Mr.  George  Marler. 
Mr.  Harry  Monkhouse. 
Mr.  Henry  Ashley. 

Mr.  T.  Arthur. 
Mr.  A.  Thomas. 
MissPhyllis  Broughton. 

Madame  Amadi. 
Miss  Florence  Darley. 
Miss  Attalie  Claire. 


27th.    Shaftesbury.   First  Performance. 

THE    DEACON. 

Comedy  Sketch,  in  Two  Acts,  by  Henry 
Arthur  Jones. 

Abraham    Booth- 

royd  ....  Mr.  Willard. 

Tom  Dempster     .  Mr.  C.  Fulton. 

Tibbetts  ....  Mr.  Hugh  Harting. 

Rosajervoise  .    .  Miss  Aimie  Hill. 

Mrs,  Bolin^>roki,  Mrs.  F.  H.  Macklin. 


SEPTEMBER. 

6th.     Drury  Lane.    First  Performance. 

A   MILLION    OF    MONEY. 

A  new  Military,  Sporting,  and  Spectacular 
Drama,  in  Five  Acts,  by  Henry  Pettitt 
and  Augustus  Harris. 


Harry  Dunstable. 

Major  Belgrade  . 

Tom  Cricilewood. 

Geoffrey  St,  Clair 

Dick  Bounder .    . 

Rev.  Gabriel  May- 
thome     .    .    . 

Frank  Hastings  . 

LordHeatherdown 

Mary  Maythome, 

Hetty  NestUdaum 

Stella  St.  Clair   . 

Nance  Lee  .    .    . 

Elsie  Drummond 

Lady  Sandson.    . 

Mrs.  Marhw  .     , 

Daniel  Whetstone 

Jim  Boulter    .    . 

JohnPawter  .    . 

Madeune  Ribob    . 

Ada  Brooks     .    . 

Francois     .    .    . 

Reginald  Beau* 
mont  .... 

Sir  Herbert  Beech- 
wood  .... 


Mr.  Charles  Warner. 
Mr.  Herbert  Standing. 
Mr.  Harry  Nicholls. 
Mr.  Charles  Glenney. 
Mr.  Fred  Shepherd. 

Mr.  Allen  Beaumont. 
Mr.  Mark  Quinton. 
Mr.  Guy  Stanton. 
Miss  Jessie  Millward. 
Miss  Fanny  Brough. 
Miss  Alice  Lingard. 
Miss  Lizzie  Claremont. 
Miss  Helena  Dacre. 
Miss  Lilian  Audrie. 
Miss  Olliife. 
Mr.  A  P.  PhiUips. 
Mr.  S.  Calhaem. 
Mr.  F.  Dobell. 
Miss  May  Palfrey. 
Miss  Lily  Martin. 
Mr.  Ronald  Power. 

Mr.  F.  Stoner. 

Mr.  Frank  Harrison. 
12 


178 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals,      [SEpr.-Cter.,  1890. 


11th.    Criterion.    Revival. 

TRUTH. 

Comedy,  in  Three  Acts,  by  Bronson 
Howard. 


Mr,  Alfred  Sterry 
Sir   Partridge 

CotnptoH . 
Mr,  John  Penryn 
Mr,  Frederick  Fry 
Mrs,     Dorothy 

Sterry  .  .  , 
Lady  Compton 
Prudence  ,  .  . 
Patience,  .  .  . 
Mrs,  MNatnara , 
Mrs.  TuttU  ,  , 
Jumps    .... 


Mr.  T.  G.  Warren. 

Mr.  W.  Blakdey. 
Mr.  G.  Giddens. 
Mr.  A.  Boucicault. 

Miss  H.  Forsyth. 
Miss  F.  Frances. 
Miss  E.  Terriss. 
Miss  M.  Hardinge. 
Miss  E.  S.  Fitzroy. 
Miss  Maria  Daly. 
Miss  £.  Vining. 


20th.     Lyceum.    First  Performance. 

RAVENSWOOD. 

Play,  in  Four  Acts,  by  Herman  Merivalb, 
from  the  story  of  **  The  Bride  of  Lammer- 
moor ; "  music  specially  composed  by 
Dr.  A.  C.  Mackenzie. 


Eagar  Ravens' 
wood  .... 

Hayston  of  Buck- 
law     .... 

CaUb  Balderstone 

Craizengelt     .    . 

Sir  WiUiam  Ash- 
ton     .... 

The  Marquis  of 
Athole     .    .    . 

Bide-the-Bent ,    . 

Henry  Ashton,    , 

Moncrief    .    .    . 

Thornton  of  Lyd- 
dell     .... 

A  Priest     ,    ,    , 

Lockhard    .    .    . 

Lady  Ashton  .    . 

Ailsie  Gourlay     . 

Annie  Winnie 

Lucy  Ashton  ,    . 


Mr.  Irving. 

Mr.  Terriss, 
Mr.  Mackintosh. 
Mr.  Wenman. 

Mr.  Alfred  Bishop. 

Mr.  F.  H.  Macklin. 
Mr.  H.  Howe. 
Mr.  Gordon  Craig. 
Mr.  F.  Tyars. 

Mr.  Haviland. 
Mr.  Lacy. 
Mr.  Davis. 
Miss  Le  ThiSre. 
Miss  Marriott. 
Mrs.  Pauncefort. 
Miss  Ellen  Terry. 


23rd.    Qlobe.     First  Performance. 

THE    BLACK    ROVER. 

Melodramatic  Opera,  in  Three  Acts,  written 
and  composed  by  Luscombe  Searellb. 

Patronio     ...  Mr.  Wm.  Hogarth. 

/acob Mr.  John  Le  Hay. 

Pedro  Guzman    .  Mr.  Chas.  Collette. 

Chickanaque   ,    .  Mr.  Shid  Barry. 

Felix Mr.  Maurice  MandnL 

Moro Mr.  Roydon  Erlynne. 

Tht  Black  Rover .  Mr.  Wm.  Ludwig. 

Annetta ....  Miss  F.  Lloyd. 

Sabina  ....  Miss  Effie  Chapuy. 

Isidora  ....  Miss  Blanche  Fenton. 


25th.    Avenue.    First  Performance. 
THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    LIFE. 

A  Modem  Drama,  in  Four  Acts,  adapted 
from  Alphonse  Daudet*s  La  Lutteiottr 
la  Vie  by  Robert  Buchanan  and  Fred 
Horner. 

Paul  Astier  .  . 
ChemineaUf      his 

friend  ,  ,  . 
Count  Adriani  . 
Vaillant  .  .  . 
Antonin  Caussade 
VMrine,  .  .  . 
Heurtebrise  .  . 
Due  de  Brentigny 
Monsieur  Noblet . 
Stenne  .... 
Paskowitch ,  .  . 
Esther  de  SiUny  , 
La  MarkhUt  de 

Silhty,  .  .  . 
Lydie  .... 
Countess  Fidore  . 
Madame  de  Quin- 

campoix  .  .  . 
La   Marquise  de 

Rocantre .  .  . 
Marie  .... 
Madame    Paul 

Astier^  Duchesse 

Padovani     ,    . 


Mr.  Gca  Alexander. 

Mr.  A.  Chevalier. 
Mr.  Ben  Webster. 
Mr.  Nutcombe  Gould. 
Mr.  Frederick  Kerr. 
Mr.  Bucklaw. 
Mr.  George  Capel. 
Mr.  Batson. 
Mr.  Alfred  Holies. 
Mr.  K  H.  Kelly. 
Mr.  A.  Royston 
Miss  Alma  Stanley. 

Miss  Kate  Phillips. 
Miss  Laura  Graves. 
Miss  Lilian  Hingston. 

Miss  Granville. 

Miss  Stuart. 
Miss  Melitta. 


Miss  GeneviSve  Ward. 


OCTOBER. 

4th.    Gaiety.    First  Performance. 

CARMEN     UP     TO     DATA. 

BurlcsQue,  in  Two  Acts,  by  Geo.  R.  Sims 
and  Henry  Pettitt;  music  by  Meyer 

LUTZ. 


Carmen .    .  . 

Esoamillo   ,  . 

Frctsquita   .  . 

MichaUa     ,  . 

Alphonu     •  • 

Juanita ,  .  . 
Inez  .... 

Zorah     .     .  . 

Morales .    .  . 

Intimidado,  . 

Partagus    .  . 

Larranaga,  , 

Mercides     .  . 

Hidalgos     .    . 

Josi  .... 
DcMcairo  .  . 
Remendado,  , 
IMlius  Pastia . 
Captain  Zuniga 


,    Miss  F.  St.  John. 
.    Miss  Jermy  Dawson. 
.    Miss  Flor^ce  Levey. 

Miss  Maria  Jones. 
.     Miss  Katie  Barry. 
.    Miss  Maude  Wilmot 
.    Miss  Eva  Greville. 
.    Miss  Alice  Gilbert. 
.    Miss  Blanche  Massey. 
.    Miss  Maude  Hobson. 
,    Miss  Hetty  Hamer. 
.    Miss  Grace  Wixon. 
.    Miss  Letty  Lind. 

(Miss  Flo.  HenderKm. 
Miss  E.  Robina. 
Miss  Minnie  Ross. 
Miss  Madge  Mildren. 
.    Mr.  E.  J.  Lonnen. 
.    Mr.  E.  H.  Haslem. 
.    Mr.  Horace  Mills. 
.    Mr.  G.  T.  Mmshull. 
.    Mr.  Arthur  Williams. 


Oct.— Nov.,  1890.]      New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals. 


179 


8th.    Shaftesbury.    First  Performance. 

THE    SIXTH    COMMAND- 
MKNT. 

Romantic  Play,  in  Five  Acts,  written  by 
Robert  Buchanan. 


Prince  Zosimoff  . 

Arcadiui  Snam* 
inski  .... 

General  Skobdoff , 

Fedor  Ivancvitch . 

Alexis  Alexandra- 
vUch  .... 

General  WolensH 

Arthur  Merrion  . 

Moustoff    .    .     . 

KriloffKriloffsH, 

Petrovitch  .    .    . 

Landlord  of  Lodg- 
ing House    .    . 

ThePrincess  Oren^ 
burg  .... 

Sophia   .... 

Pidcheria  Ivan- 
ovna  .... 

Anna     .... 

Catherine  Petroska 

Lixa 

Katd 

Marfa    .... 


Mr.  Herbert  Waring. 

M.  Marius. 

Mr.  Ivan  Watson. 

Mr.  Lewis  Waller. 

Mr.  R.  Stockton. 
Mr.  W.  Russell. 
Mr.  William  Herbert. 
Mr.  M.  Byrnes. 
Mr.  George  Seldon. 
Mr.  G.  Fane. 

Mr.  Herberte-Basing. 

Mrs.  Richardson. 
Miss  Marion  Lea. 

Miss  Cowen. 

Mrs.  Lancaster-Wallis 

(Miss  WaUis). 
Miss  Maude  Brennan. 
Miss  £.  Robins. 
Miss  C.  Bemand. 
Miss  J.  St.  Ange. 


9th.     Lyrio.    First  Performance. 

LA    CIGALE. 

Original  Op^ra  Comique,  in  Three  Acts, 
written  by  MM.  Chivot  and  DURU  ; 
composed  by  Audran.  Hie  English 
version  written  and  composed  by  F.  C. 
Burnand  and  Ivan  Caryll. 


Chevalier  Franz 
de  Bemheim 

WiUiam     .    .    . 

Vincent  Knapps  . 

The  Duhe  of 
Fayensberg  .    . 

Cavalier     .     .    . 

Cuffew  fVatch    . 

Mendicant .    .    . 

Mathew  VandeT" 
koopen     .    .    . 

ChaHotU    .    .    . 

Juliette  Grisenach 

Alisna    .... 

Ziianella    .    .    . 

Tamburina     .    . 

Cecilia  de  Monti  . 

Franfoise    .    .    . 

Posina  .... 

Manetta     .    .    . 

Leila 

La  Frivolini   .     . 

Camilie  Lhiburri, 


Chevalier  Scovel. 
Mr.  E.  W.  Garden. 
Mr.  Michael  Dwyer. 

Mr.  Eric  Lewis. 
Mr.  Francis  Barnard. 
Mr.  John  Peachey. 
Mr.  George  Mudie. 

Mr.  Lionel  Brough. 
Miss  Efiie  Clements. 
Miss  E.  Carlington. 
Miss  Gwynne. 
Miss  Lillie  Com3nis. 
Miss  Branard. 
Miss  T.  Desborough. 
Miss  Mabel  Love. 
Miss  F.  Melville. 
Miss  Ellis  Jeflfrgrs. 
Miss  Charlotte  Hope. 
Miss  M.  St.  Cyr. 
Miss  May  Sinclair. 


Gervaise 

boom  . 
Catherine   . 
The    Duchess 

Fayensburg 
Marlon  .    . 


Trufle- 


of 


Miss  Julie  Couteur, 
Miss  A  Newton. 

Miss  Annie  Rose. 
Miss  Qenddine  Ulmar. 


NOVEMBER. 

1st.    Avenue.    First  Performance. 

SUNLIGHT    AND    SHADOW. 

Original  Play,  in  Three  Acts,  by  R.  C. 
Carton. 


Dr,  Latimer 
Mark  Dentil 
George  Addis 
Mr,  Bamfield 
Scollick  .    . 
Helen     .    . 
Maud    . 
Janet  Felton 


Mr.  Nutcombe  Gould. 
Mr.  Yorke  Stephens. 
Mr.  Geo.  Alexander. 
Mr.  Ben  Webster. 
Mr.  Alfred  HoUes. 
Miss  Marion  Terry. 
Miss  Maude  Millett. 
Miss  Ada  Neilson. 


3rd.     Haymarket.     First  Performance. 

BEAU    AUSTIN. 

Original  Comedy,  in  Four  Acts,  by 
W.  E.  Henley  and  Robert  Louis 
Stevenson. 

George    Frederick 

Austin       {The 

Beau).  .  .  . 
John  Fenwick .  . 
Anthot^      Mus^ 

grave  .... 
Menteith  .  .  . 
A  Royal  Duke  . 
Dorothy  Musgraoe 
Miss  Evelina 

Foster  .  .  . 
Barbara  Ridley    . 


Mr.  Tree. 

Mr.  Fred  Terry. 

Mr.  Edmund  Maurice. 
Mr.  Brookfield. 
Mr.  Robb  Harwood. 
Mrs.  Tree. 

Miss  Rose  Ledercq. 
Miss  Aylward. 


eth.    Op^ra  Comique.    Revival 

SMOKE. 
Comedietta,  by  B.  Webster,  Jun. 
Reuben  Armstrong    Mr.  R.  S.  Boleyn. 
fames  Brown  .    .    Mr.  Compton  Coutts. 
Mr,  Richard  Bur* 

ton     ....    Mr.  W.  Lestocq. 
Ellen  Antistrong,    Miss  Cissy  Grahame. 
AbigailArmstrong   Miss  M.  A.  Gi£^d. 

16th.    Comedy.    First  Performance. 

MAY  AND  DECEMBER. 
Farcical    Comedy,  in  Three  Acts,  by 

Sydney  Grundy. 
Sir   Archibald 

Ffolliott  ...  Mr.  Chas.  Brookfield. 
Capt,  V Estrange  Mr.  C.  H.  Hawtrey. 
Babbington  Jones.    Mr.  J.  F.  Graham. 


i8o 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals,      [Nov.— dec,  1890. 


Simpson     .    .    . 

Mr.  W.  Wyes. 

Telegraph      Mes- 

senger.   .    .    . 

Mr.  A.  W.  Aysom. 

Lady  Ffoiliott .     . 

Miss  Norreys. 

/one  .     .     *    .    . 

Miss  Lydia  CowelL 

Dolly     .... 

Miss  Ethd  Matthews. 

JudyBelsize    ,    . 

Miss  Lottie  Vennc. 

17th.    Shaftesbury.    First  Perfonnance. 

THE    PHARISEE. 

Original  Play,  in  Three  Acts,  by  Malcolm 
Watson  and  Mrs.  Lancaster- Wallis. 


Lord  Hdmore .  . 
Geoffrey  Landon  . 
x^aptain  Janus 
Darell  .  .  . 
Mr,PetHfer  .  . 
Graham  Maxwell 
Brooke  .... 
Kate  Landon  .    . 

Miss  Maxwell.    * 
Maud    .... 

KaHi 

Martin  .... 


Mr.  Lewis  Waller. 
Mr.  Herbert  Waring. 

M.  Marias. 

Mr.  John  Beauchamp. 
Mr.  Henry  V.  Esmond. 
Mr.  Herberte-Basing. 
Mrs.  Lancaster- WaSis 

(Miss  Wallis). 
Miss  Sophie  Larkin. 
Miss  Marion  Lea. 
Miss  Minnie  Terry. 
Miss  Winifred  Dennis. 


18th.     Princess's.    RevivaL 
ANTONY    AND    CLEOPATRA. 

Shakespeare's  Play,  in  Five  Acts. 


Mark  Antony .  . 
Oetavius  Casar  . 
M.yEmil,  Lepidus 
Sextus  Pompeius . 
Domitius  Enobar' 

bus     . 
Ventidius 
Eros  .    . 
Scarus   . 
Mecanas 
Proculeius 
Thyreus* 
Menas    . 
Varrius  , 
Alexas    . 
Mardian 
Seleucus , 
A  Messenger 
A  Soothsayer  , 
A  Clown    . 
First  Soldier 
Second  Soldier 
Octavia  .    . 
Charmian  . 
Iras  .    .    . 
nr,*.  \  Characters 

^*^^'J  Interlude 
Cleopatra    .     .    . 


Mr.  Coghlan. 
Mr.  F.  Kemble  Cooper. 
Mr.  P.  C.  Beverley. 
Mr.  Kenneth  Black. 

Mr.  Arthur  Stirling. 
Mr.  H.  Drace. 
Mr.  Chas.  Burleigh. 
Mr.  A.  T.  Hilton. 
Mr.  W.  S.  Parkes. 
Mr.  Henry  Loraine. 
Mr.  Walter  Gay. 
Mr.  H.  Yardley. 
Mr.  Stanley  Pnngle. 
Mr.  MacVickars. 
Mr.  Harry  Fenwicke. 
Mr.  H.  J.  CarvUL 
Mr.  Oscar  Adye. 
Mr.  Arthur  Munra 
Mr.  Everill. 
Mr.  W.  Clifton. 
Mr.  A.  Watson. 
Miss  Frances  Ivor. 
Miss  Amy  McNeil. 
Miss  F.  Harwood. 

J  Miss  Emma  d'Auban. 
I  Miss  Madge  Greet. 

Mrs.  Langtry. 


24th.    Shaftesbury.    Fust  Performance. 

MY    LADY    HELP. 

Comedietta,  in  One  Act,  by  Arthur 
Macklin. 

Jack  Desborough  .    Mr.  H.  V.  Esmond. 

Lady  Eva  Des- 
borough .    .    .    Miss  Florence  West 

Benjamin  Pent^' 
grass  ....    Mr.  John  Beauchamp. 


27th.    Criterion.    RevivaL 

LONDON     ASSURANCE. 

Comedy,  in  Five  Acts,  by  Dion  Bouci- 
cault. 


Sir  Harcourt 
Courtly  .  .  . 
Dazzle  .... 
Max  Harkaway  . 
Charles  Courtly  . 
Mr,  Spanker 
Mark  Meddle 
Cool  ,  .  . 
Martin  .  . 
Jatnes  .  . 
Solomon  Isaacs  . 
Lady  Gay  Spanker 
Grace  Harkaway , 
Pert 


Mr.  William  Farren. 
Mr.  Chas.  Wyndham. 
Mr.  H.  H.  Vmccnt 
Mr.  A  Bourchier. 
Mr.  George  Giddens. 
Mr.  W.  Blakdey. 
Mr.  C3rril  Maude. 
Mr.  F.  Atherley. 
Mr.  S.  Hewson. 
Mr.  F.  Emenr. 
Mrs.  Bemard-Beere. 
Miss  Mary  Moore. 
Miss  E.  Vining. 


DECEMBER. 

4th.    New  Olympic.   First  Performance. 

THE    PEOPLE'S    IDOL. 

Drama,  in  Four  Acts,  by  Wilson  Barrett 
and  Victor  Widnell. 


Lawrence  Si,  Au- 
brey .... 
Arthur  St,  Aubrey 
Major  Duncan  . 
Mr.Dolroyd^JP 
Dr.  WheeUr  .  . 
Jim  Stevens  .  . 
Mr.  Hockett  .  . 
The  Buster.  .  . 
Sam  Purkiss  .  , 
Tom  Spate  .  .  . 
J<uk  Burdock  .  . 
George  Fargate  . 
Sneedon  .... 
James  .... 
Gabriel  Stevens  , 
Myra  Keith  ,  . 
Lydia  .... 
Mrs.  St.  Aubrey  . 
Blanche.  ,  .  . 
Pose  Lowdham  , 
Mrs.  Melway  .  . 
Jane  Baits  .  .  . 
Sarah  Kibworth  . 

Jane 

Grace  Duncan 


Mr.  VTilson  Barrett. 
Mr.  H.  Cooper  Cliffe. 
Mr.  T.  W.  Perc^. 
Mr.  Edward  Irvnn. 
Mr.  W.  L.  Belmoie. 
Mr.  Austin  Melford. 
Mr.  Ambrose  Melrose. 
Mr.  W.  A.  ElUott. 
Mr.  Stafford  Smith. 
Mr.  P.  Behnoie. 
Mr.  A.  E.  Field. 
Mr.  Franklin  McLeay. 
Mr.  Horace  Hodges. 
Mr.  Cecil  Duncan. 
Mr.  Geoige  Barrett. 
Miss  Lillie  Bebnore. 
Miss  Maud  Tefferies. 
Miss  Alice  Cook. 
Miss  L.  B.  Wihnot 
Miss  Lily  Hanbury. 
Miss  Alice  Belmore. 
Miss  Bessie  Carlyon. 
Miss  H.  Polini. 
Miss  Alice  Gambler. 
Miss  Winifred  Emery. 


Dec,  Z890.] 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals. 


183 


18th.    Comedy.    First  Performance. 

JANE, 

A   Farce»    in   Three   Acts,    by    Harry 

NiCHOLLS  and  W.  Lestocq. 
Mr,     Charles 

ShackUUm  .    .    Mr.  C.  H.  Hawtrey. 
Mr,  Kershaw .    .    Mr.  H.  Kemble. 
WiUiani     .    .    .    Mr.  Brookfield. 
Claude  ....    Master  R.  Saker. 
Pixtm  ....    Mr.  £.  M.  Robson. 
Miss  Lucy  Norton    Miss  Ethel  Matthews. 
Mrs,  Chadwick   .    Miss  Ewell. 
Mrs,  Pixton   ,    •    Miss  Ada  Murray. 
fane Miss  Lottie  Venne. 

20th.     Prince  of  Wales's.     First  Per- 
formance. 
THE    ROSE   AND  THE    RING. 
Fireside  Pantomime  for  Great  and  Small 

Children,  adapted  from  Thackeray's  story 

by   H.    Savile   Clarke  ;    music   by 

WALTER  Slaughter. 
Valoroso     .    .    .    Mr.  Harry  Monkhouse. 
Tommaso  Lorenzo\ 
Count     Spmachi  \  Mr.  Tom  Shale. 

(in  the  and  act)] 


Bulbo     .    .    .    . 

Glumboso    .    .    . 

Padella  {in  the 
2nd  act) .    .    . 

Count  Hedzoff.    . 

CoutU  Hoggin^ 
artno  .... 

Jenkins  Gruffa^ 
nuff   .    .     .     . 

Jester     .... 

Prince  Giglio  .     . 

Betsinda     .    . 

Rosalba  {in  the 
2nd  act) .    .    . 

Countess  Gruffk" 
nuff   .... 

Queen  of  Pajta- 
gonia,    ,    .    . 

Angelica     ,    ,    , 

The  Fairy  Black- 
stick   .    .    .    . 

B>Uy,  a  Child     , 

General  Punchi- 
koffiCrim  Tar- 
tarCommander' 
in-chief  in  the 
2nd  act),    ,    , 


Mr.  John  Le  Hay. 

-  Mr.  W.  Cheesman. 

Mr.  A.  T.  Hendon. 

Mr.  G.  Marler. 

Mr.  S.  Solomon. 
Mr.  R.  Bernard. 
Miss  Violet  Cameron. 

-  Miss  Attalie  Claire. 

Madame  Amadi 

Madame  Ada  Dor^. 
Miss  Maud  Holland. 

Miss  Isa  Bowman. 
Miss  Empsie  Bowman. 


Digitized  by  LjOOQIC- 


PRODUCTIONS  IN  THE  PROVINCES,  Etc..  DURING  1890. 


AoUng  tlM  Law.    Melodrama,    s  A.  .    Don  Glover  .       .    Rojral,  Brentford 
Allan  Ween.    Opera.    3  A.  .  .    Joseph  Parry       .    T.  R.  Cardiff 

Balyy.    Far.  Com.    3  A Robert  Soutar     .    Alexandra  T.  Southend 

Baby.  A  Warning  to  Menn6lUtB.yLady  Violet  Gre-JT.  r.  Brighton  .       . 

Play        .       .       .       .       .       •        •)     viue    .       .       ,  j  ^ 

Balllff.Tha.    Dom.  PUy.    x  A.    .       .    F.  W.Broughton.    T.  R.Bath. 
BatUe  tbrongh  lAA,  Tba.     Dr.    4  A.    W.  H.  Mitchell    .    T.  R.  Bamsley  . 

{Percy  F.  Marshall ) 
and        Richard  V  Opera  H.  Northampton 
Purdon      .        . ) 

^Adapted  by  J.  KA 


Beit  Intentions.  PUy. 
Blgot^The.  Pi«y.  4  A. 


Blrtb  and  Breading.  Com.  4  A. 


I 


Blade  Dlamondi:  or»  Uglita  and 
BUadOWBOfPltUfe.    Drama.    5  A 


Jerome  from  the  [ 

(for     copyrig^ht  I 

purposes) .       .} 

F.  Kenlon  Madcap  \ 


Sept.  99 
Junes 
JulyxT 
Oct.3x 

Aprils 
Feb.  as 

Dec.  XX 

Nov.  X9 


Sept.  x8 


Blanohe  Farreao. 


c 
Drama. 


\    rig^ht  purpo» 

(W.  Calvert,  adi 
ed  by  pen 
sion  of  Chai 
Gibbon  from 
novel  "For 
.    King"       . 


Sept.  30 


Oct.  6 


f  DetbiFhtopf:  [Alexand^^  Southend 
\    right  purposes)  ; 
W.  Calvert,  adapt-^ 
-"    •--  jpermis-l 

fromW;pewT.R.Uverpool 
For  the  I 

f  Max  Pemberton  &  t 
•]     mus.   M!'(^!>T.R-Newcastle^n.Tyne     April  xj 

(    saigne        ,       ,) 
Bfe^  pSW.'  Ja*~^?'  ^^JF.Teale  Lingham}  Royal.  Edmonton 
Broken  Coupling,  Tbe.    Mus.    x  A.  .    J.  A.  Moonie        .    Waterloo  Rooms,  Edinb. 
Brought  to  Llgbt.    Dr.         ...    Edward  Darbey  .    Morton's,  Greenwich 
Bnrled  Talent,  A.    Play.    3  sc.    .       .    Louis  N.  Parker  .    Royalty,  Glasgow     . 

f  Mrs.  Hodgson  and  ^ 
Cailtaln'B Daughter, The.  Com.  x  A. }     f^p^Sl^?- f ^^"  "*^  Southampton .    Dec  3 

I     poses)       .       .) 


BraiUlani  The.  Com.  Op.  3  a. 
Bred  In  the  Bone 


Feb.  2X 
JulyaS 
May  33 


Captivating  Carmen.  Bur. 
Carmen  Up  to  Data.  Bur.  3SC. 

ClSfy.    Mus.  Com.    3  A. 

Clerer  Capture,  A.  Comtta. 
Cloven  Foot,  The.  PL  4  A. 
Coiner's  Dream,  The.   Dr.   xA. 

Culprits.    Fare  PL    3  A.      .       . 

Daisy  Land.  Pi.  3  A.  . 
Dangers  of  London.  Dr.   3A.  . 

Darry  the  Dauntless.  Bur.  a  A. 

Dark  Past,  The.   Melodr.  4  A.  . 


/  Martin  Byam  and  \ 
ByamWyke     ./ 


1     titt ;  mus.  Hen- 


Pier  T.  Folkestone 
Sims^ 


Aug.  4 


■( 


,*^us?HeiS^rS^^«P«^«T.Uverpool    Sept.  aa 
Meyer  Lutz      .J 
W.   H.   Dearlove) 
and  Miss  Jennie  J-Town  Hall  T.  Harrogate    March  38 
Franklin,  r.a.m.  j 
MarkMelford      .    T.R.York.       .       .       .    March 7 
.    Fredk.  MouiUot  .    T.  R.  Blackburn        .       ,    Jan.  37 
.    Cecil N.T.Fitzroy    Lecture  Hall,  Derby.       .    May  xa 

.    Arthur  Law         •{  ^^f.''^^.'^*'"'.'^- ^''*'*;}Aug.  39 

.    H.  Graham  .       .    Greenwich  Hall        .       .    March  xx 
.    F.  A.  Scudamore .    T.  R.  Cardiff     .       .       •    June  9 

. { "w:t.*tS;™p«2  }<^-^y  T.  R«di.«pOgky  3. 
.    Frank  Price .       .    T.  R.  Bamsley  ,       .       .    Oct.  33 


Productions  in  the  Provinces^  etc.  183 


(Donizetti,      Ene-^ 
OscaTwdfcbylprince'sT.  Bristol    .       .    Oct.  13 
the   Carl   Rosa  I 
Co.)    .       .       J 

DanghterB.    Com.    3A.       .       .       .{^'^iuTeTdouS'lT.  R-P-'^--^^     .       .    June3o 
Bony.    Com.Op.    aA {J^g^^^^-li^^^^ 

^        ^        ,  rA.  H.  and  A.  C.\PhilharmomcHall,South-)  p^b.  8 

IHwmed.    Com.  Dr.    3A.      .       .       .j^    Hodgson   .       ./    ampton    .       .       .       •> 

E«r.Da«gi»ter..TIX,.Com.Dr.aA.{%„J^r"f'""}T-R-C™,don.       .       .Ju.y« 

(JArs.       Hodgson-v 
Bd»l>a'.B««I».    Dr.    3  A.       .       .]     |jyr*„To,^[Biiou.Ne.th      .       .       .    J«..  3 

I     end    ,       *       ')  .         ~,  * 

Engasement^An.    Duologue       .       .    B.  C.  Stephenson    T.  R.  Newcastle^n-Tyne    Aug.  a9 
FalrBane«Weillie,A:  OT,  The  CarCUl\Haslmgden  Rus-|prince's  T.Bristol    .        •    March  14 
W^.    MusTCom.    xA.    .       .       ./    sell     .       .         / 

(Adapted  by  ^^'\ 
leaux  Z^ComcokJ 

Ilrtier<Hrl,Tlie.    Dr Charles  Hannan  .    Ladbroke  Hall  .       .       .    J»n.  10 

naahee.    "  Fandcal  Hilarity.^    3  A.   .{J'^i  gf^r«,S'}N- T.  R.  Everton  .  April  7 

\,    ,  »*  ir  ^        /Prince  of  Wales',  South-)  Maya6 
Flylllg  from  Jnstloe.    Melodr.    5A. .    MarkMelford      ,^    ampton    .       .       .       . )       "^ 

/Miss  E.BraddonW^3t    Qiff    Saloon  T.)sept.6 

For  Better,  for  Worse.    Melodr.  4  A.]     (copyright  pur- V    Whitby    .       .       .  -j      '^ 

^     poses^        .       .  /  ^_ 

For<JU««a*lldO<ruiltlT.  Ma.Dr.  4A.    Evelyn  Unsworth    Bijou T.  Neath  .       .  .    Dec  .6 

F<««...«H..  Dr.  ,A. .   .    nS|p»'''^:h'^-«-^«"'-   •    •^'-^" 

^  „  „      ^  /Grand  T.  Stonehouse,        j.  June  16 

Forty  Thieves  down  to  Date.    Bur..    G.V.Keast.       .^    Plymouth  .)^ 

FOimdedonFaotS.    Dr.    sA.     .       .H.C.Tum<^  Queen's  T.Keighl^        .Feb.  ,4 

(Henry  J.  Byron)  ^^^j^g  3^^.  Co.  Chelsea  I  j^  ^chs 
FraDlavolo.   Bur.       .      .      .      .|    £S5'!°  ?  '"ll    ^^'^^^       •      •      •) 

(  Mrs.  Ho  dg  8  o  n  {  p^^^^  of  Wales'  T.  South- 1  ^^^  ^ 

Gamekeeper's IWfe. The.  Com.  iA.|    Jf^^^*^******** J   wnpto°   .      .      .      .j     '^ 

„  .  J     Herbert  Clark;  (-t.  o  Nottingham.  .    April  7 

OliyFawl»B.B8q.    Bur.    3A.     .       A     lyrics    by    Mr.  M*  *^- "''^*°* 

HeldlnHamesi.    Com.Dr.     4A.      .    C.A^a^ke'       !    Queen's T.Keighley        .    May ,9 
I       -    /Haslmgden  Ru8-\«qWI  Court  T.Liverpool    Nov.  7 

Her  First  Appearance.   Monologue  .|   3^11.      .      .|^oy»"^""    •         ^ 

ms  Future  Wife.    Far.    xA.       .       .    F.HawleyFranck8    Brighton  Aquanum.       .    Feb.  3 

/"Adapted  from  T.\ 
W.      Speight's  I 
•       -      Sfi^lBLn^-W^lingh-n  School. 


His  Lordship.    Com.  3  A. 


Aug.  6 


(produced      by  I 
students)  .        .) 


—     -       -    •  ^        eu  f  W.  G.  Watson  &\H^meBav.       .       •        •    Sept.  xa 

His  £km-ln-Law.    Farc.sk..       .  \     Alfred  Rodman/"*"*®  *^^' 

Hymen  Wins.  Far.  Whimsicality,  xsc.    Wilford  F.  Field  .    Public  HaU,  South^l.    Nov.  17 

^  Of  the  Heart.    Idyllic  Play  .    Missjanette  Steer    Shakespeare  T.  Liverpool    Feb  ax 

to]S«d]^pSa    Dr.    4A..       .  .    Hal  Corner   .       .    Aquarium,  Scarborough       Feb.  3 
m  i^waijr  x-wu.             4  « A.  H .  and  A.  C.  \  Philharmonic  Hall,  South- )  p^b.  8 

In  Olden  Days.    Comtta.  .  |     Hodgson  .       .  /    ampton    .       .  ^  \r  w 

in  the  Queen's  Hame.    Dr.    3A.  .    Trevor  ftDeliUe.    T.R.  Colchester       .       .    Feb- 5 

lonofBuripldea ^     ^  -    .  ^rnPaa^eow      *.      .    May  la 

Irish  Priest*  The.     Dr.    4  A.  .    Brandon  Ellis      .    Grand,  Glasgow  y 

rMrs.  Claud  Rob-)  Burv  St.  Edmunds  .    Dec.  a6 

ItlsJustice.    Dr {    JfirrTeZecif^r^-^"^^^    .      3., 

(Prince    of  Waless,  Bir-\ gcpt.  18 
It  was  a  Dream.    Com.  Dr.    x  a.       .    X.  L.     •       .       •  |    mingham        .       •       •  > 


1 84 


Productions  in  the  Provinces^  etc. 


fMark  Melford; 
mu8.  Popsy 
Rowe. 


'} 


Jaokeydora;  or,  The  Last  Witch./ 

Com.  Op.    3  A. I 

JesmoiUL  Dena.   Dr.  4  A.  .      .      .  — 

Junior  Partner,  The.  Fare  Com.  3  A.    Thomjis  Naden    . 
Liberty.    Dr.  Pro.  and  4  A..  .    C.  A.Clarke. 

UshtatLast    Com.  Dr.  5  A.  .    W.  J.Patmore     , 

^Major   J.    C.   K.\ 
T/«^'.w.<^«    rw»f-     ,A  J     locclyn;     mus  (Royal    Artillery, 

LoveeKagla   Optta.    xA..       .       ,<     Cavafier  L.  Za- f    wich.       .       . 

\    vertal.  .; 

I  Princess's,  Glasgow 


T.  R.  Leamington    • 

T.R.  Ipswich    . 
T.  R.  Windsor  ,       . 
Grand  Hall,  Bromley 
T.  R.  Manchester     . 


Wool- 


LnredtoBuln;  or.  A  Hero  of  Heroes  1 

(original  title).    Dr.    5A,  .       .       ./ 


(original  title),    l^r.    5 
lCaJor,The.   Com.  Optu.   3  A.  . 
Han  In  a  Thonsand,  A.  Pi.  5  A. 


McLennan;) 

Misses  V  Assembly  Hall,  Holywell 


mus. 

Gregory     .       ,) 
CUrenceBumette    T.  R.  North  Shields 


MaildllB.    Dr.    5  A {«^J2^W.""^}T.R.G«.tGrim,b, 

dramatization  \\ 
Chai 
of 


Katrlmony.   Com.  Dr.   4  A. 

Menof  MetaL   Dr.   4  A.   . 
Mesmerist,  The.   Fare.  Com. 


(A  drai 
by^C 
^^ii 
«Ma] 


Chas.  Came-I 

Wilkie  VNew  Cross  Public  HaU 


3A. 


msslCarltana;  or,NotflirJoe.  Op.  1    .nd  t  w 


Novel 
Man  &  Wife"; 

/C.  A.  Qarke  and\T  o  t»«,.„.i^« 
\    Hugh  R.  SUver/T.  R.  Bamsley  . 

Fred  Jarman       .    T.  R.  Bath .       « 
(Ueut.  G.  N< 


Dec.a6 

Oct.9 
Sept.  3a 
Aug.  35 
JuIyaS 

VFeb.  x8 


June  30 

Aprils 
Aug.  XI 
Aug.  4 

Nov.  8 

Oct.  3 

Mays 


It- >  Queen's  T.R.DubUn      .    April  ax 


pS%d  4  a!°**  "^^  Semi-Mus.  Dr.|  j^^,^  Telford      .}t.  R.  Huddersfield  . 


Modem  Ireland.  Dr. 
Mrs.  Donnlthome's  Bent. 
Muddler,  The.  Fare  Com. 
Mnslo  at  Home.   Com. 

MSrOeneraL  Com.  3  A. 


Com, 
3  A. 


R.F.Sagar 
Miss  Rose  Seaton 
HUtonHiU  .  . 
Miss  Rose  Seaton 


T.  R.  Bacup 
Opera  House,  Chatham 
Grand,  Nottingham  • 
Opera  House,  Chstham 


Nap;  or. 


Bur.      . 


/Mrs.    Colonen 
.]    It'e^'C2;?e"^¥!;^[l^oMRyde,LW. 
I    rester)       .       .) 
/Lyric  by  Stanley) 

(    Blartin.Adeson.) 


/Fred._Cooke  and  ^ Morton's  T.  Greenwich 


NewMaieRpa,Tlia    Pro.and3A.    ."[- F.'w*ldrt>n 

NewTorkPiflltlOS.    Fare  Com.     .    X^^lt^^^Ji^'^.'f^^rtnXSorA 

Night  Express,  The.  PL  Pto.  and  3  A.    Gerald  Holcroft  .    T.  R.  Edmonton 

NlOhe.    Fare  Com.    3  A. 

No  Man's  Land.  Dr.   5A. . 
Noble  Lie,  A.  PI.  4  A. 


Junes 

Sept.x3 
June  9 
JulyxS 
June  9 

Nov.  x3 


Aprils 

March  84 

Aug.  38 
Oct.  xo 


Noble  Lore.  Rom.  Dr.  4  A. 
Onr  Great  Surprise.  xA.  . 
Our  Tutor.    Fare.  Sketch.    xA. 

Pansy.  PUy.  xA.  .  . 
Peer  of  the  Realm,  A.  Rom.  Dr. 

Phyllis.  NautCom.  Op.  . 
Pim-Pom.    Fare.  Mus.  PL    xA. 

Private  Enquiry.   Fare.  Com.   3  A. 


/Harry  ft  Edward \ Prince  of  Wales',  Liver- Iceot 
\    A.Paulton       ./pool /^^*P** 


/    pool 
John  Douglass    .    T.  R.  Leicester  • 
Fred  Jarman        .    T.  R.  Jersey      . 

Harry  Blyth.       .    T.  R.GUwgow 


Nov.  3X 

Julya3 
Jan.  37 
Feb.  3o 


/Assembly  Rooms,  LeytOD-lQ^^^ 


AbbeyWood       .^    ^^ 

.    Fred  Jarman       .    T.  R.  Preston    . 

F. W. Broughton.    T.R.Bolton     . 

I    McEvoy    .       .) 

,    E.  T.  De  Banzie  .    Princess's,  Gksgow 
/Adapted  from  Ld\ 
J     SMtrilt        d!w  iRoyal 


r 

Feb.sS 
June  4 

April  14 
Feb.  ax 


••J     FamiiUs  by  F.i 


Opera 
Leicester.      • 


J. 


Queer  Lodgers.   Farce.  xA. 
Resoued  from  Death.  Dr.  4A. 

BetaJlatlon.  Comtta.  xA. 


^^"^j.  Nov.  as 
{    C.  Bivnand'     .  j  ) 

Alfred  A.  Wilmot  ParkTownHall,Battertea 
/Hugh  Montgo-)Alhambra  T.  Barrow-in- 
\    mery.       .       ./    "* 


{Adapted  from  the 
German  by  Ru- 
dolf Dircks 


•} 


Fumess 

Pavilion, 
Sea  . 


March  X 
^}  April  as 


Whitby-by-j 

•-^igiti2ed 


^t^gfe 


Productions  tn  the  Provinces^  etc.  185 

{Charles  Gounod;)  ) 

lib.iH.  B.  Far-  V  Royal  Court  T.  Uvcrpool  VJan.  xs 

Bope  Merobailt,  The.    Farce  .    MarkMelford      .    T.  R.York.       .  .    March  8 

EojgdtlwRHlg.    I>r.Com.ofCircu8jp^^j^^^^,        .} Royal,  HuU       .       .       ,    July  14 

BvttL    Play  in  Pro.  and  3  A.        .       •  {\f  JeromS?**  ^\ } Princ«'«  T.  Bristol    .       .    March  so 
Scapegoat,  Tbe.    Dr.   4A.  .       .       .    Woods  Lawrence    T.  R.  Huddersfield  .       .    Jan.  27 
BhatteredLlTes.    Dr.    Pro.  and  4  A.     A.  W.  Parry.       .    Granby  HaU,  Liverpool   .    Dec.  la 

Slitter.    Comtta W.  H.  Goldsmith    T.  R.  Stockton-on-Tees  ,    Julyai 

SlllBOfNewToilL    Dr.    sA.      .       .    Arthur  Homer    .    T.  R.  Birkenhead     .       .    Feb.  xo 

nave  Of  Drink.  Tha    Dr.    4  a..       .    Walter  Reynolds  {  Q^^^jj,^'"*    "<>"**;}  Aug.  4 
SoldUtk.    FarcCom.    3A.  .       .       .{^^^^J^^^jcrandT.  Nottingham      .    Dec.  as 
SoUdtor.  The.    Fare.  Com.    3  A.       .    J.  H.  Damley     .    Royal  Court  T.  Liverpool    May  5 
*ftS25L"^Sc^n?^A.*?    ^^}ci«renceBumette}T.R.  Workington    .       .    Oct.  5 
T^nntOll  Vale.    Dr.    3  A.    .       .       .    Louis  N.  Parker .    T.  R.  Manchester     .       .    June  xa 
Time  18  Money.    Comtu.     .  .    Birs.  Hugh  Bell  .    T.  R.  NewcasUe-on-Tyne.    Sept.  5 

UnlOIllEt,the.    PI E.R.aeaton      .{^^.^^y^*'**''  ^^*"*;|Se;>t.8 

Uhlted.    Com.  Dr.    X  A.  .       .    Alfred  Selwyn     .    Victoria  Hall,  Ealing       .  Dec  x8 

Uhreal  BIChee.    PL    x  A.     .  .    Cecil  Raleigh      .    Royal  County  T.  Reading  Sept  aa 

(Edward  Rosa  and  \ 

SS^SSf"^-'^— ''    —  Marcha6 

Victory.    Dr.   4 A.        .       .       .       .{JpoS^'^*!*''"}'^-^  ^*™°8^'*     •       •    April a8 
^WomenWmDa  Dr.  Pro.and|J.^jero^^^^^  ^       .    Sept.  X7 

Widow,  The.    Fare.  Com.    3  A.   .       .    A.  G.  Bagot .       .    T.  R.  Windsor  .       .       .    Nov.  x8 
Woman's  Love,  A.    Dr.    4  A.      .       .    Fk^  W.  Bird      .    T.  R.  Woolwich        .       .    March  xo 
Work  and  Wages.    Dr.    5  A.  .    William  Bourne  .    T.  R.  Hanley     .  .    Jan.  a? 

W0I«)0X.The.    PL       .       .       .       .{'^^riiht"^^^)}'^-^^^"*'^''       •       •    ^^' 
WoiklllglIan,The.    Dr.     .  .    H.Hardy     .       .    Colosseum,  Oldham        •    July  xo 

Weld's  verdict  Dr |^^yr&^*pS^1^5dhdi    J'   ,^^^\i^y^o 

Ditto  ,   ditto         ditto  .       .       .    Ditto   ditto .       .    T.  R.  North  Shields .       .    Dec  4 


Toong  Pretender,  A.    Fare  Com.      .    Barton  White 

(Adapted  from 
Moore's  «Lalla 
Rookh;"  mus. 
Stephen  R.Phil. 
pot     .       .       .. 


r  Sanger's     Amphitheatre, )  j^ 
Rams|;ate       .       .       ./J^'J'J 

-Gresham  Hall,  Brixton    .    Dec  17 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


PR0DUGTI0N8  IN  PARIS  DURING  1890. 


V2~*'.  *".''^"-    ^-"iIm-K Doyen       .      .       .       .    Dii^  .      .       . 

L'Age  Critlaue.    Piece,  s  A.       .    M.  Arthur  Byl     ....    Mcnut-PUisirs 
Amour.    Drama,  3  pts.,  4  sc.       .    L^n  Henrique   ....    Od6on     . 
X'Amonr  Vengl     Comic  Op.,\M.  Angc  de  Lassas;  mus.  by\,^_,     ,.      .  * 
a  A /    M.dcManpeon        .       .       "|Op<Eni-Comique     . 

AnnldA.    BaUet.  3  A.   .       .       .  /  ^t^.***"?  *°<i  ^i».^s\ ;  air  by  Bal- )  « .^ 

Anuiw.    x>«u«,3A.  .^    biani ;  mua.  by  Marenco        .  J-Eacn       •       .       . 

L'Artda  TroaiperleiFemin«8.)MM.    Paul  Ferrier  and  Emiliel  ^ 
Comedy,  3  A f    deNajac    ....       .jGymnaae        .       . 

AaoanlO.    Grand   Opera,   5  A.,\M.LouisGaUet:  mus.byCamillel  r^  ^ 
6Sc /    Saint  Sa€na      .        .       .       .|Op^ra     .       . 

BU0dia.La.    ComicOp..3A.  .{All^J^^/*  . 

Bejaune,  Le.    Fare.  Com.,  3  A.  .    MM.  Burani  and  Cermoise       .    Vari^t^ . 
BaY«liUta    Lyrical  Drama,  4  A. {\G«ton^^r.ch,mu8.  by  M.^^^  ^ 

Oamllle.    Comedy,  i  a.       .       .    PhiUippeGiUe     ....    Fran9ai8 

GhansonduTslgane  Verse.zA.    H.  deFleurigny.  .    Nouwautia 

"^.a*^*'^^    .'''^}M-An<WL*n*k.       .       .       .    Kj„et  .       '.       '. 

Olna. Hllle Quatre.  Fare. Com., \ Albert  Guinon  and   Ambroise \r^..      , 
3  A /    Janvier |Dejazet  . 

Ta.*".''^.^.    T':}c"vot.„dD„r«        .       .      .Ren.i.«nce.      . 

d^ODfttre.    Drama,  s  A.  l  MM.  Victoricn  Sardou  &  Emilie  \  ^^^    c*  »#  ^i 

uMWimuv.    i^rama,sA.     .       .  j.  Moreau,mus.M.XavicrLeroux/P°'^«-St--Martin   . 

Cl^pAtredltaUe.  Parody,  x  A.  MM.JulesJouy&^oi^esRolle  Dijaxet  .  .  , 
ColomUne.  Comic  Op.,  i  A.  .  M.Sarlin;  mua.GusUvcMichicls  Op^ra-Comique  . 
Ckmite  d'Ennont* Le.    Goethe's)  Adolphc  Adcrer;  Beethoven's \r.j. 

Drama,  iA ]    music         ....       .j-Od^n     .       . 

Conyanion,  Une.    Com.,  xA.    .    M.  Charles  de  Courcy        .       .    Francais 

Coi^eanxJupant^La.   Com.,|L^^^,^^^  ^^^^        '      ; 

Ort^de  ^Jeaa  Morel,^  I*;}L"strsS"*!"°^'''^^^''^!}a^  . 

Dante.    Lyrical  Drama,  4  A.       .  /  *^"jl!^  ^^**  •  "'"••  ^^  ^«°i-  [        .       .       .       . 
Dem^nageons.    Comedy,  z  A.    .    M.  Guillemand     ....    D<|azet  . 
D^PUM  Leyeau,  Le.    Com.,  4  A.    M.  Jules  Lcmaltre      .  .    Vaudeville     . 

Dernlisr  Amour.    Piece,  4  A.     .    M.  Georges  Ohnet      .  .    Gymnaae 

Deyant  TEmieml.    Play,  5  A.    .    Paul  Charton       ....    Ambigu  . 

DUOltrl.  Lyrical  Dnun.,,  A.  •{"l^'Jei're'^^raV.  ^^'Jo'^dS!^}OP*»■Co«'<^"e  • 
Docteur  Masoarllle,  Le.  Apro- )  ^  a  i^,^  r»^„^i„„-»  r\A  • 

pos  in  verse,  I  A.        .       .       J  M.  Alfred  Bouchmct  .       .        .    Odeon     .        .       . 

Douse  Femmes  de  Japbet,  Lee. )  MM.  Antony  Mars  and  Maurice  1  » 
VdIle.,3A.  .       .       .       .       .;    Desvalliifes;  mus.  V.Roger/'^<^°*»«**«c«  •       • 

Drapeau,    Le.      Spec.    Drama,  \Emilie    Morcau    and    Ernest  "i  a    1.. 
SA /    Depr^ J- Ambigu  . 

I>r6ledeVl8ite,Une.   Com.,  zA.    M.  Andr6  L^n^ka  .    D6jazet 


LTnTpttenne.   Spec.  Comic  Op., )  M.  Chi vot,  Nuitter  &  Beaumont :  \  r  ,  •     r^ 

.       .       .;    mus.  by  M.  Charles  Lccocq   J/Folies  Dramatiquea 


3  A. 


Oct.  6 

Nov.  s 
March6 

Dec  31 
Jan.  a 
Oct.7 
Ifarchax 

May  30 
May  3 
Dec.  3 
Biarchxs 
Jan.  84 
Oct.  xo 
June  a 
Nov.  X3 

Junexo 

April  X 

Oct.  23 
Nov.  X9  . 
Oct.  4 
Feb.  7. 
Feb.  ao 
Feb.  ao 

April  XX 

May  13 

Dec  xo 
Oct,  x6 
Nov.  z8 
Mayx6 

Feb.s 

Jan.  IS 

Decx6 

Feb.  X4 
Jan.  x5 
Nov.  8 


Productions  in  Paris.  lij 


'^???^®A?^*f*""?****?*'\  ^t}****^^^^'^^«»^^  •    Renaissance  •  •  O^- ^ 

''^!^*^**®^^*'   r*^}LfeonGandmot    ....    Qimy     .       .  .  April  a 

LTSltr'acle.  'ope«tta       \       .rSktlMSSt^tr  \'""'-  ^^}Menu8.Pld«i«  .  Feb.  ,4 

mnille,  Une.    Comedy,  4  A.  Henri  Lavedaun .  .    Fran^  .  May  17 

rte  anx  ChAvPBS,  La.     Spec. )  MM.  Paul  Ferrier  and  Albert  >q^j^  .  Dec  18 

Piece,  3  A.,  x4  Sc       .       .       .  f    Vaulos ;  mus.  M.  L.  Vamey.  j'^^**^  •  "^^  *«» 

Fanmesdei  AmlB^Les.    Com.,\j4n|  gj^jj^^^^jTo^jj^  ^    Palals-Royal  .  .  Oct.x4 

FMnUnandLeNOOeor.  Com.,4A.    M.  L^n  GandiUot  .    D^jazet  .  «  Dec  19 

r«tt<die.Le.    Operetta.  3  A.       .{^•^f?™s."^^';^^r}Menus-Ptairir8  .  March  .3 

Fen  Tonpindl.    Com.,  3  A. .       .    Alexandre  Biason  .       .    Vaudeville  .  Feb.  87 

PUto  de  L'Alr,  La.   ^^)'^j:^^,^,^y^^ 

Fine  de  Bpland.  La.    DraniainW^^^  ^^B^^nier       .       .       .    Francis         .       .    June  18 
verse,  4  A } 

r\f^<>^'^-»l^    <^'-}--:^'}^^J,^^^!t^^'^^^'')Oiion     .       .       .    Oct.6 

rmuetteetinal«)t  idyi,xA.{«M^Slf?N'SJ^y"„^.'S|J:t'}^^^^         •      -Jan.  .3 

OnuidemLa-    VdUe..3A.     .{"gSouSSl?'  .""'.     *".""! }Nouve«ut4.   .       .    J«.., 
C6nuide8MaiM»UTre»Ji»B.C<)m.,>H«)|^teRajmondandAlbert\y^4t^  AprUs 

arandmin.    Com.,  3  A.     .       .    Georges  Ancey    ....    Odion     .  .    Feb.  96 

HamietOli:d'HAolaa,I«.  VdUe.,\Q„r^0„^      ....    FoUes-DramaUques  May  24 

H^  0>micOpi«.x'A.;  '.{^S^fflT^^llSS'iSe^lOp^-Comlque  .  J«..  ,5 
Dy-a-Vlngt  ana.    VdUe.,  x  A.     .    M.  Georges  Duval  .    Folies-Dramatiques  Biay  24 

Jaqnes  Fftyan.  Drama,  x  A.  .  Serjeant  Bobillot  .  .  .  Ch&teau  d'Eau  .  May  13 
Jeanne  d' Arc  Drama,  3  A.,  6  Sc  Jules  Barbier;  mus.  byGotinod.  Porte-St.-Martin  .  Jan.  3 
JeimeB8edeL01llBSIV>,La.  5A.    Alexandre  Dumas  .    Porte^t.-Martin   .    May  27 

Ludenne.    Piece,  5  A.  .    M.  Louis  de  Gramont  .    Menus-Plaisirs      .    Dec.  a 

Ka  Ckmslne.  Com.,  3  A.  .  .  Henri  Meilhac  ....  Varietds .  .  .  Oct.  27 
Ka  me  Boeette.    Comic  Op.,  yules  Prt^velandAjroandUoratjlp^y^Ijj.,^ 

3  A J     mus.  by  Faul  Lacome     .       . )  ^ 

Madame  Dnrosei.    Com.,  x  A.  .    MM.  Bisson  and  Mars  .    Vaudeville     «       .    Feb.  27 

Madame     MongOdln.       ^»a»clMM.  Blum  and  Toch<S        .       .    VaudeviUe     .       .    Dec.  X7 

Vdlle.,  3  A.         .       •       .       •  j 
MadameOtheUo.    VdUe..3A..{MM.^«ime  Boucheron  and^  .       .       .    Sept.  ao 

l[aUre,Le.   a  study  of  peasants.  Vj^^j^Ui^^*       ....    Nouveaut^s   .       .    Oct.  ao 

l^tr^e.    Com:,xA.      \       ^{^^JglsiJSr"'  "'^  ^''!}^^j««^  •       •       .    March a9 

MaigOt    Com.,  3  A.     .  .    Henry  Meilhac    ....    Thdltre-Fran^ais  .    Jan.  x8 

■aila«edeBariUon,Le.    Com.\GTOrgesFeydeau  and  Maurice  yj^jg^^ce  .       .    March  xo 
Vdlle.,  3  A..       .       .       .       ./    Desvalliferes     .       .       .       •/ 

ItotoStuart.  seine  tfBOOWe.  J„m.  Cresaonnoia  and  Samson  .{"||'^'*d^]g„)<°^: }  Oct.  8 
M<na«es  Paiidens.    Com.,  3  A.    Albin  Valabr^e      .       .       .    NouveauUs   .       .    April  17 
IfK«teBderAlui<e,LM.  Verse,  |,Kjjjj,„„g„j-j.o<j,^        _      _   Palais-Royal.      .    March  a. 

^'HAlyett.'   Operetta.  3A.    "{ V,jrSmo^d"ASd™' .""VfB'"^"-^"'"""'  «*<"•" 

M0d4le.lln.    comic  op.,  X  A.    .{"Lt^y'S7£^2s^eSS|l;}B0"«-«»-P»ri«'«»-  "ov.  .5 

Monsieiir  Betey.    Com.,  4  A.     .    Oscar  M^tdnier  and  Paul  Alexis    Vari^^s.       .       .  March  3 

Monsievr  Jean.    Com.  inverse,)  j^jQ^gg^^^^^jg^g     ^       ^       ,    Od^on     .  .  Dec  xs 

X  A. t 

Moallnard,Le8.  Fare.  Comedy,)  MM.^  KerouT^*"*    V*^*'*;^^:"*^ I Palais-Royal  .       .  Jan.  x4 

NO8  Jolles  FraudeiueB.    FarcWj^^^^j^i-eBissoQ       ,       .       .    Nouveaut^s    .       .    Jan.  xx 

Comedy,  3  A )  ^^ 

L'OtMtacle.    Piece,  4  A.       .       .    M.  Alphonse  Daudet  .       .       .    Gymnase        .       .    Dec  a7 

L'OtafBOHg..    Com.  op..  3  A.  .{"?,-^o°SdA:?dS?''~'r':}l'°"«-D™°««'"'"'"«*'S 
L'Ogre.    Drama,  s  A.    .       .       .    M.  Jules  de  Marthold        .       •    Ambigu  .       .    Sept.  a7 

OrlentEipreBS.  SpecPlay,4A.    PaulBurani         .       .       .       •    Chatelet.  ,QOQ I ^«ly " 
Origlnaox,  Les.    Com.,  xA.      .    Fayan Frantais         .    Q    March  xa 


i88 


Productions  in  Paris. 


Fails  nn-dA-Sli61e'    Play*  4  A.    Ernest  Blum  and  Raoul  Toch6 .    Gymnase  .    Feb.  as 

Paris  T^"ftrfllB*fLn4    Review,  3  A.    MM.  Milher  and  Nom^s    •       .    Quny     .  .    Nov.  37 

^A^^.^'^.^'^''^.^'^.}^E^^a,^rf'^ '.""?•  '^yfBouffea-FariBiens.    March  10 
Pendant  rOrane.    Com.,  x  A.    .    M.  Fr^d^ric  Carmon  .  .    Od6on    .  .    May  92 

FMlUKiaimM..   D~"^5A.{D;^JJ^b^Mg^»^^frJ»}Hi.toriq«e    .       .    Nov. ^ 
PleailNld,La.    Vdlle.,3A.      .    M.  Geoii^es  Duval      .  .    Nouveaut^  .       .    Nov.  3 

p^jjorde  Justine,  L«.    f'^'^J.MM.  ValabrigueandDavril     .    Folies-Dramatiques  Sept.  i 
PortLerpar interim.  Com.,iA.    RaoulCaveme     ....    Vari^t^. 
Prix  Montyon,  Uil.  Com.  Vdlle., )  MM.    Albin    Valabrigue    and  )  p.i,;- Rn^i 

3  A f    Maurice  Hennequin       .       ,  f  '^~""»-*wy«j . 

TlOV^^a^kV9tlB,JM.  Com.  j.E^jj^  ^^  jj^^  ^^  p^j  jj^^^    Palais-Royal . 

B^glmeLt.Le.    Drama,  5  A.       -{^risl^r"  ?**'^.  "*!  ^''^!  W^'8«  •       • 
Beyantihe  dn  Marl,  La.    Com.,{Feliz  Cohen  and  Grenet  DanO  n^i.,^ 
3  A.  .       .       .       .       .f    court j-D6Jaxet  .       . 

E^Le.    BaUet,aA.,3Sc.      ^^"sUnef^*"'  T'.*'^  .^"}OP^«     •       • 
Soman  dime  CkmsplratUmt  La.  I  Henri  Fouquier  &  FabrioeCarr^; )  a -,k<<,.i 
5  A f    foundedonanovelbyA.Ranc;^^*'**^  • 

Borneo  et.  Juliette.  Dnuna  m  j^M?^i^"i^rfSS.f^^> 

•  (     M.  Francis  Thom^  , 


verse,  5  A. 

Samson  et  DaUla. 


Opera,  3  A. 


a.  by  I 


Od6on 


[.  Femand  Lemaire;  mus.  by\T_^.-„^  ,r^^„v 
M.  CamiUe  Saint  Saens  .      •:|Lynque  (Eden) 

["*Roger^*'^'''*""^*'^^''^'}N^^^  • 


Samsonnet.  Operetta,  3  a. 

Sangller,  Le.  Com.,  z  A.  .  .  M.  Alexandre  Bisson 
8m^  de  OUberto,  Le.  Piece.  |m.  Theodore  Massiac 
Snperbe  Occasion.    VdUe.,  3  A.    MM.  Busnach  and  Debrit 

To^Pen,atontPlamme.  Vdiie.,|jy^jj^  O'Monroy     . 

^I^«g«^J«  Wdlonles,  Les.  ^Georges  Villain  .       . 

Un  Oonsln  de  Province    Com.,  j.  j^^^^  Lafo^^  and  Taylor 

U^  Vengeance.  Play,  3  A.  .  Henri  Amic  .  . 
Vem  avant  la  Lettre.    Com., )  j^^j  candrey  and  Lta^ka 

VleiDenxLa.  Com.. 3 A. 


Vaudeville 
Od^n  . 
Quny  . 
Vari6t^.       . 

Bouffes-Parisiens 

D^jazet  . 
Renaissance  • 
Gjrmnase 


/Henry  Bocage  and  Charles  de)  rijx«« 


Vocation  de  Marine.  La.   Piece,)  FabriceCarr6&iUbertDebelly;)j,w 
3  A. t    mu«.  by  Raoul  Pugno     .       .  J- «ouveauies 

Voyage  en  Snkle,  Le.     Fare.  \  mm.  Marc  Sonal  and  Victor 

Com.,  xA /    Grdhon     .... 

/Adapted    from    the    Walloon' 


voyage  de  Ghandftotalne,  l^^    ^?°  7  'S2.  %"jean 

IHama      t        •       •       •, 


^.  de  Bnsette^  Le. 

iece,  3  A.  zz  Sc 

2alre.    Opera,  2  a. 


I    NOel] 
Spec.  \  MM.  Chivet  and  Duru; 
./    by  L^on  Vasseor 


mus.' 


/  EdouardBlau  and  LouisBesson ; ' 
•\    mus.  by  Veronge  de  la  Nux  ,  ' 


Vari6t^. 


Nouveaut6t 


Galt« 


Op^ra 


June  xz 
Dec.  4 
Junex 

Nov.  2Z 

May  30 
.    June  9 
April  x8 

Oct.  30 

Oct.3X 

Nov.  86 
April  x6 
Sept.  zo 
Marchx 
June  XX 
April  30 

Junes 
Jaiuzs 
"Sepux 

April  z3 

March  99 

Oct.  4- 

June  8 

Jan.  90 
Mays8 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


ENGLISH  (AND  A  FEW  OTHER)  PLAYS,  etc..  PRODUCED 
IN  NEW  YORK,   etc.,   IN  1890. 


AIiUle(Moi«orL6eB)LordFtamtl«r07     Archibald  Blyordon Oct.  4 

Aftermatb  (first  performance  at  American 

Theatre  Libre) Dr.  Hartmann  and  S.  Strange  .       .  Sept.  9 

AUflnrHer H.  J.  Merivale  and  Fklgrave  Simpson         .  Nov.  6 

Awakanlng  (** Tears,  Idle  Tears '0 AprUaS 

Bates  in  tbe  Wood,  The  .  .       .    H.  C  Leslie's  production  .       «  Nov.  xo 

Banker,  Tbe  ("Henry  Dunbar")  .    J.  Schonberg  Junes 

Bottom  Of  the  S6a»  The  ("The  Diver's 

Luck") Sept.! 

Dr.  BUI Hamilton  Aldtf Sept.  27 

Bn^^llBll  Rose,  The       .    *  .  .    G.  R.  Sims  and  R.  Buchanan  .  Sept.  z 

OogglesC'PetitsOiscauxO  .       .    C.  A.  Byrne Sept.aa 

GovemeBflyThe April  7 

OlUlt7  without  Orlme  ("  Aurora  Floyd  '^   V.  de  Nois  and  C  Young      ....  April  sz 

Hamuuihee  ("Cleopatra '0 Sept  34 

Havoan  AlnusKdild  an<l  his  Mothw^ln- 

Law  ("The  Arabian  Nights")  .    Sydney  Grundy Mar.a6 

Idler,  The C.  Haddon  CHuunbers Nov.  zz 

18  Marriage  a  Failure  t     .       .       .       .    Archibald  D.  Gordon Oct.  96 

It  waa  a  Bream x.  L. .      .  .  Dec.  z 

Lestala Richard  W.  Davey Oct  8 

Lneme Archibald  D.  (Gordon Oct  so 

Kalster  of  WoodbaxrOW,  The .  .    Jerome  K.  Jerome Aug.  36 

Mary  UnOOln,  KD.     .  .    Charles  Bumard Sept  25 

Maak  of  Life,  The John  a.  Stevens Sept.  8 

Master  and  Man G.  R.  Sims  and  H.  Pettitt     ....  Feb.  5 

Mtory  Monarch,  The  (''L'EtoileO.       .    J.  Cheever Aug.  z8 

Middleman,  Th^ Heiuy  Arthur  Jones Nov.  zo 

Miaer,  The Wilson  Barrett Mar.  8 

Miaa  Cheater Florence  Marryat  and  Sir  (Charles  Young  .  Oct.  24 

Mr.  Potter  of  Texaa a.  C.  Gunter May  z9 

Rew  Lamps  for  Old Jerome  R.  Jerome Oct.  7 

Homlnee,  The W.  Yardley  and  L.  P.  Richardson  .  May  9 

(Hf  the  TtadC F.  G.  Reynolds July  az 

On  Probation Brander  Matthews  and  G.  H.  Jessop   .       .  Nov.  Z9 

One  Error Edward  E.  Kidder Aug.  24 

Percy  PandragOnC  Married  in  Haste")      H.J.Byron April  za 

Poor  Jonathan J.  P.  Jackson  and  R.  Weill    ....  Ort.  Z4 

Prinoeaa  Paragon,  A H.  Paulton  and  Mostyn  Teelde     .  .  Feb.  Z2 

Prinoe  and  the  Pauper,  The    .  .    Mrs.  Oscar  Bennger Jan.  ao 

Prinoeaa  Zillah G.  M.  Wood  and  Arthur  Shirley  .  .  Oct.  z6 

ReoUeaa  Temide Augustus  Thomas Oct  a? 

8ea  King,  The Richard  Stahl Julys 

Silyer  Palla,  The G.  R.  Sims  and  H.  Pettitt      ....  Mays 

Silyer  8hl61d,  The Sydney  Grundy Oct.  3 

Soudan,  The Aug.  Hards  and  H.  Pettitt    ....  Sept.  z6 

Sunaet Jerome  K.  Jerome Feb.  a? 

Taleof  a  Goatto  The  ("Jimmy  Watt '0    .    Dion  Boucicault Aug.  4 

Trip  to  Chinatown,  A       .       .       .       .    C.  H.  Hoyt Sept.  z8 

Ugly  Duckling,  The Paul  M.  Potter  and  David  Belasco  .  Nov.  zo 

Walt  A  ("Nobody's Child") Sept  aa 

What  Women  Will  Do       ...       .    Jerome  R.  Jerome  and  Addison  Bright       .  April  z? 

Whirlwind,  The Sydney  Rosenfeld Sept  30 

White  Lie,  A Sydney  Grundy Feb.  a4 

Wicked  London Frank  Harvey Feb.  zol 

Witch,  The Marie  Maddison  and  Philip  Hamilton  .       .  Nov.  zz 


ENQLI8H    PLAYS 

Produced  through  the  intermediary  of  d,    T,   QREIN, 

In  HOLLAND  and  BELGIUM  during  1890. 


AMUTKRPAW. 

Royal  Dutch  Comboy. 


The  Mlitilltmfm OA°uary). 

unit  Lord  Firantteroy (March). 

JtUlall (October). 

Variety  Thkatrx. 

Our  Flat ,       .       (September). 

Hew  Lampe  for  Old (November). 

THB  HA0UB  and  OOUNTBT. 

The  above  plays  have  been  performed  in  all  leading  country  towns,  such  a$ :  The  Hague, 
Utrecht,  Amhem,  Rotterdam,  Nijmegen,  Assen,  ZwoUe,  Groningen. 

ANTWERP,   UMHMT,   and  BBUCDBS. 

Municipal  Theatres. 

The  Ha^bonr  Ughte (September). 

The  mdrtleman (November). 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


ALHAMBRA 

THEJJTI^E  *  OF  •  YH^IETIES. 

LEICESTER   SQUARE,   LONDON. 


«  TIjE'^ HOME^^ OF^ BALLET/*^ 

OPEN    «*ALL   THE  YEAR   ROUND." 

Svery   Evening  from   8    d clock   until   11.30. 

BEAETim  ^  BAUBTS, 


SUPPORTED  BY 


Signorina  Legnani, 

Mdlles.  Spottiy  Zimmerman,  Marie,  and  Hoby,  and 

Mr.  Charles  Laori. 


AND  A 


J^efine^  ^^anefy  Qnferfdnmenf, 


COMPRISING 


Miss  Marie  Lloyd,  Marie  Loftns,  Nellie  Richards, 

Mr.  James  Fawn,  Mr.  Ben  Nathan,  Mr.  O.  W.  Rowdon  (Champion 

Jumper  of  the  World),  Mr.  Charles  Laori,  and  Troupe, 

etc.,  etc. 


OPERATIC  AND  OTHER  SELECTIONS  BY  THE  ORCHESTRA. 

Musical  Conductor   -     -      ^M.   JACO'BL 

Prices  of  Admission,  6d.,  is.,  as.,  3s.,  and  5s. ;  Private  Boxes, 
£1  IS.  to  £a  las.  6d. 

Acting  Manager  .  .  MR.  G.  M.  EDWARDS. 


HEIGHWAY  i  DEPREE, 

ConIr2icIor5  for  DecorxJEive  Vort5, 

43,   PICCADILLY  CIRCUS, 
LONDON. 


>1ANehlE8TEI^     /rDDRESS: 

HSigmF^yiT  &  SON,  19,  John  Da/ton  Street. 

ESTABLISHED    1769. 


^a^inn-ymn  ntA  %tirim$^  J^^^^t  JjHtWte  1i[iw^  JJwiWt 

J$twitttu$  1i[iroiwj0rit^  J^tunttiuj  ymuiittg^  8»im$t  ^pxkf 

^fi^tinimit  ynttfn$i  %hmttQf  jUmnA  9lnt%  ^ 


list  of  some  of  the  more  important  works  recently  executed  under  the 
direction  of  eminent  Architects  : — 

LONDON. 


ST.  JAUES'S  HALL  (Great  HaU). 
COURT  THEATRE. 
OARRICK  THEATRE. 
VMVTRH  THEATRE  (Exterior). 
TXVOU  THEATRE  AND  RE8TAT7RAMT. 
FRINGES'  GLUB,  ENIGHTSBRIDGE  (Pom- 

p^aa  Decoration  of  TorklBli  Baths, 

eta). 
MADAME  TUSSAUD^  EXHIBITION. 
MONIGO      RESTAURANT      (Renaissance 

Saloon  and  MarUe  WorkX 


ITALIAN  EXHIBITION,  EARL'S  GOURT 
(ooniideraUe  Interior  work  andd^dts 
in  tbe  grounds,  Including  large  Wine 
KlOBqnes,  etc.). 

KKKKKI.KY  HOTEL,  ST.  JAMES'S. 

ALBEMARLE  HOTEL,  ST.  JAMES'S. 

GHALUS'S  HOTEL. 

HOLBORN  VIADUGT  HOTEL. 

NAVAL  EXHIBITION  (Dining  Saloons). 

MANGHBSTER  AND  LIVERPOOL  DISTRICT 
BANS,  GORNHILL,  E.a 
Eta,  etc. 


TOWN  HALL. 
OOMEDT  THEATRE. 
QUEEN'S  THEATRE. 
PALACE  OF  VARIETIES. 
CONSERVATIVE  CLUB, 
FRENCH  CLUB. 
UNION  CLUB  (In  partX 
VICTORU  HOTEL. 
ALBION  HOTEL. 

LYCEUM  THEATRE, 


MANCHESTER. 

PALATINE  HOTEL. 

WTBS^xnA  PARKER'S  RES- 
TAURANT. 

STOCK  EXCHANGE. 

BANK  OF  ENGLAND. 

LANCASHIRE  AND  YORK- 
SHIRE BANK. 

NATIONAL  AND  PROVIN 
CIAL  BANK  OF  ENGLAND. 

IPSWICH.      THE  ALHAMBRA, 


MANCHESTER  AND  LIVER- 
POOL DISTRICT  BANK 
(Head  Office  and  King 
Street  Branch;  Ditto 
Wlgan  and  other 
Branches.) 

MANCHESTER     JUBILEE 
EXHIBITION  (Dining 
Saloons,  etaX 
Etc.,  eta 

BRIGHTON.     Eta.  eta 


INDEX. 


Abbott,  Amy,  19 
Abingdon,  W.  L.,  X03 
Across  Htr  Paih,  8, 169 
Actors'  Association,  z68 
Adams,  W.  Davenport,  130 

Adelpht  of  Ttrtticet  T/re,  163 

Adelphi  Theatre,  ^  39,  40, 43,  57,  zoz,  z63|  179, 

Z73,  176 
Aaoj^hoMf  63 
Adnmng  Lecouvmtr,  zoo 
Adye,  Oscar,  9,  sz,  56,  Z50,  Z69 
Ald^.  Hamilton.  II,  170 
AlaadiHy  167 :  Principals  in  Cast,  267. 
Aladdin  tma  the  Wondiffnl  Lamp.  x68 ;  Prin- 

dpaU  in  Cast,  x68 
Albery,  James,  xo6 
d'Alcourt,  Miss,  Z99 
Alexander,  Geoi^^e,  zx,  Z9,  57,  xa7f  139 
Alhambra,7a 
Alias.  XXX 
AUAbroadt  19 
AU  a  MisiaJu,  xx,  40 
Allan,  Charles,  X30U 135,  x6a,  x68 
Allen  Wy  47, 80 
AUison,  C.  W.,  x8 
Allison,  W..  X30 
Amadi,  BCadame,  8^  xxx,  169 
AmaUur  Pantomtmg  Rehgarsal,  An,  104 
VAmi  dts  Fnnmts,  155 
Anderson,  Mary,  7a 
Andromeda,  90 

ArUss,  G.,  x6o 
Armbruster,  Carl,  130 
Armbruster,  Violet,  93,  96,  47, 159 
ArmorelqfLyonesse,  x68 
Amauld,  Walter,  46 
Amdiffis,  H.,  83 
Art  and  Love,  73 
Artful  Dodge,  The,  67 
As  Large  as  Life,  53 

"f^J^^^J^f^  "*  *"»  9a»  »7i|  X76 
A*hby»  MiM,  X99     ^ 
Ashford,  Charles,  x8 
Ashley,  Henry,  xix,  149,  X69 
At  the  Pantomime,  X65 
Athenaeum  Hall,  99 
Atherley,  F.,  88, 107 
D'Auban,  John,  199, 167 


73i  77f  96,  xox,  X94, 


Audran,  X33, 179 

L'Autographe,  155 

Avenue  Theatre,  xx,  96,  43, 56, 

xj8,  xTOw  174,  X78,  X79 
Aylmer,  John,  46 
Aylward,  Miss.  X4x.  169 
Aynesworth,  £.  Allan,  45 
Ayrton,  Margaret,  7, 169 

B. 
Babes  in  the  IVood.  167 ;  Principals  in  Cast  and 

Harlequinade,  167 
Backster,  F.  O.,  155 
BaddeleyCake,  5 
Bailiff,  The,  sA,ii 
Baker,  Henry,  97 
Baker,  Moreton,  71 
Baldry,  Daisy,  193 
Baldry,  Lys.  47,  80 
Balfour,  Alfred,  63 
Ballad-Monger,  30,  Z55 
Bancroft,  Mrs.,  6z.  174 
Bancroft,  S.  B.,  96,  70 
Bandnuum-Palmer,  Mrs.,  46 


Bannister,  Ella,  14,  94.  40.  zto 

BardeUv:PiS!eeiai!%r'  ^ 

Barnes,  J.  H.,  54     '  "^ 

Bamett,  John,  4a 

Barrett,  George,  160, 162 

Barrett,  Oscar,  95,  z66 

Barrett,  WUsod,  156,  zs9, 169, 180 

Barrister,  The,  54 

Barry,  Katie,  199 

Barry,  Shiel,  18, 194 

Barton,  Ada,  64 

Bayntun.  Henry,  91 

Beaton,  Miss,  fo 

Beatrice  Company,  197 

Beau  Austin,  140,  x68, 179 


aeau  jtusnn.  140,  x«,  179 
Beauchamp.  John,  49,  Z53 
Beauty  and  the  Bea^l,  i& 
Beck,  Philip.  8 
a'Becket,  Gilbert,  xxo^  133 


;  Harlequinade,  167 


BelUmy.  38 

BeUs,  The,  so,  79,  x66 

Bdmore,  G.,  153, 156, 169 

Belmore,  Lillie,  159 

Belmore,  Paul,  168 

Bendall,Wilfiid,x36 

Pcnnett.  Rfr3.»  83+  f  iS 

IW.nru.Lt,  VV-nie,  3.-^ 

lVri.on.F.,5,,2^,^3^^6,,70 

K  11-son,  Mrs.,  g,  35,  45,  X70 

bt-tt  4[ijrd,  Isaiielj  118 

B<.  r  jn^(^r,  Mrs.  Oscar,  38,  98,  179 

g^""f''^';,y^ra,  3S,35,  100 

Hcrlyilp  Alfred,  43,  172 

Bertiage,  Gcorgej  18 

Be^hSli;,  Miss  E*^  13,  70 

Btsfile,  MarVj  ji,  70 

Bus/  Man  t-Vitif,  JA*   xo 

mr'^if^^'i^'3'>.W3 
Billin^&n,  Mr3.»  40 

Birltbcck  liiatitute,  ti8 
Bjseood.  J.  J.,  30 

g{!7^'^^^^»'«d^34,  35,  40,  43,  57,  xa9 

Blftck,  Georg€  F.,  75,  7,,  170 
Black  Rotvr,  Ths.  i«.  x^.  xtS 
B^l--*l'=y^,W',  50/7^^  rc;7  7x7,  X34.  X54 

Bhtibtard  Pasha:,  J  66 
BIythc,  J,  S,*  J70r  iji 
BoaKj  F.  S.,  35 
Bolejn,  R.  S.,  138,  I4J 
Bond,  Frederick,  6g,  70,  75,  94 
BookmaiftTf  The,  107, 177 
BoswortliLMr.,  ^a 
Boudler*  EUea.  t.i 
BouGicatik,  Aabrcv,  517 
Boucicault,  Dion,  lai,  xx8,  x8o 

?o;:::fj;fcit,ii!;':'';r  »*•  "'•  ^-  »•  »*•  »^ «« 

Bmd«s,  Iv  W.p+V 
Bowman,  Kmmie,  £8 
BowTiian,  Etnpsie,ji65 

Bowling,  C.  C.,  3Q 

Bowyer.  Frederick ^  16 

BovTie*  Leonard,  10,  t5,  48,  69,  X03 

"  J-!riinmLa  s  rarBrfise**'  a6 

Brame,  H,  W.,  85.  J44 

Briindon,  F*  G.,  g.7  ^^ 

Brandon,  k-K:clyn-«.     ,,    CZr\r\rs\{> 

Br«.don.  Dig*.  i?,'l;^^S^V3^^il^ 

13 


194 


Index. 


Brennan,  ICaud,  139 

Brid9  o/Lovt,  Th€,  57,  68,  173 

Bright,  Evm,  z8 

Brij^ht,  Florence,  z8 

Britannia  Theatre,  267 

Brodie,  Matthew,  17,  aa,  26,  66 

Brook,  Sarah,  07 

Brooke,  Mrs.  E.  H.,  9,  6a,  145, 169 

Brookfield,  Charles,  235, 141, 147,  164 

Brottgh,  Fanny,  la,  90^  zz6, 137,  270 

Brough,  Lionel,  234 

Brough,  Sydney,  ao,  a2,  6a.  238, 170 

Broughton,  F.  W..  2a,  54,  85 

Brough  ton,  Phyllia.  8,  222,  269 

Browne,  Heron,  268 

Browne,  Walter,  25s 

Bruce,  Edith^  53, 266 

Bninton,  Emily,  20, 33 

Bryan,  Mrs  J.  F.,  203 

Buchanan,  Robert,  23,  24,  87,  48,  57,  68, 90,  20a, 

Bucklaw,  92.  2a6 

Buckstone,  Lucy,  66 

Bufton.  Eleanor,  66 

Buist,  Milton,  54 

Buist,  Scott,  27,  43,  54,  223 

Bull,  Charlea,4x 

Bungalow,  TTuj  27,  75 

Burud  TaUnt,  A,  67 

Burk,  Miss,  239 

Burleigh,  Charles,  250 

Burleigh,  T.  C,  70 

Bumand.  F.  C,  6,  36, 47»  xzo,  233, 269, 272, 277, 279 

Burnett,  Mrs.,  37 

Byrne,  George,  203 

Byron,  John,  270 

C. 

Cabingt  MiniaUr,  Tht,  44,  234,  274 
Caldicott,  A.  J.,  29,  25s 
Calhaem,  Emilie,  201,  230 
Calhoun,  Miss,  62,  200 
Calltd  Back,  244 
Calmour,  A.  C,  77,  X74 
Calvert,  Charles,  30,  47 
Calvert,  Mrs.  Charles,  72 
Calvert,  Louis,  a6 
Cameron,  Violet,  5,  236,  265 
Campbell,  Herbert,  166 
Campbell,  Mrs.  Patrick,  67 
Cane.  Mr.,  35 
Guminge,  George,  272 
Canninee,  Mrs.,  34,  40,  204 
Capel,  G.,  2a,  270 
Capet,  Helen.  28 
Captain  Swi/i,  26a 
Captain  TMrist,  209,  236,  277 
Carleton,  Royce,  35,  49,  60 
Carlyle,  Delia,  85,  244 
Carmtn  up  to  Data,  238,  236,  278 
Carnival  lime,  37 
Carr,  J.  Comyns,  68,  244,  274 
Carr,  Mrs.  J.  C,  233 
Carson,  Birs.  C.  L.,  as,  54 
Carter,  John,  83 
CartoTj,  R.  C.,  170 
Cortwrit^hl,  CharieB,  35,  45,  46,  48 
Cftryll,  Ivan,  jj^  133,  279 
CjLsati.  79 

Cassihs,  tna  Lfton,  56 
Cfistitig  thr  Bfji^mtrang,  69,  208 
Cathcartf  R.,  170 
Oiutley,  Laurence^  18,  aa,  76,  2Z3 
C&vcr  J.  A.-,  101 
Csvcn^iab,  Ada,  53 
Cecil,  Arthur^  45 
Ctrist  «S*  G?.,  41,  17a 
Ominpion,  Miss,  izg 
Champion,  P«S, I  135 
CImMg\$Sf  46 
Chapiomnt  Arthur,  66 
Chapiiy,  Effic,  mu  130,  253,  260 
Charles,  Thomas  W.,  239 
CheathjuBf  K-itiy,  70,  74,  89,94 
n,  W.,  165 


Chelsea  Town  Hall,  22 

Chester*  Edith,  76,  90 

Chester,  El&k,  56,  96 

ChevAliet,  Albert,  ti,  ti6^  144,  270 

Cigalgf  Lft,  ts3t  179 

Cindtrtfia,  5 

Qajre,  AttaJie,  iii,  165 

CiatissOt  13,  14,  15,  1:70 

Garkf  Oestodj  66 

Qarkf  Mcrton,  ^st 

Qark^t  Geori^e,  fi^i,  <aa,  94 

Clarke*  Henrv  F,  gS 

Clarke,  Savlle,  165,  d  i 

Qaj,  Lilat  1  ^4 

Clenients,  ^f&e,  134 

Cliffe,  H.  Cooper,  160,  i6a 

CUHon,  Mrs*,  5a 

Ciive,  Gary II,  63 

Ciockts  di  CorntVilU,  Les,  28 

Citt£k  Maker's  HmU  Tkt,  63 

ClofffH  Foot,  Tfitf  79 

Gulow,  J>i  JO 

Cockburn*  GeorRic  W. ,  4S 

CofHn,  I^aydern,  i,  no,  1^ 

CoghUii,  Charles,  150 

Coleridge,  Miss,  166 

Coll^rd,  AvaJon*  gi,  155 

CoUette,  ChjLrles,  ^^  64,  114 

CoJlttlr,  Mary,  15,  46^  63^  170 

ColnAghin,  Bertha*  13 

Colnii^hi*  Charlea*,  47,  6» 

Colona,  D«^ii  Edgairdo,  ijS 

Comidy  and  Twagtdy^  49,  130 

Comt'dy  TheaLre,  6,'  9,  tS^   18,  85,  36,  38,  4a,  49, 

S***  S't  66,  6J3.  70,  135^  14^  172,  279,  282 
ComptDTif  wli^St  ick 
Coniiel!,  Christine*  47,  8q 
Connell,  janeE*  47*  Bo 
Coiiqticat,  G*;cirK«,  ijS 
Conquest,  Mra,  George,  165 
Conz'icfs  Wi/w,  A,  S4 
Conwa3',  Hugh*  144 
Cook,  Alice,  i6a 

Cooper,  F-  Kemble,  aS,  150,  252,  263 
C'T  '  .  _  '.  .     I   harles,  M9 
Cvi  '.:•<>.  .  ..  -j.vrr??.  The,  soj 
Court,  t\  H.,  30 
Court  Theatre,  44,  234,  27a 
Courtney,  W.  L.,  85,  275 
Coutts,  Compton,  30,  63,  243 
Coventry,  E.  A..  255 
CoweU,  Lydia,  63,  68,  247 
Craig,  Gordon,  233 
Crane,  Edith,  74,  75i  88 
Crauford,  J.  R.,  95 
Craven,  T.,  228 
Craven,  Hawes,  233 
Crewe  &  Sprague,  Messrs.,  258 
Crisp,  Henry,  255 

Criterion  Theatre,  2o»  26,  99,  43i  So»  68. 78,  86, 
r~  ***5»  "V^7  '54f  168,  273i  174,  177,  X78,  280 
Crofton,  Cecil,  44,  80 
Cromwell,  W.  Oliver,  83 
Crook,  John,  78.  233 
Cross,  Alfred  B.,  83,  263 
Cross,  Henrietta,  83 
Cross,  Julian,  30,  37,  381  47i  49.  8a»  xa7,  X4ai  iS». 

256 
Cruikskanks,  218 

Crusader  and  tht  CraveHf  Tkg,  130 
Crystal  Palace,  95,  234,  266 
Cudmore,  Angela.  78 
Cunningham,  Philip,  228 
gynr«#,  j7,  174 

success,  10 


yw«#,77, 
Cyrifa  Sui 


Dabbs,  Dr.,  73 

Dacre,  Arthur.  36 

Daf^nall,  E.,  ^6,  38 

Dairolles,  Adnenne,  42, 53,  76,  93,  237, 138 

Daisy,  46 

Dalton,  Charles,  30 

Dalton.  Maurice,  8,  203 

Daly,  Augustine,  69,  74,  86,  93,  204,  208,  2751  176 

Daly,  Mana,  227 


Index. 


195 


Danu  aux  CamtUiaSt  Zm,  xoo 
Ouu,  Henrv,  xay,  143, 153 
Dance,  Charlet,  43,  88 
Dane,  Miss  Essex,  9a 
Doftgnrs  of  London,  Ths,  7* 
Darpey,  Edward,  ag 
*"    '  *!' 

u  /vrviuc,  v««iniue,  °    "'" 

Darwin,  Philip,  8 

Dttvid  UinrieM,  ag 

Dawson,  Forbes,  90,  X35 

Dawson,  Jenny,  za8 

De  Lange,  H.,  47i  76 

De  Soils,  Mrs.  B.  M.,  54 

DetBCon,  The,  ixz,  177 

Dtad  Heart,  Thg,g,  36 

Dear  Dtpari9d,  the,  66 

Dtar  Friends,  95 

Dearest  Mama,  x^ 

Dearing,  Rose,  6b,  153,  X56 

Delaporte.  Af^es,  7,  X33,  X69 

Delicate  Ground,  43,  88 

Dene,  Dorothy,  35 

Dene,  Hetty,  33 

Dick  Venabies,  33 

Dickinson,  Charles  H.,  38 

Divorfons,  17B 

Dodsworth,  Charles,  43, 170 

Domestic  Economy,  36,  X7z 

Doone,  Neville,  49 

D'Orsay,  Lawrance,  30,  36, 84, 85 

Double  Dose,  A,  35  , 

Douglas,  Earle,  zoo 

Dowse,  G.  J.,  x63 

Dr,  But,  XX.  a6,  98,  zoz,  X70 

DraycotL  W.,  so 

Dream  Faces,  3x,  170 

S'*^'  Jrite*  ^  ^  7*»  75.  89, 9a>  X05 


Drew,  Willie,  54 

Drink  water,  A.  E.,  1x3 

Dmmmond,  Dolores,  48,  xaS 

Drury  Lane  Theatre,  s6, 50*  67,  xx3i  166,  X73, 177 

Daboaig,  A.  W.,  73 

Dunlo^  Lady,  X33, 166 

Duskte,  73 

Du  Val  Benefit,  X51 

Dwelly,  Annie,  x6o 

Dwyer,  Bfichael,  134 


EarfsDaugMter,  The,  X03 


Eccentric  Club,  X46 
Eden,  Eva.  56 
Ediitws  Buj^lar,  37 


Eden,  Eva.  56 

_   ii/ws  Burglar,  2; 

Edmonton,  New  T.  R.,  37 


Edmunds,  C,  88 

Edwardes-Sprange,  x6,  56 

Elaine,  7s 

Eldred,  J.,  133 

Elephant  and  Castle  Theatre,  94,  lox,  137,  x63,  z66 

Elliott.  W.  A.,  X59,  x6o 

EUis,  A.,  3x,  56 

Ellison.  Clara,  85 

Elwood,  Arthur,  10,  x6,  34,  43.  ^34 

Emery,  E.,  88 

Emery,  F^  44. 107 

Emery,  Winifred,  14,  38, 40, 6x,  xx8,  xs9,  X63,,  X70 


176 


Emmerson.  Miss,  38 
Enen^  of  the  People,  An,  73 
English  Rose,  The,  xox,  xo8, 163, 
Erie,  Marian,  x8 
Erlynne,  Rovdon,  33,  Z34 
Erskine.  Robertha,  30,  50,  6x 
Esmon<L  H.  V.,  34. 91, 130,  X49,  xs3 
Esther  Sattdram,  46, 173. 
Everard,  Walter,  38 
EverilL  F.,  33,  47,  76 
Ever8fidd,H.,66,94,X43 
Ewell,  Miss,  X64 


Fairfax,  Mrs.,  oa 


F. 


Fallen  Among  Thieves,  Z37 

Farquhar,  GilberL  76,  00,  Z35 

Farr,  Fference  (Mrs.  Edward  Emery),  47»  80 


Farren,  Nellie,  43 

Farren,  William,  39,  94,  zo8,  Z54 

FtMVourUe  of  the  King,  The,  35 

Fasio,  80,  8x ,  Z75 

Featherston.  Vane,  Z7,  90tjPi  56,  Z07. 135 

Female  Barbarism,  Z63 ;  rrincipals  m  QMt,  Z63 

Feim,  G.  Manville,  54 

Fenn,  Susetta,  153,  z6o 

Fenton,  Frank  W.,  96 

Fernandez,  James,  5,  33, 145,  X55,  z6o,  z63 

Ferrar,  Ada,  35, 68,  xo8 

Ferrar,  Beatrice,  9x,  X30 

Ferrers^  Helen,  x63 

Fickle  Fortune.  40 

Field-Fisher.  A.,  39 

Filippi,  Rostna,  xx,  45,  z6x 

Fires,  6,  39^  3X,  41,  xo8,  xsS 

Fischer,  Harry,  Z33 

Fisher,  Charles,  88,  93 

Fisher,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  Edgar,  X63 

Fitz-Georre,  Mrs.  (Miss  FarebrotherX  8 

Fitzroy,  Miss,  xz7,  z68 

Fletcher,  Elizabeth,  z47 

Floyd.  Miss  M.,  x6x 

FoUed,  X36 

Follies  of  the  Day,  The,  X33 

FoUy,A.D.C.,4a 

Foots  Mate,  X3 

For  Her  Child's  Sake,  3X 

Ford,  Ernest,  69 

Forde,  Athol,  35,  30,  64,  X70 

Forsyth,  Helen,  30,  37,  78,  X07, 1x7 

For^th.  Kate,  94 

Fortunes  Fool,  jiiB 

Forty  Thieves  (and  Principals  in  Opening  and 

Harlequinade),  167 
Foss,  G.,  83,  x63 
Foster.  Miss.  x66 
Foundered  Fortune,  A,  x6a 
Frances,  Fanny  (Faimy  Moore),  xo,  x6,  44»  50, 

88.  X07,  XX7 
Francis,  A.  B.,  85 
Freeman^H.  A.,  X03 
French  PUys.    79,   xoo,   138:  Characters   and 

Representatives,  79*  xoo»  X38  X55 
Frith,  Walter,  x6 
FrourFrou,  90 
Fuller,  Loie,  134 
Fuller,  Philip,  47 
Fulton,  Charles,  33,  xxa,  171 

G. 

Gaxbtt  Theatre,  X7,  38.  43i  93i  94f  98,  X07,  xaS, 

^     X34i  »36.  X7a,  X76.  X77,  X78 

(yanthony,  Nelhe,  36 

Gkoz,  Mr..  70 

(Sarden,  E.  W..  34t  3S 

Gardiner,  £•  W.,  x6,  99,  xoo»  xx7,  zz8 

Garrick  Theatre.  Z9,  3z,  Z37,  Z36,  Z70 

Garthome,  C.  W.,  Z39 

Gartside,  Fred.,  97 

(jatti,  Messrs.,  43 

Gavotte,  The,  31 

(Hy,  Walter,  36 

Genet,  Ernest,  8 

Geoffreys,  Alice,  35 

Giddens.  Georee,  44>  5o»  6xi  78,  88,  Z07,  iz7,  154 

Giffard,  Miss  M.  A.,  z6,  31,  Z43 

Gilbert,  Mrs.  G.  H.,  69,  70,  7S»  88,  95,  X05 

Gilbert,  William,  5 

Gilbert,  W.  S.,  49.  »3o 

Gillmore,  F.,  s^,  38,  40,  64,  X70 

Glenney.  Charles,  94,  zo8,  xx6 

Globe  Theatre,  34, 40f  45.  46, 47,  83,  93,  zox,  108, 

xa3»  X30t  i36»  160.  X70,  X7x,  X76,  Z78 
Glover,  Mary.  36 
(Jodfrey,  G.  W.,  X03 
Gold  Mine.  A,  03,  X76 
(joldsworthy,  Arnold,  91,  X43 
Goodwin,  Nat,  03,  94.  xo8 
Gould,  Bernard,  x6,  Z70 

(jould,  Nutcombe,  xs,  X7,  96,  38,  57,  X36, 130,  139 
(jourlay,  Louise,  84  ^-^  i 

Graham,J.F.,7i.x47      ibvLjOOQle 
Grahame,  Qssy,  xs,  16,  96,  t43»  170     o 
Grahame,  J.  G.,  78, 98 


196 


Index. 


Grain,  Coraey,  37,  7o»  xa8»  x^S 

Gran,  Km  89 

Grand  Theatre,  33,  46,  54,  79*  xx3»  "St  X53f  x5St 

x6a,  167 
Grandstrt,  Th«,  56 
Grattan,  H.  P.,  133, 170 
Graves,  Clo,  49 
Graves,  Laura,  a6,  225, 170 
GrtcU  UMJhtowM.  Th€f  Z04, 176 
Grtin  Bushes,  The,  43,  273 
Greet,  Ben,  67 
Greet,  Birs.  William,  32 
Grein,  J.  T.,  253 
Gretna  Gretna  6a 
Greville,  Lady  Violet,  76 
Grey,  Sihna,  301  3x.  4a,  78 
Grey.  Sybil,  267 
Griffiths,  Brothers,  267 
GringoirSf  23 
Grossmith,  Geoive,  245 
Grossmith,  Weedon,  45 
Grove,  F.,  98,  270  1 
Grover,  A«er,  33 
Groves,  Charles,  so,  43,  270 
Gruhn,  Amelia,  98 

Grundy,  Sydney,  29, 32, 204,  230,  X70»  271,  i73t  x79 
Gut9tever9,  a6 
Guise,  W.,  44,  X43 
Gunn,  Adelaide,  208 
Gumev,  Edmund,  39i  77»  83 
Guy  fawkes,  Esq.,  98 
Crypsies,  236 

H. 

Haoux,  C  J..  228 
HaU,  Mrs.  {Miss  Mabel  HayesX  37 
Hall  Caine,  Miss,  255 
HaUey,  Harry,  255 
Hamilton,  Henry,  98,  237 
Hamlsi,  34.  66,  263,  272 
Hanbunr,  Ulv,  25,  34. 260,  270 
Hancock,  £.  La  fouche,  263 
Hand  in  Hand,  99 
Hanium,  Charles,  236.  237 
Hansen,  Laura,  7,  236,  269 
Harbour  Lights,  37 
Harbury,  Charles,  98, 227,  270 


Harding,  Rudge.  30.  270 

Hardinee,  Mabel,  78,  227 

Hare,  Tohn,  so,  237,  270 

Harraaen,  Ethel,  234 

Harraden,  Herbert,  234 

Harris,  Augustus,  5, 67, 126^  233,  266,  277 

Harris,  Charles,  222,  234, 166 

Harvey,  Frank,  237 

Harvey,  Mr.,  266 

Harwood,  Master,  266 

Harwood,  Rob,  268 

Hatton,  Bessie,  62,  227 

Haviland,  Mr.,  260 

Hawthorne,  Grace,  48 

Hawtrey,  Charles,  68,  247,  264 

Haymarket  Theatre.  32,  48,  62,  72,  91,  98,  230, 

,  J40.  X44i  ;55, 160,  263,  268,  272,  274,  279 

Head  or  Heart,  66 

Hemsley,  Mr.,  25 

Hendon,  A.  T.,  269 

Hendrie,  Ernest,  39,  53, 56,  68,  92,  230 

Henry  JV,,  xt 

Henry,  S.  C,  71 

Her  Migest/s  Theatre,  5,  79, 200 

Herbert,  S.,  89 

Herbert,  William,  27,  37i  9^  X3a 

Herberte-Basing,  S.,  23,  73,  238 

Hewson,  S.,  44i  78 

Hill,  Annie,  62,  223 

Hiller,  H.  Croft,  39 

Hingston,  Lilian,  78,  202 

His  Last  Chance,  234 

His  Last  Legs,  249 

His  Little  mania,  93 

Hodgson,  Agatha,  68 

Hodgson,  Archibald,  68 

Hogarth,  William,  69,  230 

Holland,  Fa2uiv,  37,  255 

Holland,  Maud,  35,  265 

Holies,  Alfred,  240 


Home  Feud,  The,  26 
Hood,  Basil,  236 
Hood,  Marion,  43 
Hope,  Ethel,  92 
Horlock,  Blanche,  92,  245,  270 
Homer.  Fred,  27/75,  '*5»  *^ 
HorrocKS,  Amy  Elsie,  22 
Houston,  Miss,  270 
How  Dreams  Come  True,  93 
Howard,  Bronson,  278 
Howe,  Mr.,  266 
Howell-Poole,  W.,  70 
Hudson,  Charles,  245 
Hudspeth,  Miss,  67 
Hughes,  Annie,  36,  38, 63, 92 
Hughes,  George,  39 
Hum,  lenny,  228 
Humphries,  John,  72 
Huntingdon,  Agnes,  8,  269 
Huntley,  Grace,  233 

I. 

Ibsen,  79 

IdvU  of  New  Year's  Eve,  An,  22 

lUington,  Marie,  56, 63 

Illusion,  83, 83 

In  a  De^,  66 

In  Chaneery,  252 

In  Love,  53 

In  Olden  Days,  68 

Inch,  Minnie,  36 

Inch,  Reuben,  36 

Inglis,  Madame  Madge,  89 

Innis,  G.  W.,  228 

Irish,  Annie,  8,  9,  33,  39,  76,  85,  204,  269 

Irish,  Fred  W^  198,  259 

Irving,  A.  D.  C,  3x1  x6« 

Irving,  Henry,  99,  96»  67,  75.  79»  93f  i«a»  »^ 

Irving,  Isabel,  7^,  99,94 

Is  madam  at  Home  t  32 

Isalda,  27 

Ivanowa,  Miss,  80, 82 

Ivor,  Frances,  42, 92,  250 


Jack  and  the  Beaeutatk,  96 

Jacobi,  73 

,  ames,  Albert,  29,  269 

,  ames,  David,  20,  26 

.  ames,  Kate,  43,  203 

Jane,  163,  282 

Jay,  Harriet,  58, 69,  92,  299 

Jeanne  d'Are,  80 

Jecks,  Clara,  203 

Tefferson.  Joseph,  203 

Jerome,  J.  K.,  25,  270 

Jerram,  Mr.,  30 

Jess,  39 

Jessop,  George  H.,  93»  »76 

Jilted.  207 

Jim  the  Penman,  36 

Jimmy  Watt,  102 

Joan  of  Arc,  228  ^  _,  .     ^ 

Joan  ;  or.  The  Brigands  f^Blu^fma,  69 

Jocelyn,  Mary,  30, 63,  223 

.  ohnson,  266    . 

,  ohnson,  Isa,  95 

ohnson,  Laura,  262 
]  ohnson,  Sam,  42 
,  ohnstone,  Kate,  37 

,  ones,  H.  A.,  60,  70,  98,  100^  x»i,  »74.  X77 
.  ones,  Blaria,  239 
.  osephs,  Fanny,  7a 
juanna,  40 

Judah,^,  100,  208,  228,  297,  174 
Ju<^,  The,  96,  276 

K. 

"Karl,"  78 

Kaye,  F.,  85,  X44 

Keith,  Royston,  75 

Kemble,  H.,  40,  68,  23s,  i6<h  x6^i«4 

KSa!f;w5H:.^5.  x**tized  by  Google 

Kendal,  Mrs.,  75*  1*4 


Indext 


197 


Kennedy,  G.,  135 

Kennedy,  H.  Arthur,  63 

Kent,  C.  50 

Kenward,  Edith,  xa,  loz,  170 

Kerr.  F.,  16,  xas,  145,  i6o»  170 

Kersley,  Mr.,  54 

Kilbum  Town  Hall,  96,  46,  75, 163 

King  and  tfuMilUr,  The,  z66 

Kinghome.  Biark,  96 

Kinisley,  Mary,  is 

KingstooL  Gertrude,  x6, 17, 90^  Z70 

Kirwan,  P.  J.,  77 

Kit  Marlom$,  85,  275 

Kie^iomamia,  xo 

Knight,  F.  Hamilton,  ao,  77i  X70 


Lablachx,  Lttigi,  30, 38, 137 

LacY,  z66 

Laobroke  HaU,  zx,  ag,  4o»  79 

Lady  LovingUm  :or,  A  Soirw  DtvmaiiqM,  99 

Laay  of  Lyons,  The,  i6a 

Lainb,  Beatrice,  aa,  138 

Lambert,  Helen,  X35 

Lamboum&  T.  J.,  70 

Laxicaster,  John,  zsx 

LandtHi,  Charles,  56 

Langtiy,  Mrs.,  aa,  a6,  35,  47,  xso 

Lanner,  Katti,  95 

Larkin,  Rhoda,  135 

Larkin,  Sophie,  08, 140 

Law,  Arthur,  xg,  33,  96,  Z76 

Lawford,  Ernest,  76 

Lawrence,  Eweretta,  30 

Lawrence,  S.  Boyle,  x68 

Lawson,  Webster,  Z45,  x6a 

Lea.  Marion,  aa,  a6,  47,  83, 133,  X49 

Lecjercq,  Qwrlotta,  S7, 67, 94.  i34,  no 

Ledercq,  Charles.  70^  89,  93 

Ledercq,  Pierre,  8a,  xox,  176 

Ledercq,  Rose,  62, 67,  83,  X35,  X4z,  x6a 

Lee,  Jessie  Z55 

Legntd  of  vandaU,  A,  1x3 

J-*.*l*Xf!J?**"»  3S»  43,  70,  99»  x«4,  X30»  ^^% 
Leigh,  Helen,  99 
Leigh,  Mrs.  H.,  64*  144,  x6a 
Leighton,  Alexes,  70 
I^tn,  Mr.,  X30 
Lennard,  Horace,  35, 36, 1^ 
Leno,  Dan,  167 
Leslie,  Fred,  43 
Lestocq,  W.,  x6,  96,  X43,  X7o*  x8x 
Leston.  Mrs..  a6,  zox 
Lethbndge,  Alice,  133 
Le  Thi^re,  Miss,  9, 45,  xa3, 169 
Levey,  Florence,  xag 
Levy,  Jonas.  67 
Lewes,  Mane,  6a^ 
Lewin,  Herbert  (Thomas  Terriss),  5a 
Lewis,  Eric,  43, 134.  i3S        _ 
Lewis,  lames.  69,  70,  74,  7S»  88,  9a,  95,  xos 
Lewis,  Leopold,  ax,  xo6 
LejTshon,  Cleanon  44,  5^  88,  xa8,  X4a,  153,  156 
Levton,  Helen,  x6,  3X,  96 
Licldon.  Miss,  7,  X69 
Light  o  Day,  xxa 
Lind,  Letty,  139 
Linden,  Laura,  68, 103,  X04 
Linden,  Biarie.  ta,  57,  za8,  X70 
Lindley,  Henrietta,  Z35,  X37 
Lindo,  Frank,  6. 7a,  145 
LipundraPer,  Tm,  4a 
Linfield.  Lilv,  47,  80 
Lingar^  Ahce,  xx6 

LitUt  Bo-P«*p,  x68 ;  Principals  in  Representa- 
tion, x68 
LUtleJadk  Sheppard,  43 
LUiUNobodf,{i 
Lining  too  Fast,  50 
Lloyd,  S.  Prince,  97 
Locknane.  Clement,  X63 
Loftus,  ELitty,  X33 
Lolotte,  X55 
London  A—uranct,  43,  X54,  z68,  x8o 


London  Day  by  Day,  a6,  40 

Lonnen,  £.  ]^  \9a 

Lonnen.  W.  Kooles,  zoo 

Lonsdale,  Gitten,  za 

Loraine,  Henry,  150 

Loring,  Herbert,  x63 

Louis  XL,  47,  54 

Lovell,  Gertrude,  64,  65 

Luberg,  Charles,  69 

Lucas,  Seymour,  xa3 

Ludwig.  134 

Luggi  W.,36,  63 

Lumley,  Kalph  K.,  88 

Luna,  Miss,  08 

LutUpoMrla  Vie,  La,  79 

Lutz,  Meyer,  43, 178 

Lyceum  Theatre,  9. 3X,  47,  50,  54,  67,  69,  74,  88, 

93,  X04,  xo8,  zx8,  x6i,  x66, 175,  176,  Z78 
Lyric  Opera  House,  Hammersmith,  X49,  z68 
Lyric  Theatre,  35,  54,  68, 90,  X33, 137,  Z7S,  X79 

M. 

Macarthy,  Justin  Huntley,  57,  76,  86 

Macaulay,  Mr.,  93 

Maebtth,  7< 

McCullouni.  Brian,  zxa 

McEwen,  Walter,  43, 54. « 

Mackay,  J.  C,  38 

Bfackay,  J.  L..  tss 

Mackay,  Steele,  50, 173 

Bilackenzie,  Dr.,  xa3 

Macklin,  Arthur,  153,  x8o 

Macklin.  F.  H.^3^  43,  X33,  X37 

BCackhn,  Mrs.  F.  H.,  43,  xz3,  Z38 

Mackintosh,  Burr,  74 

Mackintosh.  M.,  X33 

Mackness,  Alice,  97 

Maclean,  John,  so 

McLeav,  Franklin,  x6o 

McNeil,  Amy,  33,  a6, 150 

McNulty,  94,  X08,  X39,  Z30 

Madcap,  i3< 

Madentois*U€  dt  Lira,  6 

Maltby,  Alfred,  Z07 

Man  o'  Airlit,  39 

Manor  Rooms,  Hackney,  x63 

Man's  Shadow,  A,  33 

Marah,^ 

Marius,  M.,  133, 149 

Mariorit,  8.  Z69 

Marlowe  Memorial  Benefit,  85 

Marras,  M.^  80 

Marritd  Lt/0,  6S,  97 

Marrisd  Raht,  Tht,  sa 

Marriott,  Fanny,  98 

Marriott,  Miss,  xaa 

Marryat,  Florence,  OS 

Marston,  Westland,  5 

Martin.  Robert,  69 

Blaryleoone  Theatre,  X67 

Mary  Stuart,  46 

Matnews,  Helen.  10 

Matthews,  Blunder,  93,  Z76 

Matthews,  Ethel,  135,  X64 

Matthews,  Sant,  60 

Matthison,  Arthur,  88 

Maude,  ^nl.  Z4i  34,  38, 154,  X70 

Maurice,  Edmund,  X07,  X34,  X4x 

JIfqy  and  Dtcembir,  X46,  X79 

Maybrick,  Mr.,  70 

ICayer,  M.,  70 

Bfayer,  Silvtun^  78 

Mayne,  Christine,  xo8 

Meadow  Sweet,  33 

Medlicott^,  54 

Medwin,  Charles,  39 

Melford,  Austin,  X59 

Melford,  Mark,  xo 

Mellish,  FuUer,  48 

Mellor,  Rose,  45 

Melnotte,  Violet,  54, 85         ^^  , 

ifS^'^TXTa'-^tized  by  Google 

Merivale,  Herman,  1x9,  X78 
Mesmerism,  6a 


198 


Jndex, 


MiddUman^  Thg,^  xx7,  xa7»  \SS 

Midsummer  Night*  Dnam^  ^,  401  40 

Miller,  Emily,  107 

Miller,  Prince,  za8,  252 

Miller,  Wynn,  170 

MiUett,  Maude,  38,  68,  239 

Million  of  Monty  t  ^»  >x3t  >^i  >77 

Mills,  Kate,  zsa 

Mi  11  ward,  Jessie,  53,  xz6 

Milman.  Dean,  So^  275 

Minshull,  G.  T.,  43f  Z34 

Mistr,  Af  47 

Miss  Cind€r$lla.96 

Miss  Hoydtn's  Husband,  86,  175 

Miss  Tomboy,  97, 171  .^     „ 

<  'Modem  Development  of  the  Lyric  Art,The,  z6z 

Mock  Doctor,  The,  z«3, 160 

Modem  Marriage,  A,  49 

Monckton,  Lady,  36, 162 

Money  Spinner,  X04 

MonUiouse.  Harry,  8,  ^,  izo,  165,  269 

Monsieur  Mouhn,  236 

Moodie.  Looise,  35 

Moore,  Adelaide,  70,  xoz,  208 

Moore,  Eva,  27,  30 

Moore,  Marshall,  43 

Moore,  Maiy,  39,  43»  S©,  88,  234,  iS4 

Moore,  W.  B.,  70 

Morgan,  Wilford,  235 

Mor&nd,  Charlotte  £.,  x8 

Morris,  Arthur,  130 

Mortimer.  James.  63 

Morton,  W.  E.,  263 

Moss,  Hugh,  73 

Molhs,  137 

Mouillot,  F.,  7S( 

Murielle,  Grade,  23 

Murray,  Alma,  49,  67,  237 

Musgrave,  Mrs.^  42,  273 

Mv  Aunfs  Advtce,  36 


Afy  Brother's  Sister,  27 
hfy  Friend  J arlet,  243 
My  Lady  Help^j^x,  280 
My  Milliner's  Bill, 


My  MUltfter's  Bill,  203 

My  Mother,  55 

Mystery  of  the  Seven  Sisters,  236. 

N. 

f/atnesakeSj  36 

A'aniy  <5*  Co..  74 

Niip ;  or,  A  Miihnmmer  NighVs  Scream,  94 

^Athsdt  MeBftra^,  15.  78,  2x2,  24O)  255 

NaiiicA£e»  Madame  i|e,  83 

I^i^fdlfss  Liif  Af  143 

NeilBon^  Ada,  3B,  1J9 

K«ilsDu,  Julia,  49,.  13d,  X44,  245,  z6o 

HeUcin,  Alect  135 

Kelson,  Evelyn  I  103. 

Nelson,  j.,  3S,  56 

Nermw,  oS,  135,  174 

Ncsbiitt  John,  t* 

Fc^Hlle,  Henry,  53,  77,  90,  92,  97,  Z08 

Neville  a  Dmniaiic  Studio,  97 

iVV»'  Lamps /or  Oid,  15,  57,  270 

New  Olympic  Theatre,  is6,  163,  268,  280 

Kcw  Queeii'ii  fliejitre  (Novelty),  203 

New  T.  K,«  EdJTT] canton,  37 

A'fH'  IVingi  Thi',  65 

iV/M'  Yrars  Cht'mit,  146 

Nevnon,  AdeJaide*  35 

Nichulli,  HiLrryp  315,  iz6,  z66»  282 

J^'otUa  Brtfihffr,  A^  17 
A'wWrsa*'  OlfiJ^Wt  1= 
Nonmiui,  K.  BT,  91,  14,3 
Norreya,  Miss^  33,  ^^j  99,  200,  247 
NovcJty  Thentre,  to,  103,  223 
Numhet  Two,  a$ 
Nusn,  Ann,  140 

o. 

Oetzmann  &  Sons,  258 

Old  Friends,  76 

Old  Maid's  Wooirtg,  Art,  92 

Old  Stagers,  203. 

Olivia,  67 

Opera  Comique,  23,  28,  40,  63,  69,  243,  268,  279 


Othello,  45 
Our  Boys,  26 

Outram,  Leonard,  4Z»  6s»  235 
Outsider,  The,  235 
Ozmond,  W.,  7a  _ 

P. 

Paodbn.  Henry,  9,  269 

Paget,  Folliott,  44 

Paget.  H.M.,  47780^ 

Pair  of  Spectacles,  A,  29,  itTi  136,  270 

Pallant,  Walter,  70 

Palmer,  F.  Grove,  46,  243 

Palmer,  Minnie,  27 

Papa's  Horteymoon,  78 

Paris  fin  d«  SiMe,  79 

P»rk  HftU,  Camden  Town,  235,  24a,  146 

Park  Town  lUll,  Buticrsca,  23,33,  40 

Parker,  Harry,  11 1 

Parker^  Louis  K.»  a'^*  ^7 

Parker,  Walter,  t^^ 

Parthurst  Theaire,  103 

Parting  iff  the  iVnySt  16 

pjisriiJ,  Florian}  S,  169 

Paui  katiifurf  s°*  '7J 

Pa  IS  Hon,  Tom,  iB 

Pamticefort,  Mra.^  166 

Pavilion  Thealre,  73,  79,  267 

Ptnaity,  fht,  156 

Pen  ley,  W*  S.,  lO,  96y  170 

Pejiroae,  Ediths  44 

People's  //pro,  ^j  70 

Peopit^s  idoh  ^A'^  ^5€»  158. 168,  280 

PffPfiir*s  Dionr^t  tjo 

PcrcJval,  A,  L.,  103 

PeruifiiiiT  Mrs.  Campbell,  47,  80 

Pettitt,  Henrj',  37,  177,  278 

Phariaer,  TAfj,  147,  180 

Phelpo,  Mm,  Edmund,  45 

PhilUpH,  (3.  B,,  10,  ?i,  95 

PliilJjp«,  Kate,  61,  tj,  136,266 

PhiUipS}  Mra.  Newlop,  xx.  40 

PhiUipe,  Stephen,  9,  as,  46,  66^  X70 

Phipik,  155 

Picktmg  up  the  Piecfn,  68 

PigOtt,  J.W*.  177 

Pinery  A.  W.,  44.  J04t  ^Sh  ^7* 

Pittk  J/omittos,  36 

"  Plaxiqaette."  110 

Playgoers'  Club,  x3o»  253 

Ponsonbjt  Eustace,  63, 104    • 

Possessum^  155 

Provost,  Miss.  33 

Prince,  Adelaide.  69,  7o»  oa 

Pnnce  and  the  Pauper,  The,  38,  39, 172 

Prince  of  ^Vales's  Theatre,  8,  29,  4X»  xo9»  '36 

X65,  x6o,  173,  X77,  x8x 
Princesses  Theatre,  48,  X49f  X73f  x8o 
Pringuer,  Henry  T.,  37 
Prior,  G.,  7i  9^1  X69  . 

Productions  in  London,  with  Cast,  X69 :  m  the 

Provinces,  x83 ;  in  Paris,  x86  j  in  Holland 

X90 ;  in  America,  X89 
Prologue  to  Beau  Austin,  241 
Puck,  249 
Punchinello,  73 
Pyatt,  Henry,  36  ^ 

Q- 

Queen's  Counsel,  63 
Queer  Lodgers,  33 
Quicksands,  28 
Quinton,  Mark,  72,  202,  226 

R. 

JiachelfjR 

Raddiffe,  John,  36 

Raiemond^  George,  237 

Ramsay,  C,  84 

Ravenswood,  xx8,  X78 

Rawlins,  W.  H.,  98 

Red  HussarjThe,  35 

Red  Lamp,  The,  x6o 

Recce,  R.,  66  C^r^r^n]o 

Reed,  Alfred,  37,  xs:^gitized  by  VjOOQ  IC 

Reeve,  Percy,  X30  ^ 

Rehan,  Ada,  69,  70,  74*  86,  89,  93.  05 


Index, 


199 


Remo,  Feux,  35 

Rttuming  tht  CompUnmUt  X43 

RevoUe'ts.  Lta,  155 

Richard-Henry.  63 

Richards,  Cicely,  43, 63 

Richmond  Theatre,  35 

Rickards,  Irene,  53,  85 

Righton,  Edward,  30,  43,  68, 135 

Righton,  Maxy.  95 

Rignold.  Lionel,  50,  X93 

RtvgrsuU  Stofy,  A,  6z.  174 

Roberta,  Arthur,  7,  98, 169 

Roberts,  WaUace,  136 

Robertson,  Fanny,  56 

Robertson,  J.  Forbes,  az,  170 

Robertson,  Jessie,  103 

Robbin-UF)  Robin  Hood,  167 

Robins,  Uizabeth,  za,  Z9,  57,  74,  Z39,  Z70 

Robinson,  Mrs.  Vyner,  x8 

Robson,  E.  M.,  30, 69, 63,  Z37,  Z64 

Rodgers,  James,  5 

Rodnev,  Frank,  Z34 

5^*'  &^?*»  '7»  "Si  38,  67,  74, 103 

Roe,  W.  H.,  80 

Rogers,  Stanley,  94 

Roma,  Miss  T..  9,  Z69 

Romto  and  Juliet,  70,  zo8 

Romer,  Mr.,  38 

Rorke,  Kate,  az,  43,  6a,  67,  Z70 

Rorke,  Mary,  67 

Rose,  Annie,  25,  34, 35»  4© 

Rose,  Edward.  193 

Ross  and  the  Ring,  The,  Z65,  z8z 

Roselle,  Am;^,  36 

Rosen&Id,  Sydney,  Z97 

Ross,  H.,  45,  64 

Rothschild,  Leooold  de,  70 

Royal  General  Theatrical  Fund,  26,  70,  93 

Royalty  Theatre,  6,  21,  54, 199,  Z69 

Russell,  £.  Haslingden,  Z03 


8. 

Sadlbr'8  Wells  Theatre,  103, 118, 138 
Saker,  Master  R.,  Z64 
Salandra,  79 

Sale  of  Bancroft  Properties,  49 
Sanger's  Amphitheatre,  z69 
Sapte.  jun.,  W.,  54    ^  ^^ 
Saze,  Templar,  x^,  36,  66 
Scates,  F.  L.,  « 
Scenes  in  the  Circle,  169 
School  for  Scandal,  Z34 
Schubert,  Miss  M.,  m 
Schuberth,  Annie.  66 
Scott,  Clement,  36,  67, 198, 15X 
Scovel,  The  Chevalier,  Z34 
Scudamore,  F.  A.,  72,  Z30 
Seaman.  Julia,  Z44 
Seare,  B.  P.,  66 
Seare,  J.  B.,  56 

Searelle,  Luscombe,  70,  Z93, 178 
Seaside  Mania,  128 
Seaton,  Rose,  99 
Secret  Sorrow,  A,  Z69 
Sedger,  Horace,  54,  xjo,  X39, 138,  x66 
Selby,  Bertram  Luard,  47 
Sennet,  Charles,  X03 
Sentry,  The,  35 
Shadows  of  a  Great  City,  X03 
Shaftesbury  Theatre,  33,  40,  43,  59,  85,  98,  zoo, 
X08,  XXI,  1X7,  xx8,  X97,  X30, 135, 136,  X47,  xsx,  153, 
«,'7?,  X74,  X7S,  Z77,  X79i  *8o 
Shale,  T.  A.,  8,  X69 
Shaw,  Walter,  0,  X70 
She  Stools  to  Conquer,  40,  50,  173 
Shepherd,  Fred,  99,  xx6 
Sheridan,  Brinsley,  54 
Sherwell,  R.  L.,  X03 
Shine,  I.  L.,  103 
Shine,  Wilfred,  xox 
§!i«:ley,  Arthur,  25,  S3, 146 
SuiluxH  Idyll,  A,  47, 80 


Silver  Shield,  The,  Z04 

Silverthome,  E.  C.,  93 

Simon  the  Smith,  49 

Sims,  G.  R.,  37,  X09,  X76,  X78 

SincUir,  Kate,  6.  73 

Sinless  Secret,  A,  6 

Sixth  Commandment,  The,  X30,  Z35,  X79 

Skinner,  Otis,  7x,  xox 

SUughter,  Walter,  8,  x66,  X69.  x8x 

Sleeping  Beauty,  The,  X67;  Principals  in  Cast, 

and  Harlequinade,  X67 
Smale,  £.  T.,  X9 
Smart,  Edgar,  z8 
Smith,  Bruce,  43 
Smith,  Ellis,  8a 
Smith,  lohn,  47 

Smith,  H.  Reeves,  38,  99,  xoo,  xo8,  Z97 
Smith,  Stafford,  z6o 
Smoke,  142,  XTO 

Society  Peepshowfor  X890,  The,  70 
Solicitor,  The,  84,  X75 
Solomon,  Edwax^,  36, 47,  Z7x 
Solomon,  Master  S.,  36 
Somerset,  C.  W.,  98,  xoo,  155 
Soutar,  Robert,  159 
Sowing  and  Reaping,  68,  86, 174 
Sparling,  Herbert,  x8 
Spider  and  the  Fly,  The,  167;   Principals  in 

Cast,  X67 
St.  Ange.  Josephine,  30^  139, 169 
St.  Asaph  Lo<&e,  T49 
St.  George's  Hall,  8,  37,  7o»  80,  xaS,  X36,  Z55,  z6x, 

x6^ 
St.  James's  Theatre,  m,  46,  75»  90,  ^3fit  i55,  x7z, 

173 
St*  John,  Ftorcnce,  iiiB 

Stiindard  Thciltrcj  laj,  X97, 167 

hjiiindknif,  Jlerbertp  116 

Stanley,  Alma,  36,  tot,  196,  X36 

StiintDti,  G,,  ID,  116 

StCf^l,  QiArles  D.^  40 

Steer.  Jajietti^i  73 

SteiiiberE:^  Ajny»  ss*  S* 

Steinway  Hall.  31  *  145 

Stephenflf  Yorke,  16,  31a,  43,  56,  65,  X99,  139 

Sletlith,  Olive^  23 

Stevens,  Stanley,  rf 

StevcDSp  Victor,  5a,  laj 

Stevenson^  R.  L^  170 

Stili  iVafrrs  ^mm  Dftp,  X34 

Stirling:,  Arthur,  ^6^  sa,  73,  77,  zso 

St>^>ckton,  Rej^n^ld,  63 

St  1  and  TheRtre,  Ci,  So*  89,  X75 

Stratfordp  T,  R,  98,  16© 

StraUon,  Frank,  1O3 

Stnt^gk  for  Li/tft  Th*t  ia4,  '78 

Stt:;iVit  Marie,  4^ 

Stuprt,  Otho,  aji  170 

Sttirps,  JuIImi,  69 

£i];^'Jcnf  Charles,  37,  47,  X37 

hisiunier?^,  Wh  J.,  13 

Smitigkt  atui  S/tadoWt  X38,  X79 

Surrey  Theatre,  95,  99,  79,  xxS,  X36, 167 

Sweet  Lavender,  197 

Sweet  Nancy,  00,  X99,  X7S 

Sweet  WilLgT 

Sword  of  Damocles,  The,  8 

T. 

Tabiiha's  Courtship,  x8 
Tale  of  a  Coat,  The,  xox 
Taming  of  the  Shrew,  9,  88,  X70,  X75 
Tanner,  Florence,  45 


Tapley,  Joseph,  8,  xz( 
Ta{T,ey,Av6.,78 
Taylor,  J.  G.,  39 


Tempest,  Marie,  35 

Tempest,  The,  x6x  ;  Principals  in  Cast,  x6z,  169 

Temple,  Grace,  X03 

Temple,  Richard,  X53, 160 

Temss,  Elaine,  50,  78,  io7,  "7>J34^I^ 

Terriss,  WiUiam,  47,  ia,  X99    t O OQ  Ic 

Terry,  Edward.  X97,  Z59  C> 

Terry,  Ellen,  66,  67,  75,  79,  xaa 


200 


Index. 


Terry,  Fred.,  xa,  33,  49i  90>  x30»  »34.  X4x»  i4S.  160, 

x6a,  XTO 
Terry,  Marion,  77*  X39 
Terry.  Minnie,  67, 149 
Terry's  Theatre,  8,  xs,  311  361  53.  57,  65, 66,  96, 

xaT,  X4a,  iy^t^S^%  ^69,  X70,  X76 
Thalbcrg,  T.  B.,  14,  30,  40,  58, 103. 170 
That  Girt,  98 

Theatre  de  la  Bourae,  Bruasels,  6 
T/uodom,  481 173 
«•  Thirty  Years  at  the  Play,"  xa8 
This  IVoman  and  Thai,  xox,  X76 
Thomas,  Agnes,  56 
Thomas,  Brandon,  45 
Thompson,  Bessie  75 
Thompson,  Mrs.  G..  6,  73,  75 
Thornbarv,  Cecil,  x8,  54 
Thome,  Emily,  4a,  96 
Thome,  Fred,  X5,  34,  a8,  40, 170 
Thome,  Thomas,  14,  98,  40,  X70 
Thoraycroft,  Violet,  8a,  X44 
Throw  o/ihe  Dice,  A,  65 
Thurgate,  Minnie,  98 
Tidal  Hour,  The,  zs 
Tigwr,  Th4,  47 
Tffly,  Vesta,  X67 

TlHUa  R9V§Hg93,  56 

Todhunten  John,  47, 80, 93 

Tolhurst,  G.  F..  xps 

Tommy  at  Coutgt^  38 

Toole's  'Theatre,  X7,  30,  46,  55. 63.  75.  84.  X43,  »75 

Torr,  A.  C,  98 

Tosca,  La*  xoo 

Townsend,  Stephen,  37 

Tra-La-La-ToMca,  6,  ax,  X69 

Tree,  H.  Beerbohm,  33,  9x,  130,  134,  140,  145. 

xOo,  z6a 
Tree,  Mrs,  H.B.,  33, 134,  X4X,  160,  z6s 
Tresahar,  I.,  8< 
Tristram,  W.  Outram,  z6o 
Troughton,  A.  C,  50 
Truth,  X17,  X78 

Tully,  Kate,^8,  isp 
Turner,  Eanfley,  04 
TtMl/th  Night,  TO 
'Twtxt  Ax§  and  Crown,  s6 
Two  Recruit;  143 
Tyars,  Mr.,  x66 


Ulnar,  Geraldine,  X33 
Up  Train,  The,  69 


U. 


V. 

VALXirTiNB,  Rodney,  X34 

Valentine.  Sidney,  43,  So.  79i  88, 107 

Vanderbilt,  Joan,  56 

Vane,  Edith,  X37 

Vane.  Sutton,  56 

VanUy  of  Vanities,  86 

Van  Lennep,  Martyn,  66 

Vaudeville  Theatre,  X3,  93,  37,  S9,  40, 66, 67,  70, 

95,  170,  171 
Vfluphfln,  Suaic,  36^  4  J,  85.  x66 
Venne,  Lottie,  4s,  43,  6a,  68,  X47,  164 

Vera,  8a 

Verity^  Aj|iiiC9,  155 

Vemofl,  C,j  6S,  S6,  tot,  174 

Vernon.  W.  H.,  39,  4S,  74»  83,  84,  X37 

VejEia,  HeTTDinn,  sj*  i6a 

Victor,  Mifla  M.  A.,  50,  S71  78,  79,  88,  X07.  X34 

Victoria  Hulli  Bay  a  water,  xa,  4a 

fiUagg  For^f  TM€,  iiS 

Vittawff  Priest i  ^,31,51,  X30,  X7X 

'*  ViJilars,  George,    ag 

VilJierg^  Ijiun,  4^ 

Vincent,  E,  S*.  118 


VinccTjt,  H.  A,  IS4 
Vlninpt  Emily,  TOf  ^*  '*7 
Frn/in  Pinvcts,  Thr.  43,  ixa,  X7a 
Vckcs,  F.  ]«,  T.j  67 

w. 

WaLDAU^X4S 

Walker,  Whimsical,  xas,  X67 


Walkes.W.  R.,a6 

H^aU  of  China,  The,9i 

WaUer,  Lewis,  37,  49.  54.  8x,  83, 84,  98, 13s.  i34. 

WJUs,  Miss.  67,  73.  X3a.  X35,  X49.  x8o 

Walter,  T.  N.,  X33 

Walton,  Fred,  X67 

Walton,  WiUiam,  167 

H^anUdaWife,^i 

Ward,  Genevieve,  xa6 

Waring,  Herbert,  a6.  45,  86,  X3a,  149 

Warner,  Charies,  xxo 

Warren,  T.  G..  xx7 

Warwick,  Giulia,  X36 

Water  Carnival  at  Sanger's,  x6a 

IVaterman,  The,  X49 

Watney,  Rex,  xa 

Watson,  Ivan,  x8, 41,  53.  54. 84, 13a 

Watson,  Malcolm,  35,  37, 180 

Webber,  Mrs.  Augusta,  66 

Webling,  Lucjr,  37 

Webster,  Benjamin,  xa,  96,  3X,  57,  74.  »«6,  X39, 

170 
Webster,  Miss,  jx 
Webster,  Miss  Davies,  66 
Weir,  G.  R.,  9,  a<,  X70 
Welcome  LtiOe  Stranger,  xos.  177 
Wexunan,  T.,  85 
Wentworth,  Graham,  85 
West,  norence,  m,  ^53 
Westerton,  Frank,  X3 
Westminster  Play,  x6a 
Wheatleigh,  Charles,  9a 
IVhirlwind,  The,  lay 
Whittaker,  Sam,  5 
Whittington  and  His  Cat,  x66;  ^hriiidpals  in 

Opening  and  Harlequiiuuie,  xo6 
Whitty.  May,  xt,  86 
Why  Women  Weep,  43*  44 
WidneU.  Victor,  x8o 
Wilde,  Edwin,  71 
Wilkinson,  Saim,  98 
WiU  and  theWay,  The,  57 
Willard,  E.  S.,  96,  34,  35,  43,  60,  8^  xo8,  xxa,  xa7 
Willard,  Mrs..  a6,  xxa,  xx7 
Williams,  Artnur,  66,  67,  X99 
Williams.  Effie,  X35 
WiUs,  W.  G.,  83, 40 
Wilmot,  Alfred  A.,  a3 
Wilmot,  Charles,  X03,  X56 
Wihnot,  Louie,  x6o 
Wilmot,  Maud,  xa9 
Wingfield,  Hon.  Lewis,  as,  X50 
Winslow,  Mrs.  Erving,  7a 
Witches'  Haunt.  The,  93 
Wolseley,  Blanche,  85 
<•  Woman  and  the  Law,"  36 
Woman's  Won't,  A,  94,  X05 
Wood,  A.,  X56 
Wood,  Florence,  88 
Wood,  Frank,  35,  4a.  94,  xo8 
Wood,  Fred,  xo,  X69 
Wood,  Henry  J.,  46, 14a 
Wood,  Mrs.  John,  45 
Wood,  T.  Murray,  6a 
Woodbridge,  James,  xo 
Woodworth,  Edith,  90 
Worcester  Fight,  8 
Work  and  Wages,  73 
Wrong  Door,  The,  $6 
Wyatt,  Frank,  X43 
Wyes.  W.,  X47 
Wynoham,  Charles, 
154 


a9,  43,  50,  68,  79,86,  88, 134» 


Y. 

Yardlby,  William,  xa3,  x66 

York,  Cecil  M.,  8a 

Yorke,  Alice,  36, 153 

Yorke,  Gilbert.  x8,  30 

Yorke,  Oswald,  65,  X70 

Young,  Sir  Charles,  3X  •—►  t 

Young,  Henry. jQ  jigitized  by  V^OOQlC 

Young,  Lillie,  a6,  xor  O 

YourWife,  75 


LYCEUM  THEATRE 


^%AA/^%%^VXf^WN^V^Ni^^V>^ 


Sole  Lessee  and  Manager :  Up.  HENRT  IRYING. 


THE 


OOKSICAN  *  BEOTHEKS. 


Louis  dei  Franchi 

;   Mr.  IRVING. 

Fabien  DEI  Franchi  - 


I 


Preceded  at  8.15  by 


Mrs.  Oldfield    -        -     Miss  ELLEN  TERRY. 


Mr.  (t/fugustin  T)aly  will  occupy  the  Theatre  during 
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Messrs.  ABTHUB  CECIL, 

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JOHN  CLTTLOW. 
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OPERA    COMIQUE 

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MATINEE    EVERY  SATURDAY. 

OPEN  AU  THE  YEiW  ROUND. 

Coventry  Street,  Piccadilly. 


COMIC    OPERA 

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MATINEE   EVERY   SATURDAY. 

OPEN  AU  THE  YEAR  ROVND.  •v^^oogl': 


ST.  JAMES'S   THEATRE. 

Lessee  and  Manager— MR.  OEOROE  ALEXANDER. 

Every  Evening  at  8.30, 

THE    IDLER, 

A  Flay  in  Four  Aota  by  C.  HADDON  CHAMBERS. 

Mark  Cro$9 Mr.  QBORQB  ALEXANDER. 

SinJohn  Harding,  M.P.      Mr.  HERBERT  WARINQ. 

Simeon  Strong  {of  New  York^       Mr.  JOHN  MASON. 

Qeneraf  Menyweather  Mr.  NUTCOMBE  GOULD. 

Bennett  Mr.  ALFRED  HOLLES. 

L<fdy  Harding  Miss  MARION  TERRY. 

Mrs.  Cross     LADY  MONCKTON. 

Mrt.  Qlynn-Stanmore  Miss  GERTRUDE  KINGSTON. 

Kate  Menyweather Miss  MAUDE  MILLETT. 

Time— The  Present 

Act  I,-— At  Sir  John  Harding's,  Kensington  Palaoe  Gardens. 

Aot  it.— At  Mrs,  Cross's, 

Acts  Hi.  and  iV.'-Mark  Cross's  Rooms  in  Picoaditiy. 

Knilcal  Dlrsetor— Mr.  WALTER  SULUdHTEB.  

Stace  Manager-Mr.  BOBBBT  V.  8H0MB.  BoalnMS  Manager-Mr.  ALWTM  UWO. 

PMCES-PrtoaU  Boxes,  £1  Is,  to  £4  4s.;  Stalls,  10s.  6d.;  Dress  Cirele,  7s.  and  6s. ;  Upper 
Boxes,  Numbered  and  Reserved  (jbonnets  allowed),  8e. ;  Ptt,  2s. ;  Gallery,  Is. 


MISS  CARLOTTA  LECLERCQ 

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Bedford  Honse,  Garlyle  Sqnare,  Chelsea. 


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Morning  Performances — 

TUESDAY,  THURSDAY,  and  SATURDAY,  at  Three. 

Evening  Performances — 

MONDAY,  WEDNESDAY,  and  FRIDAY,  at  Eight 


Admission,  Is.,  8s.;  Stalls,  3s.  and  5s.;  Boxes,  £1  lis.  6d. 
Si.   Gtorgis  Hall  can  be  Hired  for  Amateur  Perfornwtues^  Concerts,  Readings^  etc. 

The  vacant  dates  are  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Saturday  Evenmgs  ;  and  Monday,  Wednes- 
day and  Friday  Afternoons. 

For   T«rm«   and    Particulars   ap|»ly   to    Mr.    H.    D.    REED,    Saoretary. 

ALIAS. 

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FLASH    LIGHT   SYSTEM. 


■^♦»" 


(ESTABLISHED  1838.) 

Havs  fitted  the  fdllowini:  Theatres, 
and  many  others: 


THEATRE. 


TIVOLI 
EMPIRE 
.ALHAMBRA 
PARAGON 

MISS  MELNOTTE'S 
ROYAL 
GARRICK 
CANTERBURY 
HALIFAX 
8UNDERUND 
ROYAL  ALBERT  M.Hi 
COLLINS'8 


OLYMPIC         THEATRE. 

TERRY'S  „ 

COURT 

GRAND  „ 

STOCKPORT  „ 

STRAND 

BRIGHTON  ALHAMBRA 

PAISLEY  THEATRE. 

SOUTHPORT  „ 

HASTINGS  „ 

EASTBOURNE  „ 

BIRMINGHAM 


VAUGHAN    &    BROWN, 

ELECTRICAL.   GAS,   AND    HOT 
WATER    ENGINEERS 


AND 

THEATRICAL    FITTERS. 

WORKS  AND  OFFICES: 

16&17,  KirbySt; 

SHOW-ROOMS! 

19,  Farringdon  Rd., 

LONDON,    E.G. 

^ 

MANUFACTURERS 

OF 

EVERY    KIND    OF 

ARTISTIC 
ELECTRIC  AND  GAS 

FITTING. 

INSTALLATIONS  GUARANTEET 


Dramatic  Notes 


A     YEAR-BOOK 


OF 


The    Stage 


BY 

CECIL    HOWARD 


LONDON 

HUTCHINSON    AND    CO. 

25,  PATEIWOSTER  SQUARE 

^  Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 

AU  Rights  Htsirvtd.] 


^K^"M^  'I      ^ 

HAKVAKO  COLUliE  LIBRAKY 

FROM 

THE  BEQUEST  OF 

L  Sl  H.  MOTfTAN, 


HAVE 


HADE  THE  DRESSES,  UNIFOBMS,  ETC., 

FOR  THE  FOLLOWING 

Duccessnil    Tfif0ducfi0i)s    «i)d   I\e^i^cas  : — 


H.M.S.  Pinafore, 
Pirates  of  Penzance, 

Patience, 

Children's  Pinafore, 

Clarissa, 

As  You  Like  It, 

Ballad-monger, 

The  Pompadour, 

Fennell, 

Merry  "Wives  of  Windsor, 

Beau  Austin, 

King  John, 


La  Tosca, 

Moliere, 

Fool's  Revenge, 

Honeymoon, 

Marie  Stuart, 

Country  Girl, 

The  Bride  of  Love, 

The  Spy, 

The  Red  I^mp, 

That  Doctor  Cupid, 

London  Assurance, 

Hamlet,  etc.,  etc.. 


AND    ARE    PREPARED    TO    TENDER 

FOR  THE 

SUPPLY  OF  COSTUMES  FOR  PRODUCTIONS,  MATINEES  JOURS, 

■tc,  Kte* 

17,   COVENTRY   STREET,   PICCADILLY, 

LONDON,  W. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


PREFACE. 

■  OfOi 

To  this  the  thirteenth  issue  of  **  Dramatic  Notes  '' 
I  have  made  one  or  two  additions,  in  the  hope  that 
they  will  be  of  value  and  interest.  As  complete  a  list 
as  I  could  obtain  is  given  of  the  productions  in  Australia; 
and  since  difficulties  were  constantly  arising  as  to  the 
rights  in  certain  titles,  a  list  of  the  so-called  **  sketches  " 
produced  at  other  than  the  theatres  during  1890  and  1891 
has  been  furnished.  I  must  express  my  acknowledgment 
to  the  Editor  of  the  Stage  for  allowing  me  to  compile 
this  list  from  the  pages  of  his  newspaper.  The  notices 
that  appear  of  the  different  plays  were  contributed  by 
me  to  various  journals  and  magazines.  Mr  J.  T.  Grein 
gives  at  the  end  of  the  volume  some  account  of  his 
introduction  of  English  plays  to  the  Continent. 

N.B. — "Dramatic    Notes''    was  for   some  time   edited  by   Austin 
Brereton. 


Digitized  by  LjOOQ IC 


THE   PLAYERS, 

EVERY    TUESDAY, 


PORTRAITS.         \        CONDENSED 

PRESS  OPINIONS. 
ILLUSTRATIONS  OF 


SGENES  FROM      \  SIGNED  ARTICLES. 
NEW  PLA  VS. 


'STAGE 
CORRESPONDENCE  \  WHISPERS  " 

ON  DRAMATIC 
SUBJECTS.  \  PROVINCIAL  GOSSIP. 


The  best  Advertising  Medium  for 
Theatres,  Companies,  Costumiers, 
Perruquiers,  Theatre  Furnishers,  etc 

PUBLISHED   BY 

THE  ACTORS'  NEWSPAPER  COMPANY,  L^ 

92,  SHAFTESBURY  AYENUE,  LONDON,  W. 


Dramatic   Notes. 


JANUARY. 


During  the  year  1891,  three  plays  at  least  were  conspicuous 
successes,  but,  strange  to  say,  as  in  the  year  1 890,  the  first  event 
to  be  recorded  is  a  melancholy  one. 

1st  Death  of  Emma  Abbott,  the  American  prima  donna,  at 
Salt  Lake  City. 

2nd.  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  New  York,  totally  destroyed  by 
fire,  and  Hermann's  Theatre  slightly  damaged. 

3rd.  New  Olympic  (revival). — The  Silver  King.  This  ad- 
mirable melodrama  by  H.  A  Jones  and  Henry  Hermann  took 
the  place  of  The  Peoples  Idol,  which,  notwithstanding  the  various 
alterations  that  were  made  in  it,  did  not  bect)me  a  favourite  with 
the  public  Winifred  Emery,  though  her  forte  is  not  melodrama 
of  this  school,  was  infinitely  tender  as  Nelly  Denver.  Wilson 
and  George  Barrett  respectively  repeated  their  successes  as  Wilfred 
Denver  and  Daniel  Jaikes.  Cooper  Cliffe  made  his  mark  as  the 
Spider.  Austin  Melford  and  W.  A.  Elliott  were  excellent  as  Eliah 
Coombe  and  Cripps.  Maud  C.  Jeffries  was  the  Olive  Skinner. 
The  Gaffer  Pottle  of  H.  Hodges  deserved  favourable  mention. 

3rd.  Novelty. — A  Social  Pest,  original  domestic  drama  in 
four  acts  by  Frederick  Vanneck.  Highly  melodramatic  and 
fairly  well  written.  Gilbert  Vernon,  Captain  Redmond ;  Edwin 
Fergusson,  Paul  Veriker ;  Brian  M*Cullough,  George  Bartlett ; 
Wynne,  Scarred-face  Jim ;  Evelyn  Nelson,  Mabel  Clifford  ;  and 
Marie  Bryan,  Carroty  Eliza. 

3rd.  Haymarket. — During  this  week,  in  consequence  of  Mrs. 
Beerbohm  Tree's  dangerous  illness,  Blanche  Horlock  played 
Dorothy  Musgrave  in  Beau  Austin,  and  Julia  Neilson  Louise  in 
The  Ballad  Monger.  ,.^^^^  ^^  GooqIc 

5th.  Lyceum    (revival). — Much  Ado  About  Nothing.     WKen 


6  Much  Ado  About  Nothing.  [Janm  1891. 

Shakespeare's  comedy  was  produced    for  the    first  time  at  the 
Lyceum  on  Oct.   nth,   1882,  it  was  admitted  that  in  none  of 
the  characters  which  Henry  Irving  or  Ellen  Terry  had  assumed 
had  either  been  seen  to  greater  advantage  than  as  the  bickering 
lovers,  who  "  never  meet  but  there  is  a  skirmish  of  wit  between 
them."     It  may  also  be  said  that  the  respective  characters  had 
perhaps  never  been  so  thoroughly  understood,  or  interpreted  so 
completely  in  the  spirit  in  which  Shakespeare  drew  them.     From 
the  outset  you  may  see   from  Beatrice's   raillery  and    apparent   . 
flouting  of  Benedick  that,  though  much  of  it  comes  from  her 
madcap  spirit  and  '*  merry  heart,"  she  also  is  interested  in  the 
man  she  plagues,  and  interest  begets  love,  so  that,  despite  her 
pretended  resolve  to  rest  unwed,  at  the  first  opportunity  afforded 
her  she   lets  her  heart  go  out   to  him.     The   very  essence  of 
Beatrice's  character  is  her  light-heartedness,  and  yet  under  all  the 
merriment  there  is  the  true  woman  who  can  be  loving  and  tender, 
and  noble  in  the  defence  of  the  misjudged  Hero.     And  all  this 
Miss  Terry  shows  us  in  the  most  natural  and  convincing  manner, 
and  yet  so  daintily  as  to  be  the  very  perfection  of  acting.     Then 
Henry  Irving,  with  all  his  cynicism  and  his  railing  against  women, 
is  never  churlish ;  he  is  ever  a  gentleman,  and  when  he  does  love 
he  loves  with  his  whole  heart,  and  is  prepared  to  draw  his  sword 
at  the  command  of  his  mistress,  even  against  his  friend.     Of  the 
humour  with  which  Mr.  Irving  delivers  his  lines,  it  is  impossible 
to  speak  too  highly — his  repartee  always  goes  home ;  his  soliloquies 
breathe  the  very   spirit  of  the  words  he  utters.     It  is  in   the 
fortunes  of  these  two  that  we  are  interested,  and  they,  and  not 
the  loves  of  Hero  and  Claudio,  principally  occupy  our  thoughts  ; 
and  yet  in  W.  Terriss  we  have  an    ardent    lover — picturesque, 
earnest,  and  pathetic^who  is  gay  and  joyous    whilst  his  love 
runs  smoothly,  but  whose  heart-strings  are  torn  when  he  is  led 
to  believe  that  his  mistress  has  been  false  to  him.     The  Hero  of 
Annie  Irish  was  tender   and    sympathetic,   and    would    perhaps 
have  been  more  so  but  that  she  did  not  quite  look  the  love-sick 
maiden.     A  gallant,  manly,  and  most  gracious  Don  Pedro  was 
found  in  F,  H.  Macklin ;  and  a  more  satisfactory  Leonato  we 
would  not  wish  to  see  than  T.  Wenman's,  whose  rendering  was 
eloquent  in  every  sense,  whether  in  the  lighter  or  the  pathetic 
situations.     The  scene  in  which   he,  Claudio,  and    Don  Pedro 
conceive  their  plot  against  Benedick  was  most  excellently  played, 
Henry    Howe's    Antonio  was  thoroughly   artistic.     W.    Mackin- 
tosh's Dogberry  disappointed  me  ;  it  was  not  altogether  wanting 
in   humour,  but   the  gestures  were  mannered  and   the  humour 


Jan.,  i89x.]  Private  Enquiry. 


rather  forced.  The  one  part  which  was,  to  my  thinking,  altogether 
unsatisfactorily  played  was  that  of  Don  John,  and  I  could  not  but 
compare  it  with  my  recollection  of  Charles  Glenney's  rendering, 
which  was  so  excellent.  Of  the  scenery  and  dresses  at  the 
Lyceum  there  is  no  occasion  to  say  much,  for  every  playgoer 
knows  that  Mr.  Irving's  taste  in  these  matters  is  irreproachable, 
yet  reference  must  be  made  to  the  marvellous  "Inside  of  a  Church," 
so  beautiful  and  grand,  and  to  the  sacred  ceremony  and  sur- 
roundings, arranged  with  such  perfect  tact  that,  though  conveying 
a  sense  of  solemnity  and  almost  awe,  there  is  nothing  that  can 
offend  the  most  sensitive  on  the  subject  of  religion.  Another 
most  beautiful  scene  is  that  representing  Leonato's  garden,  with 
the  blue  sea  in  the  background  rippling  under  the  beams  of  a 
warm  sun,  partly  veiled  by  a  hazy  atmosphere.  The  reception 
accorded  to  Much  Ado  About  Nothing  was  most  gratifying. 
Double  and  treble  calls  were  made  for  Miss  Terry  and  Mr.  Irving, 
and  the  latter  most  aptly  termed  the  production  "  a  happy  play  " 
when  he  spoke  the  few  words  of  thanks  in  response  to  a  persistent 
demand. 

6th.  Drury  Lane. — The  cutting  of  the  Baddeley  cake  (the 
ninety-seventh  anniversary)  was  again  performed  by  James 
Fernandez.  Augustus  Harris  invited  a  very  large  number  of 
guests  to  be  present  at  the  supper  and  ball  which  followed. 

7th.  Strand. — Private  Enquiry^  farcical  comedy  adapted  from 
La  Security  des  Families  of  Antin  Valabr^^e,  by  F.  C.  Burnand, 
was  in  three  acts,  and  did  not  secure  any  great  amount  of  public 
favour.     Two  more  than  middle-aged  gentlemen  marry  two  young 
wives ;  the  one,  Mr.  Buckleigh,  a  kindly  old  fellow,  rightly  believes 
in  his ;  the  other,  Wrackham,  a  conceited  suspicious  gentleman, 
has  wedded  a  giddy  thing,  who  flirts  desperately  with  a  Byronic 
sort  of  youth,  Luigi  Di  Volpa.     Wrackham  thinks  he  will  guard 
his  honour  by  having  his  lady  fair  watched  by  a  private  detective 
called  Hooker,   but  the  lady  and    her   admirer   checkmate   the 
husband    by    themselves   furnishing   the    daily   reports    of  Mrs. 
Wrackham's  doings.     Suspicious  himself,  Wrackham  gets  quite 
annoyed  at  Buckleigh's  implicit  confidence  in  his  wife,  and   so 
induces  him  to  lay  a  trap  for   her,  into  which  she   innocently 
falls ;  so  Buckleigh,  in  his  turn,  employs  Hooker,  a  thoroughly 
amusing  scamp,  who  is  obliged  to  invent  all  sorts  of  stories  to 
make  his  clients  believe  he  is  really  working  in  their  interests. 
Some  letters  are  found,  written  by  the  aesthetic  and  amorous 
youth,  which  apparently  compromise  the  innocent  Mrs.  Buckleigh, 
but    Mrs.    Wrackham    is    not    altogether   a    bad    little    woman, 


8  A  Pair  of  Spectacles^Daggers  Drawn.  [Jam.,  1^91. 


and  so  will  not  allow  her  friend  to  suffer.  She  acknowledges 
them  as  addressed  to  herself,  but  her  silly  husband  puts  down 
her  conduct  to  a  quixotic  generosity  exercised  to  screen  her 
friend.  Though  generally  closely  following  the  original,  the 
second  act,  which  takes  place  in  Hooker's  office,  is  not  made 
nearly  as  funny  as  in  the  French  ;  and  as  the  Gallic  "  salt "  is 
taken  from  the  third  act,  and  Buckleigh  has  to  sit  down  to  a 
petit  diner  with  an  innocent  girl  (instead  of  with  an  adventuress, 
as  in  the  original),  the  raciness  is  lost.  The  acting  was  distinctly 
good.  Willie  Edouin  was  intensely  funny  as  Hooker,  and  had 
an  admirable  clerk  in  Master  H.  Buss.  The  Wrackham  of 
Alfred  Maltby  was  a  genuine  bit  of  comedy,  and  it  was  not 
John  Beauchamp's  fault  that  he  was  occasionally  out  of  the 
picture — the  blame  must  be  allotted  to  the  adaptor.  H.  Sparling's 
Luigi  Di  Volpa,  of  the  Lambert  Streyke  type,  was  clever  and 
not  overdone.  May  Whitty  was  engaging  as  Mrs.  Buckleigh, 
but  Marie  Linden  was  thrown  away  on  the  ill-drawn  character  of 
Mrs.  Wrackham,  and  I  felt  quite  sorry  for  pretty  Georgie  Esmond 
in  having  to  try  and  do  something  with  the  impossible  Fanny 
Finch,  the  ingfnue  to  whom  the  volatile  Luigi  transfers  his 
affections. 

7th.  In  consequence  of  Frank  Wyatt  having  met  with  an 
accident,  W.  Cecil  Barnard  appeared  as  the  Duke  of  Plaza-toro 
in  The  Gondoliers  at  the  Savoy. 

8th.  John  Hare's  company,  from  the  Garrick  Theatre,  ap- 
peared in  A  Pair  of  Spectacles  at  Sandringham  before  the  Prince 
and  Princess  of  Wales  and  a  large  number  of  gaests.  In  re- 
cognition of  the  pleasure  afforded  him,  His  Royal  Highness  later 
presented  Mr.  Hare  with  a  beautiiful  cigar  box  made  of  silver  and 
embellished  with  the  Prince  of  Wales's  plumes  and  motto  in  gold 
and  blue  enamel,  and  also  bearing  in  the  right  hand  comer  the 
head  of  a  hare  looking  through  a  pair  of  spectacles.  The  in- 
scription on  the  inside  of  the  cover  was  in  facsimile  of  the  Prince's 
handwriting,  "To  John  Hare,  from  Albert  Edward,  in  remembrance 
of  A  Pair  of  Spectacles  at  Sandringham,  Jan.  8th,  1 891." 

9th.  Strand. — Daggers  Drawn^  one-act  comedietta  by  Pryce 
Seaton.  This  proved  an  amusing  trifle  with  some  little  originality 
in  one  of  its  incidents.  Sir  George  Grantley  (William  Lugg)  and 
Mrs.  Gerald  Deering  (Ruth  Rutland),  though  next-door  neighbours, 
are  "  at  daggers  drawn,"  a  fact  which  puzzles  the  baronet's  nephew. 
Captain  Jack  Grantley  (Sydney  Barraclough)  and  Alice  Deering 
(Georgie  Esmond),  who  mount  ladders  in  order  to  whisper  soft 
nothings  tc  each  other  over  the  garden  wall.     At  last  a  letter, 


Jan.,  189X.)  Woodbarrow  Farm. 


signed  by  Sir  Geoi^e,  comes  asking  apparently  for  Alice's  hand. 
As  the  elderly  gentleman  has  never  paid  her  marked  attention, 
the  proposal  is  incomprehensible,  until  it  is  discovered  that  the 
letter  ought  to  have  been  delivered  twenty  years  before,  and  had 
been  unearthed  in  pulling  down  an  old  post-office  in  which  it 
had  got  hidden  away.  It  had  been  written  to  Mrs.  Deering, 
whose  Christian  name  was  also  Alice,  and  as  she  had  never 
received  it,  she  looked  upon  the  worthy  bart.  as  a  gay  deceiver 
after  his  having  so  warmly  courted  her  in  her  girlhood.  William 
Lugg  was  good,  and  Geoi^ie  Esmond  charmingly  natural  and 
very  bewitching;  she  had  some  chance  in  this,  and  availed  herself 
of  it 

1 2th.  Sadler's  Wells. — The  Wheel  of  Fortune,  melodrama, 
written  in  a  prologue  and  four  acts,  by  W.  Howell  Poole. 

13  th.  Vaudeville. — The  Note  of  Hand,  one-act  play,  written 
by  Herbert  Keith,  in  which  F.  Thorne  played  well  as  an  uncon- 
ventional Jew  money-lender;  and  Annie  Hill  was  thoroughly 
natural  and  pleasing  as  Mabel,  the  young  girl  that  had  to  plead 
for  mercy  for  her  lover,  who  was  wrongfully  supposed  to  have 
committed  a  forgery. 

1 3  th,  Lyric. — ^The  hundredth  performance  of  La  Cigale, 

13th.  Vaudeville. —  Woodbarrow  Farm,  by  Jerome  K. 
Jerome.  Two  and  a  half  years  ago  (June  i8th,  1888)  this  play 
was  tried  at  a  matinie  at  the  Comedy  Theatre,  and  was  very 
favourably  received.  It  opens  at  the  farm  which  gives  the  title 
to  the  piece,  and  where  Allen  Rollitt  is  discontented  with  his 
home  and  station ;  he  wishes  for  wealth  and  a  good  position. 
He  cannot  appreciate  the  true  affection  that  Deborah  Deacon 
feels  for  him,  for  he  has  been  bewitched  by  the  showy  fascination 
of  Clara  Dexter,  and  he  thinks  that  were  he  only  wealthy  he 
could  offer  himself  to  her.  His  cousin,  Richard  Hanningford, 
the  heir  to  a  fortune  of  some  ;£^2 00,000,  has  quarrelled  with  his 
father,  and  has  been  travelling  abroad  for  years.  Presently 
arrives  Luke  Cranboume ;  he  has,  as  he  imagines,  murdered 
Hanningford,  and  has  brought  home  his  confederate,  Mike 
Stratton,  who  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  supposed  dead 
man,  to  impersonate  him  and  claim  the  inheritance,  which  he  is 
to  share,  with  Cranbourne.  Stratton  is  in  but  poor  health  (he 
suffers  from  heart  disease),  and  cannot  bear  the  strain  of  assuming 
the  character — the  shock  of  being  called  by  the  dead  man's  name 
is  too  much  for  him,  and  he  drops  dead.  Richard  Hanningford 
only  stood  between  Allen  Rollitt  and  the  large  fortune,  as  Mr. 
Purtwee,  the  lawyer,  informs  him,  and  so  he  at  once  comes  into 


lo  Woodbatrow  Farm.  [Jak.,  1891. 


it.  He  leaves  the  farm,  his  mother,  and  Deborah,  who  love  him 
so  well,  and  begins  the  life  of  a  man-about-town  in  London.  He 
sets  up  an  establishment  in  St.  James's  Mansions,  is  coached  in 
the  proper  behaviour  of  a  "  swell "  by  Piffin,  his  valet,  who,  having 
lived  in  the  best  families,  is  looked  upon  by  his  master  as  a  com- 
petent authority  on  all  matters  of  etiquette,  is  preyed  upon  by 
Colonel  Jack  Dexter,  a  vaurieUy  and  his  little  less  disreputable 
associates,  the  Hon.  Tom  Gussett  and  Baron  Von  Schorr.  To 
crown  it  all,  piqued  by  Deborah's  insight  into  Clara  Dexter's 
character,  which  the  true,  honest  girl  sees  through,  Allen  proposes 
to  Clara,  who,  now  that  he  is  rich,  accepts  him.  His  career  as  a 
wealthy  man  and  an  accepted  lover  is  cut  short.  Just  as  he  is 
toasting  Dame  Fortune,  a  servant  brings  in  a  card,  which  is 
quickly  followed  by  the  veritable  Richard  Hanningford.  He  was 
left  for  dead,  but  recovered,  and  will  give  Allen  half  his  fortune 
if  he  can  tell  him  who  it  was  that  attempted  his  life.  Allen 
could  do  so,  but  refrains.  Clara  Dexter  has  one  soft  spot  in  her 
nature,  she  really  cares  for  Luke  Cranbourne  (whose  wife  she  is), 
and  she  implores  Allen's  silence  and  mercy  for  the  would-be 
murderer.  Allen's  eyes  are  opened  as  to  her  character,  but  he 
cannot  bring  disgrace  and  misery  on  the  woman  he  has  once 
loved,  and  so  he  seals  his  lips,  and  Cranbourne  escapes  the  fit 
punishment  of  his  crime.  Mr.  Jerome  has  appended  to  the 
programme  some  lines  of  Kingsley's,  which  fairly  well  give  a  clue 
to  his  story  : — 

"When  all  the  world  is  young,  lad, 

And  all  the  trees  are  green, 
And  every  goose  a  swan,  lad, 

And  every  lass  a  queen, 
Then  hey  for  boot  and  horse,  lad. 

And  ride  the  world  away  ! 
Young  blood  must  have  its  course,  lad, 

And  every  dog  its  day. 

"When  all  the  world  is  old,  lad, 

And  all  the  trees  are  brown, 
And  all  the  sport  is  stale,  lad, 

And  all  the  wheels  run  down, 
Creep  home  and  take  thy  place  there 

Thy  early  friends  among ; 
God  grant  you  find  one  face  there 

You  loved  when  all  was  young.'* 

Allen  Rollitt  finds  more  than  one  face  to  welcome  him  back,  for 
the  last  scene  shows  him  once  again  in  the  old  farm.  His  mother 
receives  him  with  open  arms ;  and  we  may  be  pretty  sure  that  his 
heart,  caught  on  the  rebound,  will  soon  turn  to  Deborah  and 
reward  her  for  the  patient  enduring  love  she  has  bestowed  on  the 
wanderer.  There  are  faults  in  Mr.  Jerome's  play ;  the  dialogue, 
though  for  the  most  part  excellent  and  frequently  very  brilliant. 


Jan.,  189X.]  Woodbarrow  Farm.  1 1 


requires  curtailment,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that,  although  his 
"  curtains  "  are  invariably  strong,  they  are  a  trifle  sudden.     Some 
of  his  characters  are  remarkably  well  drawn,  and  his  situations 
cleverly  arranged.     Bernard  Gould  quite  took  the  house  by  storm, 
he  was  so  natural  and  fresh  as  the  young  Devon  farmer,  completely 
unsophisticated,  and  yet  shrewd,  manly,    and    honourable.     His 
great  passion  for  Clara  Dexter  was  admirable,  and  his  bitterness 
of  disappointment  when   he  finds   his  idol   shattered  was  most 
truthful.       Edith    Vane   played    with    great   judgment ;    though 
utterly  callous,  from  her  bringing  up,  to  most  of  the  world,  whom 
she  looked  upon  almost  as  legitimate  prey,  the  actress  let  us  see 
that  in  every  nature  there  is  some  good,  and  showed   us  how 
Allen's  great  and  unselfish  love  for  her  aroused  within  her  some- 
thing that  was  womanly  and  made  her  despise  herself.     Corrupt 
as  she  might  be,  she   remained   pure  to  her  husband,  for,  bad 
as  he  was,  she  loved  him  ;    he  was  "  kind  to  her  in  his  way." 
F.  Hamilton-Knight,  the  original    Mike    Stratton    and    Richard 
Hanningford,  confirmed  the  very  high  opinion  that  was  expressed 
of  his  former  performance  of  both  characters  ;  his  impersonations 
were  even  stronger  and  more  effective.     Thomas  Thome's  Piffin 
was  amusing,  and  quite  in  keeping  with  the  author's  lines.    Emily 
Thome  repeated  her  excellent  performance  of  Mrs.  RoUitt,  the 
sturdy  plain-spoken   countrywoman.      Ella  Banister    made    one 
point  deserving  of  great  praise,  when  as  Deborah  she  learns  from 
his  own  lips  that  Allen's  love  is  given  to  Clara,  and  not  to  her, 
as  she  had  led  herself  to  hope.     Her  anguish  and  her  desire  to 
conceal  it  were  very  tmthfully  depicted  ;  otherwise  the  character 
was  not  made  sufficiently  sympathetic.     Fred  Thome's  humour 
as  the  wine-bibbing  old  hypocrite  Colonel  Dexter  was  unforced. 
Luke  Cranboume  might  have  been  a  much  more  effective  character 
than  Cecil  Yorke  made  of  it     The  other  parts  were  satisfactorily 
filled.     This  play  was  afterwards  taken  on  tour  by  Cissy  Grahame, 
and  its  first  provincial  production   was    at    the    Court    Theatre, 
Liverpool,  Monday,  Sept.   21st,    1891.     It  was  played    as   The 
Maister  of  Woodbarrow^  under  which  title  it  had  achieved  great 
success  in  America.     Cissy  Grahame's  Clara  Dexter  was  admirable. 
F.  Hamilton-Knight  effectively  repeated  his  dual  impersonation  ; 
Matthew  Brodie  was  the  Allen  Rollitt ;  Windham  Guise,  Piffin  ; 
Stephen  Caff'rey,  Colonel  Dexter;  J.  J.  Bartlett,  Luke  Cranbourne ; 
M.    A.   Giffard,  Mrs.    Rollitt ;    Mary   Ansell,    Deborah — a  very 
excellent  cast. 

The  Vaudeville,  which  had  been  closed  for  a  considerable  time, 
was  found  to  be  considerably  improved  on  its  reopening.     The 


12  The  Dancing  Girl.  [Jan.,  1891. 

lessee,  Thomas  Thome,  employed  C.  J.  Phipps,  F.S.A.,  to  enlarge 
and  improve  it,  two  houses  having  been  taken  in,  and  enabling 
the  architect  to  erect  a  handsome  facade  in  Portland  stone,  leading 
into  a  fine  vestibule ;  a  handsome  loggia  and  a  good  saloon  for 
the  gallery  had  also  been  added.  Easier  entrances  to  the  stalls, 
the  removal  of  small  rooms  on  either  side  of  the  amphitheatre, 
and  a  new  ceiling  had  altogether  altered  and  improved  the 
appearance  of  the  house. 

14th.  Ladbroke  Hall. — Richard^ s  Play^  one-act  comedietta 
by  Mary  C.  Rowsell  and  J.  J.  Dilley. 

iSth.  Haymarket. — The  Dancing  Girl,  by  H.  A.  Jones.  The 
author,  in  a  lecture  which  he  delivered  some  three  months  before 
at  the  Toynbee  Hall,  gave  us  to  understand  that,  in  his  opinion, 
the  first  and  great  mission  of  the  drama  was  to  amuse,  but  that 
at  the  same  time  it  should  elevate  and  instruct  Does  his  latest 
play.  The  Dancing  Girl,  uphold  the  tenets  that  he  preaches  ?  It 
is  a  marvellously  powerful  work  up  to  a  certain  point  During 
three  of  the  acts  you  are  held  breathless,  waiting  for  the  result 
The  last  act  is  simply  catching  up  the  threads  of  the  story,  and 
is  miserably  poor.  It  is  a  sad  experience  of  human  life  that  the 
author  sets  before  us.  We  have  a  duke  with  all  that  the  world 
can  give — ^young,  wealthy,  surrounded  by  friends — but  who  wastes 
his  life  in  dissipation  and  reckless  extravagance.  During  one  of 
his  visits  to  the  coulisses,  we  must  imagine  that  he  has  come 
across  "  the  Dancing  Girl,"  a  beautiful  Quakeress,  who,  tired  and 
disgusted  with  her  quiet  life  in  the  island  of  St  Endellion,  situate 
somewhere  off  the  Cornish  coast,  has,  as  her  friends  believe, 
obtained  respectable  work  in  London,  but  is  really  living  the  life 
of  a  wanton,  and  thus  comes  under  the  protection  of  the  Duke. 
There  is  a  breakwater  to  be  built,  which  would  much  benefit  the 
inhabitants  of  the  island.  John  Christison,  a  young  engineer,  has 
almost  vowed  his  life  to  the  carrying  out  of  this  scheme.  The 
Duke,  in  a  sudden  fit  of  generosity,  says  that  he  will  find  the 
money  to  build  this,  and  employs  Christison  to  see  it  completed. 
He  takes  the  young  fellow  to  London  with  him,  but  once  there, 
his  Grace  forgets  his  good  intentions,  and  Christison,  the  lover 
of  Drusilla  Ives,  the  Dancing  Girl,  accepts  a  salary  and  does 
nothing,  but  lives  under  the  same  roof  with  the  woman  he  is 
supposed  to  adore,  and  who  yet  is  dwelling  as  the  concubine  of 
her  wealthy  protector.  The  Duke  is  not  a  bad  man  naturally ; 
it  is  the  fault  of  his  bringing  up,  that  and  his  associates  have  made 
him  what  he  is.  The  better  instincts  of  his  nature  are  every  now 
and  then  roused  by  Sybil  Crake,  the  daughter  of  his  land  agent. 


Jan.,  X891.]  The  Dancing  Girl  13 

He  has  dragged  her  from  under  the  horses'  feet  when  some 
runaway  animals  had  overthrown  her,  and  though  he  saved  her 
life  at  the  expense  of  her  becoming  a  cripple,  and  she  was  maimed, 
she  was  not  soured.  Hers  is  the  one  pure  character  that  we  have 
in  the  play ;  she  remembers  his  act  with  love  and  gratitude,  and 
she  is  waiting  until  the  time  shall  come  when  she  can  drag  him 
from  under  the  horses'  feet  The  Duke  has  been  asked  by 
Drusilla  Ives  in  the  past  to  make  her  his  duchess ;  he  answers, 
"  Do  not  ask  me  for  the  only  gift  I  must  refuse."  Ruined  and 
nearly  penniless,  he  gives  a  grand  entertainment  to  finish  his 
career.  He  has  hoped  that  the  woman  on  whom  he  has  lavished 
so  much  would  help  him  to  turn  over  a  new  leaf.  He  has  told 
her  that  but  little  of  his  fortune  is  left ;  will  she  share  it  with 
him  }  will  she  aid  him  in  striking  out  for  himself  a  new  path  in 
life }  She  answers  him  almost  in  the  same  words  that  he  used 
to  her,  and  so  he  determines  that  he  will  end  it  all.  Old  David 
Ives,  the  Quaker,  has  at  length  discovered  his  daughter's  occupation, 
and  has  come  to  London  to  try  and  snatch  her  from  a  life  of 
infamy.  He  arrives  at  the  house  and  finds  her  resplendent  in 
jewels,  the  mistress  of  an  expensive  establishment,  surrounded  by 
guests,  and  then  and  there  he  commands  her  to  return  with  him ; 
but  she  is  utterly  depraved.  She  lives  for  admiration,  she  refuses 
to  go  with  him,  and  then,  in  his  agony,  he  hurls  upon  her  a  curse 
which,  heartless  even  as  she  is,  she  cannot  but  feel.  She  falls 
senseless  on  the  staircase  of  the  beautiful  mansion  which  the 
Duke  has  provided  for  her.  His  guests  are  supposed  to  be  out- 
raged by  the  discovery  of  her  real  character ;  even  the  Duke's  aunt, 
Lady  Bawtry,  a  woman  who  seems  to  consider  that  you  may  do 
anything  you  please  so  long  as  you  are  not  found  out,  is  utterly 
horrified,  and  leaves  the  house,  and  then  the  Duke  determines  he 
will  put  an  end  to  a  life  that  has  no  longer  any  relish.  The 
woman  on  whom  he  has  squandered  everything  has  refused  him  ; 
his  one  great  friend,  the  Hon.  Reginald  Slingsby,  possessed  of 
some  ;£^iS,ooo  a  year,  has  refused  him  pecuniary  help  for  the 
building  of  the  breakwater,  has  shown  him  that  there  is  no  truth 
in  his  protestations  of  friendship ;  and  so  his  Grace  of  Guisebury 
takes  a  little  vial  from  his  waistcoat  pocket,  and  is  just  starting 
on  that  journey  the  end  of  which  is  such  a  problem  when  Sybil 
Crake,  who  has  come  to  this  party  to  see  how  it  will  all  end,  and 
has  been  in  hiding  to  watch  his  actions,  quietly  lays  her  hand 
upon  his  arm  and  takes  the  vial  from  him.  This  is  the  end  of 
the  third  act.  The  fourth  is  really  useless.  We  know  that  the 
Duke  will  marry  Sybil  Crake,  we  know  that  we  shall  hear  of  the 


14  The  Dancing  Girl.  Uak.,  1891. 

'*  beautiful  pagan/'  the  Dancing  Girl's  death,  and  we  know  that 
John  Christison's  heart  will  be  given  to  her  sister,  her  second  self, 
Faith  Ives,  quite  as  lovely,  but  as  pure  as  the  other  was  foul,  and 
there  is   no  reason  for  the  introduction   of  a  Sister  of  Mercy 
appearing  to  tell  us  that ''  the  Dancing  Girl "  has  died  repentant, 
save  for  the  comfort  of  her  father.     The  last  act  might  have  been 
done  away  with,  and  a  few  sentences  at  the  end  of  the  third  would 
have  wound  up   the  play,  and  then  Mr.  Henry  Arthur  Jones's 
work,  though  giving  us  the  very  worst  side  of  human  nature, 
would  have  given  us  one  of  its  truest  pictures.     It  showed  us  the 
depravity  of  life,  but  it  also  showed  us  how  a  good  woman  can 
by  persistent  efforts  win  back  a  weak  frail  man  to  a  better  life. 
I  scarcely  know  to  which  of  the  three  principals  I  can  award  the 
palm,  for  they  were  all  so  good.     Julia  Neilson  as  Drusilla  Ives, 
the  "  Dancing  Girl,"  was  such  a  beautiful  demon,  so  winning  and 
so  attractive  in  her  wickedness,  that  it  was  easy  to  understand 
how  the  world  should  be  at  her  feet.     On  the  other  hand,  Miss 
Norreys  as  Sybil  Crake  was  so  pure  and  so  good  that  it  was  no 
wonder  she  should  develop  in  the  thoughtless  Duke  of  Guisebury 
something  of  her  own  nature.     Mr.  Tree's  performance  of  this 
latter  character  was  excellent,  for,  from  the  commencement  to  the 
close,  he  let  us  see  that  under  wiser  bringing  up  his  life  would  have 
been  as  good  and  valuable  as,  from  his  unfortunate  surroundings, 
it  had  become  vicious  and  worthless,  until  the  woman's  saving 
hand  redeemed  it  from  utter  ruin.     F.  Kerr  gave  us  a  finished 
portrait  of  the  gentleman  of  position  who  lives  for  himself  alone. 
Fred  Terry  had  a  very  unsympathetic  part.     It  is  one  that  is 
cleverly  drawn,  but  that  naturally  would  not  attract  an  audience. 
James  Fernandez  was  almost  too  hard,  stem,  and  worldly  for  a 
Quaker.     Rose  Leclercq,  though  she  had  not  much  to  do,  made 
her  part  a  strong  one  from  the  excellence  of  her  acting ;  and  I  do 
not  think  I  have  ever  seen  Blanche  Horlock  to  better  advantage. 
Whatever  the  result  of  the  play  may  be,  whether  it  run  or  not 
for  some  time,  it  will  at  least  have  added  to  the  author's  literary 
reputation.     (I  wrote  the  above  notice  on  the  night  of  the  first 
representation.      The  Dancing  G^/r/ became  one  of  the  Hay  market's 
greatest  successes.)     Had   The  Dancing  Girl  ended  with  a  few 
words  more  at  the  third  act,  it  would  have  been  an  almost  perfect 
play.     During  the  run  of  the  piece  Beatrice  Lamb  appeared  as 
Drusilla    Ives   during   Julia    Neilson's    illness.     Robb    Harwood 
afterwards  played  Fred  Kerr's  part  in  The  Dancing  Girl,     This 
piece  was  taken  into  the  provinces  with  Kate  Vaughi^n  in  the 
title  rdle.  Digitized  by  Google 


Jan.,  1891.]  The  Holly  Tree  Inn,  15 

I  Sth. — Terry's,  matinie^  The  Holly  Tree  /««,  adaptation  by 
Mrs.  Oscar  Beringer  from  Charles  Dickens's  Christmas  story,  in 
which  the  episode  of  the  escape  of  the  two  children  with  a  view 
of  getting  married  is  fairly  closely  followed,  and  treated  in  a  fresh 
and  poetic  manner.  Vera  Beringer  appeared  as  Harry,  and 
Minnie  Terry  was  a  delightful  Nora.  The  Jabez  Cobbs  of  Ernest 
Hendrie  was  to  the  life  the  character  that  Dickens  had  placed 
before  us.  H.  Reeves  Smith  played  Captain  Walmers.  The 
occasion  was  the  retirement  of  Vera  Beringer  from  the  stage,  as 
it  was  stated,  for  four  years,  in  order  that  she  might  resume  her 
studies. 

15  th.  Death  of  Mrs.  Gaston  Murray  (Fanny  Hughes),  daughter 
of  Henry  Hughes,  of  the  Adelphi  and  Surrey  Theatres.  Made 
her  cUbut  in  1851  at  the  Guildford  Theatre  as  Sophie  in  The 
Rendezvous.  First  appearance  in  London  at  the  Lyceum  in 
1853  2is  Emma  Thornton  in  The  Bachelor  of  Arts,  Joined  the 
Olympic,  beginning  under  Alfred  Wigan  1857,  stnd  remained  at. 
that  theatre  throughout  the  management  of  Messrs.  Robson  and 
Emden.  Subsequently  appeared  at  almost  every  London  theatre 
of  note,  and  was  universally  appreciated  as  an  actress  and 
esteemed  as  a  lady. 

17th.  Opera  Comique. — Joan  of  Arc,  burlesque  in  two  acts 
by  J.  L.  Shine  and  Adrian  Ross,  music  by  F.  Osmond  Carr. 
There  is  very  little  in  the  career  of  "  La  Pucelle  d'Orl^ans  "  that 
lends  itself  to  burlesque,  unless  it  is  touched  on  in  a  manner  that 
would  ofTend  the  principles  of  many,  and  in  doing  so  naturally 
injure  any  historical  interest  that  might  be  attached  to  the 
burlesque.  So  the  authors  gave  us  different  sections  of  society 
who  are  supposed  to  be  on  strike— railway  guards,  policemen, 
postmen,  messenger  boys,  'dockers,  and  colliers — who  sang  strike 
verses,  and  who  got  liberally  hissed  and  hooted  by  the  gods  and 
pit  for  doing  so ;  in  fact,  it  was  so  offensive  to  some  that  Mr. 
Edwardes  later  very  wisely  completely  cut  out  this  portion  of  the 
entertainment.  Some  of  the  neatest  of  the  writing  occurred  in 
the  preface  which  was  attached  to  the  book,  in  which  the  authors 
claim  to  have  done  little  more  than  use  the  name  of  the  patriot 
peasant  maid  as  the  title  on  which  "  to  hang  their  web  of  song 
and  dance.'*  Songs  there  were  many,  and  of  course  Arthur 
Roberts  as  De  Richemont  had  the  greater  proportion  of  them. 
His  first  number  of  any  note  is  the  one  entitled  "  Words  to  that 
Effect " ;  but  that  in  which  he  made  the  greatest  mark  was  the 
duet  sung  by  him  in  conjunction  with  Charles  Danby  (Jacques 
d'Arc),   entitled  "  Round    the  Town,'*  in  which,  as  a  couple  of 


i6  Joan  of  Arc.  [Jam.,  1891. 

costermongers,  they  were  very  amusing.  Arthur  Roberts,  the 
favourite  of  so  many,  has  another  topical  song,  "  What  do  you 
think  ? "  which  could,  of  course,  be  altered  nightly,  so  as  to  be, 
like  the  burlesque  running  at  a  neighbouring  house,  "  up  to  data." 
J.  L.  Shine  was  not  himself  on  the  first  night ;  he  had  a  bad  cold, 
and  he  had  lost  his  voice — but  was  soon  able  to  develop  the  part 
of  Charles  VII.,  King  of  France,  into  a  thoroughly  good  one. 
Alma  Stanley  looked  very  handsome  as  Talbot,  Earl  of  Shrews- 
bury, and  sang  sweetly.  Emma  Chambers  received  a  warm 
welcome  on  her  entrance  as  Joan  of  Arc,  and  showed  that  she 
had  lost  little  of  that  attraction  which  made  her  so  great  a 
favourite  years  ago  ;  one  of  her  songs  gained  her  an  encore. 
Linda  Vemer  was  droll  as  Yolande,  and  Miss  Gourlay  also  proved 
herself  possessed  of  much  humour.  The  part  of  Catherine  of 
Rochelle,  the  soothsayer,  gave  me  the  idea  of  having  been  an 
after-thought,  and  as  though  interpolated  for  the  sake  of  Phyllis 
Broughton's  name  being  included  in  the  cast  She  was  attrac- 
tive, of  course ;  but  so  far  as  dancing  was  concerned  she  had 
a  dangerous  rival  in  Katie  Seymour,  who  as  Blanche  d'Arc 
footed  it  with  much  grace.  Grace. Pedley  gained  the  honours  of 
the  evening.  Her  singing  was  very  sweet  and  tuneful,  and  her 
acting  was  thoroughly  pleasant  and  quite  free  from'  any  approach 
to  vulgarity.  All  round  the  cast  was  good.  The  members  of 
the  chorus  had  been  most  efficiently  trained  by  F.  Stanislaus. 
(Emma  Chambers's  part  was  afterwards  filled  by  Marion  Hood, 
Joan  of  Arc.  Alice  Lethbridge  during  the  run  appeared  as 
Duchesse  d'Alen^on,  Agnes  Hewitt  as  the  Herald,  E.  Lewis  as 
Jacques  d'Arc,  Agnes  Delaporte  as  the  Queen,  and  Marius  as 
Charles  VII.  J.  L.  Shine  was  replaced  by  Charles  Bantock,  and 
for  a  time  Ethel  Blenheim  appeared  as  Talbot  in  place  of  Alma 
Stanley.) 

The  second  edition  of  Joan  of  Arc  was  given  at  the  Gaiety 
Sept  30th,  with  the  following  cast : — Arthur  de  Richemont, 
Arthur  Roberts ;  Charles  VII.,  M.  Marius ;  Jacques  d'Arc,  F. 
Emney ;  Talbot,  Earl  of  Shrewsbury,  Alma  Stanley ;  Fill-up  the 
Good,  E.  Bantock  ;  Bishop  of  Bovril,  W.  Warde ;  Village  School- 
master, E.  D.  Wardes  ;  Joan  of  Arc,  Marion  Hood  ;  Marie,  Queen 
of  France,  Florence  Dysart ;  Yolande  of  Bar,  Linda  Vemer ; 
Catherine  of  Rochelle,  Alice  Lethbridge ;  Duchesse  d'Alen^on, 
Day  Ford  ;  Aline,  Violet  Monckton  ;  Isabelle  d'Arc  (mother  of 
Joan),  Louise  Gourlay  ;  Blanche  d'Arc  (sister  of  Joan),  Katie 
Seymour,  as  principals.  M.  Marius  stage-managed  the  play.  It 
should  be  mentioned  perhaps  that  Arthur  Roberts  introduced  a  new 


Jan.,  1891.]  Alt  the  Comforts  of  Home.  17 

song,  "  Randy,  oh  !  "  which,  from  its  reference  to  Lord  Randolph 
Churchill  and  his  letters  from  Mashonaland,  was  thought  a  little 
too  personal  by  the  licenser  of  plays.  Notice  was  therefore  given 
to  Mr.  Roberts  that  no  absolute  mention  of  the  nobleman's  name 
must  be  made.  In  consequence  of  this,  the  song  became  a  greater 
success  than  before.  Within  a  fortnight  of  the  revival  Ada 
Blanche  appeared  in  the  title  rSle  with  success  instead  of  Marion 
Hood,  who  had  also  made  the  part  an  attractive  one. 

20th.  Marius's  benefit  at  the  Lyric.  The  noticeable  features 
in  the  programme  were  A  Pair  of  Lunatics^  played  by  George 
Alexander  and  Maude  Millett,  and  the  Screen  Scene  from  The 
School  for  Scandal — Lady  Teazle,  Mrs.  Langtry ;  Sir  Peter, 
James  Fernandez ;  Charles  Surface,  Fred  Terry ;  Joseph  Surface, 
F.  Kemble  Cooper. 

2 1  St.  Frederick  Harrison  appeared  at  the  Haymarket  with 
great  success  as  the  Duke  of  Guisebury  in  The  Dancing  Girly 
owing  to  H.  Beerbohm  Tree's  illness. 

22nd.  Lily  Hanbury  appeared  at  the  Olympic  as  Nellie 
Denver  in  The  Silver  King  in  the  place  of  Winifred  Emery, 
indisposed. 

24th.  Globe. — All  the  Comforts  of  Home,  three-act  farcical 
comedy,  adapted  by  W.  Gillette  and  H.  Duckworth  from  Ein 
Toller  EinfuL  The  theatre  reopened  under  the  management 
of  Norman  Forbes,  and  it  must  be  said  that  the  new  lessee  had 
done  all  in  his  power,  so  far  as  the  house  was  concerned,  to  make 
it  attractive.  It  had  been  redecorated  throughout  by  Campbell, 
Smith  and  Co.,  who  showed  their  usual  good  taste  in  carrying  out 
the  work.  The  electric  light  had  been  installed,  pretty  tapestry 
and  good  engravings  and  etchings  adorned  the  walls,  and  alterations 
had  been  made  in  the  auditorium  and  one  exit  from  the  stalls, 
which  added  much  to  the  comfort  of  the  visitors.  Above  every- 
thing, fees  of  every  kind  had  been  abolished — one  of  the  greatest 
boons  that  can  be  bestowed  on  theatre-goers.  All  the  Comforts 
of  Home,  the  new  play  which  has  been  a  success  in  America, 
cannot  be  looked  upon  as  anything  but  a  very  boisterous  farce 
prolonged  to  three  acts,  and  the  fun  of  which  results  entirely  from 
the  capability  of  the  company  engaged  in  it.  It  is  thoroughly  im- 
probable, and  everything  takes  place  in  the  hall  of  Mr.  Pettibone's 
house,  the  hall  occupying  the  whole  of  the  stage,  and  from  it  lead 
two  staircases  and  three  doors  ;  up  and  down  and  in  and  out  of 
these  the  different  characters  appear  and  disappear  incessantly. 
Mr.  Pettibone  has  a  very  pretty  wife,  of  whom  he  is  insanely 
jealous.     Victor  Smythe,  a  harmless  young  gentleman,  is  in  love 


1 8  All  the  Comforts  of  Home.  [Jan.,  1891. 

with  Pettibone's  daughter  Emily,  but  the  father  thinks  the  young 
fellow  is  flirting  with  his  wife.  So  he  rushes  off"  abroad  with 
them  both  and  leaves  his  Lares  and  Penates  in  charge  of  his 
nephew  Alfred  Hastings.  The  custodian,  being  considerably  out 
at  elbows,  thinks  it  a  fine  opportunity  to  make  money  by  con- 
verting his  uncle's  domicile  into  a  lodging-house.  With  the 
assistance  of  his  boy  Tom,  he  offers  All  the  Comforts  of  Hofne. 
A  "  dude,"  Judson  Langhorn,  a  half-crazed  musician,  Christopher 
Dabney,  and  a  too  susceptible  retired  grocer,  Theodore  Bender, 
with  his  majestic  wife  and  pretty  daughter,  take  possession  of  the 
different  sets  of  apartments,  the  last  that  had  been  vacant  being 
tenanted  by  a  very  fascinating  but  particularly  worldly  dancer, 
Fifi  Oritanski.  With  such  a  number  of  differently  constituted 
characters  under  one  roof,  the  rencontres  are  bound  to  be  at  least 
peculiar,  but  whatever  fun  there  is  arises  from  the  flirtations  of 
the  dancer  and  the  too  amorous  grocer  and  the  discovery  of 
his  peccadilloes  by  his  better  half.  Harry  Paulton  was  certainly 
the  life  of  the  piece,  with  his  almost  unique,  quaint  style  of 
humour;  he  was  ably  assisted  by  Lily  Linfield,  who  cast  her 
fascination  very  insinuatingly  over  the  little  man  and  danced 
most  gracefully.  Fanny  Coleman,  too,  aided  much  in  the 
drollery  of  the  scenes  by  her  primness  and  exhibition  of  jealousy. 
Norman  Forbes  has  not  at  present  quite  light  enough  a  touch  for 
farcical  comedy.  Ian  Robertson  did  not  make  his  character  an 
utterly  impossible  one,  for  which  he-  deserves  praise,  considering 
the  style  in  which  the  author  has  drawn  it.  Stella  Maris  played 
neatly  and  effectively,  and  looked  very  handsome ;  and  Sybil 
Carlisle  and  Mary  Ansell  were  remarkably  pretty  inghiues.  Willie 
Phillips  might  have  toned  down  his  high  spirits  with  advantage, 
and  Frederick  Glover  would  also  behave  better  had  he  not  been 
so  restless.  The  play  was  fairly  well  received,  and  was  preceded 
by  Gringoire^  adapted  from  the  French  of  M.  Theodore  de 
Banville  by  Mr.  W.  G.  Wills.  This  version  of  De  Banville's  now 
well-known  play  was  originally  produced  at  the  Prince  of  Wales's 
on  the  afternoon  of  June  22nd,  1885,  on  which  occasion  Richard 
Mansfield  was  the  Louis  XL,  Dorothy  Dene  Louise,  and  Norman 
Forbes,  as  now,  Gringoire.  The  story  is  closely  followed,  and 
Mr.  Wills's  version  is  poetic,  but  his  Ballade  des  Pendtis  is  not  so 
striking,  nor  is  Gringoire  quite  so  heroically  drawn,  as  in  the 
Haymarket  play.  Ian  Robertson  as  Louis  XI.  gave  the  rendering 
of  a  monarch  who  has  for  the  nonce  quite  thrown  off  the  cares 
of  state,  but  at  the  same  time  showed  us  the  innate  cruelty  of 
the  man,  when  he  thinks  he  has  been  betrayed,  in  one  fine  burst 


Jan.,  1891.1  A  DolVs  HousB — OuT  Regiment.  19 

■  —  ■ 

of  frenzied  passion.  Norman  Forbes  was  a  dreamer  and  a 
poet,  but  not  quite  possessed  of  that  courage  that  would  face 
death  unflinchingly.  The  Olivier  of  F.  H.  de  Lange  was  ex- 
cellent. I  must  remark  on  the  fidelity  of  the  costumes  to  the 
period  of  1469  and  the  excellence  of  the  mise-en-schte^  and  also 
to  the  beautiful  act-drop,  a  rocky  scene,  which  W.  Harford  had 
painted,  with  the  motto  underneath — 

**  Now  is  the  sun  upon  the  highmost  hill 
Of  his  day's  journey." 

27th.  Terry's,  matinee, — Henrik  Ibsen's  play  A  Dolts  House, 
This  extraordinary  work  has  been  so  much  discussed,  and  such  a 
full  notice  of  it  given  in  Dramatic  Notes,  1890,  that  there  is  no 
occasion  to  enter  here  on  its  merits  or  demerits.  The  acting  is 
that  which  claims  attention.  Marie  Fraser  had  gained  considerable 
success  as  Dora  in  the  provinces,  but  required  more  experience 
before  she  could  thoroughly  realise  this  complex  character,  but 
hers  was  a  veiy  creditable  performance.  Elizabeth  Robins  and 
Charles  Fulton  will  be  remembered  as  the  best  Mrs.  Linden  and 
Nils  Krogstad  that  have  been  seen  ;  they  were  both  admirable. 
William  Herbert  represented  Dr.  Rank  as  one  who  lives  for  the 
enjoyment  of  the  present,  until  the  time  comes  when  he  determines 
to  shut  himself  off  from  society  and  await  the  miserable  close  of 
life  that  he  knows  is  rapidly  approaching.  C.  Forbes-Drummond's 
Torvald  Helmer  was  unsatisfactory.  Although  a  priggish  and 
utterly  selfish  creature,  the  man  must  have  at  times  been  moved 
by  the  feelings  that  agitated  him,  and  it  was  the  failure  in  the 
due  expression  of  his  emotion  that  made  Mr.  Forbes-Drummond's 
acting  so  colourless. 

27th.  Toole's  (revival). — Our  Regiment,  three-act  farcical 
comedy  by  Henry  Hamilton.  This  merry  unpretentious  trifle, 
which  the  author  has  adapted  from  Kriegim  Frieden,  was  first 
tried  at  a  matinee  at  the  Vaudeville  Feb.  13th,  1883,  and,  with 
some  alterations  and  improvements,  again  at  the  Gaiety,  Dec.  4th 
of  the  same  year.  It  was  placed  in  the  evening  bill  at  the  Globe 
in  1884,  ^^d  had  a  successful  provincial  run.  The  original  Guy 
Warrener  was  Gerald  Moore,  who  made  of  the  character  one  of 
his  best,  and  from  the  first  (in  London)  Fanny  Brough  has 
sustained  to  perfection  the  rdle  of  Enid  Thurston,  that  of  a 
delightful  coquettish  girl,  mischievous,  fond  of  flirtation  and  ad- 
miration, but  true-hearted  and  lovable ;  her  love  scene  in  the  last 
act  is  one  of  the  most  delicately  played  that  can  be  imagined. 
Mr.  Hamilton's  dialogue  is  what  is  known  as  "  smart " ;  it  is  often 
witty,  and,  added  to  his  situations,  produces  hearty  laughter.    Much 


20  The  Stranger.  [Jak.,  1891. 


of  course  depends  on  the  way  in  which  the  character  of  Guy 
Warrener  is  played.  In  the  capable  hands  of  W.  S.  Penley  it  is 
most  amusing.  He  has  to  represent  a  glib,  audacious  young 
officer  in  a  Lancer  regiment,  a  fortune  hunter  who,  to  win  the 
heiress,  gets  up  the  whole  statistics  of  Jamaica,  because  he  learns 
she  is  a  native  of  the  island.  His  delivery  of  these  scraps  of 
knowledge  was  most  droll.  I  cannot,  I  think,  pay  him  a  better 
compliment  than  to  say  that,  thoroughly  humorous  as  he  was,  he 
was  more  unlike  Mr.  Penley  than  I  have  ever  seen  him.  There 
is  really  no  plot  in  Our  Regiment  Mr.  Dobbinson  cannot  bear  the 
army ;  his  wife,  daughter,  ward,  and  niece  are  as  madly  in  love 
with  it,  and  are  aided  and  abetted  in  welcoming  the  gallant 
Lancers  by  Dobbinson's  old  friend  EUaby.  The  Rev.  John 
Talt)ot  is  a  gentleman  who  has  mistaken  his  vocation ;  though 
wearing  a  black  coat,  he  should  don  a  red  one,  and  eventually 
determines  to  do  so.  The  part  was  capitally  played  by  Reeves- 
Smith,  and  with  due  moderation.  Alfred  Byde  was  a  soldierly- 
looking  Captain  Fetherston,  and  Willie  Drew  appropriately  irritable 
as  Mr.  Dobbinson.  Fanny  Robertson  was  amusing  in  a  semi- 
martial  uniform  which  she  dons  as  Mrs.  Dobbinson  in  honour  of 
the  corps  that  is  quartered  at  Mudborough-on-Slush,  a  quiet 
town  in  which,  and  its  environs,  the  events  take  place.  Violet 
Thomycroft  continues  to  improve,  and  promises  to  become  a  very 
useful  actress.  The  new  manageress,  Florence  McKenzie,  played 
Olive.  During  the  run  of  the  piece  Cecil  Crofton  appeared  as 
Mr.  Dobbinson.  It  was  preceded  by  H.  C.  Merivale's  A  Husband 
in  Clover^  very  neatly  played  by  Eugenie  Vemie  as  Lydia  and  by 
Sydenham  Dixon  as  Horace. 

28th.  New  Olympic  matinie  (revival). — The  Stranger  had  not 
been  seen  in  London  for  so  many  years  that  curiosity  no  doubt 
attracted  the  very  large  audience  that  assembled  to  pass  judgment 
on  a  play  once  so  famous.  The  younger  generation  of  playgoers 
came  to  see  whether  it  was  deserving  of  the  praise  that  had  been 
lavished  on  it ;  the  elder,  perhaps,  to  see  whether  the  woes  of 
Mrs.  Haller  could  make  them  shed  tears  as  they  had  in  the  past 
I  fancy  both  were  disappointed,  for  more  stilted  language  or  a 
more  oppressive,  lugubrious  play  it  is  difficult  to  imagine.  And 
yet  to  think  that  every  actor  or  actress  of  note  in  the  past  did 
not  recognise  that  the  topmost  round  of  the  ladder  was  reached 
until  he  or  she  had  appeared  in  its  principal  character !  John 
Kemble  and  Mrs.  Siddons  were  the  original  "  Stranger  "  and  Mrs. 
Haller  when  the  play  was  first  produced  at  Drury  Lane  (March 
24th,  1798),  and  since  then  Charles  Kemble,  Young,  Kean  John 


Jan.,  1891.]  For  Charity s  Sake,  21 

Ryder,  Macready,  Creswick,  Phelps,  Miss  O'Neil,  Miss  Sloman, 
Mrs.  West,  Helen  Faucit  (Covent  Garden,  1836),  Madame  Beatrice 
(Lyceum,  1865),  Amy  Sedgwick  (Haymarket,  i860),  have  all 
thought  the  part  worthy  of  their  attention  ;  and  I  think  the  two 
latest  representatives  of  the  characters  in  London  were  Barry 
Sullivan  and  Rose  Eytinge  at  the  (old)  Haymarket  in  1879. 
Except  that  the  play  was  compressed  into  three  acts  instead  of 
five,  but  few  excisions  had  been  made,  and  Mr.  Wilson  Barrett  as 
the  hero  retained  the  regulation  frogged  coat  and  Hessian  boots. 
To  my  mind,  it  would  be  impossible  to  make  the  "  Stranger  *'  an 
interesting  character,  with. his  sham  misanthropy  and  churlishness, 
but  Mr.  Barrett  by  sheer  artistic  skill  robbed  it  of  its  wearisome- 
ness.  Mrs.  Haller  has  a  better  chance,  and  Winifred  Emery 
availed  herself  of  it  by  a  gentle  pathetic  humility  that  was 
sympathetic  and  convincing  of  her  repentance.  Stafford  Smith 
was  dignified  and  natural  as  Tobias,  the  old  man  who  is  grateful 
for  the  kindness  bestowed  on  him.  Austin  Melford  and  Lillie 
Belmore  gave  us  genuine  comedy  as  the  foolish  prating  Solomon 
and  the  upstart  waiting-maid  Charlotte.  George  Barrett  improved 
too  much  upon  the  text.  Only  sorrow  can  be  felt  for  the  actor 
who  has  to  appear  as  the  servant  Francis,  a  character  that,  is  but 
a  feeder  for  the  alternate  railings  and  snappishness  of  his  master, 
but  Cooper  Cliffe  did  all  that  was  possible  with  it.  Lily  Hanbury 
made  a  decidedly  good  impression  as  the  Countess  Wintersen, 
and  more  than  a  word  of  praise  is  due  to  Maud  C.  Jefferies  for 
the  expression  she  threw  into  the  song  (composed  by  the  then 
Duchess  of  Devonshire),  "  I  have  a  silent  sorrow  here."  The 
entire  cast  is  given  elsewhere,  as  I  think  it  will  be  in  all  probability 
many  more  years  before  T/te  Stranger  is  seen  again. 

29th.  Comedy. — For  Charity's  Sake.  One-act  domestic  comedy 
drama  by  Charles  S.  Fawcett.  As  a  rule,  the  first  pieces  nowa- 
days are  of  so  flimsy  a  nature  that  it  is  a  pleasure  to  record  one 
that  is  healthy  in  sentiment  and  at  the  same  time  amusing.  Such 
is  Mr.  Fawcett's  little  comedy,  although  the  incidents  are  not  very 
stirring.  Charity,  the  heroine,  has  fallen  in  love  with  Edward 
Esher,  a  poor  gentleman.  He  is  in  urgent  need  of  money,  and 
so,  through  the  medium  of  Catterpole,  she  conveys  to  him  the 
savings  that  she  has  scraped  together,  first  changing  the  odd 
moneys  into  a  five-pound  note,  which,  by  her  direction,  Catterpole 
puts  in  an  envelope  addressed  to  Esher  as  "From  a  Friend."  This 
Catterpole  is  a  sanctimonious  humbug,  a  supposed  missionary,  but 
a  thorough  scamp,  and  being  left  alone,  seizes  the  opportunity 
of  pilfering  another  five-pound  note  from  the  cashbox,  as  well  as 


22  The  Gay  Lothario.  [Jan.,  1891. 

the  moneys  which  Charity  has  changed.  As  she  keeps  one  key, 
when  Nubbles,  the  kindly  man  who  has  adopted  her,  discovers 
the  loss  she  is  almost  suspected  of  the  theft.  Inspector  Jones 
is  called  in,  and  by  dint  of  cross-questioning  discovers  that 
Catterpole  is  the  culprit,  for  this  short-sighted  gentleman  has 
forwarded  the  wrong  five-pound  note  to  Charity's  lover.  Lydia 
Cowell  was  a  brave,  lov  ng  girl  as  Charity,  W.  Wyes  a  sturdy  yet 
generous  Nubbles,  and  W.  F.  Hawtrey  an  excellent  specimen  of 
the  oily,  deceitful  Chadband  genus.  Master  C.  G.  Holmes  played 
with  much  spirit  as  young  Nick,  a  grimy  urchin.  For  C/iaritys 
Sake  had  been  played  by  an  amateur  club,  and  was  then  entitled 
Our  Lottie,     The  piece  was  well  received. 

31st.  St.  James's. — The  Gay  Lothario^  one-act  comedy  by 
A.  C.  Calmour.  The  author  should  rightly  have  qualified  his 
latest  work  as  a  "  comedietta,"  for  it  is  nothing  more,  but  what 
there  is  of  it  is  wittily  written,  and  the  language  is  suited  to  the 
period  of  swords  and  sacques — the  eighteenth  century.  The  motive 
of  the  plot  is  one  that  is  frequently  used — the  overweening  con- 
fidence of  a  woman  in  her  power  over  her  lover  and  her  discovery 
that  the  man  she  has  refused  is  dearer  to  her  than  she  thought. 
Amanda  Goldacre  (Maude  Millett)  is  informed  by  her  maid  Letty 
that  her  admirer  Sir  Harry  Lovell  (George  Alexander),  "  the  gay 
Lothario,"  has  wagered  he  will  win  her.  Incensed  at  his  pre- 
sumption, she  determines  to  refuse  him.  Letty,  to  whom  the 
gallant  has  always  been  kind  and  liberal,  lets  him  know  the 
reception  he  may  expect.  He  therefore  so  cleverly  words  his 
approaches,  that  Amanda  takes  his  address  for  a  proposal  and 
rejects  him  before  he  has  actually  offered  himself,  and  he  is 
enabled  to  turn  the  tables  on  her  by  showing  her  that  she  has 
jumped  at  too  hasty  a  conclusion.  Not  content  with  this,  he 
completely  conquers  her  by  going  out  and  fighting  a  duel  in 
defence  of  her  honour.  When  he  returns — unwounded,  by  the 
way — she  almost  pleads  for  his  affection,  which  he  is  quite  ready 
to  give  her,  for  through  all  his  follies  he  has  really  loved  her 
alone.  George  Alexander  and  Maude  Millett  played  into  each 
other's  hands  remarkably  well,  and  had  valuable  assistance  from 
Laura  Graves  as  Letty  and  from  Ben  Webster  as  Sparks,  Sir 
Harry's  valet,  who  apes  the  manners  of  his  master.  The  author 
was  called  for.  Preceding  this,  Sunlight  and  Shadow  was  played 
with  the  same  company  that  had  been  appearing  in  it  at  the 
Avenue  Theatre,  and  was  enthusiastically  received  in  its  new 
home.  On  this  night  George  Alexander  took  possession  of  the 
St  James's,  which  looked  very  bright  and  cheerful  with  its  fresh 


Jan.,  1891.]         Till  the  Half 'hour — The  Rose  and  the  Ring.  23 

decorations,  new  act-drop,  and  the  electric  light.  Here  also  all 
fees  were  abolished  ;  and  the  corridors  and  vestibule  were  hung 
with  etchings  and  engravings  lent  by  J.  T.  Mendoza.  Walter 
Slaughter  conducted  an  excellent  orchestra ;  and  the  musical 
selections  were  in  the  best  taste. 

31st.  Ladbroke  Hall. — Till  the  Half -hour,  by  Arthur  M. 
Heathcote. 

31st.     Last  performance  of  The  Rose  and  the  Ring. 

31st. — The  Royal  English  Opera  House,  the  stone  of 
which  was  laid  Dec.  isth,  1888,  was  opened  with  Sir  Arthur 
Sullivan's  opera  Ivanhoe^  of  which  Julian  Sturgis  had  written  the 
libretto.  It  does  not  come  within  my  province  to  speak  of  the 
opera,  but,  as  a  matter  of  record,  the  full  cast  that  appeared  in  it 
will  be  found  under  the  head  of  "  New  Plays,  etc." 

The  theatre  is  situated  at  Cambridge  Circus,  and  is  built  of  red 
EUistown  brick,  and  Mr.  Calcott,  F.R.I.B.A.,who  was  called  in  to 
undertake  the  architectural  and  decorative  portion  of  the  work, 
made  extensive  use  of  Doulton  terra-cotta  ;  Mr.  D'Oyly  Carte,  the 
proprietor  of  the  theatre,  having  been  to  a  great  extent  his  own 
architect  White  Italian,  veined,  a  marble  known  as  vert-vert, 
green  marble,  alabaster,  and  rouge  jaspe  figured  extensively 
throughout  the  building,  the  interior  ornamentation  being  of 
light  cream  and  gold  on  a  pale  green  ground.  The  draperies 
and  stage  curtain  were  of  yellow  satin,  the  upholstery  of  green 
plush  velvet.  Electric  light  was  used  entirely  throughout  the 
building.  The  view  is  an  uninterrupted  one  from  every  part  of 
the  house,  being  quite  unimpeded  by  columns.  There  are  1,976 
seats  in  the  house :  270  in  ten  rows  of  orchestra  stalls,  500  in 
the  twelve  rows  of  the  pit,  242  in  the  nine  of  the  Royal  tier  stalls, 
222  in  the  seven  of  the  first  circle,  230  in  the  four  rows  of  the 
amphitheatre,  400  in  the  eleven  rows  of  the  gallery,  and  40  in 
the  private  boxes.  But  there  is  standing  room  for  an  additional 
number,  which  brings  up  the  total  to  about  2,300.  The  pro- 
scenium opening  is  34  feet  3  inches  in  height,  34  feet  in  width. 
The  stage  is  98  feet  from  cellar  to  gridiron.  Auditorium  con- 
structed of  iron,  steel,  and  concrete.  Communication  all  over  the 
house  effected  by  means  of  electricity,  and  the  artists  are  carried 
to  their  dressing-rooms  by  means  of  a  lift.  It  is,  without 
exception,  the  most  beautiful  theatre  in  London. 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


24  Maid  Marian,  [Fkb.,  1891. 


II. 

FEBRUARY. 

2nd.  Gaiety. — Second  edition  of  Carmen  up  to  Data.  The 
changes  in  the  cast  were — Escamillo,  Maud  Hobson  ;  Frasquita, 
Sylvia  Grey ;  Intimidado,  Day  Ford. 

3rd.  Park  Hall,  Camden  Town. — Mr.  Greenleds  Courtship. 
Musical  duologue  written  by  George  Mudie,  composed  by  Michael 
Dwyer. 

3rd.  W.  E.  Chapman  re-elected  W.M.  of  Savage  Club  Lodge 
No.  2,190. 

Death  of  Miss  M.  Chattaway,  more  than  twenty  years  custodian 
of  Shakespeare's  birthplace. 

4th.  King  John  produced  at  the  New  Theatre,  Oxford,  by  the 
Oxford  U.D.S.  H.  Irving,  junior,  in  the  title  r6le\  Arthur, 
Mabel  Hoare. 

5  th.  Prince  of  Wales's. — The  librettist  of  Maid  Marian 
told  us  in  the  "argument"  preceding  the  lyrics  that  his  plot 
was  founded  on  a  very  early  English  ballad  entitled  "  A  Merry 
Jest  of  Little  John,"  and  has  turned  the  source  of  his  inspiration 
to  good  account.  The  play  opens  in  the  town  of  Nottingham  at 
fair- time.  The  outlaws  are  present  to  compete  for  the  archery 
championship  and  to  dispose  of  their  booty.  The  Sheriff,  who 
has  been  for  years  custodian  of  the  Huntingdon  estates,  being 
avaricious  and  unwilling  to  give  up  the  control  of  them,  has 
set  up  an  empty-headed  youth,  Sir  Guy  of  Gisbome,  as  the 
rightful  Earl  of  Huntingdon,  so  that  when  Robin  Hood,  now 
arrived  at  maturity,  claims  his  heritage,  the  Sheriff  by  forged 
documents  proves  Sir  Guy  to  be  the  rightful  heir,  and  Robin  Hood, 
at  the  solicitation  of  the  outlaws,  joins  their  band  as  their  chief. 
Prior  to  this,  however,  Lady  Marian  Fitz waiter  appears  on  the 
scene.  By  the  King's  command,  she  is  to  wed  the  Earl  of 
Huntingdon,  but  being  desirous  of  learning  what  "manner  of 
man "  he  is,  disguised  as  a  page  she  bears  the  Royal  mandate 
herself,  meets  with  Robin  Hood,  and  he  discovering  her  identity, 
they  mutually  fall  in  love  with  each  other  and  plight  their  troth. 
In  the  second  act  the  Sheriff  and  his  myrmidons,  disguised  as 
tinkers,  arrive  at  Sherwood  Forest  with  a  view  of  capturing 
Robin  Hood.  On  the  borders  of  it.  Dame  Durden  keeps  a 
hostelry  which  is  much  frequented  by  the  outlaws.  Her  daughter 
Annabel  is  an  arrant  flirt,  but  cares  most  for  Allan-a-Dale ;  to 


FsB.,  1891.]  Maid  Marian,  25 

vex  him  she  lures  Robin  Hood  (who,  having  heard  nothing  of 
Marian  for  six  months,  thinks  her  faithless,  and  is  willing  to 
divert  himself)  into  serenading  the  innkeeper's  pretty  daughter. 
Marian,  who  has  been  kept  in  confinement  by  the  Sheriff  all  this 
time,  has  escaped,  and  comes  to  join  her  lover,  but  hearing  from 
Annabel  what  is  to  happen,  persuades  her  to  be  permitted  to 
impersonate  her.  AUan-a-Dale  witnesses  the  serenade,  and 
imagining  it  is  his  love  at  the  window,  goes  off  and  fetches 
the  Sheriff,  and  Robin  Hood  is  taken  prisoner,  but  so  soon  as 
Allan-a-Dale  discovers  his  mistake  he  summons  the  outlaws,  and 
their  chief  is  rescued  ;  but  Sir  Guy  has  in  the  meantime  brought 
to  the  forest  the  King's  archers,  and  the  whole  band  is  captured 
after  a  mel^Cy  and  Maid  Marian  is  carried  back  to  Nottingham  to 
be  wedded  to  Sir  Guy.  The  last  act  takes  place  again  in 
Nottingham.  Robin  is  in  prison,  but  is  rescued  by  Friar  Tuck, 
who  changes  clothes  with  him ;  and  so  the  outlaw  is  in  time 
to  marry  Marian,  and  Allan-a-Dale  at  the  same  time  weds 
Annabel,  whom  the  Sheriff  had  intended  for  himself;  and  a 
messenger  presently  arrives  with  a  free  pardon  from  the  King  for 
Robin  Hood  and  his  band  if  they  will  quit  outlawry,  and  Robin 
is  acknowledged  as  the  rightful  Earl  of  Huntingdon.  In  the 
second  act  there  was  a  good  comedy  scene  between  Dame 
Durden  and  the  Sheriff,  in  which  she  claims  him  as  her  hus- 
band, long  absent  at  the  Crusades.  The  whole  was  bright  and 
lively ;  the  lyrics  were  smooth,  and  the  music  melodious  and 
attractive.  There  were  some  very  pretty  dances ;  the  costumes, 
by  Alias,  etc.,  were  charming  and  accurate,  and  all  the  scenery 
was  beautiful.  The  picture  presented  of  Sherwood  Forest  was  one 
of  the  most  exquisite  I  have  ever  seen.  I  had  not  hitherto  known 
Hayden  Coffin  to  such  advantage ;  he  threw  himself  completely 
into  the  part,  and  was  gay  and  dibonnaire,  Harry  Monkhouse  as 
the  Sheriff,  possessed  of  a  "  massive  brain  and  eagle  eye,*'  was 
amusing,  and  John  Le  Hay  was  very  droll  as  the  loutish  Sir  Guy  ; 
but  why,  with  such  a  good  voice  as  he  possesses,  was  not  he 
given  one  solo }  Harry  Parker  was  quite  an  ideal  Friar  Tuck, 
rosy  and  rubicund  and  pottle-loving,  and  full  of  quaint  humour ; 
Egbert  Roberts  a  stalwart  and  manly  Will  Scarlet;  Violet 
Cameron  appeared  to  the  very  best  advantage  as  Allan-a-Dale ; 
Attalie  Claire,  with  her  coquettish  manner,  was  just  suited  for 
Annabel ;  and  Marion  Manola,  a  new-comer,  proved  a  clever 
actress  as  well  as  an  agreeable  singer.  Madame  Amadi  may 
always  be  relied  on  for  making  the  most  of  any  character  with 
which  she  is  entrusted.     The  greatest  credit  was  due  to  Charles 


26  Monte  Cristo,  [Feb.,  1891. 

Harris  for  his  stage  management,  and  to  Horace  Sedger  for  the 
liberality  shown  in  the  production. 

5th.  Death  of  Marie  Rhodes  (Mrs.  H.  Saville).  First  appeared 
as  quite  a  child,  and  was  a  member  of,  and  acted  at,  all  the 
London  theatres.  Made  a  good  reputation  in  the  provinces, 
and  was  a  very  great  favourite  at  the  Theatre  Royal,  Edinburgh. 

6th.  Novelty. —  Waiting  for  the  Train,  comedietta  by  Alfred 
A.  Wilmot  (for  copyright  purposes). 

7th.  Avenue. — MonU  Cristo.  Independently  of  the  attraction 
that  this  might  possess  as  a  play,  its  revival  made  some  stir  in 
theatrical  circles,  in  consequence  of  the  history  connected  with  it 
both  as  a  French  and  English  production.  Alexandre  Dumas  is 
asserted  by  Querard  to  have  had  the  assistance  of  P.  A.  Fiorentino 
and  Auguste  Maquet  in  writing  the  original  story,  in  the  French, 
which  spread  to  twelve  volumes,  and  was  published  between  the 
years  1841  and  1845.  Dumas,  judging  by  the  hold  it  took  on 
the  public,  thought  it  would  be  successful  as  a  drama,  and  so 
prepared  it  for  the  stage,  and  actually  took  a  theatre  that  its 
production  might  be  ensured.  This  was  the  Th^itre  Historique, 
which  he  opened  in  February,  1847,  with  La  Reine  Margot\  then 
came  Le  Chevalier  de  Maison  Rouge  in  August,  and  in  February 
of  the  following  year  Monte  Cristo,  which  took  two  entire  evenings 
in  representation.  The  revolution  of  1 848  played  havoc  with  all 
the  Parisian  theatres,  and  Jullien,  who  was  then  the  manager  of 
DruryLane,  thought  the  piece  would  be  an  attraction  in  London, 
and  so  brought  over  the  company  which  had  appeared  in  it  under 
M.  Hostein.  English  actors  in  those  days  were  not  tolerant  of 
foreign  rivals,  and  so  gave  the  French  company  a  very  hot 
reception  on  Monday,  June  1 2th,  which  is  amusingly  described  in 
the  following  lines  by  G,  A.  Sala  : — 

"  Angry  actors,  with  heavy  sticks, 
Vow  to  hoot  and  howl  like  bricks  ; 
Some  have  whistles  and  sounding  shells, 
One  or  two  bring  dustmen's  bells  ; 
Some  have  railway  whistles,  some 
Straight  from  Greenwich  with  crackers  come  ; 
Young  and  old,  high  and  low, 
Are  l^nt  on  having  a  *  regular  row.* 
Eight  o'clock  is  gone  and  past, 
There  !  the  curtain's  up  at  last ; 
See,  the  deck  of  the  Pharaon^ 
No  good,  though,  to  try  it  on. 
Gents  and  nobs,  lords  and  snobs, 
Smith,  Brown,  Robinson,  Jones,  and  Dobbs 
Every  one,  from  pit  to  flies, 
Utters  howls,  yells,  barks,  and  cries. 
Hammer  and  tongs,  bells  and  gongs,  ^^-^  . 

Catcalls,  whistles,  shouts,  and  songs,      igitized  by  vjOOQ  IC 
Moans,  groans,  tones,  '  bones,'  ^ 


Feb..  1891.]  Monte  Cristo,  27 

Mingled  with  trumpets  and  penny  trombones, 

Off,  off,  taimt  and  scoff, 

Ginger-beer  bottles,  and  crow  and  cough  ; 

Since  the  da3rs  of  the  O.P.  Row 

Never  was  such  a  one  heard  till  now.'* 

The  audience  would  not  give  the  piece  a  hearing  (it  was  in 
ten  acts,  and  was  to  have  taken  two  evenings  here).  Benches 
were  torn  up  ;  there  was  a  free  fight,  and  appearances  the  next  day 
at  Bow  Street.  The  French  company  gave  up  any  hope  of  being 
appreciated  in  London,  and  returned  to  France  at  the  end  of 
the  week.  In  1868,  the  Adelphi  being  then  under  Benjamin 
Webster's  management,  Fechter,  with  the  assistance  of  Benjamin 
Webster,  junior,  arranged  an  English  version  of  Monte  Cristo^ 
and  it  was  produced  Oct.  17th.  It  was  fearfully  long  and 
dreary,  was  not  over  till  nearly  one  o'clock,  and  was  so  dismal 
that  the  pitites  proposed  that  they  themselves  should  sing  a  comic 
song  to  enliven  it.  Though  the  cast,  as  will  be  seen,  was  a  strong 
one,  it  was  a  distinct  failure.  Practically  this  version  is  the  one 
played  at  the  Avenue,  though  it  had  been  compressed  into 
reasonable  limits  and  was  over  at  the  usual  hour  for  the  closing 
of  the  theatres  of  the  present  day.  The  principal  incidents 
touched  upon  are  the  arrest  of  Dantes  as  a  Napoleonist  just  as 
he  is  about  to  be  married  to  Mercedes,  as  some  reparation  for  the 
wrong  he  has  done  her,  for  she  is  likely  to  become  a  mother, 
though  he  is  unaware  of  her  situation.  Then  comes  Dantes' 
imprisonment  in  the  Chateau  d'lf,  his  attempt  at  escape  with  the 
Abb6  Faria,  the  latter's  death,  and  Dantes'  taking  the  place  of 
the  corpse  and  being  hurled  from  the  battlements  of  the  castle 
into  the  sea ;  and  the  curtain  falls  on  the  first  act  as  he  rises  and 
clings  to  a  rock.  Subsequently  we  see  his  interview  with  Cade- 
rouse  (who  eventually  becomes  the  Count  of  Monte  Cristo's 
servant  and  aids  him  in  his  scheme  of  revenge),  the  death  of 
Carconte  at  the  hands  of  Noirtier  when  she  attempts  to  rob  him, 
and  the  suicide  of  Villefort  the  procureur.  The  scene  shifts  to 
Paris.  Mercedes  has  married  Fernand,  that  her  son  Albert  may 
be  legitimised.  Monte  Cristo  (the  Dantes  of  the  past)  at  a  grand 
reception  publicly  exposes  the  treachery  of  Fernand  at  Janina, 
and  brings  about  the  financial  ruin  of  Danglars,  now  a  banker. 
Albert,  in  defence  of  Fernand's  good  name,  challenges  Monte 
Cristo  to  a  duel,  a  result  that  the  latter  is  desirous  to  bring 
about,  as  he  is  determined  to  kill  the  young  fellow  and  so  strike 
at  his  supposed  father  and  mother.  Mercedes,  to  prevent  the 
meeting,  confesses  to  Dantes  that  Albert  is  his  child,  and  brings 
the  act  to  a  strong  conclusion.     In  the  final  scene,  in  which  the 


28  The  Lyons  Mail.  [Feb..  zSqi 

duel  is  to  take  place,  Albert,  who  has  learned  the  truth  of  all 
Monte  Cristo's  statements  and  how  he  has  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  Fernand  and  Danglars,  who  conspired  together  to  get  Dantes 
imprisoned,  manfully  acknowledges  that  the  man  he  has  challenged 
is  in  the  right.  Danglars  fights  with  Monte  Cristo  and  is  killed ; 
the  latter  reveals  his  identity  to  Fernand,  who  blows  out  his  own 
brains ;  and  Monte  Cristo  forgives  Mercedes.  The  stage  of  the 
Avenue  is  not  large  enough  for  the  representation  of  such  a  play, 
but  the  very  utmost  was  made  of  its  capacity,  and  the  scenes  were 
very  beautifully  painted ;  the  least  successful  in  realising  the 
situation  were  those  of  the  interior  and  exterior  of  the  Ch&teau 
d'If.  As  to  the  play  itself,  it  was  very  well  received";  the  third 
and  fourth  acts  were  really  strong  ;  and  taken  altogether  it  may  be 
looked  upon  as  a  cleverly  constructed  fabric  from  such  a  mass  of 
improbable  material  Charles  Warner  emphasised  the  more 
generous  and  forgiving  side  of  Dantes'  character  too  much  to 
quite  satisfy  one,  but  his  performance  was  interesting.  Jessie 
Millward  had  no  great  opportunities  till  the  fourth  act,  when  her 
scene  is  with  Dantes,  but  then  the  actress  displayed  power. 
Henry  Lee,  the  new  manager,  had  as  Noirtier  to  assume  several 
disguises,  as  a  conspirator,  an  Incroyable,  a  mouchardy  a  Jew 
pedlar,  and  a  journalist,  and  showed  considerable  versatility, 
though  a  little  inclined  to  exaggerate.  E.  H.  Vanderfelt^s 
Albert  was  admirable ;  he  was  earnest,  manly,  and  convincing. 
J.  G.  Taylor  was  excellent  as  the  besotted  and  afterwards  re- 
morseful Caderouse,  and  Elsie  Chester  gave  us  a  vivid  picture  of 
the  ruthless  hag  Carconte.  J.  G.  Grahame  did  well  as  the 
jealous  Fernand  in  the  first  act,  Luig^  Lablache  was  an  appro- 
priately sinister  Danglars,  and  Helena  Dacre  was  a  bright  and 
pleasant  Mademoiselle  Danglars.  The  remainder  of  the  cast  was 
efficient. 

7th.  Lyceum  (revival). — The  Lyons  Mail.  Charles  Reade's 
adaptation.  This  play  is  founded  on  a  celebrated  trial  under  the 
Directory  in  1 796,  by  the  verdict  recorded  in  which  an  innocent 
upright  man,  Lesurques,  suffered  death,  through  his  extraordinary 
resemblance  to  Dubosc,  a  robber  leader  of  a  gang  known  as  "  the 
Five  Hundred."  He  and  his  associates  rob  the  Lyons  mail,  and  in 
doing  so  add  murder  to  their  other  crime.  Dubosc  goes  to  the 
inn  kept  by  the  father  of  Lesurques,  who  actually  mistakes  the 
murderer  for  his  own  son,  as  does  also  Joliquet,  the  attendant 
Even  almost  up  to  the  very  end  in  the  drama,  Lesurques  would 
be  sacrificed  were  it  not  that  Dubosc,  who  has  come  to  gloat 
over  the  sufferings  of  his  victim,  through  taking  too  much  brandy, 


Feb.,  1891.]  The  Lyons  Mail.  29 

betrays  himself,  and  thus  saves  the  innocent  man  at  the  twelfth 
hour.  The  original  French  drama  by  MM.  Moreau,  Siraudin, 
and  Delacour,  entitled  Le  Courier  de  Lyons^  was  first  produced  at 
the  Gait^  Paris,  March  i6th,  1850,  permission  being  gfiven  by 
the  descendants  of  Joseph  Lesurques  for  the  use  of  his  name.  It 
may  be  mentioned  that  in  P^e  Lachaise  there  is  a  white  marble 
monument  erected  on  which  are  inscribed  the  words  "A  la 
m^moire  de  Joseph  Lesurques,  victime  de  la  plus  deplorable  des 
erreurs  humaines,  31  Octobre,  1796.  Sa  veuve  et  ses  enfants 
martyrs  tous  deux  sur  la  terre,  tous  deux  sont  r^unis  au  ciel." 
Lacressoniere  filled  the  dual  rdle  of  Lesurques  and  Dubosc,  and 
on  alternate  nights  the  play  had  different  endings :  on  the  one 
Lesurques  was  executed ;  on  the  next  he  was  reprieved,  and  Dubosc 
was  punished  with  death.  Lewis  Phillips*  was  the  first  London 
adaptation,  and  was  played  at  the  Standard  March  loth,  1851; 
it  was  advertised  as  The  Courier  of  LyonSy  and  also  as  The 
Courier ;  or^  The  Assassins  of  Paris  and  The  Courier  of  Paris. 
Prior  to  this  Mr.  John  Coleman  had  played  the  dual  rdle  at  the 
theatre  then  under  his  management,  the  Royal,  Sheffield,  in  an 
adaptation  made  by  C.  A.  Clarke.  In  the  cast  were  found  Harry 
Vandenhoff;  S.Calhaem;  Sam  Johnson  (theChopardof  the  Lyceum); 
Charles  Diddear  (of  Covent  Garden) ;  Jerome  (Lesurques) ;  Cathcart, 
who  had  played  the  Jaffier  and  had  also  appeared  as  Cromwell  in 
Miss  Milford's  Charles  /.,  appeared  as  the  Commissary  of  Police. 
Later  it  is  said  that  a  version  by  Edward  Stirling  was  done  at  the 
Mary lebone,  though  I  am  unable  to  trace  it.  In  1854  (June  26th) 
Charles  Reade's  adaptation,  under  the  title  of  The  Courier  of  LyonSy 
was  produced  at  the  Princess's,  with  Charles  Kean  in  the  dual 
rSle\  D.  Fisher,  Courriol ;  Addison,  Chopard  the  horse-dealer; 
H.  Saker,  Fouinard ;  Cathcart,  Didier ;  Kate  Terry,  Joliquet ; 
Carlotta  Leclercq,  Julie ;  Miss  Heath,  Jeannette.  When  it  was 
first  produced  under  the  Bateman  management  at  the  Lyceum, 
May  19th,  1877,  Charles  Reade's  adaptation  was  as  now  used, 
but  for  some  reason  the  title  was  changed  to  that  of  The  Lyons 
Mail,  The  interest  of  the  drama  is  sustained  from  the  com- 
mencement to  the  very  end,  mainly  through  the  remarkable 
acting  of  Mr.  Irving,  who,  under  the  strong  facial  resemblance 
of  the  two  men,  makes  of  them  two  creatures  totally  dissimilar  in 
character.  Lesurques  is  a  kindly  honourable  man,  affectionate  to 
his  family,  happy  in  his  domestic  life ;  Dubosc  is  one  steeped 
to  the  very  lips  in  debauchery  and  crime.  The  one  man  has  a 
winning,  sympathetic  voice,  the  other  a  hoarse,  brandy-drinking  one. 
In  both  parts  Mr.  Irving  has  great  opportunities ;  as  Lesurques, 


30  The  Wild  Primrose.  cfm.,  1891. 

when  accused  by  his  father  and  recommended  to  destroy  him- 
self rather  than  be  publicly  disgraced  his  agony  was  pitiable  ; 
and  in  the  last  act,  the  brutal  instincts  of  the  murderer,  his  savage 
attacks  on  the  crowd  that  endeavoiu"s  to  force  the  door,  chopping 
at  them  with  his  knife,  he  exhibited  an  almost  fiendish  power. 
Next  to  his  performance  ranks  that  of  Frances  Ivor  ;  it  was 
infinitely  pathetic  where  she  appealed  to  Dubosc,  the  man  who 
has  wronged  her.  The  Joliquet  of  Mr.  Harvey,  the  Chopard  of  S. 
Johnson,  the  Fouinard  of  Mr.  Archer,  call  for  notice,  as  does  the 
Julie  Lesurques  of  Miss  Coleridge,  whose  performance,  though 
uneven,  possessed  considerable  merit. 

7th.  Lyceum  (revival). — The  King  and  the  Miller  ;  or^  Cramond 
Brig^  by  W.  Murray.  James  V.,  F.  Tyars ;  James  Birkie,  Mr. 
Harvey ;  Jock  Howieson,  S.  Johnson  ;  Captain,  Mr.  Lacy ;  Page, 
Master  Harwood  ;  Tibbie  Howieson,  Mrs.  Pauncefort ;  Marion, 
Miss  Foster. 

7th.  Novelty. — The  Wild  Primrose^  comedy  drama  in  four 
acts,  author  unannounced.  The  audience  seemed  thoroughly 
to  enjoy  the  performances  of  Marguerite  Fish,  once  known  as 
"Baby  Benson."  Ten  years  since  this  young  lady  made  her 
appearance  at  the  Adelphi ;  since  then  she  has  travelled  and 
made  such  a  name  that  she  is  now  called  the  "  Great  Cosmo- 
politan Comedienne."  In  The  Wild  Primrose  she  has  ample 
opportunity  to  display  both  vocal  and  terpsichorean  abilities  of 
no  mean  order — her  vocal  imitations  in  German  being  particularly 
novel  and  well  rendered,  whilst,  with  the  weight  of  the  piece 
upon  her  fair,  plump  shoulders,  she  sustains  the  histrionic  interest 
of  the  performance  with  undoubted  success.  The  piece  is  a  variety 
show,  with  sufficient  spice  of  dramatic  incident  to  constitute  a  fairly 
well-connected  plot  Rosa,  "the  Wild  Primrose," is  heiress  to 
enormous  wealth,  to  keep  her  out  of  which  a  bold  bad  man, 
named  Robert  Burton  (well  played  by  Gilbert  Vernon),  steals 
her ;  she  is  succoured  by  Senor  Wiggano,  a  travelling  showman 
(very  comically  filled  by  Charles  Warren),  and  is  eventually  re- 
stored to  her  rights  through  a  philanthropist,  Benjamin  Barnet  (a 
good  bit  of  character  by  J.  G.  Wilton),  and  his  nephew,  Walter 
Gale  (Edwin  Fergusson),  who  falls  in  love  with  her.  Julia  Listelle, 
Eleanor  Lloyd,  Madge  Denzil,  and  Buckstone  Clair  make  up  the 
cast,  the  first  being  especially  worthy  of  mention.  The  Spectre 
Bridegroom^  the  old  farce  which  always  causes  plenty  of  laughter, 
was  played  as  a  curtain-raiser. 

9th.  Sadler's  Wells. — Enlisted,  four-act  drama  Jg^g^  C. 
Harcourt     Rewritten     first  time  in  London.  ^       ^ 


Fbb.,  1891.]  Lights  d  London.  3 1 

gth.  New  Olympic  (revival). — Lights  d  London,  three-act 
drama  by  G.  R.  Sims.  The  Lights  d  London,  originally  produced 
at  the  Princess's  Sept.  loth,  1881,  was  the  play  in  which 
G.  R.  Sims  first  made  his  mark  as  a  true  "  dramatist."  His  work 
is  intensely  human,  his  dialogue  terse,  vivid,  and  humorous,  and 
his  characters  all  true  to  nature.  It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to 
detail  the  plot,  which  is  so  well  known  ;  the  revival,  however, 
was  a  great  success.  Wilson  Barrett  as  Harold  Armytage  acted 
with  his  accustomed  vigour,  yet  he  was  as  tender  as  a  woman 
when  requisite.  Winifred  Emery  won  all  hearts  by  her  pathetic 
rendering  of  the  sorrows  of  his  wife,  Bess.  Geoi^e  Barrett  even 
improved  on  his  original  rendering  of  the  kind-hearted  show- 
man, Jarvis;  and  Mrs.  Henry  Leigh  was  a  kindly  help- 
mate to  him.  H.  Cooper  Cliffe  was  a  cold-blooded,  heartless 
villain  as  Clifford  Armytage,  and  his  lady  light-o'-love,  Hetty 
Preene,  was  played  with  much  judgment  by  handsome  Lily 
Hanbury.  One  of  the  best  performances  was  that  of  Austin 
Melford  as  Seth  Preene ;  it  was  so  admirably  controlled.  Other 
excellent  bits  of  character-acting  were  those  of  Ambrose  Manning 
as  Philosopher  Jack  and  of  Horace  Hodges  as  Percy  de  Vere, 
"  Esq."  Louie  Wilmot  was  fairly  good  as  Shakespeare  Jarvis  ; 
but  Stafford  Smith  was  scarcely  senile  enough  for  the  "  old  and 
feeble  "  Marks.  The  detectives  were  well  played  by  C.  Duncan 
and  T.  W.  Percyval.  On  the  same  evening  was  produced  for  the 
first  time  Tommy,  comedietta  by  Mrs.  E.  S.  Willard,  in  which 
Lillie  Belmore  as  Sarah  Slocum,  nicknamed  Tommy,  is  a  mis- 
chievous hoyden  who  masquerades  as  a  demure  Quakeress,  and, 
after  the  manner  of  Helen,  teaches  her  Modus-like  cousin  Peter 
(Horace  Hodges)  the  art  of  love,  and  also  defeats  the  machi- 
nations of  Nicodemus  Simkins  (Ambrose  Manning),  who  thinks 
to  win  Sister  Rachel  (Alice  Cooke)  and  purloin  a  roll  of  bank 
notes  which  he  has  learnt  is  hidden  away  in  a  clock-case.  The 
little  piece  is  brightly  written,  and  went  very  well  when  taken  a 
little  quicker. 

13th.  Shaftesbury. — The  Pharisee.  Last  performance  and 
close  of  the  season.  Mrs.  Lancaster  Wallis,  in  response  to  cries 
for  a  speech,  said  with  evident  emotion,  "  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I 
thank  you.     I  have  done  my  best.     God  bless  you  all." 

14th.  Strand  (revival). — Turned  Up.  The  reception  of  Mark 
Melford's  farcical  comedy  was  most  favourable.  It  was  done 
originally  at  a  maiinSe  at  the  Vaudeville  on  May  27th,  1886, 
with  Charles  Groves  as  Captain  Medway,  Charles  Collette  as 
George  Medway,  Fuller  Mellish  as   Nod   Steddam,   Mrs.   C.  H. 


32  Summer  Clouds.  (Feb.,  1891. 

Stephenson  as  Mrs.  Medway,  Maude  Millett  as  Ada  Baltic,  and 
Kate  James  as  the  dark-skinned  Cleopatra.  When  Mr.  Edouin 
put  the  piece  up  at  the  Comedy  on  July  31st,  1886,  poor  Lytton 
Sothem  replaced  Collette,  Miss  Brunton  Mrs.  Stephenson,  and 
Alice  Chandos  Kate  James ;  and  when,  in  consequence  of  its 
success,  it  was  transferred  to  the  Royalty  on  Sept.  i  ith,  Stephen 
Caffrey  replaced  Charles  Groves,  Willie  Edouin  having  through- 
out appeared  as  the  bibulous  and  amorous  undertaker,  Carraway 
Bones.  Most  of  the  cast  were  very  good.  Facile  princeps  came 
Willie  Edouin.  In  get-up,  in  his  drunken  walk  and  his  catchword, 
"M'yes,"  with  which  he  finishes  his  sentences,  he  was  simply 
delicious.  Alfred  Maltby  was  a  jolly  but  perplexed  sea-dog  as 
Captain  Medway,  and  entered  thoroughly  into  the  spirit  of  the 
part,  and  John  Beauchamp  was  a  sufficiently  dictatorial  and 
domineering  man  of  war  as  General  Baltic.  Charles  Fawcett 
and  May  Whitty  infused  that  travesty  of  earnestness  into  the 
characters  of  George  and  Sabina  Medway  when  they  found 
themselves  blessed  with  a  double  set  of  parents  that  is  the  very 
essence  of  farcical  comedy.  One  of  the  best-played  parts  was 
that  of  Nod  Steddam,  which  was  filled  by  S.  Barraclough 
with  a  lightness  and  effervescence  that  was  refreshing.  Ruth 
Rutland  did  not  shine  as  Mrs.  Medway.  Georgie  Esmond 
was  a  nice  and  natural  Ada  Baltic,  and  Emily  Dowton  was 
excellent  as  the  voluble  Mrs.  Pannall.  During  the  run  of  the 
piece  Lilian  Millward  played  May  Whitty*s  part. 

15th.  St.  Andrew's  Hall,  Newman  Street. — Henry  Arthur 
Jones  gave  a  lecture  on  "  Play-making,  with  some  Thoughts  on 
Plot,  Design,  and  Construction  in  the  Modem  English  Drama." 

1 6th.  Toole's. — Summer  Clouds^  by  Neville  Doone,  was  quite 
as  delicate  a  piece  of  work  as  the  author  generally  gives  us,  and  is 
poetically  written  save  in  one  respect — the  repulsiveness  engendered 
by  the  means  which  the  discarded  lover  uses  to  avenge  himself. 
Harry  Temple,  the  pupil  of  a  dear  old  vicar,  the  Rev.  Philip  Marston, 
falls  in  love  with  the  clergyman's  daughter  Mary.  All  is  happi- 
ness, when  Sir  Richard  Rigby,  whom  Mary  has  refused,  throws  a 
bombshell  into  the  felicitous  little  camp  by  announcing  that 
Harry's  father  had  been  hanged  for  murder,  and  then,  as  suddenly 
relenting,  produces  the  dying  confession  of  a  servant  who  admits 
that  he  committed  the  crime  for  which  an  innocent  man  was 
executed.  Herberte  Basing  as  the  clergyman,  Philip  Cuningham 
as  Harry  Temple,  and  Eugenie  Vemie  as  Mary  could  scarcely  be 
improved  upon.  C.  F.  Caravoglia  was  a  little  too  "  intense  "  as  the 
baronet.     Henry  Bayntun  afterwards  played  P.  Cuningham's  part. 


Fbb.,  X891.]  A   Yorkshire  Lass.  33 

16th.  Sadler's  Wells. — Revival  of  Andrew  Halliday's 
Rebecca  tfie  Jewess.  Violet  Temple,  Rebecca ;  Edward  Chester, 
Wilfrid  of  Ivanhoe ;  Nellie  King,  Ulrica. 

1 6th.  Parkhurst,  Holloway. — Back  in  Five  Minutes,  One- 
act  comedietta  by  H.  T.  Johnstone,  later  played  at  the  Strand. 

1 8th.  New  Olympic  matinee. — A  Yorkshire  Lass.  Wilton 
Jones's  new  play  weis  "  reminiscent"  Legitimate  drama,  melo- 
drama, modem  comedy,  each  and  all  had  apparently  suggested 
the  incidents  and  situations  of  which  the  author  made  use,  but 
country  audiences  will  almost  certainly  approve  the  wealth  of 
sensation  submitted  to  them.  Jack  Selwyn  is  a  spoilt,  impetuous 
youth,  who,  having  fallen  desperately  in  love  with  Faith  Oxtoby, 
the  good  genius  of  the  village  in  which  she  lives,  must  marry  her. 
The  obstacle  in  the  way  is  that  she  is  already  engaged  (without 
absolutely  caring  for  him)  to  Stephen  Milsom,  a  rather  wild 
fisherman,  whom  she  has  reformed.  Captain  Stewart  Digby, 
Jack's  cousin  and  next  heir  to  General  Selwyn's  property,  quickly 
removes  the  obstacle  by  falsely  swearing  that  Milsom  fired  the 
shot  which  killed  Faith's  father,  and  so  the  innocent  man  is 
condemned  to  five  years'  penal  servitude.  Digby  encourages  the 
marriage,  because  he  knows  that  the  General  will  never  forgive 
the  mesalliance.  After  some  months  of  married  life,  Jack  has 
beggared  himself  by  gambling.  He  has  concealed  his  union  from 
his  father.  Faith  loses  all  trust  in  him,  and  says  she  will  leave 
him,  and  he  enlists.  He  goes  to  the  Crimea,  where  Faith  has 
gone  as  a  hospital  nurse,  and  is  accused  of  being  a  Russian  spy, 
the  suspicion  having  been  brought  about  by  Elise  de  Mornay, 
Digby's  mistress.  Husband  and  wife  meet.  Jack  takes  upon 
himself  the  charge,  and  an  attack  being  made  upon  the  enemy, 
the  General,  who  has  just  recognised  his  son  in  the  uniform  of  a 
private  in  the  Guards,  allows  him  to  go  and  seek  death  on  the 
battlefield  rather  than  the  disgraceful  one  he  should  suffer.  Jack 
is  supposed  to  be  killed  ;  the  General  sees  his  little  grandson, 
John  Selwyn,  junior,  and  offers  with  no  effect  to  adopt  him  if 
the  mother  will  resign  all  claim  to  him ;  and  Digby's  schemes 
appear  to  be  prospering,  when  Elise,  out  of  revenge  for  his  bad 
treatment  of  her,  exposes  his  entire  villainy,  and  Jack  arrives, 
broken  down  and  ill,  after  long  confinement  in  a  Russian  prison. 
Through  Faith's  persistent  efforts,  aided  by  Kate  Grantley, 
Milsom's  innocence  is  proved.  There  are  anachronisms  and 
glaring  inconsistencies,  such  as  Faith,  though  in  extreme  poverty, 
being  able  to  keep  a  manservant  and  maid,  Dick  Blosser  and 
Patty,  the  "low"  comedy  characters,  which  were  well   played. 


34  The  Parvenu,  [Fe».,  zSgx. 

The  great  blot  on  the  play  is  allowing  the  interest  which  is 
aroused  in  Stephen  Milsom  in  the  first  act  to  completely  die  out 
It  is  a  character  which,  well  played  as  it  was  by  F.  H.  Macklin, 
might  have  been  developed  into  a  really  fine  part.  R.  S.  Bole)^! 
deserved  the  greatest  praise  for  the  unconventional  manner  in 
which  he  played  the  villain,  and  Arthur  Bourchier  showed  marked 
improvement  on  any  of  his  previous  efforts.  Gertrude  Warden, 
with  an  excellent  broken  French  accent,  gave  a  vivid  rendering 
of  a  thoroughly  vicious  adventuress.  H.  Sparling  was  genuinely 
boyish  as  a  happy-go-lucky  young  subaltern,  and  Gwendolyn  Floyd 
was  charmingly  fresh  and  natural.  Mary  Eastlake,  who  had  a 
tremendous  reception,  maintained  her  reputation  with  the  public, 
and  in  some  of  her  situations  exhibited  increased  artistic 
capabilities. 

1 8th.  Globe  (revival). — The  Parvenu^  original  three-act  comedy 
by  G.  W.  Godfrey.  The  production  of  this  play  at  the  Court, 
April,  1882,  changed  the  fortunes  of  the  theatre,  which  had  up 
to  that  time  been  somewhat  disastrous  to  the  then  director,  John 
Clayton.  The  story  was  said  to  resemble  in  motive  Ours^  Caste^ 
New  Men  and  Old  Acres ^  and  plays  of  this  class  ;  so  it  did  to  a 
certain  extent,  but  differed  from  them  in  that  the  self-made  man, 
who  believed  in  the  power  of  money,  came  out  as  the  best  character 
at  the  close,  and  proved  himself  capable  of  the  most  generous 
self-denial.  Mr.  Ledger,  "  the  Parvenu,"  of  Pagnett  Royal,  has 
for  a  neighbour  Sir  Fulke  Pettigrew,  of  the  Warren,  an  aristocrat 
who  has  ruined  himself  by  horse-racing,  etc.,  and  whose  estates 
are  heavily  mortgaged  to  the  plebeian  millionaire.  Sir  Fulke  has 
but  one  child,  Gwendolen,  and  he  and  his  proud  match-making 
wife  have  led  the  "  Parvenu  "  to  suppose  that  she  will  marry  him. 
She  has,  however,  become  attached  to  Claude  Glynne,  a  poor 
artist.  Lady  Pettigrew  has  fallen  into  the  error  that  the  young 
fellow  is  only  masquerading,  and  that  he  is  really  the  Earl  of 
Clydesdale,  and  therefore  encourages  his  attentions.  When  she 
discovers  her  mistake,  she  is  furious,  forbids  him  the  house,  and 
poor  Gwendolen  is  induced  to  say  she  will  marry  Mr.  Ledger 
when  she  learns  from  her  father  that  her  refusal  will  bring  ruin 
on  the  family.  She  has  a  firm  friend  in  Mary  Ledger,  who  works 
upon  her  father's  feelings  most  effectually.  He  is,  though  vulgar 
and  ostentatious,  a  gentleman  at  heart,  and  a  kindly  one ;  and 
when  his  suspicions  are  confirmed  that  Gwendolen  does  care 
for  some  one  else,  and  not  for  him,  he  not  only  gives  her  up,  but 
presents  her  with  the  mortgage  deeds  on  her  father's  property  as 
a  wedding  dowry.     The  other  love-making  consists  in  the  wooing 


Feb.,  1891.]  The  Roundhead.  35 

of  saucy,  good-hearted  Mary  Ledger  by  the  Hon.  Charles  Tracey, 
a  sprig  of  nobility,  not  too  clever  and  therefore  intended  for  the 
Church,  but  whose  tastes  are  decidedly  horsey.  The  performance 
was  an  excellent  one.  Harry  Paulton,  who  has  hitherto  gained 
a  reputation  as  a  quaint  comedian,  exhibited  an  unexpected 
vein  of  pathos  and  the  possession  of  infinitely  greater  power  than 
he  had  been  credited  with.  He  was  the  typical  ostentatious 
parvenu^  but  at  the  same  time  a  feeling,  generous  human  being. 
Ian  Robertson's  make-up  as  Sir  Fulke  Pettigrew  was  good,  quite 
that  of  an  aristocrat  who  had  spent  most  of  his  time  on  the  turf, 
and  his  demeanour  that  of  one  who  had  not  lost  the  manners  of 
a  gentleman,  though  he  had  associated  with  shady  characters. 
Charles  Sugden  (Hon.  Charles  Tracey)  also  realised  that,  though 
his  family  intended  him  for  the  Church,  natural  instinct  had  led 
him  to  the  enjoyment  of  sport,  and  was  genial  and  easy ;  I  thought 
if  he  had  not  appeared  quite  so  clever,  it  would  have  added  zest 
to  the  part.  William  Herbert  as  Claude  Glynne  was  one  of 
nature's  gentlemen,  straightforward  and  manly,  and  made  love 
well.  Fanny  Coleman  as  Lady  Pettigrew  just  let  sufficient  of 
her  humble  origin  be  seen  while  affecting  the  grand  manners 
of  a  lady  of  noble  descent  Lucy  Buckstone  as  Gwendolen 
Pettigrew  was  as  sweet  and  tender  an  English  girl  as  one  could 
wish  for,  and  Laura  Linden  was  a  charmingly  outspoken,  loving, 
and  roguish  Mary  Ledger.  The  scene  which  is  laid  in  "No 
Man's  Land "  was  a  beautiful  woodland  set.  The  revival  was  a 
fair  success. 

20th.  Terry's  mativJe. — The  Roundhead^  romantic  drama  in 
three  acts  by  Bernard  F.  Bussy  and  W.  T.  Blackmore.  The 
authors  would  have  done  far  more  wisely  had  they  made  of  it  a 
play  in  one  act  instead  of  spinning  it  out  to  three,  by  long-winded 
soliloquies  and  dreary  speeches,  which  wearied  their  audience 
and  destroyed  the  interest  An  oldish  Roundhead  marries  a 
young  wife,  and  they  both  imagine  that  neither  loves  the  other. 
Her  cousin,  a  Cavalier,  takes  refuge  in  their  house,  and  requites 
his  host's  kindness  by  endeavouring  to  induce  the  woman  to 
elope  with  him.  The  husband,  to  make  things  comfortable  for 
them,  attempts  to  commit  suicide,  but  fails.  Wife  and  husband 
discover  they  are  all  in  all  to  each  other,  and  the  Royalist  cousin 
is  shot  down  by  Parliamentary  troops.  The  characters  were  as 
unlike  human  creatures  as  possible ;  the  only  natural  ones  were 
a  soubrette  and  serving  man,  well  played  by  Lilian  Millward  and 
Welton  Dale.  Edward  O'Neill  was  a  spirited  Captain  Glynne  ; 
Edith  Jordan  was  gentle,  but  not  strong  enough  for  the  wife  ; 


36  Rosmersholm.  [Fm..  xSqi. 

H.  A.  Saintsbury  had  power,  but  was  too  melodramatic — his  death 
fall  was  clever  and  startling.  The  Roundhead  was  preceded  by 
Richard's  Play,  produced  at  the  Lad  broke  Hall  in  January,  a 
neat,  effective,  and  pretty  little  piece,  turning  on  the  love  of  Sylvia 
Deloraine  (Madeline  Rowsell)  for  Richard  Maitland  (Edwin 
Gilbert),'  a  poet,  who,  with  his  sister  Prudence  (Mrs.  Conyers 
d'Arcy),  has  given  the  girl  shelter.  When  he  finds  that  she  is 
an  heiress,  he  conceals  his  affection  and  points  out  to  her  that 
it  is  her  duty  to  take  up  her  new  position  in  life.  Admiral 
Sandilands  (Cecil  Thornbury),  her  uncle,  has  come  to  fetch  her 
away;  but,  seeing  how  nobly  Richard  is  behaving,  he  relents,  and 
gives  his  consent  to  the  lovers'  union.  The  title  is  taken  from 
the  fact  that  Richard  Maitland  has  written  a  play,  which  is 
eventually  accepted  by  Rich,  the  manager.  Miss  Rowsell  was 
good,  but  a  little  amateurish  ;  and  Cecil  Thornbury  was  excellent 

23rd.  Dramatic  Sick  Fund. — The  thirty-fifth  annual  banquet, 
held  at  the  Hotel  Metropole,  H.  Beerbohm  Tree  in  the  chair. 
Justin  McCarthy,  M.P.,  Sydney  Grundy,  Joseph  Knight,  and 
Comyns  Carr  principal  speakers. 

23rd.  Vaudeville  matinee. — Rosmersholm,  drama  in  four 
acts  by  Henrik  Ibsen,  translated  by  Charles  Archer.  Those  of 
the  audience  who  could  honestly  say  that  they  fathomed  the 
motives  which  induced  the  extraordinary  conduct  of  Pastor  Rosmer 
and  Rebecca  West  must  have  been  of  no  ordinary  capacity ;  even 
a  close  study  of  Ibsen  could  hardly  have  enlightened  them.  Here 
is  a  woman,  basely  born,  who,  through  being  allowed  to  run  wild 
and  read  all  sorts  of  books,  has  become  a  Free-thinker  and  an 
"  Emancipist."  She  determines  to  win  over  the  man  even  whilst 
he  is  married.  She  winds  herself  into  the  affections  of  his  wife 
Beata,  and  eventually  persuades  the  poor  half-crazed  creature  that 
she  (Beata)  is  not  a  fit  mate  for  her  husband,  and  so  to  liberate 
him  she  drowns  herself  in  the  mill-race.  Then  Rebecca  and 
Pastor  Rosmer  live  under  the  same  roof  in  a  state  of  purely 
platonte  attachment,  she  having  so  worked  upon  him  by  her 
teachings  that  from  an  earnest  Christian  and  a  Conservative  in 
politics  he  becomes  an  Atheist  and  Socialist.  Beata's  brother,  Rector 
Kroll,  lets  him  know  what  the  world  thinks  of  him  and  of  the 
connection  with  Rebecca,  and  so  Rosmer  asks  her  to  become  his 
wife.  She,  now  that  all  that  she  has  been  striving  for  is  within 
her  attainment,  at  the  same  time  that  she  confesses  to  a  burning 
passion  and  desire  for  him,  refuses,  her  explanation  being  that 
association  with  him  has  ennobled  her  and  upset  all  her  previous 
notions.     Rosmer  has  recanted,  he  once  more  follows  his  orTginal  ^ 


Feb.,  1891.]  li^e  Two.  *  37 

religious  and  political  opinions,  but  he  can  no  longer  believe  in 
Rebecca,  or  that  she  loves  him.  She  has  confessed  that  she  was 
indirectly  the  cause  of  Beata's  death.  His  faith  in  Rebecca's  love 
can  only  be  restored  by  her  proving  it  after  the  same  manner  that 
his  late  wife  did.  Rebecca  consents,  she  will  drown  herself,  and 
he,  to  prove  his  devotion  to  her,  dies  with  her,  the  old '  servant, 
Madame  Helseth,  watching  them  as  they  cast  themselves  into  the 
fatal  mill-race,  and  the  curtain  falling  upon  her  words,  "  The  dead 
wife  has  taken  them."  To  thoroughly  invest  two  such  characters 
with  a  reality,  the  very  highest  art  is  requisite.  Granted  that  F.  R. 
Benson  and  Florence  Farr  did  much  with  them,  the  one  was  too 
weak,  the  other  was  wanting  in  that  burning  passion  that  would 
consume  every  obstacle  to  its  gratification.  Charles  Hudson,  the 
awakened  illusionist,  ruined  by  a  long  course  of  dissipation,  a  little 
overacted  at  first,  but  did  most  justice  to  the  best- drawn  character 
in  the  play.  Athol  Forde  was  the  embodiment  of  a  determined 
and  outspoken  man  ;  and  J.  Wheatman  represented  naturally 
a  self-made,  shrewd  leader  of  the  people  in  the  editor  of  a  news- 
paper. May  Protheroe  was  consistent  and  artistic  as  Madame 
Helseth. 

24th.  We  TwOy  adaptation  by  R.  Annandale  of  Unter  Vier 
Augertiy  was  to  have  been  produced  at  the  Vaudeville  on  this 
date,  but,  in  consequence  of  an  injunction  obtained  by  Silvain 
Mayer,  he  having  claimed  the  English  rights,  the  piece  was  taken 
out  of  the  bill.  Messrs.  Bloch  and  Brellin,  who  held  the  English 
rights,  later  instructed  Mr.  Mayer  to  give  way. 

25th.  Lyceum. — "The  Story  of  Swordsmanship."  Some 
fourteen  years  ago  Mr.  Egerton  Castle  was  so  impressed  with  the 
admirable  fencing  of  Mr.  Irving  as  Hamlet,  that  the  spectator 
determined  to  acquire  the  art  himself.  Not  only  has  Mr.  Castle 
become  one  of  its  most  skilful  exponents,  but  he  has  devoted 
much  time  and  research  to  its  history,  and  the  result  was  given 
us  on  Wednesday  afternoon,  Feb.  25  th,  on  the  stage  of  the 
Lyceum  (kindly  lent  by  Mr.  Irving).  We  heard  a  most  interest- 
ing paper  read  by  Mr.  Castle,  entitled  "  The  Story  of  Swords- 
manship, specially  considered  in  connection  with  the  Rise  and 
Decline  of  Duelling."  Would  that  there  were  space  available  to 
enlarge  on  the  merits  of  the  discourse,  for,  considering  its  limits,  it 
was  most  comprehensive,  and  quoted  the  best  authorities  on  the 
subject !  The  various  weapons  in  the  shape  of  swords,  daggers, 
rapiers,  and  foils,  and  their  special  uses,  were  illustrated  in  the 
most  finished  and  masterly  manner  by  Mr.  Egerton  Castle,  Captain 
A.   Hutton,  Dr.   Mount  Biggs,    Sir  Frederick    and  Mr.  Walter 


38  The  Idler,  ifib.,  189.. 

Pollock,  Professor  Vital  de  Bailly,  and  Maitre-d'armes  Philippe 
Bourgeois,  all  good  men  and  true,  the  two  latter  specially  well 
versed  in  Vescrinu,  Mr.  Egerton  Castle  repeated  his  lecture  on 
March  20th  at  the  Lyceum,  by  the  invitation  of  Mr.  Henry 
Irving,  at  which  H.R.H.  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  present. 

25  th.  Criterion  {revivals). — Sowing  and  Reaping,  two-act 
comedy  by  C.  Vernon,  and  Trying  it  On,  farce  by  William 
Brough. 

26th.  St.  James's. — The  Idler,  four- act  play  by  C.  Haddon 
Chambers.  After  a  prosperous  run  of  about  three  months  in 
New  York,  where  it  was  produced  at  the  Lyceum  Nov.  nth, 
1890,  Mr.  Haddon  Chambers's  play  gained  a  complete  success 
on  its  production  here.  The  author  has  the  happy  faculty  of 
fixing  the  attention  of  his  audience  by  the  interest  it  is  compelled 
to  take  in  the  fortunes  of  his  characters,  and  even  though  the 
comedy  scenes  were  not  quite  original,  and  the  main  feature  of 
the  last  act  was  a  little  hackneyed,  every  one  regretted  when  the 
curtain  fell.  If  Mr.  Chambers  could  write  the  lighter  parts  of 
his  play  as  ably  as  he  does  the  more  earnest  portion,  it  would  be 
quoted  as  one  of  the  best  that  has  been  seen  for  years.  As  it  is 
it  ranks  very  high  in  dramatic  work,  and  maintains  his  reputation. 
Mark  Cross,  **  the  Idler,"  illustrates  the  manner  in  which  a  man 
may  wreck  his  life  by  giving  way  to  the  gratification  of  his  passions. 
As  a  younger  man  he  has  married  beneath  him  ;  his  wife  betrays 
him,  and  he  leaves  her,  and  yet,  though  still  married,  he  allows 
himself  to  fall  in  love  with  a  young  girl.  He  has,  however,  the 
moral  courage  to  fly,  goes  to  America,  leads  a  wild  life  among 
the  miners,  and  there  makes  the  acquaintance  of  ''Grentleman 
Jack."  After  a  time  he  hears  that  his  wife  is  dead  ;  he  hastens 
home  to  win  the  girl  he  has  loved,  and  finds  her  married,  and 
happily,  to  Sir  John  Harding.  The  husband  of  his  former  love 
is  no  other  than  "  Gentleman  Jack  " ;  his  youth  has  been  tempes- 
tuous, and  he  has  carefully  concealed  it  from  Lady  Harding.  She 
is  of  course  ignorant  that  in  a  drunken  bout  he  has  fired  his  pistol, 
that  his  shot  has  killed  a  fellow-miner,  and  that,  fearing  the  con- 
sequences, he  fled.  Cross  knows  that  Simeon  Strong  has  sworn 
to  hunt  down  the  slayer  of  his  dead  brother,  that  he  is  now  in 
England,  and  Cross  tells  this  to  Harding.  Presently  Simeon 
Strong  calls  at  the  Hardings',  and  recognising  the  baronet  at  once, 
proceeds  to  lay  plans  for  his  punishment  Cross  sees  his  oppor- 
tunity; his  lawless  passion  for  Lady  Harding  masters  him;  he 
determines  that  it  shall  be  gratified.  He  can  do  almost  anything 
with  Simeon,  for  he  owes  Cross  a  deep  debt  of  gratitude  for  having 


Fm.,  1891.]  The  Idkr.  39 

saved  his  life.  Cross  promises  Lady  Harding  that  if  she  will 
come  to  his  chambers  and  respond  to  his  advances  he  will  save 
her  husband.  Loving  Sir  John  as  she  does,  she  consents,  the 
dropping  of  her  bouquet  being  the  arranged  signal  (reminiscent 
of  All  that  Glitters).  In  a  most  ably  written  scene  between 
the  two  men,  Cross  at  length  induces  Simeon  to  forego  his 
vengeance,  and  obtains  from  him  a  letter  to  that  effect.  Lady 
Harding  keeps  tryst,  and  Cross  tries  to  enforce  her  portion  of  the 
contract,  but  she,  strong  and  pure,  combats  him  at  first  by  imply- 
ing that  he  never  can  have  intended  more  than  to  frighten  her 
almost  in  jest ;  but  when  she  sees  he  is  determined,  her  womanly 
appeal  to  the  latent  good  that  is  in  him  conquers,  and  he  is  allow- 
ing her  to  depart  when  Sir  John  appears.  He  discovers  that  his 
wife  has  been  at  the  chambers — ^for  there  she  has  left  her  fan — he 
remembers  that  Cross  has  been  a  former  lover  of  hers,  and  he 
puts  the  vilest  construction  on  her  visit,  and  brands  her  as  all  that 
is  infamous.  The  last  act  comes  again  in  the  chambers.  Sir  John 
demands  a  duel  then  and  there,  without  witnesses  even.  Simeon 
Strong  prevents  this,  he  stands  between  the  two  men,  and  then 
Lady  Harding  convinces  her  husband  of  her  purity  and  leads  him 
away  repentant.  Mark  Cross,  despairing  and  disgusted  with  life, 
contemplates  suicide;  the  sight  of  his  mother,  between  whom  and 
himself  there  is  the  deepest  affection,  moves  him :  he  will  not  bring 
more  sorrow  on  her;  he  puts  down  the  pistol  with  which  he  has 
been  toying,  and  calls  to  his  servant  to  pack  up  for  a  long,  long 
journey;  he  is  going  on  an  exploring  expedition — whither  will  it 
lead.?  "God  knows" — and  so  the  curtain  falls.  George  Alexander 
has  a  complex  character  to  illustrate,  that  of  a  man  in  whom  good 
and  evil  are  constantly  at  war,  the  latter  prevailing  so  frequently 
through  his  want  of  control  over  his  passions.  For  their  gratifi- 
cation he  becomes  a  fiend,  an  animal,  but  even  at  their  worst  stage 
his  good  angel  will  assert  itself  and  save  him.  The  author  was 
most  fortunate  in  securing  one  who  could  so  ably  depict  the  inner 
nature  of  the  man,  and  even  more  so  in  having  in  Marion  Terry 
an  actress  who  was  so  pure  and  feminine  and  true  that  the  beauty 
of  Lady  Harding's  life  and  devotion  to  her  husband  and  the  pity 
for  the  man  who  so  madly  loved  her  were  fully  displayed. 
Herbert  Waring  supported  the  cast  admirably  with  his  firm  grasp 
of  character,  and  in  John  Mason,  an  American  actor  who  made 
his  first  appearance  in  London,  we  had  a  gentleman  who  at  once 
established  himself  as  a  leading  spirit  from  his  breadth  of  style 
and  easy  yet  earnest  manliness.  His  scene  with  Mr.  Alexander 
was  as  finely  rendered  by  both  as  could  possibly  be  done.     I  have 


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40  Lady  Barter,  CF"-.  ^sgi. 


laid  but  little  stress  on  the  light  comedy  scenes,  for  they  bear  but 
small  relation  to  the  play.  They  were,  however,  admirably  inter- 
preted. Maude  Millett  is  a  spoilt  child,  but  most  bewitching  in 
her  sauciness  and  determination  to  have  her  own  way.  Her 
father,  General  Merryweather,  domineered  over  by  her,  is  anxious 
to  marry  a  third  time,  and  is  nearly  caught  by  Mrs.  Glynn 
Stanmore,  a  brilliant  coquette  and  fortune-hunter.  Nutcombe 
Gould  and  Gertrude  Kingston  aided  the  author  not  a  little  by 
their  impersonations,  and  Lady  Monckton  made  a  minor  role 
important  by  her  artistic  skill.  The  luxury  of  the  mounting  of 
The  Idler  was  only  equalled  by  the  exquisite  taste  displayed  in 
all  the  ladies'  costumes.  During  the  run  of  the  piece  Miss 
Granvilleappeared  as  Mrs.  Glynn  Stanmore  in  the  place  of  Gertrude 
Kingston. 

28th.  Princess's. — Lady  Barter^  original  comedy  of  modem 
life.  Cynics  will  tell  us  that  Charles  Coghlan's  play  is  really 
what  he  terms  it :  a  representation  of  "  modem  life."  It  may  be 
so,  but  how  hideous  is  the  picture  it  presents.  A  beautiful 
demon,  abandoned,  heartless  to  the  very  core,  sends  one  noble 
fellow  to  his  death,  wrecks  the  life  of  another  by  destroying  his 
faith  in  the  purity  of  womanhood,  does  her  best  to  inculcate  her 
own  evil  principles  into  the  heart  and  mind  of  an  innocent 
ingenuous  girl,  makes  contemptible  a  magnate  in  the  Church  and 
a  general  who  has  bled  in  his  country's  cause,  and  is  finally 
rewarded  with  an  enormous  fortune  that  will  enable  her  to  live 
in  luxury  and  sloth,  and  strengthen  her  power  to  work  her  wicked 
will  on  those  with  whom  she  comes  in  contact  If  this  be  our 
"modern  life,"  how  ashamed  we  ought  to  feel  of  our  boasted 
civilisation  ;  but  even  if  it  exist,  why  should  it  be  paraded  before 
us,  and  the  premium  of  reward  held  out  to  vice  ?  We  have 
the  supposed  Lady  Barter,  really  Nelly  Marshall,  a  woman  with 
an  unenviable  past,  living  in  splendour  in  Park  Lane.  She  has 
in  constant  attendance,  receiving  from  them  costly  presents, 
Archdeacon  Short  and  General  Peters,  and  she  is  engaged  to  be 
married  to  Lord  Brent,  a  young  nobleman  who  believes  her  to  be 
as  estimable  as  she  is  beautiful.  Colonel  Pearce  arrives  from 
Egypt,  where  he  has  seen  hot  service,  and  has  buried  there  a 
comrade,  Hugh  Chorlton,  who  has  entrusted  him  with  a  packet 
of  letters  to  be  delivered  to  Nelly  Marshall.  The  Colonel  knows 
that  Lady  Barter  is  the  Nelly,  but  she  persistently  denies  it  and 
professes  to  be  insulted.  When  Colonel  Pearce  discovers  that  his 
friend,  Lord  Brent,  is  engaged  to  the  woman,  he  vows  that  no 
marriage  shall  ever  take  place  between  them  ;  he  has  the  greater 


fbb.,  1891.]  RachePs  Messenger,  41 

interest  in  preventing  it  in  that  he  loves  Lord  Brent's  sister  Mary, 
a  charming  girl  whom  Lady  Barter  does  her  best  to  inoculate 
with  her  own  vicious  ideas.  The  siren  endeavours  to  make  the 
Colonel  believe  that  she  cares  for  him  ;  failing  this,  she  accuses 
him  to  \itx  fianci  of  halving  made  love  to  her  :  but  the  Colonel  is 
persistent,  he  will  win  the  battle,  and  so  he  persuades  Lord  Brent 
to  turn  eavesdropper,  and  then  the  Colonel  plays  his  trump  card. 
He  pledges  his  honour  to  Lady  Barter  that  Hugh  Chorlton  left 
a  fortune  of  ;^2  00,000  to  Nelly  Marshall  if  she  can  be  found. 
This  is  enough  for  Lady  Barter ;  she  owns  to  her  identity,  is 
glad  to  be  rid  of  poor  faithful  Lord  Brent,  and  goes  off  to  a 
ball  with  her  ancient  admirers.  Mrs.  Langtry  was  dangerously 
fascinating,  it  must  be  admitted,  although  she  did  not  for  a 
moment  conceal  the  baseness  of  the  character  she  represented ; 
she  has  not  acted  better  in  anything  she  has  hitherto  done. 
Charles  Coghlan  was  too  studied  and  hesitating,  though  he  had 
his  good  moments,  particularly  in  his  love  scenes  with  the  Hon. 
Mary  Brent,  most  charmingly  played  by  Helen  Forsyth.  Lewis 
Waller's  part  is  not  one  in  which  he  could  shine  very  much,  but 
he  was  manly,  and  simulated  his  faith  and  love  well.  Fred 
Everill  as  an  oily,  bland  Churchman  and  Arthur  Stirling  as  a 
foolish,  love-stricken  old  warrior  did  justice  to  their  characters. 
Some  of  the  dialogue  was  particularly  well  written,  and  from  the 
excellence  of  the  acting  one  was  bound  to  feel  interested  to  an 
extent ;  but  the  play,  as  I  expected,  did  not  find  favour  for  long, 
and  was  withdrawn  after  some  twenty  representations. 

Lady  Barter  was  preceded  on  the  same  evening  by  a  one-act 
play  from  the  pen  of  Malcolm  Watson,  entitled  RacIieVs  Messenger^ 
poetically  written,  but  it  required  delicate  treatment.  May 
Gleddin  (Hetty  Dene)  is  to  be  married  the  next  day  to  Stephen 
Hedley  (T.  H.  Lechmere),  a  lawyer  who  has  a  hold  upon  her 
father.  She  has  given  her  heart  to  Bruce  Holden  (Oscar  Adye), 
and  is  therefore  sacrificing  herself.  Her  lover  returns  unexpectedly, 
and  is  led  to  believe  that  May  is  a  willing  bride  by  Rachel  Vicary 
(Amy  McNeill),  who  is  in  love  with  him,  and  he  has  left  in 
despair,  when  Rachel  learns  that  it  was  through  saving  her  father 
from  a  felon's  dock  that  Richard  Gleddin  (E.  B.  Norman)  has 
fallen  into  Hedley's  clutches.  She  makes  reparation  in  calling 
Bruce  Holden  back.  Amy  McNeill  had  a  difficult  character  to 
play,  and  was  a  little  too  melodramatic  in  her  delineation,  which, 
however,  had  its  good  moments.  Hetty  Dene  was  a  sweet  loving 
girl,  and  Ethel  Hope  a  charming  old  lady  as  Mrs.  Gleddin. 

28th.    Ladbroke    Hall. — Equality  Jacky    nautical    operetta. 


42  MademaiseUe  Cleopatra.  cma«ch,  isgt. 

libretto  by  William  Poel,  music  by  W.  S.  Vinning,  Mus.  Bac. 
Oxon.  I  have  known  an  author  go  to  a  popular  novel  for  his 
inspiration  as  to  one  character,  but  I  do  not  think  I  have  ever 
before  come  across  a  librettist  who  has  endeavoured  to  lay  under 
contribution  the  series  of  a  novelist's  works.  Captain  Marryat's 
delightful  stories  were  thus  maltreated.  "Midshipman  Easy" 
gave  us  the  hero  of  "  equality  "  in  one  Reuben  Grubbins,  an  old 
country  yokel,  impressed  to  serve  on  board  a  man-of-war  brig ; 
a  mischievous  middy,  Horatio  Smallfry,  was  Gascoigne  from  the 
same  novel  ;  Ebenezer  Bully  was  a  cross  between  Chucks  the 
aristocratic  bo'sun  and  the  swearing  chaplain  in  "  Peter  Simple  "  ; 
Dick  Short  is  taken  from  old  Stapleton  "  Human  Natur "  in 
"  Jacob  Faithful "  ;  Sambo  is  a  wretched  travesty  of  Mesty  in 
"  Midshipman  Easy " ;  and  Nancy,  in  her  coquettish  ways,  is 
evidently  suggested  by  the  character  of  that  name  in  "  The 
Poacher."  An  incident  which  is  set  to  one  of  the  most  musical 
numbers,  the  cutting  off  of  the  pigtail,  is  afforded  by  "Poor 
Jack  " ;  but  the  worst  of  it  is  that  these  characters  are  all  spoilt, 
and  there  is  no  story  beyond  the  fact  that  Nancy  sails  in  the  brig, 
conceals  herself  in  the  cookhouse  (from  which  she  is  constantly 
popping  out  to  flirt),  masquerades  as  a  sailor-boy,  and  makes  love 
to  Henry  Truelove,  her  Orlando,  after  the  manner  of  Rosalind, 
and  eventually  marries  him.  Would  that  the  book  had  in  any 
way  approached  in  excellence  the  music !  This  was  bright  and 
tuneful,  and  some  of  the  choruses  and  part-songs  were  masterly. 
Nancy,  agreeably  played  by  Rose  Mitchell,  had  some  very  pretty 
numbers ;  Sidney  Burt  showed  himself  a  musician  as  Bully ; 
O.  B.  Clarence  was  full  of  fun  as  Horatio  Smallfry ;  and  Cecil 
Baker  was  almost  as  lugubrious  a  lover  as  Truelove  as  is 
Vanderdecken,  whom  he  seemed  to  have  endeavoured  to  make 
up  to  resemble. 

28th.  Terry's. — Last  night  of /«  Cftancery, 


HI. 

March. 


2nd.  Avenue. — Mademoiselle  Cleopatra,  W.  Sapte,  jun.'s  bur- 
lesque,  did  not  have  a  fair  chance.  There  was  much  in  it  that 
was  amusing,  and  the  part  of  Marc  Antony  was  very  funnily  played 
by  J.  J.  Dallas.     Edith  Ken  ward  and  Edith  Charteris  cleverly 


March.  1891.I  Qur  Aflgels,  43 

burlesqued  a  music-hall  performance  as  the  Sisters  Stilton,  and 
Frank  Lindo  gave  a  really  wonderful  imitation,  not  a  travesty, 
of  Wilson  Barrett  as  Claudian.  The  whole  was,  however,  made 
of  no  avail  through  the  disfavour  with  which  the  performance  of 
Floy  Vita,  an  American  actress,  who  filled  the  title  rdle^  was 
accepted.  Mademoiselle  Cleopatra  only  ran  a  week.  It  was  preceded 
by  an  original  two-act  drama,  entitled  Changes  and  Chances^  by 
an  anonymous  author,  which  would  have  done  better  if  it  had 
been  written  in  one  act  The  younger  of  two  sisters,  Deborah 
and  Rachel  Harbinger  (Miss  Schubert  and  Beatrice  Adair),  elopes 
with  one  Harry  Vernon.  She  has  been  engaged  to  Fred  Harrison, 
but  before  she  returns  after  a  lapse  of  years  happily  married  and 
able  to  assist  her  family,  who  have  fallen  into  difficulties,  she  finds 
that  her  former  lover  has  transferred  his  affection  to  the  more 
staid  Deborah. 

2nd.  Henry  Irving  elected  member  of  the  Marlborough  Club, 
having  been  proposed  by  H.R.H.  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

3rd.  Vaudeville  matinie, — Our  Angels.  Original  drama  in 
three  acts  by  G.  H.  R.  Dabbs  and  Edward  Righton.  We  are 
too  much  given  nowadays  to  believe  that  every  play  is  written 
with  some  special  motive,  and  so  it  has  been  stated  that  Our 
Angels  was  intended  by  Dr.  Dabbs  to  illustrate  the  demoralising 
effect  produced  by  the  abuse  of  morphia.  The  play,  originally 
produced  at  Shanklin  under  the  title  of  Our  Paly  in  one  act,  but 
since  then  amplified  into  three  with  the  aid  of  Edward  Righton, 
does  not  bear  on  the  face  of  it  much  evidence  of  this.  It  is 
simply  a  well-written  melodrama,  with  a  tragic  end  for  the  villain, 
Martin  Farquharson  (Lewis  Waller),  who,  having  long  used  the 
drug,  eventually  takes  his  own  life  through  its  agency.  He  has 
killed  unfairly  in  Australia  a  "  pal  '*  of  Blinker's  (W.  H.  Vernon), 
who  vows  to  hunt  him  down  and  eventually  does  so.  But  before 
this  happens,  Farquharson,  to  remove  Percy  Fortescue  (H. 
Eversfield),  poisons  him  with  morphia,  and  hopes  to  put  out  of 
the  way  Rupert  Cardwell,  M.D.  (Ben  Webster),  who  is  engaged 
to  Lily  Tarbard  (Beatrice  Lamb),  by  getting  him  accused  of  the 
murder.  The  doctor's  innocence  is  proved  through  the  agency  of 
Blinker  and  Lily,  aided  by  Maud,  a  bright  American  girl  who  is 
a  staunch  friend  to  the  doctor  and  his  sweetheart.  All  the  parts 
were  well  played,  even  to  the  small  ones  of  Sir  Beevor  Vandyke 
(Lawrence  d'Orsay)  and  Mr.  Tarbard  (Ernest  Hendrie).  W.  H. 
Vernon  and  Lewis  Waller  were  specially  good,  and  Fanny  Brough 
as  Maud  played  with  a  depth  of  pathos  that  drew  tears  from  her 
audience,  and  fairly  surprised  those  who  had  only  hitherto  judged 


44  Two  or  One — Zephyr,  [March.  xBgx. 

the    talented    actress   as   one    of  our   brightest   and    best    light 
comediennes. 

3rd.  Avenue  matinee, — Two  or  One  and  Zephyr.  Miss  Loie 
Fuller  gave  this  matin^e^  and  appeared  as  the  principal  character 
in  two  plays  by  Mrs.  Bernard  Wishaw.  In  the  first,  a  farcical 
comedietta  entitled  Two  or  One,  as  Emmy  Campbell,  the  clever 
actress  simulated  a  mad  Ophelia  and  other  characters,  in  order  to 
dissuade  one  Douglas  McDougal  (cleverly  played  by  G.  T.  MinshuU) 
from  a  marriage  with  her  twin  sister.  In  this  Miss  Fuller  sang  with 
great  taste.  As  Zephyrina  Winn,  the  principal  character  in  Zephyr y 
the  actress  represented  a  warm-hearted  American  girl,  whose 
father  has  suddenly  become  a  millionaire.  She  comes  to  England 
on  a  visit  to  an  aristocratic  family,  who  snub  her  on  account  of 
her  unsophisticated  nature,  but  she  finds  one  friend  in  a  young 
nobleman,  who  is  lenient  to  her  ignorance  of  the  ways  of  the  big 
world.  Unfortunately  his  attentions  are  misconstrued  by  the 
girl  to  whom  he  is  engaged,  and  a  rupture  occurs  between  them, 
but  Zephyr  brings  them  together  again.  Loie  Fuller  acted  with 
a  natural  grace  and  pathos  that  won  for  her  admiration,  and 
Georgie  Esmond  played  most  charmingly  as  the  ingenuous  Lily 
Everitt.  Sylvia  Grey  displayed  quite  unexpected  talent  in  the 
rble  of  an  Eton  boy,  and  Arthur  Forrest  was  a  manly,  loyal 
gentleman  as  Lord  Kyrconncl.  Isabel  Grey  exhibited  great  tact 
as  a  kindly,  submissive  old  maiden  lady. 

4th.  Lyric — Love  and  Law,  original  operetta  by  Frank 
Latimer,  music  by  Ivan  Caryll,  was  not  as  good  as  some  of  the 
first  pieces  we  have  seen.  It  turns  on  the  facility  with  which 
divorce  cases  can  be  arranged  by  an  accommodating  attorney, 
who  has  for  his  chief  clerk  Miss  Justinia  Taper  (Adelaide 
Newton),  and  who  employs  none  but  lady  clerks.  They  wear 
the  divided  skirt,  are  supporters  of  woman's  rights,  and  go  on 
strike.  The  two  clients  are  Lord  and  Lady  Belgravia  (Michael 
Dwyer  and  Annie  Schuberth),  who  have  each  a  pleasing  number, 
the  gentleman  the  one  commencing  "  Through  daffodils  "  and  the 
lady  "Have  pity  upon  a  poor  lady's  distresses,"  both  of  which  were 
so  well  rendered  as  to  secure  encores.  Some  of  the  choruses 
were  effective.  On  this  date  La  Cigale  was  played  for  the  hundred 
and  fiftieth  time,  and  one  of  the  most  tasteful  souvenirs  of  the 
opera  was  presented  to  every  member  of  the  audience.  The 
souvenir  contained  beautifully  executed  pictures  of  the  principal 
characters, 

4th.  Lyceum  (revival). — Charles  /.  Since  its  original  pro- 
duction, W.  G.  Wills's  most  poetical  play  has  been  several  times 


marcm,  X89X.]  Culprits.  45 


revived,  and  though  we  must  admit  that  the  author  has  drawn  a 
picture  of  the  martyr  king  more  favourable  to  his  character  than 
history  allows,  and  has  most  unwarrantably  vilified  the  memory  of 
Cromwell,  yet  he  has  given  us  such  a  moving  and  pathetic  whole 
that  we  forgive  and  forget  the  historical  inaccuracy  in  the  exquisite 
enjoyment  of  the  performance.  For  Henry  Irving  presents  to  us 
in  appearance  a  living  reproduction  of  Vandyke's  Charles  L,  and 
graces  the  character  with  a  kingly  digjnity  and  a  noble  melancholy 
that  surpass,  in  artistic  skill  and  their  effect  on  his  audience, 
anything  that  he  has  yet  accomplished.  Most  marvellously  did 
he  assume  in  the  first  act  the  lightness  of  heart  displayed  in 
affectionately  playing  with  his  children,  whilst  all  the  while  torn 
with  the  cares  of  state,  and  yet  so  unselfishly  concealing  his 
anxieties  from  his  dear  ones.  Again,  in  his  reproach  to  his 
Judas-like  betrayer,  Moray,  the  love  of  the  King  was  so  perfectly 
blended  with  the  bitter  sense  of  the  ingratitude  of  the  friend 
whom  he  had  so  favoured ;  and  in  the  parting  scene  with  his 
queen  and  childreo  the  sublimity  of  pathos  was  reached.  Ellen 
Terry  was  not  one  whit  behind  Henry  Irving  in  general  delicacy 
and  refinement  of  treatment  She  was  truly  a  worthy  consort  for 
such  a  king,  and  the  most  comforting  of  wives  to  such  a  man. 
Her  opportunity  really  comes  only  in  the  last  act,  when  she  sues 
to  Cromwell  for  her  husband's  life  ;  but  her  duty  as  a  queen  and 
mother  to  the  future  ruler  of  England  was  as  perfectly  conveyed. 
T.  N.  Wenman  played  Cromwell  with  a  rugged  strength  cha- 
racteristic of  the  man,  and  yet  showed  us  that  his  love  for  his 
daughter  Elizabeth  was  the  one  soft  spot  in  his  otherwise  iron 
nature.  W.Terriss  could  have  improved  his  Lord  Moray  by  appearing 
less  saturnine.  Henry  Howe  was  once  more  a  faithful,  dignified 
Lord  Huntley ;  and  Minnie  Terry  was  a  charming  Princess 
Elizabeth.  The  play  was,  as  usual  at  the  Lyceum,  magnificently 
staged ;  and  Mr.  Irving's  appearance  in  his  suit  of  steel  armour 
will  not  soon  be  forgotten.  There  was  one  thing  that  struck  me 
as  strange,  and  that  was,  as  Ellen  Terry  did  not  in  the  least 
affect  the  accent  or  mode  of  speaking  of  a  foreigner,  why  Mr. 
Irving  should  have  overlooked  and  allowed  to  remain  Huntley's 
words  in  which  he  refers  to  the  Queen's  "  pretty  broken " 
language. 

4th.  COVENT  Garden. — Augustus  Harris's  fancy  dress  ball. 

Sth.  Terry's. — Culprits,  Arthur  Law  must  be  credited  with 
remarkable  ingenuity  in  the  entanglement  of  all  his  characters. 
This  forms  the  entire  merit  of  his  play,  however,  for  the  dialogue 
does  not  "  bristle  with  repartee  "  or  "  charm  with  epigram."     The 


46  The  Gondoliers.  CBfAKCH,  1891. 

principal  character,  Major  Rackshaw  (Eldward  Terry),  has  been 
married  before  and  has  a  daughter  living,  Mary  Seymour 
(Eleanore  Leyshon),  who  has  been  led  to  believe  that  he  is  her 
uncle,  but  of  none  of  these  facts  has  he  informed  Mrs.  Rackshaw 
(Susie  Vaughan).  Lady  Pendlecoop  (Sophie  Larkin)  had  also 
passed  herself  oflf  as  a  spinster  when  she  married  Sir  Joseph 
Pendlecoop  (Fred  Kaye),  though  she  was  a  widow  with  one  son. 
Imagine  her  horror  when  he  turns  up  as  a  young  artist,  Philip 
Ashton  !  (A.  Kendrick).  The  Major  is  in  a  fright  when  he  meets 
the  Rev.  Oriel  Fanlight  (Walter  Everard),  for  he  is  the  parson 
that  married  him  to  his  first  wife,  who  he  had  imagined  had 
"  gone  down  with  all  hand€  " ;  but  poor  Rackshaw's  situation  is 
even  more  deplorable  when  he  fancies  that  in  the  Countess  de 
Loreauzane  (Alice  Yorke)  he  recognises  his  first  wife.  Then 
Ashton  and  Edward  Pendlecoop  (H.  V.  Esmond)  and  Mary 
Seymour  and  Gwendoline  Fanlight  (Eva  Moore)  are  madly 
jealous  of  each  other  respectively,  so  it  can  be  seen  that  ludicrous 
complications  arise.  The  key  to  the  riddle  is  the  fact  that 
Rackshaw's  first  wife  was  a  twin  sister  of  the  Countess,  and 
mutual  explanation  and  confession  all  round  sets  matters  straight 
Was  there  ever  "confusion  worse  confounded,"  when  half  a  dozen 
words  on  the  part  of  the  Major  and  Lady  Pendlecoop  would  have 
made  matters  clear  at  once?  I  think  Mr.  Terry  must  have  been 
tempted  to  produce  this  play  on  account  of  the  ludicrous  per- 
plexity and  terror  that  Major  Rackshaw  suffers,  but,  though 
amusing,  he  has  played  far  better  characters,  and  his  Irish  brogue 
was  occasionally  forgotten.  All  in  the  cast  exerted  themselves 
to  the  utmost,  and  did  everything  that  was  possible  to  raise 
merriment,  but  even  the  clever  people  engaged  were  not  altogether 
successful.  A.  Kendrick,  a  new-comer  to  the  London  stage, 
showed  much  promise  in  a  very  thankless  part. 

Sth.  Mr.  Lacy,  son  of  the  veteran  Walter  Lacy,  appeared  at 
only  half  a  dozen  hours'  notice  as  the  Marquis  of  Huntley  in  the 
place  of  Mr.  Henry  Howe  in  Charles  I. 

Sth.  Meeting  of  the  Royal  General  Theatrical  Fund,  Thomas 
Swinboume,  honorary  treasurer,  in  the  chair.  Robert  Courtneidge 
and  Charles  Dodsworth  elected  directors  of  the  fund. 

6th.  The  Savoy  company,  under  the  management  of  R.  D'Oyly 
Carte,  appeared  in  The  Gondoliers  before  her  Majesty  the  Queen 
and  Court  at  Windsor  Castle.  The  performance  took  place  in 
the  Waterloo  Chamber.  Stage  and  proscenium  were  erected.  The 
actors  and  actresses  and  rest  of  the  company  were^>afterwards 
entertained  in  the  Vandyke  room.  Digitized  by  LiOOgle 


mabch,  1891.1  Lady  Bountiful.  47 

7th.  Garrick. — Lady  Bountiful 

"  My  masters,  will  you  hear  a  simple  tale  ? 
No  war,  no  lust,  not  a  commandment  broke 
By  sir  or  madam,  but  a  history 
To  make  a  rhyme  to  speed  a  young  maid's  hour." 

Act  I. — "  Aunt  Anne  speaks  her  mind."  Peele  Lydgate.  A  Morning  Room  at  Faun- 
court.  Act  II. — *'  Dennis  sets  foot  in  a  new  world.  The  Hyde  Park  Riding  Academy, 
Knightsbridge,  three  months  after.  Act  III. — "Margaret  prepares  for  her  voyage." 
London  eighteen  months  after.  Act  IV. — "  Camilla  goes  to  the  altar."  St  Eanswythe 
Lydgate  Old  Church  five  years  after. 

There  is  a  tendency  to  hero-worship  which  is  growing  apace 
with  Londoners,  indeed,  I  might  say,  with  Englishmen  generally. 
Once  let  them  be  convinced  in  their  own  minds  that  a  prominent 
individual  has  done  something  great  or  good,  or,  in  some  cases,  let 
him  be  only  sufficiently  talked  about,  they  set  him  on  a  pedestal, 
and  seem  to  imagine  that  everything  he  does  from  that  time 
forward  must  be  worthy  of  praise.  Actors  and  dramatic  authors 
have  of  late  shared  in  this  worship,  and  A.  W.  Pinero  is  evidently 
one  of  those  whose  work  must  be  taken  as  good.  On  no  other 
principle  can  I  account  for  the  enthusiastic  reception  accorded  to 
his  latest  play,  Lady  Bountiful^  at  the  Garrick  on  its  initial  pro- 
duction, and  this  reception  was  shared  by  the  principal  actor  and 
actress,  who  were  not  by  any  means  seen  to  the  best  advantage 
so  far  as  the  delineation  of  their  respective  characters  was  con- 
cerned. Mr.  Pinero  describes  his  play  as  original ;  on  the 
programme  he  acknowledges  "the  relationship"  of  one  of  the 
characters  (Roderick  Heron)  to  the  well-known  family  of  the 
Skimpoles.  Roderick  Heron  is  Harold  Skimpole  exaggerated  in 
his  selfishness  and  utter  want  of  principle  or  anything  approaching 
to  honour.  Act  HI.,  where  "  Margaret  prepares  for  her  voyage," 
is  obviously  suggested  by  David  Copperfield's  child-wife  and 
Agnes ;  the  resigning  of  Camilla's  hand  by  Sir  Richard  Philliter 
is  closely  allied  to  the  incident  in  which  Esther  Summerson,  her 
guardian,  and  Allan  Woodcourt  figure  as  to  the  marriage ;  and 
though  it  may  be  only  a  coincidence,  we  have  in  "  Night  and 
Morning'*  a. young  fellow  who  has  been  brought  up  to  no  pro- 
fession very  wisely,  I  think,  turning  his  only  available  talent  to 
account  and  engaging  himself  as  rpugh  rider.  All  this  would  not 
matter,  perhaps,  if  the  author  could  have  made  the  conduct  of 
Camilla  and  Dennis  Heron  comprehensible  to  us,  or  their 
characters  even  sympathetic,  but  here  we  have  a  girl  who  is 
supposed  to  be  eating  her  heart  out  for  her  cousin,  treating 
him  with  almost  brutal  disdain  and  contempt,  because  he,  ignorant 
that  he  is  not  wealthy,  has  enjoyed  himself,  after  the  fashion  of  his 
class,  in  field  sports ;  and,  although  he  has  discovered  that  he 


48  Lady  Bountiful.  [Ma«ch,  1891- 


loves  Camilla,  quixotically  he  marries  a  woman  that  he  does  not 
care  for,  simply  because  he  has  ascertained  what  it  was  never 
intended  he  should  know :  that  the  woman  loves  him.  Then  the 
manner  in  which  Mr.  Pinero  brings  about  the  two  principal 
situations  of  his  play  is  so  hackneyed  and  conventional — by 
means  of  the  delivery  of  two  letters  to  Dennis,  neither  of  which, 
except  for  the  exigencies  of  the  author,  should  have  reached 
Dennis's  hands  at  all,  and  in  the  natural  course  of  things  would 
not  have  done  so.  I  am  so  great  an  admirer  of  Mr.  Pinero,  that 
I  am  sorry  any  play  of  his  should  afford  one  the  opportunity  to 
complain  of  it,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  better  the 
work  an  author  has  done  in  the  past,  the  greater  are  the  things 
that  are  expected  of  him  in  the  future.  The  lines  quoted  at  the 
head  of  this  notice  rightly  describe  the  play ;  it  is  "  a  simple 
tale,"  and  one  of  its  characters,  John  Veale,  the  horse-dealer,  is 
more  simple  than  we  generally  give  gentlemen  of  his  profession 
credit  for.  At  Fauncourt  Camilla  Brent,  a  young  beauty,  reigns 
supreme ;  she  is  the  Lady  Bountiful  to  the  poor,  and  she  supplies 
lavishly  the  repeated  demands  of  her  selfish  spendthrift  uncle, 
Roderick  Heron.  He  and  his  son  Dennis  live  under  Camilla's 
roof,  the  latter  supposing  that  his  father  is  wealthy.  Miss  Brent 
thinks  it  time  that  he  should  be  undeceived,  and  in  doing  this  and 
referring  to  his  position  Camilla  taunts  him,  without  any  mincing 
of  the  matter,  on  the  useless  life  he  leads.  Dennis  is  shocked  at 
what  he  hears,  leaves  Fauncourt,  and  goes  to  London  to  try  and 
earn  his  living.  Nothing  comes  in  his  way  till  he  is  offered  the 
post  of  riding-master  by  John  Veale,  a  horse-dealer  of  whom  he 
had  formerly  bought  hunters.  Margaret  Veale  is  educated  above 
her  station ;  she  objects  to  those  with  whom  she  has  to  mix. 
Dennis  treats  her  as  a  lady,  and  so  she  falls  in  love  with  him. 
Taxed  with  this  by  her  mother,  she  denies  it,  but,  though  living 
under  the  same  roof  with  her,  Margaret  writes  to  her  mother  and 
acknowledges  her  love  for  Dennis.  It  is  so  arranged  by  the 
author  that  Dennis  reads  the  letter  and  considers  it  his  duty  to 
respond  to  her  affection,  and  so  when  Camilla  and  his  family,  who 
have  found  out  his  hiding-place,  come  to  bring  him  home,  he 
announces  his  coming  marriage  with  Margaret,  and  Camilla  is 
disgusted  at  the  thought  of  the  rndsalliance,  John  Veale  has  been 
taken  in  by  the  specious  old  rogue  Roderick  Heron,  has  become 
security  for  him,  and  is  naturally  sold  up  ;  so  Dennis  Heron  in  the 
next  act  manages  to  set  up  as  a  livery  stable  keeper  and  support 
his  wife,  her  parents,  and  his  father.  Margaret  is  an  eight  weeks' 
mother,  and  comes  downstairs  for  the  first  time.     Camilla  has  got 


March,  1891  Lady  Boufitiful.  49 

over  her  disdain  and  holds  forth  the  olive  branch,  is  kind  and 
sisterly  to  the  invalid,  who  then  confides  to  her  that  she  had  been 
jealous  of  her  once,  as  she  had  discovered  that  Dennis  had  been 
attached  to  Camilla.  Margaret  evidently  feels  that  she  will  not 
live  long,  and  so  she  entrusts  Camilla  with  a  letter  to  be  given  to 
Dennis  in  the  event  of  her  own  death  stating  that  it  is  her  wish  that 
they  should  come  together  again  ;  and  then,  whilst  Dennis  is 
cheerily  prattling  to  his  little  one  in  the  cradle,  the  mother  calmly 
and  peacefully  passes  away  to  the  land  of  shadows.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  beautifully  written  scenes  that  has  ever  moved  an  audience. 
Dennis  emigrates  to  America  with  the  Veales,  his  little  child  and 
father,  and  we  hear  nothing  further  of  them  save  that  the  former 
are  happy,  and  that  Roderick  Heron's  plausibility  has  done  him 
good  service,  and  that  he  is  a  leader  of  the  mining  speculating 
fraternity.  Having  prospered  during  five  years,  Dennis  returns  to 
England,  and  his  steps  bring  him  to  Lydgate  Old  Church.  It  is 
decked  for  a  coming  marriage.  Camilla  comes  there  to  view  the 
preparations.  She  has  at  length  rewarded  the  persistent  attentions 
of  middle-aged  Sir  Richard  Philliter,  who  has  known  her  from  a 
child  and  has  long  wished  to  make  her  his  wife.  When  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  the  play  he  had  proposed  to  her  (and  been  refused)  he 
had  done  so  by  means  of  a  particular  passage  in  Horace,  which  he 
had  pointed  out  to  Camilla.  She  has  kept  the  book,  and  now 
returns  it  to  him.  In  opening  it  the  letter  written  by  Margaret 
drops  out  unperceived.  When  they  are  gone  this  letter  is  handed 
to  Dennis.  He  reads  his  late  wife's  wishes,  and  so  when  Camilla 
returns  in  search  of  the  missing  letter  he  proposes  to  her.  It  is 
too  late ;  she  is  to  be  married  the  next  morning  to  Sir  Richard. 
And  then  we  see  this  next  morning,  again  in  the  church,  and  all 
the  wedding  guests  assembled,  and  the  clergyman  just  about  to 
commence  the  ceremony,  when  Camilla's  eyes  rest  on  the  sad 
hopeless  figure  of  her  lover.  She  rushes  from  the  altar  rails  and 
leans  against  the  font — a  moment's  pause — and  Sir  Richard 
announces,  "  There  will  be  no  marriage  to-day,  I  think  I  know," 
and  the  curtain  falls.  It  may  be  mentioned,  en  passant^  that  the 
beauty  of  the  last  act  was  considerably  marred  by  its  being  played 
almost  in  darkness.  In  all  this  my  sympathies  were  not  aroused 
for  Dennis,  though  Forbes-Robertson  played  admirably,  nor  for 
Kate  Rorke,  partly  because  her  character  is  unsympathetically 
drawn,  and  partly  because  this  usually  clever  actress  made  her 
reading  of  the  character  objectionable  by  concealing  its  gentler 
side,  and  only  showing  us  its  pride  and  pettishness  and  want  of 
true  nobility.    Mr.  Hare  was  speciouslygenial,  but  not  sufficiently 

4 


so  Ben-nty-Chne.  CMarch,  1891. 

so  ;  his  innate  selfishness  and  want  of  principle  were  too  apparent. 
The  really  interesting  characters  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Veale,  natur- 
ally drawn  and  naturally  acted,  and  deserving  a  better  fate  than 
was  meted  out  to  them  when  they  were  en  evidence.  To  poor 
Margaret  one's  heart  went  out ;  one  could  understand  her  admira- 
tion and  love  for  the  handsome  young  fellow  who  could  and  did 
treat  her  as  one  of  his  own  rank,  and  the  whole  scene  in  which 
she  is  the  most  prominent  figure  as  the  dying  wife  was  exquisitely 
rendered  by  Marie  Linden.  John  Byron  (son  of  the  Henry  J. 
Byron)  and  Gilbert  Hare  evidently  inherit  their  respective  fathers' 
talents,  and  made  a  most  favourable  impression  on  their  first 
London  appearances.  Miss  Webster  (granddaughter  of  Benjamin 
Webster)  made  the  hit  of  the  evening,  I  think,  as  Amelia,  an 
ingenuous  little  cockney  servant,  that  she  played  to  the  life. 
R.  Cathcart  and  Caroline  Elton  made  much  of  the  small  parts 
of  an  antiquarian  parish  clerk  and  a  voluble,  cheery  pew-opener, 
and  little  Beatrice  Ferrar  was  very  amusing  as  a  violin-playing, 
fanciful  young  lady.  All  the  stage  pictures  were  realistic  to  a 
degree,  and  two  of  them,  Fauncourt  and  the  interior  of  the  old 
church,  extremely  beautiful. 

7th.  New  Olympic  matinee, — Ben-my-Chree.  Ben-my-Chree, 
the  powerful  play  founded  by  Wilson  Barrett  and  Hall  Caine 
on  the  latter's  novel  of  "  The  Deemster,"  was  revived.  It  was 
originally  produced  at  the  Princess's  on  May  17th,  1888,  and  is 
a  story  of  the  Isle  of  Man  of  many  years  ago.  Many  of  the 
original  cast  were  in  the  revival,  but  they  assumed  new  charac- 
ters. Wilson  Barrett  was,  of  course,  again  the  hero  (Dan  Mylrea), 
and  played  with  his  usual  power.  Winifred  Emery  succeeded 
Miss  Eastlake  as  Mona  Mylrea.  She  was  a  very  tender  repre- 
sentative of  the  part,  but  was  scarcely  strong  enough  for  such  a 
character.  Austin  Melford  quite  equalled  in  dignity  and  pathos 
poor  Maclean,  the  original,  as  Gilchrist  Mylrea.  Cooper  Cliflfe 
scored  asthe  impulsive  Ewan  Mylrea,  and  George  Barrett  brightened 
the  scenes  as  the  faithful  Davy  Foyle  with  his  mingled  pathos 
and  humour.  Of  others  that  deserve  favourable  mention  were 
W.  A.  Elliott  (Thorkell  Mylrea,  the  Deemster),  T.  W.  Percyval 
(Mr.  Harcourt,  the  Governor),  Horace  Hodges  in  the  small  part 
of  Horning  Beg,  Lillie  Belmore  (Kitty),  and  Harrietta  Polini 
(Liza  Teare).  The  play  is  a  melancholy  one;  but  it  possesses 
much  interest,  and  is  curious  from  its  illustration  of  the  laws  that 
prevailed  in  the  Isle  of  Man  in  times  gone  by. 

9th.  Ladbroke  Hall. — La  Belle  Clarisse^  drama  in  a  two-act 
prologue  and  four  acts.     Author  unannounced.     The   title    rdle 


March.  1891.]  Crime  and  Christening,  5 1 

was  played  by  Madame  Rita  Carlyle,  a  handsome  American  lady 
possessing  considerable  dramatic  power,  but  which  was  wasted  on 
a  part  in  which  she  has  to  represent  a  woman  who,  having  been 
betrayed,  vows  vengeance  and  accomplishes  it  by  the  assumption 
of  a  villainous  character.  The  drama  itself  was  highly  sensational, 
and  what  used  to  be  known  as  of  the  "transpontine  order." 

9th.  Pavilion. —  Capital  and  Labour^  four- act  drama  by  W.  J. 
Patmore  and  A.  B.  Moss.     First  time  in  London. 

9th.  NOVELTV. — Love  and  Art,  by  Alfred  A.  Wilmot.  This 
comedietta,  which  had  been  seen  last  year  at  the  Lyric  Hall, 
Hammersmith,  dealt  with  the  uneven  course  of  the  true  loves  of 
Ethel  Ferndale  (Georgie  Harris)  and  Lester  Durnstead  (H.  B. 
Clair) ;  of  Mrs.  Lestrange  (M.  Denzil)  and  Sir  Pompos  Penygrin 
(J.  G.  Wilton),  the  imbroglio  being  complicated  by  Smartly  (a 
servant,  well  played  by  Marie  Brian).  Of  course  the  final  ex- 
planations result  satisfactorily  for  all  parties,  and  the  working  out 
of  the  plot,  if  somewhat  strained,  led  one  to  hope  for  better  and 
more  careful  work  from  the  same  pen.  At  the  same  time,  it 
must  be  conceded  that,  with  the  exception  of  Marie  Brian,  the 
representatives  were  not  all  that  could  be  desired. 

loth.  St.  George's  Hall. — Madge,  comedy  sketch  by 
Florence  Wade  and  H.  Austin,  the  authors  as  Madge  Arbuthnot 
and  Harry  Mervin;  H.  A.  Saintsbury,  Perry  Parker;  Cissy  Wade, 
Abigail. 

1 0th.  Opera  Comique. — Crime  and  Christening.  Richard 
Henry's  farce  proved  a  merry  little  trifle  that  passed  away 
pleasantly  the  few  minutes  that  must  elapse  between  the  opening 
of  the  house  and  the  commencement  of  the  burlesque.  Prowle 
is  a  myrmidon  of  the  law.  He  is  jealous  and  zealous — jealous 
of  one  Algernon,  who  is  courting  the  policeman's  sister,  Lucinda, 
because  he  finds  a  letter  addressed  to  Loo,  Mrs.  Prowle's  Christian 
name  ;  zealous  in  his  instructions  to  look  after  two  notorious 
criminals.  But  he  sinks  the  officer  for  the  moment  in  the 
father  in  preparation  for  the  christening  of  his  infant  son  and 
heir,  Charles  Vincent  Howard  Munro  Bradford  Prowle.  He  is 
recalled  to  a  sense  of  duty  by  the  conversation  of  a  male  and 
female,  who  are  taking  a  little  refreshment  and  interlarding  their 
amatory  whisperings  with  scraps  of  French,  and,  satisfied  that  they 
are  the  criminals,  he  arrests  them.  His  fond  hopes  of  promotion 
are,  however,  rudely  destroyed  by  his  wife  recognising  her  mother 
and  uncle  in  the  captives,  neither  of  whom  Prowle  has  ever  seen. 
There  was  plenty  of  laughter  as  Prowle  (E.  Bantock,  who 
reminded   one   of  Buckstone)   recalled  his  early  courtship ;  and 


52  Ghosts.  [MAwai,  1891. 

Ethel  Blenheim  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  thing  as  Mrs.  Prowle. 
Katie  Seymour  was  a  sprightly  Lucinda,  and  J.  Ettinson  and 
Linda  Verner  were  amusing  as  Gribble  and  Mrs.  Townley. 

loth.  "Ought  Plays  to  be  Sermons?"  a  paper  written  by  Alfred 
Paterson,  was  read  by  him  before  the  Church  and  Stage  Guild, 
the  writer's  opinion  being  that  healthy  amusement  should  be  the 
object  aimed  at 

1 2th.  Criterion  (revival). — Nine  Points  of  the  Law,  by  Tom 
Taylor.  W.  Blakeley,  Ironside  ;  George  Giddens,  Rollingstone ; 
Fanny  Francis,  Mrs.  Smiley  ;  Cyril  Maude,  Cunninghame ;  Mabel 
Hardinge,  Katie  Mapleson;  Ella  Terriss,  Sarah  Jane. 

13th.  Royalty. — Ghosts.  William  Archer's  translation  of 
Henrik  Ibsen's  play.  Unhappy  the  family  which  has  not  one, 
but  several  such  skeletons  in  its  cupboard,  as  the  Alvings  possess. 
We  have  a  widow  whose  married  life  was  one  long  misery,  linked 
to  a  drunkard  and  a  debauchee.  He  has  not  even  respected  his 
own  roof- tree,  but  from  an  intrigue  with  one  of  his  servants 
Regina  is  bom,  and  the  wife,  taking  pity  on  her  condition,  has  her 
to  live  in  her  house ;  but  the  girl  is  vicious  to  the  core,  and  find- 
ing from  their  relationship  that  Oswald's  attentions  can  come  to 
nothing,  lets  us  know  that  she  will  probably  follow  in  the  footsteps 
of  her  mother.  The  son  has  inherited  not  only  his  father's  vices, 
but  (as  Ibsen  shows,  though  here  medical  science  will  tell  us  it  is 
impossible)  a  disease  which  will  rob  him  of  his  reason,  and  so  he 
courts  death.  Pastor  Manders  is  a  well-meaning  but  weak  man, 
whose  fetish  is  "What  will  the  world  say?"  and  Jacob  Engstrand 
is  a  hypocritical,  canting  scoundrel  who  encourages  Regina  in  her 
downward  course.  I  have  only  touched  lightly  on  the  plot, 
which  in  its  development  is  too  horrible  and  too  terrible ;  let 
those  who  wish  to  go  into  its  dreadful  details  read  the  play  for 
themselves.  And,  with  all  its  loathsomeness,  there  is  drawn  an 
awful  picture  of  the  consequences  of  abusing  "  the  joy  of  life  " — 
Ibsen's  theme — but  that  such  a  play  could  ever  be  produced 
before  a  mixed  audience  is  in  this  country  an  utter  impossibility. 
As,  however,  it  was  the  first  production  at  J.  T.  Grein's  "Inde- 
pendent Theatre  of  London "  (Theatre  Libre),  I  have  given  the 
cast  and  this  short  notice  as  a  matter  of  historical  record  of  the 
"  inaugural  invitation  performance."  Mr.  Grein  called  for  aid 
in  the  shape  of  membership  to  support  his  enterprise,  which 
embraces  the  production  of  plays  of  every  country  refused  by 
managers  and  unlicensed  by  the  Lord  Chamberlain,  but  which 
from  their  intrinsic  and  artistic  merit  he  thinks  would  be  valuable 
acquisitions  to  the  English  stage,  and  tend  to  elevate  the  drama. 


March,  1891.]  The  Volcano.  S3 


Esprits  farts  may  go  with  him  in  his  way  of  thinking,  but  English 
men  and  women  generally  will  differ  from  him  altogether.  In  one 
thing  J.  T.  Grein  and  Cecil  Raleigh,  who  stage-managed  the 
play  showed  conspicuous  judgment — in  the  choice  of  their  cast. 
Mrs.  Theodore  Wright  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes  an  amateur 
now,  though  the  lady  had  some  stage  experience  in  earlier  years, 
and  gave  us  a  thoroughly  human  interpretation  of  the  wretched 
Mrs.  Alving,  a  Freethinker,  with  no  hope  or  consolation  but  in 
her  son,  whom  she  must  save  from  a  living  death  by  becoming  his 
murderess.  Frank  Lindo  showed  great  power  as  the  wretched 
Oswald.  Leonard  Outram  looked  and  faithfully  depicted  the 
smug  parson.  Sydney  Howard  was  to  the  life  the  oily  hypo- 
crite, who  concealed  every  bad  passion  under  the  outward  sem- 
blance of  religious  feeling  ;  and  Edith  Kenward  came  as  near 
perhaps  as  was  possible  to  the  vicious,  heartless  Regina,  although 
the  part  should  have  been  played  by  an  actress  possessing,  if  I  may 
use  the  term,  "  animal "  beauty.  Let  us  hope  that  Mr.  Grein  will 
see  his  way  to  give  us  a  healthy  play  of  Ibsen's — for  he  has  written 
some  that  we  have  not  yet  seen  in  England — and  then  we  may 
be  able  to  judge  and  criticise  openly  and  without  reservation  his 
work,  and  consider  whether  he  is  entitled  to  the  exalted  position 
his  admirers  claim  for  him. 

13th.  Steinway  Hall. — George  Cameron^  sketch  by  Langdon 
Mitchell,  and  A  Joint  Household,  sketch  by  Mrs.  Hugh  Bell. 

14th.  Court. — The  Volcano.  The  character  of  Mrs.  Delancey 
Valentine  was  one  so  eminently  suited  to  Mrs.  John  Wood  in  Ralph 
R.  Lumley's  new  farce,  and  the  first  act  so  brilliant,  that  these 
combined  must  have  induced  the  clever  manageress  of  the  Court 
Theatre  to  suppose  that  the  shortcomings  of  the  latter  portions  of 
the  play  would  be  forgiven,  and  that  the  company  generally  would 
be  able,  to  work  up  the  situations  and  render  them  as  amusing  as 
the  opening.  In  this  Mrs.  Wood  was  mistaken.  All  concerned 
did  their  very  best,  but  on  the  fall  of  the  curtain  even  the  plaudits 
of  a  generally  friendly  house  were  mingled  with  many  sounds  of 
disapproval.  The  author  has  hit  upon  a  ludicrous  idea,  but  fails 
to  work  it  out  satisfactorily.  Mrs.  Delancey  Valentine  is  one  of 
those  wonderful  women  who  have  been  everywhere  and  done 
everything.  She  is  engaged  by  the  editor  of  "  The  Volcano,"  a 
society  journal,  to  interview  "  Notable  Nonentities."  Unaware 
that  the  Duke  of  Donoway,  a  nobleman  who  is  ever  indulging  in 
some  new  fad,  is  the  proprietor,  she  lays  siege  to  him  first.  Even 
the  Duke's  household  is  ignorant  of  his  connection  with  the 
print,  and  they  are  thrown  into  the  utmost  state  of  consternation 


54  Spring  Leaves — La  Cigale.  [Ma»ch,  1891. 

by  reading  therein   a  libellous   paragraph  which  states  that  the 
Duke  contemplates  an  elopement  with  a  celebrated  lady.     His 
Grace  has  himself  inserted  this  communication  to  give  spice  to 
his    bantling,   little    thinking    that  it   will   ever  be  seen  by  the 
members  of  his  family.     When  the  paragraph  comes  under  the 
Duchess's    notice,  there  is   naturally  a  scene.      The  Duke  still 
wishes  to  hide    the    fact   of   his  being    the   proprietor  of  "The 
Volcano "  from  his  belongings,  and  so  he  tries  to  sneak  off  and 
to  get  down  to  the  office  to  insert  an  apology  and  contradiction, 
but  as  he  is  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Delancey  Valentine,  the  Duchess 
at  once  believes  that  the  paragraph  was  correct,  and  that  the  two 
have  eloped  together.    The  Duchess  pursues  them,  and  eventually 
runs  them  down  in  the  office  of  "  The  Volcano  "  in  Fleet  Street ; 
and  here  the  author  contrives,  not  very  lucidly,  to  bring  all  his 
characters  together,  and   the  explanation  ensues.     The  Duke  is 
forgiven,   Mrs.  Delancey  Valentine   gives  her  hand  to  Captain 
Gumey,  and  the  two  young  ladies,  uninteresting  characters,  though 
well  played,  pair  off  with  the  two  sprigs  of  nobility.     Mrs.  John 
Wood  attacked  her  character  forcibly  and  bore  it  out  triumphantly 
to  the  close,  and  Mr.  Arthur  Cecil  aided  her  much  by  his  clever 
sketch   of   the    pompous,   silly    old   Duke.     Weedon   Grossmith 
posed   very  successfully  as  a  young  politician   who  imagines  he 
can  do  everything,  and  that  he  is  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes.     His 
feeble  singing  of  "  The  Wolf "  was  one  of  the  funniest  skits  on 
the  amateur  musician  that  have  been  heard  for  some  time.    Brandon 
Thomas  was  a  well-bred  gentleman  and  a  hearty  outspoken  sailor 
combined.     Allan  Aynesworth  played  naturally,  and  Fred  Cape 
was  quaint  and  original  as  Daniel  Pultebeck,  the  editor  of  "  The 
Volcano."     Carlotta  Leclercq  was  quite  the  grande  danu^  though 
easily  overcome  by  emotion'  and  subject  to  hysterics  and  fainting 
fits.     If  Mr.  Lumley  could  have  written  up  and  made  his  last  two 
acts  only  half  as  good  as  his  first,  he  would  have  written  a  very 
amusing  play,  and  perhaps  a  successful  one.     It  was  preceded  by 
Spring  Leaves^  a  one-act  comedietta  adapted  from  the  Dutch  by 
J.  T.  Grein  and  C.  W.  Jarvis,  which  was  not  well  received. 

14th.  Chevalier  Scovel  made  his  reappearance  in  La  Cigale 
at  the  Lyric. 

15th.  Henry  Arthur  Jones  delivered  his  lecture  "How  to 
be  rightly  amused  at  the  Theatre,"  in  connection  with  the  National 
Sunday  League,  at  the  Shoreditch  Town  Hall. 

1 6th.  Alfred  C.  Calmour  gave  a  most  spirited  reading  on 
this  night  at  the  Playgoers'  Club  of  a  really  interesting  and 
most    useful    paper    on    "  Practical    Play-writing    and    Cost    of 


March,  iSqx.]  Diamond  Dcafie.  55 

Production.**  He  read  letters  from  Sydney  Grundy  and  A.  W. 
Pinero  as  to  their  method  of  work,  gave  some  valuable  hints  to 
budding  dramatists,  and  illustrated  his  meaning  by  appropriate 
quotations.  There  was  considerable  difference  of  opinion  ex- 
pressed on  Mr.  Calmour*s  estimate  as  to  the  cost  involved  in 
producing  a  new  play  at  a  ntatinie^  the  speaker  having  placed 
the  amount  at  far  too  low  a  figure.  His  estimate  was  from  £to 
to  ;f  90,  whereas  to  give  a  piece  a  chance  of  success  by  engfaging 
an  adequate  cast  it  can  rarely  be  done  under  ;6^i20. 

1 6th.  The  Actors*  Association  held  their  meeting  at  the  Lyceum 
Theatre,  F.  R.  Benson,  chairman  of  the  provisional  committee, 
in  the  chair,  when  the  objects  of  the  association  were  set  forth,  the 
principal  of  which  were  the  establishment  of  an  agency,  the 
providing  means  for  settling  disputes  by  arbitration,  doing  its 
best  to  check  bogus  management,  and  the  remedying  unsanitary 
dressing-rooms.  Upwards  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  actors  and 
actresses  already  belong  to  the  association. 

1 6th,  Sanger's  Theatre. — Driven  from  Home,  The  good 
old  drama  was  revived  by  Andrew  Melville  on  his  commencing 
management  at  this  theatre. 

1 6th.  Sadler's  Wells. — The  Gombeen's  Gold  ;  or,  The  Grasp 
of  Death,     Five-act  drama.     First  time  in  London. 

1 7th.  Henry  Irving  opened  the  Whitechapel  Fine  Art  Loan 
Exhibition,  and  in  his  speech  referred  to  the  great  influence  which 
art  exercised  on  the  people. 

17th.  Windsor  Castle. — ^John  Hare  and  the  Garrick  com- 
pany had  the  honour  of  appearing  before  her  Majesty  in  A  Pair 
of  Spectacles,  followed  by  A  Quiet  Rubber,  Lord  Kilclare,  John 
Hare ;  Charles,  Gilbert  Hare ;  Mr.  Sullivan,  Charles  Groves ; 
Mary,  Miss  Webster.  In  connection  with  this  performance,  her 
Majesty  presented  John  Hare  with  a  scarf  pin  bearing  the  Imperial 
monogram,  "  V.R.I.,**  in  diamonds,  surmounted  by  the  Imperial 
crown  in  gold  set  with  diamonds. 

1 8th.  Vaudeville. — Diamond  Deane,  play  in  four  acts.  This 
work,  by  Henry  J.  W.  Dam,  a  young  American  journalist,  showed 
great  promise,  though  at  the  same  time  it  gave  one  the  idea  of 
little  experience  in  stagecraft,  and  was  occasionally  rather  tedious 
from  the  recurrence  of  the  same  situation.  Yet  the  theme  was 
an  interesting  one,  and  the  language  scholarly.  There  was,  how- 
ever, a  considerable  amount  of  sermonising ;  and  prayer  on  the 
stage  should,  to  my  thinking,  however  reverentially  it  may  be 
introduced,  be  avoided.  The  motive  is  to  be  commended — it 
teaches  that  the  most  debased  may  be  won  again  to  virtue  by 


56  Diamond  Deane,  [March,  1891. 

kindness,  and  that  before  we  condemn  we  should  charitably 
inquire  into  the  antecedents  of  the  erring  one,  and  learn  whether 
the  sinner  may  not  be  the  victim  of  circumstances.  In  Diamond 
Deane  we  have  the  heroine  passing  as  Miss  Young.  She  has  an 
innocent  face  and  an  artless  manner.  Apparently  she  is  all  that 
is  good,  but  she  has  been  one  of  the  most  depraved.  This  may 
be  accounted  for  from  the  fact  that  she  has  sprung  from  the  most 
contaminated  stock,  has  been  reared  in  the  surroundings  of  vice, 
and  has  never  known  the  meaning  of  kindness  or  Christianity  till 
she  comes  under  the  influence  of  the  good  angel  of  her  life,  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Grant.  Could  she  have  remained  in  his  household, 
all  would  have  been  well,  but  the  police  are  harrying  her,  and  so 
through  the  clergyman's  influence  she  obtains  a  situation  as 
companion  to  a  Mrs.  Dennison.  There,  again,  she  soon  finds  that 
to  escape  a  felon's  punishment  she  must  fly.  As  she  cannot  do 
this  without  the  means,  she  impersonates  her  mistress,  whom  she 
resembles,  and  under  the  pretence  of  encouragfing  the  libertine 
advances  of  Lord  Sheldon  she  gets  from  him  a  considerable  sum 
of  money.  Their  parting  is,  however,  witnessed  by  Mr.  Dennison 
and  his  brother ;  and  Mrs.  Dennison  is  accused  of  being  unfaithful 
to  her  husband.  The  assistance  of  the  detective  John  Murray 
unravels  the  plot,  if  only  Miss  Young  will  confess  ;  and  this  she  is 
induced  to  do  by  the  earnest  appeal  of  Mr.  Grant,  who  works  upon 
her  awakened  better  self.  Rather  lamely  the  culprit  is  saved  from 
the  punishment  of  the  law  by  betraying  those  with  whom  she  has 
been  implicated  in  some  flagrant  robberies  in  the  past,  and  the 
perpetrators  of  which  the  authorities  are  anxious  to  discover,  and 
Miss  Young  is  for  the  future  to  become  a  daughter  to  Mr.  Grant 
and  his  kind-hearted  wife,  who  had  learnt  to  love  her  as  her  own 
child,  and  to  whom  she  had  given  the  fondest  attention  in  a 
dangerous  illness.  Jessie  Millward  embodied  the  heroine  with  a 
strange  fascination  and  sympathetic  strength,  Dorothy  Dorr,  an 
American  lady  new  to  England,  should  become  a  favourite  with 
us ;  her  method  is  good,  and  she  never  overstrained  effect  in 
picturing  the  agony  of  the  wrongfully  suspected  wife.  Thomas 
Thorne  was  a  kindly,  guileless  clergyman,  strong  only  in  his  belief 
that  charity  may  win  back  to  rectitude  the  apparently  lost. 
Lawrance  d'Orsay,  J.  S.  Blythe,  and  Scott  Buist  much  aided  the 
general  excellence  of  the  cast  by  making  their  characters  human 
and  natural,  and  not  mere  stage  puppets. 

1 8th.  CovENT  Garden. — Second  fancy  dress  ball. 

19th.  Alhambra. — A  testimonial  benefit,  with  a  presentation 
of  an  address  on  vellum   to  Charles   Morton,  took  place.     The 


March,  x89x.]  Father  BtiOfiaparte.  57 

committee  were  enabled  to  hand  the  beneficiare  upwards  of  a 
thousand  pounds,  so  universally  is  he  esteemed. 

19th.  New  Olympic  matinee. — Father  Buonaparte.  Three-act 
play  by  Charles  Hudson.  This  is  quite  a  one-part  play.  The 
Abb6  Buonaparte  (Wilson  Barrett)  is  a  typical  village  priest, 
venerable,  revered,  and  loved  by  all  his  parishioners.  He  teaches 
the  children,  and  plays  with  them,  mends  their  clothes  even,  has 
the  quaintest  names  for  his  little  ones,  and  watches  over  his  flock 
with  the  deepest  affection.  The  apple  of  his  eye  is  Addle  (Winifred 
Emery),  who  has  been  left  at  his  door  when  a  baby.  He  has 
reared  her,  and  she  is  to  him  a  daughter.  Contentment  and 
happiness  reign  in  the  little  hamlet,  when  General  Morivart 
(Edwin  Irwin)  arrives,  stating  that  by  the  Emperor  Napoleon's 
order  the  Abb6  is  to  be  carried  nolens  volens  to  Paris  to  be  made 
a  bishop.  The  old  Abb6  altogether  refuses  the  elevation  that  his 
nephew  wishes  to  press  upon  him,  but  presently  he  is  made  quite 
miserable,  for  the  Countess  d'Osa  (Frances  Ivor)  comes  to  claim 
Ad^le  as  the  child  that  she  had  deserted  years  before.  There  is 
a  struggle  in  Ad^le's  breast  as  to  whether  she  shall  remain  with 
the  one  who  has  been  a  father  to  her  or  go  to  Paris  and  mix  in 
all  the  gaieties  of  the  capital ;  but  the  decision  is  made  for 
her.  Dr.  F6ndon  (Austin  Melford)  and  Suzette,  a  villager  (Alice 
Cook),  prove  (to  the  satisfaction  of  the  author)  that  she  is  not  the 
Countess's  child,  and  so  Ad^le  is  left  with  the  old  Abb^  and  her 
lover  Stephano  (S.  Miller  Kent,  a  gentleman  who  made  his  first 
appearance  in  England  and  created  a  favourable  impression). 
Wilson  Barrett  was  seen  to  much  advantage.  There  was  a  quiet 
humour  in  some  of  his  scenes  that  was  highly  diverting,  and  the 
pathetic  portions  were  done  the  most  excellent  justice  to.  With 
the  exception  of  a  rustic  waiting-maid,  capitally  played  by  Lillie 
Belmore,  there  is  little  sympathy  or  interest  commanded  in  the 
rest  of  the  characters  which  Mr.  Charles  Hudson  has  introduced. 
It  was  not  the  fault  of  those  who  filled  them  that  they  became 
wearisome. 

19th.  Outbreak  of  fire  at  the  Grand  Theatre,  Cardiff*.  It  was 
quelled  in  about  twelve  minutes,  but  damage  to  the  amount  of 
;^I50  was  done  in  that  time. 

20th.  Lawrence  Barrett,  the  American  actor  who  was  such  a 
favourite  with  English  playgoers  at  the  Lyceum  in  1885,  died  at 
the  Windsor  Hotel,  New  York,  after  a  few  days'  illness. 

2 1  St.  Court. — A  Mutual  Mistake^  a  merry  little  play  by 
W.  H.  Denny,  the  actor,  in  which,  through  a  similarity  of  names, 
the  quarters  of  a  confirmed  woman-hater  are  invaded  by  a  strong- 


58  The  Bookmaker.  [Ma^cm,  1891. 

minded  female,  whom  he  imagines  to  have  come  relative  to  his 
purchase  of  a  yacht,  she  all  the  while  upbraiding  him  for  his  cruel 
conduct  to  a  wife  and  children  that  he  does  not  possess.  The 
trifle  was  humorously  played  by  Susie  Vaughan  (Miss  Letitia 
McGilligan),  by  John  Clulow  (Owen  Smith),  and  by  Charles  Rock 
(John,  a  servant).  On  the  same  evening  the  amended  version  of 
"The  Volcano"  was  submitted  to  the  public.  The  alterations, 
particularly  in  the  close  of  the  second  act,  the  curtain  falling  on 
little  Lord  Ratcliffe  singing  in  his  tiny  voice  "  The  Wolf,"  and 
some  writing  up  of  the  dialogue,  made  the  piece  go  more  briskly 
than  at  the  first  performances. 

23rd.  Comedy. — The  hundredth  performance  of /tf/«^.  Photo- 
graphic souvenirs  of  the  principals  distributed. 

23rd.  Grand. — His  Mother.  Dramatic  sketch  by  G.  D.  Day, 
a  sympathetic  little  play,  in  which  Mrs.  Ernest  Clifton  played 
remarkably  well  as  Mrs.  Summerfield,  a  simple  old  country  lady 
who  would  efface  herself  rather  than  lower  her  son  in  the  world's 
estimation  by  letting  it  be  known  that  he  comes  of  humble 
parentage. 

23  rd.  Death  of  Mrs.  Fred  Leslie,  wife  of  the  celebrated 
comedian. 

23rd.  Grand. — Judah,  by  Henry  Arthur  Jones,  produced. 
Harold  B.  Nelson,  Judah  Llewellyn ;  Claire  Ivanowa,  Vashti 
Dethic ;  J.  F.  Grahame,  Professor  Jopp  ;  Langley  Russell,  Juxon 
Prall ;  J.  B.  Gordon,  Mr.  Dethic ;  Hetty  Williams,  Lady  Eve ; 
Ella  Yorke,  Sophia  Jopp. 

24th.  Terry's  matinee, — Our  Doctors.  Three-act  farcical 
comedy  by  Sir  Randall  H.  Roberts  and  Joseph  Mackay.  This 
play  scarcely  deserved  notice  but  for  the  excellence  of  sonie  of 
the  acting.  The  plot,  if  any,  was  almost  unintelligible,  but  it 
appeared  to  be  intended  as  a  satire  on  the  etiquette  of  the  medical 
profession,  and  to  show  how  easily  a  young  artist  may  pass 
himself  off  as  a  doctor.  H.  V.  Esmond  was  a  merry  rattler  as 
Jack  Worthington,  the  artist,  and  Fred  Kaye  dry  and  humorous 
as  Mr.  Joshua  Morley,  Sybil  Grey  pleasing  as  Lucy  Morley ;  and 
Cicely  Richards  gave  us  one  of  her  successful  portraitures  of  a 
servant  as  Susan. 

2Sth.  Globe. — T/te  Bookmaker.  J.  W.  Pigott's  comedy.  Tke 
Bookmaker  was  revived  August  of  last  year  when  we  saw  it  at 
the  Gaiety,  with  Nat  C.  Goodwin  as  the  good-hearted,  shrewd 
ci'devant  "  bookie  "  ;  Sir  Joseph  Trent,  who  unexpectedly  comes 
into  a  baronetcy  and  a  fortune,  and  who  so  thoroughly  befriends 
Lady  Jessie  Harborough,  and  buys  a  horse  at  a  fabulous  price  for 


March,  xSqx.]  A  Mofith  After  Date.  59 

her,  in  order  that  it  may  win  a  race  and  put  thousands  into  her 

pocket,    thus   enabling  the   man   of  her  choice,  Jack  Carew,  to 

marry  her  and  clear  off,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  the  liabilities 

of  her  father,  the   Earl   of  Harborough,   and   the  objectionable 

attentions  of  Lord   Budleigh.      Further,  Sir  Joseph   frees  Lord 

Maidment  from  the  foolish  marriage  he  had  contracted  when  at 

college   with  "Polly,"  the  adventuress,   by  claiming  her  as  the 

wife   who   had   run    away    from    him    when    she    thought    she 

had  secured  a  greater  "catch,"  and  "bookie,"  like   the  honest, 

generous  fellow  he  is,  behaves  nobly  and  settles  on  her  a  good 

annuity.     I  am  afraid  that  there  are  not  many  such  "  pencillers  " 

in  the  world,  but  Nat  Goodwin,  Edward  Terry,  Arthur  Williams, 

and  George  Barrett  had  all  of  them    made   such   a  character 

possible,  and   Harry  Paulton  was,  taken  altogether,  the  best  of 

all.     Leslie  Bell  was  excellent  as  Polly.     Violet  Raye  was  rather 

amateurish.     Mary  Ansell  was  a  winning  Sybil  Hardwicke  ;  W. 

Farren,  jun.,  an  affable  Earl   of   Harborough,  yet    not  without 

distinction  ;  and  C.  Goold  very  good  as  Bubbles.     J.  W.  Pigott, 

the  author,  who  was  an  efficient  Lord  Budleigh,  was  called  for  at 

the   close    of  the   performance,   which  was  favourably  received. 

On   the   same    evening    was    played    A    Month    After    Date, 

Sylvanus  Dauncey's  comedy- drama,   first   done    in    public    Feb. 

27th,  1888,  at  the  Reading  Theatre.     It  is  a  fairly  amusing  and 

well-written  little  piece,  turning  on  the  trouble  in  which  Frank 

Cliye  is  involved  through  the  non-receipt  of  a  letter.     He  has 

advanced  a  considerable  sum  to  his  mother,  who  has  been  very 

ill,  and  she  has  promised  to  return  it  in  time  to  enable  him  to 

discharge  the  bill  at  the  hotel  at  which  he  and  Mr.  Cumber,  a 

cross-grained  gentleman,  to  whom  he  is  general  factotum,   are 

staying.     Frank  has  made  use  of  the  money  which  Cumber  had 

given  him  to  square  up  with.     The  old  gentleman  makes  himself 

so  disagreeable  to  Whimple,  the  landlord,  that  the  latter  demands 

an  immediate  settlement  of  his  account.     Things  are  thus  looking 

black  for  Frank,  when  Rosy,  the  landlord's  daughter,  to  whom 

he  is  engaged,  comes  to  the  rescue  with  the  long-delayed  letter, 

and  telling  a  little  fib  to  save  her  lover,  says  that  he  had  paid  the 

bill  to  her,  and  that  she  had  forgotten  to  tell  her  father,  whereon 

Cumber,  after  the  manner  of  choleric  old  gentlemen  on  the  stage, 

immediately  settles  a  handsome  sum   on  Frank,   and  says  that 

he    shall   make    him  his    heir.      The   success  of  the  piece  was 

mainly  indebted  to  A.  E.  Drinkwater,  whose  Benjamin  Cumber, 

the  hypochondriac,  is  a  well-drawn   character,  the  peculiarities 

of  which  the  actor  brought  out  to  the   best  advantage.     Mary 


6o  The  Henrietta,  [March,  xSqi. 

Ansell  played  agreeably  as  Rosy,  and  C.  Goold  was  a  gcxxi 
Whimple. 

25th.  Novelty. — Gran-a-Aille,  patriotic  sketch. 

28th.  Avenue. — The  Henrietta,  Mr.  Bronson  Howard  cannot 
write  anything  that  does  not  command  attention,  and  in  the 
present  instance  he  has  once  more  proved  that  he  is  a  past  master 
in  the  art  of  dramatic  construction,  a  litterateur  in  his  diction,  and 
a  delineator  of  character  with  very  few  equals.  He  has  learnt 
the  secret  of  holding  his  audiences  deeply  interested,  while 
throughout  the  play  there  is  a  vein  of  satire — of  good-natured 
satire,  if  you  will — on  the  foibles  of  the  day  that  brings  his  story 
undoubtedly  "  up  to  date."  Human  nature  is  the  same  all  over 
the  world  ;  and  whether  the  pitfalls  of  gambling  are  shown  up 
on  the  green  cloth  at  Monte  Carlo,  or  on  the  Stock  Exchange 
of  London  or  of  New  York,  the  same  sensations  are  aroused,  the 
same  anxiety  is  seen,  and  the  same  ruin  is  wrought  The  third 
act  of  this  most  fascinating  comedy  is  a  play  in  itself,  and  what 
can  be  more  true  to  nature  than  the  close  of  the  second  act.? 
It  was  charming  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  "  The  Henrietta  "  is 
the  name  of  a  mine,  and  out  of  the  history  of  this  property 
is  evolved  a  plot  showing  how  to  the  greed  for  gain  will  some- 
times be  sacrificed  every  family  tie  and  every  feeling  of  honour. 
Old  Nicholas*Vanalstyne  is  the  king  of  speculators  ;  he  commands 
the  market.  He  has  two  sons,  Nicholas  and  Bertie.  The  former 
is  a  mauvais  sujety  and  his  ambition  is  to  depose  his  father  from 
his  high  position  among  financiers  and  rule  in  his  stead  The 
younger  son,  Bertie,  is  a  man  about  town,  and  will  not  take  to 
business.  During  the  temporary  absence  of  his  father,  young 
Nicholas  tries  to  "  bear  "  the  shares  in  the  Henrietta,  and  succeeds 
to  such  an  extent  that  the  elder  Vanalstyne  on  his  return  can 
scarcely  stem  the  torrent,  for  his  hopeful  son  has  even  mortgaged 
the  securities  of  the  firm  to  raise  money  to  compass  his  ends. 
Bertie  is  engaged  to  his  cousin,  Agnes  Lockwood,  a  great  favourite 
with  her  uncle,  who,  when  he  hears  the  young  people  are  going 
to  set  up  housekeeping,  gives  Bertie  a  cheque  for  ;f  100,000 
($500,000).  An  estrangement  has  arisen  between  Bertie  and 
Agnes  through  his  being  suspected  of  having  betrayed  one 
Gertrude  Reynolds.  To  shield  young  Nicholas,  who  is  the  real 
culprit,  and  to  save  his  brother's  wife,  Rose,  from  unhappiness, 
Bertie  permits  himself  to  be  under  the  imputation.  Rose, 
imagining  her  brother-in-law  to  be  an  immoral  man,  tries  to 
keep  her  sister  from  him  ;  but  Agnes  is  true  through  it  all. 
Bertie  takes  it  a  good  deal  to  heart,  however,  and  gambles  away 


March,  1891.  The  Henrietta.  6i 

a  little  of  the  money  that  has  been  given  him,  but,  fortunately, 
has  the  greater  proportion  left  when  his  father  is  put  to  such 
straits.  He  goes  into  the  market  with  it,  and  aided  by  Musgrave, 
the  old  clerk,  and  Watson  Flint,  the  broker,  they  so  operate  that 
in  ten  minutes  the  whole  aspect  of  affairs  is  changed — young 
Nicholas  Vanalstyne's  schemes  are  confounded,  his  honour  is  lost, 
and  his  father  now  knows  his  true  character.  Nicholas  junior 
.has  been  subject  to  heart  disease,  and  the  shock  arising  from  the 
knowledge  of  the  discovery  of  his  ill-deeds  kills  him.  In  the  last 
act,  through  Mrs.  Cornelia  Opdyke,  a  merry  widow,  who  pairs  off 
with  the  elder  Vanalstyne,  Rose  learns  the  truth  about  her  late 
husband  and  Gertrude  Reynolds,  and  so  listens  to  the  pleadings 
of  Dr.  Parke  Wainwright,  who  has  long  been  in  love  with  her ; 
and  Bertie  and  Agnes  are  made  happy.  Lord  and  Lady  Arthur 
Trelawney  and  a  hypocritical  clergyman,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Murray 
Hilton,  make  up  the  cast  and  help  in  the  light  comedy  scenes. 
There  is  a  satire  on  speculation  in  the  fact  that,  after  his  first  lucky 
"  operation,"  Bertie  gets  the  reputation  of  being  a  great  financier, 
for  he  is  always  fortunate,  and  yet  he  is  guided  entirely  by  the 
spinning  of  a  coin — heads  he  buys,  tails  he  sells  !  So  much  for 
skill  in  financing.  Of  the  acting  nothing  but  praise  can  be 
written,  and  W.  H.  Vernon  heads  the  list  with  a  most  artistic 
study  of  the  difficult  rdle  of  the  American  millionaire  who  buys 
a  railway  with  less  excitement  than  a  schoolboy  would  invest  in 
a  "ha'porth  of  toffee."  It  was  a  character  that  needed  exceptionally 
careful  handling,  for,  if  it  had  not  been  interpreted  in  the  manner 
intended  by  the  author,  it  would  have  become  simply  intolerable 
on  the  English  stage.  All  the  more  credit  then  to  Mr.  Vernon  ; 
it  is  a  performance  of  which  any  actor  may  justly  be  proud  ;  and 
it  only  shows  once  again  the  incomprehensible  supineness  of 
London  managers  in  not  having  given  the  public  more  frequent 
opportunities  of  late  years  for  appreciating  such  a  sound  artist. 
Lewis  Waller  as  Vanalstyne  junior  was — Lewis  Waller ;  in 
saying  this  it  will  be  understood  that  the  impersonation  was  an 
excellent  one,  for  Mr.  Waller  is  nothing  if  not  thoroughly  con- 
scientious and  artistic.  J.  L.  Shine  as  the  dude  was  quaintly 
humorous,  and  once  more  gave  evidence  of  painstaking  and 
versatility.  Yorke  Stevens  was  quietly  effective.  Henry  Lee 
acted  in  an  earnestly  incisive  manner,  and  the  other  male  parts 
were  well  filled.  On  an  equality  in  different  lines  were  Florence 
West  and  Fanny  Brough ;  they  never  played  better.  Mary 
Jocelyn  surprised  every  one  by  her  bright  impersonationi  of 
Lady  Trelawney,  and  Marion  Lea  acted  pleasantly.    '      o 


62  Jephthcis  Rash  Vow.  [Ma«ch,  1891. 


During  the  run  of  TA^  Henrietta^  F,  Hamilton-Knight  and 
Bassett  Roe  severally  appeared  as  Watson  Flint 

28th,  Saturday  afternoon,  the  new  Lyceum  Theatre  was 
opened  at  Ipswich,  to  replace  the  old  dingy  and  uncomfortable 
house  in  Tacket  Street  The  site  on  which  the  latter  was  built 
bad  been  occupied  for  many  years  by  playhouses,  the  first  of 
which  was  originally  built  in  1736,  and  opened  Nov.  22nd  of 
that  year  with  Jephthcis  Rash  Vow ;  or^  The  Virgin  Transformed, 
The  street  was  then  known  as  Tankard  Street  Here  it  was 
that  Garrick,  under  the  name  of  Lyddal,  first  appeared,  as 
Aboan  in  Oroonokoy  and  commenced  his  great  career.  A  second 
theatre  was  built,  in  place  of  the  old  one,  in  1803,  ^^^  ^^  ^^ 
boards  almost  every  actor  and  actress  of  note  has  appeared  from 
that  date  down  to  the  closing  of  the  theatre,  which  is  now  the 
property  of  the  Salvation  Army.  A  most  interesting  story  may 
be  written  of  the  old  days  of  this  house,  but  space  forbids,  and  so 
attention  must  be  turned  to  the  new  one.  This  is  built  in  Carr 
Street,  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Walter  Emden,  the  well-known 
architect  Carefully  estimating  the  sum  at  his  command, 
Mr.  Emden  very  wisely  determined  that,  instead  of  expending  a 
great  portion  of  it  on  outside  show,  he  would  make  the  exterior  as 
simple  as  possible  and  have  a  greater  amount  to  lay  out  on  the  more 
valuable  interior.  The  result  has  been  a  thoroughly  comfortable 
theatre,  with  a  holding  capacity  for  1,250.  The  ornamentation  by 
Messrs.  Heighway  and  Depree  is  elegant  and  tasteful,  and  Messrs. 
Harker  have  made  ample  provisions  in  the  event  of  an  outbreak 
of  fire.  The  stage  is  thirty-four  feet  wide  by  twenty-four  feet  deep. 
A  beautiful  act-drop,  representing  "  Gainsborough  Lane  on  the 
Orwell,"  has  been  painted  by  Mr.  Wane,  the  very  clever  artist ;  and 
Mr.  Henry  Emden,  the  excellent  scene-painter,  has  provided  some 
;f  500  worth  of  scenery.  The  architect  has  not  forgotten  the  value 
of  easy  exits,  of  which  there  are  eight,  nor  the  wants  of  the  actors, 
to  whom  he  has  allotted  nine  well-ventilated  and  comfortable 
dressing-rooms.  The  opening  day  will  ever  be  a  memorable  one 
to  those  who  were  present,  for  they  had  the  opportunity  of  hearing 
the  veteran  Mrs.  Keeley  deliver  the  following  address,  written 
expressly  for  her  by  Mr.  Ashby  Sterry  : — 

Mrs,  Keeley ^  first  heard  speaking  outside  : 

"  Thanks,  my  good  man,  I  ought  to  know  the  door ; 
I've  often  been  upon  this  stage  before  1 " 

And  on  reaching  the  stage  she  said : 

"  It's  very  odd  !  It's  strange  1  Beyond  a  doubt 
In  Ipswich  I  should  know  my  way  about !  C^  nkr\r\\o 

Perchance  I've  lost  my  way  1    I  half  susjMt^^  ^^  ^^UUg IC 


March,  x89x.]  Jcphthcls  Rash    VoW.  63 

*Tis  not  the  playhouse  that  I  recollect, 

Where  Gamck  first  appeared,  and  where  were  seen 

Blanchard  and  Bannister,  Incledon  and  Kean,    * 

The  house  whereat— it  seems  but  yesterday — 

I  made  my  first  appearance  in  a  play  ! 

You've  moved  your  house !    Yes,  it  looks  very  nice ; 

I've  moved  a  house  myself— just  once  or  twice  1 

"  The  house  is  changed — more  spacious  and  more  smart — 
But  you  are  just  the  same  in  energy  and  heart 
As  when,  a  girl,  I  ventured  to  express 
My  gratefiil  feelings  in  a  brief  address. 

"  For  in  the  Veteran's  welcome  do  I  hear 
An  echo  of  your  granddad's  hearty  cheer, 
That  thrilled  the  young  recruit  and  made  her  glow 
With  ardour  six-and-sixty  years  ago  ! 

"*Twas  June  the  Nineteenth— Eighteen  Twenty-four ; 
Why,  bless  my  heart,  that  must  have  been  before 
Dear  Pickwidc  to  the  Great  White  Horse  came  down 
And  made  things  lively  in  our  good  old  town, 
Or  Peter  Magnus  prosed,  or  Weller  went  to  search 
For  Job  and  found  him  near  St.  Clement's  Church, 
Ere  Dickens,  my  true  friend  in  after-years, 
Had  lured  your  laughter  and  compelled  your  tear 

"  Then  further  back,  when  baby  songs  were  sung 
When  I  and  this  good  centuiy  were  young, 
The  brightest  pictures  of  my  childhood's  Szys 
Are  Ipswich  people,  Sparrowe'g  house,  and  pla3rs, 
Where  childish  reminiscences  reveal 
A  dream  of  Kemble  and  of  Miss  O'NeilL 

"  And  now  I  heartily  enjoy  to-day 
Dear  Mr.  Terry's  most  amusing  play. 

*'  You  kindly  asked  me  here,  but  goodness  knows, 
You  did  not  ask  me  here  to  come  and  prose 
With  recollections  of  a  bygpne  age. 
Though  *  reminiscence  *  is  just  now  the  rage  1 

**  I've  shaken  Henry  Irving  by  the  hand, 
And  Edmund  Kean's  IVe  clasped,  so  understand 
I  feel  I  hither  come  with  mission  vast, 
A  link  between  the  present  and  the  past. 
Full  of  traditions  of  the  ancient  rule, 
A  warm  admirer  of  the  modem  school. 

•*  I  come  to  wish  you  in  my  brief  address 
Most  heartily  unqualified  success  1 

**  And  so  with  these  two  lines  my  mission  ends. 
The  Veteran  says  good-bye  to  all  her  friends  ; 
Good-bye — but  stop  !  before  we  close  the  scene 
We'll  smg  with  heart  and  voice  *  God  save  the  Queen  I ' " 

The  address  was  delivered  with  all  the  charm  and  natvet^  of  a 
young  actress,  combined  with  ripened  experience  in  elocution, 
which  constant  practice  had  ensured.  There  was  no  trembling  of 
the  voice,  which  was  powerful  and  mellow,  and  every  word  was 
heard  distinctly,  even  at  the  back  of  the  pit  and  gallery.  There 
was  peculiar  interest  attaching  to  the  event,  for  Mrs.  Keeley  was 
born  in  Ipswich  Nov.  22nd,  1805.  She  was  a  Miss  Goward,  and 
under  that  name,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  first  appeared  at  Yarmouth 


64  Killiecrumper.  [March.  1891. 

as  Lucy  Bertram  (the  young  actress  was  originally  intended  to 
follow  the  musical  profession),  and,  after  some  experience,  returned 
to  Ipswich  in  1824,  and  at  the  close  of  a  four  nights'  engagement 
spoke  the  following  lines,  written  for  her  by  Mrs.  Cobbold,  her 
first  and  lifelong  patron  and  friend,  and  with  whose  family  Mrs. 
Keeley  has  ever  been  on  terms  of  the  closest  intimacy  : — 

"  Should  I  attempt  in  language  to  reveal 
The  force,  the  tenderness,  of  alll  feel. 
The  mixed  emotions  utterance  would  subdue, 
And  tears  be  all  that  I  could  give  to  yon. 

"  Yet  something  I  would  say :  would  fain  express 
Such  thoughts  as  grateful  hearts  alone  can  fi[uess ; 
To  speak  mcir  powers,  I  feel  my  own  unable  ! 
Allow  me  then  to  temper  them  with  fable. 

"  The  new-fledged  nightingale,  when  first  she  leaves 
The  thorn  on  which  a  parentis  bosom  heaves. 
Her  fluttering  wing  essayed,  speeds  back  to  rest. 
Trembling  and  panting,  on  the  well-known  nest ; 
There  cherished,  with  renewed  and  strengthened  wing 
^^ain  she  tidces  her  flight  and  tries  to  sing ; 
Then  seeks  the  skies  ;  on  ether  dares  to  float, 
Visits  each  cUme,  improves  each  thrilling  note ; 
But  still  returns  with  gratitude  and  love 
To  wake  the  echoes  of  her  native  grove. 

*•  Though  not  like  Philomers  my  song  be  heard, 
Can  you  not  fancy  me  that  trembling  bird. 
Who,  having  tried  my  early  song  and  flight. 
Seek  on  the  sheltering  nest  again  to  light. 
To  meet  those  fostering  smiles,  for  ever  dear. 
And  grow  in  strength  &om  growing  kindness  here? 

"  If  through  that  kindness  it  be  mine  to  claim, 
Bv  persevering  wing,  the  heights  of  fame. 
Should  I  again  to  these  loved  scenes  belong. 
Matured  in  mind  and  perfected  in  song. 
Oh  !  with  what  transport  would  that  song  be  given 
In  notes  of  grateful  praise  to  you  and  Heaven  ! 

•*  Hope  waves  me  on,  presenting  to  my  view 
Such  blissful  hour  ;  till  then,  adieu  !  adieu  !  " 

Returning  to  the  opening  of  the  Ipswich  Lyceum  Theatre,  Mr. 
Terry's  company  gave  the  first  performance  in  the  house,  and 
appeared  in  Pinero's  farcical  comedy  In  Chancery^  which  was 
well  received.  Mr.  Terry  spoke  a  few  happy  words,  and  Mrs. 
Keeley  led  ofT  the  singing  of  the  National  Anthem,  with  which 
the  proceedings  concluded.  The  new  theatre  is  really  a  boon  to 
Ipswich,  for  managers  of  good  companies  will  now  include  it  in 
the  towns  that  they  visit  when  on  tour. 

28th.  Lyric,  Hammersmith. — The  Sleeping  Beauty^  new  version 
by  Charles  Daly  of  the  fairy  extravaganza. 

28th.  St.  George's  Hall. — Killiecrumper,  by  Malcolm  Watson, 
music  by  Edward  Solomon.  Killiecrumper  possesses  so  much  more 
of  a  plot  than  is  usually  bestowed  on  the  German  Reed  sketches, 


Mabch,  X891.1  Killiecrumper.  65 

that  it  is  entitled  to  rank  as  a  musical  comedietta.  The  Laird  of 
Killiecrumper  (Alfred  German  Reed)  is  a  retired  Glasgow  trades- 
man, who  never  goes  about  without  his  henchman  skirling  his 
pipes  in  front  of  him.  The  keep  of  the  castle  being  supposed  to 
be  haunted,  the  Laird  entrusts  to  its  safe  keeping  his  money- 
bags. The  habitable  part  of  the  mansion  is  rented  of  him  by 
a  widow,  Mrs.  Alexander,  a  wealthy  parvenne  (Fanny  Holland), 
who  has  taken  it  that  she  may  besiege  the  heart  of  the  Duke 
of  Abemethy  (Avalon  CoUard),  a  young,  but  almost  penniless, 
nobleman.  He  has  raised  money  on  certain  bills,  which  the  widow 
has  bought  up  through  her  tool  and  confederate,  Commodore 
Burnett  (A.  Wilkinson)  (commodore  of  the  penny  steamboats, 
for  he  has  no  other  title  to  the  rank).  The  Duke  has  met  Lady 
Muriel  Merrion  (Isabelle  Girardot),  who,  being,  like  himself,  poor, 
has  accepted,  under  the  alias  of  Miss  Seagrave,  the  position  of 
companion  to  Mrs.  Alexander.  The  young  people  fall  in  love 
with  each  other,  and  the  Duke  proposes  and  has  been  accepted, 
when  Mrs.  Alexander  causes  immediate  payment  to  be  demanded 
of  the  overdue  bills.  This  drives  the  Duke  to  despair,  as  it  means 
ruin,  whereas,  if  a  little  time  were  given  him,  he  might  arrange 
matters.  Old  Killiecrumper  has  taken  a  great  interest  in 
the  young  couple,  more  particularly  on  account  of  Muriel's  like- 
ness to  an  old  sweetheart  of  his,  and  when  he  discovers  that  she 
is  actually  the  daughter  of  his  former  love,  he  has  his  strong-box 
brought  out  of  the  keep,  and  from  its  contents  hands  ;£"  10,000  to 
Muriel,  who  bestows  the  money  on  her  lover.  Mrs.  Alexander 
has  to  pay  a  heavy  forfeit  for  not  completing  the  purchase  of 
Killiecrumper  Castle,  and,  being  disappointed  of  her  duke,  pairs 
off  with  her  commodore.  Mr.  Watson's  lyrics  and  dialogue  are 
happy,  poetical,  and  witty  ;  and  his  collaborator  has  supplied  some 
charming  music.  "The  Legend  of  the  Crumper  Keep,"  a 
quartette;  "The  Indigent  She,"  for  Muriel;  "  Bonnie  Scotland," 
a  quintette ;  "  King  and  Duchess,"  duet  for  Mrs.  Alexander  and 
Burnett  (with  a  gavotte) ;  "  Light  upon  Land  and  Sea,"  for  the 
Duke  ;  and  "  The  Pipes,"  for  Killiecrumper,  are  all  excellent  in 
their  various  ways.  Alfred  German  Reed  is  one  of  the  best 
Scotchmen  I  have  seen,  and  the  part  fitted  him  exactly.  Fanny 
Holland  was,  as  she  always  must  be,  most  entertaining,  but  has 
not  the  opportunity  to  shine  as  much  as  usual.  The  little  com- 
pany had  been  much  strengthened  by  the  engagement  of  Isabelle 
Girardot,  who  had  a  pleasing  voice,  which  was  used  to  the  greatest 
advantage  ;  the  young  lady  proved  also  no  mean  actress.  Avalon 
CoUard  is  already  a   favourite,  and  Arthur  Wilkinson  possesses 

S 


66  The  Rocket  cifAireH,  isjt. 


much  quiet  fun.  KiUiecrumper  was  a  decided  success,  and  was 
revived  later  in  the  year.  Mr.  Comey  Grain  also  supplied  a  new 
satirical  musical  sketch,  which  will  be  found  as  acceptable  as  any 
of  his  preceding  ones.  It  was  entitled  Then  and  Now,  and,  as 
may  be  imagined,  compared  society  and  institutions  of  the  past 
with  those  of  the  present,  not  always  to  the  latter's  advantage. 
Old  assembly  rooms  and  old  market  towns,  modem  institutes 
and  modem  M.P.'s,  blue-stockings  and  Girton  girls,  "swells," 
and  masters  of  music  of  years  ago  and  of  to-day  were  all  passed 
in  review,  and  illustrated  by  witty  songs  and  delicious  parodies, 
any  one  of  which  was  a  feast  in  itself,  but  of  which  "  The  Old 
Fireside  at  Home  "  and  a  caf^  chantant  song  were  perhaps  the 
most  amusing. 

28th.  Lyceum. — Revivals  of  The  Bells  and  The  King  and  the 
MilUr. 

29th.  Death  of  Sophie  Miles,  a  well-known  actress. 

30th.  Terry's  (revival). —  The  Rocket.  The  Chevalier  Walkin- 
shaw  is  reckoned  as  one  of  the  best  of  Edward  Terry's  amusing 
impersonations.  He  does  not  exaggerate  the  character  of  the 
mean-spirited,  boastful  scamp,  who  preys  upon  his  future  son- 
in-law,  affects  to  be  the  soul  of  honour  whilst  he  is  a  regular 
cheat,  and  to  be  devoted  to  the  silly  widow  whom  he  wishes  to 
marry  for  her  money  while  he  has  a  wife  yet  living.  Mr.  Terry, 
therefore,  did  well  in  reviving  A.  W.  Pinero's  farcical  comedy 
The  Rocket,  which  was  originally  produced  at  the  Prince  of  Wales's, 
Liverpool,  July  30th,  1883,  and  brought  to  London  to  the 
Gaiety  on  Dec.  loth  of  the  same  year,  with  great  success, 
the  Chevalier's  expression,  "  What  a  mess  I'm  in ! "  becoming  a 
popular  phrase.  The  dialogue  is  full  of  wit  and  humour,  and  the 
plot  cleverly  worked  out.  In  a  few  words,  the  Chevalier  is  really 
named  Mable ;  he  has  been  entrusted  with  the  care  of  a  young 
girl,  Florence  (Eleanor  Leyshon),  by  his  brother  John  Mable  (Ian 
Robertson).  The  Chevalier  has  tried  to  make  of  her  a  decoy,  but 
she  has  remained  a  charming,  ingenuous  gprl,  and  so  has  won  the 
affection  of  Jocelyn  Hammersmith  (Philip  Cuningham).  Through 
this  engagement  the  Chevalier  gains  an  introduction  to  the  mother. 
Lady  Hammersmith  (Sophie  Larkin),  a  silly,  gushing  widow ;  and 
she  agrees  to  elope  with  him,  as  she  is  rather  afraid  of  her  son. 
She  takes  with  her  for  propriety's  sake  her  friend  Rosaline  Fabre- 
quette  (Adrienne  Dairolles),  who  is  encouraging  the  attentions  of 
an  idle  young  nobleman,  Lord  I-eadenhall  (H.  V.  Esmond),  Rosa- 
line imagining  that  the  Chevalier,  her  husband,  who  has  deserted 
her,  is  dead.     Her  recognition  of  him  upsets  all  the  Chevalier's 


March,  i89x.]  Robirtsoft  Crusoe,  Esq,  6y 

schemes,  and  reduces  him  to  a  state  of  most  abject,  but  irresistibly 
comic,  misery.  H.  V.  Esmond  was  a  new  and  clever  type  of  the 
idle  swell,  Philip  Cuningham  a  manly  young  fellow,  honest,  straight- 
forward, and  courteous,  Robert  Soutar  excellent  as  a  French  hotel 
waiter ;  Sophie  Larkin  was  of  course  exactly  suited  as  the  widow, 
and  Adrienne  Dairolles  equally  so  as  the  piquante  Rosaline. 

30th.  Chelsea  Barracks. — Robinson  Crusoe,  Esq,  A  very  amusing 
book  by  William  Yardley,  and  bright  and  lively  music  by  Edward 
Solomon ;  and  the  two  acts  were  gone  through  in  a  manner  that 
rivalled  the  house  where  the  sacred  lamp  of  burlesque  still  burns 
so  brilliantly.  The  title  rdle  was  taken  by  Major  F.  C.  Ricardo, 
singer,  dancer,  and  actor  combined,  and  excellent  in  each  branch. 
As  his  rival.  Will  Atkins,  we  had  Lieutenant  G.  Macdonal,  a  bom 
low  comedian,  who  also  can  do  his  steps  and  sing  a  good  song. 
Then  Lieutenant  G.  Nugent  came  to  the  front  again  as  Paul  Prior, 
"  special  correspondent "  and  detective — a  man  who  in  his  time 
plays  many  parts  and  assumes  innumerable  disguises ;  who  can 
foot  it  as  nimbly  as  Lonnen  ;  can  gag  and  introduce  "  business  " 
as  well  almost  as  Arthur  Roberts,  whose  method  he  adopts ;  and 
who  keeps  his  audience  in  a  roar.  Lieutenant  F.  G.  Ponsonby  was 
a  cheery,  humorous  old  Ben  Bolt,  Lieutenant  H.  Crompton  Roberts  a 
coquettish  middle-aged  lady,  with  a  distinct  appreciation  of  fun, 
as  Mrs.  Crusoe;  and  behind  none  of  these  in  merit  was  Corporal 
Christian,  as  the  dancing  man  Friday.  Lieutenant  Glynn  gave  us  a 
nautical  hero  in  Lieutenant  Luff;  and  Private  R.  M'Greevy  was 
the  drollest  of  birds  as  Crusoe's  cockatoo.  The  question  of  long 
or  short  skirts  must  now  be  decided,  for  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  most  graceful  and  intricate  pas  may  be  executed  with 
even  greater  attraction  in  the  longer  dress.  Mrs.  C.  Crutchley  as 
Polly  Hopkins,  the  Misses  M.  and  K.  Savile  Clarke,  and  the 
exquisite  grace  they  exhibited,  especially  in  a  valse  composed  for 
them  by  Lionel  Monckton,  took  the  audience  by  storm  and  were 
the  talk  of  "society."  They  represented  the  most  exquisite 
pink  carnations.  Mrs.  H.  Colvile  was  a  beauteous  Lady  Vere  de 
Vere,  and  we  had  lovely  fisher  maidens,  who  also  danced  a  most 
perfect  measure,  in  Miss  Savile  Clarke  and  her  fair  companions, 
Mrs.  Wolton  and  Misses  Briscoe,  Chetwynd,  and  Davis,  who 
appeared  as  Lily  of  the  Valley,  Fern,  Daffodil,  and  Neapolitan 
Violet.  The  mounting  of  the  piece  was  charming  ;  the  pretty 
scenery  had  been  painted  by  the  Hon.  Arnold  Keppel  (Viscount 
Bury)  ;  and  Willie  Warde  had  worked  wondrous  effects  with  such 
a  small  stage.  The  costumes  and  dresses,  supplied  by  Charles 
Fox,  were  poems.  Digitized  by  Google 


68  LEfifant  Prodigue,  [March,  1891. 


30th.  Grand. — Revival  of  The  Pharisee^  three-act  play  by 
Malcolm  Watson  and  Mrs.  Lancaster  Wallis,  the  latter  as  Kate 
Landon  ;  Elwood,  Lord  Helmore  ;  E.  Gumey,  Geoffrey  Landon ; 
J.  G.  Taylor,  Captain  James  Darrell ;  S.  Herberte- Basing,  Mr. 
Pettifer  ;  Gerald  Gurney,  Graham  Maxwell  ;  Frederick  Jacques, 
Brook  ;  Emily  Miller,  Miss  Maxwell ;  Louisa  Peach,  Maude  ; 
Edie  King,  Katie  ;  Miss  Ashwell,  Martin. 

31st.  Prince  of  Wales's.  First  of  a  series  of  fnatinies. 
V Enfant  Prodigue. — V Enfant  Prodigue  proved  one  of  the  greatest 
attractions  in  London.  The  "  musical  play  without  words,"  written 
by  Michel  Carr^,  fils,  for  some  two  and  a  half  hours  holds  its  audience 
interested  and  moved  alternately  to  laughter  and  tears,  though  it 
must  be  admitted  that  the  effect  is  produced  as  much  by  the 
skilful  wedding  of  the  music  to  the  action,  and  for  which  so 
much  credit  must  be  given  to  Andr^  Wormser,  who  presided  at 
the  piano  at  the  initial  performance,  the  full  orchestra  being 
conducted  by  John  Crook.  The  story  of  L Enfant  Prodigue  is 
the  simple  one  of  a  young  fellow  so  mad  with  love  that  he  can 
neither  rest,  eat,  nor  sleep.  It  is  only  a  worthless,  pretty  little 
laundress  for  whom  he  feels  this  insane  passion  ;  but  to  gratify  it, 
and  induce  the  girl  to  run  away  with  him,  he  robs  his  old  father 
and  mother  while  they  sleep.  He  and  his  companion  go  to  Paris 
and  lead  a  life  of  extravagance  which  soon  brings  the  lad  to  the 
end  of  his  resources ;  so  he  cheats  at  cards  to  replenish  them,  and 
when  he  returns  with  his  spoil  it  is  to  find  that  his  enslaver  has 
left  him  for  a  rich  baron.  In  the  third  act  the  prodigal  son 
returns  home,  starving.  His  mother,  who  has  prayed  that  he  may 
be  restored  to  her,  receives  him  with  open  arms  ;  but  the  elder 
Pierrot,  his  father,  cannot  forgive  the  dishonour  he  has  brought 
upon  them  all,  and  for  the  wrinkles  his  conduct  has  marked  on 
the  loved  face  of  his  dear  old  mother.  Martial  strains  are  heard 
in  the  street — an  inspiration  comes  to  the  lad  ;  he  will  redeem  his 
past  on  the  battlefield  ;  and  so  the  scene  closes.  The  burden  of 
the  play  falls  on  Jane  May.  Her  pretty  features  are  whitened, 
and  she  wears  a  black  skull  cap,  as  Pierrot  junior  (the  prodigal). 
She  goes  through  all  the  alternations  of  listlessness,  the  heat  and 
passion  of  boyish  love,  the  agony  of  shame  at  his  own  baseness, 
despair  at  the  loss  of  the  girl  who  has  bewitched  him,  and  the 
remorse  of  the  repentant  return  home,  which  were  all  exquisitely 
rendered.  There  were  some  delightfully  comic  touches  introduced, 
such  as  when  writing  a  frenzied  love-letter,  or  in  catching  a 
buzzing  fly  that  disturbs  his  mistress's  slumber.  Equal  to  this 
acting  was  that  of  M.  Courtes,  the  original  Pierrot  senior.      First 


March,  i89i.]  RomeO   Ofld  Juliet,  69 


his  comfort  at  home,  then  his  love  for  his  boy  and  horror  at  the 
discovery  of  the  theft  and  desertion,  and  lastly  the  devotion  to 
his  partner  of  so  many  years,  were  expressed  as  plainly  as  though 
spoken.  He  was  ably  assisted  by  Madame  Schmidt  as  Madame 
Pierrot,  the  tender,  loving  mother  and  fond  wife.  The  Baron 
was  humorously  rendered  by  Louis  Gouget  (one  of  the  original 
cast).  Phrynette,  the  beautiful,  seductive  girl  who  lures  the  lad 
to  his  ruin,  was  allotted  to  Francesca  Zanfretta,  who  looked  hand- 
some enough  to  tempt  St  Anthony ;  but  it  was  only  at  times 
that  her  pantomime  was  as  good  as  that  of  her  companions.  The 
servant  even  was  most  expressively  rendered  by  Jean  Arcueil 
(the  original),  a  gentleman  of  colour,  who  had  previously  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  a  French  version  of  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin. 
The  piece  was  a  genuine  success,  and  all  concerned  in  it  richly 
deserved  the  calls  bestowed  on  them.  The  thanks  of  the 
community  are  due  to  Mr.  Sedger  for  providing  such  an  in- 
tellectual treat  Numbers  of  our  own  actors  and  actresses  could 
well  profit  by  learning  from  this  French  company  how  thoroughly 
every  emotion  may  be  expressed  without  a  word  being  uttered. 

U Enfant  Prodigue  was  placed  in  the  evening  bill  on  April  1 8th. 
A  touring  company  was  sent  out,  and  the  piece  was  received  with 
favour  in  the  provinces.  The  company  consisted  of  the  following, 
who  appeared  at  the  Grand  Theatre,  Islington,  for  a  fortnight, 
dating  from  Sept.  2ist,  1891,  and  of  these  it  may  be  said  that 
Charlotte  Raynard  had  a  charming  method  of  her  own,  whether 
in  her  playful  or  pathetic  moods,  as  Pierrot  junior ;  Eugenie 
Bade  had  a  sweet  face  and  sympathetic  manner  as  Madame 
Pierrot ;  and  M.  de  Gasperi  possessed  great  originality  in  his 
treatment  of  the  elder  Pierrot  I  would  not  wish  to  see  a 
better  or  prettier  Phrynette  than  Paula  Lemeire,  she  was  so  de- 
lightfully coquettish.  Her  scene  with  the  Baron  (well  played  by 
Martin  Virgile)  went  splendidly. 

31st  Lyceum  (revival). — Much  Ado  About  Nothing. 

31st  Romeo  and  Juliet  was  being  performed  at  the  Manchester 
Cathedral  Schools,  when  T.  W.  Whalley,  who  was  playing 
Mercutio,  was  supposed  to  have  burst  a  blood-vessel,  but  it  was 
found  that  a  sword  used  in  the  Tybalt  and  Mercutio  scene  had 
inflicted  such  a  severe  wound  that  he  died  on  his  way  to  the 
hospital. 


Digitized  by  LjOOQ IC 


70  The  School  Jor  Scandal.  [ArRimsgi. 


IV. 

April. 

I  St.  Criterion  (revival). — The  School  for  Scandal.     Charles 
Wyndham  "  Criterion ised  "  Sheridan's  play.     By  this  I  mean  that 
he  made  it,  as  he  thinks,  more  acceptable  to  the  patrons  of  his 
theatre.     He  condensed  the  whole  of  the  action  into  six  scenes. 
Two  of  the  original  ones,  which  used  to  be  represented  in  **  Lady 
Sneerwell's  dressing-room"  and  "a  room  in   Sir  Peter  Teazle's 
house,"  were  represented   in  "  The   Mall,  St    James's,"    a    very 
beautiful  open-air  picture.     The  scene  between  Trip  and  Moses 
(which  was  a  clever  satire  on  valets  aping  the  foibles  of  their 
masters)  was  cut  out  altogether.     An  improvement  was  made  in 
the  dining-room  scene,  where  Charles  Surface  sells  the  pictures  of 
his  ancestors,  for  all  the  guests  were  present  at  the  auction,  and 
imparted  life  and  animation  to  the  sale.     At  Lady  Sneerwell's 
(Act  IL)  a  pavane  was  danced  by  extra  guests,  not  by  the  characters 
in  the  play,  which  would  have  been  better  appreciated,  gracefully 
as  the  dancers  acquitted  themselves.     Some  of  the  speeches  were 
transposed.  The  piece  had  been  very  handsomely  dressed,  though 
whether  the  gentlemen  should    wear    swords   will   probably   be 
questioned,  as  the  date  of  the  comedy  is   1777,  and  the  date  at 
which  the  events  are  supposed  to  take  place  is  fixed  by  reference 
to  the  "  Pantheon  "  in  the  play.     The  present  generation  of  play- 
goers may  approye  all  this,  but  I  do  not  altogether  hold  that  the 
changes  are  warranted.     Certainly  on  the  first  night  of  represen- 
tation under  its  remodelled  form   The  School  for  Scandal  did  not 
go  briskly ;  in  fact,  until  the  dining-room  scene  it  seemed  almost 
oppressive:  then  things  improved.     William  Farren  is  admitted 
to  be,  taken   altogether,  the   best  Sir  Peter   we    have ;  Charles 
Wyndham's  Charles  Surface  is  buoyant,  and  in  the  right  spirit  of 
comedy ;  the   Sir  Oliver  of  H.    H.  Vincent  left  nothing  to  be 
desired  ;  Cyril  Maude  was  excellent  as  the  foppish  poetaster  Sir 
Benjamin  Backbite,  though  under  the  Criterion  regime  his  lampoons 
are   treated   as  though  boring  his  company  instead  of  amusing 
them.     George  Giddens  was  a  happy  jovial  Careless,  and  sang 
"  Here's  to  the  Maiden  "  in  the  right  vein.     S.  Valentine  made  of 
Moses  a  good  character  sketch,  without  buffooning  the  part  as  is 
so  frequently  done.     William  Blakeley,  Miss  Victor,  and  Miss 
Fitzroy   were    all    wanting   in    distinction.      Arthur    Bourchier's 
Joseph  Surface  was  an  attempt  at  an  original  reading  which  the 


A»Mi,x89x.i  Linda  Grey.  yi 

actor  had  evidently  not  the  power  to  carry  out.  Mary  Moore 
was  a  gentle  loving  Maria,  but  intensely  melancholy.  Mrs. 
Bernard  Beere  was  only  worthy  of  herself  in  the  screen  scene ; 
there  she  was  impressive  and  moving,  but  elsewhere  we  had  no 
reminiscence  of  her  former  country  life,  nothing  of  even  the 
remotest  allusion  to  the  bright  and  unsophisticated  worker  of 
samplers  and  player  of  backgammon.  Mrs.  Bernard  Beere  was 
what  Sir  Peter  describes  her — a  woman  of  fashion,  and  nothing 
more.  During  Mary  Moore's  illness  her  part  was  played  by 
Ellaline  Terriss. 

4th.  Ladbroke  Hall. — Kissing  Cup's  Race,  comedy  drama  in 
four  acts  adapted  by  Campbell  Rae  Brown  from  his  own  piece  for 
recitation.  Kathleen  and  Lena  Dene,  sisters  of  Dorothy  Dene, 
made  their  dibut. 

4th.  Drury  Lane. — Last  night  of  the  pantomime  Beauty  and 
the  Beast, 

4th.  Eldward  Sennett  died  suddenly  while  playing  Captain 
Fairbrace  at  the  Dewsbury  Theatre. 

6th.  Kilburn  Town  Hall. —  The  Golden  Bait,  original  three-act 
comedy  by  H.  C.  Lunn. 

6th.  Gaiety. — Herr  Meyer  Lutz  gave  his  annual  matinie. 
The  usual  attractive  programme,  assisted  in  by  many  of  the  best- 
known  actors  and  actresses,  secured,  with  the  esteem  in  which  the 
binSficiaire  is  held,  a  crammed  house.  The  occasion  is  noticed 
more  particularly  as  Nellie  Farren  made  her  last  public  appearance 
in  England  prior  to  her  departure  for  Australia,  and  played  Nan 
in  Good  for  Nothings  and  also  sang  the  "  Street  Arab "  song. 
Arthur  Playfair  gave  some  extraordinary  imitations  of  living 
actors. 

7th.  Avenue  (revival). — My  Lady  Help,  by  Arthur  Macklin. 
Florence  West  in  her  original  character  of  Lady  Eva  Desborough ; 
Lewis  Waller  as  Jack  Desborough ;  F.  Hamilton-Knight,  Benjamin 
Pennygrass. 

8th.  Princess's. — Linda  Grey,  by  the  late  Sir  Charles  Young. 
This  play  was  originally  produced  at  the  Royal,  Margate,  on 
Tuesday,  June  9th,  1885,  and  was  then  in  four  acts.  The  author 
appeared  zs  Victor  Broughton ;  Mr.  Francis  Hawley  as  the  brother, 
Sir  Dennis ;  Mr.  Edward  O'Neil  as  Lord  Parkhurst ;  Mr.  Fred 
Eastman  as  Jay.  Miss  M.  Caldwell  (now  appearing  at  the  Court) 
played  the  part  of  Stephanie,  known  as  Lady  Broughton  in  the 
present  cast  The  title  rdle  was  filled  by  Lady  Monckton,  who 
toured  with  the  piece  and  made  a  considerable  success  in  her 
part.     The  play  is  of  the  melodramatic  order,  and,  as  may  be 


72  Linda  Grey,  [ApRiL,x8gi. 

gathered  from  the  title,  the  interest  centres  greatly  in  the  heroine. 
The  first  act  opens  near  Broughton  Towers  (a  woodland  set  of 
considerable  beauty),  and  there  we  find  that  Lady  Broughton  does 
not  care  for  her  husband,  Sir  Dennis,  but  has  been  for  a  long  time 
infatuated  with  Lord  Parkhurst,  a  rou^.  His  notorious  character 
has  at  length  opened  her  eyes  to  his  worthlessness,  and  she  almost 
hates  him.  Sir  Dennis  has,  though  a  younger  son,  inherited 
Broughton  Towers.  His  uncle,  from  whom  the  property  came, 
thought  it  advisable  that  he  and  his  elder  brother  Victor  should 
travel.  They  accordingly  went  to  America  as  a  starting-place 
for  a  tour  of  the  world.  Victor  is  supposed  to  have  been  an 
impulsive  young  fellow  and  fond  of  high  play.  He  and  his 
brother  meet  Lord  Parkhurst,  and  they  are  companions  for  some 
time,  when,  in  one  of  his  wild  freaks,  Victor  leaves  them  to  run 
off  to  San  Francisco.  There  he  falls  in  love  with  a  beautiful 
actress,  Linda  Grey,  and  marries  her.  Suddenly  he  is  recalled  to 
his  brother  at  New  Orleans.  There  he  is  introduced  to  one 
Salvado,  a  man  notorious  for  high  play.  Victor  wins  from  him 
large  sums  of  money,  but  the  next  night,  when  giving  him  his 
revenge,  he  loses  heavily,  and  discovers  that  his  opponent  is 
cheating  him.  Victor  immediately  taxes  Salvado  with  the  crime. 
Salvado  takes  a  high  hand,  and  demands  the  eleven  thousand  dollars 
which  Victor  has  lost.  The  latter  goes  to  his  hotel  to  get  the 
money,  and  taking  it  to  Salvado*s  house,  is  ushered  into  a  room, 
and  there  finds  that  Salvado  has  been  murdered  with  a  blow  from 
a  very  fine  stiletto.  As  he  is  leaving  the  negro  servant  seizes 
him,  and  he  is  handed  over  to  the  police,  and  eventually  convicted 
of  murder,  the  sheath  of  the  stiletto,  which  was  known  to  have 
been  his,  having  been  found  near  the  dead  man's  body.  The 
prison  in  which  he  is  confined  takes  fire,  and  he  and  Zed  Jay 
escape,  though  their  charred  remains  were  supposed  to  be  found. 
Thus  Sir  Dennis  comes  into  the  property,  and  we  learn  almost  all 
this  in  the  first  act,  though  Victor  recounts  it  again  later.  Victor 
has  entrusted  when  in  prison  a  letter  for  his  wife  to  Lord 
Parkhurst,  so  when  he  and  Linda  Grey,  now  known  as  Mrs. 
Colmore,  a  great  London  actress,  meet,  the  conversation  turning 
on  how  Sir  Dennis  came  into  the  property,  the  nobleman,  who 
has  conceived  a  passion  for  her,  gives  it  to  her  as  a  curiosity  to 
read.  Up  to  that  time  she  believed  her  husband  had  deserted 
her ;  but  as  his  letter  is  couched  in  terms  of  undying  affection  for 
her,  she  declares  his  innocence,  and  determines,  though  of  course 
she  hears  of  his  having  been  burnt  to  death  in  the  fire  at  the 
prison,   that  she   will  endeavour   to  clear  his  memory Cffd^CLhe 


April,  x89i.)  Unda  Grey,  73 

crime.  With  this  view,  as  Lord  Parkhurst  has  been  a  companion 
of  her  late  husband's,  she  to  a  certain  extent  in  the  second  act, 
which  takes  place  at  her  house  in  London,  encourages  his  attentions, 
having  been  warned  of  his  true  character  by  Lady  Broughton. 
Victor  and  Zed,  his  humble  follower,  have  found  their  way  to 
England,  and  have  visited  Broughton  Towers,  and  Victor  has 
become  interested  in  this  Mrs.  Colmore,  of  whom  he  has  caught 
only  a  passing  glance.  The  third  act  takes  place  in  a  London 
garret.  Victor,  anxious  to  learn  more  of  this  Mrs.  Colmore,  goes 
to  the  theatre  to  see  her  play.  As  she  is  coming  out  in  company 
with  Lord  Parkhurst  he  recognises  her  as  his  wife,  and  rushing 
forward  to  speak  to  her,  is  knocked  down  by  the  horses.  She 
traces  the  injured  man  through  Zed,  with  whom  he  lives,  and 
coming  to  proffer  help,  recognises  Victor ;  and  the  curtain  falls 
on  a  fairly  strong  situation.  In  Act  IV.  Victor  has  been  removed 
to  his  wife's  house,  and  Zed  is  installed  as  her  manservant  He  is 
a  valuable  witness  as  to  the  murder  in  one  sense.  Linda  has 
inquired  of  her  husband  whether  any  other  person  was  in  Salvado's 
company  the  night  the  crime  was  committed.  Victor  has  learned 
from  Zed  that  shortly  before  the  latter  had  seen  Salvado  pass 
with  a  man  whose  face  he  should  not  be  able  to  recognise,  but 
he  should  the  voice,  which  he  heard  utter,  "  Only  give  me  time ! " 
A  parcel  <:ontaining  some  sketches  has  to  be  opened.  Lord 
Parkhurst  has  no  knife,  no  scissors  are  at  hand,  and  so  he  takes 
from  his  waist  belt  a  stiletto,  which  Linda  recognises  as  one  that 
she  had  given  to  Victor,  and  the  sheath  belonging  to  which  was 
the  evidence  that  caused  him  to  be  convicted.  She  is  now 
persuaded  that  Lord  Parkhurst  committed  the  crime,  but  how  to 
make  him  confess  it.^  She  plays  a  desperate  game.  In  the  last 
act  she  has  invited  him  to  a  tite-d-tite  supper  unknown  to  Victor. 
Zed,  who  is  jealous  of  his  benefactor's  honour,  though  dismissed 
from  any  further  attendance,  conceals  himself  behind  the  curtain. 
It  should  be  mentioned  that  Salvado  bore  the  reputation  of  a 
notorious  libertine,  who  stopped  at  nothing  to  compass  his  ends. 
Linda  leads  Lord  Parkhurst  to  suppose  that  she  had  been 
Salvado's  victim,  and  that  she  would  reward  with  her  love  the 
man  who  had  killed  him.  Then  Lord  Parkhurst  reveals  himself 
as  the  murderer,  recounts  the  events  of  the  evening — ^how  he 
owed  Salvado  a  large  sum  of  money,  which  his  creditor  was 
relentless  in  claiming — and  uses  the  very  words  he  had  then  used : 
**Give  me  time."  These  are  overheard  by  Zed  and  by  Victor, 
who  is  also  in  ambush.  They  rush  out  and  confront  Lord 
Parkhurst,  who  sees  that  he  has  been  trapped,  and  the  curtain 


74  Unda   Gr^.  [April,  1891. 

falls.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  prominence  of  the  character 
of  Linda  Grey  throughout  the  piece  must  have  induced  Mrs. 
Langtry  to  accept  the  late  Sir  Charles  Young's  play,  which  is 
crude,  unsympathetic,  and  none  too  interesting.  The  interest  of 
the  story  lies  in  the  past,  and  we  have  that  story  told  and  retold 
so  frequently  that  we  become  positively  as  weary  of  it  as  we  do 
of  the  mention  of  Salvado's  name,  which  is  so  constantly  cropping 
up.  The  only  real  cleverness  displayed  by  the  author  in  the 
construction  is  that  he  keeps  his  secret  well,  almost  to  the  last, 
as  to  who  really  committed  the  murder,  and  there  is  absolute 
daring  in  Lady  Broughton's  open  confession  to  her  husband  of 
her  intrigue  with  Lord  Parkhurst,  in  order  to  rouse  some  manly 
spirit  in  Sir  Dennis  Broughton  and  so  avenge  her  on  the  lover  who 
has  tired  of  her.  It  was  an  early  work  of  the  author,  who,  after 
all,  except  in  Jim  the  Penman^  displayed  but  little  dramatic 
strength.  It  would  be  difficult  under  any  circumstances  to  work 
such  a  play  as  Linda  Grey  into  a  London  success,  and  Mrs. 
Langtry  does  not  possess  that  power  and  intensity  that  can 
dominate  an  audience  and  raise  the  heroine  into  a  character  of 
absorbing  interest  Mrs.  Langtry  is  beautiful,  dresses  to  per- 
fection— her  gowns  in  this  production  were  in  the  most  exquisite 
taste — and  she  can  be  winning  and  seductive  at  times,  but  here 
her  capabilities  end,  and  though  the  actress  had  her  happy 
moments,  yet  as  a  whole  the  performance  was  disappointing. 
Bernard  Gould  did  not  give  one  the  idea  of  a  high-spirited, 
hot-tempered  gentleman  as  Victor  Broughton ;  his  hastiness 
degenerated  into  ill-nature,  and  he  was  much  wanting  in  the 
romance  that  should  accompany  the  character.  Still  he  was 
earnest  in  his  endeavours,  if  not  altogether  successful.  For 
Herbert  Standing  as  Lord  Parkhurst  great  consideration  should 
be  felt.  He  is  a  strong  actor  in  the  "  polished  villain's  "  parts. 
He  had  on  this  occasion  to  bear  in  mind  the  relative  strength  of 
those  with  whom  he  was  playing,  and  was  to  a  certain  extent 
fettered  by  their  weakness,  and  could  not,  therefore,  let  himself 
go.  With  all  this,  he  acted  remarkably  well,  and  was  unconven- 
tional in  a  conventional  part.  The  character  of  Sir  Dennis 
Broughton  is  such  an  eminently  despicable  one  that  E.  B.  Norman 
could  not  do  much  with  it,  though  he  contrived  to  show  what 
a  mean-spirited,  miserly  creature  the  baronet  is.  Zed  Jay,  the 
grateful  ci-devant  thief  and  impostor,  was  played  with  finish  and 
humour  by  Fred  Everill.  S.  H.  Lechmere  as  the  gamekeeper, 
Ashby,  did  not  convey  the  impression  of  a  man  accustomed  to 
the  woods,  but  rather  that  of  an  East  End  bird-fancier.     As  Lady 


April,  1891.]  Mofiey.  75 

Broughton,  clever  May  Whitty  did  her  best  to  give  some  point  to 
the  character,  and  succeeded  so  far  as  was  possible ;  and  in  her 
one  opportunity,  where  Lady  Broughton  avowed  her  infidelity, 
rose  to  the  occasion  most  successfully.  Priscilla  Royal,  who  is 
supposed  to  be  a  devoted  American  friend  of  Linda  Grey's,  and 
who  tyrannises  over  her  complaisant  lover  Captain  Beaufort,  was 
made  fairly  amusing  by  Laura  Linden  ;  but  the  American  accent 
was  frequently  forgotten  altogether.  E.  Maurice  gave  us  the 
usual  vapid,  good-tempered  officer  as  Captain  Beaufort  Ethel 
Hope  played  naturally  as  the  lady's-maid,  Jane,  and  the  minor 
parts  of  Dean  and  Wilson  were  satisfactorily  filled  by  Messrs. 
Kingscote  and  Hubert  Druce.  Although  there  were  no  absolute 
expressions  of  disapproval  on  the  fall  of  the  curtain,  the  reception 
of  Linda  Grey  was  but  lukewarm  by  a  certainly  friendly  audience. 
Linda  Grey  was  produced  at  the  Fourteenth  Street  Theatre, 
New  York,  by  Henrietta  Chanfrau,  Sept.  20th,  1886,  under  the 
title  of  The  Scapegoat^  and  was  a  failure.  It  only  ran  in  London 
until  April  17th. 

9th.  Terry's  (first  time  in  London). — The  Baby,  a  sketch  by 
Lady  Violet  Greville,  gave  satisfaction,  for  it  was  a  merry  trifle, 
the  fun  arising  from  a  young  father  hypnotising  for  crying  his 
first  baby,  and  finding  himself  unable  for  some  time  to  restore  it 
again.     H.  V.  Esmond  was  very  amusing  in  the  part. 

9th.  Vaudeville. — Money.  In  the  revival  of  Money  at  the 
Vaudeville  the  scene  which  goes  best  is  the  one  between  Graves 
and  Lady  Franklin,  so  often  given  as  an  incidental  feature  of 
a  benefit  performance.  The  illustration  of  the  merry  widow's 
influence  over  the  dismal  widower  has  no  doubt  a  tendency  to 
develop  into  a  kind  of  "  variety  "  duologue  ;  but  its  present  ex- 
ponents, Mr.  Thomas  Thorne  and  Miss  Kate  Phillips,  certainly 
afforded  in  their  very  laughter-moving  performance  ample  excuse 
for  their  departure  from  the  strict  lines  of  high  comedy.  Mr. 
Conway,  who  played  Evelyn  at  the  memorable  Haymarket  revival 
in  1 880,  again  acquitted  himself  very  creditably  of  a  difficult  task  in 
throwing  earnest  conviction  into  the  delivery  of  the  stilted  dialogue 
thought  so  beautiful  half  a  century  ago ;  whilst  as  Clara  Douglas 
Miss  Dorothy  Dorr,  though  inclined  to  put  into  the  part  more 
tragic  emotion  than  it  would  hold,  fully  confirmed  the  favourable 
impression  of  her  powers  which  she  created  in  Diamond  Deane. 
Mr.  F.  Thome's  breezy  method  lacked  the  finish  needed  for  Sir 
John  V€&^y ;  but  Mr.  Elwood  as  Smooth  and  Mr.  Righton  as 
Stout  were  both  capitally  placed,  and  gave  useful  help  to  what 
promised  to  be  a  reproduction  of  the  comedy  hardly  less  popular 


76  The  School  for  Scandal.  cAPFiL.1891. 


than  that  given  here  in  1882.  Lawrence  d'Orsay  was  the  Sir 
Frederick  Blount.  F.  Grove  during  the  run  appeared  as  Sir 
John  Vesey,  Lord  Glossmore,  and  Sharpe. 

nth.  Drury  Lane. — Ifs  Never  Too  Late  to  Mend.  This 
revival  saw  Charles  Warner  again  in  the  part  of  Tom  Robinson, 
one  that  is  always  grateful  to  the  public.  Kate  Maccabe  as 
Josephs  was  sympathetic,  but  *her  voice  was  not  well  controlled. 
The  Isaac  Levi  of  Henry  Loraine  elicited  much  approval,  and 
Mark  Quinton  appealed  strongly  to  his  audience  as  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Eden.  Harry  Fisher  elaborated  the  part  of  Jacky,  the  Australian, 
with  much  success.  Jessie  Millward  and  Edmund  Gumey  were 
both  thoroughly  acceptable  as  Susan  Merton  and  George  Fielding. 
Charles  Reade's  play  was  revived  with  that  lavish  mounting  and 
realism  that  distinguishes  Augustus  Harris's  productions, 

I  ith.  Death  of  Keeley  Halswelle.  Died  in  Paris,  aged  fifty-nine 
Painted  the  sketches  of  most  of  the  scenery  for  the  Lyceum 
revival  of  Macbeth. 

13th.  New  Olympic  (revival). — Hafnlet.  Wilson  Barrett  gave 
his  accustomed  reading  of  the  character  of  the  Danish  prince, 
save  that  it  lost  some  of  its  power  by  the  lengthened  pauses 
which  the  actor  made.  Winifred  Emery  was  a  very  beautiful 
and  a  poetic  Ophelia,  though  there  was  nothing  strikingly  original 
in  the  impersonation.  The  Laertes  of  H.  Cooper  Cliffe  was 
satisfactory,  and  the  Polonius  of  Stafford  Smith  a  sound  per- 
formance. The  First  Gravedigger  of  George  Barrett  is  already 
known  for  its  excellence.  The  Ghost  of  W.  A.  Elliott  left  much 
to  be  desired,  as  did  the  Claudius  of  Austin  Melford.  Louise 
Moodie  was  a  melodramatic  Queen  Gertrude.  Lily  Hanbury  was 
an  acceptable  Player  Queen. 

1 3th.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kendal  commenced  their  second  American 
engagement  at  Palmer  s  Theatre,  New  York. 

13th.  Parkhurst  Theatre. —  V.C.  One-act  drama  by 
Sutton  Vane,  a  little  reminiscent  of  Edithds  Burglar,  the  child 
Elsie,  very  well  played  by  Mabel  Hoare,  betraying  innocently  the 
presence  of  her  uncle,  Reginald  St.  John  (Sutton  Vane),  an 
escaped  convict,  who  has  taken  refuge  in  the  house  of  his  brother, 
Captain  John  St.  John,  V.C,  who  gives  the  title  to  the  play. 
This  part  was  played  by  Julius  Knight;  and  the  warder,  Sergeant 
Young,  in  search  of  the  prisoner,  was  excellently  acted  by  Gilbert 
Yorke. 

14th.  Queen's  Gate  Hall. — E.  J.  Lonnen,  after  a  lapse  of 
some  six  years,  once  more  played  in  comedy :  the  screen  scene 
from  The  School  for  Scandal.     In  this  Mr.  Lonnen  appeared  as 


April.  1891.)  Our  Daughters.  jj 

Charles  Surface.  The  traces  of  burlesque  with  which  the  actor 
has  now  so  long  been  associated  were  very  apparent  in  his 
method.  The  Sir  Peter  of  the  occasion  was  Henry  Nelson, 
whose  performance,  though  not  wanting  in  merit,  lacked  court- 
liness. Frank  MacDonnell  played  Joseph  Surface,  but  in  far  too 
modem  a  style,  and  without  finesse.  P.  R.  Macnamara  appeared 
as  the  servant,  and  did  credit  to  his  livery.  As  Lady  Teazle 
Olga  Garland  made  her  first  appearance  in  London,  and  showed 
much  promise.  The  lady  has  great  natural  advantages — a  pretty 
and  intelligent  countenance,  expressive  eyes,  mobile  features,  and 
a  good  stage  presence.  Her  reading  was  sound,  and  she  was  in 
perfect  sympathy  with  her  audience.  Had  she  shown  a  little 
more  bitterness  in  Lady  Teazle's  contempt  for  Joseph  after  his 
baseness  has  been  discovered,  she  would  have  strengthened  the 
situation,  but  the  pathetic  appeal  to  Sir  Peter  could  scarcely  have 
been  better  rendered. 

15th.     Strand    matinde. — Our    Daughters.     This    play  .was 
originally  tried  at  the  Royal,  Portsmouth,  June  30th,  1890,  and 
was  then  entitled  only  Daughters.     The  present  Fred  and  Mrs. 
Danby  figured  as  Fred  and  Dolly  Webster ;  there  was  then  no 
Montague  Jarvis,  a  character  that  has  since  been  introduced,  and 
various  alterations  made  in  the  play,  which  has  also  been  written 
up.     It  turns  on  mistaken  identity.     Nelly  Mayhew,  having  met 
at  the  Battle  of  Flowers  in  Mentone,  where  the  first  act  takes 
place,  a  young  gentleman  with  whom   she  has  fallen   in    love, 
strongly  objects  to  her  hand  being  bestowed  on  Harold  Winyard, 
as  her  father  wishes,  particularly  as  she  has  not  seen  the  man 
intended  for  her.     She   and  her   sister   Mimi    put   their   heads 
together,  and  as  their  father  insists  on  a  portrait  of  Nelly  being 
sent  to  Winyard,  Mimi  substitutes  for  Nelly's    a   very   unpre- 
possessing one   of  herself.     The  next  two  acts    take    place  at 
Richard  Mayhew's  house  in  London.     Barnaby  Trotter  is  an  old 
and  intimate  friend  of  the  family,  and  resides  with  the  Mayhews. 
He  is  a  kindly,  fussy  old  fellow,  with  a  droll  system  for  winning 
at  the  gaming-tables,  and  who  speculates  now  and  then  on  the 
Stock  Exchange.      He  sends  for  his  broker.  Bob  Bounder,  and  it 
has  been  arranged  between  the  girls  that  when  Winyard    calls 
Mimi  is  to  personate  her  sister,  and  in  order  to  disgust  him  she 
determines  to  appear  as  a  girl  who  sings  music-hall  ditties,  smokes 
cigarettes,  and  talks  slang.     When  Bounder  arrives,  through  a 
complication  Mimi  imagines  him  to  be  Winyard,  and  wastes  all 
her  resources  on  him,  and  he  being  rather  a  fast  young  gentleman, 
IS  quite  taken  with  her.     On  the  other  hand,  as  Nelly  does  not 


78  Our  Daughters.  [AptiL,i89i. 

wish  her  real  name  to  be  known  to  Winyard,  Mrs.  Danby  intro- 
duces her  under  her  own  maiden  name,  Dolly  Webster,  and  as  a 
lady-help  in  the  family ;  and  Nelly  mistakes  Winyard  for  Bounder. 
When  Winyard  proposes  to  Nelly,  she  accepts  him,  and  is  actually 
in  his  arms  when  her  father  comes  in,  and  then  the  young  fellow 
promptly  refuses  to  marry  Nelly,  and  Mr.  Mayhew,  who  has  been 
in  the  dark  as  to  all  that  is  going  on,  cannot  understand  the 
situation.     Presently   Bamaby  Trotter   enlightens   him,  and    he 
then  turns  the  table  on  the  young  people  by  turning  Winyard 
out  of  the  house  ;  but  of  course  matters  are  cleared  up,  and  they 
are  to  marry.     Mimi  pairs  off  with  Montague  Jarvis,  Mr.  Mayhew 
with  the  winsome  widow,  Mrs.  Courtney,  and  Trotter  blesses  them, 
for  he  has  been  in  salutary  dread  that  the  widow  was  setting  her 
cap  at  him.     Fred  and  Mrs.  Danby  are  a  young  couple  that  are 
always  quarrelling  and  separating,  but  are  really  very  fond  of  each 
other,  and  are  eventually   reunited,  through    the    kind    fatherly 
advice  of  Trotter,  a  very  pretty  scene  beautifully  played  by  Lilian 
Millward  (Mrs.  Danby)  and  Mr.  Edouin  ;  in  fact,  Miss  Millward 
was    excellent   throughout,   and    in    a    very   hot   dispute    with 
the  husband  she  was    well    seconded    by    S.    Barraclough    (Mr. 
Danby),  who  with  her  made  this  one  of  the  best  bits  of  the  play. 
To  secure  a   London  success    Our  Daughters  will   have  to  be 
shortened  by  at  least  half  an  hour,  for,  cleverly  as  the  play  is 
written,  the  second  act  can  spare  twenty  minutes,  and  the  third 
ten.     Willie  Edouin  (Bamaby  Trotter)  was  admirable  as  a  genial, 
humorous,  and  hasty  old  gentleman — not  a  touch  of  extravagance, 
but  altogether  amusing,  and  at  times   almost    touching.     John 
Beauchamp  played  firmly  as  Richard  Mayhew,  and  H.  Reeves  Smith 
was   earnest    and    true-hearted    as   the   lover    Harold  Winyard. 
Percy  Marshall  gave  us  an  excellent  bit  of  comedy  as  the  astute 
Bob  Bounder,  and  Herbert  Sparling  did  what  was  possible  as  an 
empty-headed  man-about-town,  Montague  Jarvis,  but  his  make-up 
was  too  old.     Mr.  Hackney  was  most  useful  as  a  French  postman. 
Miss  Alice  Atherton  (Mimi  Mayhew),  who  received  a  most  cordial 
welcome  after  two  years'  absence  from  the  stage,  and  was  presented 
with  no  less  than  thirteen  baskets  and  bouquets  of  flowers,  was  as 
gay  and  brightsome  as  ever,  the  life  and  soul  of  the  piece,  which 
she  kept  going  whenever  she  was  on  the  stage ;  and  that  was 
almost  incessantly.     May  Whitty  was  a  charming  foil  to  her  as 
the  more  sedate  sister  (Nelly).     Ruth  Rutland  was  a  cheery  Mrs. 
Courtney,  and   Ina   Goldsmith,  who    speaks    French  as   to    the 
country  born,  was  intelligent  and  winning  as  Marie.     The  scenery 
was  remarkably  pretty,  and  at  the  close  the  authors  were  called 


April,  x89i.]  LoV^S  LaboUf^S  Lost,  79 


for.     Our  Daughters  was  placed  in  the  evening  bill  on   April 
22nd. 

iSth.  Terry's  matinee, — The  Lady  Guide;  or^  Breaking  the 
Bank,  play  in  three  acts,  author  unannounced.  Hon.  Peter  F. 
Chomleigh,  W.  Cheesman ;  M.  Hercules  Lebeau,  H.  Austin  ; 
Allan  Armitage,  A.  B.  Cross ;  M.  le  Commissaire,  H.  Bayntun  ; 
Mrs.  Rushforth,  Elsie  Chester ;  Queenie,  Cissy  Wade ;  Miss 
Whilen  Chetwood,  Florence  Wade.  The  piece  was  very  well 
acted,  but  is  not  strong  enough  in  motive,  turning  on  the 
entanglements  of  Peter  Chomleigh  by  the  supposed  lady  guide, 
really  an  adventuress  of  the  name  of  Devereux. 

iSth.  Park  Town  Hall,  Battersea. — Lov^s  Labout^s  Lost, 
arranged  in  three  acts  and  one  woodland  scene  by  Elizabeth 
Bessie.  In  the  arrangement  of  the  play  its  best  features  had 
been  retained,  and  the  excisions  judiciously  made.  Elizabeth 
Bessie  appeared  as  the  Princess  of  France,  Mary  Bessie  as  the 
quick-witted  Rosaline ;  they  did  ample  justice  to  the  characters. 
Of  others  that  deserved  favourable  mention  were  S.  Herberte 
Basing  (who  directed  the  performance)  as  Biron  ;  Frank  H. 
Westerton,  particularly  good  as  Boyet ;  and  Wakelin  Dry,  who 
was  a  humorous  Costard.  Alexander  Watson  appeared  as  Don 
Adriano  de  Armado,  and  Gerald  Phillips  as  Ferdinand;  these  two 
gentlemen  would  probably  improve.  May  Lamboume  was  the 
dairymaid  Jaquenita,  and  sang  with  considerable  charm  the 
"  Cuckoo "  song.  The  play  was  handsomely  costumed,  and  the 
representation  thoroughly  approved. 

1 6th.  Vaudeville. — This  date  saw  the  twenty-first  anniversary 
of  the  opening  of  this  theatre,  the  management  of  which 
three  plucky  and  then  young  actors,  H.  J.  Montague,  David 
James,  and  Thomas  Thome,  had  originally  the  courage  in  1870 
to  take  upon  their  shoulders.  Needless  to  say  that  the  house,  as 
Mr.  Clement  Scott  pithily  and  brightly  told  in  the  pages  of  the 
Ladys  Pictorial  (reprinted  on  the  souvenir  of  the  anniversary 
occasion),  saw  the  production  of  the  two  greatest  successes  of 
comparatively  "  modem  "  times,  Two  Roses  and  Our  Boys.  H.  J. 
Montague  has  left  us  never  to  return  ;  David  James  remains  to  us 
the  best  Perkyn  Middlewick  possible,  and  equal  to  George  Honey 
(alas !  also  gone)  as  "  Our  Mr.  Jenkins  "  ;  and  Thomas  Thorne, 
the  original  and  best  Caleb  Deecie,  has,  since  he  has  been  the  sole 
manager,  given  us  many  an  interesting  play.  The  numerous 
friends  that  Mr.  Thorne  possesses  thought  the  anniversary  should 
be  duly  celebrated,  and  Messrs.  Irving,  E.  Righton,  Alport,  and 
E.  Ledger  formed  themselves  into  a  committee  and  received  sub- 


8o  Anniversary  of  Opening  of  Vaudevilk.  [Aful,  ss^z. 

9 

scriptions  (limited  to  two  guineas),  and  with  the  amount  purchased 
a  handsome  silver  ^pergne  and  massive  silver  bowl,  duly  inscribed. 
After  the  performance  of  Money  in  the  afternoon,  the  curtain  drew 
up.  The  gifts  and  an  illuminated  address  were  displayed  on  a 
table  in  the  centre  of  the  stage,  which  was  filled  by  old  friends 
and  celebrated  people  (among  them  Walter  Lacy,  the  original 
Sir  Frederick  Blount  in  Money)^  with  the  gratified  recipient  of  the 
handsome  remembrances,  and  the  original  and  inimitable  Digby 
Grant  in  Two  Roses^  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Henry  Irving,  who 
delivered  the  following  address,  written  for  the  occasion  by 
**  Tom  "  Thome's  old  friend  Clement  Scott : — 

''  Welcome,  old  friends !  dear  comrades,  greeting  I 

'Our  Boys'  in  heart,  though  hair  turns  grey  1 
No  need  to  ask  the  cause  of  meeting — 

The  Vaudeville's  of  age  to-day  I 
Years  twenty-one  have  o*er  us  glided* 

Since  stood  the  young  triumvirate. 
When  Harry,  Tom,  and  Dave  decided 

Fortune  to  woo  or  fight  with  fate  ! 
How  did  we  start  ?    With  Lave  and  Money  ! 

The  Money  came.    £h,  Tom  and  Dave  ? 
Dear  Harry  Montajgue  !    George  Honey  ! 

Our  love  rests  with  you  in  the  grave  ! 
Years  twenty-one  of  peace  and  plenty 

Are  reckoned  up— their  race  is  ran  ; 
And  we  the  friends  of  1870 

Are  friends,  thank  God,  in  '91 ! 

**  Years  twenty-one  !    What  Love  reposes 

In  that  sweet  section  of  our  days  ! 
Twas  here  we  twined  the  double  Roses 

Around  the  porch  of  English  plays  1 
"Twas  here  that  Albery  made  merry, 

And  changed  from  poetry  to  wit ; 
Here  Digby  Grant  quaffed  sampled  sherry — 

I  knew  old  Digby  Grant  a  bit — ■ 
Here  Amy  Fawsett,  merry  creature, 

Gushed  o'er  her  Jack,  and  proved  so  true  ; 
Here  women  idolised  each  feature 

Of  handsome  Harry  Montague  ; 
Here  life  seemed  ever  two-and-twenty. 

And  care  lay  basking  in  the  sun  : 
Ah  me  I  but  that  was  A.D.  '70, 

And  now  it's  A.D.  '91. 

"  Beloved  days  I    I  bid  you  linger 

Before  our  sun  of  life  has  set ; 
Let's  stay  old  Time's  effacing  finger, 

And  still  remember— not  forget ! — 
Here  Byron  wittily  and  gaily 

Joked  over  life,  its  cares  and  joys ; 
Here  for  three  years  the  players  daily 

Proclaimed  the  humour  of  *  Our  Boys.' 

**  Thome,  Farren,  Warner,  scores  of  lasses, 

Earned  on  these  boards  their  honoured  names ; 
Here  Middlewick  and  middle  classes 

Were  magnified  by  David  James  : 
Though  Vaudeville  spelt  pluck  and  plenty. 

An  end  must  come  to  every  run  ; 
Still  what  we  loved— well,  circa  '70,  /^^^^T^ 

We  don't  forget  in  '91,  '  Digitized  by  vjOOQ  IC 


April,  1891.]  Richard  Savage.  8 1 

"  Say  what  we  will  of  days  departed, 

Of  good,  or  better,  or  of  best. 
Here  plays  were  English,  noble-hearted, 

Here  comedy  has  found  a  nest ; 
Here  Sheridan  was  honoured  yearly 

As  much  as  in  the  patent  days ; 
Here  players  loved  their  Lytton  dearly. 

And  Fielding  lived  in  honest  plays ; 
Here  Farrens,  Warners,  new  editions. 

Here  Nevilles,  Rightons,  Conways,  stop ; 
Here  Fanny  Stirling  left  traditions 

Of  Candour  and  of  Malaprop — 
Old  plays,  yet  ever  in  the  season, 

Old  authors  basking  in  the  sun  ; 
If  twenty-one's  the  age  of  reason, 

How  wise  must  be  this  '91. 

"  Before  this  day  of  welcome  closes. 

And  ere  another  decade's  bom. 
Cherish  what's  left  of  fallen  Roses, 

Our  best  of  Boys— a  blameless  Thome  I 
Through  past  and  present,  none  resent  him. 

He  raced  his  rivals  neck  and  neck ; 
From  friends  and  comrades  I  present  him 

With  proceeds  of— a  iittie  cheqtu  I 
Take  up  our  gift,  old  friend,  remember 

To-day  the  past  with  present  blends  ; 
Warm  June  may  change  to  chill  December, 

But  we  remain  your  faithful  friends. 
May  all  your  life  be  peace  and  plenty, 

And  when  your  honest  race  is  run, 
Remember,  friends  of  1870 

Had  warmer  hearts  in  '91." 

At  the  close  of  the  address,  which  was  loudly  cheered,  Mr. 
Thomas  Thome  spoke  a  few  grateful  words  of  thanks  to  all 
present,  referring  specially  to  his  old  friends  and  the  committee 
and  Clement  Scott,  and  concluded  with  the  same  writer's  lines 
written  for  him  as  a  reply  : — 

"  A  mist  before  my  eyes  is  fedling, 

Dear  friends,  most  generous,  most  kind ; 
Voices  from  yesterday  seem  calling, 

Wake  1  Caleb  Deecie,  you're  not  blind  ; 
Wake  from  a  dream  of  life  so  pleasant. 

Of  friends  so  faithful,  love  so  true. 
Wake  and  behold  this  priceless  present 

That  binds  me  to  the  past  ana  you. 

"  'Tis  not  alone  this  costly  treasure 

That  mingles  utterance  with  tears. 
But  feirly  words  that  dare  not  measure 

The  faithfulness  of  vanished  years  ; 
True  hearts  of  gold,  though  distant  '70 

Recalls  the  <£ivs  of  boys  at  play, 
As  comrades  still  we're  one-and-twenty. 

And  friendship  is  of  age  to-day." 

The  outside  of  the  theatre  was  profusely  decked  with  flags  and 
bunting,  and  the  interior  was  filled  by  an  enthusiastic  audience. 

1 6th.  Criterion  matinie. — Richard  Savage,  by  J.  M.  Barrie 
and  H.  B.  Marriott  Watson.  With  the  programme  of  this  play 
was   issued   a  prologue,  written  by  W.  E.  Henley,  in  which  he 

6 


82  Richard  Savage.  iafml,  1891. 

claims  indulgence  for  the  authors  for  the  liberties  taken  by  them 
with  the  actual  facts  of  the  life  and  death  of  the  "  poet  and 
blackguard/'  ''spirit  of  fire,  manikin  of  mud/'  and  states  that 
they  show  him 

**  Not  as  he  was,  but  as  he  might  have  been 
Had  the  unkind  gods  been  poets  of  the  scene.** 

Some    such     apology    was     necessary,   for   "  the   strange  wild 
creature"  is  painted  in  far  more  pleasing  colours  than  those  in 
which  history  •  represents  him.      It  may  also  be  said  that  the 
language  used  by  the  characters  is  at  times  very  modern,  and 
that  the  introduction  of  ladies  into  the  "  Kit-cat  Club  *'  is  daring, 
to  say  the  least  of  it     In  the  play  the  poet  is  shown  as  a  wild, 
passionate,  hard  drinker,  beset  by  duns,  but  with  one  firm  friend 
in  Sir  Richard  Steele,  and  humanised  by  his  love  for  Betty  Steele 
and   by  the   passionate   longing  he   feels   to  find   his   mother. 
Through  the  aid  of  Tonson  the  publisher,  he  obtains  proofs  that 
Lady  Macclesfield  is  that  mother.     She  is  made  to  be  in  the  play 
as  loving  as,  in  the  accepted  version,  she  was  hard-hearted  and 
cruel  to  the  offspring  she  had  deserted.     She  would  at  once  ac- 
knowledge him  and  brave  the  shame  of  the  illicit  amour  of  her 
girlhood  but  for  Colonel  Jocelyn,  a  suitor  of  hers,  who,  fearing 
that  she  may  bestow  her  wealth  on  her  new-found  son,  has  him 
waylaid  and   put  on    board  ship  for  the  American  plantations. 
Richard  Savage  escapes,  and  traces  the  Colonel  to  Lady  Maccles- 
field's house,  but  through  his  craft  is  induced  to  believe  that  he 
is  yet  his  staunch  friend,  and  believing  his  mother  to  have  been 
the  cause  of  his  being  kidnapped,  declares  himself  before  her 
assembled  guests  to  be  her  son.     At  the  Kit-cat  Club  he  dis- 
covers Colonel  Jocelyn  to  have  been  his  enemy,  and  challenges 
him  to  fight  with  him  the  next  morning.     It  is  to  be  an  eventful 
day  for  the  poet,  for  he  is  to  be  married  to  Betty  Steele.     She  is 
giving  herself  to  him  out  of  pity,  and  to  please  her  father,  though 
she    loves  Aynston.      Presently  Savage  arrives  at    Sir  Richard 
Steele's  house  ;    he  has  killed  Colonel  Jocelyn,  and   is  himself 
sorely  wounded.     There  he  finds  his  mother,  who  acknowledges 
him  as  her  son.     He  faints  from  weakness,  and  is  supposed  to  be 
dead.     A  screen  is  drawn  around  the  couch,  and  recovering  from 
his  swoon,  he  overhears  that  Betty  does  not  really  care  for  him, 
that  his  existence  will  be  a  lasting  disgrace  to  his  mother,  and 
that  his  own  ungovernable  temper  will  probably  be  his  ruin  ;  and 
so  he  sacrifices  himself — tears  the  bandages  from  his  wounds,  and 
dies.     Bernard  Gould  gave  a  powerful  rendering  of  the  principal 
character.     Cyril  Maude  also  appeared  quite  to  understand  the* 


AraiL,  189X.1  Richard  Savage,  83 

nature  of  Sir  Richard  Steele.  Helen  Forsyth  played  with  con- 
siderable feeling.  Louise  Hoodie's  performance  was  very  uneven. 
Leonard  Outram  was  absurdly  melodramatic,  and  Phyllis 
Broughton  was  not  seen  to  advantage.  The  small  part  of  Will 
(proprietor  of  the  coffee-house)  was  very  naturally  played  by 
W.  Lugg.  The  play  is  an  interesting  one,  and,  unlike  most, 
requires  amplifying  for  the  better  development  and  understanding 
of  the  motives  that  influence  the  characters.  This  done,  it  would 
in  all  likelihood  be  a  success  with  the  public,  and  be  favourably 
accepted  for  an  evening  bill.  Richard  Savage  was  played  in  four 
acts,  the  scenes  of  which  were  as  follows  : — 

Act  I.— Will*s  Coflfee-house.     Act  II.— Reception  at  Lady  Macclesfield's.    Act  III.— 
Kit-cat  Club.    Act  IV.— Savage's  Wedding. 

The  following  is  the  prologue  referred  to,  which  was  not, 
however,  delivered  from  the  stage  : — 

"  To  other  boards  for  pun  and  song  and  dance  1 
Our  purpose  is  an  essay  in  romance, 
An  old-world  story  where  such  old-world  facts 
As  hate  and  love  and  death,  through  four  swift  acts — 
Not  without  gleams  and  glances,  hints  and  cues, 
From  the  dear  bright  eyes  of  the  Comic  Muse  ! — 
So  shine  and  sound  that,  as  we  fondly  deem. 
They  may  persuade  you  to  accept  our  dream. 
Our  own  invention  mainly,  though  w«  take, 
Somewhat  for  art,  but  most  for  interest's  saJce, 
One  for  our  hero  who  goes  wandering  still 
In  the  long  shadow  of  Parnassus'  hill. 
Scarce  within  eyeshot,  but  whose  tragic  shade 
Compels  that  recognition  due  be  made 
When  he  comes  knocking;  at  the  student's  door. 
Somewhat  as  poet,  if  as  blackguard  more. 

**  Poet  and  blacks^uard !    Of  the  first  how  much  I 
As  to  the  second,  in  such  perfect  touch 
With  folly  and  sorrow,  even  shame  and  crime. 
He  lived  the  grief  and  wonder  of  his  time. 
Marked  for  reproaches  from  his  life's  b^inning  ; 
Extremely  sinned  against  as  well  as  sinning ; 
Hack,  spendthrift,  starveling,  duellist,  in  turn ; 
Too  cross  to  cherish,  yet  too  fierce  to  spurn ; 
Berimed  with  ink  or  brave  with  wine  and  blood  ; 
Spirit  of  fire  and  manikin  of  mud  ; 
^^ow  shining  clear,  now  fain  to  starve  and  skulk  ; 
Star  of  the  tavern,  votary  of  the  hulk ; 
At  once  the  child  of  passion  and  the  slave ; 
Brawling  his  way  to  an  unhonoured  gprave — 
That  was  Dick  Savage.     Yet  ere  his  ghost  we  raise 
For  these  more  decent  and  less  desperate  days 
It  may  be  well  and  seemly  to  reflect 
That,  howbeit  of  so  prodigal  a  sect. 
Since  it  was  his  to  call  until  the  end 
Our  greatest,  wisest  Englishman  his  friend, 
•  Twere  all  too  fatuous  if  we  cursed  and  scorned 

The  strange,  wild  creature  Johnson  loved  and  mourned. 

"  Nature  is  but  the  oyster — art's  the  pearl : 
Our  Dick  is  neither  ^cophant  nor  churL  ^  i 

Not  as  he  was,  but  what  he  might  have  been  Digitized  by  VjOOQ  IC 
Had  the  unkind  gods  been  poets  of  the  scene. 


84  Hedda  Gabler,  (Amul^iSji. 

Fired  with  our  fmnqr»  shaped  and  tridced  anew 
To  touch  your  hearts  with  love,  vour  eyes  with  rue, 
He  stands  or  falls,  ere  he  these  boards  depart, 
Not  as  dead  naturej  but  as  living  art'* 

1 6th.  Steinway  Hall. — A  Pair  of  Ghosts,  by  Campbell  Rae 
Brown.  In  this  skit  (after  Ibsen)  Rose  Kenney  appeared  as 
Flossie  Speckleton. 

1 8th.  The  Royal  Circus  of  Varieties,  Nethergate,  Dundee, 
the  property  of  W.  Smith,  entirely  destroyed  by  fire.  Total  loss 
estimated  at  about  ;f  2,000.  The  artists  lost  their  dresses,  valued 
at  about  i^200. 

20th.  Vaudeville  matin/e. — Hedda  Gabler.  This,  the  latest 
of  Henrik  Ibsen's  plays,  appears  to  average  common-sense  people 
the  most  motiveless  of  any  he  has  written.  The  initiated,  or 
those  who  fancy  they  are,  may  discover  hidden  meaning  in  the 
''master's''  work,  may  be  able  to  understand  what  moral  he 
teaches  in  the  conduct  of  his  heroine,  but  I  must  confess  I  can 
only  see  in  her  a  spiteful,  blasie  woman,  none  too  virtuous,  of  ill- 
regulated  mind,  and  deceitful.  What  has  made  her  exist  without  one 
redeeming  characteristic  ?  What  is  it  that  wearies  her  of  her  life 
and  makes  her  take  it  ?  What  but  petty  jealousy  makes  her  drive 
a  man  back  into  his  former  fallen  state,  and  ultimately  herself 
commit  suicide  ?  To  me  she  is  simply  incomprehensible  and 
repugnant,  and  yet  I  have  read  Mr.  Edmund  Gosse's  translation 
carefully  three  times.  Hedda  {n^e  Gabler)  has  married  George 
Tesman,  why  we  know  not,  for  she  evidently  did  not  care  for  him, 
and  he  was  no  great  catch.  They  come  home  from  their  honey- 
moon, during  which,  though  George  worships  her,  he  appears  to 
have  paid  quite  as  much  attention  to  the  collection  of  materials 
for  some  great  work  he  is  to  write  as  to  his  wife.  Soon  after 
they  arrive,  Mrs.  Elvsted  (Thea),  an  old  schoolfellow  of  Hedda's, 
calls,  and  we  learn  that  she  is  madly  in  love  with  Ejlbert  Lovborg. 
He  has  been  secretary  to  her  husband,  and  because  Ejlbert  has 
left  the  house  she  has  followed  him.  The  man  has  evidently 
been  in  the  past  a  drunkard  and  a  debauchee,  and  has  forfeited 
his  claims  on  society.  During  his  stay  with  the  Elvsteds  he  has 
recovered  his  mental  balance.  If  Hedda  has  ever  cared  for  any 
one  it  has  been  for  this  Lovborg ;  and  so,  finding  that  he  looks 
upon  Thea  as  his  guardian  angel,  she  at  once  proceeds  to  destroy 
him.  Knowing  his  weakness,  he  refuses  to  drink.  Hedda  by 
her  covert  sneers  induces  him  to  do  so  ;  in  the  same  way  sheT  sends 
him  to  a  bacchanalian  party  at  Judge  Brack's,  where  he  gets  mad 
drunk,  and  on  his  way  to  a  disreputable  house  loses  the  manuscript 
of  a  work  which  is  to  bring  him  fame  and  fortune.    George  Tesman 


April,  1891')]  Hedda  GablcT,  85 

picks  it  up,  and  brings  it  to  his  wife,  who  as  soon  as  he  is  gone 
deliberately  burns  the  manuscript  leaf  by  leaf,  whispering  to  herself, 
"  Now  I  am  burning  your  child  " — Thea's  and  Lovborg's  child. 
When  Lovborg  calls  on  her  and  bewails  his  backslidings  and  the 
loss  of  his  book,  which  he  pretends  he  has  torn  up  in  his  frenzy, 
Hedda  hands  him  one  of  a  pair  of  revolvers  (she  has  used  it  on 
him  in  the  past),  and  advises  him  to  use  it  on  himself  in  taking 
his  life.  "  And  do  it  beautifully,  Ejlbert  Lovborg ;  promise  me 
that,"  and  she  has  done  all  this  because,  as  she  says,  "  I  wish  for 
once  to  have  power  over  the  fate  of  a  human  being."  Presently 
Judge  Brack  comes  to  Hedda,  and  tells  her  that  Lovborg  has 
committed  suicide,  but  he  has  not  done  it  "  beautifully";  he  has  not 
shot  himself  in  the  head  or  in  the  heart,  but  evidently  in  the 
stomach,  and  he  has  chosen  as  the  place  in  which  to  commit 
suicide  the  disreputable  house.  This  is  very  disappointing  to 
Hedda,  and  when  the  judge  tells  her  that  awkward  questions 
may  be  asked  about  the  pistol,  who  it  belongs  to,  and  that  he 
knows,  but  will  hold  his  tongue  if  Hedda  will  intrigue  with  him, 
Hedda  takes  the  other  pistol  and  retires  to  the  far  end  of  the 
room,  behind  some  curtains.  Thea  Elvsted  has  possession  of  the 
rough  drafts  of  Lovborg*s  book ;  she  is  busy  arranging  them  with 
George  Tesman,  who  finds  her  a  congenial  companion  at  such 
work,  when  a  shot  is  heard  within.  Tesman  pulls  back  the  curtains, 
and  shrieks,  "  Shot  herself!  Shot  herself  in  the  temple !  Fancy 
that  I "  and  Brack  (half  fainting  in  the  armchair)  ejaculates, 
^*  But  may  God  take  pity  on  us !  People  don't  do  such  things  as 
that."  The  audience  that  was  present  was  one,  the  members  of 
which  for  the  most  part  believe  *  in  Ibsen,  but  I  will  also  say  that 
the  remainder  appeared  interested,  but  then  this  was,  one  might 
say,  a  picked  audience,  prepared  at  least  to  think  on  the  play  and 
critically  watch  the  acting.  The  latter  was  really  excellent,  and 
to  it  may  be  attributed  the  favour  with  which  Hedda  Gabler 
was  received,  for  parts  of  it  so  border  on  the  ludicrous  that  only  the 
consummate  acting  prevents  a  titter.  Elizabeth  Robins  was  subtle 
and  refined,  and,  as  nearly  as  it  was  possible,  convinced  one  that 
such  a  woman  could  exist  and  act  as  she  did.  Marion  Lea,  by  her 
delicate  handling  of  the  character  of  Mrs.  Elvsted,  made  such  a 
platonic  and  pure  attachment  as  she  felt  for  Lovborg  capable  of 
being  understood — the  grosser  element  was  entirely  absent. 
Seldom  has  Charles  Sugden  acted  the  cold,  scheming  voluptuary 
so  well  as  he  did  as  Judge  Brack.  The  reformed  man  who  weakly 
allows  himself  to  return  to  his  former  devil's  life,  and  then, 
ashamed  and  disgusted,  ends  it,  was  finely  conceived  and  carried 


86  The  Mountebank.  tAmi,i89i. 


out  by  Arthur  Elwood  ;  and  Scott  Buist  was  delightfully  natural 
as  the  simple,  confiding  man  of  letters.  Henrietta  Cowen  as  the 
kindly  old  aunt,  who  will  always  find  some  good  work  to  do, 
played  sympathetically,  and  Patty  Chapman  was  the  model  of  a 
faitiiful  old  servant.  The  version  used  was  that  of  Mr.  Edmund 
Gosse.  Mr.  George  Foss  was  the  stage  manager,  and  the  maHnies 
from  April  20th  to  24th  were  under  the  joint  management  of 
Miss  Robins  and  Miss  Lea.  Hedda  Gabler  was  placed  in  the 
evening  bill  May  4th,  and  ran  till  May  30th,  to  good  houses. 

20th.  Lyric,  Hammersmith. — The  Little  Widow,  three-act 
farcical  comedy  by  Fred  Jarman,  originally  produced  at  the  Theatre 
Royal,  Liverpool,  February  2nd,  1891. 

2 1st.  New  Olympic — The  Acrobat,^A^,1pt^X\oxihyVf\\son  Barrett 
Paillasse  of  MM.  Dennery  and  Marc  Foumier  created  such  a. 
sensation  at  the  Gaiet^,  Paris,  when  it  was  produced  in  1850, 
from  the  wondrous  acting  of  Lemaitre,  that  Benjamin  Webster, 
the  then  lessee  of  the  Adelphi,  soon  made  an  adaptation  and 
produced  the  first  English  version  at  his  theatre  January  13th, 
1851,  under  the  title  of  Belphegor  the  Mountebank  ;  or.  The  Pride 
of  Birth,  he  appearing  in  the  title  r6le,  Madame  Celeste  as  Made- 
line, Miss  Chaplin  as  Henri,  and  Miss  Woolgar  as  Nini  Flora. 
O.  Smith  was  the  Chevalier  de  Rollac.  Webster  was  not  long  the 
only  one  in  the  field  with  an  adaptation,  for  on  January  19th, 
185 1,  William  Creswick  appeared  at  the  Surrey  as  Guillaume 
(Belphegor)  in  a  version  called  Belphegor  the  Itinerant,  by  J. 
Courtney,  with  Miss  Cooper  as  Madeline,  Harriet  Coveney  as 
Catherine,  and  Jane  Coveney  as  Nini  Flora.  Treading  immediately 
on  its  heels  (January  26th,  185 1)  came  the  "new  and  most 
superior"  version  Belphegor  the  Buffoon ;  or.  The  Assassin  of  the 
Revolution,  by  T.  Higgle  and  T.  Hailes  Lacey,  J.  T.  Johnson  in 
the  title  rdle,  at  the  Victoria.  In  this  version  most  of  the  names 
of  the  characters  were  changed.  Charles  Dillon  made  his  first 
appearance  in  London  in  Charles  Webb's  version  at  Sadler's 
Wells  April  21st,  1856;  Mrs.  Charles  Dillon  was  the  Madeline, 
Rose  Edouin  was  the  Henri,  and  James  Rogers  Fanfaronade  :  and 
when  Mr.  Dillon  became  lessee  of  the  Lyceum  he  commenced  his 
season  with  the  same  play,  and  in  it  Marie  Wilton  (Mrs.  Bancroft) 
made  her  London  d/but  as  Henri,  and  J.  L.  Toole  was  the  Fan- 
faronade. On  April  17th,  1865,  Charles  Fechter  revived  the 
play  in  a  different  version  at  the  Lyceum,  under  the  title  of  The 
Mountebank.  He  appeared  as  Belphegor,  and  his  own  son. 
Master  Fechter,  was  the  mountebank's  son,  called  here  Paul  ;  the 
cast  was  a  strong  one,  and  included  Carlotta  Leclercq  (Violet  de 


April,  1891.]  The  Mountebank.  87 

Boisfleury),  Mademoiselle  Beatrice  (Madeline),  Sam  Emery  (Due  de 
Montbazon),  John  Ryder  (Savarennes),  and  H.  Widdicomb  (Far- 
faron),  but  the  version  was  not  a  good  one,  though  Fechter  and 
his  little  son,  a  very  handsome  boy,  made  it  attractive.  Wilson 
Barrett  has  of  course  followed  the  main  lines  of  the  story 
fairly  closely,  but  has  made  some  good  alterations  in  its  develop- 
ment Louis  Belphegor  is  supposed  to  be  a  mountebank  who 
travels  the  country  with  his  wife  Madeline  and  his  two  children, 
Jeannette  and  Henri,  the  latter  assisting  him  in  entertaining  the 
public.  Though  poor,  they  are  happy  as  the  day  is  long,  until 
Lavarennes,  a  thief  and  adventurer  known  as  De  Rollac,  informs 
Madeline  that  she  is  the  long- lost  grandchild  of  the  Due  de 
Montbazon.  Lavarennes  has  been  a  companion  of  the  real 
Chevalier  de  Rollac  in  America,  has  learnt  all  the  incidents  of 
his  life  ;  he  subsequently  killed  him,  took  his  papers,  and  came 
back  to  France  to  trade  on  the  information  he  had  obtained.  He 
informs  Belphegor  that  he  will  have  to  give  up  his  wife,  and  offers 
him  a  large  sum  of  money  to  consent,  and  the  poor  mountebank, 
knowing  the  power  of  the  noble  family,  flies  with  his  wife  and  his 
children.  They  are  followed  up  by  Lavarennes  and  the  Count 
de  Blangy.  The  little  girl  Jeannette  is  very  weakly;  and  the 
doctor  informs  Madeline  that,  unless  she  has  change  and  every  atten- 
tion, she  will  certainly  die.  The  mother's  feelings  are  so  worked  upon, 
that  she  consents  to  go  to  her  rich  relatives  for  a  time  at  least, 
hoping  to  induce  them  to  receive  her  husband,  so  that  when 
Belphegor  returns  to  his  poor  lodgings  he  finds  himself,  as  he 
imagines,  utterly  deserted.  After  being  hunted  down  by  the 
Duke's  agents,  he  at  length  discovers  the  whereabouts  of  his  wife 
and  child  at  Mademoiselle  Flora's  chateau,  and  there  he  forces 
Lavarennes  to  give  up  the  papers  which  proved  Madeline's  iden- 
tity. The  guests  at  the  ffite  have  munificently  rewarded  his 
efforts  to  amuse  them,  and  so  he  purchases  fine  clothes  and  arrives 
at  the  Duke's  chateau,  passing  himself  off  as  De  Rollac  Here, 
when  he  acknowledges  who  he  really  is,  there  is  a  powerful  scene 
between  him  and  the  Duke,  who  is  at  first  determined  to  have 
him  sent  out  of  the  country  and  his  marriage  with  Madeline 
annulled,  but  Belphegor's  nobility  of  soul  and  Madeline's  steadfast 
determination  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  her  husband  at  length 
prevail,  and  the  Duke  not  only  accepts  him  as  his  son-in-law,  but, 
under  the  powers  granted  him  by  the  King,  obtains  for  Belphegor 
the  title  that  the  Duke's  son  bore.  In  one  version  I  think  the 
dinouenunt  was  brought  about  by  the  discovery  that  it  is  not 
Madeline,  but  Belph^or,  who  is  the  Duke's  grandchild.     There  is 


88  A  Nighi  in  Town.  [AnuL,i89i. 

a  mingling  of  light-heaxtedness,  pathos,  and  complete  honesty  in 
the  character  of  Belphegor  exactly  suited  to  Wilson  Barrett ;  and 
from  the  time  that  he  entered  on  the  scene  in  the  showman's  van, 
drawn  by  the  piebald  horse  with  Flip  Flap  (capitally  played  by 
George  Barrett)  on  the  box  beating  the  big  drum,  until  his  scene 
with  the  Duke  in  the  last  act,  Wilson  Barrett  completely  held  his 
audience.  Winifred  Emery  looked  the  aristocrat,  though  for  a  time 
so  poorly  clothed,  and  played  with  great  feeling.  Edie  King  was 
clever  and  pathetic  as  Henri.  H.  Cooper  Cliffe  was  incisive  and 
yet  easy  as  Lavarennes ;  and  others  who  deserve  favourable  men- 
tion are  Austin  Melford,  Horace  Hodges  and  Lillie  Belmore, 
Lily  Hanbury,  Harrietta  Polini,  and  little  Pollie  Smith,  a  pretty 
and  engaging  child.  The  piece  was  beautifully  put  upon  the 
stage,  and  the  scenery  and  costumes  were  of  the  best  In  the 
third  act  a  very  tasteful  ballad  was  executed,  accompanied  by  the 
singing  of  an  excellent  choir,  and  the  gardens  of  the  chateau 
presented  a  brilliant  appearance.  The  humours  of  a  French 
village  fdte  with  a  sabSt  dance  were  also  well  depicted  in  the  first 
act  On  this  evening  a  strong  protest  was  made  against  the 
payment  of  fees.  Between  the  first  and  second  acts,  a  very  large 
slip  of  calico,  having  on  it,  printed  in  big  letters,  "  All  fees  should 
be  abolished,"  was  hung  along  the  front  rail  of  the  gallery, 
and  this  action  was  accompanied  by  the  dropping  of  a  great 
number  of  handbills  amongst  the  audience.  These  handbills 
contained  a  protest  against  payment  for  programmes,  etc.,  and 
gave  a  list  of  the  managers  who  made  no  charge  and  of  those 
who  were  guilty  of  the  so-called  "  extortion."  The  little  affair 
ended  satisfactorily,  the  "  protestants "  rolling  up  their  banner 
and  allowing  the  performance  to  proceed  in  quiet.  On  the  fall 
of  the  curtain,  Wilson  Barrett  referred  to  what  had  happened,  and 
said  that  it  was  rather  hard  upon  him  to  be  singled  out  for  this 
movement,  as  during  his  long  career  at  the  Princess's  he  had 
abolished  every  sort  of  fee,  but  he  promised  that  in  the  future  no 
charges  should  be  made  at  the  Olympic  so  long  as  he  was 
manager.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  managers  often  have  to 
suffer  through  contracts  having  been  made  with  the  refreshment- 
bar  keepers  previously  to  their  entering  into  possession  of  the 
house,  all  fees  under  this  contract  going  to  the  refreshment 
contractor. 

2 1  St.  Strand  matinee. — A  Night  in  Town^  farcical  comedy 
in  three  acts.  Had  this  only  been  done  justice  to  by  thorough 
study,  it  would  have  been  a  success  ;  as  it  was,  the  piece  created 
much    laughter.       Imagine   Arthur   Williams    as    an    outwardly 


April,  1891.1  Back  in  Ftve  Minutes,  89 

respectable  but  much-sat-upon  husband,  who  has  sufficient  of  the 
old  Adam  in  him  to  enjoy  a  surreptitious  visit  to  a  theatre,  which 
visit  eventually  lands  him  in  a  police-station.  Give  him  a  tract- 
distributing  but  leather-lunged  wife  (Madeline  L'Estrange),  who 
follows  up  not  only  him,  but  her  son  (capitally  played  by  Cecil 
Ramsey)  and  her  son-in-law,  who  is  supposed  to  be  carrying  on 
with  an  opera  singer  (Marie  Lewes).  Then  two  pretty  nieces 
(Alice  Maitland  and  Kate  Bealby)  get  into  trouble  at  the  same 
theatre,  and  are  hectored  by  a  strong-minded  boarding-house 
keeper  (a  remarkably  clever  sketch  by  May  Protheroe).  A  little 
light  flirtation  is  thrown  in  by  Mrs.  Gordon  Ascher  as  a  fascinat- 
ing but  dangerous  beauty,  and  the  whole  brightened  by  the 
constant  presence  of  Polly  Parker  (Julia  Warden — one  of  the  best 
soubrettes  I  have  seen  for  many  a  long  day),  with  just  a  few  other 
characters  who  help  to  make  up  the  fun.  Mr.  Sherburne's  piece 
was  preceded  by  Lov^s  Young  Dreant^  by  Eva  Bright,  poetic  and 
with  much  tender  feeling,  but  this  wanted  severe  pruning. 
Florence  Bright  played  very  sweetly  as  Iris,  a  young  girl  whose 
dream  is  dispelled  by  discovering  that  her  idol  is  a  cad  of  the 
first  water,  and  is  going  to  throw  her  over  for  her  young  and  rich 
stepmother,  Edith  de  Brisey  (Amy  McNeill).  Iris  should  be 
made  to  open  Edith's  eyes,  instead  of  holding  her  tongue  and 
allowing  the  scamp  to  prosper.  The  playlet  was  very  favourably 
received  ;  and,  cut  down,  it  should  be  acceptable  as  a  first  piece. 

2ist^  Death  of  Charles  Knox  Furtado,  many  years  acting 
manager  to  Wilson  Barrett 

22  nd.  Strand. — Back  in  Five  Minutes^  which  was  tried  at  the 
Parkhurst  Theatre  February  22nd,  was  on  this  evening  placed  in 
the  evening  bill  here.  Greorgie  Elsmond  was  very  clever  as  Mary 
Maybird,  who  masquerades  in  her  lover's  wig  and  gown,  said 
lover  being  a  barrister,  Roscoe  Robinson,  smartly  played  by 
Sydney  Barraclough.  Lillian  Millward  was  amusing  as  Theresa 
Tompkins,  a  supposed  heiress  and  jealous  waiting-maid.  Robert 
Nainby  got  some  fun  out  of  the  character  of  her  sweetheart, 
Peterkin  Prosser,  and  W.  Lugg  was  the  fussy,  eccentric  attorney, 
Bedford  Roe. 

22nd.  Lyceum. — Revival  of  Olivia. 

23rd.  Toole's  (revivals). — Hester's  Mystery  and  The  Upper 
Crust.  J.  L.  Toole  was  heartily  welcomed  on  making  his  re- 
appearance in  London  after  his  Australian  tour,  and  chose  these 
two  for  his  opening  pieces.  Mr.  Toole  made  one  of  his  usual 
amusing  speeches.  Ccm 

23rd.   Drury  Lane.— Benefit  in  aid  of  the^''K?(^j^af  X^eneral 


go  Romeo  and  Juliet.  [Af«ii,x89i. 

Theatrical  Fund.  The  use  of  the  theatre  was  generously  given  by 
Augustus  Harris.  His  Last  C/tance^  from  the  Gaiety  ;  Cut  Off'  with 
a  Shillings  with  Sidney  and  Fanny  Brough  and  Charles  CoUette ; 
a  scene  of  Antony  and  Cleopatra^  from  the  Princess's  ;  first  act  of 
Jane,  from  the  Comedy  ;  and  The  Gay  Lothario,  from  the  St 
James's,  were  given,  and  Chevalier  Scovel,  E.  J.  Lonnen,  Letty 
Lind,  Dan  Leno,  Albert  Chevalier,  Charles  Cobom,  Arthur 
Roberts,  and  Charles  Danby  also  gave  their  services. 

25th.  Death  of  John  Beer  Johnstone,  father  of  Eliza  Johnstone. 
He  wrote  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  dramas  and  panto- 
mimes. He  was  eighty-three  years  of  age  when  he  last  appeared 
at  the  Princess's,  under  Wilson  Barrett's  management  Buried  in 
Brompton  cemetery. 

2Sth.  Ladbroke  Hall. — The  Shadow  Hunt,  four- act  comedy 
by  Arthur  Davey  and  Walter  Pollock.  (Played  for  copyright 
purposes.)     Augustin  Daly  bought  the  American  rights. 

26th.  H.R.H.  the  Prince  of  Wales  dined  at  the  Garrick  Club, 
at  the  invitation  of  Henry  Irving,  J.  L.  Toole,  S.  B.  Bancroft, 
John  Hare,  Charles  Wyndham,  Arthur  Cecil,  Beerbohm  Tree, 
Wilson  Barrett,  and  Edward  Terry.  The  other  guests  invited 
were  Augustus  Harris,  Walter  Lacy,  A.  W.  Pinero,  and  Fr  C. 
Bumand. 

27th.  Grand. — Romeo  and  Juliet.  Romeo,  E.  H.  Vanderfelt ; 
Friar  Lawrence,  George  Warde  ;  Mercutio,  William  Calvert  ; 
Apothecary,  W.  B.  Harrison  ;  Tybalt,  Sydney  Compton  ;  Lady 
Capulet,  Claire  Pauncefort ;  Nurse,  Kate  Hodson  ;  Juliet,  Miss 
Fortescue.  The  representatives  of  Romeo  and  Juliet  had  both 
greatly  improved  on  previous  performances. 

27th.  Wilton  Jones,  dramatic  author,  etc.,  read  a  clever  paper 
on  "  Parody  and  Burlesque  "  before  the  Playgoers'  Club. 

27th.  Parkhurst  Theatre. — Terry;  or,  True  to  His  Trust, 
one-act  play  by  Sutton  Vane. 

27th.  About  this  date  there  was  considerable  stir  in  the 
theatrical  world  with  reference  to  the  subjoined  letter,  a  copy  of 
which  is  given  as  a  matter  of  history,  and  which  was  sent  round 
to  various  London  newspapers  : — 

*'  London,  April  ijth,  1891. 

*'  Sir, — ^We  the  undersigned  managers  beg  to  inform  you  that  on  and 
after  Saturday  next,  May  2nd,  it  is  our  intention  to  withdraw  our  advertise- 
ments from  the  Era  newspaper. 

"We  feel  reluctantly  compelled  to  take  this  step  as  a  protest  against  the 
attitude  recently  adopted  by  the  Era  towards  the  stage,  of  which  it  professes 
to  be  the  recognised  organ,  and  particularly  to  mark  our  sense  of  disapproval 
of  the  personal  paragraphs  contained  in  last  week's  issue,  which  we  consider 


April,  xSgx.i  Husbatid  and  Wife.  91 

to  be  quite  unjustifiable,  and  likely  to  be  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  our 
profession  and  the  respect  in  which  we  desire  to  see  it  held, 
**  We  remain,  your  obedient  servants, 

'  Henry  Irving. 

JOHN  Hare. 
L.  Toole. 
B.  Tree. 
"  George  Alexander. 
'*  Edward  Terry. 
"  Mrs.  John  Wood. 
*'  To  the  Editor  of  the  Era?" 


XIJS. 

'Moi 
"H. 


28th.  Death  of  Edward  Chessman  at  Liverpool  after  a  short 
illness,  aged  about  48.  Was  a  principal  in  William  Hogarth's 
Cloches  de  Comeville  Opera  Company.  He  was  bom  at  Brighton, 
and  commenced  his  career  as  an  actor  under  Mr.  Wyndham  at 
the  Theatre  Royal,  Edinburgh.     Was  a  good  all-round  actor. 

29th.  Royalty. — Our  Boys  and  Dream  Faces  were  chosen  by 
the  St.  Swithin's  Amateur  Dramatic  Club  for  their  annual  perform- 
ance. In  the  last-named  piece  J.  W.  Williams  was  a  little  hard, 
but  otherwise  good,  as  Robert,  F.  C.  Althaus  a  very  good-looking 
Philip,  Agnes  Verity  a  sweet  Lucy,  and  Cicely  Richards  a 
thoroughly  sympathetic  and  tender  Margaret.  I  knew  this  latter 
actress's  powers,  but  I  did  not  believe  them  to  be  so  great  Our 
Boys  followed.  With  all  respect  for  David  James,  I  would  not 
wish  for  a  better  Perky n  Middlewick  than  E.  C.  Silverthome's — 
not  a  slavish  copy,  but  a  hearty,  original  reading.  R.  C.  Lochlien 
was  good  as  the  pompous  Sir  Geoffry,  J.  W.  Williams  excellent 
as  Talbot  Champneys  (considering  he  had  to  take  the  part  at 
seven  hours'  notice,  owing  to  S.  G.  Asher's  illness),  W.  F.  Lee 
a  manly  Charles  Middlewick,  E.  J.  Mercer  and  J.  Fairlie  as 
Kempster  and  Poddies,  Lucy  Buckstone  a  captivating,  well-bred 
Violet,  Agnes  Verity  a  bewitchingly  saucy  Mary  Melrose,  Florence 
Haydon  an  amusing  Clarissa,  and  Cicely  Richards  as  the  one  and 
only  Belinda  and  the  original  of  the  character.  The  St  Swithin's 
is  one  of  the  best  of  our  amateur  dramatic  clubs,  and  is  wise 
enough  always  to  engage  professional  talent  to  support  it  The 
performance  on  this  occasion  was  so  good,  taken  all  round,  that 
I  have  selected  it  as  showing  what  amateurs  can  do. 

30th.  Criterion  'matinie. — Husband  and  Wife^  by  F.  C. 
Phillips  and  Percy  FendelL  At  the  time  this  was  first  tried  I 
wrote  the  following:  "With  considerable  revision  and  'pulling 
together'  this  piece  can  be  made  acceptable,  for  there  was  much 
fun  in  it,  despite  the  fact  that  insufficiency  of  rehearsal  was  very 
apparent.  That  fruitful  subject  for  farce  the  patient,  hen-pecked 
husband,  who  ultimately  revolts,  is  the  theme.     A  body  of  ladies,i 


92  That  Woman  in  Pink.  ihrun^i^. 

at  the  head  of  whom  are  Mrs.  Greenthome  and  Mrs.  Smith,  have 
formed  themselves  into  a  society  for  *  Married  Women's  Protection/ 
and  the  amelioration  of  the  morals  of  peccant  spouses.  Under 
their  vigorous  measures  the  men  are  reduced  to  feeding  babies 
and  hemming  dusters.  The  ladies  have  a  club  called  the  '  Tiger 
Lilies.*  Mrs.  Springfield,  a  pretty  widow,  takes  the  part  of  the 
men,  and  induces  them  to  form  a  rival  club, '  The  Dandelions,' 
and  this  is  established  in  the  very  next  room  to  the  ladies'  meeting- 
place.  The  emancipated  husbands  celebrate  the  event  by  a 
champagne  supper  and  baccarat,  and  the  police  appear  upon  the 
scene  and  take  ladies  and  gentlemen  alike  oflf  to  the  station  as 
having  been  found  in  a  common  gambling-house.  Up  to  this  the 
piece  was  decidedly  amusing,  but  in  the  third  act  a  new  element 
was  introduced.  Mrs.  Springfield  comes  to  Greenthome's  house, 
and,  afraid  of  being  seen  by  her  jealous  admirer,  Alfred  Stepit, 
conceals  herself  behind  some  window  curtains,  and  presently 
emerges  as  a  stable-boy,  a  supposed  admirer  of  the  housemaid 
Mary,  who  has  furnished  her  with  the  disguise.  Carlotta  Addison 
and  Miss  Victor,  and  George  Giddens  and  W.  Blakeley,  were 
excellent ;  indeed,  all  the  characters  were  understood,  but  would 
have  been  done  more  justice  to  had  the  parts  been  better  conned 
Husband  and  Wife  was  received  with  sufficient  favour  and 
encouragement  for  the  authors  to  revise  their  work,  and  they  may 
be  recommended  not  to  reproduce  it  until  it  has  been  thoroughly 
rehearsed."  This  play  was  afterwards  produced  at  the  Comedy, 
when  considerable  alterations  were  made  in  it,  which  will  be 
noticed  under  their  proper  date. 

30th.  Terry's  matinie. — Herbert  and  Ethel  Harraden  pro- 
duced "  four  of  their  one-act  original  musical  comediettas."  The 
first,  Charlie,  is  another  version  of  a  subject  that  has  been  used 
before,  of  a  couple  of  young  ladies  who  imagine  that  they  are  in 
love  with  the  same  man,  until  they  discover  that  their  sweethearts 
are  cousins.  Miss  St  Quinten  (Kitty)  and  Loie  Fuller  (Lizzie) 
had  some  pretty  numbers,  which  they  sang  well,  and  by  their 
lively  acting  made  the  piece  acceptable.  All  About  a  Bonnet 
told  of  a  tiff  between  husband  and  wife,  in  which  the  male  has 
to  surrender  unconditionally  to  the  weaker  sex.  Mr.  and  Miss 
Harraden,  who  appeared  as  Herbert  and  Ethel,  should  have 
entrusted  the  characters  to  professional  talent  ThcU  Woman  in 
Pink  proved  thoroughly  bright  and  entertaining  both  in  music 
and  dialogue.  Loie  Fuller  and  G.  T.  MinshuU  depicted  with 
spirit  and  humour  the  characters  of  Florrie  and  Jack,  an  engaged 
couple.     Florrie  is  ridiculously  jealous  about  Jack's  attention  to 


May,  X891.1  Trust  93 

"  That  Woman  in  Pink,'*  who  is  no  other  than  Jack's  sister,  the 
two  having  plotted  to  cure  Florrie  of  her  devotion  to  the  **  green- 
eyed  monster."  For  Aunt  Agathds  Doctor  nothing  could  have 
secured  a  favourable  reception.  Miss  Harraden  was  the  Aunt 
Agatha,  who,  knowing  that  Rosie  (Miss  St.  Quinten)  very  much 
regrets  having  broken  off  her  engagement  with  her  swain,  but  is 
too  proud  to  make  the  amends,  induces  the  girl  to  avow  her  real 
feelings  to  the  family  doctor  (Mr.  Harraden),  who,  after  he  has 
heard  the  confession,  pulls  off  a  false  beard  and  moustache  and 
stands  revealed  as  the  lover.  One  of  the  pleasures  of  the  afternoon 
was  afforded  by  the  excellence  of  the  orchestra,  under  the  direction 
of  Mr.  Barter  Jones. 

30th.  Ladbroke  Hall. — Trusty  "conventional  drama"  in 
four  acts  by  Horace  C.  W.  Newte.  This  was  a  conventi6nal 
melodrama,  but  might  have  passed  muster  had  not  the  author 
entrusted  his  principal  female  character  to  the  Princess  Eugenie 
di  Christofero,  a  lady  who  possessed  not  a  single  qualification  to 
appear  as  an  actress.  Miss  Berkeley,  a  pupil  of  Sarah  Thome's, 
showed  great  promise  in  a  part  that  required  some  power. 

Adelphl — The  English  Rose  ran  until  the  end  of  April. 
During  the  run  A.  B.  Cross  and  W.  B.  Sutherland  played  Harry 
O'Mailly. 


V. 
May. 

2nd.  Death  of  Katty  King  (Mrs.  Arthur  Lloyd),  daughter  of 
T.  C.  King,  the  tragedian,  a  great  favourite  in  Dublin.  The 
deceased  lady,  though  she  had  acted  on  the  regular  stage,  had 
made  her  principal  reputation  in  variety  theatres. 

3rd.  Death  of  Barry  Sullivan  at  his  own  residence,  Albany 
Villas,  Hove,  Brighton,  after  nearly  three  years'  severe  illness, 
he  having  had  a  paralytic  seizure  in  August,  1888.  Bom  at  Bir- 
mingham in  1824,  he  made  his  d^but  at  Cork  in  1840,  but  had 
been  intended  to  follow  the  draper's  business.  After  playing  for 
some  time  in  Ireland,  joined  W.  H.  Murray's  company  at  the 
Theatre  Royal,  Edinburgh.  Made  his  first  mark  as  Sir  Edward 
Mortimer  in  The  Iron  Chest  (Theatre  Royal,  Edinburgh),  May 
3rd,  1847.  London  cUbut  as  Hamlet  (Haymarket)  February  7th, 
1852.  Amongst  the  characters  he  appeared  in  were  Angiolo 
in  Miss  Vandenhoff's  Woman's  Hearty  Evelyn  in  Money^  Hardman 


94  Ptf «/  Jones.  cmay,  1891. 

in  Lytton's  Not  so  Bad  as  We  Seem^  Valence  in  Browning's 
Colomic*s  BirtAday,  Claude  Melnotte,  Franklyn  in  Lovers  Martyrdom, 
Tihrak  in  Nitocris,  Jaques  in  As  You  Like  It.  These  were  previous 
to  1857.  Then  he  went  for  an  American  tour,  and  made  a  con- 
siderable sum  of  money.  Reappeared  in  London  August,  i860, 
at  the  St.  James's  as  Hamlet  Went  to  Australia  for  six  years. 
Returned  to  England  in  1866  ;  in  September  of  that  year 
appeared  as  King  John  and  Macbeth  at  Drury  Lane,  and  became 
manager  of  the  Holbom  Theatre.  Appeared  again  in  America 
and  Australia,  and  from  1875  to  1879  starred  throughout  the 
United  Kingdom.  June  4th,  1887,  saw  his  last  appearance  as 
Richard  III.  at  the  Royal  Alexandra  Theatre,  Liverpool  He 
was  a  very  great  favourite  in  the  provinces,  and  particularly  in 
Shakespearian  characters.  His  acting  was  of  the  robust  school 
He  was  buried  in  the  Glasnevin  cemetery,  Dublin. 

4th.  Chelsea  Town  Hall — The  Reckoning,  original  play  in 
three  acts  by  Ernest  Genet,  was  unconventional  in  idea  and  contained 
some  good  situations ;  with  compression,  a  little  rearrangement, 
and  a  strengthening  of  the  love  interest,  it  could  be  made  acceptable 
to  country  audiences.  The  author,  who  appeared  to  advantage  as 
Allen  Raymond,  received  valuable  aid  from  Charles  W.Glassington 
as  Bernard  Currie,  and  from  Louise  Franklin  as  Daisy  Bradmore. 

4th.  Sadler's  Wells. — Marishka,  five-act  drama  by  Wanda 
Zaleska. 

4th.  Standard. — Paul  Jones.  This  comic  opera  was  given 
by  Charles  Wibrow's  company,  which  had  been  touring  for  some 
time.  The  cast  was  as  follows : — Paul  Jones,  James  Leverett ; 
Rufino  de  Martinez,  Walter  Ashley ;  Bicoquet,  Mat  Robson ; 
Don  Trocadero,  W.  S.  Hartford ;  Kestrel,  Barton  de  SoUa ; 
Bouillabaise,  Charles  Wibrow ;  Petit  Pierre,  H.  O.  Clarey ;  First 
Lieutenant,  B.  Barton  ;  Second  Lieutenant,  G.  W.  Barte ;  Yvonne, 
Louisa  Henschell ;  Malagurna,  Marion  Erie ;  Delphine,  Leslie 
Melvin  ;  Chopinette,  Ivy  Warner. 

Sth.  Opera  Comique. — Betrayed  by  a  Kiss,  one-act  comedy 
by  "Jay  Nibb."  This  was  based  upon  a  countess  and  a  chevalier 
changing  characters  with  their  respective  man  and  maidservant, 
and  these  four  characters  were  represented  by  Marie  de  Valge, 
H.  A.  Saintsbury  (the  author),  J.  G.  Taylor,  and  Mrs.  Campbell 
Bradley,  the  two  latter  excellent  Loie  Fuller  was  not  at  her 
best  as  Gabrielle  St  Aubert,  but  Maud  Digby  was  charming  as 
Adile  de  Vernois. 

5th.  Lyric. — The  Anonymous  Letter,  original  three-act  comedy 
by  Mark  Ambient  and  Frank  Latimer.     The  title  almost  tells  the 


Mat,  1891.]  The  Anonymous  Letter.  95 

story.  Helen  Grant  is  a  popular  actress,  known  as  the  "  Siren  " 
from  the  witchery  she  exercises  over  men.  A  Bohemienne  in  the 
best  sense  of  the  word,  she  disregards  appearances,  and  is, 
therefore,  the  subject  of  disgraceful  scandal.  She  has  won  the 
heart  of  Charles  Credit,  a  good  fellow,  who  believes  in  and  trusts 
her  implicitly.  Ernest  Sinclair,  a  wealthy  playwright,  has  written 
a  part  specially  for  her,  and  therefore  is  almost  compelled  to  visit 
her  constantly.  He  has  married  straight  from  a  convent  his  wife 
Marie,  and  both  are  deeply  attached  to  each  other.  The  serpent 
in  their  Eden  is  Lady  DoUary,  who,  having  once  been  desperately 
in  love  with  Sinclair,  though  he  never  encouraged  her  passion, 
only  awaits  the  opportunity  to  revenge  herself.  This  arises  out 
of  his  frequent  association  with  the  "  Siren,"  for  Lady  DoUary 
breathes  suspicions  into  Mrs.  Sinclair's  ears,  and  finding  these  of 
no  avail,  at  last  writes  the  "  Anonymous  Letter,"  which  points  at 
a  liaison  between  Sinclair  and  Helen  Grant  When  this  letter 
reaches  Marie's  hands  she  at  once  leaves  her  house  and  takes 
refuge  with  Lady  Dollary,  who  has  been  her  pretended  most 
attached  friend  throughout  Sir  Daniel  Dollary  is  a  promoter  of 
companies ;  he  is  floating  one,  for  the  success  of  which  only 
one  thing  is  necessary :  the  securing  of  a  patent  of  which 
Baron  Goldschein  is  the  possessor.  The  Baron,  a  great  admirer 
of  Helen  Grant's,  strives  his  utmost  to  induce  her  to  place  herself 
under  his  protection,  but  she  persistently  refuses  all  his  advances. 
He  also  possesses  a  wonderful  formula,  the  imprimatur  of  which 
is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  success  of  a  speculative  company. 
We  must  candidly  own  that  we  cannot  understand  what  this 
formula  is ;  but  anyhow  Helen  obtains  possession  of  it  She 
openly  tells  the  Baron  this,  and  offers  to  buy  its  use  with  the 
return  of  the  diamonds  he  has  lavished  on  her.  He  will  consent 
to  part  with  it  on  the  condition  that  she  yields  herself  to  him ; 
and  she  refusing,  he  is  so  in  love  with  her  that  he  offers  her 
marriage.  This  she  also  refuses,  millionaire  as  he  is,  and  he  is 
then  so  struck  with  the  nobility  of  character  of  one  of  whom  the 
world  thinks  so  lightly,  that  he  not  only  gives  her  the  formula, 
but  the  patent  necessary  to  the  success  of  the  company,  and  so 
saves  her  lover  Charles  Credit's  fortune,  Charles  having  invested 
the  whole  of  it  in  the  said  company.  Lady  Dollary  has  discovered 
that  her  husband  is  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy,  for  his  company 
is  not  a  success.  She  informs  Sinclair  of  this,  and  he  thinking 
her  his  friend,  offers  to  help  her  husband  to  tide  over  his  difficulties. 
When  Sinclair  learns  that  Helen  Grant  is  the  possessor  of  the 
patent,  he  tries  to  purchase  it  of  her,  but  she  says  she  has  other 


g6  The  Anonymous  Letter.  [Mat.  isgt 

uses  for  it  She  has  all  along  suspected  that  Lady  Dollary  has 
been  the  writer  of  the  anonymous  letter,  and  taxes  her  with  being 
its  author.  Of  course  there  is  a  denial,  but  Helen  Grant  conquers. 
She  shows  that  she  can  have  faith  in  the  better  nature  of  a 
woman.  She  gives  Lady  Dollary  the  patent  and  the  incriminating 
letter,  so  that  it  shall  never  be  traced,  and  Lady  Dollary  goes  to 
Mrs.  Sinclair,  and,  we  are  led  to  suppose,  confesses  to  her  the 
wickedness  of  which  she  has  been  guilty,  and  so  restores  the 
young  wife  to  the  arms  of  her  husband.  The  conduct  on  the 
part  of  Helen  Grant  is  quixotic,  but  we  presume  that  the  authors 
wish  to  prove  that  an  actress  and  a  Bohemienne  is  capable  <A 
exalted  actions.  There  was  some  smart  writing  in  the  play,  but 
the  acts  may  be  said  to  be  split  up  into  a  series  of  duologues. 
The  drawing  of  the  characters  is  much  exaggerated,  and  is 
faulty.  Baron  Goldschein,  a  notorious  libertine,  suddenly  becomes 
an  ardent  admirer  of  virtue.  Sir  Daniel  Dollary,  M.P.,  is  supposed 
to  be  an  able  financier,  and  yet  is  the  silliest  of  men,  who  employs 
his  leisure  moments  in  using  a  skipping-rope  like  a  schoolgirl. 
Mrs.  Sinclair,  fondly  attached  to  her  husband,  yet  believes  in  the 
inculpating  letter  almost  without  hesitation.  Lady  Dollary, 
taking  the  deepest  interest  in  her  hen-pecked  husband,  can  be 
guilty  of  a  despicable  act  to  satisfy  her  revenge  on  a  man  who 
has  never  really  wronged  her.  Helen  Grant,  given  to  Bohemianism 
and  flirtation  and  acceptation  of  valuable  presents  from  a  worthless 
individual,  the  attentions  from  whom  are  an  insult,  is  yet  an 
angel  of  purity.  But  the  parts  were  so  well  played  as  almost  to 
make  one  forget  their  inconsistencies.  W.  H.  Vernon  as  Baron 
Goldschein  was  the  type  of  a  rich,  sensual,  and  generous  libertine. 
George  Mudie  (Sir  Daniel  Dollary)  played  wisely  his  character 
on  broad  farcical  lines,  and  made  it  amusing.  Lewis  Waller's 
Sinclair  was  a  gay,  light-hearted  fellow,  fond  of  a  joke,  his  only 
trouble  being  his  wife's  temporary  disbelief  in  him.  Eric  Lewis 
was  natural  and  quaint  as  the  confiding  lover  Charles  Credit, 
and  Cecil  Frere  the  model  of  a  respectable  servant  Annie  Rose 
enlisted  sympathy  and  looked  very  pretty  as  Mrs.  Sinclair. 
Edith  Vane  as  Lady  Dollary  had  a  difficult  part  to  portray,  a 
woman  who  by  turns  was  swayed  by  love  and  hatred,  and 
acquitted  herself  admirably.  Alexes  Leighton  gave  one  of  the 
best  renderings  I  have  seen  of  a  talkative,  faithful  Scotch  servant, 
Paterson.  Florence  West  was  thoroughly  Bohemian,  yet  always 
ladylike,  loving,  and  making  one  believe  in  Helen's  sincerity  and 
power,  despite  the  flirtations,  etc.  The  character  was  a  risky  one, 
but  the   actress   handled    it  with  great    tact.      The  Anonymous 


May,  1891.1  TIte  Late  Lamented.  97 

Letter^  with  some  alterations,  was  afterwards  played  at  several 
matinees. 

6th.   Court. — Tlie   Late  Lamented.      No   droller   farce  was 
perhaps  ever  written  than  Bisson's  Feu   Toupinely  but  it  had  its 
objectionable  features.     Those  who  saw  Mr.  Homer's  version  at 
once  admitted  that  the  fun  throughout  was  clean  and  honest,  for 
the  adaptor  had  eliminated  everything  distasteful,  without  losing 
one  iota  of  the  humour.     What  is  more,  the  scenes  presented 
were  thoroughly  English,  not  French  characters  and  events  merely 
transplanted  on  to  English  soil.     The  original  idea  is  very  funny. 
Mrs.  Stuart  Crosse  is  a  lady  who,  having  revered  all  her  life  and 
after  his  death  held  up  the  late  Mr.  Nicholson  as  a  pattern  of  all 
the  virtues,  bestows  her  hand  on  Mr.  Crosse,  and  takes  good  care 
to  frequently  remind  him  of  the  excellency  of  the  "  Late  Lamented." 
She  even  carries  her  adoration  so  far  as  to  have  the  picture  of  her 
worship,  representing  him  as  the    most  solemnly  respectable  of 
individuals,  hung  in  her  drawing-room.     But  a  terrible  revulsion 
comes  over  her  feelings.     Mr.  Fawcett,  the  lawyer,  comes  to  settle 
up  her  late  husband's  estate.     He  was  a  wine-merchant,  with  a 
branch  house  in  Cyprus,  which  he  used  to  visit  every  year,  spend- 
ing six   months  in  the  island.     Though  Mrs.  Nicholson  never 
accompanied  him,  just  as  he  was  preparing  for  one  of  his  journeys 
she  was  taken  ill,  not  seriously  enough,  however,  to  detain  him. 
On  arriving  at  Cyprus  he  received  a  telegram  leading  him  to 
suppose   that   his    wife   was   dead,   though    the   communication 
referred  to  a  wealthy  aunt  of  his.       He  was  then    seized    with 
the  country  fever,  and  a  rather  fast  young  lady  known  to  the 
garrison  as  "  Larky,"  a  terrible,  but  good-natured  flirt,  nursed  him 
through  his  illness.     Out  of  gratitude,  and   believing  himself  a 
widower,  he  married  her.     Thus  when  he  died  he  left  two  widows. 
In   going   through  the  accounts   Mrs.  Crosse  discovers  that  he 
possessed  a  handsomely  furnished  villa  in  Cyprus,  and  had  paid 
various  heavy  milliners'  bills ;  and  her  indignation  is  proportionately 
great.     "  Larky "  has  in  the  meantime  married  Richard  Webb, 
has  come  to  England  with  her  husband,  and  by  chance  they  have 
taken  up  their  abode  in  the  flat  above  the  Crosses — with  whom 
they  become  acquainted — in  West  End  Mansions.     Mrs.  Crosse 
has   an  attached  old   butler,  Parker,  who  unintentionally  makes 
much  mischief.     He  and  his  new  master  hate  each  other,  so  when 
Parker  is  discharged  he  tells  his  mistress  that  Crosse  is  "  carrying 
on  "  with  Mrs.  Webb,  and  Mrs.  Crosse's  suspicions  are  confirmed 
by  finding  a  jeweller's  bill  for  a  ;^700  diamond  necklace  in  her 
husband's  pocket.     Then  Major  Marshall  comes  to  see  his  friend 

7 


98  The  Doubk  Event.  [Mat,  isgt. 

Crosse.  The  Major  has  just  returned  from  Cyprus,  where  he  was 
quartered  and  knew  Nicholson,  and  pours  into  Crosse's  horrified  ears 
the  story  of  "  Larky *s  "  doings  and  her  marriage  to  the  "  Late 
Lamented,"  that  he  (Marshall)  was  a  great  admirer  of  "  Larky's," 
that  he  has  seen  her  and  means  to  follow  up  his  conquest,  and 
that  "  Larky "  had  a  great  liking  for  Richard  Webb.  Crosse, 
naturally  believing  that  Nicholson  only  left  one  widow,  imagines 
that  he  has  married  "  Larky,"  and  so  becomes  intensely  jealous, 
and  in  order  to  prevent  his  wife  and  the  Major  meeting,  hurries 
him  over  his  luncheon  to  such  an  extent  as  to  bring  back  a 
severe  return  of  some  form  of  jungle  fever,  which  is  excruciatingly 
and  funnily  exhibited.  Then  in  the  third  act  Mrs.  Crosse  sees 
the  diamond  necklace  on  Mrs.  Webb's  neck  (it  had  been  given 
her  by  the  "  Late  Lamented,"  and  the  bill  had  been  sent 
in  to  his  successor).  The  Crosses  both  behave  so  strangely  from 
their  mutual  jealousy  that  Webb  takes  them  for  a  pair  of  lunatics, 
and  in  the  Webbs'  rooms  is  found  another  portrait  of  the  "  Late 
Lamented,"  painted  in  Cyprus  as  a  jaunty  individual,  with  eye- 
glass and  curled  moustache,  in  absurd  contrast  to  his  other 
likeness.  With  the  exception  that  the  second  act  is  a  little 
prolonged,  the  farce  created  the  very  heartiest  laughter  from  the 
commencement  to  the  end.  Mrs.  John  Wood's  method  was 
exactly  suited  to  the  part  of  Mrs.  Stuart  Crosse,  and  she  made 
the  character  a  most  amusing  one.  Arthur  Cecil,  too,  though  a 
little  nervous  on  the  first  night,  grasped  the  absurd  jealousy  and 
bewilderment  of  his  situations.  Herbert  Standing  had  not  been 
seen  to  greater  advantage  for  years  ;  his  acting  was  the  very 
essence  of  light  comedy.  Fred  Cape  made  an  excellent  character- 
part  of  Parker,  and  the  remainder  of  the  cast  was  all  that  could 
be  desired.  The  reception  of  The  Late  Lamented  was  a  most  favour- 
able one.  A  play  entitled  The  Late  Lamented  was  written  by  Tom 
Taylor,  and  was  produced  at  the  Haymarket  Nov.  19th,  1859. 
It  only  ran  three  nights.  It  was  acted  by  Charles  Mathews  and 
Miss  Reynolds  as  a  marquis  and  marchioness,  and  by  J.  B. 
Buckstone  and  Mrs.  Charles  Mathews  as  the  two  servants.  The 
only  similarity  to  Feu  Toupinel  was  the  constant  regret  and 
admiration  expressed  by  the  Marchioness  for  her  former  husband. 
The  subject  was  perhaps  better  treated  by  Henri  Drayton  in  his 
musical  duologue,  Never  Judge  by  Appearances,  played  at  the 
Adelphi  July  7th,  1859.  Fred  Homer's  Late  Lamented  was 
afterwards  transferred  to  the  Strand  (Aug.  ist). 

6th.  Kilbum  Town  Hall. —  The  Double  £z/^«/,  threi^-act  comedy 
by  James  East,  for  copyright  purposes.  Digitized  by  CjOOglc 


May,  X891  ]  The  Director.  99 

7th.  Terry's  matinee, — Three-act  farce  by  Harry  Green- 
bank.  A  very  weak  production  was  Tke  Director^  which  was  only 
accepted  on  account  of  the  excellence  of  the  acting.  Mr.  Syden- 
ham Sudds,  chairman  of  the  Central  African  Clothing  Distribution 
Society,  quietest  and  most  submissive  of  husbands  to  an  imperious 
wife,  is  induced  by  the  prospect  of  large  dividends  to  becom  e 
chairman  of  the  Harmony  Music  iHall.  He  visits  the  place  of 
entertainment  on  the  plea  that  he  is  attending  a  meeting  of  the 
African  Society,  and  the  fact  is  discovered  by  his  wife,  also  by 
Tom  Ashford,  who  gets  the  whip  hand  of  him,  and  compels  him 
to  consent  to  his  marriage  with  Dolly.  Rebecca  Sudds,  a  gush- 
ing spinster  of  a  certain  age,  has  a  passion  for  comic  songs,  and 
yet  has  a  fervent  but  most  bashful  admirer  in  Joseph  Jonquil. 
Augustus  Sudds,  to  please  his  aunt,  invites  Charlie  Chiffins,  a 
music-hall  lion  comique,  to  one  of  his  father's  quiet  musical 
evenings,  and  the  "  London  Warbler  "  horrifies  most  of  the  com- 
pany by  singing  one  of  his  evening  melodies.  The  final  touch  to 
Sydenham  Sudds's  miseries  comes  in  a  deputation  of  serio-comic 
ladies  from  the  **  Harmony,"  who,  to  enlist  his  sympathy  for  their 
gfrievances,  chuck  him  under  the  chin  and  dance  a  "  lively 
measure,"  making  him  the  centre  of  the  group,  in  which  situation 
he  is  discovered  by  Mrs.  Sudds.  There  were  some  very  clever 
lines  in  the  farce  ;  had  all  the  work  been  as  good,  the  young 
author  might  have  accepted  the  plaudits  of  his  friends  as  genuine. 
Edward  Terry  (Sydenham  Sudds),  Henry  V.  Esmond  (Augustus 
Sudds),  E.  M.  Robson  (Joseph  Jonquil),  and  Sophie  Larkin 
(Rebecca  Sudds),  in  the  comic  parts  saved  the  piece.  Philip 
Cuningham  (Tom  Ashford)  and  Alice  Maitland  (Dolly  Sudds) 
played  naturally  as  the  lovers.  Mr.  Terry  had  at  one  time  some 
idea  of  putting  the  farce  in  the  evening  bill. 

7th.  Vaudeville  matinSe, — Leak  the  Forsaketiy  perform- 
ance given  in  aid  of  the  Women's  Trades  Union  League. 
Bessie  Byrne,  in  the  title  rdle,  did  not  shine  ;  Bassett  Roe  was 
powerful  as  Nathan  ;  A.  B.  Cross  was  fairly  good  as  Rudolph  ; 
and  Fred  Thome  contrived  to  extract  a  few  laughs  as  Ludwig. 
Annie  Hill  elicited  sympathy  as  Madalena,  and  Miss  Culrik  made 
a  favourable  impression  as  Sarah. 

7th.  St.  George's  Hall. — Pretence^  by  S.  Boyle  Lawrence. 
Herbert  Linmere  is  secretly  engaged  to  Kate  O'Connor.  In 
order  to  avert  the  suspicions  of  her  aunt,  who  wishes  her  to  marry 
a  rich  man,  she  prevails  on  Herbert  and  her  sister  Nelly  to  pre- 
tend to  be  in  love.  From  pretence  they  come  to  real  earnest, 
but   when,  during    the  absence  of   Kate,  Herbert  declares   his 


lOO  Streets  of  London,  [May,  1891. 

passion  for  Nelly,  the  girl,  though  she  owns  she  loves  him,  tells 
him  also  that  she  despises  him  for  his  falseness,  and  bids  him 
be  true  to  her  sister.  Just  then  Kate  and  Fred  (whom  she  had 
previously  refused)  enter  the  room.  The  curtain  falls  on  Nelly 
promising  to  be  Fred's  wife.  Rather  weak  and  confused  in  plot, 
but  dialogue  good.     Acted  by  amateurs. 

7th.  Adelphi  (revival). — Streets  of  London.  Often  as  this 
play  of  The  Streets  of  London  has  been  revived,  it  always  appears 
to  appeal  to  an  audience,  the  secret  being  that  it  is  a  human  play, 
and  shows  us  how  among  the  poorest  and  the  lowliest  kindliness 
and  charity  are  most  to  be  found,  and  that  even  a  rogue  such  as 
Badger  has  a  heart.  There  is  no  occasion  to  tell  the  story.  At 
the  Adelphi  the  great  sensation  scenes  of  Charing  Cross  on  a 
snowy  night,  with  its  kaleidoscope  of  humanity,  its  real  cabs,  hot- 
potato  sellers,  beggars, and  young  swells,  were  faithfully  reproduced ; 
and  the  **  house  on  fire,"  with  the  arrival  of  the  real  engine  and 
horses,  and  the  marvellous  escape  of  Badger  from  the  blazing  ruins, 
created  the  same  sensations  as  they  ever  did.  Leonard  Boyne 
imparted  an  amount  of  jovial  devil-may-care-ism  to  Badger  that 
made  one  forget  what  a  rascal  he  is,  but  he  could  be  firm  and 
incisive  enough  when  occasion  required,  and  in  the  scene  where 
he  is  nearly  suffocated  with  the  fumes  of  the  charcoal  he  held  the 
house.  Genial  kind-hearted  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Puffy  found  capital 
exponents  in  Lionel  Rignold  and  Mrs.  H.  Leigh,  clever  Clara  Jecks 
was  a  saucy  good-natured  Dan,  and  T.  B.  Thalberg  and  Olga 
Brandon  were  effective  in  their  parts.  Frederic  Glover  was  not 
quite  the  Crawley  one  would  expect ;  he  did  not  seem  to  grip  the 
character.  As  good  a  performance  as  any  was  that  of  Ada 
Ferrar  as  the  imperious  and  stony-hearted  Alida.  The  revival 
was  a  decided  success. 

7th.  Criterion  matinie. — Charles  Wyndham  gave  a  per- 
formance of  David  Garrick  in  aid  of  the  Actors*  Benevolent  Fund, 
which  realised  ;^200  clear. 

8th.  Vaudeville  (revival). — Confusion^  for  a  series  of  matin^es^ 
farcical  comedy  in  three  acts  by  Joseph  Derrick.  This  wildly 
diverting  farce  was  first  tried  at  a  matinie  May  17th,  1883,  and 
was  placed  in  the  evening  bill  at  the  Vaudeville  July  i6th  of  the 
same  year,  when  Mr.  Thomas  Thorne  commenced  his  summer 
season.  Of  the  original  cast  only  one,  Fred  Thome,  still  appeared, 
and  he  filled  the  character  that  he  played  from  the  first.  It  will 
perhaps  be  remembered  that  the  mistakes  in  the  play  arise 
through  a  telegram  and  a  vaguely  worded  letter.  Lucretia  has 
accepted  the  attentions  of  the  bachelor  Blizzard,  when  she  picks 


May,  1891.]  The  Cohur  Sergeant.  lOl 

up  a  telegram  which  she  thinks  will  account  for  his  sudden 
summons  to  London.  In  it  she  reads,  "  Your  baby  is  worse/'  and 
concludes  that  he  is  a  father  and  a  Don  Juan.  The  communication 
has  really  been  addressed  to  James  and  Maria,  who,  secretly 
married,  but  passing  as  single  people,  have  been  obliged  to  leave 
their  "offspring"  in  town.  Blizzard  has  gone  to  fetch  a  pug-dog 
as  a  present  for  Rose;  and  as  the  husband  objects  to  a  dog  in  the 
household,  she  leaves  for  him  an  ambiguously  worded  letter,  in  which 
she  claims  kindness  and  sympathy  for  the  "  little  thing,"  so  that 
when  Mumpleford  sees  the  baby  he  imagines  it  to  be  the  "  little 
thing,"  a  child  of  his  wife's.  Then  he  behaves  so  strangely  that 
a  doctor  is  called  in,  and  he  is  taken  for  a  maniac ;  and  overhearing 
a  conversation  in  which,  to  quiet  Mumpleford,  Blizzard  says  to 
Rose  that  the  only  way  out  of  the  difficulty  is  to  drown  "  the 
little  thing,"  the  husband  imagines  that  they  are  plotting  the 
drowning  of  the  baby.  The  farce  played  so  crisply  that  the 
situations  produced  the  heartiest  laughter.  Thomas  Thorne  might 
have  made  Blizzard  a  little  more  jovial,  but  the  actor  warmed  to 
his  work  as  the  play  progressed,  and  was  droll  in  his  represen- 
tation of  the  wrongly  suspected  admirer  of  the  strait-laced 
Lucretia,  a  character  played  with  great  humour  and  vivacity  by 
Emily  Thorne,  whose  assumption  of  juvenility  was  most  amusing. 
Fred  Thome's  stolidity  of  countenance  as  James  tickled  his 
audience  immensely,  and  Kate  James  was  very  clever  in  playing 
up  to  him  as  Maria ;  their  scenes  together  went  splendidly.  H.  B. 
Conway's  consternation  and  horror  when  he  as  Mumpleford 
fancies  that  his  wife  has  brought  to  his  house  a  child  of  hers,  and 
not  his,  were  in  the  truest  spirit  of  comedy ;  and  his  acting  was  of 
the  best  Dr.  Jones  was  neatly  played  by  F.  Grove.  J.  Wheat- 
man  made  a  hit  in  the  small  part  of  Muzzle.  Ella  Banister 
looked  very  pretty,  and  was  earnest  in  style.  Annie  Hill  was 
wanting  in  animation  as  Violet  Oswald  Yorke  as  Rupert 
Sunbury  was  far  from  an  engaging  lover. 

9th.  New  Olympic. — Mr.  Wilson  Barrett  brought  his  season 
to  a  close  on  this  date.  The  strain  upon  him  as  manager  and 
actor  had  been  very  great,  and  had  certainly  told  upon  him,  for 
he  appeared  quite  exhausted  at  the  close  of  the  performance. 
The  evening  was  also  made  the  occasion  of  Wilson  Barrett's 
benefit,  and  a  varied  programme  enabled  him  to  appear  in  several 
of  those  characters  which  he  reckons  amongst  his  greatest  successes. 
First  came  Brandon  Thomas's  The  Colour  Sergeant^  which  has 
been  lately  seen ;  and  though  it  has  in  it  no  part  for  the 
bin^ficiaire^  it  embraces  favourite  members  of  his  company.     This 


102  The  Miser.  cmat,  1891. 


was  followed  by  (for  the  first  time  in  London)  a  one-act  phantasy, 
by  S.  Weir  Mitchell,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  entitled  Tfu  Miser:  The 
Miser,  W.  Barrett ;  Death,  A.  Melford  ;  Satan,  Cooper  Cliffe ;  A 
Woman,  L.  Belmore.  This  piece,  though  short  (it  only  played 
some  twenty  minutes),  is  effective,  but  weird  and  almost  "uncanny." 
It  was  received  with  <:onsiderable  approval  in  America,  and  if 
gloomy,  is  powerful.  The  "  Miser "  has  made  his  gold  his  god  ; 
nothing  shall  tear  it  from  him,  shall  win  it  away  from  him,  or 
induce  him  to  part  with  it  It  is  his  life,  and  he  will  not  barter 
any  portion  of  it  even  for  the  sensuous  kisses  of  woman.  He 
mocks  at  Satan,  who  tempts  him  and  warns  him  that  he  cannot 
carry  the  gold  with  him  to  the  grave,  which  is  open  for  him,  and 
to  which  Death  draws  him  with  its  bony  arm,  for  as  it  does  so 
the  "  Miser,"  with  an  unearthly  scream,  falls  dead.  Wilson  Barrett 
assumed  the  voice  and  senility  of  age  with*  great  cleverness,  and 
completely  sank  himself  in  the  character.  The  other  members  of 
the  cast  were  thoroughly  effective.  The  third  act  of  The  Lights 
d  London  followed  (cast  as  before) ;  and  this  was  succeeded  by 
the  second  act  of  Hamlety  with  Barrett  as  Hamlet  and  Winifred 
Emery  as  Ophelia.  The  only  change  in  the  characters  last  seen 
here  was  that  S.  M.  Carson  played  Rosencrantz.  This  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  masquerade  scene  from  The  Acrobat^  including  the 
Watteau  ballet,  and  the  whole  concluded  with  ChaiterUm^  with 
Wilson  and  George  Barrett  and  L.  Belmore  in  their  original 
characters,  L.  Hanbury  as  Lady  Mary,  and  A.  Cooke  as  Mrs. 
Angel.  To  have  appeared  in  such  an  arduous  round  of  characters 
in  one  evening  was  a  strain  upon  any  actor :  but  notwithstanding 
Mr.  Wilson  Barrett's  evident  fatigue,  a  speech  was  insisted  on, 
and  briefly,  in  a  heartfelt  manner,  he  returned  thanks  for  the  kind 
feeling  displayed  towards  him  by  the  public,  a  feeling  which  he 
hoped  and  believed  would  be  ever  maintained ;  disclaimed  ener- 
getically any  connection  with  or  approval  of  the  "no-fee"  demonstra- 
tion which  had  lately  taken  place ;  spoke  of  how  he  had  always 
endeavoured  to  uphold  the  dignity  of  his  profession  ;  and  said  that, 
had  he  perhaps  been  more  of  a  showman  and  less  of  an  artist  in 
the  past,  he  would  have  been  a  richer  man.  And  then  Mr. 
Barrett  admitted  that,  having  had  no  holiday  for  five  years, 
acting,  management,  and  authorship  combined  had  told  upon  him, 
so  that  he  should  be  glad  of  a  little  rest.  He  was  happy  to  say 
that  when  the  theatre  reopened  Mr.  Charles  Wilmot  would  relieve 
him  of  a  portion  of  his  labours.  He  finished  by  promising  that 
he  would  produce  several  new  plays  which  he  possessed.  The 
bhi^ficiaire  was  most  cordially  as  well  as  enthusiastically  received 


Mat,  xBqx.]  The  Lody  from  the  Sea.  103 

and  cheered,  and  his  speech  was  several  times  interrupted   by 
applause. 

9th.   St.  George's  Hall. — Made/,  original  play  in  3  acts  by 
George  Fox. 

I  ith.  Terry's  matinee. — The  Lady  from  the  Sea,  Eleanor  Marx 
Aveling's  translation  of  Henrik  Ibsen's  five-act  play.    Even  those 
who  do  not  worship  Ibsen  are  compelled  to  admit  that  as  a  reading 
play  The  Lady  from  the  Sea  is  poetic,  imaginative,  and  interesting. 
It  is  in  a  degree  hypnotic,  for  an  unseen  and  far-distant  human 
being  exercises  an  extraordinary  influence  over  another  with  whom 
for  a  time  he  has  been  brought  in  contact,  and  the  work  appears  to 
endeavour  to  inculcate  that  perfect  freedom  will  enable  woman  to 
resist   phantasies  and    listen   to  the  dictates  of  common  sense, 
whereas  so  long  as  she  is  fettered  by  conventional  rules  and 
customs  she  will  be  a  slave  to  her  fancies  and  act  in  defiance  of 
all  moral  law.     And  yet  this  play,  that  promised  more  perhaps 
than  any  other  if  it  were  put  upon  the  stage,  proved  in  represen- 
tation the  most  disappointing   of  any  of  Ibsen's   yet   seen  in 
England.     EUida  Wangel,  whilst  living  at  a  lighthouse  shut  off 
from  society,  from  her  abiding  near  the  sea  has  become  imbued 
with   its    restless,  perpetually  changing   spirit      A  shipwrecked 
sailor  crosses  her  path.    He  is  daring,  and  from  his  calling  is  ever 
on  the  waters.     He  appears  to  her  to  be  a  spirit  from  the  deep. 
He  is  her  affinity;  and  she  betroths  herself  to  him,  nothing  more. 
He  leaves  her,  but  some  day  promises  to  return ;  and  she  must 
then   be  prepared  to  follow  him.     Years  elapse,  EUida  marries 
Dr.  Wangel,  a  widower,  with  two  gjrown-up  daughters,  and  she 
goes  to  live  with  her  husband  on  a  fjord.     Here  a  child  is  born 
to  her,  but  she  insists  that  the  child  has  the  eyes  of  her  affinity, 
which  were  ever  changeful  as  the  sea.     She  feels  that,  like  Nora 
in   Tlie  DolPs  House,  she  has  been  living  with  a  "  strange  man," 
that  there  is  not  that  communion  of  soul  between  herself  and  her 
husband  that  should  exist      She  is  restless,  preoccupied,  and  has 
no  interest  in  life,  but  is   perpetually  haunted   by  the   unseen 
presence  of  the  man  to  whom  she  betrothed  herself.     At  last  he 
appears  in  the  flesh  and  commands  her  to  leave  home  and  husband, 
and  follow  him.      A  great  struggle  takes  place  within  her.      She 
has  learnt  to  love  the  man  with  whom  she  has  united  herself,  and 
yet  the  other  possesses  an  almost  irresistible  influence  over  her. 
To  decide  with  which  of  the  two  her  future  shall  be  passed,  she 
must  have  absolute  freedom.     Her  husband  must  give  her  back 
her  liberty  without  reserve.     Dr.  Wangel,  a  weak  man,  does  so. 
The  stranger,  her  affinity,  is  disposed  to  enforce  his  claim,  and 


104  On  Lease,  [Mat,  1891. 

draws  a  pistol.  Ellida  throws  herself  into  her  husband's  arms  to 
shield  him.  She  makes  her  choice,  now  that  it  is  left  unreservedly 
to  her  own  volition,  and  remains  with  Dr.  Wangel  ;  and  "  the 
stranger  "  departs,  never  to  cross  her  path  again.  As  sketches  of 
character  that  have  no  absolute  bearing  on  the  main  interest,  we 
have  Amholm,  an  old  teacher  of  Bolette's,  who  accepts  him  with- 
out feeling  for  him  one  spark  of  affection,  but  that  she  may  see 
something  of  the  great  outer  world,  to  which  he  promises  to 
introduce  her ;  a  consumptive  sculptor,  Lyngstrand,  a  type  of 
utter  selfishness  ;  and  Ballested,  a  curious  creature,  with  an  aptitude 
to  turn  his  hand  to  anything.  Rose  Meller's  Ellida  Wangel  was 
a  conscientious,  thoughtful  study,  but  it  lacked  inspiration  ;  it 
was  graceful,  but  commonplace ;  it  was  the  ruffled  surface  of  a 
pond  instead  of  the  majesty  and  power  of  an  ocean  storm. 
Violet  Armbruster  in  a  more  conventional  character  was  thoroughly 
satisfactory,  and  Edith  Kenward  was  decidedly  clever  as  Hilda,  a 
girl  that  is  just  stepping  into  womanhood — thoughtless  almost  to 
cruelty,  but  that  yearns  for  love  and  affection.  Charles  Dalton's 
part  as  "  the  stranger,"  Ellida's  betrothed,  was  what  is  generally 
accepted  as  a  "  showy  "  one,  but  the  actor  did  not  overstep  the 
bounds  of  prudence,  and  made  it  effective  and  poetic  Herbert 
Sparling's  Lyngstrand  was  commendable.  A  consumptive  sub- 
ject, who  is  quite  unaware  that  he  will  never  recover,  is  difficult  to 
impersonate.  Of  the  remaining  characters,  I  can  only  say  that 
Ibsen  had  evidently  not  inspired  them  or  made  them  other  than 
conventional. 

1 2th.  Criterion  matinie. — Mr.  Charles  Wyndham  kindly 
lent  his  theatre  for  a  special  matinie^  organised  in  aid  of  the 
Clewer  Mission  Work  and  Schools,  which  were  much  in  need  of 
assistance.  The  lessee,  Mary  Moore,  and  George  Giddens 
appeared  in  Delicate  Ground  and  gave  great  satisfaction.  The 
programme  included,  among  other  items,  scenes  from  Macbeth  by 
Hermann  Vezin  and  his  pupil,  Laura  Johnson  (who  was  powerful 
in  Scene  L,  Act  H.,  and  in  the  "  sleep-walking  "  scene),  assisted 
by  A.  Kendrick  and  Lockhart  and  Kate  Selwyn,  and  concluded 
with  "  a  musical  farce  of  the  future,"  written  and  composed  by 
Cotsford  Dick,  entitled  On  Lease :  Lady  La  Rose,  Mrs.  Grodfrey 
Pearse ;  Sir  Charles  La  Rose,  C.  P.  Colnaghi  ;  Colonel  Fitz- 
Bluster,  Mr.  Walkes ;  The  Registrar,  Cotsford  Dick.  Although 
this  trifle  had  been  tried  at  the  Lyric  Club,  it  had  not  hitherto 
been  heard  in  public.  It  is  a  merry  skit  on  a  supposed  new 
marriage  law,  whereby  the  contracting  parties  can  "  lease "  each 
other  for  a  term  of  six  months  or  three,  seven,  fourteen,  or  twenty- 


May,  X89X.)  The  Corsican  Brothers.  105 

one  years,  and  then  determine  the  lease  by  going  before  the 
registrar,  a  very  busy  official,  humorously  played  by  the  author. 
The  "  book  "  is  smart,  and  the  music  lively  and  catching.  The 
choruses  of  "  Bridegrooms  "  and  of  "  Brides  "  were  redemanded, 
as  was  also  Lady  La  Rose's  song,  "  I  was  a  society  beauty,"  most 
charmingly  sung  by  Mrs.  Godfrey  Pearse,  a  daughter  of  the  great 
Mario,  from  whom  the  lady  inherits  her  expression  and  tuneful 
voice.  There  is  a  little  under-current  of  fun  through  the  mistakes 
arising  from  the  acquisition  of  a  poodle,  in  which  all  but  the 
registrar  are  mixed  up,  and  the  three  sing  a  lively  trio,  **  When  a 
husband  would  a-wooing  go."  The  whole  winds  up  with  the  appear- 
ance of  Cupid  heralding  the  approach  of  an  old  couple  who  have 
gained  the  prize  awarded  for  fifty  years  of  uninterrupted  wedding 
bliss — a  pretty  and  fanciful  idea.  C.  P.  Colnaghi  was  quaint  and 
droll  in  his  part.  Though  reminiscent  of  Trial  by  Jury^  the  trifle 
is  decidedly  acceptable.  The  matinie  was  under  the  patronage 
of  royalty. 

1 2th.  Lyric  Opera  House,  Hammersmith,  put  up  for  sale  by 
auction  at  the  Mart,  Tokenhouse  Yard,  but  bought  in  at  a  reserve 
price  of  ;f  10,000,  ;^8,ooo  having  been  the  highest  price  offered. 

1 2th.  Lyceum  (revival). — The  Corsican  Brothers.  Henry 
Irving  first  produced  this  play,  Saturday,  Sept  i8th,  1880. 
He  then,  as  also  W.  Terriss,  Mr.  Tyars,  Mr.  Archer,  and  Mrs. 
Pauncefort,  filled  their  present  rdles^  and  A.  W.  Pinero  was  M. 
Alfred  Meynard,  Miss  Fowler  Emilie  de  L'Esparre,  and  Alma 
Murray  Coralie.  Whilst  on  the  subject  of  the  past,  I  may  recall 
that  the  play  was  first  produced  in  England  at  the  Princess's 
Theatre,  under  Charles  Kean's  management,  Feb.  24th,  1852, 
when  Kean  created  a  perfect  furore  as  the  Dei  Franchi,  and  Alfred 
Wigan  was  the  Chelteau  Renaud.  Walter  Lacy  was  afterwards 
a  most  successful  representative  of  the  last-named  character ;  and 
in  France,  when  Les  Frhes  Corses  was  produced  at  the  Th^dtre 
Historique,  Paris,  Aug.  loth,  1850,  Charles  Fechter,  "the 
original  interpreter,"  was  praised  "  for  the  subtlety  with  which  he 
marked  the  characteristic  differences  between  the  town-bred  and 
the  country-bred  brothers."  The  Corsican  Brothers  is  essentially 
a  one-part  play,  for  Chateau  Renaud,  the  hectoring  libertine  and 
duellist,  is  after  all  but  a  feeder  to  the  character  of  the  Franchi.  Mr. 
Irving  had  not  much  altered  his  original  reading  of  the  last-named 
brothers.  Louis  he  makes  poetical,  gentle,  and  heroic  in  his  devotion 
to  Emilie.  Fabien  is  a  veritable  Corsican,  impulsive,  generous,  but 
relentless.  He  completely  makes  one  believe  in  the  strange 
mystic  tie  between  the  two  brothers.     The  cold-blooded  ruthless 


io6  Nance  Oldfield.  [Mat.  xb^i. 

savagely  of  the  man  was  exhibited  in  the  duel  scene,  which  was 
magnificently  fought.  W.  Terriss  again  showed  considerable 
power  as  Ch&teau  Renaud,  but  not  so  much  as  might  have  been 
expected  in  such  an  actor.  Annie  Irish  was  a  delicate  and  graceful 
Emilie  de  L'Esparre,  Mrs.  Fauncefort  a  dignified  kindly  Madame 
dei  Franchi,  and  Mr.  Haviland  excellent  as  M.  Alfred  Meynard. 
The  other  characters  were  quite  satisfactorily  represented.  Some 
improvement  was  anticipated  in  the  method  of  appearance  of  the 
ghost,  but  even  modern  science  does  not  seem  able  to  better  the 
solidity  of  the  supposed  disemtxxlied  apparition.  The  visions 
were  well  arranged,  and  the  scenes  representing  the  chateau 
in  Corsica  and  the  "  forest  glade "  in  Fontainebleau  were  per- 
fection. It  was  on  the  Bal  de  TOp^ra  scene  that  Mr.  Irving  had 
expended  his  greatest  efforts.  A  more  realistic  and  brilliant  coup- 
(Tail  has  never  been  seen  ;  it  was  a  reproduction  of  the  interior 
of  the  opera-house,  with  its  boxes  full  of  gaily-dressed  people, 
massive  diandeliers  shedding  their  light  on  hundreds  of  fantastic 
forms  whirling  in  the  dance,  and  special  ballets  of  Chicardes, 
Debardeurs,  and  Pierrots.  The  house  rang  again  and  again  with 
applause,  although  the  play  itself  is  old-fashioned  and  not  quite 
so  readily  believed  in  as  it  was  years  ago. 

1 2th.  Lyceum  (revival). — Nance  Oldfield,  one-act  comedy 
by  Charles  Reade.  There  was  no  part  in  Dion  Boucicault's  piece 
that  afforded  sufficient  scope  for  the  display  of  Miss  Terry's 
talents,  and  therefore  Mr.  Irving  wisely  gave  her  an  opportunity 
of  appearing  in  a  character  for  which  the  actress  is  eminently 
suited.  Charles  Reade's  play  is  but  David  Garrick  (which,  by 
the  way,  was  taken  from  the  French)  in  petticoats.  Alexander 
Oldworthy,  a  poet  and  budding  dramatist,  has  been  bewitched  by 
the  attractions  of  Nance  Oldfield,  the  great  actress.  His  father 
implores  her  to  cure  him  of  his  passion.  She  does  so  by  making 
herself  out  to  her  boyish  lover  all  that  is  mercenary,  unlovable, 
and  slatternly.  But  the  youth  being  reduced  to  abject  despair  by 
being  disillusioned,  she  gives  him  an  object  in  life  by  promising  to 
get  his  tragedy  produced,  and  to  play  the  leading  character  in  it 
Miss  Terry  was  perhaps  suffering  from  nervousness  on  the  first 
performance,  and  consequently  the  prompter  was  frequently  heard, 
but  there  were  moments  when  the  actress  showed  us  what  a  vein 
of  rich  and  enchanting  comedy  would  be  struck  in  her  delineation 
when  she  was  thoroughly  at  home  in  the  part  Gordon  Craig, 
though  he  has  not  sufficient  experience  to  play  Alexander,  sur- 
prised me  by  the  improvement  he  had  made.  Wenman  was  a 
little  too  bucolic  as  the  country  attorney.     Kate    Phillips  was 


May,  1891.]  HandfasU  107 

excellent  as  a  rather  simple  waiting-maid.  It  should  be  men- 
tioned that  this  comedy  is  not  the  only  version  of  Fournier's 
Tiridate ;  ou^  Comidie  et  Tragedie,  a  very  old  French  play.  Mrs. 
Bracegirdle  was  the  heroine  in  An  Actress  by  Day  lights  played 
by  Mrs.  John  Wood  during  her  St.  James's  management  John 
Oxenford's  adaptation,  The  Tragedy  Queen^  found  favour,  with  Mrs. 
Stirling  as  Mrs.  Bracegirdle,  at  the  Olympic,  May,  1856.  The 
present  version  was  originally  entitled  Art^  but  under  the  now 
used  title  was  last  played  by  Genevieve  Ward  at  the  Lyceum 
during  her  short  season,  commencing  April  2nd,  1888. 

1 2th.  Steinway  Hall. — Hearts  or  Diamonds,  duologue  by 
Ina  Leon  Cassilis,  and  A  Folded  Page,  monologue  by  Mrs. 
William  Greet 

1 3th.  Terry's. — The  season  came  to  a  close.  The  manager 
and  his  company  went  on  tour. 

14th.  Toole's. — A  Broken  Sixpence,  Paul  Pry  and  The  Birth- 
place of  Podgers  were  revived  at  this  theatre. 

1 6th.  The  New  Olympic,  after  a  week's  cloture,  reopened 
with  The  Silver  King,  The  cast  was  in  nowise  changed,  save 
that  Lily  Hanbury  appeared  as  Nellie  Denver,  and  exhibited  very 
great  pathos. 

1 6th.  Shaftesbury. — Handfast,  by  Henry  Hamilton  and  Mark 
Quinton.  This  was  originally  produced  at  a  matinie  at  the  Prince 
of  Wales's  Dec  13th,  1887.  Caroline  Hill  made  her  reap- 
pearance, after  five  yeai-s'  absence  in  America,  as  Beatrice  Culver. 
The  full  cast  was  given  in  Dramatic  Notes,  1888.  I  then  stated 
that  the  play  possessed  considerable  merit,  but  must  be  re- 
modelled. The  authors  have  cut  down  the  play,  doing  away 
with  the  prologue,  which  is  merged  into  the  first  act,  but  it  is 
still  too  long ;  its  action  is  delayed  by  colloquies,  which,  though 
admittedly  couched  in  good  language,  are  superfluous.  The 
playful  gushings  of  the  amorous  Mrs.  Trefusis  (admirably 
done  by  Carlotta  Leclercq)  and  her  flirting  with  the  Vicomte 
de  Jamac  (of  whom  H.  de  Lange  makes,  as  before,  a  most 
amusing  and  clever  sketch)  become,  despite  good  acting,  a 
little  wearisome,  and  most  of  these  should  have  been  sent  by 
the  board.  Attention  should  be  drawn  to  the  markedly  un- 
conventional manner  in  which  the  authors  gradually  clear  off* 
their  people,  instead  of,  as  is  too  often  the  case,  dragging  them  on 
for  the  final  scene ;  by  their  method  the  interest  is  concentrated 
on  the  denouement  between  the  two  principal  characters,  who  have 
been  the  main  factors  throughout.  Jocelyn  Woodville  (afterwards 
Earl  of  Cirencester)  is  at  death's  door.     He  has  inherited  his 


io8  Handfast  [Mat,  iB^t. 

estates  from  Mervyn  Woodville,  who  was  drowned,  leaving  a 
widow,  who  is  unable  to  satisfactorily  prove  her  marriage. 
Jocelyn,  always  much  attached  to  Mervyn,  has  made  her  a 
handsome  allowance  ;  but  as  with  his  decease  this  will  come  to 
an  end,  he  determines  to  marry  her  while  strength  remains  to 
him,  as  she  will  then  inherit  all  his  property.  This  course  does 
not  fall  in  with  the  views  of  the  next  heir,  Austin  Woodville,  who, 
with  the  assistance  of  his  infamous  friend  Lambert  D'Arcy,  con- 
trives to  administer  to  the  sick  man  an  Eastern  drug  which  has 
peculiar  qualities,  but  which  they  imagine  will  poison.  They  do 
not  know  its  powers.  "  In  moderation,  life,"  is  its  motto,  and  the 
dose  has  this  effect  on  the  patient.  He  is  enabled  to  go  through 
the  marriage  ceremony ;  and  his  new-made  wife,  who  has  been 
veiled,  leaves  the  house  at  once.  Two  years  later  he  has  com- 
pletely recovered,  and  we  find  all  the  characters  assembled  in 
Naples.  Jocelyn  has  heard  nothing  of  his  wife  beyond  one  letter, 
in  which  she  acknowledges  his  goodness  to  her ;  and  he  does  not 
know  her  whereabouts.  He  is  much  struck  by  a  beautiful  artist, 
Madame  de  Ligniac,  who  has  also  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
Comte  de  Pr^ville.  Lambert  D'Arcy  has  been  led  to  believe  that 
Jocelyn's  wife  is  dead.  If  the  Earl  of  Cirencester  were  out  of  the 
way,  Austin  Woodville  would  inherit,  so  D'Arcy  and  his  tool 
malign  the  character  of  Madame  de  Ligniac,  making  out  that  she 
is  no  better  than  an  adventuress,  and  induce  De  Pr^ville  to  press 
his  advances  on  her  to  such  an  extent  that  they  become  an 
outrage.  Jocelyn  enters  at  the  moment,  strikes  De  Pr^ville,  and 
the  result  is  a  challenge,  the  end  the  conspirators  have  in  view,  for 
the  Comte  is  a  dead  shot.  Madame  de  Ligniac  has  by  this  time 
learnt  that  Jocelyn  is  her  husband  ;  the  ceremony  was  so  brief, 
and  his  appearance  was  so  different,  that  she  had  not  hitherto 
recognised  him.  She  loves  him  deeply  now,  and  implores  of  the 
Comte  not  to  meet  him  ;  but  her  entreaties  are  of  no  avail  until  the 
Frenchman  discovers  that  Jocelyn  was  the  saviour  of  his  little 
daughter,  to  whom  he  is  much  attached.  He  then  apologises  to 
Jocelyn,  and  finding  that  he  (the  Comte)  has  been  made  the  tool 
of  D'Arcy,  calls  him  out  and  shoots  him.  Austin  Woodville's 
intended  attempt  on  the  life  of  Jocelyn  is  brought  home  to  him, 
and  he  sneaks  away  in  an  agony  of  fear,  and  the  play  closes  with 
an  exquisite  scene  in  which  husband  and  wife  are  reunited.  A 
more  charming  and  sympathetic  character  than  that  of  Madame  de 
Ligniac,  as  represented  by  Winifred  Emery,  has  seldom  been  seen ; 
her  acting  was  all  that  could  be  desired,  and  Lewis  Waller  played 
in  such  a  manly,  noble  style  as  to  support  her  admirably.     W.  L. 


May,  1891.]  UTilJ  OutS.  IO9 

Abingdon  was  a  cool  incisive  villain,  and  William  Herbert  the 
embodiment  of  a  French  nobleman  (the  part  he  filled  originally), 
a  gentleman  at  heart,  but  allowing  himself  to  be  carried  away  by 
his  passions.  Annie  Hughes  and  H.  Reeves-Smith  had  some 
delightful  love  scenes,  which  they  played  with  freshness  and 
naYvet6 ;  and  Henry  Beauchamp  was  a  genial  but  astute  family 
lawyer.  Elizabeth  Bessie  was  of  assistance,  though  in  a  small 
part.  The  hit  of  the  evening  was  made  by  Cyril  Maude  as 
Austin  Woodville  (the  original).  The  craven  fear,  the  attempted 
bluster,  and  utter  selfishness  of  the  character  were  wonderfully 
simulated  ;  and  the  young  actor  was  deservedly  honoured  with 
a  special  call.  The  manner  in  which  Handfast  had  been 
staged  reflected  the  greatest  credit  on  the  new  lessee,  Cuthbert 
Rathbone,  and  S.  Herberte  Basing,  his  general  manager.  More 
beautiful  or  more  tasteful  sets  had  not  been  seen  on  any  English 
stage.  The  final  verdict  of  the  evening  was  full  of  promise  for 
the  success  of  the  new  venture. 

1 6th.  Henry  Neville  presented  at  the  Boston  Theatre,  U.S.A., 
with  an  album,  containing  the  signatures  of  three  hundred  friends 
and  well-wishers,  and  a  loving  cup  of  silver  on  the  part  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Tomkins.  The  occasion  was  the  close  of  the  run  and  the 
hundred  and  sixty-ninth  performance  of  The  Soudan^  in  which  the 
recipient  played  Major  Temple. 

1 6th.  Universal  regret  was  felt  on  hearing  of  the  death,  at  the 
age  of  fifty,  of  Henry  Sampson,  proprietor  of  the  Referee^  better 
known  perhaps  as  "  Pendragon."  As  a  writer  on  all  kinds  of  sport, 
his  capacity  was  great,  and  he  was  no  mean  dramatic  critic.  He 
was  fearless  and  outspoken,  and  thoroughly  honest  in  the  expres- 
sion of  his  opinions. 

1 8th.  Criterion  (revival). —  Wild  OatSy  comedy  by  John 
O'Keefe,  arranged  in  three  acts  by  Charles  Wyndham.  Wild 
Oats  is  a  capital  type  of  the  old  comedy  that  used  to  amuse  our 
forefathers,  and  Charles  Wyndham  arranged  it  so  cleverly  for  his 
Criterion  audiences  that  they  enjoyed  the  hearty  robust  fun  of  the 
play.  Mr.  Wyndham  is  eminently  suited  for  the  part  of  Rover, 
alias  "  the  bold  Thunder,"  with  his  merry  devil-may-care  nature. 
If  possible,  he  played  it  even  better  at  the  revival  than  when  he 
originally  produced  it  The  part  of  Lady  Amaranth,  the  sweet 
and  gentle  Quakeress,  is  made  for  Mary  Moore,  with  her  bewitching 
manner  and  her  shy  love  for  the  gallant  histrion.  David  James 
could  not  speak  for  some  time  owing  to  the  shouts  of  welcome  on 
his  return  to  the  stage  after  his  long  illness.  He  is  a  splendid 
John  Dory — a  real  true-blue  representation  of  the  old  sailor.     His 


no  A  Pair  of  Spectacles.  [Mat.  xs^s. 

scenes  with  his  former  commander,  Sir  George  Thunder  (admirably 
played  by  Edward  Righton)  were  rich  in  comedy.  Then  William 
Blakeley  as  the  sly  old  humbug,  Ephraim  Smooth,  and  George 
Giddens  as  Sim,  could  not  be  improved  upon ;  whilst  EUaline 
Terriss  is  now  a  delightful,  frolicsome  country  maid  as  Jane.  W. 
E.  Gregory  was  a  manly  young  fellow  as  Harry  Thunder,  and 
Sidney  Valentine  played  the  curmudgeon.  Farmer  Gammon,  well 
Mrs.  C.  J.  Smith  was  a  kindly  Amelia. 

19th.  Stein  WAY  Hall. — The  Supper  Dance  duolc^e,  by 
William  L.  Young. 

2 1  St.  Terry's  matinie  in  aid  of  the  Hospital  for  Sick  Chil- 
dren.— In  Caste  Edward  Righton  gave  his  own  reading  of  Eccles, 
which  was  not  the  best.  Violet  Raye  showed  very  great  promise 
as  Esther  Eccles,  and  Olga  Garland  was  decidedly  good  in  the  last 
act  as  Polly.  Philip  Cuningham  was  a  little  too  melodramatic  as 
George  D'Alroy.  Harding-Cox  was  for  an  amateur  a  fair  Sam 
Gerridge  ;  but  Fanny  Coleman  showed  us  how  the  Marquise  ought 
to  be  played.     For  the  first  time 

Sweepstakes,  a  musical  comedy  by  Ernest  Lake.  Some  of  his 
numbers  are  tuneful,  and  his  "  book  "  is  not  bad  at  all,  except  that 
it  wants  cutting.  Richie  Ling  as  Bertie  Grant  showed  he  could 
act,  and  he  sang  like  an  artist.  Holmes  Kingston  joined  him 
well  as  Courtnay ;  and  Mrs.  Harding-Cox  proved  herself,  as  she 
has  always  been  considered,  an  accomplished  musician  as  Chrissie 
Malton. 

2 1  St.  Lyric. — A  La  Cigale.  Hayden  Coffin  appeared  for  the 
first  time  as  Vincent  Knapps,  and  Geraldine  Ulmar  made  her 
rentrie  as  Marton,  her  part  having  been  played  during  her  absence 
by  Marie  Halton,  and  also  by  Annie  Schuberth. 

23rd.  Garrick  (revival). — Pair  of  Spectacles.  John  Hare  did 
not  find  that  Lady  Bountiful  answered  his  expectations,  and  there- 
fore very  wisely  withdrew  it,  and  revived  Sydney  Grundy's  charm- 
ing adaptation  of  Les  Petits  Oiseaux.  It  should  be  mentioned  that 
during  the  last  five  performances  of  Mr.  Pinero's  play  Sidney 
Brough  filled  with  remarkable  success  Mr.  Hare's  part  of  the 
selfish  Roderick  Heron.  A  Pair  of  Spectacles  was  again  received 
with  the  greatest  favour ;  and  the  programme  was  strengthened  by 
the  revival  of  Charles  Coghlan's  admirable  little  play  A  Quiet 
Rubbery  with  John  Hare  in  his  original  part  of  the  proud  pauper 
peer  Lord  Kilclare,  Gilbert  Hare  as  his  son  Charles,  C.  Groves  as 
the  hot-tempered  but  good-hearted  Mr.  Sullivan,  and  Lizzie  Webster 
as  his  daughter  Mary. 

25th.  Shaftesbury. — Hubby,  farcical  comedy  in  two  scenes  by 


Mat,  1891.3  Dinners  and  Dtners.  1 1 1 

H.  A.  Sherburn  (originally  produced  at  Lyric  Hall,  Ealing,  April 
22nd,  1884).  The  above  play  is  not  noticed  for  its  merits — for 
it  was  but  a  sorry  piece  of  fooling — but  it  became  interesting  as  a 
matter  of  record  from  the  reappearance  of  Victoria  Voices,  after 
an  eight  years'  absence  in  America.  Mr.  Hopscotch  (Walter 
Everard)  is  a  gentleman  who  is  tyrannised  over  by  his  mother- 
in-law,  Mrs.  Cattermole  (Annie  Fawdon).  He  enters  into  a  wild 
flirtation  with  an  unknown  lady,  who  pretends  to  come  and  consult 
him  about  her  teeth.  She  has  been  for  some  time  separated  from 
her  fire-eating  husband,  Major  O'Braggerty  (Fred  Mervin),  whom 
she  wins  back  to  her  affections  by  dancing  to  him,  having  pre- 
viously coached  her  admirer  in  that  art  and  also  in  singing,  as  he 
is  going  to  take  part  in  some  private  theatricals.  Victoria  Vokes 
(as  Mrs.  O'Braggerty),  who  was  an  immense  favourite  formerly 
with  the  public,  lost  but  little  of  her  hold  over  them,  for  she  sang 
well,  danced  with  peculiar  grace,  and  was  full  of  spirits.  Thanks 
to  her  and  the  remainder  of  the  cast.  Hubby  passed  muster. 
OroUo,  who  figured  in  the  cast,  is  a  handsome  St.  Bernard,  the 
property  of  Herbert  J.  Winter,  and  he  is  the  original  of  the  dog 
shown  in  the  painting  "Victims  "  (i  1 56)  in  this  year's  Academy, 
and  also  "  sat  "  for  the  well-known  picture  **  Trust." 

25  th.  St.  George's  Hall. — Dinners  and  Diners,  It  has 
passed  into  a  proverb  that  an  Englishman  cannot  celebrate  any 
event  without  a  dinner.  The  late  E.  L.  Blanchard  illustrated  this 
in  an  amusing  brochure  years  ago  entitled  Dinners  and  Diners^  and 
Comey  Grain  adopted  the  same  title  for  his  most  amusing  new 
musical  sketch.  In  it  he  discoursed  on  dinners  good,  bad,  and 
indifferent,  public  and  private,  on  the  guests,  their  conversation, 
how  that  mauvais  quarUdheure  is  passed  in  anticipation  of  the 
meal,  on  the  wine,  and  on  the  dishes.  The  prettiest,  and 
a  very  touching,  number  is  that  which  Corney  Grain  gave  as 
"  No  Dinner " — a  satire  on  gormandising,  in  which  two  little 
urchins  push  their  starving  little  noses  through  the  railings  and 
witness  the  feast  that  is  going  on  in  a  mansion,  whilst  their  poor 
stomachs  ache  for  food.  This  was  specially  encored,  for  it 
touched  every  heart;  but  the  rest  of  the  sketch  was  more 
laughable  and  amusing  than  any  perhaps  that  the  entertainer 
has  yet  given. 

25th.  Gaiety  matinee. — E.  J.  Lonnen  took  his  benefit,  when 
Stage-struck  was  played,  and  he  appeared  in  the  title  rSle  of 
Robert  Macaire ;  his  performance  was,  however,  too  much  of  a 
low-comedy  one.  Lonnen  Meadows  made  a  hit  as  Jacques  Strop. 
There  was  one  new  feature  in  the  afternoon  that   I  must  specially 


112  Formosa.  cma*,  1891. 

mention  ;  this  was  the  little  "  play  without  words  "  written  by  C. 
D.  Marius,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 

TA€  Silver  Line.  In  it  he  depicted,  with  wonderful  fidelity, 
the  anticipation,  disappointment,  rage,  despair,  and  contemplated 
suicide  of  a  lover  who  imagines  that  his  lady  fair  has  been  false  to 
him,  and  the  revulsion  of  joy  when  a  second  letter  informs  him 
that  she  is  all  the  fondest  heart  could  wish.  This  was  all  done 
without  descriptive  music 

25  th.  Sadler's  Wells. —  Wedded  to  Crime^  four-act  drama 
by  Fred  Jarman  and  Wilford  Selwyn.     First  time  in  London. 

26th.  Drury  Lane  (revival). — Formosa.  When  this  play  was 
first  produced  in  1 869  (see  casts  at  end),  Mrs.  Grundy  professed 
herself  to  be  terribly  shocked  ;  but  though  she  blushed  at  the  so- 
called  immorality  of  the  play,  she  went  to  see  it  so  much  that  it 
put  some  thousands  into  the  pockets  of  its  lucky  author  and  F.  B. 
Chatterton,  from  whom  it  indirectly  produced  the  now  historical 
motto  that  "  Shakespeare  spelt  ruin  and  Byron  bankruptcy,"  this 
of  course  when  he  was  taxed  with  having  deserted  the  legitimate 
drama.  Formosa  is  one  tissue  of  improbabilities  from  beginning 
to  end.  The  fair  frailty  who  drives  such  splendid  equipages  and 
lives  such  a  life  of  luxury  in  London  goes  home  for  a  change  to 
a  quiet  riverside  inn  that  her  parents  keep,  and  they,  not  knowing 
her  evil  career,  look  upon  her  as  really  the  sweet  modest  girl  she 
appears  to  be.  Tom  Burroughs  falls  a  victim  to  her  charms ;  and 
though  he  is  stroke  of  the  Oxford  eight  and  is  to  row  in  the 
coming  race,  he  sits  up  all  night,  gambles,  drinks  champagne,  and 
yet  is  supposed  to  keep  himself  in  condition,  for  the  very 
night  before  the  great  event  comes  off  he  is  leading  this  life,  he 
is  locked  up  for  "contempt  of  court,"  but  in  the  nineteenth 
century  the  rest  of  the  crew,  assisted  by  prize-fighters,  rescue  him 
from  the  "  myrmidons  of  the  law,"  and  he  rows  stroke  and  wins 
the  next  day.  Then  his  sweetheart,  Nelly  Saunders,  after  having 
been  brought  up  all  her  life  as  a  lady  by  Dr.  Doremus,  is  suddenly 
claimed  by  her  evil  dog-stealing  father  ;  and  off  she  goes  to  penury 
with  him,  leaving  benefactor  and  sweetheart  almost  without  a 
tear.  But  there  is  plenty  of  good  scenery.  There  is  a  heap  of 
vice  and  villainy  in  Formosa  in  Compton  Kerr  and  Major  Jorum ; 
the  sentiment  dear  to  the  gallery  in  Sam  Boker,  ex-pugilist,  and 
his  honest  good  wife ;  and  a  plucky  little  nobleman  in  Lord  Eden. 
There  are  the  crowds  on  the  towing-path,  and  real  men  pulling 
in  real  outriggers  (at  least,  they  appear  to  be  doing  it),  and 
imitation  steamers,  etc.,  etc.,  and  so  the  curtain  fell  to  plenty  of 
applause.     Jessie  Millward  was  a  little  out  of  her  element  as  a 


Mav,  X891.1  Shakespeare.  113 

vicious  woman  :  she  is  better  in  virtuous  characters ;  and  Katie 
James,  though  she  played  the  boy  nobleman  admirably,  is  a  little 
too  small  for  a  man.  Charles  Glenney,  Julian  Cross,  and  Mrs. 
Billington  (in  her  original  character)  were  excellent ;  and  Harry 
NichoUs  as  Bob  Saunders  made  as  great  a  feature  of  the  "  D'ye 
want  to  buy  a  leetle  dawg  ? "  as  did  Brittain  Wright,  who  leapt 
into  favour  by  his  acting  of  the  part.  Mary  Ansell  played  very 
sweetly,  and  Miss  Le  Bert  was  a  good  contrast  to  her  as  the  more 
assertive  Edith  Burroughs.  Alice  Kingsley  was  distinctly  clever 
as  the  vulgarian  Mrs.  Dudley.  Neither  Mark  Quinton  nor  Austin 
Melford  was  quite  successful  in  characters  on  the  proper  illustra- 
tion of  which  so  much  depends. 

26th.  Vaudeville  matirUe  (revival). — Miss  Tofnboy^  Robert 
Buchanan's  three-act  comedy.  Mr.  Thome's  company  having 
undergone  some  changes,  there  were  naturally  alterations  in  the 
cast  H.  B.  Conway  now  filled  the  rdle  of  Tom  Fashion,  and 
was  an  impulsive,  hearty  fellow,  and  aped  the  affectation  of  Lord 
Foppington  to  perfection.  Ella  Banister  played  Fanny  Hoyden, 
but  not  successfully.  A  "tomboy"  she  was,  but  there  were 
wanting  the  witchery  and  artlessness  that  were  so  attractive  in 
the  former  representative.  J.  Wheatman  was  promoted  in  life, 
and  was  acceptable  as  Sir  George  Matcham.  L.  D'Orsay  threw 
a  good  deal  of  humour  into  the  part  of  Lory,  Tom  Fashion's 
valet ;  and  C.  Ramsey  was  a  good  rustic,  Jabez.  As  an  agree- 
able Mrs.  Sentry,  the  none  too  faithful  duenna,  we  had  Miss 
Owen.  Hilda,  another  handsome  member  of  the  Hanbury  family, 
succeeded  her  sister  Lily  as  Nancy  Ditch,  and  showed  promise. 
Annie  Hill  was  a  very  subdued  Dolly  Primrose.  Thomas  and 
Fred  Thorne  resumed  the  characters  of  Lord  Foppington  and  Sir 
Tunbelly  Clumsy. 

27th.  Shakespeare^  original  comedy  in  four  acts  by  Eden  E. 
Greville.  We  have  not  had  many  plays  written  absolutely  on  the 
life  of  the  "bard  of  Avon."  In  this,  Shakespeare  is  betrothed 
to  Anne  Hathaway  (the  sweetest  of  girls),  goes  to  London  to 
seek  his  fortune,  is  presented  at  Court,  is  bewitched  by  Queen 
Elizabeth's  maid-of-honour  Elizabeth  Throgmorton,  who  en- 
courages him  to  bring  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  to  her  feet  Anne 
Hathaway  is  for  a  time  demented  through  his  faithlessness,  but 
his  return  to  her  restores  her  to  her  senses.  The  rise  of 
Raleigh,  the  Queen's  attachment  to  Leicester,  the  deer-stealing,  a 
tavern  brawl  at  the  Tabard,  and  the  introduction  of  players  and 
poets  of  the  period,  help  to  fill  in  the  plot  P.  M.  Berton  was 
the    Shakespeare,    Alice    Adlercron    a    most    successful   Anne 

8 


114  Ibsetfs   Ghost.  [Mat,  1891. 

Hathaway,  Beatrice  Selwyn  a  queenly  Elizabeth  (the  delivery 
of  her  lines  of  the  best),  and  Aida  Jenoure  was  a  sprightly  and 
captivating  Dorothy,  the  waiting-maid  of  "  Ye  Tabard,"  and  sang 
sweetly.  The  remainder  of  the  cast,  a  long  one,  was  made  up  by 
members  of  the  local  dramatic  amateurs,  and  was  acceptably 
filled  for  the  most  part 

30th.  Toole's  matinie, — Ibsen*s  Ghost;  or^  Toole  up  to 
Date.  Although  the  author  was  not  publicly  announced,  I  after- 
wards found  I  had  to  thank  J.  M.  Barrie  (part  author  of  Richard 
Savage)  for  twenty-five  minutes'  incessant  laughter,  and  it  was 
laughter  that  one  did  not  feel  shamefaced  about,  for  one  felt  it 
had  been  produced  by  a  really  clever  pen,  the  novel  theories  of 
the  "master"  were  so  deliciously  burlesqued.  Here  is  Thea, 
formerly  so  innocent  in  her  platonic  love,  now  wedded  to  George 
Tesman,  and  she  feels  she  must  leave  him,  for  she  cannot  control 
her  propensity  for  kissing  every  man  she  meets.  Whence  comes 
this  mad  passion  ?  she  asks  her  grandfather.  As  she  dilates  upon 
her  mania  he  responds  with  "  Ghosts  !  ghosts  ! "  and  then  he  tells 
her  it  is  all  due  to  "  heredity."  He  erred  with  the  opposite  sex 
in  that  way  many  years  ago.  On  his  wedding  day  he  kissed  a 
pretty  bridesmaid,  and  so  he  has  handed  down  to  her  the  un- 
fortunate osculatory  propensity.  Then  it  suddenly  becomes  dark 
from  a  heavy  storm  without,  and  when  the  light  breaks  in  on  us 
again  we  find  Thea  transformed  into  Hedda,  and  Peter  Terence 
appears  as  the  very  counterpart  of  Henrik  Ibsen,  as  we  know 
him  from  portraits  of  him.  Hedda's  tearing  up  the  "  hundreds 
of  children  "  (the  letters)  is  cleverly  burlesqued ;  and  then  there  is 
a  delightful  satire  on  the  emancipation  of  women  in  Delia 
Terence's  reproach  of  her  husband  in  that  he  has  led  far  too 
moral  a  life,  never  introduced  any  but  the  most  irreproachable 
characters  to  her,  and  never  even  given  her  a  chance  of  being 
anything  but  the  most  orthodox  of  wives.  Then  comes  the  skit 
on  the  suicidal  tendencies  of  Ibsen's  heroes  and  heroines.  These 
three  characters  shoot  themselves  with  popguns,  and,  to  make 
the  slaughter  complete,  George  Tesman  is  shot  down  by  his 
secretary.  Irene  Vanburgh  very  cleverly  parodied  the  method  of 
Marion  Lea  as  Thea,  and  in  a  lesser  degree  that  of  Elizabeth 
Robins.  G.  Shelton  was  a  second  Scott  Buist  as  George  Tesman, 
and  had  caught  the  exact  tone  of  his  voice.  J.  L.  Toole  was 
very  funny,  and  Eliza  Johnstone  droUy  caricatured  the  outraged 
feelings  of  the  wife  who  has  been  compelled  to  lead  such  a  virtuous 
life.  In  the  revival  of  Chawles  ;  or,  A  Fool  and  his  Money,  Mr. 
Toole  filled  his  original  character  with  his  accustomed  drollery. 


juNB,  xSgi.i  The  Love  Chase.  115 

30th,  Novelty. —  Winning  Defeat^  four-act  drama  by 
Duncan  Campbell  and  Marcus  Quaire. 

Of  the  subjects  most  interesting  to  theatrical  readers  in  this 
month's  exhibitions,  I  may  mention  : — At  the  Royal  Academy : 
"  Antoinette  Sterling,"  by  J.  Doyle  Penrose,  not  the  most  pleasing 
perhaps  ;  "  Mrs.  Charles  Kettlewell "  (Edith  Woodworth),  by 
Frederick  Goodall,  idealised  to  a  degree,  but  very  beautiful ; 
"Herr  Wiener,"  by  F.  Burgess;  "Alice  Gomez,"  by  Ernest  G. 
Beach  ;  and  a  water-colour,  a  very  happy  likeness,  by  Josephine 
Gibson,  of  George  Alexander.  The  best  of  all  is  that  of  A.  W. 
Pinero,  by  Joseph  Mordecai.  Among  the  sculpture,  attention 
may  be  called  to  "  Houp-la,"  a  relief,  by  Gilbert  W.  Bayes,  to 
Beatrice  M.  Brown's  "  Cupid,"  and  to  a  posthumous  bust  of  the 
late  Charles  Hengler,  by  H.  Richard  Pinker.  At  the  New 
Gallery :  "  Rudyard  Kipling,"  by  John  Collier ;  "  Beatty  Kings- 
ton," by  F.  Goodall  ;  "  Herr  Joachim,"  by  Sir  Arthur  Clay ;  "  Julia 
Neilson,"  by  W.  Graham  Robertson  ;  and  "  Henry  Irving,"  by 
W.  H.  Bartlett. 


VI. 

June. 

I  St.  Shaftesbury. — For  a  series  of  five  matinies.  The  Love 
Chase  (in  three  acts),  by  Sheridan  Knowles.  This  prosy  comedy 
was  first  seen  at  the  Haymarket  Oct.  9th,  1837,  ^"^  on  that 
occasion  Mrs.  Nisbett  made  her  great  success  as  Constance  ; 
Mrs.  Glover  was  the  Widow  Green  ;  Miss  Vandenhoff,  Lydia ; 
Benjamin  Webster,  Wildrake  ;  Strickland,  Fondlove.  Miss  Amy 
Sedgwick  made  her  appearance  as  Constance  at  the  same  theatre 
March  7th,  1858,  when  Mrs.  Wilkins  made  her  dibut  as  the 
Widow.  In  1877  Miss  Sedgwick  again  appeared  in  the  character 
at  the  same  theatre,  with  Miss  Marion  Terry  as  Lydia,  Mrs. 
Chippendale  as  the  Widow,  and  Mr.  Howe  as  the  Baronet.  For 
the  first  of  her  Saturday  afternoon  performances  at  the  Olympic, 
Jan.  25th,  1879,  Mrs.  Bernard  Beere  chose  this  comedy  to 
appear  in  as  Constance  to  the  Wildrake  of  Hermann  Vezin, 
William  Farren  as  Fondlove,  W.  Herbert  as  Waller,  Mrs. 
Chippendale  as  the  Widow;  and  Mr.  J.  C.  Buckstone  made 
his  first  appearance  in  London  as  Trueworth.  Miss  Blanche  Henri 
(Mrs.  F.  H.  Macklin)  was  the  Lydia;  and  there  also  appeared  in 


Ii6  A  Nights  Frolic,  tjunB,  1891. 


it  Misses  Huntley,  S.  Fane,  Saville,  and  GiflTord,  with  Messrs. 
Rowland  Buckstone,  Jesse,  and  Rolt  to  make  up  the  cast  This 
was  the  last  occasion  on  which  the  play  had  been  seen  in  town ; 
and  though  it  may  be  acceptable  to  provincial  audiences,  its  day 
has  gone  by  for  London  playgoers.  It  is  antiquated,  and  the 
humours  of  the  principal  characters,  whether  as  romantic  or 
comic,  appear  out  of  place.  Miss  Fortescue,  when  she  acts 
after  her  own  method,  shows  great  improvement ;  she  is 
vivacious,  spirited,  and  has  gained  power.  What  a  pity  it  was, 
then,  that  a  clever  actress  should  so  adopt  in  the  earlier  scenes 
the  mode  and  method  of  a  "  reigning  favourite,"  and  not  rely 
on  her  own  strength !  The  Widow  Green  has  been  famous  in 
the  hands  of  Mrs.  Glover,  Mrs.  Chippendale,  and  Mrs.  Stirling, 
but  Kate  Hodson  was  wanting  in  that  humour  that  is  so 
requisite  for  the  display  of  the  self-complacency  and  perfect 
reliance  on  her  matured  charms  that  the  character  demands. 
George  Warde  was  a  gallant  though  fatuous  old  gentleman,  and 
E.  H.  Vanderfelt  had  his  good  moments  as  Wildrake.  The 
Trueworth  of  William  Calvert  was  meritorious.  Helen  Ferrers 
erred  a  little  on  the  side  of  earnestness  as  Lydia. 

1st  Strand. — A  Nights  Frolic.  Farcical  comedy  in  three 
acts,  by  Gus  Thomas  and  Helen  Barry.  The  piece  had  not  been 
sufficiently  rehearsed,  and  Florence  West  was  visibly  not  anything 
like  recovered  from  her  illness,  though  she  acted  with  remarkable 
humour  and  spirit ;  whilst  all  the  artists  seemed  nervous.  There 
are  many  good  points  in  the  adaptation  of  Von  Moser's  play ;  but 
the  second  act  required  to  be  cut  into  very  much,  and  the 
dinouement  brought  about  more  rapidly  in  the  third.  Claude 
D'Elmont  and  Nellie  Stanton  are  a  couple  of  young  people 
desperately  in  love  with  each  other,  but  Commodore  Stanton 
intends  his  daughter  for  a  Captain  Alfred  Chandon,  a  French 
officer.  So  Lady  Betty  Vane,  a  madcap  widow,  in  order  to 
disgust  the  Commodore  with  his  prospective  son-in-law,  assumes 
the  disguise  of  a  Chasseur  d'Afrique,  and  effectually  disillusions 
the  gallant  old  seaman  as  to  the  alliance.  But  she  gets  into 
sad  trouble  herself,  for  she  is  shut  up  for  the  night  in  the  old  sea- 
dog's  cabin,  as  he  calls  it  (a  very  quaint  and  original  scene),  and 
is  obliged  to  confess  herself  to  the  real  Captain  Chandon,  who  is 
an  admirer  of  hers.  Complications  then  arise  from  Mrs.  Sedley 
passing  herself  off  as  Nellie  Stanton  ;  and  her  husband,  returning 
from  a  night's  "  spree,"  is  led  to  believe  that  his  wife  has  been 
masquerading  in  the  military  apparel,  and  has  eloped  with  the 
real  French  officer.     Taken  at  lightning  speed,  an    amount   of 


juNB,  x89i.]  A  DolVs  House.  117 

fun  might  perhaps  be  got  out  of  the  piece  ;  but  it  did  not  prove  a 
success  in  Lx)ndon,  though  it  had  in  America  with  Helen  Barry. 
Alice  Atherton  was,  as  she  would  necessarily  be,  droll  and 
fascinating  as  the  disguised  and  pretended  fire-eater,  with  her 
assumed  braggadocio  and  real  terror;  and  it  must  be  confessed 
that  she  had  the  most  valuable  assistance  from  C.  S.  Fawcett, 
who  played  Captain  Chandon  with  a  lightness  of  touch  and  the 
ease  of  a  French  gentleman,  that  were  most  praiseworthy. 
Percy  Marshall  gave  us  excellent  light  comedy  as  Oakley  Sedley, 
and  William  Lugg  broad  character-acting  as  an  old  sailor,  Phil 
Sawyer.  I  have  spoken  of  how  well  Florence  West  acted  as 
Mrs.  Sedley.  Greorgie  Esmond  was  a  bright  little  ingSnue  as  Nellie 
Stanton.  I  have  left  Willie  Edouin  to  the  last ;  he  had  no  great 
opportunities  as  the  Commodore,  but  he  made  the  part  amusing 
and  original,  and,  as  he  always  does,  if  he  chooses,  caused  much 
merriment. 

1st  Grand. — The  Cloven  Foot^  drama  in  four  acts.  Adapta- 
tion by  F.  Mouillot  and  Janet  Steer  from  Miss  Braddon's  novel. 
First  time  in  London.  Janet  Steer  as  Laura  Treverton  and  La 
Chicot ;  Charles  Eaton  as  John  Treverton  ;  Charles  Herbert  as 
Antoine  Desrolles. 

1st.  Standard. — 714^  Middleman,  The  cast  of  the  touring 
company  which  appeared  at  this  theatre  was  as  follows : — Cyrus 
Blenkam,  Robert  Pateman  ;  Joseph  Chandler,  Henry  Crisp ; 
Captain  Julian  Chandler,  Wilton  Heriot ;  Batty  Todd,  John 
Phipps  ;  Jesse  Pegg,  E.  Dagnall ;  Sir  Seaton  Umfraville,  Gerald 
Godfrey  ;  Epiphany  Danks,  Talbot  Fell  ;  Mary  Blenkarn,  Alice 
de  Winton  ;  Nancy  Blenkam,  Miss  Hall  Caine  ;  Mrs.  Chandler, 
Miss  A.  EUerslie ;  Maude  Chandler,  Evelyn  Darrell  ;  Lady 
Umfraville,  Emma  Rivers;  Felicia  Umfraville,  Jessy  Lee. 
Robert  Pateman's  performance  of  Cyrus  Blenkarn  was  a  very  fine 
one. 

1st  Lyceum. — A  Regular  Fix.  In  consequence  of  Ellen 
Terry  having  an  attack  of  influenza,  Nance  Oldfield  had  to  be 
taken  out  of  the  bill,  and  A  Regular  Fix  substituted.  William 
Terriss  surprised  every  one  by  the  excellent  manner  in  which  he 
sustained  the  character  of  the  rattling  Sir  Hugh  de  Brass. 

2nd.  Lyric  Club. — A  Superfluous  Lady,  comedietta  by  Mrs. 
Hugh  Bell. 

2nd.  Criterion  matinie. — A  Dolts  House.  Miss  Norreys, 
a  young  actress  who  loses  no  occasion  of  endeavouring  to  g^in 
experience,  considered  that  the  heroine  in  one  of  Ibsen's  plays 
would  afford  her  opportunity  for  a  fresh  departure,  and  therefore 


1 1 8  The  Gifted  Lady,  Qumb.  "89x. 


appeared  as  Nora  Helmer.  It  was  a  performance  of  very  great 
merit,  but  I  think  that  nervousness  had  something  to  do  with  the 
actress's  striking  the  keynote  of  the  character  too  early  in  the 
play.  Nora  should  be  quite  thoughtless  and  without  any  under- 
standing of  right  and  wrong  until  Krogstad  absolutely  threatens  ; 
but  almost  from  the  first  Miss  Norreys  let  us  see  that  she  felt 
she  had  done  wrong  in  obtaining  the  money  in  the  manner  in 
which  she  did,  and  without  her  husband's  knowledge.  Her  way- 
ward moods  were  almost  hysterical  ;  they  did  not  give  one  the 
impression  of  being  the  outcome  of  animal  spirits ;  but  later, 
when  the  child«wife  realises  that  she  is  a  woman,  the  young 
actress  displayed  an  intensity  and  a  tragic  power  that  was  a 
revelation.  The  facial  expression  in  the  last  act  and  her  outburst 
to  her  husband  were  all  that  could  be  desired.  The  perseverance 
in  becoming  proficient  in  anything  Miss  Norreys  undertakes  was 
strongly  illustrated  in  her  dance.  The  Mrs,  Linden  of  Lucia 
Harwood  was  deserving  of  very  high  praise ;  it  was  so  firm  and 
yet  so  tender.  It  was  the  realisation  of  the  character  of  a 
completely  unselfish  woman,  whose  happiness  consists  in  devoting 
herself  to  the  service  of  others.  Frank  Rodney  appeared  to 
understand  the  manner  of  man  Thorval  Helmer  is  supposed  to 
be — fond  of  his  wife  and  good-natured  to  her,  as  many  a  selfish 
man  is  so  long  as  nothing  that  she  does  affects  his  credit  or 
comfort ;  not  angry  at  the  commission  of  an  ill  deed  so  long  as 
it  is  not  found  out  and  does  not  reflect  upon  him.  He  was  also 
best  in  the  third  act  The  Dr.  Rank  of  W.  L.  Abingdon  was 
not  perfect,  but  he  introduced  some  very  natural  touches  in  his 
final  appearance  in  the  play.  The  Nils  Krogstad  of  Charles 
Fulton  was,  as  on  a  former  occasion,  excellent ;  and  Mrs.  E.  H. 
Brooke  was  a  kind,  motherly  woman  as  the  nurse. 

2nd.  Avenue. — The  Gifted  Lady,  There  was  some  little 
difficulty  as  to  using  Heredity  as  the  title  for  his  new  play,  and  so 
Robert  Buchanan  called  his  three-act  "  social  drama  "  The  Gifted 
Lady.  Drama  it  was  not,  neither  was  it  farce,  nor  was  it 
burlesque.  It  was  intended,  I  suppose,  to  satirise  the  cult  of 
Ibsen  and  to  ridicule  his  works,  and,  if  I  am  right  in  my 
conjecture,  it  was  not  cleverly  done,  for  the  piece  was  dull,  the 
writing  commonplace,  and  the  entire  work  not  in  good  taste. 
Mr.  Buchanan  took  the  opportunity  of  letting  out  at  one  and  all 
who  have  "  trod  on  the  tail  of  his  coat "  ;  but  he  hit  with  a 
bludgeon,  and  did  not  pink  with  the  sharp,  incisive  touch  of  a 
rapier.  Under  the  guise  of  a  story  of  a  good  fellow  whose  home 
is  destroyed  through   the   "  emancipated "   ideas   of  his   wife,  he 


juNB,  89.]  A  Trip  to  Gretna.  119 

makes  the  husband  turn  the  tables  on  his  spouse  by  pretending 
to  follow  her  course  ;  and  thus  he  cures  her.  In  one  act  of  thirty 
minutes  the  idea  could  have  been  made  amusing ;  but,  as  it  was, 
the  subsequent  hour  and  a  half  only  brought  weariness  of  the 
flesh  and  vexation  of  spirit  W.  H.  Vernon  and  Fanny  Brough, 
as  Charles  and  Badalia  Dangleton,  by  their  inimitable  "go," 
saved  the  play  from  becoming  utterly  boring ;  and  they  had  good 
aid  from  Harry  Paulton  as  Algernon  Wormwood,  Cicely 
Richards  (Felicia  Strangeways)  (excellent  in  her  travesty  of  Thea 
and  her  flaxen  locks),  Ivan  Watson  (Vergris),  and  Lydia  Cowell 
as  Amelia  (an  emancipated  housemaid).  With  reference  to  The 
Gifted  Lady^  the  following  was  printed  on  the  programme: — 
"Author's  Note. — In  venturing  to  present  to  English  audiences 
the  last  great  social  drama  of  Eric  Pluddermund,  I  have  taken 
two  daring  liberties  by  transferring  the  scene  to  London  and  by 
altering  the  tragic  ending.  In  the  original,  as  every  student  of 
the  master  knows,  Badalia  and  Gronost  (the  Algernon  of  my 
adaptation)  hang  themselves  together  in  the  linen  closet,  while 
Felicia  and  Amelia  emigrate  to  Utah  with  the  hero.  For  the 
rest,  I  have  followed  the  spirit  of  the  original  as  reverently  as  the 
Lord  Chamberlain  would  allow  me.  The  power  of  the  work  lies 
in  its  colossal  suburbanism,  and  in  its  savage  satire  of  the  master's 
own  theories  of  feminine  emancipation.  Pluddermund  has  the 
supreme  artistic  merit  of  eternally  contradicting  himself  as  well 
as  everybody  else ;  hence  his  sobriquet  of  '  The  Chameleon.' 
If  the  present  serious  play  meets  with  approval,  I  propose  to 
follow  it  with  one  of  Pluddermund's  humorous  pieces  ;  some  of 
his  admirers,  however,  see  a  certain  grim  humour  in  Arvegods 
{Heredity). — Robert  Buchanan." 

In  the  first  piece.  The  Viper  on  the  Hearth,  which  was  seen 
once  more,  J.  L.  Shine  as  John  Baxendale  was  good,  in  a 
different  sort  of  character  from  that  which  he  usually  assumes ; 
and  Eleanor  May,  a  handsome  young  actress,  pleased  me  much 
in  a  sympathetic  part  as  Ethel  Lydyard. 

3rd.  Vaudeville  matirUe. — A  Trip  to  G^r^/«^^,  two-act  come- 
dietta. This  proved  as  bald  a  production  as  I  had  seen  for  some 
time.  Richard  Travers  elopes  to  Gretna  with  Kate  Beauchamps. 
They  are  caught  by  her  father  ahd  brother.  So  her  lover  enlists 
and  returns  later  as  a  Lieutenant  Pomeroy,  disguised  with  a  mani- 
festly false  beard,  to  claim  his  sweetheart.  It  was  a  kindness  on 
the  part  of  all  concerned  to  appear  in  characters  so  unworthy  of 
them.  But  I  must  mention  the  excellent  Scotch  of  J.  T.  Mac- 
millan,  the  sturdy  acting  of  P.  C.  Beverley,  and  the  brightness  of 


I20  Gcod  Old  Queen  Bess.  U»««.  «89t. 

Cissy  Farrell.  The  part  of  Richard  Travers  was  actually  played 
by  Roydon  Erlynne,  though  not  so  set  down  in  the  programme. 
The  author  had  intended  to  give  the  title  of  Gretna  Green  to  his 
play,  but  this  was  claimed  by  Messrs.  Collette  and  Marie  Forde. 
A  musical  trifle  of  this  title  by  John  O'Keefe  and  Stuart  was 
played  at  the  Hay  market  Aug.  28th,  1783.  Four  years  later  it 
was  revived  at  the  Hay  market,  and  in  1827  (Oct.  13  th)  was 
again  revived  at  Covent  Garden.  The  travesty  that  followed  made 
ample  compensation,  for  it  is  briUiantly  written  and  full  of  humour 
and  cleverness,  and  was  capitally  acted  all  round.  The  travesty 
was  in  three  tableaux,  the  work  of  W.  S.  Gilbert,  and  entitled 
Rosencrantz  and  Guildenstern^  the  cast  of  which  was  as  follows : 
Rosencrantz,  Sidney  Herberte-Basing ;  Guildenstern,  C.  Lam- 
bourne  ;  King  Claudius,  Alexander  Watson  ;  Queen  Gertrude, 
Mrs.  Theodore  Wright ;  Hamlet,  Frank  Lindo ;  First  Player,  C, 
Stewart ;  Ophelia,  Mary  Bessie.  The  points  of  the  author  (who 
superintended  the  rehearsals)  were  adnxirably  taken  up,  and  the 
skit  produced  the  heartiest  laughter.  F.  Lindo  (with  his  extra- 
ordinary imitation  of  Mr.  Irving),  A.  Watson,  C.  Stewart,  and 
Mary  Bessie  specially  distinguished  themselves.  The  burlesque 
sketch  on  CItatterton,  written  by  Albert  Chevalier,  was  another 
novelty,  and  was  entitled  Shattered' Un^  Frank  Lindo  in  the  title 
rdle  ;  Bold  'Un,  Charles  F.  Barrett ;  Mary,  Edith  Kenward.  The 
fate  of  the  unhappy  poet  was  treated  in  the  wildest  spirit  of 
burlesque.  He  is  supposed  to  be  a  disappointed  sonnet-writer  for 
society  journals,  and  feigns  death  to  secure  the  love  and  pelf  of 
Mary,  played  with  due  mock-heroic  extravagance  by  Edith 
Kenward.  F.  Lindo,  of  course,  in  make-up  and  voice  closely 
followed  the  original  of  Chatterton.  Charles  F.  Barrett  as  an 
itinerant  and  bibulous  photographer  might  have  done  better  but 
that  he  hesitated  with  his  lines.  Also  on  this  afternoon  was 
played  for  the  first  time  a  "  new  and  original  burlesque  in  one  act 
and  five  scenes,"  written  by  Walpole  Lewin,  music  composed  and 
arranged  by  William  Robins,  and  entitled  : — 

Good  Old  Queen  Bess  ;  or^  The  Pearly  The  Peer^  and  the  Page, 
The  author  describes  it  as  the  only  "  true  version  of  an  old  story." 
An  old  story  it  is ;  a  true  one  history  could  scarcely  call  it  further 
than  that  it  tells  of  our  Virgin  Qiifeen's  flirtations  with  her  courtiers 
in  general  and  with  a  Don  in  particular,  who  is  the  page  and  envoy 
of  Philip  of  Spain.  There  were  many  parts,  good,  bad,  and 
indifferent,  lively  choruses  and  dances  and  well-known  airs  fitted 
in,  besides  two  pretty  numbers  sung  by  Amy  Farrell  and  Emily 
Spiller,  the  latter  of  whom  was  the  life  and  soul  of  the  piece. 


Junk,  X89X.1  Serge  Panine.  I2i 

Charles  H.  Kenney  burlesqued  Elizabeth  well  and  had  a  good 
topical  song,  as  had  also  Frank  Smithson,  who  was  clever  and 
amusing  as  Julius  the  Jester.  Minnie  Thurgate  danced  charm- 
ingly, and  was  bright  and  animated.  The  remainder  of  the 
artists  exerted  themselves  efficiently,  and  there  were  many  pretty 
faces  in  the  ladies  of  the  Court,  etc.  One  of  the  most  delightful 
items  was  Nelly  Ganthony's  musical  sketch.  In  Search  of  an 
Engagement.  The  young  lady  is  not  only  a  brilliant  singer,  but 
has  a  distinct  sense  of  humour,  and  may  certainly  take  rank  as 
the  female  Corney  Grain.  The  matinee  was  given  in  aid  of  the 
Serpent  Relief  Fund. 

4th.  Grand. — For  Old  Virginia^  dramatic  sketch  by  Henry 
Hermann.  Sad  but  impressive.  It  is  of  course  a  tale  of  the 
American  war.  A  girl,  Belle  Evered,  who  favours  the  non- 
Unionists,  carries  a  secret  despatch  for  General  Lee.  Her  father, 
who  is  a  staunch  Unionist,  discovers  it,  and  in  his  rage  at  finding 
a  traitor  in  his  own  family,  shoots  her.  Janet  Steer,  for  whom  it 
was  written,  played  the  character  of  the  girl  remarkably  well. 

4th.  Avenue  matinee. — Serge  Panine,  M.  Georges  Ohnet's 
Serge  Panine^  the  dramatisation  of  his  own  novel  of  the  same 
name,  was  first  produced  at  the  Gymnase  Dramatique,  Paris,  on 
Jan.  5th,  1882.  It  was  seen  at  the  French  plays  at  the 
Gaiety  June  nth,  1883,  with  Madame  Pasca  as  Madame 
Desvarennes,  M.  Lagrange  as  Herzog,  M.  Landrol  as  Cayrol  (the 
originals),  and  M.  Barbe  as  Serge  Panine  (in  Paris  it  was  M.  Marais 
who  created  ^furore  in  the  title  rdle).  Mesdemoiselles  Lina  Munte 
and  Aug^  were  respectively  Jeanne  and  Micheline.  In  the  mean- 
time, an  English  version,  Lov^s  Anguish^  a  four-act  drama  by 
Oscar  H.  Schou,  had  been  tried  at  the  Adelphi  on  May  3rd, 
1882.  A  drama  of  the  same  name  as  the  French,  by  J.  H. 
Thorp,  was  done  at  Ipswich  Aug.  i8th,  1884,  and  in  Mr. 
Charles  Bernard  rest  the  English  provincial  rights  of  the  French 
drama,  which  he  has  exercised  to  advantage.  Mr.  Clement  Scott 
adapted  the  play  for  Mrs.  Langtry ;  it  was  afterwards  handed  on 
to  Lady  Monckton,  and  subsequently  to  Miss  Genevieve  Ward, 
and,  though  alterations  have  been  made,  I  believe  I  may  state 
that  Mr.  Scott's  work  is  very  prominent  in  the  Avenue  production. 
The  play  is  gloomy,  but  interesting.  Micheline,  the  daughter  of 
Madame  Desvarennes,  a  hard-headed  business  woman,  immensely 
rich,  has  given  her  whole  heart  to  Prince  Serge  Panine,  a  hand- 
some, dissolute  pauper,  but  a  gambler  whenever  he  gets  the 
chance.  He  is  willing  to  marry  the  girl  on  account  of  her  wealth, 
though  he  loves  Jeanne,  the  adopted  sister.     Madame  Desvarennes, 


122  Serge  Pamne.  Uu»«,  i«9«. 

against  her  own  convictions,  gives  consent  to  her  daughter's 
marriage ;  and  Serge  Panine  has  such  an  ascendency  over  Jeanne 
that  he  induces  her  to  accept  Cayrol,  an  honest,  loving,  middle- 
aged  lover  of  hers.  The  two  weddings  take  place  on  the  same 
day,  and  immediately  after  the  ceremony  Jeanne  betrays  her  dis- 
like to  her  husband,  and  Madame  Desvarennes  learns  that  a 
mutual  passion  exists  between  Jeanne  and  the  Prince.  Three 
months  elapse,  and  the  Prince  and  Jeanne  are  thrown  together 
again,  and  their  illicit  love  is  renewed,  and  Micheline  is  a  witness 
to  the  passionate  love  scene  between  them.  Serge  Panine  has 
gambled  to  such  an  extent  that  he  has  fallen  into  the  power  of 
Herzog,  an  unscrupulous  promoter  of  companies.  Through  him 
he  is  mixed  up  in  such  a  very  shady  transaction  that  he  is  abso- 
lutely a  swindler.  To  endeavour  to  conceal  this  from  the  world, 
for  the  sake  of  her  own  good  name,  Madame  Desvarennes  is  on 
the  point  of  despatching  Cayrol  to  London  to  try  and  hush  the 
matter  up,  but  she  learns  from  Micheline  that  directly  he  is  gone 
Jeanne  and  the  Prince  are  to  meet.  Cayrol  is  warned  of  this,  and 
returns  and  finds  the  lovers  together.  He  is  about  to  dash  out 
the  Prince's  brains,  when  Jeanne  shields  him,  and  Cayrol's  love  for 
her  stays  his  hand.  In  the  last  act  the  officers  of  justice  are  on 
the  Prince's  track ;  they  are  almost  at  the  door,  when  Madame 
Desvarennes  points  out  to  Serge  Panine  that  he  can  only  wipe  out 
his  dishonour  by  suicide.  The  Prince  has  for  a  moment  thought 
of  such  an  end  to  his  difficulties,  but  determines  to  fly  instead. 
Madame  Desvarennes  tries  to  prevent  his  escape  ;  he  struggles 
with  her ;  she  seizes  the  loaded  pistol  ready  to  her  hand,  shoots 
Serge  Panine  down,  and  the  curtain  falls.  The  character  of 
Madame  Desvarennes  is  one  thoroughly  suited  to  the  firm,  incisive 
method  of  Genevieve  Ward,  and  the  actress  was  seen  in  it  to  the 
very  greatest  advantage  ;  in  fact,  the  burden  of  the  play  rested  on 
her  shoulders.  Miss  Ward  had  the  gfreatest  assistance  from  W. 
H.  Vernon  as  Cayrol,  a  man  of  a  loving  but  sluggish  nature  till 
roused,  and  then  terrible  in  his  rage.  Mr.  Vernon's  scene  where 
Cayrol  discovers  his  wife's  infamy  was  grandly  played.  Miss 
Webster  played  Micheline  in  a  tender  and  sympathetic  manner 
The  rdle  of  Jeanne  was  chosen  for  the  dibut  of  Estelle  Bumey,  a 
handsome  young  lady,  with  remarkably  intelligent  features  and 
expressive  eyes.  She  had  well  profited  by  training,  and  showed 
herself  possessed  of  considerable  power  and  some  pathos.  Lewis 
Waller  filled  the  title  rdle  most  effectively,  portraying  the  diflferent 
aspects  of  the  character  with  great  skill,  and  making  love  with 
much  fervour.      Hamilton  Knight's  make-up  as  Herzc^  was  good, 


June,  1891.]  The  Lodtes'  Battle,  123 


and  he  well  brought  out  the  nature  of  the  financier.  Webster 
Lawson  was  too  subdued  in  manner  as  Pierre  de  la  Rue. 
Compton  Coutts  had  not  much  to  do  as  Henry  Desvarennes, 
and  Mr,  Drew  and  Miss  Baines  were  of  assistance  as  Jules  and 
Cecile.  Serge  Panine  was  received  with  marked  approval,  arid 
repeated  calls  were  deservedly  bestowed  on  the  principals. 

5th.  Opera  Comique  matinJe. — The  Highwayman^  original 
comedietta  by  Justin  Huntly  McCarthy.  This  is  very  neatly 
written  round  a  gavotte,  the  incident  having  perhaps  been  sug- 
gested by  the  noted  Claude  Duval's  doings.  Sir  Harry  Bellairs 
having  been  for  some  time  coldly  treated  by  Lady,  Betty  Bassett, 
lays  a  wager  that  he  will  dance  with  her  within  one  week.  He 
obtains  admission  to  her  house  in  the  dead  of  night,  and,  masked 
and  disguised  as  a  highwayman,  confronts  her  just  as  she  has 
retiuned  from  a  ball,  and  her  servants  have  all  retired.  He  makes 
her  dance  a  gavotte  with  him,  and  acknowledge  in  writing  that  she 
has  done  so.  Presently,  having  incautiously  laid  aside  his  pistols, 
Lady  Betty  seizes  them,  and  makes  him  unmask,  destroy  her  letter, 
and  write  another  confessing  the  ungentlemanly  action  of  which  he 
has  been  guilty.  But  they  are  lovers,  and  when  he  pleads  his 
cause,  and  explains  away  an  innocent  flirtation,  he  is  taken  into 
favour  again.  Letty  Lind  not  only  danced  very  prettily,  but 
showed  fairly  well  as  a  light  comedy  actress.  C.  P.  Colnaghi  did 
well  as  Sir  Harry. 

The  Ladie^  Battle  followed.  The  two  characters,  the  Countess 
D*Autreval  and  Baron  de  Montrichard,  were  filled  with  grace  and 
sparkle  by  Henrietta  Lindley,  and  with  considerable  skill  by 
Charles  Sugden.  Jenny  McNulty  did  not  shine  in  the  ingAiue 
rdle  of  Leonie  de  la  Villegontier.  A.  Vane  Tempest  showed  some 
sense  of  humour  as  Gustave  de  Grignon,  and  H.  Lechmere  Stuart 
played  neatly  as  Henri  de  FlavigneuL  The  performance  was  in 
aid  of  the  Irish  Distressed  Ladies*  Fund,  and  was  organised  by 
Adolphus  Vane  Tempest  and  Arthur  Bourchier,  and  for  this 
George  Edwardes  kindly  lent  the  theatre.  The  programme 
commenced  with  some  very  clever  imitations  of  Mr.  Beerbohm 
Tree,  Mr.  Willard,  and  Mr.  Terriss  by  Mr.  Arthur  Playfair,  The 
Chevalier  Scovel  gained  much  applause  for  his  artistic  and  sym- 
pathetic singing  of  "  Bonnie  Sweet  Bessie,  the  Maid  of  Dundee." 
Mr.  Harrison  sang  for  the  first  time  Edward  St.  Quintin's  "  True 
to  Thee,"  to  which  he  did  justice.  There  was  also  given  the 
quartette  from  Rigoletto,  and  some  pleasing  selections  were  most 
artistically  rendered  by  Mademoiselle  Zelliede  Lussan,  Mademoiselle 
Giulia  Ravogli,  M.  Montariol,  and  M.  Devoyod,  of  the  Italian  Opera, 


124  ^^  Lancashire  Sailor.  Uuwb,  «89«. 

and  the  whole  concluded  with  the  pas  de  quatre  from  Faust  Up  to 
Date^  danced  by  Misses  Maude  Wilmot,  Alice  Gilbert,  Mclntyre, 
and  A.  Astor. 

6th.  Death  of  Edmund  Leathes,  real  name  Donaldson.  Born 
hi  1847.  Was  at  one  time  a  great  athlete,  and  for  a  while 
studied  medicine.  First  appeared  on  the  stage  Theatre  Royal, 
Dublin,  April,  1 869.  Was  well  known  throughout  Australia  and 
America.  Reappeared  in  London  in  1872  at  the  Princess's.  He 
made  a  hit  at  the  Queen's  as  James  Annesley  in  The  Wandering 
Heir.  Played  Laertes  two  hundred  nights  at  the  Lyceum  under 
Henry  Irving.  Was  the  author  of  "  The  Actor's  Wife  "  (after- 
wards dramatised)  and  *'  The  Actor  Abroad,"  and  of  the  drama 
For  King  and  Country ^  produced  at  the  Gaiety  May  ist,   1883. 

6th,  Terry's. — On  this  date  George  Edwardes  made  a  new 
departure,  and  introduced  a  system  which  I  had  long  advocated, 
viz.,  a  programme  consisting  of  three  short  and  amusing  plays, 
each  of  which  should  occupy  about  an  hour.  That  the  departure 
was  fully  appreciated  by  the  public  was  proved  by  the  length  of 
run,  even  though  the  programme  was  transferred  to  three  different 
theatres,  at  each  of  which  the  pecuniary  results  were  most  satis- 
factory.    At  Terry's  the  performance  commenced  at  eight  with 

The  Lancashire  Sailor^  one-act  drama  by  Brandon  Thomas. 
There  is  much  humanity  in  this  little  play,  and  the  dialogue,  if 
rather  extended  (as  is  sometimes  the  case  with  this  author),  is 
good.  Alfred  has  been  brought  up  by  Ralph  Ormerod,  a  farmer, 
and  the  lad  and  Alice  have  fallen  in  love  with  each  other,  some 
three  years  before  the  play  begins.  She  was  something  of  a 
coquette,  and  so  they  had  a  tiff,  and  Alfred  went  off  to  seek  his 
fortune  abroad.  Alice  regrets  her  thoughtlessness  and  turns  to 
acts  of  kindness  to  those  around  her,  and  in  nursing  some  poor 
people  she  is  brought  to  death's  door,  but  eventually  recovers, 
though  with  loss  of  sight.  Evil  times  come  upon  the  old  farmer, 
and  he  is  likely  to  be  evicted  from  his  farm,  when  Alfred  returns. 
He  does  not  know  of  Alice's  blindness,  but  proves  himself  constant 
and  the  same  noble-hearted  fellow  he  ever  was.  He  discovers 
almost  at  the  same  time  that  he  is  wealthy  and  noble  and  that 
his  sweetheart  is  blind,  and  at  once  implores  her  to  be  his  wife. 
Edith  Chester  played  very  sweetly ;  Brandon  Thomas  was  a  fine 
manly  fellow ;  Dolores  Drummond  was  most  amusing  as  a  faithful 
and  garrulous  old  servant ;  and  Compton  Coutts  made  a  capital 
character  sketch  of  Erasmus  Ellerby,  the  solicitor.  There  were 
some  tender  moments  in  this  little  play,  which  the  audience 
appreciated.     This  was  followed  at  nine  o'clock  byyGoOgIc 


juMB,x89i.]  A  Pantomime  Rehearsal.  125 

A  Commission.  Marshall,  a  well-to-do  amateur  painter,  shares 
a  studio  with  his  poorer  friend  Thangen,  who  has  gone  to  Rome 
to  complete  his  Academy  picture.  Mrs.  Hemmersley,  a  rich  young 
widow,  sends  a  cheque  with  the  "Commission"  that  the  absent  one 
shall  paint  her  portrait.  Marshall,  afraid  that  Thangen  would  lose 
the  good  chance,  impersonates  him  ;  and  the  handsome  widow 
falls  in  love  with  him  during  the  great  number  of  sittings  he  has 
insisted  on.  When  she  discovers  the  fraud  through  the  chattering 
of  Gloucester,  the  model,  who  takes  her  for  one  of  his  own 
fraternity,  she  is  very  indignant,  as  she  thinks  Marshall  has 
defrauded  his  friend  from  interested  motives,  but  Marshall  soon 
explains  matters  away — for  he  is  an  ardent  wooer — and  the  widow's 
heart  pleads  for  him.  Weedon  Grossmith  treated  his  subject 
cleverly  and  made  it  pass  the  hour  very  pleasantly.  He  was 
excellent  in  his  calm,  undisturbed  demeanour  as  the  valet  Shaw. 
Lily  Hanbury  was  exactly  fitted  for  Mrs.  Hemmersley,  and  played 
with  great  charm.  She  had  a  good  lover  in  Forbes  Dawson,  and 
Brandon  Thomas  was  humorous  as  the  good-natured  model. 
At  ten  o'clock,  to  wind  up  with,  was  given 

A  Pantomime  Rehearsal^  Cecil  Clay's  comic  sketch.  This  was 
performed  by  the  "  Old  Stagers  '*  at  Canterbury'  last  year,  and 
Rosina  Yokes  has  been  most  successful  with  the  skit  in  America. 
Jack  Deedes  is  the  unfortunate  author  of  the  pantomime  The  Babes 
in  the  Wood^  and  his  troubles  as  the  stage  manager  of  the  amateurs 
are  droUy  set  forth.  Lord  Arthur  Pomeroy  is  a  little  nobleman, 
who,  having  conceived  certain  notions  as  to  how  the  part  of  "  first 
robber"  should  be  played,  throws  up  his  part  whenever  his 
absurdities  are  thwarted.  Sir  Charles  Grandison  is  the  amateur 
scene-painter  and  limelight  man,  neither  of  which  followings  he 
understands.  Lady  Muriel  Beauclerc  is  the  Demon  King  and 
Queen  of  the  Fairies.  The  Misses  Eaton  Belgrave  are  the 
"  babes,"  who  sing  and  dance ;  and  the  other  ladies  are  fairies. 
When  I  say  that  all  representing  these  characters  entered 
thoroughly  into  the  spirit  of  the  burlesque,  that  there  are  some 
pretty  songs  and  lively  dancing  (more  of  these  were  afterwards 
introduced  with  advantage),  it  may  be  gathered  that  the  audience 
went  away  in  high  good-humour,  none  the  less  so  perhaps  because 
it  was  on  its  way  home  by  eleven  o'clock. 

6th.  Gaiety. — Frank  H.  Celli  appeared  as  Escamillo  in 
Carm£n  up  to  Data^  and  during  the  illness  of  Letty  Lind  Loie 
Fuller  appeared  as  Mercedes. 

8th.  Strand  matinee. — A  special  benefit  matinee  took  place 
here  on  this  date  for  a  most  deserving  object.     It  was  known 


126  Leave  It  to  Me.  jini«,T89i. 

that  nothing  but  a  sea  voyage  could  prolong  Tom  Squire's  life, 
and  so  his  numerous  friends  in  the  profession  set  to  work  to 
organise  a  benefit  and  collect  subscriptions.  Willie  Edouin  gave 
the  first  assistance,  for  he  lent  his  theatre  free  of  all  charges ;  and 
then  C.  F.  Quicke,  who  acted  as  secretary,  and  W.  Lestocq  and 
Willie  Edouin,  who  stage-managed,  arranged  the  following  pro- 
gramme. First  came  Arthur  Williams's  amusing  one-act  farce 
Leave  It  to  Me^  in  which  the  author  appeared  as  Joe  Sprouts, 
and  was  most  capably  assisted  by  G.  T.  Minshull,  Philip  Cun- 
ingham,  Fred  Emery,  Kate  James,  and  Violet  Raye.  The  first 
act  of  Handfast  was  given  by  the  Shaftesbury  company,  and  went 
well,  and  after  an  interval  the  first  act  of  Jane  by  the  company 
from  the  Comedy,  the  vagaries  of  the  pretty  housemaid,  her 
jealous  husband  and  untruthful  master,  producing  shouts  of 
laughter.  The  incidentals  were  particularly  strong.  Among  those 
who  recited  was  Lewis  Waller,  who  chose  that  striking  composition 
by  Florence  Warden  "  The  Cynic's  Drinking  Song,"  and  Annie 
Hughes  gave  with  pathetic  force  G.  R.  Sims's  "  The  Road  to 
Heaven."  Harry  Paulton  convulsed  the  audience  with  his  clever 
lecture  on  "  Figures."  Kate  James  sang  and  danced  with  plenty 
of  go  her  well-known  "  Would  you  let  me  see  you  home  ?  "  M. 
M arius  repeated  his  sketch  without  words  The  Silver  Line^  which 
elicited  much  applause.  Charles  Capper  whistled  melodiously. 
Dan  Leno  amused  with  his  song  "The  Shopwalker."  Harry 
NichoUs,  who  was  not  immediately  recognised  and  therefore  was 
not  so  warmly  received,  and  remarked  thereon  that  he  thought 
that  the  audience  was  not  glad  to  see  him,  sang  as  the  old 
Chelsea  pensioner  "The  Lord  Mayor's  Show."  E.  J.  Lonnen 
appeared  early  in  his  "  pearlies  "  to  sing  "  Won't  yer } "  Albert 
Chevalier  had  to  repeat  the  last  verse  of "  Knocked  'em  in  the 
Old  Kent  Road,"  and  then  had  to  sing  "  The  nasty  way  he  says 
it."  Arthur  Roberts  gave  "I  went  to  find  Emin,"  which  was 
vociferously  redemanded.  Ben  Davies,  who  was  in  magnificent 
voice,  sang  "Dost  thou  know  how  to  love?"  and  Julia  Neilson, 
with  exquisite  expression,  contributed  "  Courage."  Florence  St. 
John  first  gave  "  The  Dear  Home-land,"  and  in  response  to  per- 
sistent demands  sang,  with  charming  sensibility,  "  Home,  Sweet 
Home."  Franklin  Clive  succeeded  well  in  "  I'm  off  to  Phila- 
delphia." W.  Lestocq,  after  reading  a  telegram  sent  from  Mr. 
Squire  on  his  sick-bed,  expressing  his  warmest  gratitude  for 
every  one's  kindness,  had  the  gratification  of  announcing  that,  with 
subscriptions  received  and  promised  and  the  results  of  the 
afternoon,  some  ;f2  5o  would  be  handed  to  the  binificiaire\  and 


juN»,  1891.]  Esther  Sandraz,  127 

it  should  be  remembered  that  this  amount  was  got  together  for 
the  main  part  from  members  of  the  profession,  and  also  through 
the  exertions  of  the  acting  manager,  C.  St.  John  Denton. 

8th.  Grand. — EstJier  Sandrazy  by  Sydney  Grundy.  Henri 
Vandelle,  Charles  Eaton ;  Oliver  Deschamps,  Hamilton  Piifard  ; 
Fourcanade,  Charles  Herberte  ;  Boisgommeux,  Augustine  Knight ; 
Justin,  Maurice  Richardson ;  Henrietta,  Mary  Clayton  ;  Madame 
Fourcanade,  Mrs.  C.  A.  Clarke  ;  Clarisse,  Susie  Rignold  ;  Blanche, 
Miss  St.  Leger  ;  Esther  Sandraz,  Janet  Steer.  On  the  same 
night  was  played  Idols  of  the  Hearty  play  in  one  act  by  Janet 
Steer,  who  appeared  as  Lady  Irene.  This  lady,  the  principal 
character,  had  been  seduced  in  the  past  by  Lord  Duncastle, 
to  whom  she  bore  a  child.  Her  offspring  dying,  Lady  Irene 
steals  a  little  girl,  who  has  been  born  in  marriage  to  Lord 
Duncastle,  and  brings  her  up  as  her  own,  calling  her  Editha.  Lord 
Duncastle,  hearing  of  Editha's  engagement  to  his  stepson,  Henry 
Sinclair,  comes  to  see  Lady  Irene  on  the  subject;  and  mutual 
explanations  ensue,  with  the  result  that  the  nobleman  does  his 
best  to  repair  the  evil  of  the  past  by  offering  his  hand  to  Lady 
Irena  Both  sentiment  and  writing  were  fresh  and  natural,  and 
the  authoress  filled  her  part  with  great  delicacy. 

8th.  E.  S.  Willard  arrived  in  London  from  his  American 
tour. 

8th.  SURREV. — Land  of  the  Livings  five- act  drama  by  Frank 
Harvey.  First  time  in  London.  Originally  produced  at  Prince 
of  Wales's,  Great  Grimsby,  March  i6th,  1889. 

9th.  Novelty. — Matrimonial.  Three-act  comedy  (for  copy- 
right purposes). 

loth.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kendal  arrived  at  Liverpool  from  their 
American  tour. 

nth.  Ladbroke  Hall. — The  foumeys  Endy  one-act  drama 
by  Horace  C.  Newte.  A  prettily  written,  sympathetic  piece  of 
work.  It  is  only  about  a  young  girl  returning  home,  thinking 
she  is  engaged,  to  find  that  her  lover  is  on  the  point  of  marriage 
with  her  sister,  to  whom  she  unselfishly  resigns  him.  If  anything 
could  have  ruined  the  play  it  would  have  been  the  acting  of  the 
lover;  but  it  survived,  thanks  to  its  merit  and  to  Mrs.  Ernest 
Renton's  pathos  and  humanity.  In  a  scene  from  Richard  III. 
Acton  Bond  proved  that  he  knew  the  value  of  Shakespeare's  text. 
In  Aunt  Charlotte's  Maid  T.  Herbert  Terriss  showed  that  he  had 
plenty  of  "  go  "  in  him  as  Horatio  Thomas  Sparkins.  Low  comedy 
would  appear  to  be  his  forte.  A  very  pretty  young  actress,  Beatrice 
Clive,  is  a  Lottie  Venne  in  embryo ;  and  Master  Alfred  Field- 


128  The  Poison  Flower.  [jwn^iXqx 


Fisher  gave  a  comical  sketch,  well   made  up,  and  also  played 
Pivot,  the  high-dried  old  lawyer. 

1 2th.  Globe  matinie. —  The  Mischief-maker ^  three-act 
farcical  comedy  by  Edith  Henderson.  In  tfiis  there  is  an  old 
gentleman,  "  The  Mischief-maker,"  who  carries  about  with  him  a 
detective  camera,  with  which  he  takes  the  portraits  of  every  one, 
from  the  servant  to  the  lady  who  masquerades  in  barrister's  wig 
and  gown  and  goes  to  an  artist's  to  have  her  likeness  taken — the 
likeness  being  intended  to  pass  for  her  grandfather's — and  so 
sends  her  brother-in-law  into  fits  of  jealousy.  The  piece  was 
afterwards  put  on  at  the  Vaudeville  for  a  run. 

1 3th.  Toole's  matinie. — Id  on  (tte)  Park  {pas)  Franqais.  J.  L. 
Toole,  encouraged  by  the  success  of  Ibsen's  Ghost,  produced  another 
novelty  in  the  shape  of  the  old  farce,  a  favourite  with  the  public, 
transformed  into  a  "  play  without  words."  It  was  very  amusing. 
Mr.  Toole  as  Spriggins,  with  a  whitened  face  and  black  skull  cap, 
told  the  story  well ;  Irene  Vanbrugh  as  Angelina  made  delightful 
love  in  dumb  show  to  C.  M.  Lowne  as  M.  Victoire  Dubois,  an 
impressionable  son  of  Gaul  in  uniform  ;  Eliza  Johnstone  was  in 
the  fashion,  and  forcibly  "  struck "  as  Anna  Maria ;  and  H. 
Westland  and  Mary  Brough  as  Major  Regular  and  Mrs.  Rattan, 
with  Effie  Liston  as  Mrs.  Spriggins,  by  their  excellent  mimeing, 
made  the  story  thoroughly  comprehensible  and  laughable.  The 
complete  success  attained  was  more  than  half  owing  to  the 
sense  of  humour  evidently  possessed  by  William  Robins  in  the 
selection  of  the  various  tunes  which  helped  to  illustrate  the  rage, 
love,  despair,  hatred,  longing,  and  delight  which  animated  the 
different  characters. 

1 5  th.  Vaudeville. — For  a  series  of  matinees.  A  Sicilian  Idyl, 
by  John  Todhunter,  M.D.  This  was  fully  noticed  in  Dramatic 
Notes  of  last  year.  During  the  revival  T.  B.  Thalberg  was  the 
Alexander,  Cecil  Crofton  Daphne, Florence  Farr  Amaryllis,  and  Lily 
Linfield  Thestylis,  in  which  'character  she  again  danced  the  "  Bac- 
chanal "  with  the  same  abandon  and  artistic  skill  which  she  had 
previously  exhibited.  On  this  date  was  produced  the  new  blank 
verse  play, 

The  Poison  Flower,  by  Dr.  Todhunter,  founded  on  a  story  by 
Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  but  which  was  quite  unsuited  to  stage 
representation.  Though  containing  some  excellent  verse  and 
many  gleams  of  true  poetry,  the  language  used  was  at  times 
almost  bombastic.  It  may  be  summed  up  as  an  allegory  implying 
that  all  the  labours  of  one  who  strives  to  benefit  his  fellows  may 
be  as  nought  through  the  selfishness  of  man,  and  that  perfect 


joini,x89x.i  Esther  Sandraz.  129 

unselfish  love  is  not  to  be  found.  Beatrice  Rappacini  (Florence 
Farr)  and  Giovanni  Guasconti  (Bernard  Gould)  were  the  promi- 
nent characters ;  the  latter  was  less  modern  than  usual,  and 
delivered  his  text  in  many  parts  admirably.  T.  B.  Thalberg 
(Giacomo  Rappacini)  also  appeared.  Malcolm  Bell  (Celio  Ruffini) 
hurried  his  Hnes  so  much  as  to  be  incomprehensible  at  times. 

15  th.  Criterion. — David  Garrick  was  revived,  and  attracted 
as  large  houses  as  ever  it  had.  Charles  Wyndham's  many  friends 
appear  never  to  tire  of  seeing  him  in  this  character.  The  cast 
was  the  same  as  had  already  been  so  frequently  seen  in  T.  W. 
Robertson's  play. 

15  th.  Alhambra. — Oriella,  the  new  ballet  by  Carlo  Coppi, 
proved  one  of  the  greatest  successes  ever  achieved  at  this  theatre. 
The  music  by  Jacobi  is  some  of  his  best  work  ;  the  plot,  if  slender, 
is  original,  and  an  excellent  vehicle  for  the  picturesque  and 
beautiful  Japanese  and  other  dresses  furnished  by  M.  and  Madame 
Alias,  and  for  the  dancing  of  Signora  Legnani,  Charles  Lauri, 
and  Mademoiselle  Marie,  the  beautiful  scenery  by  Ryan,  and  the 
graceful  movements  of  one  of  the  best-trained  corps  de  ballet  in 
London. 

15th.  Sadler's  Wells. — Flying  from  Justice^  four-act  drama 
by  Mark  Melford. 

15  th.  Marylebone. — The  Irishman^  sensational  drama  in 
four  acts  by  J.  W.  Whitbread. 

1 5th.  Vaudeville. — Miss  Tomboy  placed  in  the  evening  bill 
with  practically  the  same  cast  as  had  appeared  in  it  at  the  matinie 
May  23rd.  On  the  same  evening  Perfection  was  played  as  the 
first  piece.  In  this  Dorothy  Dorr  not  only  proved  herself  an 
admirable  comedienne  as  Kate  O'Brien,  but  a  most  accomplished 
and  winning  vocalist,  and  possessed  of  a  charming  voice. 

1 6th.  Critekioi^  matinee. — Esther  Sandraz.  Violet  Thorny- 
croft  gave  a  matinie  at  this  theatre  before  a  large  audience,  and 
appeared  as  Esther  Sandraz.  This  handsome  young  actress  had 
been  but  a  short  time  before  the  public,  and  had  made  rapid 
strides  in  favour,  but  was  disappointing  in  the  rdle  she  assumed. 
The  strength  that  was  wanting  may  come  with  further  practice, 
but  on  this  occasion  Miss  Thomycroft  was  altogether  too  gentle 
and  subdued,  and  quite  missed  her  great  opportunity  at  the 
end  of  the  first  act.  Eleanore  Leyshon  played,  with  infinite 
tenderness,  grace,  and  dignity,  Henrietta  ;  and  she,  and  H.  Reeves 
Smith  as  Olivier  Deschamps,  secured  the  honours  of  the  afternoon. 
Miss  M.  A.  Victor  and  H.  de  Lange  as  Mrs.  Fourcanade  and  Bois- 
gommeux  were  excellent.     Willie  Drew  played  Fourcanade  after 

9 


130  A  Golden  Sorrow.  [Jum,  x?^ 


the  manner  of  one  bom  within  the  shadow  of  Bow  Bells,  and  Bassett 
Roe  was  but  a  tame  Henri  Vandelle. 

17  th.  Globe  matinee. — A  Golden  Sorrow^  three-act  drama  by 
A.  E.  Drinkwater.  If  this  be  a  first  attempt  of  the  author's  his 
play  shows  promise,  for  experience  will  teach  him  to  economise 
the  good  language  he  has  put  into  the  mouths  of  his  characters, 
and  to  bring  his  cqrtain  down  finally  with  somewhat  stronger 
effect  Mr.  Drinkwater's  plot  runs  thus :  Mr.  Bellamy  is  an  old 
gentleman  well  off,  and  with  only  one  daughter,  but  with  a  carping 
sorrow  that  he  will  not  explain  to  her.  It  appears  that  he  has 
inherited  his  property  through  his  elder  brother  having  been  sup- 
posed to  have  died  without  issue.  This  was  not  the  case,  for  he 
lefl  a  son,  Edouardo,  and  daughter,  Francesca  (having  married  a 
Corsican  lady).  The  daughter  had  for  a  time  enslaved  Philip 
Denzil,  and  embittered  his  life  some  ten  years  before  by  leaving 
him  to  marry  one  Barozzi.  This  Barozzi  has  learnt  of  the  death 
of  Edouardo  Delamini,  the  name  his  father  had  assumed  in 
Genoa,  which  Mr.  Bellamy  has  always  supposed  he  accidentally 
brought  about,  but  which  Barozzi  threatened  him  constantly  with 
asserting  was  intentional,  in  order  that  Bellamy  might  remain  in 
possession  of  the  estate.  Barozzi  at  length  has  the  audacity  to 
come  to  England  and  declare  himself  to  be  the  deceased  man,  but 
consents  to  forego  his  claim  on  payment  of  a  large  annuity.  At 
last  the  weak-minded  Bellamy  confides  his  secret  to  Philip  Denzil, 
a  clever  lawyer,  who  has  by  this  time  learnt  to  love  once  more  a 
worthier  object  in  Mary  Bellamy.  He  steadily  traces  out  all  the 
transactions  of  Barozzi — identifies  him  through  the  aid  of  Mr. 
Sunderland,  in  whose  house  the  real  Edouardo  died,  and  also  by 
the  spirit  of  revenge  that  animates  Francesca  on  account  of  her 
husband's  desertion  of  her.  The  poisoning  is  brought  home  to 
Barozzi  by  means  of  Csesarini,  the  analyst  from  whom  Barozzi  had 
stolen  the  drug.  Caesarini  evidently  possesses  some  further  hold 
over  the  plotter,  for  by  means  of  some  mysterious  paper  he  hands 
him,  Barozzi  is  induced  to  return  to  Italy,  never  to  trouble  any  one 
again  ;  and  the  curtain  falls  on  the  acceptance  of  Denzil  by  Mary. 
Mr.  Leigh,  remarkably  well  played  by  Scott  Buist,  is  an  excres- 
cence on  the  play,  for  he  is  but  a  neighbouring  friend  who  drops 
in,  and  whose  weaknesses  appear  to  be  a  love  of  shooting  and  a 
forgetfulness  of  his  friends'  names.  Lilian  Revell,  the  giver  of 
the  matin^e^  was  ladylike  and  gentle  as  Mary  Bellamy,  and  showed 
sufficient  promise  of  becoming  an  acquisition  in  sympathetic  parts. 
A.  E.  Drinkwater  should  not  have  acted  such  an  important  cha- 
racter in  his  own  play  as  that  of  Philip  Denzil.     He  was  naturally 


juKK,  i89i.]  Shylock  and  Co.  131 

nervous,  and  his  wish  to  be  impressive  caused  him  to  dwell  too 
much  upon  his  sentences.  He  wanted  some  sparks  of  fire  and 
real  earnestness.  C.  W.  Somerset  was  good  as  Mr.  Bellamy,  and 
quite  realised  the  idea  of  a  crime-haunted,  weak  gentleman. 
Ronald  Bayne,  who  took  the  part  of  Signor  Barozzi  at  short 
notice,  owing  to  the  unavoidable  absence  of  Sydney  Valentine, 
played  remarkably  well.  He  was  constantly  in  evidence,  and 
gripped  the  character  of  an  unscrupulous  adventurer ;  but  excep- 
tion must  be  taken  to  his  very  awkward  attempt  on  the  life  of 
Denzil,  an  incident  which  should  have  been  cut  out  altogether. 
C.  Dodsworth  was  very  true  to  nature  as  the  old  curiosity 
dealer,  Mr.  Sunderland.  Alice  Yorke  gave  colour  to  the 
character  of  Francesca,  and  Annie  Goward  was  remarkably 
clever  as  the  little  servant  Angelina,  producing  many  hearty 
laughs.  The  company  and  author  were  called  for  at  the  close 
of  the  piece. 

1 8  th.  Criterion  matinee. — Shylock  and  Co.  Money-lenders 
and  their  doings  are  not  generally  very  diverting,  but  this  cannot 
be  altogether  said  of  Shylock  and  Co.,  the  farcical  comedy  by  Greorge 
Canninge  and  Albert  Chevalier,  adapted  from  V Article  7  of 
Bataille  and  Feug^re,  and  which  had  been  tried  before  at  Rich- 
mond, under  the  title  of  1. 0,17,,  on  Jan.  17th,  1891.  The  fun 
turns  on  the  persistent  care  exhibited  by  two  old  gentlemen  for 
the  health  of  a  young  one  who  owes  them  money,  also  on  the 
presumption  that  the  said  young  gentleman  is  in  love  with  the 
two  old  gentlemen's  wives ;  whilst  another,  a  "  gentleman  of 
colour,"  falls  in  love  with  one  of  these,  and  is  quite  willing  to  wait 
— or,  if  it  pleases  the  lady  better,  to  immolate  every  one — in  order 
that  his  passion  may  be  gratified.  The  second  act  was  intensely 
funny.  All  sorts  of  misconstructions  arise,  and  Prince  Zannibulu 
plays  an  important  part  in  it  (an  original  introduction  by  the 
authors,  and  not  taken  from  the  French,  as  the  rest  of  the  play  is). 
This  prince,  dressed  in  the  height  of  fashion,  was  played  with  a 
perfection  of  quiet  humour  by  H.  Eversfield.  H.  V.  Esmond  was 
a  good  light  comedian,  after  the  Wyndham  method,  as  Hector 
Rolleston,  the  young  gentleman  ;  but  neither  W.  Blakeley  nor 
S.  Valentine  made  the  most  of  Elijah  Quarm  and  Dr.  Gossage. 
Marie  lUington  must  be  highly  commended  for  her  interpretation 
of  the  character  of  a  lady  who,  because  she  is  writing  a  novel 
called  "  The  Soul's  Chase,"  takes  the  name  of  Zenobia  and  flirts 
with  every  one.  Ellaline  Terriss  as  a  nice  little  English  girl, 
Minnie,  was  quite  lovable.  The  first  act  was  thin  ;  aiid>  the  third 
wanted  a  very  great  deal  of  spirit,  infused  into  it^gti^edby^^OOgle 


132  Dick  Wilder,  Uonb,iB9i. 


1 8th.  Shaftesbury  matinee. — As  You  Like  It.  Mrs.  Patrick 
Campbell  as  Rosalind.  The  actress  disappointed  her  admirers  ; 
her  reading  was  too  effeminate  for  the  character.  Frank  Worthing 
was  a  promising  Orlando.  Nutcombe  Gould  did  not  do  himself 
justice  as  Jaques,  from  his  nervousness.  Violet  Raye,  a  handsome 
young  actress,  did  not  shine  in  Shakespearian  text  as  Celia.  The 
Audrey  of  Alexes  Leighton  was  rich  and  humorous. 

19th.  Ladbroke  Hall. — Auld  Lang  Syne^  one-act  play  by 
Lorna  Lee. 

20th.  Vaudeville  matinie, — Dick  Wilder,  four-act  play. 
Those  who  had  so  laughed  over  the  whimsicality  of  Our  Flat  must 
have  been  terribly  disappointed  at  Mrs.  H.  Musgrave's  last  produc- 
tion, for  it  was  stilted  in  language  and  very  commonplace  in  plot. 
Eustace  Davenport  is  secretary  to  Sir  Harry  Heathcote,  and  is 
thoroughly  esteemed  by  him  ;  his  daughter  Molly  falls  in  love 
with  the  young  fellow.  Lord  St.  Maur  aspires  to  her  hand,  and 
at  the  instigation  of  Barbara  Morris,  whose  unrequited  love  for 
Davenport  has  turned  to  hate,  charges  the  latter  with  being  the 
noted  highwayman  Dick  Wilder,  this  freebooter  being  none  other 
than  Davenport's  twin  brother,  to  whom  he  bears  the  strongest 
resemblance.  Davenport  has  made  a  vow  that  he  will  always 
shield  his  brother,  and  so  does  not  attempt  to  deny  the  accusation. 
He  is  allowed  to  go  free  at  the  intercession  of  Molly,  who  buys 
his  escape  at  the  cost  of  her  betrothal  to  St  Maur.  The  noble- 
man is  got  rid  of  by  our  being  told  that  he  has  been  killed  in  a 
street  brawl.  Then  Barbara  Morris  returns  penitent,  confesses  her 
share  in  the  plot,  and  she  having  been  all  along  married  to  Dick 
Wilder,  brings  a  deathbed  confession  clearing  his  brother,  and 
Davenport  comes  back  covered  with  glory,  which  he  has  gained  in 
the  wars,  to  claim  his  sweetheart.  The  events  are  supposed  to 
take  place  in  Queen  Anne's  reign.  The  cast  was  as  follows  :  Sir 
Harry  Heathcote,  Fred  Thorne  ;  Lord  St.  Maur,  L.  D'Orsay ;  Mr. 
Eustace  Davenport  and  Dick  Wilder,  H.  B.  Conway  (who  doubled 
the  parts  and  showed  us  the  highwayman  robbing  the  Heathcote 
party  when  on  their  way  to  London)  ;  Jacob,  Fred  Grove ;  Molly 
Heathcote,  Dorothy  Dorr ;  Barbara  Morris,  Adrienne  Dairolles ; 
Margaret  Clark  (an  old  nurse),  Mrs.  C.  Owen.  The  three  ladies 
were  excellent  in  their  several  characters,  but  none  of  the  gentle- 
men distinguished  themselves. 

20th.  Lyceum. — Ellen  Terry  reappeared  as  Nance  Oldfield  in 
the  afternoon.  Tlie  Corsican  Brothers  made  up  the  programme. 
At  night  Tlie  Bells  was  played. 

20th.  Harry  Monkhouse  assumed  the  rdle  of  Matthew  Vander- 


June.  1891.]  Watching  and  Waiting,  133 

koopen  in  La  Cigale  in  the  place  of  Lionel  Brough,  who  went  on 
a  holiday. 

20th.  Last  night  of  the  Vaudeville,  Adelphi,  and  Savoy  seasons. 

20th.  Fire  at  Louis  Tussaud*s.  Waxworks  totally  destroyed* 
Signor  Delavanti's  orchestra  lost  all  their  instruments. 

20th.  St.  George's  Hall. — A  FooVs  Tricky  one-act  come- 
dietta, and  Prudes  and  Pros,  two-act  farcical  comedy,  both  by 
Adeline  Votieri. 

20th.  During  the  week  ending  on  this  date  Augustus  Yorke, 
known  on  the  stage  as  A.  Danemore,  son  of  Reginald  Yorke,  died 
in  St.  George's  Hospital  from  the  effect  of  burns.  His  night-shirt 
caught  fire  ;  and  being  unable  to  put  out  the  flames,  he  rushed  into 
the  street  and  was  taken  to  the  hospital.  He  had  been  appearing 
as  Sir  Charles  Grandison  in  A  Pantomine  Rehearsal  at  Terry's. 

22nd.  Sadler's  Wells. — Leaves  of  Shamrock,  five-act  drama 
by  J.  P.  Sullivan.     First  time  in  London. 

22nd.  St.  James's  Hall. — The  Unfinished  Story,  duologue  by 
Ina  Leon  Cassilis. 

23  rd.  Terry's  matinee. —  Watching  and  Waiting,  three-act 
comedy  by  Agatha  and  Archibald  Hodson.  This  was  neither  a 
strong  or  a  very  interesting  play.  Julian  Dalziel,  "  the  villain  of 
the  play,"  is  wicked  enough  to  fall  in  love  with  Evelyn,  the  wife  of 
his  steward,  Hugh  Hel^tone,  who  has  a  weakness  for  gambling, 
which  his  employer  rather  strangely  fosters.  They  sit  down  to  a 
game  of  &arte,  and  the  Squire  pops  a  little  sedative  into  Helstone's 
drink,  when  the  latter  at  once  drops  off  into  a  deep  sleep.  Now  is 
the  coast  clear  for  the  Squire's  base  designs.  He  almost  persuades 
Evelyn  to  "  fly  with  him,"  for  she  is  weak  and  bewitched.  But 
he  has  not  reckoned  on  Montague  Helstone,  a  very  nice  lad,  who 
is  "watching"  over  his  sister-in-law,  and  "waiting"  to  catch 
Julian.  The  latter,  finding  his  passage  barred,  incontinently 
knocks  "  poor  Monty  *'  down,  but  leaves  the  lady.  The  blow 
must  have  been  a  severe  one,  for  Monty  loses  his  memory  for  six 
months.  Julian  Dalziel,  who  has  been  away  all  this  time,  returns 
to  make  more  burning  love ;  but  Evelyn  has  cooled  down  in  the 
meantime,  and  so  the  evil  Squire  walks  off  with  his  tail  between 
his  legs.  The  sight  of  him,  however,  restores  to  Monty  his  reason. 
A  very  delightful  widow,  with  just  a  soupqon  of  fastness  (capitally 
played  by  Gertrude  Warden),  entangles  a  very  soft,  apron-string- 
tied  curate  (amusingly  filled  by  Sydney  Jerram),  and  these  two 
afford  the  light  portion  of  the  entertainment,  assisted  by  "  a  young 
girl's  fancy "  for  Monty,  prettily  displayed  by  Lily  Linfield  as 
Norah  Marsden.     Emily  Miller  as  the  curate's  "  ma  "  was  quite 


134  Drink,  Utrw.r89i. 

at  borne  in  the  character  ;  and  Grerald  Gumey  appeared  as  Norah's 
brother  Gilbert.  Philip  Cunningham's  Juh'an  Dalziel  disappointed 
me.  He  wanted  passion ;  was  gauche.  Cecil  Crofton  was  very 
good  as  Montague  Helstone  ;  he  was  a  brave,  cheery  boy,  who 
honestly  loved  his  brother's  wife  and  was  determined  no  harm 
should  come  to  her.  Annie  Hill  as  Evelyn  Helstone  had  her 
good  moments,  but  she  had  not  yet  gained  sufficient  experience 
for  a  trying  emotional  part  Julian  Cross  had  not  very  much  to 
do  as  Hugh  Helstone,  but  he  was  of  assistance. 

23rd.  Drury  Lane  (revival). — Drink.  Charies  Reade's  adap- 
tation of  Busnach  and  Gatineau's  drama  written  on  Zola's 
LAssommair  (produced  at  the  Ambigu,  Paris,  Jan.  i8th, 
1879)  was  first  seen  in  England,  at  the  Princess's  Theatre,  June 
2nd,  1879.  Charles  Warner  was  the  original  English  Conpeau; 
G.  Redmund,  Lantier;  William  Rignold,  Gouget;  H.  Beauchamp, 
Poisson;  T.  P.  Haynes,  Mes  Bottes ;  Strickland,  Pierre  Colombe; 
Amy  Roselle,  Gervaise  ;  Fanny  Leslie,  Phoebe  Sage  ;  Ada  Murray, 
Virginie  ;  Katie  Barry,  Little  Nana.  The  play  has  been  revived 
since  then,  and  has  invariably  created  a  great  sensation  from  the 
terrible  realism  of  Charles  Warner's  acting  when  falling  once 
more  under  the  influence  of  drink,  and  his  death  from  delirium 
tremens.  The  actor  has  lost  none  of  his  power;  his  features 
appear  to  be  completely  changed,  and  his  form  shrunken  under 
his  sufferings  from  the  awful  disease,  and  he  shows  its  ravages  so 
effectively  as  to  exercise  a  horrible  fascination  over  his  audience. 
The  story  of  Drink  is  too  well  known  to  require  being  told 
over  again.  We  see  how  Gervaise  is  deserted  by  Lantier,  her 
first  husband  in  the  play,  how  Virginie,  her  rival,  brings  about 
the  ruin  and  death  of  Coupeau ;  and  throughout  we  have  the 
steadfast  love  of  the  abstaining  Gouget  for  the  industrious 
Gervaise,  which  is  finally  rewarded,  Virginie  and  her  paramour 
Lantier  meeting  their  deaths  at  the  hands  of  Poisson.  The  novel 
has  been  considerably  altered  to  suit  English  notions.  In  the 
present  cast  Charles  Glenney  was  an  admirable  representative  of 
the  worthless  villain  Lantier,  and  Ekimund  Gumey  a  fine  noble 
fellow  as  Gouget ;  his  **  abstinence  *'  speeches  were  splendidly 
delivered,  and  were  much  applauded.  Julian  Cross  played  firmly 
as  Poisson,  and  William  Morgan  was  a  characteristic  Mes  Bottes. 
Jessie  Millward  quite  understood  the  gentle,  yielding  nature  of 
Gervaise,  roused  only  once  to  indignation  by  the  insults  of 
Virginie  in  the  "  Wash-house  "  scene,  where  the  two  women  fight 
like  demons,  and  deluge  each  other  with  pails  of  real  water. 
Ada  Neilson  was  altogether  too  stately  as  Virginie,  and  was  not  at 


jtmK,i89x.]  faspef's  Revenge,  135 

all  the  debased  creature  the  author  intended.  Kate  James  was  a 
very  bright  and  saucy  Phoebe  Sage,  and  little  Daisy  Stratton  was 
an  endearing  child  as  Nana  The  other  parts  were  well  filled, 
and  Augustus  Harris  has  staged  the  piece  with  that  perfection 
that  is  always  found  at  his  theatre.  The  revival  was  a  distinct 
success. 

24th.  First  dinner  of  the  Actors'  Benevolent  Fund  ;  it  was 
held  at  the  Whitehall  Rooms,  Hotel  Metropole,  Henry  Irving  in 
the  chair,  who  proposed  the  toast  of  the  evening,  Edmund  Yates 
proposed  "The  Stage,"  to  which  John  Hare  replied.  Comyns  Carr 
gave  the  toast  of  "  The  Drama,"  to  which  A.  W.  Pinero  replied. 
Charles  Dickens  proposed  the  chairman's  health,  and  J.  L.  Toole 
that  of  the  artists  who  had  contributed  to  the  evening's  entertain- 
ment. Lionel  Brough  returned  thanks  for  the  fund,  which  had 
benefited  to  the  amount  of  ;f7SO. 

2Sth.  Shaftesbury  matinee. — Jasper^ s  Revenge^  one-act  play. 
Wynn  Miller's  Dream  Faces  has  been  so  universally  admitted  to 
be  one  of  the  most  charming  pieces  ever  written  that  we  all 
hoped  this  new  play  of  his  would  be  of  something  like  equal 
value.  We  were  doomed  to  disappointment.  Jaspet^s  Revenge 
told  a  conventional  story,  possessing  neither  freshness  in  incident 
or  dialogue.  In  a  small  cottage  live  Jasper  Langley  (Lionel 
Brough)  and  his  adopted  daughter  Mary  (Miss  Webster).  The 
pretty  girl  has  won  for  herself  the  heart  of  Ernest  Bagot  Chumley 
(Sydney  Brough),  the  heir  to  an  earldom.  His  uncle,  the  Earl  of 
Denesbrook  (John  Beauchamp),  an  impoverished  peer,  feeling  that 
it  is  necessary  his  nephew  should  marry  money,  comes  to  Langley 
to  persuade  him  to  prevent  the  union.  Jasper  then  shows  his 
hand.  His  life  has  been  devoted  to  one  scheme  of  revenge.  He 
has  accumulated  wealth,  bought  up  all  the  mortgages  on  the 
Denesbrook  estate,  and  means  to  ruin  the  Earl,  because  he 
imagines  the  nobleman  betrayed  and  deserted  the  woman  Jasper 
loved.  The  Earl  explains  that,  instead  of  betraying,  he  had 
married  her,  that  he  was  forced  to  go  on  foreigfn  service,  that  his 
letters  to  her  were  returned  to  him,  and  that  he  has  ever  since 
been  seeking  his  daughter,  who,  it  is  needless  to  say,  turns  out  to 
be  Mary  Langley.  The  parts  were  well  acted,  Lionel  Brough 
appearing  in  the  character  of  an  almost  morose,  embittered  man 
to  considerable  advantage. 

25  th.  Shaftesbury  w^//W^. — Cy^t?/^/r^,  adaptation  by  Arthur 
Shirley.  Les  Amours  de  Cleopatre  had  already  been  used  by 
Tom  Robertson  for  the  groundwork  of  his  play  A  Breach  of 
Promise^  produced  at  the  Globe  April  loth,  1869,  and  which  was 


136  KcUti.  Owe,  1891. 

specidUy  written  with  a  view  that  the  late  E.  L.  Sothem  should 
appear  as  the  gentleman  who,  engaged  to  one  woman,  wishes  to 
marry  another.  Cleopatra  Collins,  the  engaged  lady,  is  an  actress, 
and  a  determined  woman ;  and  she  takes  care  that  Edwin  Vane 
shall  not  escape  her.  He  has  had  the  audacity  to  put  up  the 
banns  for  his  marriage  with  Milly  Rawkin,  and  has  locked 
Cleopatra  up  in  her  room ;  but  she  escapes  and  comes  to  Simon 
Rawkin's  house,  representing  herself  to  be  Vane's  sister,  and  mad. 
The  marriage  is  postponed  for  a  week,  and  this  time  Vane  takes 
Cleopatra  out  in  a  boat,  and  leaves  his  persistent  lady-love  on  a 
rock ;  she  gets  back  in  time  to  accuse  him  of  having  murdered 
her,  for  she  is  known  to  the  Rawkin  household  as  Mrs.  Jellicoe, 
Vane's  sister.  In  the  meantime  Milly  has  discovered  that  Vane's 
friend.  Bob  Lupton,  is  a  much  more  engaging  young  man,  and 
so  pairs  off  with  him;  and  Cleopatra  is  rewarded  for  her  per- 
severance by  eventually  securing  Edwin  Vane  for  herself.  Though 
very  amusing,  there  is  scarcely  material  enough  in  Mr.  Shirley's 
farce  for  three  acts,  and  I  think  it  would  prove  more  acceptable 
to  provincial  audiences  than  London  ones.  Maud  Milton  was  so 
full  of  spirits,  and  acted  so  cleverly,  that  to  her  may  be  ascribed 
the  success  of  the  afternoon ;  and  Fred  Mervin  was  very  nearly  as 
good.  Harry  Paulton  was  quaint  as  a  wealthy  retired  sausage- 
maker,  whose  thoughts  are  always  running  on  his  late  business ; 
and  Lilian  Kingston  played  well  as  his  more  aristocratically 
inclined  daughter.  Stephen  Caffrey  was  excellent  as  a  policeman 
of  nautical  turn,  and  Scott  Buist  amusing  as  a  rather  silly  but 
very  good-natured  young  fellow.  H.  de  Lange  made  much  of  a 
small  part  as  a  heavy  tragedian,  a  friend  of  Rawkin. 

27th.     Lilian  Hingston  appeared  as  Irene  Kingston  in  Hand- 
fast  during  Annie  Hughes's  illness. 

27th.  Strand. — Katti.  The  full  cast  and  description  of 
the  plot  of  Kaiii  was  given  in  Dramatic  Notes,  1889,  Mr. 
Fawcett's  "domestic"  farce,  as  it  was  then  called,  having  been 
first  produced  at  the  Strand  Theatre  Feb.  25th,  1888.  The 
humours  of  the  play  turn  on  Katti,  the  family  help,  a  soft-hearted 
German  girl,  who  is  so  moved  by  her  master's  (Mr.  Finnikin 
Fluffy)  playing  "  Ehren  on  the  Rhine,"  that  she  invariably  smashes 
some  crockery.  Richard  Fluffy  (E.  Dagnall)  is  a  madly  jealous 
individual,  secretly  married  to  a  lady  who  has  been  known  as  "  La 
Sylphide  "  at  the  Alhambra,  and  to  whom  the  young  cad  Bob, 
not  knowing  who  she  is,  sends  presents  and  bouquets,  and  Mrs. 
Finnikin  Fluffy  (Marie  Illington)  is  the  fond  and  doating  parent 
of  Bob,  in  whom   she  can  see   no  fault     The  piecej^)BO^I@'ery 


juHB,i89x.i  The  Rule  of  Three,  137 

amusing  one,  and  gives  full  scope  for  drollery  on  the  part  of 
Willie  Edouin  as  the  clarionet-playing  hypochondriac,  and  for  that 
pretty  stolidity  and  charming  singing  of  which  Alice  Atherton  is 
mistress.  H.  Eversfield  was  wonderfully  natural  as  the  caddish 
Bob,  and  Ruth  Rutland  as  Mrs.  Richard  Fluffy  played  with  much 
spirit,  and  her  dance  was  very  well  done.  Sidney  Barraclough  was 
very  stiff*  and  "  stagey  "  as  Dr.  Easyman,  and  Georgie  Esmond  and 
Nenie  Bennett  as  Alice  Somers  and  Miss  Perkins  helped  the 
play  very  much. 

29th.  Grand. — The  Daughter  of  the  People^  five-act  drama 
by  Frank  Harvey.     First  time  in  London. 

30th.  Shaftesbury  matinie. —  The  Rule  of  Three,  by  Pierre 
Leclercq.  The  author  made  two  great  mistakes  in  writing  this 
play.  In  the  first  place,  he  should  not  have  dramatised  the  ex- 
cellent plot  that  he  had  conceived  in  the  shape  of  a  modem  play 
or  in  the  form  he  did  ;  and  also  he  should  not  have  mixed  "  the 
language  of  the  spheres  "  with  the  commonplaces  of  everyday 
life.  If  he  felt  impelled  to  dramatise  his  ideas  at  all,  why  did  he 
not  put  back  the  clock  a  couple  of  centuries,  and  give  us  a  dress 
piece  }  The  revenge  and  the  almost  Divine  sacrifice  of  the  woman 
would  then  have  been  more  comprehensible  to  nineteenth-century 
minds.  I  think,  however,  that  the  author  would  have  done  more 
wisely  altogether  had  he  utilised  his  conception  in  the  shape  of  a 
novel.  In  that  form  he  could  have  dilated  to  his  heart's  content, 
and  made  agreeable  that  which  on  the  boards  was  at  times  drawn 
out  and  wearisome.  Arnold  Seago  is  a  gentleman  who  in  his 
youth  has  suffered  from  hot  rebellious  passion  ;  the  consequence 
is  that,  being  on  a  visit  to  the  Earl  of  Flinthouse,  he  has  fallen 
in  love  with  the  Lady  Constance,  the  Earl's  daughter,  and,  she 
loving  not  wisely  but  too  well,  mischief  comes  of  it.  Valentine 
May  hood  introduces  himself  to  the  house  of  Seago  with  but  one 
purpose — that  of  revenging  the  dishonour  of  his  sister  (for  he  is 
really  the  young  Earl  Flinthouse) — and  this  he  means  to  do  by 
betraying  Bemice  Seago.  Being  a  man  of  two  natures  (like  many 
of  us) — one  evil,  on«  good — so  fast  as  he  nearly  succeeds  his  good 
angel  steps  in,  and  he  determines  to  fly  from  temptation.  It  is 
no  use — the  Seagos  come  into  his  neighbourhood,  Bernice  is  left 
behind  by  mischance  at  the  owl-inhabited  and  lonely  old  castle, 
and  so  Valentine  prepares  a  drug  for  her  and  intends  to  spoil  her 
reputation.  She,  however,  being  high-spirited,  shows  no  fear  ;  and 
so  he  repents  and  swallows  the  drug  himself,  Bernice,  not  to  be 
behind  him  in  valorous  deeds,  stabbing  herself  as  a  peace-offering  to 
the  memory  of  the  departed  Constance.     But  neither  of  them  dies. 


138  The  Naukh  Girl  apwB»i89i. 

Gertrude  Banks,  whom  Bemice  imagines  to  be  her  lost  half- 
sister,  but  who  is  not,  is  a  young  lady  who  dreams  dreams  ;  in 
consequence  of  one  of  these  she  returns  to  the  castle,  and  is  the 
means  of  saving  both  their  lives.  Gertrude's  father  and  his 
brother  Stephen,  old  retainers  of  the  family,  then  produce  that 
mysterious  paper  which  is  so  invaluable  on  the  stage ;  and  the 
paper  proves  that  Valentine  is  Lady  Constance's  son,  and  that 
Bemice  is  therefore  his  half-sister.  The  two  would-be  suicides 
therefore  fall  on  Arnold  Seago's  neck,  and  vow  to  be  the  truest 
brother  and  sister  to  each  other.  There  is  a  little  underplot  of  a 
"jobbing  broker,"  one  Tom  Chantler  (very  cleverly  played  by 
Walter  Everard),  who  fancies  he  loves  Bemice,  but  consoles  him- 
self with  the  little  half-sailor  maiden  Gertmde,  a  character  that 
Mary  Jocelyn  made  a  very  pretty  one.  Frederick  Mervin,  in  a 
line  that  we  have  not  seen  him  in  of  late — that  of  the  broken, 
sickly  Amold  Seago — played  remarkably  well.  The  burden  of 
the  play  fell  on  Alma  Murray  and  Fuller  Mellish.  The  actress, 
whom  we  cordially  welcomed  once  again,  had  a  character  worthy 
of  her,  for  it  was  no  light  task  to  realise  the  conflicting  emotions 
that  swayed  her ;  but  Alma  Murray  is  an  actress,  and  so  she 
succeeded  as  Bemice  Seago.  Fuller  Mellish  had  to  embody  the 
conflicting  spirits  of  good  and  evil  in  Valentine,  and  he  did  so 
with  considerable  power,  fairly  balancing  the  angelic  and  the 
fiendish.  The  Rule  of  Three  may  add  to  Pierre  Leclercq's 
literary  fame,  but  will  not  improve  his  position  as  a  dramatic 
writer. 

30th.  SAVOY.-^rAr  Natach  Girl;  or,  The  Rajah  of  Chutney- 
pore.  It  was  a  very  happy  thought  of  George  Dance  to  bring  to 
life  an  idol  that  had  been  seated  in  its  niche  in  the  temple  for 
some  two  thousand  years,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  intro- 
duction of  this  episode  materially  strengthened  The  Nautch  Girl, 
and  considerably  aided  in  achieving  the  success  of  the  new  comic 
opera.  The  subject  is  comparatively  a  fresh  one  ;  we  have  not 
had  a  comic  musical  work  on  Indian  lines,  and  the  rigorous 
laws  of  "caste"  afford  fruitful  matter  for  humorous  treatment. 
Punka,  the  Rajah  of  Chutneypore,  is  a  gentle  ruler,  whose  too 
easy-going  nature  allows  him  to  be  victimised  by  a  horde  of 
blood-suckers,  who,  claiming  to  be  relations,  absorb  all  the  offices 
of  the  State,  and  render  their  ruler  painfully  impecunious. 
Besides  this,  Pyjama,  his  Grand  Vizier,  is  ever  plotting  against 
him.  Then  poor  Punka  has  other  troubles.  The  left  eye  of 
Bumbo,  the  presiding  idol  of  the  temple,  has  been  stolen  by  some 
miscreant ;  and  the  Rajah  is  always  in  dread  that  some  misfortune 


juHK,  1891.]  The  Nautch  Girl.  139 

should  befall  him  in  consequence  of  the  abstraction  of  the  diamond. 
Next,  his  son  and  heir,  Indru,  has  fallen  in  love  with  Beebee,  but 
cannot  marry  her,  as  she  has  lost  caste  through  a  pariah  having 
pulled  at  the  rope  which  saved  her  respected  parent  from  drown- 
ing. Indru  sinks  to  her  level  by  publicly  partaking  of  "  potted 
cow,"  but  unfortunately,  just  after  he  has  done  so,  the  case  which 
has  been  going  on  for  forty  years  is  decided,  and  it  is  found  that 
Beebee  has  not  lost  caste,  so,  as  Indru  and  his  love  are  now 
married,  by  the  laws  of  the  State  they  must  die  for  having 
infringed  the  laws.  Baboo  Currie,  the  manager  of  the  troupe  of 
Nautch  girls,  of  which  Beebee  is  the  bright  particular  star,  saves 
her  by  taking  her  with  all  his  company  to  Europe.  In  the 
second  act  Indru  is  confined  in  prison,  but  is  liberated  by  Chinna 
Loofa,  a  young  lady  who  is  ever  seeking  her  affinity.  She 
presses  her  love  upon  him,  but  he  asserts  himself  to  be  true  to 
his  Beebee,  and  so  departs  for  a  while.  And  then  Bumbo 
suddenly  appears  in  a  very  lively  state  of  vitality,  and  in  a 
remarkably  incensed  frame  of  mind.  He  is  especially  angry  at 
the  loss  of  his  eye.  He  is  of  opinion  that  for  a  considerable  time 
past  he  has  not  had  that  attention  paid  him  in  the  way  of  paint- 
ing and  gilding  that  an  idol  of  his  importance  demands,  and  he 
looks  upon  the  misalliance  that  Indru  has  formed  as  deserving 
condign  punishment,  and  so  he  decrees  that  Punka  and  all  his 
relations,  numbering  some  three  hundred  and  seventy-four,  shall 
be  thrown  to  the  sacred  crocodiles.  Punka,  whose  milk  of  human - 
kindness  has  been  turned  to  the  bitterest  gall  by  the  persistent 
"  squeezing  "  of  his  relatives,  is  in  a  high  state  of  glee,  for  he  has 
been  promised  that  he  shall  be  the  last  on  the  string  of  sacrifice, 
and  he  will  have  the  satisfaction  of  witnessing  the  consumption 
of  his  uncles  and  his  cousins  and  his  aunts  by  the  sacred 
saurians.  In  the  meantime  Chinna  Loofa  has  found  her  affinity 
in  the  idol  Bumbo,  who  is  on  his  side  much  struck  with  her 
personal  appearance  ;  and  she  consents  to  be  the  "  idol's  bride " 
and  "  sit "  with  him  on  a  shelf  for  ever.  All  those  who  are  to 
be  thrown  to  the  crocodiles  having  repudiated  any  relationship 
with  Punka,  his  joy  is  much  damped,  but  he  has  the  satisfaction 
of  denouncing  the  wily  Pyjama  as  the  stealer  of  the  diamond 
eye,  which  is  restored  to  Bumbo  by  the  timely  return  of  Beebee, 
who  is  wearing  it  as  a  charm,  it  having  been  left  as  an  offering 
for  her  from  some  youthful  admirer  at  the  "  stage  door "  during 
her  European  wanderings.  Bumbo  is  so  delighted  at  the 
recovery  of  his  eye  that  he  forgives  every  one  but  the  wicked 
Pyjama,  who  alone  is  to  serve  as  a  toothsome  morsel   for  the 


Digitized  by  VjOOQK; 


,=r-  ^-^ 


juNB,i89i.]  French  Plays.  141 

Fayolle  ;  Marthe,  Mdlle.  du  Minil. — i6th.  P^pa,  by  Henri 
Meilhac  and  Louis  Ganderax.  Raymond  de  Chambreuil, 
Febvre  ;  Jacques  de  Guerche,  Boucher  ;  Ramiro  Pasquez,  Leloir  ; 
Jean,  Roger  ;  Benito,  Deroy ;  P^pa  Nasquez,  Mdlle.  Reichenberg ; 
Yvonne  Chambreuil,  Mdlle.  du  Minil ;  Mosquita,  Mdme.  Bertiny. 
— 1 8th.  Les  Petits  OiseatiXyhy  Labiche  and  Delacour.  Blandinet, 
Coquelin  cadet ;  Frangois,  Leloir ;  Aubertin,  Joliet ;  Joseph, 
Roger ;  Mizabran,  Villian  ;  Tiburce,  GravoUet ;  Leonce,  Letner  ; 
Un  Bottier,  Deroy  ;  Henriette,  Mdlle.  du  Minil ;  Laure,  Mdme. 
Bertiny.  It  is  perhaps  well  to  note  that  the  original  Les  Petits 
Oiseaux^  as  played  at  the  Royalty,  has  only  touches  of  pathos  in 
it ;  the  play  is  a  bright,  laughable  one,  and  all  the  characters, 
except  the  two  brothers,  Blondinet  and  Frangois,  admirably 
played  by  Coquelin  cadet  and  Leloir,  are  quite  secondary  ones. 
Sydney  Grundy,  on  the  other  hand,  makes  of  his  adaptation,  A 
Pair  of  Spectacles^  an  infinitely  more  sympathetic  play,  and  has 
made  every  one  of  his  characters  of  value  in  completing  one  har- 
monious picture.  Both  plays  are,  however,  delightful.  Coquelin 
cadet  appeared  in  two  monologues  :  Le  Professeur  de  Geste  and 
Les  Chansons  Enfantines. — 20th.  Chamillac^  by  Octave  Feuillet. 
Le  G^n^ral,  F.  Febvre  ;  La  Bartherie,  Joliet ;  Chanteloup,  Roger ; 
Gaillard,  Villain  ;  Maurice,  Leitner  ;  Hugonnet,  Jean  Coquelin ; 
Robert,  Gavoret ;  Carville,  Deroy ;  Chamillac,  Coquelin  aln6 ; 
Clotilde,  Mdme.  Fayolle  ;  La  Baronne,  Mdme.  Amel ;  Jeanne, 
Mdme.  du  Minil ;  Sophie,  Mdlle.  Bertiny ;  La  Comtesse,  Mdme. 
Malck ;  Mdlle.  Godemer,  Mdme.  Degredes. — 22nd.  Margate  by 
Henri  Meilha«.  Boisvillette,  Febvre ;  Jean,  Roger ;  Leridan, 
Villain  ;  Georges,  Gravollet ;  Francois,  Leitner ;  Pinard, 
Gavoret ;  Margot,  Mdlle.  Reichenberg ;  Madame  Monin,  Mdme. 
Fayolle ;  Carline,  Mdlle.  du  Minil  ;  Valentine,  Mdlle.  Bertiny  ; 
Madame  D'Arcy,  Mdme.  Febvre-Brindeau  ;  Ad^le,  Mdme. 
Degredes. — 25th.  LAmi  FritZy  by  Erckmann-Chatrian.  Fritz 
Kobus,  F.  Febvre  ;  Fr^d6ric,  Joliet ;  Christel,  Villain  ;  Joseph, 
Gravollet ;  Hanezo,  Jean  Coquelin  ;  David  Sichel,  Coquelin  atn^  ; 
Suzel,  Mdlle.  Reichenberg ;  Catherine,  Mdme.  Febvre-Brindeau ; 
Lisbeth,  Mdme.  Bassett. — 30th.  Les  Fourberies  de  Scapin^  by 
Moliere.  ^rgante,  Coquelin  atn^ ;  Octave,  Boucher ;  G6ronte, 
Joliet ;  Carle,  Roger  ;  L^andre,  Leitner  ;  Scapin,  Jean  Coquelin  ; 
Sylvestre,  Deroy ;  Zerbinette,  Mdlle.  Reichenberg ;  Hyacinthe, 
Mdlle.  Bertiny;  Nerine,  Mdme.  Brunet — 30th.  La  Joie  Fait  Peur, 
by  Moliere.  Noel,  Coquelin  atn^  ;  Adrien,  Boucher ;  Octave, 
Gravollet;  Blanche,  Mdlle.  Reichenberg;  Madame  des  Aubiers, 
Mdme.  Fayolle;  Mathilde  du  Pierreval,  Mdlle.  du  MiniOOgle 


142  Moonflowers.  U^r,  1891. 


VII. 
July. 

1st  Gaiety  matinee. —  Moonflowers.  This  was  quaintly 
described  as  a  cobweb.  In  the  case  of  this  ''play  without 
words,"  it  would  have  been  advisable  if  some  printed  description 
of  the  plot  had  been  issued,  for  we  are  sure  to  the  average  play- 
goer the  meaning  was  incomprehensible.  The  scene  takes  place 
in  a  garden  at  night  The  student,  immersed  in  his  books,  is 
disturbed  by  the  distant  sounds  of  revelry  and  dancing.  He 
makes  of  a  glowworm  a  lamp.  The  girl  enters,  fresh  from  the 
ball-room.  She  endeavours  to  lure  the  student  from  his  books  by 
dancing  to  him  and  exercising  on  him  her  pretty  blandishments, 
but  he  flies  from  her.  Presently  enters  a  young  man  who  flirts 
with  her,  and  gives  her  presents,  and  seems  to  win  her  heart,  this 
being  typified  by  what  appears  to  be  a  shell  casket  which  she 
carries.  Having  gained  his  purpose,  the  young  man  dashes  her 
heart  to  the  ground,  and  the  girl  is  inconsolable.  But  the  student 
returns,  and,  by  the  aid  of  his  knowledge,  he  repairs  the  broken 
casket,  and  the  curtain  falls  upon  the  girl  weeping  with  happiness 
upon  his  shoulder.  I  can  only  imagine  Moonflowers  to  be  an 
allegory  of  the  worthlessness  of  selfish,  pleasure-seeking  lovers  as 
compared  with  steadfast  and  sober  affection.  It  was  said  to  be 
the  work  of  Augustus  M.  Moore,  but  it  is  sadly  deficient  in  action. 
Nor  was  Ivan  Caryll's  music  of  such  striking  or  original  character 
as  would  redeem  the  poverty  of  the  libretto,  if  so  it  may  be  called. 
Miss  Norreys's  facial  expression  was  good ;  her  action  expressed 
but  little.  She  danced  very  gracefully  a  new  pas,  Herbert 
Pearson's  every  movement  told  his  story,  and  E.  Webster  Lawson 
was  also  clever  in  typifying  the  male  flirt  His  dress  was  an 
extraordinary  one — a  scarlet  coat  and  harlequin  pattern  panta- 
loons. None  of  the  faces  were  whitened.  There  was  some 
disapprobation  at  the  length  of  the  play,  which  dragged  along 
for  forty  minutes.  The  occasion  was  a  matinie  given  by  Florence 
St  John,  and  as  part  of  the  programme  the  first  act  of  La  Mascotte 
was  rendered  by  Arthur  Roberts  as  Laurent  XVII. ;  Frank  Celli, 
Tippo ;  Litton  Grey,  Prince  Fritellini ;  Arthur  Williams,  Rocco  ; 
Phyllis  Broughton,  Fiammetta ;  Florence  St  John  of  course 
appearing  as  La  Mascotte. 

1st  Shaftesbury. — Last  performance  oi  Handfast. 

1st.  CRITERION     matinie.- Mrs.   ^««^^^J^.,,J;G?)0^ke 


jutv,  1891.]  For  Clauduis  Sake.  143 

wanted  but  a  very  little  more  knowledge  of  stagecraft  to  have  made 
Mrs.  Annesky  a  good  play ;  as  it  stands,  if  a  little  sombre,  it  is 
interesting,  and  infinitely  above  the  average  of  maiden  efforts. 
Without  there  being  anything  specially  new  in  his  plot,  his 
characters  are  freshly  drawn  and  human.  Mrs.  Annesley  is  a 
widow,  who,  having  married  an  old  man  out  of  pique  and  for  his 
wealth,  so  soon  as  she  is  free  sets  to  work  to  win  back  Frank 
Seagrave,  a  former  lover.  He  is  now  engaged  to  Estelle 
Brandreth,  and  Mrs.  Annesley  separates  them  for  a  time,  but 
Estelle's  health  failing  from  her  disappointment,  she  and  her  lover 
are  reconciled,  and  then  the  widow  establishes  herself  as  Estelle's 
most  attentive  and  sympathetic  nurse,  all  the  while  that  she  is 
slowly  poisoning  her  rival.  The  widow,  determined  to  wait  no 
longer  for  the  death  of  Estelle,  prepares  an  extra-strong  dose  of 
poison  for  her,  and  is  led  to  suppose  that  Frank  Seagrave  has 
swallowed  it  Despair  and  horror  induce  her  to  take  poison 
herself,  and  as  she  dies  she  learns  that  she  is  the  half-sister  of 
the  girl  she  has  done  her  worst  to  kill.  Beatrice  Lamb  showed 
remarkable  power,  and  yet  was  extremely  fascinating,  as  the 
handsome,  revengeful  Mrs.  Annesley ;  her  ruthlessness  of  purpose 
was  artistically  veiled.  May  Whitty  was  quite  in  sympathy  with 
her  audience  as  Estelle,  and  Frederick  Harrison's  clear,  incisive 
delivery  and  earnestness  made  me  wish  he  were  still  a  regular 
actor  instead  of  being  only  occasionally  seen.  William  Herbert 
played  with  the  nicest  discrimination  the  part  of  a  young  cleric, 
who  catechises  himself  as  to  whether  he  still  is  or  can  ever  have 
been  in  love  with  Estelle. 

2nd.  Vaudeville  matinie. — For  Claudicts  Sake^  comedy 
drama  in  three  acts  by  Mabel  Freund-Lloyd,  was  not  original  in 
idea  or  treatment,  and  merely  worked  out  the  sacrifice  that  Sylvia 
Talbot  makes  for  her  twin  sister,  Claudia,  even  going  so  far  as  to 
bear  the  imputation  of  almost  dishonour  for  a  time.  The  sisters 
were  fairly  well  represented — Sylvia  tenderly  by  Edith  Jordan 
and  Claudia  by  Ida  Logan,  a  remarkably  handsome  young  lady. 
Two  impossible  servants  were  played  by  Foster  Courtenay  and 
Miss  Marlow ;  Acton  Bond  did  well  as  Lord  Vivian ;  and  H.  A. 
Saintsbury  was  good,  though  a  little  melodramatic,  as  Sir  Lionel 
Urquhart.  In  Sacrificed^  a  one-act  drama  by  the  same  authoress, 
we  had  the  artist  who  is  going  blind  and  the  young  girl  whom  he 
has  befriended,  cutting  off  her  beautiful  hair  and  selling  it  to  pay 
the  rent,  and  giving  up  her  handsome  poor  lover  for  the  rich  old 
baronet,  who  of  course  overhears  how  she  is  sacrificing  herself,  and 
makes  the  artist  his  steward  and  the  handsome  poor  lover  his 


144  GabriePs  Trust.  CJuly,  1891. 

secretary.  Rhoda  Larkin  was  the  artist's  wife,  Elsie,  supposed  to 
be  fading  away  from  care  and  trouble,  and  Helen  Bayard  the 
self-sacrificing  Helen  Percival ;  George  Hughes,  H.  A.  Saintsbury. 
and  Leo  Leather  were  respectively  Sir  Gilbert  Trevor,  the  artist, 
Hugh  Berington,  and  Tom  Locksley ;  and  Kate  Brand  was  clever 
as  a  lodging-house  servant,  Sarah  Ann,  though  the  character  was 
too  strongly  drawn  by  the  authoress. 

2nd.  Steinway  Hall. — The  Strange  Adventure  of  a  French 
Pianiste,  monologue,  and  Little  Jessie,  duologue,  both  by  Frederic 
Dardle. 

4th.  Vaudeville. — GabriePs  Trust.  Mr.  Harrington  Baily 
opened  the  Vaudeville  Theatre  on  July  4th  with  A.  C.  Calmour's 
play  as  a  first  piece.  It  was  one  of  the  author's  earlier  efforts 
(written  in  1877),  ^°d  I  think  he  would  have  done  wisely  in  not 
producing  it  in  London,  although  it  shows  how  much  better  he 
can  write  in  the  present  day.  It  is  merely  the  story  of  a  very 
old,  kind-hearted  cowkeeper,  Gabriel  Stroud,  being  led  to  believe 
that  his  grandson,  George  Field,  is  everything  that  is  bad  through 
the  evil  reports  of  Thomas  Rhodes,  a  malicious  gamekeeper,  who 
is  trying  to  separate  the  young  fellow  from  Mary  Mason,  Stroud's 
adopted  daughter.  To  strengthen  his  statements,  Rhodes  steals 
some  money  from  a  bureau,  and  taxes  Field  with  the  theft ;  but 
the  money  being  found  on  the  real  thief,  his  schemes  are  frustrated. 
Mr.  Calmour  threw  considerable  feeling  into  his  character,  but  his 
voice  was  at  times  strangely  at  variance  with  his  apparent  great 
age ;  his  make-up  was  that  of  a  man  of  ninety,  and  he  assumed 
the  gentleness  of  a  patriarch  well,  but  every  now  and  then  his 
voice  was  that  of  a.  strong,  lusty  man.  Alice  Bruce  played  the 
ingSnue  part  very  naturally,  and  Philip  Cunningham  acted  well, 
but  his  dress,  faultless  in  itself,  was  too  aristocratic  for  his  sur- 
roundings. Florence  Haydon  was  excellent  as  an  old  housekeeper. 
This  was  followed  by 

The  Mischief -maker y  three-act  farcical  comedy  by"  Edith 
Henderson  When  this  was  tried  at  a  matinie  the  verdict 
passed  upon  it  scarcely  warranted  placing  it  in  an  evening 
bill.  Since  its  trial  performance  the  piece,  particularly  the 
third  act,  had  been  strengthened,  and  appeared  to  afford  plenty  of 
laughter  to  the  cheaper  portions  of  the  house.  Oliver  Tapperton 
is  a  meddlesome  old  gentleman,  who  goes  about  with  a  "  demon  " 
camera,  taking  likenesses  of  everybody  with  a  view  of  discovering 
if  there  be  any  indications  of  future  crime  in  their  physiognomy. 
Through  his  tittle-tattle  he  separates  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Loggerhead,  a 
young  couple  ;  and  all  the  characters  eventually,  including  Miss 


juLV,  189X.]  Husband  and  Wife.  145 

Pryce,  a  middle-aged  spinster,  who  still  has  an  aifection  for 
Tapperton,  her  first  and  only  love,  find  themselves  visiting  a 
private  asylum,  kept  by  Dr.  Middleton,  and  one  and  all  mistake 
each  other  for  inmates  confined  in  the  maison  de  santi.  The  act- 
ing was  good.  Harry  Paulton  as  "  The  Mischief-maker,"  Tapperton, 
played  with  that  grim  humour  which  distinguishes  him.  Florence 
Haydon  was  clever  as  Miss  Pryce  ;  Charles  Fawcett  and  Edith 
Bruce  gave  the  requisite  "  go  "  to  the  characters  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Loggerhead  ;  and  John  Carter  was  thoroughly  professional,  yet 
kindly,  as  Dr.  Middleton.  Master  E.  T.  Smith  was  very  amusing 
as  a  precocious  page,  Alfred,  and  Alice  Bruce  smart  as  the 
soubrette  Alice.  The  play  would  have  gone  better  had  some  one 
else  filled  the  character  of  Lucy  Wentworth,  Mrs.  Loggerhead's 
sister  ;  Phyllis  Ayrian  was  quite  unsuited  to  the  part. 

4th.  Gaiety. — Last  night  of  Carmen  up  to  Data  in  London. 

6th.  Surrey. — A  Big  Fortune,  four-act  drama  by  William 
Bowne.     First  time  in  London. 

7th.  Comedy. — Husband  and  Wife.  When  this  three-act 
farce,  by  F.  C.  Philips  and  Percy  Fendall,  was  tried  at  the 
Criterion  on  April  30th,  I  thought  it  would  be  seen  again.  Its 
weak  point  was  the  third  act,  and  that  has  been  completely 
changed.  The  fun  arises  from  the  rival  factions  of  "  The  Tiger 
Lilies  "  and  "  The  Society  for  the  Protection  of  Married  Women 
and  the  Improvement  of  the  Morals  of  Husbands,"  headed 
respectively  by  Mrs.  Greenthome  and  Mrs.  Springfield,  and 
these  two  factions,  holding  their  meetings  in  the  adjoining  flats 
in  Montmorency  Mansions,  are  confounded  by  a  dunderheaded 
inspector  of  police  with  a  notorious  gambling  club  in  the  same 
building,  and  are  all  taken  into  custody.  Up  to  this  point  there 
is  but  little  alteration  in  the  piece,  save  that  the  characters  have 
more  to  do.  But  in  the  third  act  a  fresh  personage  is  now  intro- 
duced in  the  person  of  Sir  George  Muddle,  the  police  magistrate 
who  presides  over  the  court  in  Shine  Street  All  the  characters 
appear  here  after  having  been  locked  up  all  night,  most  of  them 
in  custody  on  the  charge  of  gambling,  Mary  in  search  of  her 
master  and  mistress,  and  the  coquettish  Mrs.  Springfield  as  a 
witness  who  captivates  the  susceptible  Sir  George,  and  is  invited 
to  take  a  seat  on  the  bench  beside  him.  In  this  act  the  fun  is  well 
kept  up,  though  it  is  reminiscent  of  Aunt  Jack  and  other  plays,  and 
might  be  a  little  curtailed  ;  but  it  sends  away  the  audience  in  high 
good-humour.  George  Giddens  resumes  the  character  of  Adolphus 
Greenthome,  with  Lottie  Venne  as  Mrs.  Springfield,  and  Vane 
Featherston  as  Mrs.  Greenthome.     These  three  are  the  life  and 

TO 


146  The  Scapegoat  auLv.  1891. 

soul  of  the  piece  until  Charles  Brookfield  appears  on  the  scene  as 
Sir  George  Muddle,  and  then  his  clever  skit  of  the  dispenser  of 
justice  produces  shouts  of  laughter.  His  make-up  is  admirable, 
and  his  mingled  sententiousness  and  sly  admiration  of  Mrs. 
Springfield  are  very  ludicrous.  Mary  was  capitally  played  by 
Edith  Kenward.  The  cast  was  a  very  good  one,  but  special 
mention  should  be  made  of  Ada  Murray  and  W.  F.  Hawtrey. 
During  the  run  of  the  piece,  Jenny  Dawson  appeared  in  Lottie 
Venue's  character. 

7th.  Globe. — The  Scapegoat^  four-act  play  by  Wilton  Jones. 
It  is  hardly  just  to  say  that  this  is  an  Ibsenite  play,  although  its 
theme  is  hereditary  insanity,  for  Mr.  Wilton  Jones  has  founded  his 
play  on  a  novel  published  by  Gertrude  Warden  two  years  ago. 
The  fact  that  the  authoress  is  a  great  admirer  of  the  Norwegian 
writer  may  have  influenced  her  style,  and  suggested  the  idea 
which  her  husband,  Mr.  Wilton  Jones,  has  developed  in  his  work. 
It  will  probably  be- generally  admitted  that  the  author  has  shown 
his  greatest  strength  in  the  character  of  Aubrey  de  Vaux.  This 
is  a  young  fellow  whom  the  world  would  take  for  sane,  but  the 
germs  of  insanity  are  only  lying  dormant  To  please  her  father, 
Lola  Marsden  accepts  Aubrey  when  he  proposes.  Immediately 
on  his  mother,  the  Marquise,  becoming  cognisant  of  the  engage- 
ment, she  hurries  to  England  and  imparts  the  one  dread  secret  of 
her  life  to  the  doctor.  Her  husband  is  a  homicidal  maniac,  is 
now,  though  supposed  to  be  dead,  kept  in  strict  confinement,  and 
as  insanity  has  been  in  his  family  for  generations,  she  fears  it  may 
break  out  in  her  son.  So  the  doctor  withdraws  his  consent, 
and  after  a  time  Lola  makes  a  happy  marriage  with  Bruce 
Laidlaw.  Aubrey,  after  travelling  for  some  time,  reappears,  and 
his  passion  for  Lola  is  consuming  him  and  bringing  on  his  dread 
disease.  Ellen  Granville,  a  woman  who  wished  to  marry  Laidlaw, 
lays  traps  for  Lola,  into  which  she  falls,  and  her  husband  is  led  to 
believe  that  she  has  a  lover  in  Aubrey.  He  confirms  the  sus- 
picions by  persistently  following  her  and  forcing  his  presence  on 
her,  till  at  length  Laidlaw  drives  his  wife  from  him.  And  here 
comes  the  weak  part  of  the  play.  Lola,  an  innocent  woman, 
loving  her  husband,  goes  straight  to  Aubrey's  hotel.  By  this  time 
he  is  a  raging  lunatic.  He  first  tries  to  strangle  her,  imagining 
her  to  be  Laidlaw,  and  then  hurls  himself  from  the  window, 
believing  that  he  is  taking  her  with  him  to  another  world.  There 
is  very  much  that  is  powerful  in  Wilton  Jones's  play.  Careful 
revision  and  the  strengthening  of  the  character  of  Lola  (most 
admirably  played  by  Florence  West)  and  of  Laidlaw  (with  which 


July,  i89x.]  Love   tH   U   Mtst  147 

part  William  Herbert  did  all  that  was  possible)  would  make  of 
The  Scapegoat  a  play  that  would  be  thoroughly  acceptable  in  an 
evening  bill.  There  is  another  point  that  could  be  improved. 
The  Marquise  is  such  an  interesting  character  (it  was  most  im- 
pressively acted  by  Mrs.  Theodore  Wright)  that  we  regret  her 
dropping  out  of  the  action  of  the  play  during  two  entire  acts.  A 
turncoat  journalist,  Mr.  Smith,  is  an  amusing  character ;  and 
Mabyn  Laidlaw  was  winsome  in  the  hands  of  Annie  Hughes. 
The  Rosa  Dartle-like  character  of  Ella  Granville  did  not  suit 
Gertrude  Warden  ;  and  in  more  able  hands  than  those  of  Adela 
Houstan  the  character  of  Miss  Fox-Willoughby,  a  lady  society- 
journalist,  might  have  stood  out  well.  Carlotta  Leclercq  as  the  Tory 
Lady  Ermyntrude  Laidlaw,  horrified  at  anything  approaching  to 
Radicalism,  was  full  of  humour.  I  shall  hope  to  see  The  Scapegoat 
again,  and  when  that  occurs  I  trust  Lewis  Waller  will  once  more 
be  the  Aubrey  de  Vaux,  for  a  more  sterling  performance  I  do  not 
wish  to  see.  The  young  actor  must  have  thought  out  every 
intonation,  look,  and  action,  and  his  last  scene  was  most  powerful 
in  its  maniacal  frenzy. 

7th.  Ladbroke  Hall. —  Waiting  for  the  Coach  and  Bumble. 
Two  comedy  operettas,  written  and  composed  respectively  by 
Frank  A.  Clement  and  Oliver  Notcutt,  were  produced,  and  were 
found  to  be  very  amusing,  for  the  dialogue  in  each  was  humorous, 
and  the  music  bright  and  at  the  same  time  scholarly.  Bumble 
was  founded  on  the  beadle's  proposal  to  Mrs.  Corney  over  tea  and 
muffins  in  "  Oliver  Twist." 

8th.  Death  of  Johnson  Towers,  aged  78.  When  quite  young 
he  gained  provincial  experience,  and  obtained  his  first  engagement 
with  Phelps  at  Sadler's  Wells,  and  afterwards  became  a  great 
favourite  at  the  Victoria  under  Osbaldistone's  management.  He 
became  lessee  of  the  theatre  on  Miss  Vincent's  death,  but  was  not 
fortunate  and  left  the  theatre  early  in  the  sixties.  Became  stage 
manager  to  Mr.  Hobson  at  Leeds,  and  afterwards  served  in  the 
same  capacity  to  John  Coleman. 

{  9th.  Crystal  Palace. — Love  in  a  Mist^  musical  fairy  tale, 
did  credit  to  Louis  N.  Parker's  vein  of  poetic  fancy  and  to  Oscar 
Barrett's  music.  Alexes  Leighton  as  the  enchanted  Queen 
Eglamour,  Roland  Attwood  as  Oberon,  Florence  Tanner  as 
Titania,  G.  R.  Foss  as  the  gnome  Oakapple,  Frank  Rodney  as  the 
conceited  knight,  Sir  Gengaline,  were  worthy  of  much  praise  in 
their  several  parts. 

gth.  Death  of  Robert  Reece,  aged  5  3.  Bom  in  Barbadoes  May 
2nd,  1838.     Was  an  M.A.  of  Balliol  College,  Oxford,  and  was  a 


148  A  Summet^s  Dream.  CJitly,  1891. 

clerk  in  the  Colonial  Office,  Emigration  Branch.  In  1865  his 
first  dramatic  effort  was  in  the  libretto  of  Castle  Grim^  followed  by 
the  burlesque  of  Prometheus ^  both  produced  at  the  Royalty  Theatre 
in  that  year.  In  the  following  year  Love's  Limits  Ulf  the  Minstrel^ 
Lady  of  the  Lake,  and  Guy  Mannering  were  produced  ;  in  1867 
A  Game  of  Dominoes,  A  Wild  Cherry,  and  Honeydove's  Troubles ; 
in  iZ72Ali  Babad  la  Mode  and  The  Vampire  \  in  1876  William 
Tell  Told  Over  Again  ;  Whittington  funior  1871;  Little  Robin  Hood 
and  The  Forty  Thieves  in  1880.  He  was  also  the  author  of 
Knights  of  the  Cross,  The  Wicklow  Rose,  Gulliver  in  Lilliput,,  He 
also  wrote  the  libretto  of  Girouette,  and  contributed  to  those  of  La 
Mascotte  and  Boccaccio.  Was  a  polished  writer.  Robert  Reece 
was  buried  at  Kensal  Green. 

13th.  Grand. — Augustus  Harris's  Italian  Opera  Company 
appeared  for  a  fortnight  //  Trovatore  was  given.  On  the  14th 
Carmen,  1 5  th  Faust. 

14th.  Steinway  Hall. — Both  Sides  of  the  Question,  a  very 
smartly  written  duologue  by  Malcolm  C.  Salaman,  was  brightly 
played  by  Rob  Harwood  and  his  sister,  Lucia  Harwood.  The 
trifle  would  do  well  for  a  first  piece  or  for  amateurs. 

14th.  Avenue. — A  Summer^ s  Dream.  Miss  Meller's  sketch 
is  unpretentious,  but  it  has  much  poetry  of  feeling,  and  the 
dialc^e  is  natural  and  human.  Dahlia  has  run  away  from  home 
to  follow  the  fortunes  of  a  man  who  deserts  her.  Joan,  her  sister, 
has  always  pleaded  the  absent  one's  cause  with  their  father, 
Farmer  Fielding.  Garth,  who  has  been  jilted  by  Dahlia,  transfers 
his  affections  apparently  to  Joan,  and  makes  her  very  happy,  for 
she  has  always  loved  him.  A  week  before  their  intended 
marriage  Dahlia  returns ;  Garth's  old  love  for  her  revives ;  he 
forgives  everything,  and  behaving  shamefully  to  poor  Joan,  takes 
the  selfish,  vain,  and  heartless  Dahlia  for  his  sweetheart  again. 
Mrs.  Bennett  acted  tenderly,  and  Isabel  Maude's  portrayal  was 
clever.  Henry  Dana  made  love  so  naturally  that  it  was  not 
surprising  the  two  women  were  fond  of  him.  The  authoress  was 
called  for  on  the  fall  of  the  curtain.  On  the  same  evening  was 
produced  for  the  first  time  "  a  mediaeval  romance  "  in  two  acts 
by  Leonard  Outram,  entitled 

A  Mighty  Error.  It  is  generally  understood  that  Mn 
Outram's  "  romance "  is  a  reconstruction  of  a  five-act  tragedy 
which  he  had  founded  on  the  late  Robert  Browning's  poem 
"  In  a  Balcony."  It  is  a  theme  giving  scope  for  strong 
dramatic  situations ;  and  conveyed  as  it  is  in  blank  verse  of 
very  considerable  literary  merit,  the  play  was  listened  to  with 


July,  1891.]  A  Mighty  EfYor.  149 

interest,  and  elicited  much  applause.  The  verdict  was  decidedly 
favourable,  and  would  have  been  even  more  enthusiastic  had 
the  second  act  been  a  little  shorter.  Joan,  Queen  of  Spain,  is 
represented  as  a  woman  whose  life  has  been  embittered  by  the 
discovery  of  her  husband's  (Miguel's)  faithlessness.  He  has  in- 
trigued in  the  past  with  Oriana,  Joan's  dearest  friend.  Inez,  the 
fruit  of  the  intrigue,  has  been  brought  up  by  Joan  almost  as  her 
own  child,  and  is  at  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  play  eighteen 
years  of  age.  The  Queen's  visage  is  supposed  to  be  scarred  from 
the  effects  of  the  plague ;  and  she  has  conceived  the  notion, 
amounting  almost  to  insanity,  that  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  to 
love  her  for  herself.  The  State  is  in  revolt ;  Joan  is  deserted  by 
all,  and  is  likely  to  lose  her  throne,  when,  at  the  solicitation  of 
Inez,  Amadis,  a  young  noble,  fills  the  post  of  Minister,  crushes 
Joan's  enemies,  and  takes  Miguel  prisoner.  He  has  done  all  this 
for  the  love  of  Inez,  but  the  latter  persuades  the  Queen  that  it  has 
been  accomplished  by  Amadis  through  his  love  for  Joan  as  a 
wotnan^  not  from  devotion  to  the  sovereign.  Xante,  for  his  own 
aggrandisement,  and  that  he  may  win  Inez,  confirms  this 
erroneous  impression  of  the  Queen.  Joan  signs  the  death- 
warrant  of  Miguel,  and  he  is  executed,  and  then  she  openly 
informs  Amadis  of  the  honour  that  is  in  store  for  him :  he  is  to 
be  her  husband  and  prince  consort,  for  she  imagines  it  is  only 
modesty  and  awe  of  her  exalted  position  that  have  hitherto  closed 
his  lips.  And  then  the  half-crazed  Queen's  house  of  cards  falls 
to  pieces.  Amadis  tells  her  he  has  loved  but  one,  and  that  one 
Inez,  and  that  he  intends  to  make  her  his .  bride.  In  the  first 
moment  of  her  baffled  desire,  Joan  contemplates  a  terrible  revenge. 
She  will  make  the  lovers  pledge  her  in  poisoned  wine,  but  as  they 
are  about  to  do  so  she  relents;  she  alone  drinks,  and  dashes  their 
goblets  from  their  hands.  She  summons  her  guards,  and  Amadis 
conjectures  that  they  are  to  lead  him  to  execution,  when,  as  she 
dies,  the  Queen,  pointing  to  him,  proclaims  him  their  future 
sovereign.  There  is  an  uncertainty  in  the  drawing  of  the  character 
of  Inez :  one  is  left  until  the  last  moment  to  conjecture  whether 
she  really  loves  Amadis.  This  should  be  amended.  Frances 
Ivor  gave  a  magnificent  rendering  of  Joan,  a  character  that  has 
much  in  it  of  our  Queen  Mary :  craving  for  love,  only  to  be 
disappointed  ;  cruel  and  relentless,  yet  gentle  and  sweet ;  complex 
and  requiring  great  dramatic  capacity ;  and  Miss  Ivor  proved 
herself  possessed  of  this.  Mary  Ansell  was  charming  in  the 
sunny  side  of  Inez's  nature ;  it  was  where  the  character  required 
the  intensity  of  the  woman  that  there  was  a  little  want  of  strength 


1 50  The  Sequel.  jitlv,  xSgx. 

But  this  will  come,  and  Miss  Ansell  must  be  very  highly  praised. 
Leonard  Outram  was  too  much  of  an  "  Admirable  Crichton  "  ;  his 
Amadis  was  polished  and  at  times  earnest,  but  it  was  not  robust 
enough — it  was  even  almost  feminine  in  its  gentle  chivalry. 
Frank  Worthing  was  an  admirable  Miguel,  self-possessed,  bold, 
and  incisive.  S.  Herberte-Basing  played  with  much  finesse  as  the 
crafty,  obsequious  courtier  Xante.  Taken  as  a  whole,  A  Mighty 
Error  afforded  a  most  interesting  evening,  for  the  play  was  very  far 
in  advance  of  anything  we  had  seen  of  late.  In  the  provinces  it 
should  be  a  distinct  success. 

iSth.  Vaudeville. — The  Sequel^  one-act  play.  On  a  modern 
instance  that  might  figure  in  the  columns  of  a  newspaper  as  an 
ordinary  divorce  case,  Louis  N.  Parker  has  written  one  of  the 
most  exquisitely  poetical  plays  that  have  been  seen  for  some  time. 
Clarissa,  mated  to  a  scoundrel,  is  deserted  by  him ;  she  hears  of 
his  death  and  becomes  engaged  to  Lord  Somerville.  Her  husband 
returns,  and  she  flees  with  the  man  who  idolises  her.  For  a  year 
they  live  hidden  from  the  world  on  an  island  in  the  iEgean  Sea 
— it  is  their  world,  and  her  lover  is  the  world  to  her.  "  Love  is 
of  man's  life  a  thing  apart ;  'tis  woman's  whole  existence."  It  is 
so  in  her  case.  Mr.  Foljambe,  an  old  friend  of  Lord  Somerville's, 
comes  to  bring  him  back  to  the  political  career  that  he  has 
resigned  for  love,  and  then  the  politician,  the  man  of  the  world, 
regrets  the  sacrifice  he  has  made.  He  does  not  love  the  less,  but 
love  cannot  be  all-sufficient.  Clarissa  overhears  him  say  that  he 
almost  longs  for  death  to  part  them.  She  takes  him  at  his  wish. 
She  poisons  herself,  and,  pillowed  on  his  heart,  she  "  follows  the 
silvery  path,"  and  this  is  "  the  sequel  "  to  an  unhallowed  love. 
The  acting  was  worthy  of  the  play.  Alma  Murray  as  Clarissa 
faithfully  and  beautifully  depicted  the  absolutely  unselfish  love  of 
woman.  Philip  Cuningham  as  Lord  Henry  Somerville,  on  the 
other  hand,  gave  us  the  grosser  aspect  of  man's  passion  and  love 
combined,  and  Charles  Fawcett  as  Foljambe  showed  us  the  man 
of  the  world,  who  cannot  believe  in  an  earthly  paradise,  of  which 
love  alone  shall  be  the  god.  Alice  Bruce  as  the  faithful  little 
handmaid  Mary  and  H.  Nelson  as  Peters,  a  typical  London 
servant,  were  unobtrusively  of  assistance,  and  did  not  mar  the 
poetry  of  the  idea.  The  author  may  be  sincerely  congratulated 
on  his  work. 

17th.  St.  James's. — Molihe,  by  Walter  Frith.  The  close  of 
a  most  prosperous  season  was  celebrated  by  the  production  of 
this  new  one- act  play.  George  Alexander  filled  the  title  rdle 
of   the    great   dramatist,    and    was    made   up   to  bear  a  strong 


July,  1891.I  Molihrc.  1 5 1 

resemblance  to  his  portraits,  though  rather  young-looking.  Moli^re 
returns  from  playing  Le  Malade  Imaginaire  for  the  last  time,  to 
find  Armande,  Madame  Moli^re  de  Poquelin  {nie  B^gart),  prepared 
to  entertain  at  supper  a  frivolous,  empty-headed  marquis,  who  is 
her  admirer.  Moliire  is  at  the  point  of  death,  his  wife  has  long 
neglected  him  for  others,  and  the  sight  of  her  latest  coquetry 
rouses  him  to  action.  He  induces  the  two  to  take  part  with  him 
in  the  rehearsal  of  a  new  play  which  he  says  he  has  written,  and 
called  The  Vengeance  of  Georges  Dandin^  and  in  this  he  lashes 
his  wife's  admirer  with  his  tongue,  and  holds  him  up  to  ridicule, 
eventually  striking  him  and  having  him  driven  from  the  house. 
The  exertion  is  too  much  for  him  ;  it  has  shamed  Armande  and 
brought  her  to  his  feet,  suing  for  pardon,  but  it  has  given  him  his 
death-blow.  As  he  hears  the  trumpets  proclaiming  the  passing 
of  the  greatest  ruler  France  ever  possessed,  he  utters  the  words, 
"  The  King !  His  Majesty  must  not  be  kept  waiting,"  and  falls  back 
dead,  winding  up  the  play  with  that  impressive  address  to  the 
king  of  terrors.  Mr.  Frith's  idea  was  well  conceived,  but  he 
had  not  the  power  to  carry  it  out,  and  the  play  would  have  failed 
but  for  George  Alexander's  acting,  which  was  earnest,  and  at 
times  almost  great.  There  was  nothing  for  Marion  Terry,  the 
Armande,  to  do ;  Ben  Webster  was  remarkably  good  as  the 
licentious  and  supercilious  Marquis,  and  Herbert  Waring  was 
professional  as  Moli^re's  old  friend  and  schoolfellow  Dr.  Dacquin  ; 
Laura  Graves  and  V.  Sansbury  as  Catherine,  the  waiting-maid, 
and  L'Epine,  Molifere's  valet,  were  good,  and  Howard  Russell  and 
George  Gamble  as  a  couple  of  chairmen  made  up  the  cast.  The 
piece  was  splendidly  mounted,  and  the  Nathans  had  provided 
correct  and  handsome  dresses,  and  Walter  Slaughter  some  very 
appropriate  music. 

20th.  Pavilion. — Man  of  Metal,  drama  by  C.  A.  Clarke  and 
H.  R.  Silva.     First  time  in  London. 

20th.  Standard. — Faust,  burlesque. 

20th.  Marylebone. — Flashes,  musical  absurdity  in  three  acts 
by  J.  J.  Hewson  and  E.  Lewis  West  (originally  produced  at  New 
Theatre  Royal,  Liverpool,  April  7th,  1890). 

20th.  Elephant  and  Castle. — Noble  Love,  play  in  four  acts 
by  C.  A.  Clarke  and  James  Hewson  (originally  produced  at 
Theatre  Royal,  Goole,  Jan.  27th,  1890). 

20th.  Opera  Comique. — Last  performance  oi  foan  of  Arc. 

2 1  St.  Criterion  (Tuesday)  matinee, — David  Garrickyfzs 
given  in  aid  of  the  poor  of  Camberwell ;  ;^3So  was  realised. 
The  same  evening  saw  the  last  performance  of  the  piece  and 


1 5^  Miss  Decima.  CJuly.  1891. 

appearance  of  Mr.  Wyndham  and  his  company,  the  stage  being 
occupied  on  the  Thursday  by  Miss  Decinta. 

23rd.  Criterion. — Miss  Decitna.  When  Mr.  Bumand  under- 
took the  adaptation  of  the  Parisian  success  Miss  Helyetty  it  was 
generally  surmised  that  he  would  have  considerable  difficulty  in 
eliminating  that  which  would  prove  objectionable  to  English 
audiences,  and  yet  retain  some  amusing  motive.  He  accomplished 
this  successfully ;  the  piece  is  droll,  and  is  written  in  a  humorous 
style,  and  is  much  assisted  by  the  graceful  lyrics  contributed  by 
Percy  Reeve.  Miss  Helyett  was  originally  produced  in  Paris  at 
the  Bouffes  Parisiens,  Nov.  12th,  1890,  with  Mdlle.  Bianca 
Duhamel  in  the  title  rdle.  When  the  piece  was  played  in  Brussels, 
Mdlle.  Nesville  took  the  town  by  storm  as  the  heroine.  .The 
story  is  really  of  the  flimsiest,  and  depends  almost  entirely  on  the 
cleverness  of  the  representatives  of  the  different  characters  to 
make  it  go  dramatically.  Miss  Decima  is  the  tenth  and  only 
unmarried  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jeremie  Jackson,  of  New 
Orleans.  He  has  brought  up  his  girls  in  almost  Quaker-like 
severity  of  conduct,  and  has  written  a  book  of  moral  precepts  in 
doggerel  verse,  one  of  which  on  reference  will  invariably  be 
found  suitable  to  advise  them  in  any  moral  emergency.  He  and 
his  daughter  are  touring  in  Switzerland,  and  are  temporarily  rest- 
ing at  Interlaken.  There  a  dreadful  accident  happens  to  Decima, 
who  slips  in  climbing  a  mountain,  rolls  down  it,  is  caught  by  a 
bush,  and  is  rescued  from  her  perilous  position  by  an  unknown 
gentleman,  who  carries  her  to  a  place  of  safety.  She  has  not 
seen  his  face,  or  he  hers — for  she  has  held  her  cloak  over  it — but, 
according  to  the  "  Jackson  "  tenets,  a  young  woman  who  has  been 
in  the  arms  of  a  man  must  marry  that  man,  and  none  other.  She 
christens  her  unknown  preserver  her  "  Man  of  the  Mountain,"  and 
commissions  her  father  to  discover  him.  She  has  encouraged  a 
good-hearted,  silly  young  fellow,  Marmaduke  Jessop,  to  believe 
that  she  will  marry  him,  and  so  her  father,  tired  of  his  unsuccess- 
ful search  after  her  preserver,  persuades  Marmaduke  to  pass  him- 
self off  as  the  **  Man  of  the  Mountain  ";  but  Decima  soon  discovers 
the  imposture.  Then  she  overhears  a  conversation  which 
induces  her  to  believe  that  Chevalier  O'Flanagan  is  her  hera 
He  is  a  braggart  and  a  poltroon,  and  is  already  engaged  to 
Senora  Inez,  the  daughter  of  the  strong-minded  Senora  de  Var- 
ganaz.  This  is  nothing  to  Decima  or  her  father,  who  in  the 
quaintest  way  produces  a  very  pretty  little  revolver,  which  he 
states  that  he  shall  be  regretfully  compelled  to  use  on  O'Flanagan 
if    he-  does  not    marry    his    daughter.       Decima,  however,   has 


juLv,  X89X.1  Fate  and  Fortune,  153 

really  lost  her  heart  to  Peter  Paul  RoUeston,  who  is  madly  in 
love  with  the  little  slyboots  and  declares  his  passion,  but  as  she 
is  engaged  to  another,  asks  to  be  allowed  to  take  her  portrait 
Whilst  doing  so  Decima  looks  over  his  sketch-book,  and  in  it 
discovers  a  sketch  of  herself,  evidently  taken  when  the  climbing 
contretemps  occurred.  Here  is  her  real  **  Man  of  the  Mountain," 
to  whom  she  is  only  too  pleased  to  give  herself,  and  he  to  accept 
her.  There  is  a  charming  espikglerie  and  piquancy  about  Made- 
moiselle Nesville  that  at  once  rendered  her  a  favourite.  Her  voice 
is  thin,  but  very  sweet,  and  her  English  as  she  speaks  it,  though 
not  perfect,  is  very  attractive ;  added  to  this.  Mademoiselle 
Nesville  is  pretty  and  sympathetic.  In  the  last  act  the  young 
actress  has  a  charming  love  scene  with  Rolleston ;  and  in  it  she 
was  very  ably  assisted  by  Charles  Conyers,  who,  though  new  to 
London,  has  made  his  mark  in  the  provinces,  and  has  a  good 
voice.  David  James  and  Miss  Victor  were  irresistibly  funny,  the 
former  in  his  own  quiet  effective  manner  and  the  lady  in  her  more 
pronounced  style.  She  dances  a  cachtica  with  the  drollest  abandon. 
Chauncey  Olcott,  an  American  actor,  made  his  first  appearance  in 
England,  sang  with  spirit  and  feeling,  and  made  a  favourable  im- 
pression. Wei  ton  Dale  was  seen  and  heard  to  advantage. 
Templar  Saxe,  who  should  have  had  more  to  do,  and  Josephine 
Findlay  were  of  much  assistance.  Among  the  best  numbers  may 
be  quoted  "  Maiden's  Modestee "  and  "  Dear  Father  used  to  say 
to  Me  "  (Miss  Decima),  "  Shall  we  Never  Meet  ? "  (Paul),  and  the 
duets,  "  Coquetting "  and  "  The  Portrait,"  for  Decima  and  Paul ; 
the  duet,  "  The  Ideal  She,"  for  Paul  and  Bertie ;  the  trio,  "  Mother 
of  a  Daughter  Splendid,"  for  the  Senora,  Inez,  and  OTlanagan ; 
and  O'Flanagan's  serenade,  "  Divine  and  True."  Miss  Decima  was 
a  distinct  success. 

27th.  Novelty. — Right  against  Mighty  original  comedy  drama 
in  three  acts  by  M.  White. 

27  th.  Princess's. — Fate  and  Fortune  ;  or^  The  Junior  Partner^ 
four-act  drama  by  J.  J.  Blood.  The  public  that  is  fond  of  melo- 
drama looks  for  a  downright  villain,  who  hesitates  at  nothing,  and 
in  fact  rather  prefers  to  go  out  of  his  way  to  commit  a  murder. 
As  a  contrast  to  this,  the  author  must  give  them  the  simplest  and 
most  confiding  of  heroines,  and  the  comedy  scenes  must  be  of  the 
homely  sort — a  kind-hearted  policeman  with  a  large  family  of 
small  children,  with  enormous  appetites,  and  a  domestic  heroine 
who  has  an  admirer  in  the  force,  but  who  will  also  coquet  with  a 
son  of  Mars.  James  J.  Blood  has  accomplished  all  this  in  his 
Fate  and  Fortune^  and  the  audience  at   the  Princess's  departed 


1 54  Fate  and  Fortune.  [July,  1891. 

after  having  been  highly  amused.  It  did  not  for  a  moment  con- 
sider that  twenty  times  before  it  had  seen  the  same  sort  of  thing 
in  a  dozen  different  plays.  The  author  is  so  skilful  a  workman 
that,  like  the  Chinese,  he  can  piece  and  join  so  deftly  that  it 
cannot  be  discovered  where  the  piece  is  let  in.  So  Mr.  Blood 
makes  the  merchant  in  very  great  straits  for  money  ;  and  Kopain, 
a  Russian,  immediately  appears  on  the  scene,  and  offers  to  set  him 
right  if  he  is  made  the  "  junior  partner,"  and  is  thereon  without 
further  parley  installed  in  that  position.  Kopain  is  really  Varbel, 
a  thief,  swindler,  and  card-sharper.  He  has  cheated  Ralph 
Glendon  in  Paris,  and  as  this  gentleman  is  likely  to  tell  his  father 
some  unpleasant  stories  of  his  antecedents,  Kopain  gently  pushes 
him  over  a  precipice,  and  disposes  of  him  in  the  first  act  This 
gives  Swagg,  a  burglar,  his  opportunity.  He  happens  to  be  taking 
,  a  little  relaxation  from  his  more  arduous  occupation  by  having  a 
day's  innocent  "  bird's-nesting,"  and  is  a  witness  to  Kopain's  sum- 
mary proceeding,  and  is  consequently  a  thorn  in  that  gentleman's 
side  for  the  future.  Grace  Hasluck  is  an  heiress  and  Mr. 
Glendon's  ward.  She  has  determined  she  will  marry  none  but 
Walter  Halmshaw,  Glendon's  stepson,  and  to  plight  their  troth 
gives  him  a  ring,  which  he  is  never  to  take  off  his  finger.  The 
ruthless  Kopain  has,  on  his  part,  determined  that  Grace  would 
make  him  a  very  nice  wife.  Halmshaw  opportunely  loses  his 
ring,  and  of  course  Kopain  finds  it,  and  he  tells  the  young  lover 
that  he  can  get  it  back  if  he  will  go  to  Mr.  Glendon's  City  offices, 
where  it  is  locked  up  in  the  private  safe,  of  which  the  key  is 
handed  to  him.  Unsuspicious  Mr.  Halmshaw  goes  on  his  errand, 
and  is  caught  by  Mr.  Detective  Marklow,  who  has  been  set  on  the 
job  by  the  wily  Kopain,  and  poor  Halmshaw  is  accused  of  pur- 
loining various  moneys  to  which  the  "junior  partner"  has  been 
helping  himself.  Then  Grace  takes  refuge  with  her  old  nurse, 
Mrs.  Tranter,  married  to  the  kind-hearted  Bob  Tranter,  the  police- 
man ;  and  we  see  his  voracious  youngsters  feeding  on  bread-and- 
treacle,  and  perfect  "  Oliver  Twists  "  in  their  demands  for  more. 
And  here  Matilda  Jane  is  made  fierce  love  to  by  Tom  WooUett, 
who  has  joined  the  force  for  her  sake,  and  the  interloper,  Swadler, 
a  stalwart  lifeguardsman  ;  and  the  rivals  come  to  blows.  Grace 
is  meantime  looking  for  a  situation,  and  is  found  a  supposititious 
one  by  Mrs.  Prowse,  an  infamous  decoy  of  Kopain's.  So  in  the 
last  act  we  find  poor  Grace  very  much  disturbed  at  Kopain's 
forcing  his  unwilling  attentions  upon  her ;  and  things  are  getting 
very  serious  for  her,  when  her  lover,  Walter  Halmshaw,  drops 
through  the  skylight  and   rescues  her,  at  the  same  time  that  a 


July,  xSqx.^  The  Plebeian.  ISS 

desperate  encounter  is  going  on  above  on  the  roof  between  burglar 
Swagg  and  his  timorous  companion  Springe  and  the  police,  where 
shots  are  fired  and  life-preservers  used,  etc.  This  was  a  cleverly 
managed  scene.  The  view  of  the  London  housetops  and  the 
great  city  by  night  was  picturesque  and  vivid.  Such  a  melo- 
drama would  not  be  complete  without  the  handcuffs,  which  are 
neatly  fitted  on  to  Kopain,  for  he  is  arrested  under  the  extradi- 
tion treaty  for  another  murder  he  has  committed  in  France  on  an 
unfortunate  bill-broker.  W.  L.  Abingdon  was  the  most  uncom- 
promising of  villains.  He  accomplished  everything  with  "the 
craft  of  smiles,"  and  was  "  most  smiling,  smooth,  detested  "  ;  but 
there  is  no  doubt  that  he  was  powerful,  and  the  gods  approved  his 
acting  by  repeatedly  calling  for  and  yelling  at  him.  May  Whitty 
was  not  by  any  means  the  conventional  heroine  as  Grace  Hasluck  ; 
she  struck  out  her  own  line,  that  of  a  fresh  English  girl,  brave  and 
true-hearted,  and  was  a  genuine  success.  Bassett  Roe  played 
judiciously  as  the  rather  scampish  Ralph  Glendon.  Henry 
Pagden  was  good  as  the  staid  but  troubled  City  merchant ;  and 
W.  R.  Sutherland  was  fairly  acceptable  as  the  lover  Walter 
Halmshaw.  George  Barrett  was  a  genial  Bob  Tranter,  his  style 
fitting  exactly  the  anti-Malthusian  character.  Henry  Bedford,  as 
far  as  acting  was  concerned,  was  entitled  to  the  honours  of  the 
evening.  The  part  of  Swagg  is  not  a  great  one,  as  lines  go,  but 
it  was  played  with  a  vigour  and  characterisation  that  were  most 
admirable.  In  a  lesser  degree,  great  praise  was  due  to  Huntley 
Wright  as  Springe,  bird-catcher  by  profession,  but  at  the  same 
time  a  sort  of  amateur  "  cracksman."  Gracie  Muriel  gave  a 
pathetic  rendering  of  Madge,  a  match-girl,  a  sort  of  female  *'  Jo." 
Cicely  Richards  was  clever  and  amusing  as  Matilda  Jane  ;  and 
Elizabeth  Bessie,  Sallie  Turner,  Stephen  Caffrey,  and  J.  F.  Doyle 
also  deserved  favourable  mention.  Sidney  Herberte- Basing,  who 
produced  the  play,  did  so  in  a  most  efficient  manner,  and  gave  us 
good  scenery,  one  set  in  particular,  the  "Ruins  of  Abbotslea 
Abbey,"  being  very  beautiful.  I  was  glad  to  see  that  Arthur  E. 
Godfrey  directed  the  orchestra  ;  we  are  always  sure  of  a  good 
selection  of  music  under  his  bdton.  In  consequence  of  George 
Barrett's  departure  for  America  on  a  starring  tour,  his  part  was 
played  from  the  17th  by  Frank  Wood. 

27th.  Grand. — Retaliation,  comedietta  by  Rudolf  Dircks. 

28th.  Vaudeville  matinie, — The  Plebeian,  comedy  drama  in 
four  acts.  Miss  Costello,  of  Dublin — for,  though  the  author  was 
not  announced,  it  was  an  open  secret  that  the  young  lady  had 
launched  The  Plebeian  on  the  world — gave  us  a  play,  not  only 


156  The  FerrymafCs  Daughter.  quly  xsgi. 

interesting,  but  that  had  much  good  work  in  it,  many  a  bright 
sally  of  wit,  and  considerable  epig^m  ;  indeed,  I  think  it  was 
generally  admitted  that  the  good  turned  the  scale  against  the 
commonplace.  What  if  the  main  idea  did  remind  us  of  Sweet 
Nancy  and  New  Men  and  Old  Acres  ?  May  not  even  the  germ  of 
these  be  traced  back  in  modem  times  to  Delicate  Ground^  and 
farther  back  even  than  that  ?  "  The  Plebeian  "  is  a  foundling,  one 
Thomas  Armstrong,  who  has  made  a  large  fortune  in  vitriol  and 
tanning.  He  has  purchased  Nutsgrove,  the  old  home  of  the 
Lefroys,  an  aristocratic  but  selfish  family,  and  he  falls  in  love 
with  Norah  Lefroy,  the  eldest  girl,  an  honest-hearted,  outspoken 
woman.  She  accepts  him  as  her  husband,  urged  on  to  do  so  by 
her  miserably  poor  brothers  and  sisters,  who  see  that  a  wealthy 
brother-in-law  will  be  of  use  to  them.  Her  husband,  after  their 
honeymoon,  is  led  to  believe  that  she  does  not  care  for  him  ;  the 
breach  widens,  and  at  last,  when  Norah's  disreputable  father. 
Colonel  Lefroy,  who  has  deserted  his  family  years  ago,  reappears 
under  a  cloud,  having  committed  forgery,  Norah  gets  the  money 
from  her  husband  to  rescue  him,  and  then  leaves  the  home  in 
which  she  believes  she  is  unwelcome,  her  husband  imagining  that 
she  has  eloped  with  an  old  sweetheart.  She  returns  after  three 
years'  absence  to  warn  Armstrong  that  he  is  likely  to  be  robbed  ; 
and  then  explanations  take  place,  and  husband  and  wife  are 
reunited.  It  was  not  the  play  that  was  so  good,  because  much 
in  the  construction  is  very  faulty,  but  the  characterisation  was 
admirable.  Robert  and  Pauline  Lefroy,  two  as  selfish  creatures 
as  one  may  picture,  were  wonderfully  naturally  drawn  and  very 
well  played  by  Orlando  Bamett  and  Kate  Bealby.  Lottie 
Lefroy,  an  enfant  terrible,  was  capitally  filled  by  Henrietta 
Cross,  who  already  understood  the  meaning  of  comedy.  Then 
there  was  a  natural,  soft-hearted  young  English  fellow  in  Dick 
Everard  that  Reginald  Stockton  rendered  well.  Colonel  Lefroy 
was  intended,  I  suppose,  to  show  how  low  even  a  colonel  can 
sink,  but  John  Carter  did  not  make  much  of  him.  As  to  the 
two  principals,  the  authoress  had  written  their  parts  so  that  they 
were  kept  at  high  pressure  the  whole  time,  and  had  but  little 
relief.  Under  these  circumstances  Mrs.  Bennett  and  Julian 
Cross  were  entitled  to  much  praise  for  the  manner  in  which  they 
acquitted  themselves  in  their  arduous  rdles.  Miss  Costello  in  all 
likelihood  will  give  us  something  very  good  by-and-bye.  With  a 
little  help  from  some  one  of  more  experience,  The  Plebeian  could 
be  made  into  a  good  play. 

31st  Lyric,    Hammersmith. — The   Ferrymaris    Daughter,    a 


August,  i89x.]  The  Trumpet  Call.  157 

drama  in  five  acts  by  H.  T.  Johnson  and  C.  Cordingley.  The 
plot  is  taken  from  the  novel  "  A  Ghastly  Fraud,"  which  it  follows 
with  tolerable  closeness.  The  piece  went  well  from  start  to 
finish,  but  one  or  two  of  the  acts  needed  the  pruning-knife.  The 
authors  and  principal  performers  received  a  call,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that,  although  the  audience  was  friendly,  a  success  was 
scored.  As  the  Ferryman,  Charles  Hudson  was  excellent ; 
George  R.  Foss  as  Dudley  Carstairs  showed  that  he  had 
thoroughly  grasped  the  character,  and  kept  himself  well  in  hand  ; 
and  Charles  Field  as  the  Major  gave  an  excellent  rendering  of 
a  certain  type — it  was  a  fine  piece  of  acting.  Horace  Barri  did 
good  work  as  the  detective.  As  Dick  Bramley,  Talbot  Fell 
struck  too  melancholy  a  note,  and  need  not  have  been  so  lacka- 
daisical. George  Skinner  was  good  as  a  loafing  but  warm- 
hearted miner.  The  part  of  Claribel  was  a  rather  trying  one  for 
a  young  actress  to  assume,  but  Florence  Radclyffe  was  equal  to 
the  occasion,  and  threw  herself  heart  and  soul  into  the  character. 
Daisy  Leslie  as  the  orphan  child  who  converts  the  Major  merits 
a  word  of  praise.  The  incidental  music,  which  was  appropriate, 
was  composed  by  Guillaume  Leone. 

31st.  Lyric — La  Cigale.     Hayden  Coffin  appeared  as  Franz 
de  Bemheim  on  this  (the  three  hundredth)  performance. 

31st   Lyceum. — ^The  season  came  to  a  close  with  a  repre- 
sentation of  Muck  Ado  About  Nothing  for  Ellen  Terry's  benefit. 

French  plays  :  3rd.  Z^  Gendre  de  M.  Poifier^  by  Emile  Augier 
and  Jules  Sandeau.  Poirier,  Coquelin  atn^ ;  the  Marquis,  Valbel ; 
Verdelet,  Jean  Coquelin  ;  Francois,  Roger ;  Vatel,  Deroy ; 
Hector,  Gavoret ;  Antoinette,  Mdlle.  du  Minil. — 4th.  Les  Sur- 
f  rises  du  Divorce^  by  M.  Bisson  and  Antony  Mars.  Henri  Duval, 
Coquelin  ain^ ;  Corbulon,  M.  Leitner ;  Champeaux,  Jean 
Coquelin  ;  Bourganeuf,  Deroy  ;  Diane,  Mdlle.  du  Minil ;  Madame 
Bouivard,  Mdlle.  Patey ;  Gabrielle,  Mdlle,  Depoix ;  Victoria, 
Mdme. .  Brunet.  Mr.  Mayer's  twenty-fourth  season  concluded 
on  July  4th.     The  latter  part  of  it  was  highly  successful. 


VHL 

August. 

1st  Adelphi. — The  Trumpet  Call.  William  Makepeace 
Thackeray  wrote  a  novel  without  a  hero.  Messrs.  Sims  and 
Buchanan  have  actually  written  a  melodrama  without  a  villain, 


158  The  Trumpet  Call,  CAugust,  isgr. 

and  this  for  the  Adelphi ;  and  yet  their  new  departure  proved  as 
successful  as  they  could  wish.  For  they  contrived  to  give  just 
that  suspicion  of  baseness  to  one  of  their  characters  (Featherston) 
that  keeps  the  audience  on  the  alert  to  watch  whether  he  will  not 
develop  something  villainous ;  and  then  Bertha  is  a  very  wicked 
and  vengeful  woman  indeed.  Perhaps  the  "  refined  "  melodrama 
that  we  have  had  at  the  Haymarket  and  St.  James's  has  had  its 
influence  on  the  authors,  and  this  is  a  tentative  work  to  see 
whether  the  Adelphi  audience  will  be  satisfied  with  the  loss  of 
contrast  between  almost  sublimated  virtue  and  the  obtrusive 
defiant  villainy.  Its  reception  on  the  first  night  was  most 
flattering.  The  fortunes  of  the  hero  and  heroine  turn  on  a 
supposed  bigamous  marriage.  Cuthbertson  elopes  with  Constance 
Barton,  and  after  a  year  or  so  she  returns  to  obtain  her  father's 
forgiveness.  This  he  refuses  unless  she  will  leave  her  husband. 
She  clings  to  the  latter,  but  on  the  very  evening  Cuthbertson 
recognises  in  a  vagabond  clairvoyante,  known  as  Astraea,  the 
Bertha  whom  he  had  married  years  before,  who  had  deserted  him, 
and  whom  he  supposed  to  be  dead.  The  poor  fellow,  to  free 
Constance,  enlists  under  another  name  in  the  Horse  Artillery, 
previously  confiding  his  history  to  Featherston,  and  as  nothing 
is  heard  of  him  for  six  years,  Featherston,  who  has  been  a  rejected 
suitor  of  Constance's,  makes  fresh  advances  to  her.  Presently 
Cuthbertson  returns  covered  with  glory,  having  fought  in  a 
Burmese  campaign,  and  saved  his  colonel's  life.  He  is  being 
decorated  on  parade,  when  Constance  fancies  she  recognises  him, 
but  to  her  questions  he  absolutely  denies  that  he  is  other  than 
John  Lanyon,  the  name  he  assumed  on  enlisting.  A  moody, 
reckless  companion  of  his,  James  Redruth,  has  confessed  to  him 
that  his  life  has  been  ruined  by  a  woman,  whom  he  swears  he 
will  kill  whenever  he  meets  her.  Redruth  is  put  in  the  guard- 
room for  some  breach  of  discipline.  He  escapes  and  takes  refuge 
in  a  "doss-house  in  the  Mint,"  where  he  meets  with  Astraea,  who 
proves  to  be  the  wife  who  had  wronged  him.  He  stabs,  and 
would  kill  her  outright,  but  is  prevented  by  Cuthbertson,  who 
recognises  in  her  the  woman  who  has  been  the  cause  of  all  his 
misery.  Redruth  is  taken  prisoner,  and,  we  are  led  to  understand, 
commits  suicide.  In  the  last  act  Featherston  has  persuaded 
Constance  to  accept  him,  and  they  are  at  the  altar,  when  Astraea 
stays  the  marriage  service  by  confessing  that  she  was  already  a 
wife  when  Cuthbertson  married  her,  and  points  to  him  among  the 
spectators  as  Constance's  lawful  husband.  It  will  be  said  that 
portions  of  this  play  are  reminiscent  of  In  the  Ranks  and  Lights 


August,  i89x.]  The  Trumpet  Call  159 

d  London,  but  the  incidents  are  quite  differently  treated,  and  if 
there  is  only  one  strong  "  sensation,"  the  interest  is  steadily  main- 
tained throughout.  It  would  be  too  great  a  wrench  from  old 
associations  if  there  were  not  plenty  of  the  comic  element  at  the 
Adelphi;  and  this  we  are  supplied  with  by  Lionel  Rignold,  who 
is  most  amusing  as  Professor  Ginnifer,  a  showman  and  a  sort  of 
"universal  provider"  of  entertainments,  by  clever  Mrs,  Leigh, 
who  is  jealous  of  Ginnifer's  "  bearded  lady,"  by  clever,  saucy  Clara 
Jecks,  who  as  a  "  serio-comic  "  artist  "  winks  the  other  eye,"  and 
by  R.  H.  Douglass  as  the  young  trumpeter,  Tom  Dutton,  who 
makes  very  comical  love  to  her  in  excellent  bits  of  low  comedy. 
Leonard  Boyne  played  the  hero  most  impressively,  the  audience 
sympathising  with  him  throughout ;  and  in  the  scene  where  he 
cannot  kiss  his  little  child  in  the  barrack  yard  he  was  very 
moving.  Mr.  Boyne  also  deserves  great  praise  for  the  generous 
manner  in  which  he  supported  Elizabeth  Robins,  whose  intensity 
and  earnestness  were  much  to  be  admired ;  they  were  more  really 
artistic,  though  not  quite  so  dramatic,  as  the  usual  Adelphi  heroine. 
Hers  is  a  part  with  but  little  relief  of  brightness  ;  indeed,  this  may 
be  said  of  both  hero  and  heroine ;  the  exponents  are  therefore 
the  more  worthy  of  praise.  Mrs.  Patrick  Campbell  has  an 
infinitely  more  showy  character  as  the  dissolute,  mocking  Astraea. 
She  has  conceived  the  character  well,  both  as  to  make-up  and 
execution,  but  the  latter  showed  signs  of  the  amateur.  It  was, 
however,  a  performance  that  promised  to  place  Mrs.  Campbell 
among  our  foremost  actresses  in  the  future.  James  East 
worked  up  the  character  of  James  Redruth  ;  moody  and  reckless 
at  first,  he  let  you  see  that  there  was  a  good,  brave  fellow 
spoilt  by  his  misfortune,  too  weak  to  combat  his  despair,  who 
flew  to  drink  to  make  him  forget  his  troubles,  and  at  the  finish, 
when  he  met  the  woman  who  had  destroyed  almost  all  that  was 
best  in  him,  his  mad  passion  and  revenge  were  finely  wrought 
out.  Charles  Dalton  had  a  most  thankless  part,  and  yet  he 
managed  to  make  a  great  deal  of  it  and  to  show  how  deep  and 
constant  his  love  was.  J.  D.  Beveridge  was  the  beau  ideal  of  a 
gallant  non-commissioned  officer  as  Sergeant-major  Milligan, 
cheery  and  genial ;  and  good  work  was  done  by  W.  and  J. 
Northcote,  Royston  Keith,  H.  Cooper,  and  Miss  Vizetelly.  The 
scenery  was  of  the  best.  The  interior  and  exterior  of  the 
"Angler's  Delight,"  "The  Doss-house,"  and  "The  Interior  of 
the  Chapel  Royal,  Savoy "  (with  its  choristers,  etc),  reflected  the 
greatest  credit  on  the  painters,  Bruce  Smith  and  W.  Hann, 
and    on    Frederick    Glover,   who   produced    the    play.     Helen 


i6o  Theodora.  CAucwr,  1191. 

Hastings  later  took  the  place  of  Elizabeth  Robins,  as  did 
also  Essex  Dane.  Mrs.  Patrick  Campbell's  part  was  afterwards 
taken  by  Mrs.  Bennett  for  a  while,  and  subsequently  by  Claire 
Ivanova.     Royston  Keith  appeared  in  Leonard  Boyne's  part 

1st  New  Olympic — Theodora^  six-act  play  adapted  by  Robert 
Buchanan  from  the  French  of  Victorien  Sardou.  The  revival  of 
Theodora  at  this  theatre  was  received  with  every  mark  of  approval. 
Advantage  had  evidently  been  taken  of  the  lower  scale  of  prices, 
for  the  cheaper  parts  of  the  house  were  crowded,  and  the  manage- 
ment had  little  cause  of  complaint  as  to  the  more  expensive  seats. 
On  the  first  production  of  Theodora  at  the  Princess's  I  gave  Mr. 
Buchanan  every  credit  for  his  adaptation  of  Sardou's  play.  The 
stirring  and  eventful  life  of  the  courtesan  queen,  the  murder  of 
Marcellus,  and  the  death  of  Andreas  and  the  Empress  again 
powerfully  swayed  the  audience.  Grace  Hawthorne  Has  gained 
in  strength  and  subtlety  from  her  continued  performance  of  the 
title  rdle^  and  was  greatly  applauded.  The  manageress  has  sur- 
rounded herself  with  a  new  company,  the  members  of  which  for 
the  most  part  acquit  themselves  well.  Fuller  Mellish  was  an  earnest 
and  sympathetic  Andreas,  and  some  of  his  scenes  were  remarkably 
well  played.  Murray  Carson  drew  a  faithful  picture  of  the  craven, 
superstitious,  and  wily  Emperor  Justinian,  but  the  honours  of  the 
evening  may  be  claimed  by  Geoi^e  W.  Cockburn,  whose  rendering 
of  Marcellus  was  powerful  and  dramatic  The  Euphlatus  of 
T.  W.  Percyval  was  treated  in  a  humorous  vein,  and  the  Callirhoe 
of  Lillian  Seccombe  was  bright  and  engaging ;  but  we  missed 
Dolores  Drummond  as  Tamyris.  The  scenery  and  dresses  left 
nothing  to  be  desired,  and  the  piece  was  adequately  mounted  in 
other  respects. 

1st  Strand. — The  Late  Lamented.  With  the  exception  of 
Herbert  Standing,  Frederick  Cape,  and  Mrs.  Edmund  Phelps, 
who  so  well  fill  their  original  parts,  the  transfer  of  Frederick 
Homer's  very  amusing  adaptation  of  Feu  Toupinel  from  the  Court 
to  the  Strand  Theatre  had  brought  together  a  new  company  to 
represent  it.  It  is  always  difllicult  to  succeed  when  following 
those  who  have  acquitted  themselves  so  ably  as  did  Mrs.  Wood 
and  her  company,  but  fortunately  the  present  exponents  have 
struck  out  fredi  lines,  and  in  most  cases  very  happy  ones.  Fanny 
Brough  is  so  genuinely  humorous  and  earnest  that  she  readily 
catches  the  comedy  of  her  situations  as  Mrs.  Stuart  Crosse,  and 
her  reading  of  the  character  was  a  complete  success.  Willie 
Edouin  makes  Mr.  Stuart  Crosse  more  racy  than  his  predecessor 
in  the  part,  perhaps  not  quite  as  finished,  but  quite-as  amusing, 

Jigitized  by  VriOC 


August,  x89i.]  The  Block  Flag.  l6l 

and  was  more  unlike  himself  than  we  have  seen  Mr.  Edouin  for 
some  time.  Eva  Moore  was  a  piquante  Mrs.  Richard  Webb,  with 
much  sly  humour  and  attractiveness.  Harry  Eversfield  played 
Mr.  Richard  Webb  quietly,  but  effectively,  and  G.  P.  Hawtrey, 
after  he  had  recovered  from  the  nervousness  from  which  he 
evidently  suffered  at  first,  was  an  amusing  Mr.  Fawcett.  Both 
the  piece  and  its  representation  were  quite  to  the  taste  of  a 
Strand  audience,  and  The  Late  Lamented  entered  on  another 
prosperous  career.  Fanny  Brough's  part  was  afterwards  played 
by  Cicely  Richards. 

1st.  Ladbroke  Hall. — The  Spiritualist^  farcical  comedy  by 
H.  Durez.  Was  not  without  merit,  but  a  first  production  should 
not  have  been  entrusted  to  amateurs.  The  humour  turned  on  a 
young  and  pretty  wife  being  compelled  through  stress  of  "farcical" 
circumstances  to  figure  as  a  waiting-maid  in  a  boarding  establish- 
ment, and  being  very  attractive,  she  is  made  love  to  by  all  the 
gentlemen  in  the  house. 

3rd.  Surrey  (revival). —  The  Black  Flag,  Henry  Pettitfs 
drama,  was  the  attraction  during  the  week,  and  recalled  fond 
memories  of  the  old  Grecian  Theatre,  where  it  was  first  produced 
just  twelve  years  ago,  when  Harry  Monkhouse  won  his  spurs  as  the 
Jew,  Sim  Lazarus.  The  play  takes  its  name  from  the  hoisting  of 
a  black  flag  whenever  a  prisoner  escapes  from  Portland,  in  which 
memorable  spot  one  of  the  greatest  sensations  takes  place.  At 
•  the  Surrey  Clarence  J.  Hague  and  Annie  Conway  gained  great 
applause  as  the  hero  and  heroine,  Harry  Glyndon  and  Naomi 
Blandford  ;  Greorge  Conquest,  jun.,  was  droll  as  Lazarus ;  and 
Cissy  Farrell  played  remarkably  well  as  Ned,  the  runaway  cabin 
boy,  who  is  the  deus  ex  machind  of  the  drama.  C.  Cruikshanks, 
E.  Leicester,  Annie  Travis,  and  F.  Conquest  did  good  work  in 
aiding  the  principals ;  and  the  mechanical  changes  and  scenery 
were  excellent 

3rd.  Shaftesbury. — George  Edwardes  removed  his  entire 
programme  from  Terry's  to  the  Shaftesbury ;  and  though  one 
might  have  imagined  that  the  class  of  entertainment  was  not  so 
well  suited  for  the  larger  house,  the  three  pieces  never  went  better. 
The  audience  seemed  thoroughly  amused,  and  laughed  heartily  at 
A  Pantomime  Rehearsal.  In  this  Rose  Norreys  appeared  as  one 
of  the  "  babes."  She  was  very  quaint ;  and  her  dances  were 
deservedly  encored,  particularly  the  shadow  dance,  as  was  her  duet 
with  Edith  Chester.  Lizzie  Ruggles  also  danced  very  gracefully. 
Beatrice  Lamb  was  the  Fairy  Queen,  and  was  delightfully 
grand  and  ignorant  of  theatrical  business — as  she  should  be  in  the 

II 


i62  "  Old  SiagersP  [Adgutt,  1891. 

part.  This  handsome  actress  was  also  cast  for  Mrs.  Hemmersley 
in  A  Commission^  and  played  remarkably  well.  Rose  Norreys 
threw  a  great  deal  of  feeling  into  the  character  of  the  blind  girl, 
Alice  Ormerod,  in  Brandon  Thomas's  Lancashire  Sailor.  I  have 
previously  spoken  of  the  excellence  of  Weedon  Grossmith  and 
Brandon  Thomas  (the  latter  of  whom  appears  in  all  three  pieces), 
who  are  unapproachable  in  their  respective  lines.  Edith  Chester, 
Dolores  Drummond,  and  Forbes  Dawson  also  rendered  valuable  aid; 
in  fact,  the  company  and  the  pieces  deserved  every  success. 
During  the  run  of  these  pieces  at  this  theatre  Sybil  Grey  took 
up  the  character  of  Alice  Ormerod  in  A  Lancashire  Sailor,  and 
Miss  Lily  Eaton-Belgrave  in  A  Pantomime  Rehearsal.  Wilfred 
Draycott  also  appeared  as  Marshall  in  A  Commission. 

3rd.  "  Old  Stagers,"  The  week  commencing  on  this  date  was  a 
great  one  for  Canterbury,  for  not  only  was  it  the  Canterbury  week, 
but  it  was  the  jubilee  of  the  "  Old  Stagers,"  whose  doings  contri- 
bute so  much  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  carnival.  T.  Sydney 
Cooper,  R.A.,  had  painted  a  new  act  drop,  which  represented  a 
rocky  pass,  with  a  river  running  through  it  In  the  immediate 
foreground  the  well-known  animal  painter  introduced  some  of  his 
beautiful  cows  and  a  herdsman  and  a  dog  watching  over  them. 
The  orchestra  was  composed  of  members  of  the  St  Lawrence 
Amateur  Musical  Society,  conducted  by  C.  M.  Gann,  and  gave  the 
greatest  satisfaction.  The  Old  Stagers  always  select  a  light  and 
amusing  programme  for  their  performances,  and  this  year  the  pieces 
chosen  were  Sydney  Grundy's  In  Honour  Bound ;  Charles  Thomas's 
Paperchase  (first  played  at  the  Strand  June  9th,  1888,  and  later  in 
the  year  transferred  to  Toole's  and  the  Royalty  theatres,  under 
Lionel  Brough's  management)  ;  Tom  Taylor's  (himself  an  Old 
Stager)  Nine  Points  of  the  Law,  in  which  Carlotta  Addison 
(Mrs.  Latrobe)  conspicuouMy  scored  ;  Morton's  Thumping  Legacy^ 
in  which  Colonel  Naghi  was  very  droll  ;  and  the  musical  triumvi- 
retta  Cox  and  Box,  in  which  the  Hon.  S.  Whitehead  (the  Hon.  S. 
Ponsonby  Fane),  Oliver  Twist  (Mr.  Quinton  Twiss),  and  H. 
Percival  were  once  more  heard  to  the  greatest  advantage.  The 
professional  element  consisted,  besides  the  lady  already  mentioned, 
of  Annie  Irish,  who  was  charming  as  Lady  Carlyon,  Mrs.  Pomfret, 
and  Rosetta  ;  of  pretty  Mary  Ansell,  who  played  Rose  Dalrymple, 
Nellie  Busby,  and  Katie  Mapleson,  and  proved  very  attractive  ; 
and  of  Adah  Barton,  who  was  voted  delightful  as  Mrs.  Basker- 
ville.  The  other  "  Old  Stagers "  who  took  parts  consisted  of 
Augustus  Montague  (A.  Spalding),  the  McUsquebagh  (C.  Drum- 
mond), Herr  Scrobbs  (Eustace  Ponsonby),  Motcombe,(^d(|^mm 


August,  1891.]  The  Fifteenth  of  October,  163 

(Mr.  Whitmore),  Dodson  Fogg  (Mr.  Fagg),  Signer  Nuovo  Genti" 
luomo,  II  Capitano  Gucini  (Captain  Gooch),  and  Mr.  Benjamin 
Banjo.  Most  of  these  are  so  well  known  as  the  best  of  amateurs 
that  they  might  take  professional  rank.  But  the  event  was 
the  delivery  of  the  epilogue  written  by  W.  Yardley  in  honour  of 
the  Old  Stagers'  jubilee,  which  was  pronounced  to  be  full  of 
wit  and  one  of  the  best  that  have  been  delivered  for  years. 
The  characters  that  appeared  in  it  were — Spirit  of  Old  Stager, 
Claud  Ponsonby ;  Decrepit  Old  Stager,  T,  Knox  Holmes  ;  Cox, 
Hon.  S.  Ponsonby  Fane  ;  Box,  Quinton  Twiss  ;  Bouncer,  Sir 
Henry   de  Bathe ;  Spirit  of  Jubilee,  Colonel  Naghi ;  Influenza, 

E.  Ponsonby ;  Argentina  and  Naval  Exhibition,  Captain  Nugent 
(with  one  of  his  wonderful  dances) ;  Genius  of  Kent,  Annie 
Irish ;  Genius  of  I  Zingari,  Mary  Ansell ;  Genius  of  Band 
of  Brothers,  Adah  Barton.  The  epilogue  was  full  of  happy 
hits  and  quaint  references,  and  had  some  clever  songs  in  it  (one 
paraphrasing  the  "House  that  Jack  Built,"  another  "Round 
the  Town,"  and  another  "Sailing"),  also  a  processional  march, 
and  words  of  kindly  memory  for  Mr.  Grace,  Lord  Harris,  and 
absent  friends,  winding  up  with  the  singing  of  "  God  Save  the 
Queen." 

3rd.  Standard. — Jane  Shore,  historical  drama  in  a  prologue 
and  five  acts  by  Max  Goldberg.    Richard,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  John 

F.  Preston  ;  Matthew  Shore,  F.  R.  Vere  ;  Anthony  Yeaste,  John 
Serjeant ;  Jane  Shore,  Georgia  Walton  ;  the  Queen,  Nelly  King ; 
Prince  of  Wales  and  Duke  of  York,  E.  Price  and  Marie  Jones. 

3rd.  J.  J.  Dallas  appeared  for  a  month  as  Punka  in  The  Nautch 
Girl  at  the  Savoy,  and  was  succeeded  by  W,  S.  Penley.  Kate 
James  most  successfully  took  up  the  character  of  Chinna  as  a 
substitute  for  Jessie  Bond. 

3rd.  From  this  date  Mrs.  Bennett  took  up  Miss  Bruce's  part  in 
The  Mischief-maker. 

5th.  Death  of  Thomas  Cook  Foster,  journalist  and  dramatic 
critic  and  editor  of  the  Weekly  Times  and  Eclto,  aged  78.  Was 
seized  with  a  fit  in  the  Adelphi  Theatre.     Was  much  esteemed. 

8th.  Prince  of  Wales's. — The  Fifteenth  of  October,  military 
farcical  operetta  in  one  act  by  E.  Leterrier  and  A.  Vanloo,  music 
by  G.  Jacobi,  lyrics  by  G.  Capel.  The  music  was  worthy  of  a 
much  better  "book."  Some  of  the  numbers  are  exceedingly 
charming,  and  the  concerted  pieces  and  orchestration  are  cleverly 
written.  Miss  Cranford  made  an  excellent  Camille,  and  sang  the 
tuneful  valse  air  which  opens  the  operetta  with  considerable  effect. 
Harry  Parker  was  amusing  as   Private  Larry  Owen*     Leonard 


1 64  Houp  La  !  [August.  1891. 

Russell  gave  a  lively  sketch  of  an  impecunious  captain,  and 
George  Marler  was  good  as  the  customary  old  man  of  farce. 

loth.  Pavilion. — On  the  Frontier. 

loth.  Greenwich  Theatre  (revival). — King  Henry  V. 
Henry  IV.,  George  W.  Rouse ;  Henry,  Prince  of  Wales,  Osmond 
Tearle  ;  Chief  Justice  Gascoigne,  Charles  A.  Aldin  in  prologue  ; 
Henry  V.,  Osmond  Tearle ;  Duke  of  Gloucester,  Henley  Wame  ; 
Fluellen,  Philip  Gordon ;  Williams,  G.  W.  Rouse ;  Nym,  J.  J. 
Gallier ;  Bardolph,  Richard  Cowell ;  Pistol,  Edwin  Lever ;  Dame 
Quickly,  Miss  Charles.  The  version,  arranged  by  Osmond  Tearle, 
included  two  extracts  from  Henry  IV. 

lOth.  Mr.  Lawrence,  second  son  of  Henry  Irving,  made  his 
professional  dibut  as  Snug  the  Joiner  in  Mr.  Benson's  company  in 
A  Midsummer  Nighfs  Dream  at  the  Birmingham  Theatre  Royal. 

15th.  New  Olympic. — Two  in  the  Bush,  farce  by  Murray 
Carson,  the  new  lessee  of  the  Olympic.  It  was  not  very  novel 
in  idea,  but  proved  amusing.  A  retired  tradesman  is  determined 
that  his  daughter  shall  marry  the  son  of  an  old  friend  of  his. 
She  has  pledged  herself  to  a  medical  student.  The  proposed 
suitor,  objecting  to  anything  like  tyranny  on  the  part  of  a  parent, 
assumes  the  dress  and  manners  of  a  thorough  cad,  and  altogether 
disgusts  the  old  gentleman,  Murray  Carson  played  with  great 
spirit  and  humour  as  Major  Frere,  the  gentleman  who  masquerades 
for  a  while  and  then  appears  in  his  own  proper  character  to 
announce  that  he  is  already  married.  Louie  Wilmot  was  charm- 
ing as  Nettie  Carr,  the  unwilling  intended  bride,  and  Leslie 
Corcoran  was  most  amusing  as  Cyrus  Carr,  the  retired  tradesman. 
The  writing  of  the  farce  was  above  the  average  merit  of  such  pro- 
ductions. Two  in  the  Bush,  a  peculiar  name  taken  from  the  old 
proverb  "  A  bird  in  the  hand,"  etc.,  was  received  with  great  favour. 

1 8th.  Comedy. — Houp  La  !  by  T.  G.  Warren.  This  comedietta 
has  in  it  much  that  is  praiseworthy,  for  it  is  a  true  picture  of 
human  nature,  but  it  has  in  it  too  much  and  too  little.  The  plot 
could  readily  have  been  developed  into  a  three-act  drama ;  as  it 
stands,  the  piece  is  sketchy.  Chevalier  Maurice  Maroni  is  the 
owner  of  a  travelling  circus,  of  which  his  daughter  Rosabel  is  the 
bright  particular  star.  She  is  paid  considerable  attentions  by  a 
wealthy  young  suitor,  Owen  Fleetwood,  who  makes  her  presents 
and  sends  her  handsome  bouquets  by  his  "  tiger "  ;  at  the  same 
time,  Rosabel  has  an  humble  but  devoted  admirer  in  "  The  Great 
Little  Sammy,"  the  clown  of  the  circus.  Maroni,  who  is  a 
thoroughly  unprincipled  scamp,  takes  advantage  of  Fleetwood's 
affection  for  his  daughter  by  borrowing  money  of  him,  which  so 


August,  1891.]  The  Fiat  of  the  Gods.  165 

soon  as  Rosabel  discovers  she  tries  to  put  a  stop  to,  for  she  is  an 
honest,  proud  girl,  and  is  ashamed  that  the  man  she  loves  should 
be  victimised.  At  last,  whilst  doing  a  trick  act,  she  nearly  faints, 
and  Fleetwood,  determined  that  she  shall  no  longer  risk  a  life  so 
precious  to  him,  proposes  to  her,  and  is  accepted,  Maroni's  consent 
being  obtained  by  the  promise  of  an  annuity  of  ;^  150.  As  he  is 
to  touch  the  first  instalment  the  day  his  daughter  is  married,  he 
suggests  that  there  should  be  no  delay,  and  that  they  had  better  be 
wedded  on  the  morrow !  Great  Little  Sammy,  whose  plain  little 
offerings  of  flowers  have  been  comparatively  ignored,  we  are  led 
to  suppose,  will  be  comforted  by-and-by  with  the  love  of  Lena, 
another  circus  girl,  who  sees  his  worth,  and  artlessly  lets  him 
know  that  she  appreciates  him.  The  whole  scene  takes  place  in 
the  dressing  tent  attached  to  the  circus,  and  what  strength  there 
is  in  the  comedietta  lies  in  the  faithful  reproduction  of  the  manners 
and  conversation  of  those  engaged  in  circus  life,  and  in  the 
admirably  drawn  character  of  the  mean,  hard-drinking,  and  selfish 
Maroni.  This  part  was  admirably  played  by  W.  Wyes.  He  looked 
the  character  of  the  dissipated  ringmaster  of  the  old  school  to  the 
life,  and  his  scraps  of  plays,  delivered  in  an  ultra-tragic  manner, 
were  highly  amusing.  As  a  picture  of  a  girl  brought  up  in  the 
rough,  hard  life  of  a  travelling  circus,  Jenny  Dawson's  Rosabel 
was  very  effective.  Artistically  her  reading  was  a  correct  one, 
but  the  general  public  would  probably  have  liked  her  to  have 
shown  a  little  more  feeling.  Gerald  Gurney  played  firmly,  and 
in  a  manly,  honest  way,  as  Mr.  Owen  Fleetwood.  Ernest  Cosham 
was  amusing,  and  yet  at  times  almost  pathetic,  as  the  clown 
Sammy;  and  Lena  was  a  very  nice  engaging  girl  in  Helen 
Lambert's  hands.  Master  G.  Holmes  was  a  judiciously  cheeky 
tiger,"  and  E.  Copping,  J.  R  Hale,  and  H.  Hudson  gave  us  a 
good  idea  of  the  sayings  and  doings  of  circus  grooms  when 
behind  the  scenes.  There  is  some  good  writing  in  Mr.  Warren's 
play,  which  was  received  with  favour,  the  principals  in  the  cast 
being  honoured  with  a  double  call.  Ten  days  after  the  production 
Mrs.  Stannard  (John  Strange  Winter)  claimed  the  right  to  the 
title,  and  the  author  courteously  rechristened  his  piece  Rosabel^ 
under  which  title  it  was  played  from  that  time. 

22nd.     E.  S.  Willard  sailed  for  America. 

2Sth.  Avenue. — The  Fiat  of  the  Gods,  by  Leonard  Outram. 
The  author  would  have  acted  more  wisely  perhaps  had  he 
refrained  from  endeavouring  to  reduce  to  one  act  the  powerful 
situations  and  to  an  extent  involved  plot  which  assured  him 
such   an  American  success  in   Galba,  the   Gladiator^  his  five-act 


« 


1 66  The  Fiat  of  the  Gods.  [August,  1891. 

play.  In  the  short  space  of  thirty-five  minutes  it  is  almost 
impossible  for  an  author  to  do  justice  to  his  subject  and  to 
himself,  to  show  the  influences  that  are  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  noble  Flavian  before  he  decides  to  manumit  all  his  slaves. 
As  judged  by  his  words  and  actions  in  the  "  idyl,"  he  gives  us 
but  the  idea  of  a  sensuous  voluptuary,  urged  to  do  a  great  action 
solely  through  his  love  for  Neodamia.  Galba,  again,  a  leader  of 
the  people,  and  a  grand  one,  as  his  speeches  would  lead  us  to 
suppose,  writhing  at  the  tyranny  exercised  over  them,  and  appa- 
rently prepared  to  give  his  life  and  even  that  of  his  daughter  to 
liberate  his  fellow-citizens,  almost  suddenly  changes  from  the 
Roman  father  to  a  soft-hearted  forgiving  being,  whose  abrupt 
volteface  produces  in  his  audience  a  feeling  akin  to  contempt  for 
him.  And  Faustina,  a  proud  and  pitiless  queen  and  sensual 
woman,  of  a  sudden  becomes  ennobled  in  our  estimation  by 
maternal  love  for  her  son,  and  forgets  her  rank,  her  new-bom 
passion  for  Flavian,  everything,  to  crouch  at  the  feet  of  a  slave 
and  beg  of  him  the  life  of  the  young  Caesar.  To  explain  con- 
sistently the  changes  wrought  in  the  feelings  of  the  principal 
characters  requires  more  time,  and  the  play  more  development 
The  story  arises  from  a  prophecy  sent  forth  by  the  oracles  that 
the  lives  of  Neodamia  and  the  young  Caesar  are  closely  inter- 
twined— should  Neodamia  die,  so  will  Faustina's  son.  The 
Empress  has  conceived  a  passion  for  Flavian,  and  has  determined 
that  he  shall,  with  her,  rule  the  destinies  of  Rome.  He  has, 
however,  given  his  heart  to  Neodamia,  one  of  his  slaves,  and  that 
he  may  marry  a  free  woman,  and  at  her  entreaties,  liberates  not 
only  herself,  but  all  his  slaves,  and  refuses  the  hand  of  the 
Empress.  She,  not  to  be  baulked  of  her  desire,  determines  on 
the  death  of  Neodamia,  and  orders  Galba,  the  gladiator,  to 
despatch  her.  His  reward  shall  be  the  recovery  of  his  daughter, 
stolen  from  him  years  before.  He  is  about  to  stab  the  girl,  when 
he  discovers  that  she  is  his  own  child.  He  has  suffered  much  from 
the  cruelty  of  the  Empress  in  the  past :  his  wife  has  been  foully 
murdered  in  his  very  presence  at  her  commands ;  his  life  has  been 
a  lonely  one  ;  his  friends — the  people — are  downtrodden  and 
oppressed.  In  the  disorder  that  will  arise  from  the  death  of 
Caesar,  he  foresees  the  opportunity  for  the  people  to  rise  and 
assert  their  strength,  and,  even  though  at  the  cost  of  his  child's 
life,  he  can  be  avenged  of  all  his  wrongs ;  his  patriotism  and  his 
revenge  urge  him  to  Neodamia's  death,  but  he  is  not  proof 
against  the  pleadings  of  Faustina,  The  Empress,  casting  aside 
her  haughtiness,  her  obduracy,  and  even  her  passion,  shows  herself 


August,  1891.1  The  Fiat  of  the  Gods,  167 

in  the  nobler  character  of  the  mother.  She  prays  as  woman  only 
can  pray  in  such  a  cause  at  the  feet  of  Galba,  the  slave  ;  and  her 
tears  and  entreaties  prevailing,  he  allows  his  natural  feelings  as  a 
parent  to  master  him  ;  and  so  Rome  may  suffer,  but  his  child  will 
at  least  be  happy.  This  spoils  in  a  degree  the  character  of  Galba 
the  patriot,  and  the  audience  should  be  shown  the  emptiness  of 
the  chances  of  a  rising  or  the  hollowness  of  its  leaders,  to  excuse 
his  weakness.  Austin  Melford  gave  a  very  fine  rendering  of 
Galba,  swayed  alternately  by  the  memory  of  his  own  and  his 
countrymen's  wrongs,  by  the  tender  recollections  of  his  fondly 
loved  wife  and  the  struggle  going  on  within  him  between  the 
love  for  his  newly  recovered  daughter  and  his  desire  for  revenge. 
His  elocution  was  grand  and  impassioned,  and  he  looked  the 
character  to  perfection.  Frances  Ivor  shared  with  him  the 
honour,  for  this  actress  is  one  of  the  very  few  of  the  present  day 
that  can  sustain  a  tragic  character,  more  particularly  of  the 
ancient  type,  and  can  yet  remain  the  woman,  with  all  her  strength 
and  weakness.  Acton  Bond's  Flavian  was  played,  I  understand, 
in  accordance  with  the  author's  instructions.  As  such  the 
instructions  were  faithfully  carried  out,  but  the  result  was  a 
contradiction  ;  the  actions  were  those  of  a  man  of  noble  heart : 
the  manner  and  delivery  were  those  of  an  idle  voluptuary. 
Sybil  Baird  was  colourless  as  Neodamia.  Much,  we  may  add, 
of  Leonard  Outram's  verse  was  to  be  admired.  The  following 
lines  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  sample.  They  are  supposed  to  be 
delivered  by  Flavian  as  he  perceives  Neodamia  approaching : — 

**  I  will  seek  her  straight 
Nay,  she  comes  yonder,  like  a  flower  that  floats 
On  Tiber's  bosom,  vet  more  fair  and  pure 
In  circumstance  unlovely  and  obscure. 
Her  matchless  beauty  and  her  virgin  truth 
Have  seized  upon  mv  heart.    My  manhood  springs 
Like  Phoenix  from  the  ashes  of  my  past, 
Touched  by  her  soul's  pure  fire,  and  bids  me  live 
For  higher,  nobler  things.    Till  now  my  mind 
Grovelled  beneath  the  senses'  appetite ; 
But  since  my  Neodamia  entered  there 
Love  seems  a  new-bom  god,  with  shinii^  lamp 
To  show  how  vile  is  vice.     Vesta  herself 
Comes  from  Olympus  down  to  build  her  shrine 
Within  my  portals." 

On  the  same  evening  Lion  Margrave,  who  is  said  to  havtf  had 
some  experience  in  Australia  and  in  the  provinces,  essayed  the 
title  rdle  in  Othello,  a  most  presumptuous  undertaking  on  his  part, 
for  he  possessed  no  qualification,  except  a  voice  of  some  power 
and  quality,  that  could  justify  him  in  presenting  himself  before  a 
London  audience  in  such  a  character.  Frances  Ivor,  though  a  gentle 


l68  NefPs  Chum.  CAugdst,  1891. 

Desdemona,  was  not  seen  to  advantage.  The  lago  of  George 
Hughes  was  not  without  merit  The  Cassio  of  H.  A.  Saintsbury 
had  distinctly  good  points,  and  W.  R.  Staveley  was  more  than 
acceptable  as  Brabantio  and  Montano,  which  parts  he  doubled. 

27th.  Globe. — Neifs    Chum^  comedy   drama    in    three   acts. 
David  Christie  Murray's  novels  have  been  so  much  admired  that 
curiosity  was  naturally  aroused   when  it  was  announced  that  he 
would  appear  in  London,  not  only  as  a  dramatist,  but  as  an  actor. 
In  both  characters  he  acquitted  himself  well     His  play  NecCs 
Chum  is  perhaps  not  startlingly  original  in  plot,  and   may  be 
described    as   essentially   a   novelist's   drama;    for    though    the 
dialogue  is  for  the  most  part  excellent,  it  is  a  little  redundant, 
and  all  the  interest  is  comparatively  retrospective.     It  hinges  not 
so  much  on  what  takes  place  on  the  stage  as  upon  that  which 
has  happened  before  the  play  begins.     Mr.  John  Furlong,  who  has 
settled  in  New  Zealand,  endeavours  to  pass  himself  ofT  as  a  pattern 
of  everything  that   is  good,   and  dubs   himself  "Square  Jack." 
He  has  been  in  the  past  the  swindling  confederate  of  a  so-called 
General    Draycott,  U.S.A.,  and  of  Stuart   Willoughby.      These 
three  have  been  instrumental  in  causing  the  hero,  Ned  Fellowes, 
innocently  to  pass  some  forged  notes.     For  this  act  he  has  been 
disgraced,  and  has  emigrated,  bringing  with  him  his  little  proteg^, 
Harold,  known  as  "  Ned's  chum."     The  General  has  repented  on 
his  deathbed,  and  partly  written  a  confession  that  he  has  robbed 
some  one  of  ;f  8,000,  but  dies  before  he  can  set  down  the  name  of 
the  person  he  has  defrauded.     His  young  widow,  Lucy  Draycott, 
anxious  to  make  restitution,  employs  Stuart  Willoughby,  a  private 
detective,  to  discover  the  person   to  whom  the  sum  should  be 
repaid.     Willoughby,  seeing  the  opportunity  of  enriching  himself, 
on  the  promise  that  he  shall  have  half  the  sum  asserts  that  his 
confederate,  Furlong,  is  the  man  entitled  to  it.     Fellowes  and  the 
widow  are  attached  to  each  other,  but  he  will  not  propose  so  long 
as  the  stain  rests  upon  his  character.    Furlong  has  invested  almost 
all  his  belongings  in  the  "  Great  Expectations  "  gold-mine.     He 
hears  that  the  mine  is  worthless,  and  so  to  get  rid  of  his  liability 
on    the  shares  he  pretends  that  he   feels  bound   to   refund  to 
Mr.  Brocklehurst,  Lucy's  guardian,  an  amount  that  he  (Furlong) 
considers  has  been  unjustly  awarded  him  in  a  lawsuit.     Brockle- 
hurst had   borrowed  of  Lucy  the  sum,  necessary  to  satisfy  the 
judgment,  and   so  transfers  the  shares,  with  which  Furlong  has 
repaid  him,  to  Lucy.     She  is  consequently  supposed  to  be  ruined  ; 
but   Furlong  has  been  caught  in  his  own  trap.     The  cry  as  to 
the  worthlessness  of  the  mine  has  only  been  set  up  by  speculators; 


August,  iSqx.i  AfTah-na-Pogue,  169 

the  shares  are  of  immense  value ;  and  Fellowes,  who  has  learnt 
from  his  friend  Dr.  Wentworth  that  by  a  change  of  circumstances 
his  character  has  been  cleared,  offers  himself  to  the  pretty  widow, 
thinking  she  is  poor,  and  finds  when  he  is  accepted  that  he  will 
marry  a  very  wealthy  woman.  Furlong  is  so  enraged  at  his 
rival's  success — for  he  too  has  been  courting  Mrs.  Draycott — that 
after  a  quarrel  he  shoots  at  Fellowes  ;  but  little  Harold,  who  has 
been  watching  him,  jumps  from  a  balcony  into  his  chum's  arms 
and  receives  the  bullet  intended  for  him.  Fortunately  the  wound 
turns  out  to  be  but  slight,  and  Furlong  and  Willoughby  are 
handed  over  to  justice.  Christie  Murray  must  be  a  bom  actor, 
for  his  performance  as  Furlong  was  admirable — it  was  never 
overdone,  and  was  not  at  all  the  conventional  stage  villain.  He 
had  the  greatest  assistance  from  H.  Reeves  Smith  as  Ned  Fellowes, 
and  from  David  James,  jun.,  as  Stuart  Willoughby,  a  rascally  but 
canny  Scot,  a  character  sustained  with  the  quaintest  humour. 
Master  Leo  Byrne,  a  very  little  fellow  of  some  eight  years,  who 
appeared  as  Harold  in  Australia  when  the  piece  was  produced 
there,  resumed  here  his  original  character,  and  was  delightfully 
natural  and  easy;  he  made  the  hit  of  the  evening.  A.  Wood 
was  a  genial  Mr.  Brocklehurst,  George  Alison  a  manly  Dr. 
Wentworth,  and  Rose  Dearing  amusing  as  Araminta,  a  smart 
American  soubrette.  Violet  Raye  as  Lucy  Draycott  looked 
handsome,  but  was  stagey.  The  cast  altogether  was  a  good  one, 
and  the  company  was  called  for  after  each  act.  Christie  Murray,  in 
response  to  the  call  for  the  author,  excused  himself  from  expressing 
more  than  his  heartfelt  thanks  on  such  a  trying  occasion  as  his 
first  appearance  as  dramatist  and  actor.  NetTs  Chum  was  most 
favourably  received  ;  and  it  interested  the  audience  thoroughly. 

28th. — German  translations  were  given  of  CaptainSwift  at  the 
Victoria  Theatre,  Magdeburg,  and  of  The  Profligate  at  the  Lessing 
Theatre,  Berlin.  The  arrangements  for  these  productions  were 
carried  through  by  Sylvain  Mayer. 

29th.  Princess's  (revival). — Arrah-na-Poguey  certainly  the 
second  in  merit  of  Dion  Boucicault's  dramas,  was  revived 
on  this  night  with  considerable-  success.  Originally  tried  in 
Dublin  in  November,  1 864,  it  was  produced  at  this  theatre  on 
March  22nd,  1865,  with  the  audior  and  Mrs.  Boucicault 
(Agnes  Robertson)  in  the  parts  of  Shaun-the-Post  and  Arrah 
Meelish.  The  play  was  revived  at  the  same  house  on 
Sept.  30th,  1 867,  when  these  two  resumed  their  original  charac- 
ters. At  the  Adelphi  on  Aug.  12th,  1876,  they  were  filled 
respectively  by  J,  C.  Williamson    and   Maggie    Moore,  and  on 


I/O  Arrah-na'Pogue,  [August,  iBt. 

July  2Sth,  1885,  by  Charles  Sullivan  and  Mary  Rorke.  The 
character  of  Beamish  McCoul  has  been  played  by  W.  Rignold,  H. 
Vandenhoff,  G.  F.  Neville,  William  Terriss,  and  Charles  Glenney ; 
that  of  Colonel  O'Grady  by  John  Brougham,  George  Vining,  Samuel 
Emery,  and  J.  D.  Beveridge  ;  and  that  of  Michael  Feeny  by 
Dominick  Murray,  Shiel  Barry,  and  Robert  Pateman.  Fanny  Power 
has  been  represented  by  "  Pattie "  Oliver,  Fanny  Hughes  (Mrs. 
Gaston  Murray),  Miss  Hudspeth,  and  Cissy  Grahame.  On  its  first 
production  at  the  Princess's  the  play  ran  uninterruptedly  for  six 
months.  A  translation  into  French  by  the  author,  entitled  Jean 
la  Paste  ;  ou,  Les  Noces  Irlandaises^  was  produced  at  the  Theatre 
de  la  Gaiet^,  Paris,  in  the  spring  of  1 866,  and  ran  for  a  hundred 
and  forty  nights  ;  and  the  play  has  been  successful  all  over 
England,  the  United  States,  and  Australia.  This  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at.  Humour,  pathos,  and  incident  are  happily  inter- 
mingled ;  the  first  is  so  rich,  the  second  so  tender  and  natural, 
and  the  last  springs  so  naturally  from  the  events,  without  appear- 
ing to  be  dragged  in  to  make  a  sensation  scene.  The  story  is  of 
the  time  of  the  rebellion  in  '98.  Beamish  McCoul  is  a  young 
squire,  imprisoned  for  participation  in  the  outbreak.  His  tenants 
wish  to  communicate  to  him  a  means  of  escape,  and  effect  this 
through  the  means  of  a  visit  of  Arrah  Meelish  to  him  in  prison, 
when,  in  kissing  him,  she  passes  through  her  lips  the  written  plan  ; 
hence  she  is  known  as  Arrah-na-Pogue,  or  "  Arrah  of  the  Kiss." 
Beamish  gets  away,  but  after  a  time  returns  to  Ireland  to  marry 
his  sweetheart,  Fanny  Power.  Michael  Feeny,  process-server  and 
informer,  collects  the  rents  of  his  sequestered  estates,  and  McCoul 
waylays  him,  taking  from  him  the  proceeds,  part  of  which  he 
distributes  among  his  adherents,  and  a  part  he  gives  to  Arrah 
Meelish  as  a  wedding  gift  on  her  marriage  with  Shaun-the-Post 
The  notes  are  traced  to  her,  and  as  she  will  not  betray  McCoul, 
her  foster-brother,  things  are  likely  to  go  hard  with  her,  when 
Shaun  takes  on  himself  the  charge.  He  is  tried  by  court-martial 
(a  most  interesting  scene),  sentenced  to  death,  and  escapes  from 
his  cell  by  climbing  an  ivy -clad  wall ;  this  forms  an  exciting 
episode.  His  release  is  obtained  through  McCoul's  giving  himself 
up  to  the  Secretary  for  Ireland,  who  has  already  signed  a  pardon 
for  the  hot-headed  young  fellow  on  the  petition  of  The  O'Grady, 
a  noble-minded  Irish  gentleman.  Wilfred  E.  Shine  played  Shaun- 
the-Post  with  a  quiet  but  racy  humour  that  was  amusing,  and 
quite  suited  to  the  brave-hearted  simple  lover  ;  Arrah  Meelish 
was  entrusted  to  Ella  Terriss,  and  was  a  great  undertaking  for  so 
young  an  actress,  but  she  acquitted  herself  very,  capably  ;    Henry 


August.  1891.]  My  Brothcf^s  Stster.  171 

Neville  was  breezy  and  light-hearted  as  The  O'Grady,  a  type  of 
Charles  Lever's  gentleman  of  that  day  ;  Arthur  Dacre  was  the 
romantic  Beamish  McCoul,  and  Amy  Roselle  his  rather  mistrust- 
ful sweetheart,  Fanny  Power  ;  Michael  Feeny  found  an  excellent 
representative  in  Charles  Ashford  ;  Bassett  Roe  was  impressive  as 
Major  Coffin  ;  and  some  effective  little  touches  were  introduced 
by  Henry  Bedford  as  the  Sergeant.  John  Carter  was  a  polished 
man  of  the  world,  and  humorous  withal,  as  Chief  Secretary  ;  and 
Mrs.  Carter  was  droll  as  the  Irish  beldame  Katty.  Considering  the 
soldiers  are  supposed  to  be  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  the  chorus 
of  the  rebellious  song  "  The  Wearing  of  the  Green  "  should  not 
have  been  bawled  out  at  the  top  of  the  voice.  With  this  excep- 
tion, S.  Herberte-Basing  was  to  be  congratulated  on  the  revival. 
The  part  of  Fanny  Power  was  afterwards  played  by  Julia 
Warden. 

31st.  Grand. — Minnie  Palmer  reappeared  in  London  in  My 
Brother^s  Sister  with  great  success.  Among  those  who  supported 
the  American  actress  may  be  mentioned  for  their  special  merit 
W.  Farren,  jun.,  as  Henri  de  la  Bernardot,  Herbert  Sparling  as 
Waldcoffer  Grosserby,  and  Josephine  St.  Ange  as  Mrs.  Livingston. 

31st.  Sadler's  Wells. — Merrie  Prince  Hal,  burlesque  in  two 
acts,  written  by  Walter  Thomas,  music  by  C.  C.  Corri. 

During  this  month  there  was  a  considerable  amount  of  corre- 
spondence in  the  newspapers  on  the  subject  of  authors  and  actor- 
managers.  E.  S.  Willard,  as  one  of  the  actor- managers,  who  has 
had  considerable  business  transactions  with  Henry  Arthur  Jones 
as  an  author,  commented  very  pertinently  on  the  latter*s  complaint 
as  to  the  way  his  plays  have  been  treated  by  "  actor-managers," 
and  the  excess  of  profit  they  have  taken  for  their  share  against 
the  sums  he  has  netted.  Mr.  Willard  does  not  like  generalities  ; 
he  asked  for  the  names  of  those  who  had  so  treated  Mr.  Jones ; 
and  though  writing  in  no  hostile  spirit,  Mr.  Willard  pointed  out 
some  fallacies  in  Mr.  Jones's  reasonings,  defended  the  actor-mana- 
gers as  a  class,  and  cleverly  hinted  that  when  Mr.  Jones  is  his 
own  manager  at  his  own  theatre  (for  the  time),  and  produces 
his  own  play,  with  his  own  (selected)  company,  he  will  not  find 
the  multifarious  responsibilities  quite  a  bed  of  roses,  and  that 
the  two-third  profits  of  the  manager  to  the  one-third  of  the 
author  are,  after  all,  hardly  earned,  taking  into  consideration 
the  anxiety,  responsibility,  and  risk  of  capital  incurred  by  the 
former. 

During  this  month  Sheriff  Mr.  Augustus  Harris  V^fW^Althe 
honour  of  knighthood  from  her  Majesty.  ^^^^    ^  ^ 


172  A  Sailor^ s  Knot,  [Sbft..  1891. 


IX. 

September. 

I  St  Parkhurst. —  Wild  Violets,  one-act  drama  by  W.  H. 
Maxwell. 

2nd.  The  San  Martin  Theatre,  Buenos  Ayres,  totally  destroyed 
by  fire.     Signor  Spinelli  burnt  to  death. 

4th.  R.  D'Oyly  Carte's  principal  Mikado  touring  company 
appeared  before  her  Majesty  at  Balmoral  by  Royal  command. 
The  Mikado,  Thomas  Redmond ;  Nanki-Poo,  Richard  Clarke ; 
Ko-Ko,  George  Thome ;  Pooh-Ba,  Fred  Billington ;  Pish-Tush, 
J.  J.  Fitzgibbon  ;  Yum-Yum,  Rose  Hervey ;  Pitti-Sing,  Haidee 
Crofton ;  Peep-Boo,  Alice  Pennington ;  Katisha,  Kate  Forster. 
E.   H.  Beresford  was  the  business  manager. 

5th.  Drury  Lane. — A  Sailof's  Knot.  Mr.  Henry  Pettitt 
happily  blended  in  his  new  drama  the  doings  of  the  sister-services, 
good  comic  characters,  and  an  interesting  story.  The  first  act  is, 
indeed,  a  complete  little  play  in  itself;  but  from  it  spring  fresh 
incidents  that  keep  the  attention  riveted  till  the  fall  of  the  curtain. 
"  A  Sailor's  Knot  "  is  the  tie  that  binds  two  foster-brothers,  who  each 
in  turn  endeavours  to  make  some  sacrifice  for  the  happiness  of  the 
other.  Marie  Delaunay  is  the  ward  of  her  cousin.  Count  Andr6 
Delaunay,  a  French  refugee.  He  has  his  title  restored  to  him, 
but  this  is  comparatively  worthless  to  him  unless  he  can  secure 
the  estates,  and  these  are  the  property  of  Marie,  whom  he  is 
therefore  most  anxious  to  marry.  She  has  plighted  herself  to 
Jack  Westward,  a  naval  officer,  who,  on  leaving  her  some  five 
.years  before,  has  entrusted  her  to  his  foster-brother,  Harry 
Westward.  Jack  Westward  is  reported  dead  Marie  was  but 
little  better  than  a  child  when  he  left.  Constant  communication 
with  Harry  has  begotten  love  between  them,  and  Harry  has  just 
asked  her  to  become  his  wife  when  Jack  Westward  returns.  He 
has  been  wrecked  and  kept  prisoner  by  savages.  Peter  Pennycad 
owes  a  debt  of  vengeance  to  both  the  brothers,  and  he  now  sees  a 
way  of  paying  it  and  at  the  same  time  of  recovering  the  large 
sums  of  money  he  has  advanced  to  the  Count  He  informs  Jack 
of  the  relations  existing  between  his  former  sweetheart  and  Harry  ; 
but  his  bolt  misses  its  mark,  for  Jack  overhears  the  parting  inter- 
view between  the  two,  in  which  they  agree  that  Marie  is  Jack's  by 
right,  and  so  he  unselfishly  pretends  that  he  has  changed,  frees 
Marie,  and  makes  them  happy.  Harry  rejoins  his  ship,  the 
Dauntless ;    the  .war  with  France  has  recommenced  ;  the  vessel 


Sept.,  i89x.]  A    Satlof^S   KflOt,  1 73 

wants  hands ;  press-gangs  are  sent  out,  and  Pennycad  informs 
Lieutenant  Jack  Westward  that  a  number  of  good  sailors  will  be 
present  at  a  wedding  to  take  place  at  Old  Stepney  Church, 
This  is  to  be  the  marriage  of  Harry  and  Marie ;  and  just  as  they 
are  about  to  enter  the  porch  all  the  males  of  the  wedding  party 
are  impressed.  We  next  see  them  on  board  the  Dauntless. 
The  impressed  men  mutiny,  and  Harry,  their  spokesman,  strikes 
Lieutenant  Westward  in  revenge  for  his  supposed  treachery. 
Harry  is  to  be  flogged  for  this ;  he  is  actually  "  seized  up  "  to  the 
grating,  when  Jack  pleads  for  him,  and  eventually  wins  a  pardon 
for  Harry  by  inducing  the  mutineers  to  do  their  duty  cheerfully. 
The  third  act  takes  place  in  France,  at  the  Ch&teau  Delaunay« 
Jack  and  Harry  have  both  been  taken  prisoners,  but  have  escaped. 
The  Count  Delaunay  persuades  Marie  to  go  through  the  form  of 
marriage  with  him,  she  supposing  that  Harry  Westward  is  dead. 
Jack,  having  heard  of  the  contemplated  ceremony,  has  hurried  to 
the  spot  to  try  and  prevent  it ;  he  is  faint  from  illness,  and  is 
drugged  with  a  preparation  of  Indian  hemp,  which  produces  in 
him  a  forgetfulness  of  anything  that  occurs.  In  his  struggle  with 
the  Count  a  pistol  goes  off,  and  the  Count  is  killed  ;  but  Harry, 
who  has  also  arrived  at  the  chateau  to  claim  Marie,  is  accused  by 
Pennycad  of  the  crime,  Harry  having  been  the  last  person  seen  to 
leave  the  chiteau.  The  English  commanding  officer  is  determined 
that  examples  shall  be  made  for  any  excesses  committed.  Harry 
is  tried  by  court-martial  and  condemned  to  be  shot  The  firing 
party  is  drawn  up  and  preparing  to  fire,  when  Jack  rushes 
in ;  his  memory  has  returned ;  he  charges  himself  with  being 
the  innocent  cause  of  Delaunay's  death.  Harry  is  released,  and 
may  now  look  forward  to  a  union  with  his  betrothed.  Penny- 
cad is  convicted  of  being  a  spy  in  the  French  service,  and  it  is 
certain  that  justice  will  be  dealt  out  to  him  for  all  his  misdoings, 
and  the  curtain  falls  on  the  strains  of  the  military  bands  enlivening 
the  troops  on  their  march  to  Paris.  All  this  is  the  melodramatic 
side  of  the  play  ;  but  Mr.  Pettitt  is  too  good  a  judge  of  what 
Drury  Lane  audiences  like  not  to  give  them  plenty  to  laugh  at  in 
the  comic  love  scenes  that  take  place  between  Joe  Strawbones,  a 
natty  young  waterman  with  a  little  knowledge  of  grammar  and  a 
very  large  heart  and  Margery  Briarwood,  on  whom  he  bestows  it ; 
she  being  a  bewitching  but  rather  obdurate  pilot's  daughter,  who  is 
finally  conquered  by  an  amusing  ruse  that  her  lover  plays  upon  her. 
The  play  afforded  Sir  Augustus  Harris  every  opportunity  for 
giving  effective  scenery  and  staging.  The  views  of  Wapping  Old 
Stairs,  Stepney  Old  Church,  the  deck  of  the  Datmtles^^^^y^he 


174  My  Sweetheart.  [Sept..x89i. 

sailing  of  the  fleet,  the  English  headquarters  (in  a  French  town), 
and  "  On  the  Road  to  Paris,"  a  beautiful  forest  glade  at  early 
morning,  were  the  perfection  of  scenic  art  The  period  of  the 
play,  just  before  and  after  Waterloo,  enabled  the  management  to 
reproduce  the  uniforms  and  quaint  dresses  of  the  time  in  a 
picturesque  manner,  and  the  grouping  of  the  various  tableaux 
called  forth  loud  and  frequent  applause.  A  Sailors  Knot  was 
originally  written  for  Charles  Warner ;  it  is  not  surprising,  there- 
fore, that  he  is  constantly  in  evidence,  and  has  some  very  long 
speeches.  These  were  later  with  advantage  curtailed,  and  by 
their  more  rapid  delivery  they  gained  in  force.  Mr.  Warner's 
performance  well  represented  a  manly,  generous  sailor  as  Jack 
Westward.  Charles  Glenney  as  Harry  Westward  played  very 
finely  indeed,  whether  in  his  more  tender  or  vigorous  moments ; 
Jessie  Millward  was  a  graceful  and  sweetly  womanly  heroine  as 
Marie  Delaunay ;  Harry  Nicholls  and  Fanny  Brough  as  Joe 
Strawbones  and  Margery  Briarwood  were  bound  to  produce 
laughter ;  Edmund  Gurney  was  effective  as  the  more  polished 
villain  Count  Delaunay ;  and  Julian  Cross  was  a  thoroughly 
malignant  scoundrel  as  Pennycad,  and  was  powerful  in  his  abject 
terror.  William  Lugg  and  Frank  Mac  Vicars  made  their  parts 
prominent  by  their  excellent  acting  of  Captain  Vernon,  R.N.,  and 
Colonel  Scarlett  A  Sailor's  Knot  was  a  complete  success,  and 
one  of  the  best  dramas  of  the  kind  that  have  been  produced  under 
Sir  Augustus  Harris's  management.  During  the  run  Fanny 
Brough's  part  was  played  by  Lucia  Harwood,  and  afterwards  by 
Kate  James. 

7th.  Grand. — From  this  date  till  Saturday,  Sept  19th,  in- 
clusive, the  Grand  Theatre,  Islington,  was  occupied  by  Henry 
Irving,  Ellen  Terry,  and  the  Lyceum  company.  During  their 
stay,  from  Sept.  7th  to  9th  The  Lyons  Mail  (by  special  desire) 
was  played  ;  from  the  loth  to  the  12th  Ellen  Terry  appeared 
in  Nance  Oldfield,  and  Mr.  Irving  in  The  Bells  \  from  the  14th 
to  the  17th  Olivia  formed  the  programme,  and  on  the  i8th  and 
19th  The  Merchant  of  Venice.  During  the  entire  fortnight  the 
house  was  crowded. 

7th.  Vaudeville. — Minnie  Palmer  and  the  John  R.  Rogers 
company  commenced  a  four  weeks'  season  with  My  Sweetheart^ 
the  musical  play  in  which  the  heroine  made  her  first  appearance 
in  London  at  the  Grand  Theatre,  Sept  17th,  1883.  Mr.  Gill- 
piece  seemed  to  give  as  much  satisfaction  as  ever ;  Miss  Palme 
proved  as  attractive,  as  musical,  and  as  light-footed  as  of  yore  ; 
Jane  Grey  resumed  her  original  character  of  Mrs.  Hatzell  ;  C.  J. 


Sbpt.,  1891.]  HamleU  175 

Murton  sang  pleasantly  as  Tony  Faust ;  W.  Farren,  jun.,  gave 
an  excellent  character  sketch  of  Joe  Shotwell,  the  broken-down 
**  sport "  ;  Herbert  Sparling  provided  an  original  and  amusing 
picture  of  the  old  "  dude,"  Dudley  Harcourt ;  George  Bernage 
was  the  pipe-smoking  Farmer  Hatzell,  W.  J.  Robertson  the 
kindly  Dr.  Oliver,  Harry  Halley  the  negro  servant,  George 
Washington  Snow,  and  Mary  Lewes  the  adventuress.  Miss 
Fleeter.  As  a  first  piece  William  Howard's  comedietta  Well 
Matched  \f2&  played.  W.  Farren,  jun.,  was  very  amusing  as  the 
empty-headed  Earl  of  Bamford  ;  H.  Halley  was  professional  as 
the  lawyer,  Mr.  Blinker  ;  and  Josephine  St.  Ange  acted  with 
plenty  of  spirit  and  go  the  ambitious,  match-making,  wealthy 
American  widow,  Mrs.  Nye  Count  Smith. 

7  th.  Sadler's  Wells. — The  Hand  of  Jtistice,  four-act  drama 
by  Max  Goldberg. 

7th.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kendal  appeared  in  Liverpool  in  A  White 
Lie  (revived). 

9th.  Hamlet  H.  Beerbohm  Tree  appeared  for  the  first  time  as 
the  Prince  of  Denmark  at  the  Theatre  Royal,  Manchester.  The 
general  verdict  appears  to  have  been  most  favourable.  There  was  in 
Mr.  Tree's  reading  evidence  of  originality  of  conception  of  the  cha- 
racter in  many  points.  He  conveyed  the  idea  that  Hamlet's  nature 
was  originally  a  soft  and  sweet  one,  and  that  he  felt  genuine  love 
for  Ophelia.  Hamlet  has  to  struggle  with  his  natural  weakness 
of  character,  and  force  himself  to  become  strong  during  and  after 
his  meeting  with  the  Ghost,  and  it  is  from  his  first  encounter  with 
the  spirit  that  he  commences  to  feign  madness,  an  aberration  of 
intellect  that  gradually  becomes  real  from  excess  of  strain  on  a 
mind  scholarly,  mystic,  but  weak  and  easily  impressed.  Hamlet 
suffers  from  intense  melancholy  ;  his  madness  first  becomes  genuine 
and  raging  in  the  scene  where  Polonius  is  killed  behind  the 
curtain,  but  relapses  again  into  the  haunting  sadness,  once  more 
to  burst  out  in  the  players'  scene,  during  which  the  actor  worked 
himself  up  into  such  a  frenzy  of  passion  as  to  enthral  his  audience  ; 
and  then  the  melancholy  which  throughout  possesses  Hamlet 
returns,  and  is  intensified  in  the  graveyard,  where,  turning  from 
Ophelia's  last  resting-place,  he  shed  bitter  tears.  During  the  first 
two  acts,  the  judgment  on  Mr.  Tree's  acting  appears  to  have  been 
hanging  in  the  balance  as  to  whether  a  new  Hamlet  that  might 
be  ranked  amongst  the  great  had  arisen,  but  the  last  three  acts 
decided  completely  in  the  actor's  favour.  To  quote  the  words  of 
the  Manchester  Guardian^  a  journal  whose  criticisms  are  of  sterling 
merit:  "Mr.  Tree's  conception  of  Hamlet,  th^^q^^ J^^ (as  appears 


176  A  Night  Off;  or,  A  Page  from  Balzac.         [Sept..  1891. 

to  us,  that  of  an  amiable  and  melancholy  mystic,  constantly  thrown 
back  on  the  sense  of  his  own  desolation,  and  only  rising  by  a 
tremendous  strain  to  heights  of  resentment  and  resolution,  which 
are  never  sustained  beyond  the  moment,  and  whose  recurrence 
leaves  him  each  time  at  a  lower  level  of  tired  melancholy  than 
before.  We  have  never  seen  the  weakness  of  Hamlet  presented, 
if  we  may  use  the  paradox,  with  more  strength.  The  highest 
point  of  Mr.  Tree's  achievement  was  reached  in  the  play  scene. 
.  .  .  The  first  two  acts  were  played  without  precision  or  force ; 
then  there  was  a  recovery,  and  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  were 
played  brilliantly  in  every  way.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Tree's  Ophelia  was 
in  the  mad  scene  good  beyond  all  expectation."  Miss  Rose 
Leclercq's  Gertrude  was  one  of  the  best  that  have  l)een  seen  ;  the 
Polonius  of  Mr.  H.  Kemble  was  good,  the  actor  taking  care  to 
remember  that  the  Chamberlain,  though  silly,  was  a  gentleman  ; 
Mr.  Fred  Terry  was  a  success  as  Laertes ;  Mr.  Fred  Harrison 
raised  the  dramatic  value  of  the  King  by  his  admirable  perform- 
ance ;  and  Mr.  Charles  Allan's  humour  as  the  First  Grave-digger 
was  "healthy  and  enjoyable."  Fifteen  years  previous  to  this, 
H.  B.  Tree,  as  an  amateur,  had  played  Polonius  and  First  Grave- 
digger.  Nutcombe  Gould,  then  known  as  "Mr.  Gee,"  was  the 
Horatio ;  Arthur  Helmore,  Guildenstern  ;  Edward  Rose,  First 
Player.  Mrs.  Beerbohm  Tree  had  played  Ophelia  as  an  amateur 
under  the  stage  name  of  Helen  Maude. 

9th.  Death  of  John  Cobbe,  aged  forty-two  years.  For  twelve 
years  acting  manager  to  Wilson  Barrett  at  the  Princess's.  Was 
afterwards  a  theatrical  manager,  both  in  England  and  the  United 
States. 

9th.  Lyceum. — Augustin  Daly's  Company  of  Comedians  com- 
menced their  fifth  season  in  London  with  A  Night  Off ;  or^  A 
Page  from  Balzac^  a  four-act  eccentric  comedy,  adapted  by 
Augustin  Daly  from  the  German  of  Franz  von  Schoenthan.  It 
is  a  play  quite  unworthy  of  the  merits  of  this  talented  company, 
and  was  first  seen  in  London  at  the  Strand  Theatre  Thursday, 
May  27th,  1886,  when  the  Daly  company  made  their  English 
dibut.  Of  the  original  cast  there  were  to  be  found  James  Lewis 
as  Professor  Justinian  Babbit,  John  Drew  as  Jack  Mulberry, 
Charles  Leclercq  as  Marcus  Brutus  Snap,  Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert  as 
Mrs.  Xantippe  Babbit,  and  Ada  Rehan  as  Nisbe.  Otto  Skinner's 
part  of  Harry  Damask  was  now  played  by  Herbert  Gresham, 
that  of  Lord  Mulberry  (then  known  as  "  The  MacMulberry  ")  by 
Charles  Wheatleigh,  instead  of  William  Gilbert ;  and  Angelica 
Damask,  in  which  Virginia  Dreher  shone,  was  now  played  equally 


Sept.,  xSqx.]  A  Royol  DwoTce.  1 77 

effectively  by  handsome  Adelaide  Prince ;  and  Susan,  known  as 
the  "  brassiest "  of  helps,  was  now  represented  by  Isabel  Irving, 
in  place  of  May  Irwin.  The  play  turns  upon  the  scrapes  into 
which  the  Professor  gets  through  writing  a  tragedy  unknown  to 
his  wife,  and  the  mishaps  occurring  on  its  performance.  There  is 
also  an  underplot,  consisting  in  Angelica  Damask's  intense  desire 
that  her  husband  should  have  a  "  past."  To  gratify  her  desire, 
he  fathers  the  peccadilloes  of  Jack  Mulberry.  The  character 
which  stands  out  best  is  that  of  Marcus  Brutus  Snap,  the  manager 
of  a  band  of  strolling  performers,  admirably  played  by  Charles 
Leclercq,  and  there  is  a  good  fortune-telling  and  love  scene 
between  Miss  Rehan  and  Mr.  Drew.  A  Night  Off  was  only  in 
the  bill  till  Friday,  Sept  1 8th,  inclusive. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  during  the  preceding  week  the  Daly 
company  had  appeared  at  the  Vaudeville,  Paris,  in  As  You  Like 
Ity  The  Railroad  of  Love^  School  for  Scandal^  A  Night  Off^  and 
The  Taming  of  the  Shrew. 

During  the  closure  of  the  Lyceum,  Mr.  Irving  had  caused  to 
be  introduced  the  electric  light,  improved  the  gallery,  built  a  new 
saloon,  and  had  effected  various  fresh  entrances  and  exits,  which 
added  much  to  the  comfort  and  safety  of  the  audience. 

loth.  New  Olympic. — A  Royal  Divorce,  by  W.  G.  Wills. 
Unless  an  author  inform  us  that  any  play  of  his  may  be  looked 
upon  as  an  historical  one,  it  is  better  perhaps  to  disconnect 
historical  facts  from  their  dealing  with  any  famous  names.  In 
W.  G.  Wills's  romantic  five-act  drama  entitled  A  Royal  Divorce^ 
which  was  seen  for  the  first  time  in  London  on  this  night,  the 
principal  characters  are  Napoleon  and  his  first  wife,  the  Empress 
Josephine.  Napoleon  is  made  a  constant,  devoted  lover,  and 
only  when  he  is  soured  by  the  knowledge  that  he  has  no  son  to 
inherit  his  dominion  and  greatness  consents  to  divorce  his  first 
wife,  and  even  then  immediately  becomes  passionately  attached 
to  her  again,  and,  looking  upon  her  as  his  guardian  angel,  loves 
her  to  the  last.  Josephine  was  of  swarthy  Creole  complexion ; 
she  is  represented  on  the  Olympic  stage  as  almost  a  flaxen  blonde, 
of  enchanting  sweetness  of  disposition,  and  as  a  visionary  to  whom 
is  given  almost  prophetic  power,  which  she  exercises  on  behalf  of 
the  man  who  cast  her  off,  but  whom  she  worships  to  the  end,  and, 
indeed,  dies  of  a  broken  heart  when,  in  a  sort  of  frenzied  dream, 
she  has  a  vision  of  his  death  at  St  Helena.  Mr.  Wills  shows  in 
the  divorce  scene  an  encounter  between  Josephine  and  Marie 
Louise,  in  which  the  new  Empress  exhibits  anything  fa«it  queenly 
dignity,  but  which  might  be  made  a  fine  scene  in  capable  hands. 

12 


178  Yvetie.  [S«rT.,i89i. 

On  the  news  of  Napoleon's  disaster  at    Moscow    his  Austrian 
consort  is  likely  to  be  torn  to  pieces  by  the  enraged  and  fickle 
Parisian  mob,  but  is  saved  by  the  extraordinary  ma^animity  of 
Josephine,  who  is  the  idol  of  the  people.     We  have  the  baby 
King  of  Rome  pertinaciously  questioning  his  gouvemante  on  the 
meaning   of   divorce ;    and    two   rather   striking    tableaux — one 
representing  Napoleon  on  his  white  charger  at  Waterloo,  and  the 
other  exhibiting  him  in  the  moment  of  his  defeat  and  the  death 
of  Josephine,  which  occupies  the  entire  final  act     The  evil  spirit 
of  the  play  is  the  Marquis  de  Beaumont,  a  fi-devant   lover  of 
Josephine,  a  traitor  and  would-be  murderer,  who  betrays  Napoleon 
at   every   turn ;    and    Talle}Tand,   Marat,    Ney,  Augereau,    and 
Dr.  Corvisart  also  figure  in    the  programme,  but  insignificantly. 
Mr.  Wills  at  times  gives  us  the  language  that  we  expect  of  him  : 
some  of  it  is,  indeed,  excellent  in  its  strength  and  poetry ;  but  the 
work  is  uneven,  and  the  play  is  not  continuous,  but  is  rather  a 
succession  of  events  loosely  strung  together.     As   a   matter  of 
spectacle,  produced  with  the  resources  that  such  houses  as  the 
Lyceum  and  Drury  Lane  possess,  A  Royal  Divorce  would  have 
appealed  to  many.     Indeed,    it   would    become  popular  at    the 
Olympic  if  the  second  and  last  acts  were  considerably  curtailed ; 
the  latter  is  an  anti-climax,  and  for  it  might  with  advantage  be 
substituted  a  tableau.     The  honours  of  the  evening  fell  to  Murray 
Carson,   whose   Napoleon,  as   the   author   represents   him,    was 
romantic,  powerful,  and  moving.     Grace  Hawthorne  gave  a  con- 
ventional rendering  of  a  gentle  constant  woman  as  Josephine,  but 
the  delivery  of  her  lines  was  spasmodic  and  jerky.     This  was  due 
to  indisposition  and  nervousness  on  the  first  night ;  the  actress 
improved  very  much  afterwards.     One  of  the  best-played  parts 
was  that  of  the  Marquis  de  Beaumont  by  G.  W.  Cockbum,  and 
Georgie  Esmond  was  specially  bright  and  sympathetic  as  Stephanie 
de  Beauhamais.      J.  A.  Welch  gave  evidences  of  possessing  low- 
comedy  talent  as  a  drunken  innkeeper.     The  scenery  was  good, 
and  the  uniforms,  supplied  by  Morris,  Angel  and  Son,  were  correct 
and  attractive,  and  Mr.   Henry  Herman  had  evidently  devoted 
much  care  to  the  production  of  the  play. 

1 2th.  Avenue. —  YvetU.  We  were  given  to  understand  that 
Yvette  was  Le  Savoyard  rewritten,  rearranged,  and  altogether 
strengthened.  Under  its  original  name  Carr^  and  Redmond's 
play  without  words  was  not  a  success  by  any  means,  and  "  fadlure  " 
must  be  the  word  used  with  regard  to  the  production  at  the 
Avenue  under  Gaston  Mayer's  management.  Had  it  been  seen 
before  the  Prince  of  Wales's   success,  it  might — I   only  say    it 


SBPr.,i89i.]  False  Evidence.  179 


might — ^have  been  favourably  received,  though  the  story  is  neither 
so  strong  nor  quite  so  pleasant.  Yvette  is  the  daughter  of  a 
woodcutter,  Mathias,  who  evidently  enjoys  a  good  meal.  He 
does  not  relish  the  love-making  between  his  little  girl  and  Pierrot, 
a  young  shepherd.  Yvette  being  very  much  "gone"  on  the 
young  Savoyard,  Mathias  promises  to  consent  if  Pierrot  will  make 
money  somewhere.  Pierrot  therefore  goes  to  Paris,  but  does  not 
find  the  streets  paved  with  gold,  for  he  faints  from  hunger  in  the 
snow,  and  a  good-natured  Cyprian,  Eva,  who  has  been  attending 
the  "Moulin  Rouge,"  turns  her  admirer  Goutran  out  of  the 
brougham,  after  taking  away  his  coat  and  giving  him  his  death 
of  cold,  and  pops  Pierrot  into  the  carriage.  Pierrot  is  domiciled 
with  her  for  a  month,  and  is  getting  sleek  again,  when  he  partakes 
of  champagne,  which  has  the  strange  effect  of  showing  him  a 
vision  of  Yvette  mourning  for  him  and  being  carried  off  by  two 
nuns.  So,  to  the  air  of  "  Home,  sweet  home,"  he  rushes  out,  and 
in  the  next  scene  we  see  Yvette  just  about  to  take  the  veil,  after 
a  painful  farewell  of  her  father.  Pierrot  then  appears,  and  with  that 
she  at  once  returns  to  mundane  happiness,  and  the  nuns  walk  off. 
I  do  not  wish  to  treat  all  this  in  an  irreverent  spirit,  but  the  con- 
clusion produced  the  feeling,  and  must  have  been  objectionable  to 
many.  Mily  Dathenes  as  Pierrot,  Julie  Avocat  as  Yvette, 
Mdlle.  Laborie  as  Eva,  and  Mr.  Fordyce  as  Goutran,  the  young 
swell  turned  out  of  the  coup4  were  all  good ;  but  there  is  not 
material  for  them  in  a  piece  which  weakly  runs  on  the  same  lines 
as  LEnfant  Prodigue.  The  scenery  was  good,  and  the  trans- 
parencies were  cleverly  managed.  We  had  frisky  girls  dancing 
with  gentlemen  in  scarlet  coats,  pants,  and  silk  stockings,  quite 
Paris  fin  de  sikk  \  but  even  this  did  not  make  Yvette  "  go "  or 
rouse  enthusiasm  in  the  audience.  The  most  enjoyable  part  in 
entertainment  was  Andr^  Gedalge's  music,  which  was  expressive 
of  the  subject  and  often  scholarly.  The  piece  only  ran  one 
week. 

1 2th.  Luscombe  Searelle  sailed  for  the  Cape  to  arrange  for 
various  musical  and  dramatic  entertainments. 

14th.  Pavilion. — False  Evidence.  A  new  play  by  the  author  of 
Dream  Faces  would  naturally  inspire  curiosity.  False  Evidence  is 
quite  of  another  pattern,  and  is  a  bold,  striking  melodrama,  with 
some  ingenuity  shown  in  the  treatment  of  several  of  the  characters. 
The  play  is  noticed  on  account  of  the  author,  and  the  full  cast 
given,  because  it  was  such  a  good  all-round  one  for  the  particular 
style  of  work,  and  it  deserves  mention  as  showing  that  at  the 
outlying  theatres  in  general,  ^d  the  Pavilion  and  Britannia  in 


i8o  Fidse  Evidence.  [Sbpt.  1891. 


particular,  a  much  higher  class  of  entertainment  is  now  in  vogue 
than  used  to  be  the  rule.  For  their  scenic  effects,  the  suburban 
theatres  have  long  been  noted ;  this  is  not  considered  alone 
sufficient  now,  but  really  good  actors  and  actresses  are  engaged 
to  fill  the  parts.  Of  Wynn  Miller's  drama  I  will  only  say  that 
there  is  a  wicked  baronet,  who  is  no  baronet  at  all,  but  a  clever 
thief  and  forger,  Richard  Goodwin,  who,  having  acted  as  travelling 
valet  for  a  time  to  the  presumptive  heir  to  the  baronetcy,  on  the 
rather  sudden  death  of  the  latter,  knowing  all  his  affairs,  boldly 
impersonates  him.  Yet  still  more  boldly  when  Abel  Hayball 
is  bringing  the  documents  which  will  prove  George  Penfold  to  be 
the  lawful  baronet  Sir  Richard  Aylmer,  determined  to  obtain  them, 
Goodwin  strikes  down  and  charges  Penfold  with  having  robbed  and 
wounded  Hayball.  Equally  boldly  when  Robert  Gillow,  an  idle 
fellow,  who  witnessed  the  deed,  threatens  to  tell  the  truth  about 
it,  the  pseudo  baronet  says  he  will  fix  it  on  him,  this  of  course 
being  prior  to  his  charging  Penfold  with  the  crime.  Naturally 
in  melodrama,  the  villain  is  desperately  in  love  with  the  innocent 
man's  wife,  Jessie,  who  is  succoured  in  her  distress  by  the  comic 
fisherman,  Tom  Painter,  and  his  saucy,  good-hearted  little  wife, 
Susan.  Stella,  Aylmer's  mistress,  is  the  good  angel  of  the  piece, 
and  assists  Penfold  when  he  escapes  from  Portland  ;  and  he  passes 
under  the  very  noses  of  the  warders  who  are  in  search  of  him,  in 
disguise  of  a  "  deaf  softy,"  a  character  that  we  have  seen  before 
under  somewhat  similar  circumstances.  The  recovery  of  a  lost 
memory,  through  another  sudden  shock,  is  also  made  use  of  in 
the  case  of  Hayball,  who  remembers  everything  on  once  more 
seeing  the  baronet,  and  accuses  him  of  having  nearly  murdered 
him.  Capital  is  made  by  the  author  out  of  old  materials,  and 
the  play  could  scarcely  have  been  better  put  upon  the  stage  at 
any  theatre.  "  George  Penfold's  Farm  "  and  "  The  Exterior  of 
Aylmer  Hall "  (representing  an  exquisitely  laid-out  garden)  were 
beautiful  exteriors,  and  a  remarkably  clever  mechanical  change 
was  effected  where  the  baronet  set  fire  to  "  The  Old  Ruined  Mill," 
and  tried  to  bring  about  the  death  of  Penfold  and  Gillow,  the  two 
men  he  most  feared.  The  entire  scene  revolved  and  then  showed 
"  The  Open  Sea  and  View  of  Portland,"  with  Painter  and  Jessie  in 
a  boat  rescuing  the  two  intended  victims  from  drowning,  they 
having  thrown  themselves  into  the  sea  as  their  only  chance  of 
escape  from  the  flames.  When  all  acted  so  well  it  is  almost 
invidious  to  pick  out  any  from  the  cast,  but  a  little  extra  com- 
mendation should  be  awarded  to  F.  Wright  and  to  Harriet 
Clifton.     Maud  Elmore  is  very  sympathetic,  but  at  present  her 


Sept.,  i89x.]  SchooL  l8l 

method  does  not  appear  to  be  original ;  it  suggests  a  copy  of 
Miss  Eastlake.  Isaac  Cohen's  stage  management  was  of  the  very 
best 

14th.  Britannia. — Capital  and  Labour^  five-act  drama  by 
W.  J.  Patmore  and  A.  B.  Moss. 

15  th.  Eleanore  Leyshon  (Clara  Eleanore  Old  land)  married  to 
the  Rev.  James  Nelson  Palmer. 

1 6th.  Henry  Irving  unveiled  the  Marlowe  Memorial  at  Can- 
terbury, in  the  presence  of  many  notabilities  of  the  world  of  art  A 
reparation  has  at  last  been  made  to  the  memory  of  Christopher 
Marlowe ;  the  neglect  of  a  great  poet  has,  through  the  co-operation 
of  an  enthusiastic  band  of  his  admirers,  been  remedied,  and  now 
in  his  native  town,  to  commemorate  his  work,  under  the  shadow 
almost  of  the  King's  School,  where  he  was  educated,  there  stands 
a  Renaissance  pedestal  of  Portland  stone  and  figure  sculptured  by 
Mr.  Onslow  Ford,  A.R.A.,  and  situate  in  the  centre  of  the  site  of 
the  old  butter  market  On  "  Kit  "  Marlowe's  works  an  excellent 
paper  written  by  Mr.  Harry  Plowman  appeared  in  the  Theatre 
magazine  of  July,  1890.  Mr.  Irving's  admirable  speech  and  that 
delivered  by  Mr.  Frederick  Rogers,  the  honorary  secretary  to  the 
Memorial  Committee,  bore  testimony  to  the  services  that  Marlowe 
rendered  to  the  drama,  and  how  much  posterity  is  indebted  to  him. 
The  Memorial  is  situate  at  the  lower  end  of  Mercery  Lane,  close 
to  Christchurch  Gate. 

17th.  Death  of  John  Levy  at  Liverpool  Was  formerly  well 
known  as  an  Irish  character  actor,  but  of  late  years  as  a  play- 
wright and  pantomime-writer. 

19th.  Garrick. — School  Of  all  T.  W.  Robertson's  plays 
School^  first  produced  at  the  little  Prince  of  Wales's  Theatre  in 
Tottenham  Street  on  Jan.  i6th,  1869,  proved  the  most  success- 
ful to  the  Bancroft  management.  Mrs.  Bancroft,  then  appearing 
as  Marie  Wilton,  was  the  Naomi  Tighe,  a  character  which  the 
actress  admitted  was  her  favourite  impersonation.  S.  B.  Bancroft 
was  Jack  Poyntz ;  J.  H.  Montagu,  Lord  Beaufoy  ;  John  Hare, 
Beau  Farintosh ;  E.  P.  Addison,  Dr.  Sutcliffe ;  his  daughter 
Carlotta,  Bella ;  F:  Glover,  Mr.  Krux:  Of  the  excellence  of 
this  cast  there  was  but  one  opinion;  The  Bancrofts  revived 
School  dX  the  Hay  market  twice — May  ist,  1880,  and  April  14th, 
1883.  They  on  each  occasion  resumed  their  original  characters, 
and  H.  B.  Conway  was  the  Lord  Beaufoy  ;  Beau  Farintosh  was 
played  by  Arthur  Cecil  and  Alfred  Bishop ;  Forbes  Robertson  and 
Charles  Brookfield  appeared  as  Mr.  Krux  ;  Marion  Terry  and 
Miss  Gerard  played  Bella  ;  and  in  the  first  revival  Kate  Rorke 


1 82  School.  [SBrT.,x8Qi 

made  her  d^but  as  Sybil :  in  the  second  Zeffie  Tilbury,  the  clever 
daughter  of  Lydia  Thompson  (Mrs,  Tilbury),  played  Tilly.  Miss 
Gerard  later  made  a  great  success  as  Naomi  Tighe  in  America. 
To  account  for  the  hold  that  Robertson's  plays  took  upon  the 
public,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that,  independently  of  the  wit, 
sparkle,  and  epigram  of  his  dialc^e,  the  homely  nature  of  his 
plots — in  which  there  was  really  so  little — came  as  a  soothing 
and  welcome  relief  after  a  long  course  of  melodrama,  old  comedy, 
classical  and  Shakespearian  plays.  The  ^  teacup-and-saucer " 
order  of  comedy  was  a  novelty  ;  the  style  in  which  his  work  was 
mounted  was  fresh.  Now,  after  a  lapse  of  twenty-two  years,  we 
are  accustomed  to  the  most  lavish  expenditure  in  the  production 
of  plays  ;  our  melodramas  are  confined  to  the  drawing-room  ; 
we  have  had  such  homely  pieces  as  A  Pair  of  Spectacles^  and  even 
the  old  comedies  have  been  modernised — not  always  to  their 
advantage.  School  has  therefore  lost  much  of  its  freshness  to  us, 
and  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  audiences  of  the  present  day 
will  appreciate  it  as  did  the  audiences  of  the  past  The  revival 
at  the  Garrick  was  an  interesting  one,  for  a  son  of  our  leading 
actor  was  to  make  his  dibut^  and  the  son  of  the  original  Beau 
Farintosh  was  to  appear  in  his  first  important  part.  The  greet- 
ing afforded  to  H.  B.  Irving  on  his  appearance  was  so  prolonged 
and  effusive  as  to  be  calculated  to  turn  a  far  stronger  head  than 
that  of  a  tyro  in  acting  ;  and  this,  no  doubt,  partly  accounted  for 
the  evident  nervousness  from  which  young  Mr.  Irving  suffered 
throughout  the  evening.  It  was  kind  of  John  Hare  to  afford  his 
friend's  son  the  opportunity  of  appearing  as  Lord  Beaufoy,  but 
the  kindness  did  not  tend  to  the  success  of  the  play.  H.  B.  Irving 
has  a  very  handsome,  manly  presence,  but  he  did  not  understand 
how  to  use  his  voice  or  support  his  performance  by  appropriate 
gesture.  Lord  Beaufoy  may  have  been  cynical,  but  he  was  not 
priggish,  nor  should  "  Grandisonian  "  airs  have  been  adopted.  In 
the  last  act  his  conduct  towards  Beau  Farintosh  appeared,  from 
Mr.  Irving's  treatment,  absolutely  cruel.  Gilbert  Hare  was  also 
remarkably  well  received,  and  his  Mr.  Krux  was  deserving  of  all 
praise.  He  represented  most  naturally  the  mean  and  spiteful 
character,  and  looked  it  well.  Kate  Rorke  was  a  sweet  and 
gentle  Bella.  A  little  more  enthusiasm  in  the  reading  of  the 
Cinderella  story  and  just  a  flash  of  resentment  in  the  eyes  at 
Krux's  conduct  would  have  been  an  improvement.  Annie  Hughes 
was  not  quite  the  Naomi  Tighe  we  expected  from  her ;  it  was 
very  bright  and  charming,  but  might  have  been  made  brighter 
still  by  a  little  more  espiiglerie^  and  not  taking  her  passion  for  Jack 


s«rp.,x89x.]  The  Last  Word.  183 

Poyntz  quite  so  much  au  grand  sMeux,  The  Beau  Farintosh  of 
W.  Mackintosh  was  too  silly  and  senile  in; the  first  act,  when  he 
was  not  a  beau  at  all ;  but  in  the  last  act  there  was  a  depth  of 
feeling  that  compensated  for  the  previous  shortcomings.  C.  W. 
Garthome  was  altogether  wanting  in  distinction  as  Jack  Poyntz, 
and  there  was  a  suspiciously  American  twang  about  his  drawl 
It  is  hard  to  see  why  the  battle  of  Kassassin  should  have  been 
singled  out  as  the  one  in  which  an  infantry  soldier  distinguished 
himself.  And  this  raises  the  question  whether  it  was  advisable 
to  bring  the  play  up  to  date.  Young  ladies  of  the  present  day 
scarcely  take  such  an  interest  in  Cinderella^  or  are  quite  so 
ignorant  of  the  appearance  of  a  lord.  Fanny  Robertson,  who  has 
played  Mrs.  Sutcliffe  frequently  in  the  provinces,  was  excellent ; 
and  H.  H.  Vincent  was  a  kindly  sententious  Dr.  Sutcliffe.  The 
schoolgirls  were  represented  by  some  very  pretty  and  tastily 
dressed  young  ladies  ;  and  the  forest  "  glade  "  and  "  The  Grounds  " 
of  Cedar  Grove  House  were  beautiful  stage  pictures. 

19th.  Lyceum. — The  Last  Wordy  adaptation  by  Augustin 
Daly  of  Franz  von  Schonthau's  Das  Lestzte  Wort.  Ada  Rehan 
must  be  invaluable  to  her  manager,  for  she  possesses  the  wonder- 
ful versatility  of  being  able  in  a  moment  to  become  the  most 
amiable  and  beseeching  of  women  after  having  just  revealed 
herself  a  very  termagant,  able  to  change  from  the  most  coquettish 
to  the  most  pathetic  vein,  to  scathe  a  woman-hater  one  instant 
and  bring  him  to  her  feet  the  next.  All  these  arts  and  powers 
she  exhibited  so  brilliantly  that  she  carried  a  but  indifferent  play  to 
a  triumphant  issue,  even  though  the  last  act  was  the  weakest  of  the 
whole.  The  Baroness  Vera  Bouraneef  is  a  charming  woman,  that 
no  circumstance  dismays,  who  do^s  not  understand  the  meaning 
of  the  word  "failure."  Her  brother  Boris  is  in  some  disgrace  with 
the  Russian  Government,  for  which  he  is  an  attach^  to  the 
Washington  Embassy.  He  and  Faith  Rutherell  have  become 
attached  to  each  other,  but  her  father,  the  Secretary  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  has  determined  she  shall  marry  a  Baron  Stuyve,  and 
declares  the  proposed  engagement  at  a  grand  reception.  Faith, 
however,  as  publicly  repudiates  this,  and  announces  that  she  is 
going  to  marry  Boris.  Her  father,  a  stern  disciplinarian,  turns 
her  out  of  the  house  for  this,  and  she  takes  refuge  with  the 
fascinating  widow,  the  Baroness  Vera.  This  lady  at  once  takes 
matters  in  hand.  First  she  conquers  Harry  Rutherell,  the  Secre- 
tary's son,  whom  she  changes  from  a  misogamist  into  an  ardent 
admirer  of  hers,  enlists  him  on  her  side,  and  induces  him  to  try 
and  use  his  influence  with  the  Secretary.     His  father  treats  him 


184  Captain  Billy.  CSsn-.,  1891. 

as  he  has  done  his  daughter,  with  "  the  last  word  "—duty.  Then 
the  Baroness  arranges  her  forces  for  the  attack  on  the  Secretary 
himself,  but  she  uses  different  weapons.  With  the  son  she  has 
used  scorn,  reproaches,  coquetry,  passion,  anger ;  with  the  father 
she  is  all  pathetic  tenderness  ;  she  tells  him  the  moving  story  of  a 
dying  child,  and  so  works  upon  his  feelings  that  his  hard  nature  is 
softened,  he  relents,  and  she  wins  the  battle  where  son,  daughter, 
and  brother  have  failed.  And  then  this  all-conquering  creature 
is  herself  subdued,  and  is  meekly  obliged  to  own  that  she  is  no 
longer  her  own  mistress,  but  that  she  must  yield  to  her  love  for 
Harry  Rutherell,  the  man  on  whom  she  has  poured  out  the  vials 
of  her  wrath,  and  in  conquering  whom  she  has  herself  been  con- 
quered. There  is  an  underplot,  in  which  figures  a  susceptible 
admirer,  Alexander  Airey,  who  is  also  a  slave  to  the  Baroness's 
charms,  but  who  is  dragooned  by  her  into  proposing  to  Winny,  a 
lively  young  lady  who  appreciates  him,  and  we  have  Professor 
Rutherell,  a  musical  enthusiast,  and  Moses  Mossop,  a  spiteful  and 
meddlesome  Jew.  But  the  interest  centres  in  the  character  of 
the  Baroness,  who  passes  ofT  some  scenes  and  situations  that  are 
extraordinarily  weak  in  themselves.  I  have  already  spoken  of 
Miss  Rehan's  versatility  ;  it  was  really  marvellous,  and  she  com- 
pletely carried  away  her  audience  so  long  as  she  was  on  the 
stage,  and,  I  must  add,  John  Drew  acted  very  finely  indeed ;  but 
it  must  be  confessed  the  brightness  of  Kitty  Cheatham  and  the 
quaint  humour  of  James  Lewis  in  a  character  young  for  him 
would  scarcely  relieve  the  play  itself  from  dulness.  Isabel  Irving 
was  true  to  nature  as  Faith  Rutherell,  and  exhibited  considerable 
strength ;  and  William  Sampson  was  a  good  type  of  the  faithful 
old  negro  servant.  Charles  Leclercq  was  thrown  away  on  such  a 
superfluous  and  detestable  character  as  Mossop.  Greorge  Clarke 
was  stem  and  unrelenting  as  the  Secretary,  but  it  seemed  strange 
that  one  who  should  resist  the  entreaties  of  his  own  children, 
whom  he  said  he  so  fondly  loved,  should  be  easily  moved  by  the 
piteous  tale  told  to  slow  music  by  a  comparative  stranger,  even 
though  a  beautiful  woman  ;  the  character  was  a  contradiction. 
The  applause  was  loud  and  continuous.  The  acting  of  Miss 
Rehan  conquered,  and  made  such  a  success  for  the  piece  that 
it  quite  altered  the  arrangements  of  the  manager,  and  precluded 
us  from  seeing  The  School  for  Scandal,  with  Ada  Rehan  as  Lady 
Teazle,  to  which  the  public  was  looking  forward  with  much 
interest 

24th.  Savoy. — Captain   Billy,    one-act    operetta    by     Harry 
Greenbank,  music  by  Francois  Cellier.      H.  Lemaistre  in  the  title 


Sept.,  xSgx.]  The  American,  185 

rdle\  C.  R.  Rose,  Christopher  Jolly;  Rudolph  Lewis,  Samuel 
Chunk ;  Rosina  Brandram,  Widow  Jackson  ;  Decima  Moore, 
Polly. 

25  th.  Gaiety  Theatre  of  Varieties,  Camden  Street,  Liverpool, 
destroyed  by  fire. 

26th.  Opera  Comique. — The  American.  America  has  sent 
us  actors  and  actresses  good,  bad,  and  indifferent,  but  mostly 
good  in  their  special  line ;  it  has  also  sent  us  the  works  of 
American  dramatists,  which  in  many  cases,  though  brilliant 
successes  in  the  United  States,  have  proved  unacceptable  to  our 
English  ideas.  Now  we  have  the  first  dramatic  attempt  from 
a  well-known  and  much-appreciated  American  novelist,  Henry 
James.  As  a  literary  effort  it  is  brilliant ;  as  a  play  The 
American  is  very  disappointing.  To  the  thinking  portion  of  an 
audience  who  bring  themselves  to  remember  the  almost  un- 
disputed authority  exercised  by  French  parents  over  their  grown- 
up children,  an  authority  sanctioned  both  by  law  and  custom, 
the  pusillanimous  submission  of  the  Marquis  and  Claire  to  their 
overbearing  mother,  the  Marquise  de  Bellegarde,  will  be  com- 
prehensible ;  but  to  a  general  audience  some  reason  must  be 
given  to  explain  the  weakness  of  their  conduct,  or  it  appears 
ridiculous,  the  more  so  on  the  part  of  Claire,  who,  having  been 
once  married  and  freed  from  leading-strings,  voluntarily  returns 
to  a  state  of  moral  servitude.  A  novelist  unused  to  stagecraft 
frequently  in  dramatising  his  own  work  forgets  that  in  his  novel 
he  can  explain  the  motives  that  influence  his  characters ;  he  can 
enlarge  upon  their  peculiarities :  he  can  reasonably  assimilate  quite 
opposite  characteristics.  To  do  this  in  a  play  is  the  art  of  the 
dramatist ;  with .  a  few  sharp  touches  that  do  not  retard  the 
action,  he  can  convey  all  this,  and  it  is  here  that  Mr.  James  has 
so  signally  failed.  In  the  lighter  characters  of  No^mie  and 
M.  Nioche  there  is  nothing  to  explain  :  they  speak  for  them- 
selves ;  the  course  of  action  pursued  by  Comte  Valentin  and 
Lord  Deepmere  we  can  understand — it  is  straightforward. 
Christopher  Newman,  however,  a  man  who  has  amassed  wealth 
comparatively  away  from  what  may  be  looked  upon  as  civilised 
beings,  has  to  tell  us  in  many  superfluous  words  what  has 
produced  in  him  the  intense  admiration  and  longing  for  all  that 
is  novel  to  him  and  yet  so  old  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  his 
sudden  love  for  the  pure  woman  he  meets.  And  the  only  ap- 
parent motive  that  influences  the  actions  of  the  Marquise  and 
her  elder  son  is  a  base  greed  that  we  cannot  associate  with  the 
vieille  roche  of  the  Faubourg  St.  Germain.     Added  to  this,  whilst 


1 86  The  American.  [S«ft..x89x. 

in  the  opening  scenes  we  are  led  to  suppose  that  we  are  going  to 
enjoy  a  "  society  "  play,  in  the  latter  half  of  the  piece  we  are 
suddenly  plunged  into  intense  melodrama,  with  a  death  enacted 
before  our  eyes,  followed  by  the  revelation  in  semi-darkness  of  an 
appalling  and  revolting  secret.  What  dramatic  interest  there  is 
centres  in  the  fortunes  of  "  The  American,"  Christopher  Newman, 
and  his  love  for  Claire.  He  has  come  to  Paris  a  millionaire,  his 
riches  having  been  amassed  by  mining  and  the  speculations  at- 
tendant on  it  Despite  his  communication  with  wild  and  lawless 
men,  he  has  remained  unsophisticated  and  is  one  of  nature's 
gentlemen.  At  his  hotel  he  has  employed  M.  Nioche  as  his 
cicerone  about  Paris,  and  the  fawning  humbug  has  introduced  him 
to  his  own  home  and  his  coquettish  daughter  No^mie,  a  desperate 
flirt,  and  one  who  makes  young  men  pay  for  their  admiration  of 
her.  At  this  house  he  meets  the  young  Comte  Valentin,  who 
comes  there  for  a  little  change  after  his  own  gloomy  home.  The 
two  men  take  a  liking  to  each  other,  and  Valentin  speaking 
rather  rapturously  of  his  sister  Claire,  "  The  American's  "  curiosity 
is  aroused  to  see  her,  and  his  new  friend  promises  to  introduce 
him  to  the  Hotel  de  Bellegarde.  He  meets  Claire,  and  they  fall 
in  love  with  each  other,  and  Newman  asks  her  hand  of  the 
haughty  and  avaricious  Marquise,  her  mother.  He  is  condition- 
ally accepted  ;  he  even  is  allowed  to  announce  his  engs^ement 
to  the  assembled  guests  ;  but  presently  the  Marquise  and  her 
elder  son  learn  that  Lord  Deepmere,  who  had  previously  been 
encouraged  by  them  as  a  suitor  for  Claire's  haijd,  but  had  been 
ousted  on  account  of  "  The  American,"  is  a  better  match  than  was 
supposed.  He  is  therefore  encouraged  again,  but  takes  umbrage 
at  the  manner  in  which  he  has  been  treated,  and  expresses  him- 
self in  such  terms  that  for  the  honour  of  his  family  Comte 
Valentin  takes  up  the  quarrel.  A  duel  ensues.  Valentin  is  mor- 
tally wounded,  but  on  his  deathbed  imparts  to  "  The  American  " 
that  there  is  a  terrible  secret  in  the  Bellegarde  family,  which  he 
may  learn  from  Mrs.  Beard,  the  old  servant  who  has  nursed  all 
the  children.  In  the  third  act  Christopher  Newman  is  preparing 
the  house  that  he  has  purchased  for  the  reception  of  his  intended 
bride,  and  has  old  Nioche  and  his  daughter  No^mie  there  to  assist. 
Her  presence  is  made  the  excuse  by  the  Bellegardes  to  break  off 
the  match  between  "  The  American  "  and  Claire,  and  she,  after  an 
affecting  parting  with  him,  says  that,  though  she  will  not  marry 
any  one  else,  she  will  not  act  in  opposition  to  her  mother's  will. 
In  the  last  act  Claire  has  retired  to  the  country  house  Fleuri^res, 
with  the  intention  of  entering  a  neighbouring  convent.     Christo- 


Sept.,  x89i.]  A  Dtod  Letter,  187 

pher  Newman  follows  her  there,  and  at  length  prevails  on  old 
Mrs.  Beard  to  impart  to  him  the  dreadful  secret.  It  appears 
that  the  late  Marquis  de  Bellegarde  having  persistently  set  his 
face  against  Claire's  marriage  with  the  Comte  de  Cintr^,  whom 
he  knew  to  be  his  wife's  paramour,  she  and  her  son,  who  had 
always  blindly  obeyed  her,  had  deliberately  poisoned  the  old 
Marquis.  He  had,  however,  been  able  to  set  down  a  statement 
charging  them  with  the  crime,  and  had  entrusted  this  to  Mrs. 
Beard.  After  much  persuasion  she  is  induced  to  hand  this  to 
"  The  American,"  doing  this  for  love  of  Claire.  He  now  has  the 
Marquise  and  her  son  in  his  power,  and  threatens  to  expose 
them,  but  Claire's  entreaties  induce  him  to  give  up  the  in- 
criminating document,  thus  making  himself  a  party  to  the  crime  ; 
and  Claire,  resigning  all  thought  of  the  convent,  declares  that,  in 
spite  of  every  one,  she  will  now  marry  him.  There  the  play 
should  end,  as  these  two  principal  actors  in  it  leave  the  stage, 
but  there  is  an  anti-climax  in  the  re-entry  of  the  Marquise,  who, 
as  she  burns  the  paper  that  would  betray  her,  utters  a  malediction 
on  them  both,  and  hopes  never  to  look  upon  their  faces  again. 
Edward  Compton  handled  the  character  of  "  The  American  "  with 
great  skill,  for  he  has  during  its  portrayal  to  exhibit  the  most 
varying  emotions — to  show  us  a  nature's  gentleman,  unpolished 
as  to  society,  yet  full  of  nobility ;  unsophisticated,  yet  shrewd 
and  light-hearted,  and  capable  of  a  depth  of  passion.  Kate 
Bateman  made  the  Marquise  de  Bellegarde  unnecessarily  re- 
pulsive, and  lacked  the  distinction  that  we  associate  with  the  old 
noblesse.  Elizabeth  Robins  took  such  a  very  lachrymose  view 
of  the  character  of  Claire  as  to  rob  it  of  much  of  its  charm, 
a  little  more  brightness  would  so  materially  have  improved  it 
Adrienne  Dairolles  was  remarkably  bright  and  natural  as  the 
scheming  coquettish  Nodmie,  and  Young  Stewart  gave  a  clever 
sketch  of  the  fawning  humbug  her  father.  Sydney  Paxton 
filled  an  unpleasant  rdle  more  than  satisfactorily,  and  there  was 
much  to  praise  in  Clarence  Blakiston's  acting  throughout.  C.  M. 
Hallard  was  an  English  nobleman  of  the  stamp  that  is  not 
generally  admired.  Louise  Moodie  imparted  the  secret  to 
Christopher  Newman  in  a  weird,  impressive  manner  that  showed 
great  power.     As  a  first  piece 

A  Dead  Letter^  a  little  domestic  drama  by  W.  A.  Brabner,  was 
played  for  the  first  time  in  London.  It  had  been  seen  in  the 
provinces,  and  in  it  Le\vis  Ball,  in  a  feeling  manner,  showed  us 
Ben  Somers,  an  old  village  postmaster,  who  takes  upon  himself 
the  supposed  crime  of  his  daughter  Polly.     A  fifty-pound  note  is 


1 88  Joan  of  Arc.  [SKPT.,1891. 

missing  from  a  letter.  Somers  imagines  that  his  daughter  has 
abstracted  it  in  order  to  give  it  to  her  lover,  Fred  Armstrong,  so 
that  they  may  get  married.  It  is  afterwards  discovered  that  the 
sender  had  put  it  in  a  wrong  envelope,  and  had  sent  it  with 
another  to  Fred  Armstrong  as  a  sort  of  "  conscience  money,"  in 
reparation  for  a  wrong  done  to  the  young  fellow's  parents. 
Evelyn  McNay  was  bright  and  pleasant  as  Polly.  It  should  be 
mentioned  that  Edward  Compton  had  made  some  alterations  in 
the  Op^ra  Comique,  both  before  and  behind  the  curtain,  to 
accomplish  which  the  space  previously  occupied  by  three  houses 
was  thrown  in,  which  added  considerably  to  the  comfort  of  the 
audience  and  that  of  his  company,  and  that  the  pit  and  gallery 
gave  him  three  ringing  cheers  to  show  their  gratitude  for  his 
complete  adoption  of  the  "  no  fee  "  system. 

30th.  Gaiety. — Joan  of  Arc.  The  second  edition  of  this 
burlesque  was  produced.  There  were  no  special  alterations  in 
the  cast.  Arthur  Roberts  resumed  his  old  character,  and  intro- 
duced a  new  song  entitled  "  Randy,  Oh !  "  to  which  exception  was 
taken  by  the  licenser  of  plays  on  the  score  that  it  was  calculated 
to  bring  a  young  nobleman  and  politician  into  ridicule.  The 
mention  of  the  name  was  consequently  avoided  by  Mr.  Roberts, 
but  the  song  was  little  altered.  After  a  time  Ada  Blanche  ap- 
peared in  the  title  rble^  Marion  Hood  having  given  up  the  part 
During  the  recess  important  alterations  had  been  made  in  the 
house.  A  distinct  staircase  for  the  upper  circle  and  for  the 
gallery  opening  out  into  Exeter  Street  had  been  built,  and  the 
exit  from  the  stalls  into  the  same  street  had  been  considerably 
enlarged  The  pit  had  also  an  extra  passage  supplied  into 
Catherine  Street  Fresh  property  was  acquired  at  the  comer  of 
Wellington  and  Exeter  Streets,  hitherto  occupied  by  the  Army 
and  Navy  Gazette  offices,  and  was  devoted  to  large  and  com- 
modious dressing-rooms,  thus  enabling  the  management  to  do 
away  with  the  ill-ventilated  and  unsafe  ones  previously  situated 
underneath  the  stage. 

30th.  St.  James's. —  The  Idler.  George  Alexander  reopened 
his  theatre  with  Haddon  Chambers's  play.  The  only  important 
alteration  in  the  cast  was  that  Lily  Hanbury  played  Kate  Merry- 
weather  instead  of  Maude  Millett,  who  took  out  a  company  of 
her  own  on  tour,  opening  at  Cambridge  on  Oct  26th.  Miss 
Hanbury  was  very  charming,  but  hardly  possesses  the  "  wilful 
witchery  "  for  the  character.  Later  Fanny  Coleman  took  satis- 
factorily Lady  Monckton's  part  as  Mrs.  Cross.  Molikre  made  up 
the  programme.  Digitized  by  GoOglc 


Oct.,  i89i.]  Grif.  1 89 

30th.  A  very  gratifying  testimonial  was  presented  to  Mr. 
Edward  Compton  at  the  Op^ra  Comique.  The  presentation  was 
made  by  Mr.  Michael  Gunn,  in  the  name  of  sundry  provincial 
managers,  friends,  and  members  of  Mr.  Compton's  company, 
numbering  in  all  about  a  hundred,  who  had  inscribed  their  names 
in  an  album  which  accompanied  the  handsome  tea,  coffee,  and 
dinner-service  of  plate.  Mr.  Edward  Compton's  speech  in 
returning  thanks  was  charmingly  modest. 


X. 

October. 

2nd.  Marriage  of  Julia  Neilson  and  Fred  Terry  at  the  office  of 
the  registrar,  21,  Marylebone  Road,  G.  F.  Bashford  and  Herbert 
Waring  as  witnesses. 

5  th.  Globe. — The  Wings  of  the  Storm.  F.  J.  Leslie  produced 
this  drama,  of  which  no  further  mention  need  be  made  than  that 
it  was  so  ridiculous  as  to  cause  infinitely  more  laughter  than  any 
farcical  comedy  ever  written.     A  bright  and  original  operetta, 

The  Scribe;  or,  Love  and  Letters,  written  and  composed  by 
Philip  Hayman,  was  not  done  justice  to.  There  were  in  it  some 
very  pretty  musical  numbers,  graceful  lyrics,  and  some  smart 
writing.  I  shall  hope  to  see  Mr.  Hayman's  work  reproduced 
under  more  favourable  circumstances.     The  farce 

Slightly  Suspicious,  by  Josiah  Byron,  was  on  a  par  with  the 
drama. 

Sth.  At  the  Haymarket  Theatre  The  Dancing  C/r/ resumed  its 
interrupted  but  most  successful  run.  There  were  no  changes  in 
the  cast,  but  Beerbohm  Tree  having  lost  his  voice  for  an  evening 
or  two,  the  character  of  the  Duke  of  Guisebury  was  again  most 
ably  represented  by  Fred  Harrison. 

5  th.  Surrey. — Grif,  by  W.  Lestocq.  The  story  which  Mr. 
Lestocq  has  dramatised  is  one  of  Mr.  Farjeon's  earliest  efforts, 
and  bears  unmistakable  evidence  of  the  admiration  which  the 
then  young  writer  felt  for  Charles  Dickens.  "  Grif  "  is  indeed  an 
Australian  "  Jo  "  of  "  Bleak  House,"  only  that  he  is  cheery  in  all 
his  starvation,  a  sort  of  juvenile  Diogenes,  for  he  lived  in  a  tub  and 
was  a  philosopher  in  his  way,  but  a  kindly  one,  sharing  his  wooden 
domicile  and  blanket  with  Little  Peter,  a  wretched  half-witted 
street  arab,  and  his  faithful  mongrel  dog  "Rough."     Although 


190  Grif*  [OcT^  xBqx. 

the  dc^  is  not  seen  in  the  play,  yet  a  great  deal  turns  upon  it,  for 
it  is  through  the  "  tender-hearted  oysterman  "  poisoning  the  poor 
animal  that  Grif  bears  the  ruffian  such  deadly  hate,  and  is  the 
means  of  frustrating  all  his  schemes.  The  tender-hearted  oyster- 
man,  so  called  on  account  of  his  ever  professing  horror  at  the 
shedding  of  blood,  though  he  commits  murder  without  the 
slightest  compunction,  is  one  of  a  gang  that  include  Jim  Pizey 
and  Old  Flick,  who  are  most  anxious  to  induce  Richard  Handfield 
to  join  them  in  robbing  Matthew  Nuttall's  out-station,  Highley. 
Handfield  has  been  secretary  to  this  Nuttall,  and  knows  where 
a  large  sum  of  money  is  hidden  away.  He  has  been  dismissed 
from  his  post  in  consequence  of  his  having  become  engaged  to 
Alice  Nuttall ;  and  as  her  father  intends  her  to  marry  a  suitor  he 
has  chosen,  and  she  remains  faithful  to  Handfield,  she  is-  driven 
from  her  home.  The  lovers  marry  and  are  reduced  to  the  greatest 
poverty  through  Handfield's  inability  to  obtain  employment 
The  gang  think  this  will  be  the  time  to  get  him  into  their 
toils.  Grif  has  been  shown  great  kindness  by  Alice,  and  so  when 
Jim  Pizey  passes  Handfield  a  forged  bank-note  in  payment  for  a 
trinket  he  sells,  Grif  overhears  the  plot,  and  gives  Handfield 
timely  warning.  He  goes  ofi*  to  the  gold  diggings  with  Welsh 
Tom,  and  then  the  gang  hatch  another  conspiracy.  The  tender- 
hearted oysterman  disguises  himself,  joins  the  two  diggers,  and 
stealing  Handfield's  knife,  with  it  murders  Welsh  Tom.  As  soon 
as  the  crime  is  discovered  it  is  laid  to  the  chaise  of  Handfield  ; 
the  conspirators  say  that,  unless  he  joins  them,  they  will  give  him 
up  to  the  miners,  who  will  lynch  him,  and  so  the  young  fellow 
pretends  to  become  their  accomplice,  but  escapes  from  them  to 
warn  Matthew  Nuttall  of  their  designs  on  his  property.  Grif,  who 
has  accompanied  Alice  to  the  gold  fields  in  search  of  her  husband, 
again  overhears  the  gang  quarrelling  as  to  the  useless  murder 
that  has  been  committed  ;  but  the  poor  boy  is  discovered  and  shot 
down  by  his  old  enemy.  He  contrives,  however,  to  drag  himself  to 
the  station — at  which  Handfield  and  his  wife  have  already  arrived 
— before  the  gang,  who  are  caught  in  their  attempt  at  bui^lary. 
Grif,  dying,  makes  his  deposition  before  Nuttall,  who  is  a  magis- 
trate, and  Jim  Pizey  turning  Queen's  evidence,  Handfield  is  proved 
innocent,  and  he  and  Alice  are  forgiven  by  her  father.  Nicholas 
Nuttall,  his  wife,  a  strong-minded  woman,  and  their  daughter 
Marian  are  but  subsidiary  characters,  and  have  little  bearing  on 
the  plot.  The  adapter  had  to  cut  out  a  considerable  amount 
of  dialogue  after  the  first  performance,  and  has  left  out  one 
interesting  character    that  figures    in  the   '^ovpl,^^^  ^  ^q^[^so 


Oct.,  X89I.]  The'rise  Raquin.  191 

turned  Old  Flick,  who  was  rather  Fagin-like,  into  the  comic  and 
conventional  stage  "Jew  fence,"  and  so  afforded  G.  Conquest,  jun., 
opportunity  for  causing  a  good  deal  of  laughter.  Taken  alto- 
gether, Mr.  Lestocq  has  done  his  work  capably  and  produced  an 
interesting  play.  Alice  Esden  played  Grif  remarkably  well ; 
there  was  a  cheeriness  and  a  homely  pathos  in  her  rendering 
of  the  character  that  were  convincing,  and  her  death  scene  was 
very  touching.  On  a  par  with  her  performance  was  that  of 
Ernest  Leicester,  whose  acting  was  very  powerful  and  realistic, 
and  not  overdone.  C.  Cruikshanks  was  natural  as  the  stern, 
determined  father,  and  C.  J.  Hague  was  a  manly,  chivalrous  Richard 
Handfield.  Annie  Conway  was  sympathetic  as  his  wife  ;  and 
Henry  Belding  and  Eleanor  May  were  of  great  assistance  to  the 
play,  which  was  received  with  favour,  and  was  well  put  on  the 
stage  by  Mr.  Conquest 

5th.  Standard. — ^"  99,"  drama  in  two  parts  and  five  acts  by 
Dion  Boucicault 

7th.  Ladbroke  Hall. — The  'County  Councillor^  three-act 
comedy  by  H.   Graham   (copyright  purposes), 

8th.  Death  of  Mark  Quinton  (Mark  Keogh)  at  Hampstead. 
His  dramatic  work  showed  promise,  and  his  loss  was  regretted 
by  very  many. 

9th.  Lyric — La  Cigale  reached  its  anniversary,  and  was  played 
to  a  very  crowded  house.  Geraldine  Ulmar  sang  charmingly,  and 
C.  Hayden  Coffin  had  become  quite  at  home  in  the  rdle  of  De 
Bernheim.  Harry  Monkhouse  introduced  much  drollery  into  the 
character  of  Van  der  Koopen.  Horace  Sedger  was  presented 
with  a  handsome  service  of  plate,  the  cost  of  which  was  defrayed 
by  all  those  in  any  way  connected  with  the  theatre  ;  and  the 
anniversary  was  celebrated  by  a  supper  and  a  ball,  which  were 
brilliantly  attended.  Marjorie  Field-Fisher  engaged  as  under- 
study for  Marton  and  Charlotte. 

9th.  Royalty. — Thirhe  Raquin.  For  their  second  perform- 
ance, the  Independent  Theatre  Society  of  London  (Th^Atre  Libre), 
of  which  J.  T.  Grein  is  the  founder,  chose  one  of  Zola's  plays, 
terrible  in  its  realism,  but  irresistibly  fascinating  in  its  horror.  It 
has  been  said  that  Zola  was  in  advance  of  his  time,  that  had  he 
deferred  the  production  of  his  plays  until  now  they  would  have 
been  received  with  favour.  They  may  be  revived,  and  we  shall 
then  see  whether  the  verdict  passed  upon  them  will  be  altered ; 
they  certainly  had  but  short  runs  in  Paris.  His  first  play, 
Th/rise  Raquin^  was  produced  at  the  Renaissance  July  nth, 
1 873,  and   it  may  be  interesting  to   give  the  cast : — Laurent, 


192  Th^rise  Raquin.  [Oct.,  189 . 

Maurice  Desrieux  ;  Camille,  Grivot ;  Grivet,  Montrouge ;  Michaud» 
Reykers  ;  Madame  Raquin,  Marie  Laurent ;  Th^rdse  Raquin,  Dica- 
Petit ;  Suzanne,  Dunoyer.  It  ran  only  nine  nights.  The  great 
novelist  also  wrote  two  other  plays  some  years  ago :  Les  Heritiers 
Rabourdin,  three-act  comedy,  produced  at  the  Th^tre  Cluny 
Nov.  3rd,  1874,  which  was  played  seventeen  times;  and 
Le  Boutan  de  Rose,  three-act  comedy,  first  played  at  the  Palais 
Royal  May  6th,  1878,  and  which  was  seen  seven  times.  The 
play  under  notice  was  dramatised  by  Zola  from  his  novel,  a 
great  work  ;  but  the  play  itself  is  not  in  itself  great.  The  cha- 
racters are  mean,  petty,  and  sordid  ;  their  language  is  that  of  the 
baurgioise  family  to  which  they  belong ;  their  lives  are  common- 
place, until  lust  exercises  power  over  Laurent  and  Th^rdse,  and 
then  the  tragedy  of  the  situation  asserts  itself  and  is  ever  present, 
and  culminates  in  the  suicide  of  the  guilty  ones.  We  see  the 
everyday  life  of  a  humble  Parisian  household.  Laurent  has 
just  finished  the  portrait  of  Camille ;  and  there  is  to  be  a  little 
fesHn  in  honour  of  the  event — a  cheap  bottle  of  champagne  and 
some  biscuits  are  to  give  relish  to  the  game  of  dominoes — in 
which  are  to  take  part  Michaud,  an  old  Government  clerk,  with  his 
fussy  ways  and  quick  temper,  and  Grivet,  the  retired  commissary  of 
police,  with  his  little  stories  of  criminals  that  he  has  arrested  in 
the  past.  Th^rdse  sits  moodily  on  one  side,  uninterested  ;  she  is  a 
careful  nurse  to  Camille,  the  querulous,  selfish  invalid  husband 
that  fate  has  given  her.  When  he  praises  Laurent  she  affects  a 
dislike  for  the  man  ;  she  picks  holes  in  him.  Presently  they  are 
alone,  she  and  Laurent :  in  a  moment  they  are  in  each  other's 
arms ;  the  indifference  they  affect  is  but  a  blind  to  hide  their 
guilty  passion  ;  Camille  is  the  obstacle  to  its  indulgence — ^he 
must  be  removed.  And  so  on  a  water  excursion  in  which  the 
three  take  part  on  the  following  Sunday  Laurent  upsets  the  boat ; 
he  saves  Thdrese,  who  has  been  acquiescent  in  the  murder  of  her 
husband,  for  he  is  left  to  drown.  A  year  passes  ;  Madame  Raquin 
has  never  ceased  to  mourn  the  loss  of  her  son  ;  Th^r^e  is  unhappy 
and  preoccupied  :  her  manner  is  looked  upon  by  the  doating  mother 
as  denoting  regret  for  the  loss  of  Camille ;  Laurent,  an  inmate  of 
the  little  household,  is  moody  and  nervous.  Michaud,  the  good  old 
friend  of  the  family,  says  that  all  this  must  be  put  an  end  to. 
He  takes  Laurent  in  hand,  and  persuades  him  that  he  should 
marry  Th^r&e,  who  is  induced  to  consent  by  the  entreaties  oi 
Madame  Raquin,  who  hopes  thus  to  secure  her  happiness  and 
reward  her  for  her  faithfulness  to  the  memory  of  the  drowned 
man.     The  moment  has  arrived  for  which  the  guilty  pair  have 


Oct.,  i89i.]  Thirise  Raquin  193 

planned  and  plotted ;  they  are  to  forget  the  dread  shadow  that  is 
ever  haunting  them  in  their  love.  They  are  married  ;  the  wedding 
festivities  are  over ;  they  are  alone.  Laurent  rushes  to  embrace  his 
wife :  she  repels  him  ;  love  and  passion  both  are  dead  :  they  have 
been  killed  by  remorse.  They  try  to  talk  on  indifferent  subjects, 
but  there  is  one  subject  that  will  force  itself  upon  them — the 
murder.  Laurent  sees  the  bloated  corpse  of  his  victim  stand  before 
him  ;  he  raves  and  accuses  Th6r&e  of  having  lured  him  on  to  the 
crime.  Whilst  they  are  heaping  recrimination  on  one  another  the 
door  opens.  Madame  Raquin  has  been  disturbed  by  their  cries,  and 
her  presence  is  unknown  to  them ;  and  so  she  learns  from  the  lips 
of  those  she  thought  so  good  and  pure  their  frightful  secret.  The 
knowledge  is  too  horrible  ;  it  brings  on  a  paralytic  stroke.  Voice, 
movement,  are  gone,  only  her  brain  is  clear,  and  her  eyes  disclose  the 
hatred  she  feels  for  the  two  wretches  that  are  before  her.  Time 
goes  on.  Laurent  and  Thdrdse  have  kept  up  the  deception  before 
the  world  ;  they  are  known  in  the  quartier  as  the  love-birds,  but 
they  loathe  each  other.  Presently  Madame  Raquin  is  wheeled  in 
and  set  to  the  dinner-table.  Grivet  and  Michaud  talk  to  her ;  her 
eyes  are  straining  to  tell  their  terrible  story ;  for  a  moment  the 
murderers  are  in  horrid  dread ;  the  invalid's  fingers  have  contrived 
to  trace  on  the  cloth,  their  names,  but  only  can  add  the  word 
"  have,"  when  their  strengfth  fails  again,  and  the  hand  drops  nerve- 
lessly at  her  side.  They  are  respited,  but  not  for  long.  Imme- 
diately they  have  but  this  inanimate  presence  to  listen  to  what 
they  say,  they  recommence  reviling  each  other ;  Thdrdse's  constant 
cry  to  him  is,  "  You  killed  Camille  "  ;  he  is  driven  mad  for  a  time  ; 
he  believes  that  he  is  the  dead  man.  At  the  same  moment  the 
same  determination  to  rid  themselves  of  each  other  comes  upon 
both.  He  will  poison  her ;  he  takes  the  vial  from  his  pocket 
Madame  Raquin  reads  Th^rdse's  thoughts ;  she  points  with  her 
eyes  at  a  knife ;  Th^r^se  is  about  to  use  it,  when  she  and  her 
husband  face  each  other,  and  then,  to  their  horror,  the  hitherto 
motionless,  dumb  figure  rises  and  speaks  to  them.  Madame 
Raquin,  they  fear,  is  going  to  denounce  them  ;  no,  the  punishment 
the  law  would  mete  them  out  is  too  easy,  too  summary ;  she  will 
live  on  to  hold  them  in  her  power,  to  witness  their  days  of  misery 
and  their  nights  of  torture,  never  to  escape  from  them  or  her. 
Such  a  vision  of  torture  is  unbearable ;  Th^rdse  picks  up  the  bottle 
of  prussic  acid  that  has  dropped  from  Laurent's  hand  and  swallows  a 
portion  of  its  contents.  Her  miserable  accomplice  in  crime  takes 
the  remainder,  and  they  lie  dead  at  the  feet  of  their  remorseless 
fate,  Madame    Raquin    muttering    as    they    breathe  i^y^^O^O^i^ 

13 


194  ThMse  Raqmn.  [Oct..  i«9c 


"They  have  died  too  quickly."  From  the  foregoing  may  be 
imagined  the  spell  that  holds  the  audience  during  the  perform- 
ance. It  is  an  extraordinary  fact  that  these  "unconventional" 
plays  bring  out  the  best  qualities  of  tJie  actors,  and  in  TkA^ese 
Raquin  there  are  many  situations  that  would  become  the  subject 
of  derision  were  they  not  made  so  impressive  by  the  excellence  of 
the  acting.  Mrs.  Theodore  Wright  had  appeared  in  several 
difficult  parts  previously,  but  in  none  so  difficult  as  this.  The 
foolishly  fond  mother  of  the  opening  scenes  transformed  into  a 
very  Medusa,  seated  through  the  better  part  of  an  act  without 
uttering  a  word,  but  only  conveying  by  her  eyes  the  passion  and 
hate  that  were  boiling .  within  her  impotent  frame,  the  soft- 
hearted, sympathetic  woman  transformed  into  a  demon,  were 
conveyed  in  an  extraordinarily  convincing  manner,  and  made  one 
regret  that  Mrs.  Theodore  Wright  did  not  follow  up  the  profession 
in  which  she  appeared  a  good  many  years  ago,  it  is  said,  as  Miss 
Austin.  W.  L.  Abingdon  has  so  long  been  associated  with 
villains'  parts  that  it  came  almost  as  a  surprise  to  many  to  see 
how  well  he  could  play  the  impassioned  lover,  but  his  real 
strength  came  out  when  he  had  to  picture  to  us  the  man  driven 
out  of  his  senses  by  superstitious  fears  and  never-sleeping  remorse ; 
his  realism  rose  to  the  height  of  tragedy,  and  this  performance  will 
stamp  him  as  an  actor  whose  value  and  power  were  hitherto  un- 
known, though  he  had  been  highly  appreciated.  For  so  young  an 
actress  Laura  Johnson  compassed  much  ;  slight  of  physique,  with 
not  too  sweet  a  voice,  she  yet  showed  an  intensity  of  feeling,  a 
rapture  of  love,  and  a  measure  of  dramatic  strength  that  are  to 
be  very  highly  commended.  In  the  tragic  scene  with  Laurent  she 
failed  a  little — it  was  not  concentrated  hate  that  she  showed  for 
her  companion  in  crime ;  it  was  rather  the  petty  nagging  of  a 
small-minded  woman.  Herberte-Basing  understood  the  querulous 
selfishness  of  Camille,  and  H.  de  Lange  introduced  some  lifelike 
touches  into  the  character  of  Grivet,  the  old  bachelor  so  wedded 
to  his  "  little  ways  "  that  he  had  broken  off  his  intended  marriage 
with  a  lady  because  she  liked  cafi-au-lait  and  he  did  not  John 
Gibson  was  sound  and  natural  as  Michaud ;  and  Clarice  Shirley 
told  with  considerable  natvete  the  progress  of  her  love  affair  with 
her  admirer  "  the  blue  Prince,"  a  character  that  is  spoken  of,  but 
not  seen.  Thirhe  Raquin  was  put  in  the  evening  bill  at  the 
Royalty  on  Wednesday,  Oct.  14th,  Mr.  Herberte-Basing  having 
acquired  the  English  rights.  The  original  (English)  cast  appeared 
in  it. 

loth,    Glx)BE. — The  Parson^  farcical  comedy,  and  Foiled^  dra- 

Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


Oct.,  xBgij  Prime  and  Pauper.  195 

matic  episode,  by  J.  R.  Alberton,  both  produced  for  one  night  by 
F.  J.  Leslie,  are  simply  mentioned  in  order  that  we  may  express 
our  surprise  that  any  manager  should  presume  to  tax  the  patience 
of  an  audience  by  placing  such  badly-rehearsed  and  worse-written 
plays  before  them.  Of  The  Parson  it  is  perhaps  only  just  to 
state  that  it  was  an  early  work  of  the  author,  S.  J.  Adair 
Fitzgerald,  who  wished  it  to  be  made  public  that  he  had  intended 
to  rewrite  his  work,  and  that  F.  J.  Leslie  produced  it  unknown 
to  him  and  without  his  consent,  and  with  his  (Mr.  Leslie's) 
interpolations,  for  which  act  Mr.  Fitzgerald  intended  taking  legal 
measures. 

1 2th.  Court  Theatre,  Liverpool. — Ellen  Terry's  daughter 
Ailsa  Craig  appeared,  under  the  name  of  Miss  Hallett,  as 
Donalbain  in  Macbeth^  and,  owing  to  Ellen  Terry's  illness.  Amy 
Roselle  played  Lady  Macbeth,  and  won  golden  opinions. 

1 2th,  The  first  London  dramatic  version  of  Prince  and  Pauper 
was  from  the  pen  of  Mrs.  Oscar  Beringer,  and  was  tried  at  a 
matinie  at  the  Gaiety  on  April  1 2th  of  last  year.  This  laboured 
under  the  disadvantage  that  Vera  Beringer,  who  was  supposed  to 
play  both  parts,  had  frequently  to  make  use  of  a  double  (Alfred 
Field-Fisher).  In  Mrs.  Abbey  Sage  Richardson's  American 
version  of  the  story  (produced  at  the  Broadway  Theatre  Jan.  20th, 
1 890)  the  dual  rdU  was  filled  by  a  very  charming  and  clever 
little  girl,  Elsie  Leslie.  To  this  version  Joseph  Hatton  acknow- 
ledges himself  indebted  for  "the  lOve  scenes  between  Lord 
Seymour  and  the  Lady  Elizabeth,  the  parting  between  Tom 
Canty  and  his  mother,  and  the  closing  situation  of  the  third  act" 
The  latest  adaptor  does  not  let  us  see  Henry  VI I L,  of  whom 
Mr.  W.  H.  Vernon  gave  us  such  a  striking  illustration,  dramatic 
and  pictorial,  at  the  Gaiety ;  and  whether  owing  to  the  actor  or 
author.  Miles  Hendon  is  not  by  any  means  so  impressive  or  noble 
a  character  as  in  Mrs.  Beringer's  version  ;  in  fact,  the  good- 
hearted  gentleman  is  turned  into  a  roystering  swash-buckler. 
The  strange  adventures  that  befell  the  two  examples  of  the  most 
opposite  poles  of  society  appear  as  though  they  would  afford 
material  for  a  good  acting  drama,  but  somehow  they  do  not  fulfil 
expectation.  The  great  drawback  to  the  dual  r6le  is  that,  to 
afford  time  for  change  of  costume,  the  interest  of  the  play  is  often 
broken  by  the  forced  introduction  of  scenes  and  colloquies  that 
only  delay  instead  of  forwarding  the  action  ;  and  this  is  the  case 
in  Mr.  Hatton's  work.  The  loves  of  Lord  Seymour  and  the  Lady 
Elizabeth  lead  to  nothing ;  the  episode  of  Mad  Antony  is  of  little 
use,  because  at  the  Vaudeville  the  stage  is  so  small ;  and  then 


196  Prince  and  Pauper.  [Oct.,  iSgx. 

there  is  but  little  development  in  the  character  of  Mrs.  Canty  as 
the  fortune-teller.  Still  the  play  was  listened  to  with  interest, 
there  was  much  applause  during  the  evening,  and  the  author  was 
called  for  at  the  close.  Joseph  Hatton  has,  wherever  he  possibly 
could,  taken  a  different  reading  from  Mrs.  Oscar  Beringer's 
version  of  Mark  Twain's  romance,  although  of  course  following 
the  main  thread  of  the  story.  The  play  opens  in  Tom  Cant/s 
home  in  Offal  Court,  where  his  ruffianly  father  is  prevented  by 
Mrs.  Canty's  Nan  from  belabouring  him.  Then  comes  the  scene 
at  Whitehall,  where  the  Prince  changes  clothes  with  the  Pauper 
(very  cleverly  managed,  for  no  "  double  "  is  used  until  the  very 
last  episode,  and  then  only  the  back  of  the  double  is  seen).  We 
hear  that  John  Canty  has  murdered  a  priest,  and  so  is  obliged  to 
fly ;  and  next  we  have  Miles  Hendon's  lodgings,  where  "  the 
soldier  of  fortune/'  having  rescued  the  Prince  in  the  Pauper's 
rags  from  the  fury  of  his  father,  is  so  amused  with  the  boy's 
assumption  of  royal  dignity  that  he  humours  him  to  the  top  of 
his  bent,  allowing  himself  to  be  knighted  and  obtaining  permission 
for  himself  and  his  heirs  for  ever  to  sit  when  so  minded  in  the 
royal  presence.  The  third  act  takes  place  in  the  ruins  of 
Chertsey  Abbey,  where  John  Canty  and  his  family  and  the  band 
of  thieves  and  beggars  have  taken  refuge.  Here  Antony  Gorse, 
known  as  Mad  Antony,  is  introduced.  With  a  view  of  avenging 
the  wrongs  that  he  has  received  at  the  hands  of  Henry  VIII.,  he 
is  about  to  kill  the  Prince,  who  has  been  brought  there  under  the 
supposition  that  he  is  Tom  Canty.  Mad  Antony,  however,  looks 
upon  him  as  the  Prince,  and  is  on  the  point  of  butchering  him, 
when  Miles  Hendon  arrives  in  time  to  save  his  life  and  show  him 
the  means  of  escape.  Miles  is  going  to  be  hanged  by  the  beggars 
for  his  interference,  when  soldiers  appear  and  beat  back  the 
ruffianly  crew.  In  the  last  act,  in  the  "Throne  Room,"  Tom 
Canty,  who  from  his  persistent  denial  that  he  is  the  Prince  and 
from  his  strange  behaviour  is  looked  upon  as  insane,  is  obliged 
by  the  Lord  Protector  to  hear  petitions,  etc.,  and  his  mother 
is  brought  before  him  as  a  witch  who  is  to  be  burnt.  He 
pardons  her,  however,  and  then  the  Lord  Protector  receives  a 
letter  from  the  real  Prince,  who  presently  appears,  proves  his 
identity,  and  rewards  Miles  for  his  faithful  service  by  creating 
him  Earl  of  Hendon.  Bessie  Hatton  very  cleverly  for  the  most 
part  kept  the  two  characters  distinct,  but  was  best  as  the  Prince ; 
as  the  Pauper  she  was  a  little  too  much  the  St.  Giles's  street  arab 
of  to-day.  Henry  Howe  lent  dignity  to  the  rdle  of  the  Lord 
Protector;    and  Marie  Linden  and  Charles  Fulton  did  all  that 


Oct.,  iSgi.]  Stolen  from  Homc,  197 

was  possible  for  the  characters  of  the  Princess  Elizabeth  and 
Lord  Seymour.  Forbes  Dawson  overdid  the  swash-buckler  Miles 
Hendon,  and  was  quite  out  of  the  picture.  Bassett  Roe,  looking 
like  another  Holy  Clement,  seized  his  opportunity  as  Mad  Antony 
and  lifted  the  scene.  Mark  Kinghorne  was  appropriately  ruffianly 
as  John  Canty,  but  Mrs.  Macklin  and  Laura  Linden  were  com- 
pletely thrown  away  in  having  such  poor  characters  to  represent 
as  his  wife  and  daughter.  Alfred  J.  Caldicott  contributed  music 
taken  from  melodies  of  the  period.  Horace  Sedger  was  generous 
in  his  mounting  of  the  piece,  which  would  have  done  better  on 
a  larger  stage,  the  little  Vaudeville  having  no  room  for  Court 
pageantry  and  mfil^es  of  soldiers.  The  play  was  worth  seeing 
as  a  curiosity,  but  it  only  ran  until  the  31st  of  the  month. 
A  few  nights  later  as  a  first  piece  was  played 

Palmistry^  a  very  bright  little  comedietta  by  Ralph  R.  Lumley, 
first  produced  at  a  matinee  at  the  Prince  of  Wales's  April  13  th, 
1888,  of  which  a  full  account  is  given  in  Dramatic  Notes  for  that 
year. 

1 2th.  Sadler's  Wells. — Stolen  from  Home;  or.  Human 
Hearts,  three-act  drama,  author  unannounced.  Same  night 
Beauty  and  the  Beast,  new  burlesque  in  five  scenes. 

1 5  th.  W.  Davenport  Adams  delivered  a  very  interesting  lecture 
to  the  members  of  the  Playgoers*  Club,  taking  as  his  subject 
"  The  Stage  of  the  Future."  Passing  in  review  the  plays  of  the 
present  day  and  of  those  to  come,  of  which  Mr.  Adams  thinks 
well  and  hopefully,  he  regretted  the  dearth  of  coming  actors, 
arising  from  the  prevalence  of  long  runs,  which  debar  the  actor 
from  gaining  experience.  Mr.  Adams  therefore  advocated  that 
the  "  repertory "  system  should  be  adopted  more  generally,  and 
also  that  theatres  should  confine  themselves  and  adhere  to  one 
style  of  entertainment ;  and  enforced,  above  all  things,  his  opinion 
that  the  theatre's  first  object  should  be  to  amuse,  and  that 
therefore  it  should  not  obey  the  dictates  of  any  particular  school. 
J.  F.  Nisbet  was  in  the  chair.  J.  T.  Grein  is  now  the  President 
of  the  Playgoers'  Club,  in  the  place  of  J.  K.  Jerome,  who  was 
compelled  to  resign,  much  to  the  regret  of  the  members. 

15th.  Death  of  Gilbert  Arthur  A'Beckett,  born  April  7th,  1837. 
Was  the  writer  of  several  librettos  and  also  of  some  dramatic  works. 

15th.  Death  of  H.  J.  Turner,  aged  85.  Will  be  best  re- 
membered  by  old  playgoers  as  a  favourite  actor  at  the  Strand 
Theatre  during  the  old  Farren  management,  and  afterwards  with 
Mrs.  Swanborough.  Father  of  Sallie  Turner.  Buried  at  Shooter's 
Hill  cemetery.  ^^^^^^  by  Google 


198  Pamekfs  Prodigy,  [Oct^iB9i. 

19th.  St.  George's  Hall, —  The  Diary  of  a  Tramp.  Comey 
Grain  tcK>k  a  leaf  out  of  Albert  Chevalier's  book  in  his  new 
musical  sketch.  It  abounds  with  the  '^ coster"  element  in  the 
shape  of  songs,  although  of  course  other  characters  are  introduced. 
Of  these  latter  I  liked  his  ''  Only  Man  left  in  the  Club  *'  and  the 
description  of  the  people  he  met  at  the  genteel  boarding-house. 
His  "Harpy  Days  of  Childhood/'  the  "  Ballad  of  Chocolate  Cream," 
and  "  Seeing  Life  "  were  amusing  ;  but  altogether  Comey  Grain's 
latest  sketch  is  not  quite  one  of  his  happiest  Killiecrumper^ 
which  preceded,  went  capitally. 

20th.  Opera  Comique. — The  American.  Evelyn  McNay 
played  Elizabeth  Robins's  part 

2 1  St  Court. — Pamela's  Prodigy^  It  was  daring  of  the  author 
to  describe  his  work  as  a  "  lively  comedy,"  as  whether  a  play  is 
"  lively  "  or  not  should  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  audience. 
In  this  case  it  was  peculiarly  inappropriate,  for  a  more  inane,  dull, 
and  in  some  parts  distasteful  production  has  seldom  been  seen. 
Nothing  but  the  respect  in  which  Mrs.  John  Wood  is  held  pre- 
vented an  outburst  of  condemnation.  The  talented  manageress 
worked  pitiably  hard  to  retrieve  the  fortunes  of  the  evening ;  she 
sang,  she  danced,  she  was  caustically  amusing  at  times  in  her  own 
happy  way — ^was  even  humorously  pathetic — but  it  was  impossible 
even  for  her  to  arouse  anything  like  interest  in  her  most  friendly 
audience.  Ably  seconded  by  Edward  Righton  as  a  nimble  little 
dancing-master  and  by  Emily  Miller  as  an  intriguing  school- 
mistress, by  Mary  Jocelyn  as  a  simpering  coquettish  miss-in-her- 
teens,  with  Greorge  Giddens  as  the  most  lachrymose  of  musicians, 
the  brave  efforts  of  these  capable  performers  availed  nothing,  for 
the  author  had  given  them  no  chance.  The  first  thirty  years  of 
this  century  allowed  for  the  display  of  some  very  curious  and  rich 
dresses,  the  sight  of  which  was  indeed  the  most  enjoyable  portion 
of  the  evening,  but  the  cost  of  which  must,  as  things  have  turned 
out,  entail  a  heavy  loss  on  the  management  It  is  useless  to 
attempt  to  describe  a  plot  which  does  not  exist  Much  as  Mrs. 
Wood  is  to  be  sympathised  with  in  her  failure,  it  is  impossible  to 
acquit  her  of  all  participation  in  the  result,  in  the  want  of  judg- 
ment shown  by  an  actress  and  manageress  of  such  experience 
in  selecting  a  play  that  from  its  worthlessness  was  almost  an 
insult  to  the  audiences  that  support  her  theatre.  The  piece  was 
withdrawn  on  the  31st  inst 

2 1st  OvE^LA  COUKIHE  matinee, — Edward  Compton  chose  for 
the  first  of  his  series  of  Wednesday  afternoon  performances  of 
old  comedies  Samuel  Foote's  well-known  play  The  Liar.     This 


Ocr.,xB9i.3  The  Liar  199 

play,  originally  produced  in    1762,  was  claimed  by  the  author 
to  have  been   taken    from   an  old  comedy  of    Lopez  de  Vega, 
on  which  Comeille  founded   his  Menteur,     There  appears,  how- 
ever, to  be  little  doubt  that  Foote  took  his  ideas,  and,  indeed, 
much  of  his  language,  from  Sir  Richard  Steele's  Lying  Lovers  ;  or. 
The  Ladie^  Friendship,  written  in  1 704.    The  Liar  was  a  favourite 
piece  with  the  late  Charles    Mathews,  who    revived    it    at   the 
Olympic  in  March,  1 867,  when  he  played  young  Jack  Wilding ; 
Mrs.  Charles  Mathews,  Miss  Grantham  ;  Horace  Wigan,  Papillon  ; 
Mrs.  Stephens,  Miss  Godfrey ;  Mr.  Addison,  Old  Wilding ;  and 
H.  J.  Montague,  Sir  James  Elliott.     Charles  Mathews  reappeared 
in  the  play  at  the  Gaiety  in  May,  1873,  ^'^d  at  the  Opera  Comique 
in  April,  1877.     The  present  elder  William  Farren  appeared  in 
the  character  of  Young  Wilding  at   the  Aquarium  Theatre  on 
Nov.   4th,   1878,  on    the   same    afternoon    playing  Grandfather 
Whitehead.     The  latest  London  production  of  The  Liar^  I  think, 
was  at  the  Prince's  (now  the  Prince  of  Wales's),  when  Charles 
Collette  filled  the  title  rdle  during  his  series  of  twelve  afternoon 
performances  commencing  April  21st,  1884;  and  he  also  con- 
stantly played  the  part  when  touring  with    his    own  company. 
The  Liar  has  formed  part  of  Mr.  Compton's  repertory  in  the 
country,  though  he  has  not  hitherto  played  it   in  London.     It 
went  well,  and  caused  considerable  laughter.     We  have  merely 
to  bear  in  mind  that  Young  Wilding  has  become  such  a  very 
Munchausen  that  it  is  only  by  accident   that  he  tells  the  truth, 
and  this  "  pernicious  habit "  very  nearly  leads  him   into  a  duel, 
offends  his  father,  and  makes  him  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  the 
woman  he  loves.     Edward  Compton's  Jack  Wilding  possesses  the 
unblushing   effrontery,   quickness    of  repartee,    and    glibness   of 
tongue  necessary  to  the  character;  he   is   not  deficient  in  the 
courtliness  of  the  age,  and  is  altogether  so  genial  that  his  untruth- 
fulness   is    forgiven,    and    his    fertility    of    resource   applauded. 
Evelyn    McNay,    from    her    impersonation    of   Miss    Grantham, 
promised  great  things  in  the  higher  walks  of  comedy.     There 
was  freshness  and   spirit  in   her  acting,  and   a  little  hesitation 
occasionally  in  the  text  may  be  pardoned  on  such  an  occasion. 
Elinor  Aickin  brought  out  with    point    and   very    considerable 
humour  the  vanity  of  the  prudish  old    maid  Miss    Grantham. 
Lewis  Ball  is   always  at  home  in   the  old  comedies.     Old  Mr. 
Wilding  was    therefore   quite  sure  of  a  sterling  performance  at 
his  hands.     Clarence  Blakiston  was  a  trifle  modem  as  Sir  James 
Elliott,  but  spoke  his  lines  well,  and  Sidney  Paxton  was  judiciously 
unobtrusive  as  the  valet  Papillon,  who  masqueraded  for  a  time  as 


2C»  The  Queetfs  Room.  [Oct.,i89r. 

a  marquis  by  his  master's  orders.  Fred  W.  Permain  had  all  the 
manners  of  a  well-bred  servant  as  John,  and  W.  G.  Cunningham 
as  William  made  up  the  cast  The  play  was  handsomely  staged 
Foote's  comedy  was  preceded  by  a  one-act  poetical  play  by 
F.  Frankfort  Moore,  performed  for  the  first  time,  entitled 

The  Queen's  Room,     This  work  can  scarcely  be  said  to  rise  to 
grandeur  as  poetry,  though  the  lines  are  smooth  and  the  episode 
interesting.      It    must,    indeed,   be   judged    rather   as    excellent 
writing,  though  poor  verse.     As  may  be  gathered  from  the  title, 
the  events  take  place  in  the  private  chamber  of  the  beautiful 
Queen  of  Scots  at  Holyrood.     Mary  Beaton,  her  favourite  at- 
tendant, is  awaiting  at  midnight  the  return  of  the  Queen  from 
the  banquet  hall.     She  discovers  the  love  she  feels  for  Chastelard, 
her  mistress's  lover,  when  through  a  secret  panel  appears  Fathor 
Allen,  who,  unknown  to  all,  has  arrived  in  Scotland.     He  quickly 
reads  her  heart,  and  tells  her   that  she  must  win  the  poet  for 
herself,  and  so  save  the  Queen.     Presently  Mary  enters,  and  the 
priest  warns  her  of  the  neglect  of  her  duties,  and  in  a  vision  sees 
her  future  fate,  but  will  not  reveal  it     Mary  beseeches  him  to 
unfold  the  future  to  her,  but  the  wily  Churchman  has  caught  a 
glimpse  of  Chastelard  concealing  himself  behind  the  arras.     He 
therefore  substitutes  the  latter's  death  on  the  scaffold  for  that  of 
the  Queen,  which  forces  from  her  the  avowal  of  her  passion  ;  a 
tumult  is  heard  ;  the  guards,  headed  by  Lord  Damley,  demand 
admittance,  crying,  "  Death  to  the  Queen's  lover !"    Father  Allen 
«aves  Chastelard  by  opening  for  him  a  secret  door.  A  stormy  inter- 
view takes  place  between  the  Queen  and  Damley,  who  presently 
withdraws.     Chastelard  comes  forth  from  his  place  of  concealment 
and  throws  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  Queen,  who  embraces  him 
with  rapture.     Father  Allen  utters  his  command,  "  In  three  hours, 
sir,  to  France !  "  and  the  curtain  falls.     The  whole  action  takes 
place  so  quickly  as  to  maintain  the  interest,  and  the  verdict  on 
the  play  was  decidedly  favourable,  the  company  and  the  author 
being  persistently  called  for.     Mrs.  Lancaster-Wallis  played  the 
Queen  with  womanly  grace  and  dignity,  and  with  a  passion  that 
roused  enthusiasm  for  the  Queen's  confession  of  love.     Edward 
Compton  was  more  of   the  intriguing,  cynical  priest  as  Father 
Allen  than  the  Churchman  who  exercises  his  will  on  king^  and 
nations,  but  still  there  was  some  manifestation  of  power  and  of  an 
iron  will.     Clarence  Blakiston  threw  a  halo  of  romance  over  the 
character  of  Chastelard.     Harrison  Hunter  was  a  bold  and  manly 
Lord  Darnley.     Evelyn  McNay  was  a  very  charming  and  beautiful 
Mary  Beaton,  and  did  full  justice  to  the  author's  lines.     Both 


Oct.,  1891.]  Godpapa.  20  r 

pieces  were  so  successful  that  they  were  repeated,  and  promised 
well  for  the  series  of  Wednesday  matinees  which  Mr.  Compton 
had  announced.  They  were  placed  in  the  evening  bill  Dec.  5  th. 
2isL  Augustin  Daly  gave  a  luncheon  at  the  Savoy  Hotel  in 
honour  of  Mrs.  G.  R.  Gilbert's  seventieth  birthday.  It  was  a 
notable  occasion,  as  there  were  also  present  Mrs.  Keeley,  in  her 
eighty-sixth  year ;  Henry  Howe,  in  his  eightieth  year ;  and  Mrs. 
Alfred  Mellon,  who  was  approaching  her  seventieth  year. 

22nd.    Comedy. — Godpapa,   by    F.    C.    Philips    and    Charles 
Brookfield.     This  play  gives  one  the  impression  of  being  taken 
from  the  French,  the  imbroglios  being  such  as  our  Gallic  neigh- 
bours love  to  unravel.     There  is  much  of  what  is  now  described 
as  "  smart "  writing  in  the  piece  ;  there  are  some  clever  innuendoes 
for  those  who  relish  such,  and  the  first  act  is  very  laughable  ;  the 
second  falls  ofT,  and  should  be  pruned ;  the  close  of  the  last  should 
be  strengthened.     It  has  a  good  part  for  Lottie  Venne,  and  an 
excellent  one  for  C.  H.  Hawtrey,  who  was  cordially  received  on 
his  reappearance  afler  his  long  illness.      As  Reginald  Forster, 
assuming  another  name,  he  presents  himself  at  Mrs.  St.  Germain's 
aristocratic  matrimonial   agency  with   a  view  of    negotiating  a 
marriage  for  Miss  Mary  Browne,  of  whom  he  declares  himself  to  be 
the  "  Godpapa."     This  is  of  course  but  a  subterfuge,  as  he  has  got 
himself  entangled  with  this  apparently  guileless  young  lady,  and 
wishes  to  rid  himself  of  her,  as  he  contemplates  marriage  with 
Violet,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Bunbury.     This  silly  old  gentleman, 
a  widower,  has  also  placed  himself  under  an  assumed  name  on 
Mrs.  St  Germain's  books,  and  Miss  Browne  takes  his  fancy  so 
much  that  he  chooses  her.     The  young  innocent  thing  is  really 
very  wide-awake  ;  she  in  the  most  delicate  manner  shows  her 
knowledge   of  slang,  and  accepts  presents  and   convenient  aid 
from  gentlemen  with  the  beseeching  entreaty,  "  I  hope  you  won't 
think  the  worse  of  me,  will  you  ? "     She  sees  through  Reginald's 
wish  to  get  rid  of  her,  and  meeting  both  him  and  Mr.  Bunbury 
at  Mr.  Craven's,  a  fashionable  milliner,  to  whom  she  is  forewoman, 
she  places  them  in  a  very  awkward  position,  and  not  only  them, 
but  Mr.  Craven,  whose  daughter  she  really  is,  though  he  has  never 
let  his  wife  know  this  fact.      Reginald  extricates  himself  from 
his  difficulties  by  lying  in  that  bland,  smooth  manner  of  which 
Mr.  Hawtrey  is  so  complete  a  master ;  poor  Bunbury  is  made  the 
scapegoat,  and  Mary  Browne  finally  pairs  off  with  "  Pygmalion," 
a  simple  countryman  of  means,  who  requires  a  wife  in  answer  to 
his  advertisement  that  shall  be  "clean.  Christian,  and  cheerful." 
We  have  often  seen   Charles    Hawtrey   and   Lottie   Venne   in 


acw  The  Times.  [Ocr^  1891. 

similar  parts  to  those  they  are  now  playing,  and  they  appear  to 
be  as  acceptable  as  ever  to  the  audience.  Annie  Irish's  style  is 
exactly  suited  for  the  aristocratic  "  agent,"  and  her  scenes  were 
admirably  got  through,  particularly  that  in  which  she  interviewed 
her  lady  clients.  Charles  Brookfield  was  amusing  as  silly  Mr. 
Bunbury.  Vane  Featherston  aided  the  piece  considerably  as  the 
fashionable  milliner  Mrs.  Craven,  who  interlards  her  sentences 
with  very  bad  French ;  and  Violet  Armbruster  looked  pretty  and 
played  brightly.  W.  Wyes  and  James  Nelson  were  good.  God- 
papa  was  well  received,  and  was  preceded  by  T.  G.  Warren's 
pretty  comedietta  Rosabel  (late  Houp-ld).  Jennie  Dawson,  W. 
Wyes,  and  Ernest  Cosham  were  excellent  in  it 

22nd.  Wilson  Barrett  made  his  first  appearance  as  Othello  at 
the  Royal  Court  Theatre,  Liverpool,  with  very  great  success. 

24th.  Terry's. — The  Times,  by  A.  W.  Pinero.  "Vanitas 
vanitatum  I "  Wise  old  Solomon  inculcated  the  doctrine  nearly 
three  thousand  years  ago,  and  here  is  A.  W.  Pinero  endeavouring 
to  teach  us  the  same  in  a  fin-de-siicle  age.  The  design  of  The 
Times  is  that  of  a  comic  play ;  so  the  author  tells  us  in  the  intro- 
ductory note  to  his  "  book  of  the  play,"  which  he  presented  to  the 
audience  on  the  night  of  the  first  production  at  Terry's.  It  has 
its  comic  moments,  but  it  is  decidedly  not  a  comic  play,  nor  is  it 
by  any  means  Mr.  Pinero's  best  work.  One  was  kept  straining 
in  expectation  for  the  laughs  that  were  to  come,  but  which  only 
came  at  intervals  ;  bright  and  epigrammatic  as  was  some  of  the 
dialogue,  there  was  some  that  was  almost  tedious ;  and,  instead 
of  being  comic,  many  of  the  situations  were  really  heart-rending. 
One  could  not  laugh  at  the  miserable  position  to  which  the  up- 
start former  draper  and  his  vain  wife  had  brought  themselves  by 
their  deceit  and  longing  to  get  into  a  society  which  only  looked 
down  upon  them  ;  nor  was  the  sight  of  a  young  fellow,  sodden 
with  drink,  wrecking  the  hopes  that  his  father  had  formed  of  him, 
a  subject  for  merriment.  The  "  curtain  "  that  saved  the  second 
act  in  a  measure  was  purely  farcical  ;  the  dance  introduced  into 
the  third  was  meaningless  and  out  of  place  ;  and  the  play,  it 
must  be  admitted,  suffered  from  the  fact  that  Edward  Terry  is 
looked  upon  as  an  actor  who  is  to  make  us  laugh.  He  acted 
admirably ;  his  disappointment,  his  terror  of  exposure,  and 
collapse  on  the  failure  of  his  hopes  were  real — there  was  nothing 
comic  in  them.  At  the  hands  of  Mr.  Hare  this  would  have  been 
expected,  but  the  public  will  not  give  Mr.  Terry  credit  for  being 
something  more  than  a  "  comic  "  actor,  and  therefore  the  snigger 
was  heard  at  the  most  inopportune  moments.     Percy  Egerton- 


ocT^i89i.]  The  Times.  203 

Bompas,  M.P.,  is  a  self-made  millionaire,  in  Parliament  on  the 
Conservative  side,  whose  son  Howard  is  at  college.  The 
Countess  of  Ripstow  has  just  called  to  arrange  the  engagement 
between  her  son  Lord  Lurgashall  and  the  M.P.'s  daughter  Beryl. 
Everything  is  prospering — the  M.P/s  wife,  a  vain  woman,  is 
gloating  over  her  position,  when  a  dreadful  event  occurs. 
Howard,  a  weak,  drunken  little  wretch,  who  has  been  reading 
in  a  Welsh  village,  has  married  Honoria,  the  daughter  of  his 
vulgar,  uneducated  Irish  landlady,  Mrs.  Hooley,  and  brings  his 
wife  and  mother-in-law  home  to  his  father's  house.  What  is  to 
be  done  ?  The  Hon.  Montague  Trimble,  sponsor  for  the  Bompas 
household  in  society  (for  introducing  them  to  which  he  is  well 
paid),  sees  the  way  out  of  the  difficulty.  Honoria  and  her  mother 
must  be  known  to  the  world  as  Mrs.  and  Miss  Mountrafford  ; 
they  must  have  been  philanthropically  busying  themselves  in 
America  for  years  ;  the  girl  must  be  educated  and  proclaimed 
an  heiress  engaged  to  Howard.  The  scheme  works.  A  Miss 
Cazalet,  who  runs  a  society  paper  called  The  Morning  Message^ 
has  forced  herself  into  Mrs.  Bompas's  good  graces;  but  the 
Countess  of  Ripstow  does  not  approve  of  the  lady  journalist, 
who  has  consequently  to  be  got  rid  of.  Miss '  Cazalet  soon  has 
her  revenge,  however,  after  Howard,  in  a  drunken  moment,  tells 
Lucy  Tuck  (Honoria's  governess)  all  about  his  marriage,  and 
Lucy  innocently  reveals  the  secret  to  Miss  Cazalet  (who  is  really 
her  mother).  Next  day  a  paragraph  appears  in  The  Morning 
Message  telling  all  the  facts.  In  the  meantime  Mrs.  Hooley  has 
become  engaged  to  Timothy  McShane,  a  Home  Rule  M.P. 
She  has  told  him  who  she  really  is ;  and  McShane,  as  the  price  of 
his  silence,  demands  that  Bompas  shall  become  a  Home  Ruler,  to 
which  the  wretched  man  consents.  There  is  still  another  blow 
to  fall,  for  whilst  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bompas  are  congratulating  them- 
selves on  their  daughter's  coming  marriage  with  Lord  Lurgashall, 
Beryl  (who,  by-the-bye,  is  the  only  really  sympathetic  character 
in  the  play)  announces  that  she  will  be  no  party  to  the  deceit, 
and  has  therefore  broken  off  her  engagement.  All  this  is  too 
much  for  Bompas  :  his  wife  reminds  him  of  the  old  happy  days 
when  they  were  struggling  ;  the  M.P.  summons  up  his  courage  ; 
he  will  have  no  more  of  society  and  the  great  world  ;  he  resigns 
his  seat  in  Parliament,  determines  to  go  and  live  abroad,  where 
he  is  not  known,  and  has  but  one  scrap  of  comfort :  when  Lord 
Lurgashall  asks  for  Beryl's  hand  in  marriage  before  he  goes. 
As  to  what  is  to  become  of  Howard  and  Honoria  we  are  left  to 
conjecture,     I  cannot  speak  too  highly  of  the  acting  of  Edward 


204  The  Planter.  tOcT.,1891. 

Terry  and  Fanny  Brough,  whilst  equal  to  their  impersonations 
was  Henry  V.  Elsmond's  vivid  picture  of  the  miserable,  drunken 
lout  Howard.  Mr.  Elliott  was  excellent  as  the  mean,  sycophantic 
Trimble,  and  Annie  Hill  was  charming.  The  management  had 
enlisted  two  promising  recruits  in  Laura  Barradell  and  Hetty 
Dene.  Alexes  Leighton  was  clever  as  Mrs.  Hooley,  and  Miss 
Talbot  aristocratic  as  the  Countess  of  Ripstow  ;  but  Helena 
Dacre  and  Fred  Thome  were  not  all  that  might  be  desired. 
The  Times  pleased  the  public,  for  **  House  full "  was  announced 
for  many  nights. 

26th.  Opera  Comique  matinee. — A  dramatic  version  of  Rud- 
yard  Kipling  and  Wolcott  Balatier's  novel  The  Naulekka  was 
produced  by  Mr.  Compton's  comedy  company  for  copyright 
purposes. 

28th.  News  reached  London  of  the  suicide  during  the  previous 
night  of  A.  M.  Denison,  a  member  of  the  Kendal  company  in 
America.  He  had  been  suffering  from  melancholia.  Made  his 
last  appearance  in  London  as  Colonel  Tavenor  in  Aunt  Jack  at 
the  Court  Theatre  in  1889. 

29th.  St.  James's  Hall. — Miss  Arthur  (Mrs.  Howard  Paul) 
made  her  dibut  as  a  reciter,  and  was  heard  to  great  advantage  in 
two  recitations  :  "  Solitude  "  and  "  The  Faithful  Lovers." 

29th.  Prince  of  Wales's. — Two  hundred  and  fifty-first  and 
last  performance  of  L Enfant  Prodigue, 

29th.  Royalty. — On  the  withdrawal  of  Thirhe  Raquin,  East 
Lynne  was  revived,  with  Frances  Ivor  as  Lady  Isabel,  Geraldine 
Olliffe  as  Joyce,  Mrs.  Brunton  as  Cornelia  Carlyle,  Nina 
Williams  as  Barbara  Hare,  and  Eric  Field-Fisher  as  Willie 
Carlyle.  W.  L.  Abingdon  was  an  appropriate  Captain  Levison, 
Fuller  Mellish  a  firm  yet  sympathetic  Archibald  Carlyle,  and 
H.  de  Lange  was  amusing  as  Lawyer  Dill.  Later  F.  H. 
Westerton  played  at  different  times  the  parts  of  Captain  Levison 
and  Archibald  Carlyle,  and  made  a  success  in  both  characters. 

30th.  The  comer-stone  of  the  new  theatre  in  Cranboume 
Street,  to  be  built  for  Augustin  Daly  by  George  Edwardes,  was 
laid  by  Ada  Rehan,  and  christened  "  Daly's  Theatre  "  by  Mrs. 
S.  B.  Bancroft.  Spencer  Chadwick,  in  consultation  with  C.  J. 
Phipps,  architects.  The  verses  delivered  on  the  occasion  by  Ada 
Rehan  were  written  by  Clement  Scott 

31st.  Prince  of  Wales's. —  The  Planter.  Maurice  Ordon- 
neau's  vaudeville  La  Plantation  Thomassin  was  produced  in  Paris 
at  the  Folies  Dramatiques  on  June  ist  of  this  year.  From  its 
success  it  at  once  attracted  the  attention  of  London  managers  ; 


Oct.,  isgi.]  The  Planter,  205 

and  Horace  Sedger  becoming  the  possessor  of  the  English 
rights,  arranged  with  William  Yardley  for  the  present  version. 
It  was  not  altogether  an  easy  task  that  the  adaptor  undertook, 
for  there  was  that  in  the  original  that  English  audiences  would  not 
approve,  and  consequently  Mr.  Yardley  had  to  devote  much  of 
his  first  act  to  explanation  of  the  motives  that  influenced  his 
characters ;  and  though  he  did  this  in  as  brisk  and  amusing  a 
way  as  he  could,  told  his  story,  on  board  the  Siren — a  realistic 
presentment  of  a  passenger  steamer — the  piece  hung  fire.  The 
second  and  third  acts  made  amends,  however.  From  the  com- 
mencement of  the  former  to  the  end  there  was  plenty  of  laughter. 
Reginald  Robinson  is  a  susceptible  individual  who  has  been 
attracted  by  the  charms  of  a  Mrs.  Theodore  Thompson,  and  has 
entered  into  correspondence  with  her,  assuming  the  name  of  Don 
Lopez,  a  noted  hunter  and  a  lion  of  London  society.  We  are 
to  suppose  that  it  is  not  the  first  time  that  he  has  been  ensnared ; 
for  every  year  he  has  absented  himself  from  the  domestic  roof  for 
some  three  months,  on  the  plea  that  he  must  visit  his  plantation 
in  the  West  Indies.  Wishing  to  escape  from  the  fascinations  of 
his  enslaver,  he  arranges  that  he  will  go  to  San  Domingo ;  but 
Mrs.  Robinson  and  his  mother-in-law,  Mrs.  Tunnard,  insist  this 
time  on  accompanying  him,  and  when  he  gets  on  board  ship  with 
them  he  is  horrified  to  find  there  Mr.  Theodore  Thompson,  who, 
having  discovered  the  flirtation  that  has  been  carried  on  between 
his  wife  and  the  supposed  Don  Lopez,  is  going  out  to  horsewhip 
that  gentleman.  On  the  same  ship  are  Donald  MacHaddock,  who 
is  taking  out  his  daughter  Maggie  to  be  married  (much  against  her 
inclination)  to  the  real  Don,  and  her  young  cousin  and  lover 
Angus.  Arrived  at  San  Domingo,  Robinson  steals  a  march  on 
his  relatives  and  goes  to  the  plantation  on  which  he  expects  to 
find  his  friend  Piatt,  instead  of  which  Don  Lopez  has  become 
possessor  of  it.  Don  Jos^  mistakes  Robinson  for  MacHaddock, 
whose  arrival  he  is  awaiting ;  and  when  Mrs.  Robinson  appears, 
he  believes  her  to  be  Maggie.  Robinson,  who  sticks  at  nothing 
in  the  way  of  untruths,  passes  off*  Don  Lopez  as  his  overseer ; 
and  when  in  due  course  the  MacHaddocks  turn  up,  the  un- 
blushing Robinson  does  not  hesitate  to  describe  them  as  poor 
relations,  and  they  are  set  to  work  as  servants.  From  this  time 
a  ridiculous  game  of  cross  purposes  is  played.  Even  the  negroes 
on  the  plantation  add  to  the  confusion  ;  for  wishing  to  offer  a 
gift  to  their  future  mistress,  their  spokesman,  Whitewashington, 
presents  their  humble  gift  (a  Waterbury  watch)  first  to  Maggie 
and   then  to  Mrs.   Robinson.      It    is   finally    bestowed    on    the 


2o6  The  Crusaders.  [Nov^si^t. 

majestic  Mrs.  Tunoard,  to  whom  Don  Lopez  proposes  when  he 
has  discovered  his  mistake  He  behaves  generously  to  Maggie, 
giving  her  a  good  dower  and  bestowing  her  on  Angus  ;  but  poor 
old  MacHaddock  gets  the  credit  of  having  been  the  Don  Juan, 
and  Robinson,  after  all  his  untruths,  is  looked  upon  as  a  model 
man.  Of  course  the  piece  is  farcical  and  improbable  to  a 
degree,  but  it  was  laughable  from  the  point  already  mentioned. 
Charles  Groves,  the  fire-eating  Don  Lopez,  was  a  most  amusing 
character,  his  alternations  from  violent  rage  to  the  utmost  t^Kler- 
ness  at  the  mere  mention  of  the  fair  sex  being  the  perfection  of 
burlesque  comedy.  Fred  Kaye's  original  style  was  refreshing, 
Harry  Parker  made  the  idle  overseer  Pheelan  droll,  there  was  a 
freshness  in  conception  on  Tom  Edwardes's  part,  Natalie  Brande 
showed  the  possession  of  humour  as  the  iugMtu  Maggie^  and  Mme. 
Amadi  was  careful  not  to  exaggerate  the  mother-in-law.  T.  G. 
Warren  was  not  at  his  best  on  the  first  night,  but  improved  later. 
The  plantation  scenes  were  very  beautiful,  and  were  enlivened  by 
the  singing  of  melodies  by  real  negroes.  The  airs  were  so  pretty 
and  were  so  well  rendered  as  to  create  a  desire  that  they  had 
been  more  liberally  introduced.  The  Planter  did  not  grow  in 
favour,  and  was  withdrawn  after  a  run  of  three  weeks. 


XI. 

November. 

1st  Brother  Alfred  Edward  Bishop  installed  as  Master  of  the 
Lodge  of  Asaph  No.  13 19. 

2nd.  Surrey. — Round  the  Ringy  four-act  drama  by  Paul 
Merritt     First  time  in  London. 

2nd.  Avenue. — The  Crusaders,  The  very  names  of  the 
characters  in  Henry  Arthur  Jones's  new  play  led  one  to  expect 
something  quite  unconventional,  and  his  work  proved  to  be  such. 
He  gave  us  types  of  character  to  illustrate  the  pseudo- philanthropy, 
the  shams,  the  mean  subterfuges,  the  aggressive  self-assertiveness, 
the  mean  love  of  scandal,  the  envy  and  malice  and  hatred,  that 
are  to  be  found  in  every  walk  of  life.  As  types  they  were 
excellent,  lifelike.  We  have  all  of  us,  unfortunately,  met  with 
a  Mr.  Palsam,  the  Vice-President  of  the  Reformation  League, 
sniffing  out  unpleasant  scandals  which  he  longs  to  make  public, 
and  conceited  enough  to  believe  that  unless  everythipf   is    left 

Jigitized  by  VjOOQI^ 


Mov.,  i89i.]  The  Crusaders.  207 

under  his  control  everything  will  go  wrong.  Have  we  not  met 
with  Burge  Jawle  too,  the  pessimist  philosopher,  who  battens  in 
sloth  and  gluttony  on  the  offerings  of  those  who  give  crederce  to 
his  utterances  ;  who  proclaims  that  everything  is  at  its  worst,  and 
that  nothing  can  be  done  to  ameliorate  matters ;  and  who  has  a 
herald  of  his  greatness  in  obsequious  Mr.  Figg,  who  collects 
subscriptions  for  the  prophet  in  whom  he  has  led  himself  to 
believe  ?  Then  do  we  not  know  of  many  a  nobleman  like  Lord 
Bumham,  at  heart  honourable,  but  easy-going  and  too  ready  to 
adopt  any  expedient  to  rid  himself  and  his  colleagues  in  office  of 
a  present  trouble  ?  There  are  too  many  Hon.  Dick  Ruspers,  men 
who,  separated  from  their  wives  through  their  own  misconduct, 
look  upon  women  as  their  lawful  prey,  and  will  sacrifice  a  fellow- 
creature's  good  name  on  the  shrine  of  their  own  lust  And  then 
is  there  not  to  be  found  many  a  Cynthia  Greenslade,  lovable, 
sweet,  coquettish,  whose  very  faults  arise  from  her  ivy-like  nature, 
that  must  have  some  strong  support  to  cling  to,  and  that  not 
unfrequently,  as  in  this  case,  almost  destroys  the  support  that  it 
has  encircled  ?  Every  grade  of  society  has  its  Mrs.  Campion- 
Blake,  a  busy,  pushing  woman,  whose  aim  is  notoriety,  who  joins 
herself  to  philanthropic  or  other  enterprises  that  her  name  may 
be  connected  with  those  of  superior  standing  to  her  own,  and  that 
she  may  have  some  reflection  of  their  garish  light ;  who  considers 
a  sacrifice  of  truth  as  immaterial  so  that  she  wards  off  the 
revelation  of  a  scandal  by  which  her  position  may  be  jeopardised. 
Now  and  then,  by  mere  chance,  the  existence  of  a  Una  Dell  is 
revealed  to  us,  one  of  those  humble  workers  among  the  poor,  the 
lowly,  the  very  Lazars  of  our  social  existence  ;  brave  in  their 
defence ;  unwearying  in  her  efforts  for  their  amelioration  ;  working 
hopefully  and  without  reward ;  who  gives  the  great  love  of  her 
life  to  a  man  who  casts  it  from  him  for  the  meretricious  charm  of 
beauty  alone.  A  Philos  Ingarfield  is  more  rare,  the  visionary 
enthusiast  whose  very  enthusiasm  leads  him  into  error,  who  has 
dreams  of  Utopia  that  he  makes  realities  to  himself,  but  that  will 
not  stand  the  test  of  practical  everyday  life, — the  very  outcasts  to 
whom  he  opens  up  a  new  life  return  at  once  to  their  evil  doings  ; 
his  earnest  belief  in  the  possibility  of  regeneration  has  closed  his 
eyes  to  the  fact  that  reformation  is  a  work  of  years,  and  not 
instantaneous,  and  that  the  result  of  generations  of  crime  and 
misery  cannot  be  amended  save  by  time  and  the  most  careful  and 
continued  watch  over  the  sufferers.  Mr.  Jones  has  brought  up 
before  us  all  these  characters  as  associated  in  a  scheme  for  the 
reformation  of  London,  which  they  are  to  make  in  its  poorest 


2o8  The  Crusaders.  CNov^z89i. 

and  most  squalid  districts  beautiful  and  sweet.  Into  his  work  he 
has  infused  much  tenderness,  the  keenest  satire,  some  of  the  most 
brilliant  dialogue  that  he  has  ever  penned ;  but  his  play  is  in 
advance  of  his  time.  In  order  that  it  may  please  he  must  have 
an  educated  thinking  audience  ;  and  the  author  has  weakened  his 
play,  as  a  play,  by  omitting  to  follow  the  commonest  rules  of 
dramatic  production.  Mr.  Jones  has  just  cause  to  have  faith  in 
himself,  but  no  man  is  infallible,  and  in  The  Crusaders  he  has 
partially  failed,  principally  through  not  associating  with  himself 
a  capable  stage- manager.  Such  a  one  would  have  pointed  out  at 
once  a  weakness  in  stopping  the  interest  of  the  play  by  irrelevant 
entrances,  and  would  have  so  arranged  the  close  of  the  second  act 
as  to  have  avoided  the  ridicule  which  the  present  arrangement 
entailed.  A  stage-manager  would  also  most  probably  have 
advised  the  elimination  of  the  wordy  war  between  the  Queen  of 
the  Marshal  Niels  and  the  Lady  Gloire  de  Dijon,  names  of  honour 
bestowed  upon  two  of  the  supposed  most  promising  pupils  at 
Rose  Farm,  two  of  five  hundred  East  End  girls  who  are  being 
converted  from  their  vulgarity  and  unwomanly  ways,  but  whose 
practices  offend  the  good  people  of  Wimbledon,  whose  grievances 
are  represented  by  their  curate  the  Rev.  Algernon  Portal.  The 
almost  "  Billingsgate "  wordy  encounter  between  the  two  girl% 
though  perhaps  true  to  nature,  was  not  pleasant  or  necessary.  In 
the  foregoing  I  have  almost  sketched  out  what  plot  there  is,  but 
I  had  better  perhaps,  to  make  it  clearer,  say  that  Mrs.  Campion- 
Bake,  the  honorary  secretary  of  the  London  Reformation  League, 
induces  Cynthia  Greenslade  to  support  the  scheme  of  that  as- 
sociation with  a  considerable  portion  of  the  large  fortune 
bequeathed  to  her,  for  philanthropic  purposes,  by  her  late  husband. 
Philos  Ingarfield*s  earnestness  and  nobility  of  nature  have  touched 
Cynthia's  heart,  and  before  he  goes  off  to  South  America  with  a 
band  of  the  dregs  of  the  people  whom  he  is  going  to  establish 
there,  he  gains  her  promise  that  she  will  be  his  wife  on  his 
return.  Cynthia's  weak  nature  cannot  stand  the  test  of  his  long 
absence ;  she  listens  to  the  insidious  pleadings  of  the  rou^  Dick 
Rusper,  who  succeeds  in  inducing  her  to  make  an  appointment 
with  him  at  midnight ;  but  fortunately  before  the  hour  strikes 
Ingarfield  has  returned  and  had  an  interview  with  Cynthia,  which 
recalls  her  to  her  better  self.  He  is  watching  in  the  garden, 
when  Rusper  comes  to  his  appointment  Palsam  is  crossing 
the  garden,  and  in  the  semi-darkness  sees  only  Ingarfield,  who 
takes  upon  himself  the  shame  just  as  Cynthia  rushes  across 
to  take  refuge  with  Mrs.  Campion-Blake.     Palsam  i^  determined 


Nor.,  1891.]  The  Crusaders.  209 

that  the  scandal  shall  be  made  known,  and  so  Mrs.  Campion- 
Blake,  to  clear  Cynthia's  name,  suborns  the  French  maid, 
Victorine,  to  admit  that  Ingarfield  has  been  intriguing  with  her  ; 
he  also  consents  to  this  to  save  the  woman  he  loves ;  but  when 
Cynthia  reads  the  document  in  which  this  is  set  forth,  and  which 
is  to  exculpate  her,  she  indignantly  tears  it  up,  and  throws  herself 
at  the  feet  of  Ingarfield,  acknowledging  her  baseness,  which  we 
are  to  suppose  he  forgives ;  and  poor  Una  Dell,  who  has  silently 
loved  him  and  sustained  him  in  his  project,  sees  him  raise  to  his 
heart  the  woman  who  but  for  chance  would  have  become  actually 
vile,  and  must  go  unrewarded  to  the  end,  and  uncomforted,  except 
by  the  gratitude  of  those  few  who  acknowledge  how  much  they 
owe  to  her.  There  is  no  occasion  for  me  to  speak  of  the  acting ; 
it  was  universally  admitted  to  be  of  the  very  best  on  the  part  of 
all  those  who  appeared.  Mr.  Jones  certainly  showed  the  nicest 
discrimination  in  engaging  every  member  of  his  company  for  his 
or  her  peculiar  fitness,  and  they  fully  justified  his  selection  ;  and 
the  mounting  of  the  play  was  beyond  all  praise  for  taste  and 
elegance.  The  Crusaders  was  not  favourably  received  on  the 
first  night ;  on  the  second  representation  it  appeared  to  please 
the  audience  present.  Mr.  Jones  came  forward  in  response  to  a 
call,  and  (it  may  have  been  in  the  excitement  of  the  situation) 
said  that  on  the  previous  night  *'  not  one  single  word  of  the  last 
act  and  a  half  was  listened  to."  Here  he  must  have  been  in 
error,  and  it  was  scarcely  necessary  for  him  to  ask  for  ''  a  fair 
hearing  and  fair  play" — he  had  both.  The  expression  of  dis- 
approval from  certain  parts  of  the  house  was  an  honest  one  of 
**  The  Crusaders  "  as  a  play.  Time  will  prove  whether  it  is  to  be  a 
pecuniary  success ;  as  a  literary  work  it  is  already  recognised  as 
of  the  highest  merit  Mr.  Jones  should  develop  it  into  a  novel ; 
he  would  then  have  full  scope  for  the  illustration  of  his  cleverly 
drawn  characters.  Winifred  Emery  having  been  ordered  by  her 
medical  advisers  to  winter  in  a  warmer  climate,  was  reluctantly 
compelled  to  relinquish  the  part  of  Cynthia  Greenslade  in  The 
Crusaders.  The  character  was  assumed  by  Maude  Millett  on 
Monday  evening,  Nov.  i6th,  and  her  reading  certainly  did 
not  make  it  more  lovable.  Instead  of  Cynthia's  appearing  only 
a  weak  woman,  Miss  Millett  made  of  her  a  heartless  coquette, 
and  conveyed  the  impression  that  what  she  did  was  not  only 
from  mere  thoughtlessness,  but  from  selfish  gratification  of  her 
love  of  admiration  and  of  having  her  own  way.  The  reading 
weakened  the  play.  It  was  found  on  this  evening  that  the 
author  had  made  some  improvements  in  his  work  by  shortening 

14 


2IO  The  Basochi.  [Nor^i89i 

the  quarrel  between  the  rose  queens,  by  altering  the  finale  to 
the  second  act,  and  by  curtailing  that  portion  of  the  third  act 
which  relates  to  Burge  Jawle's  supposed  suicide.  The  house  was 
a  full  one,  and  received  The  Crusaders  with  every  demonstration 
of  approval  Mrs.  K  S.  Willard's  one-act  comedy  Tommy 
preceded.  Lillie  Belmore  was  again  clever  as  Tommy;  Philip 
Cuningham  did  well  as  Peter ;  handsome  Terese  Mayer  did  even 
better  as  Sister  Rachel ;  Charles  Dodsworth  set  his  audience  on 
the  broad  grin  as  Mr.  Simpkins ;  G.  L.  Leith  was  the  farm 
labourer  Solomon ;  Mary  Gallon  played  Martha  ;  Lily  Twyman 
was  the  Sarah.  On  Nov.  27th  Gyril  Maude  assumed  the  part 
of  Mr.  Palsam  in  succession  to  Weedon  Grossmith,  and  playing 
it  on  different  lines,  was  equally  successful 

2nd.  St.  James's  Haix. — George  Grossmith  gave  his  new 
sketch  Play-acting. 

2nd.  New  Olympic. — Hermann  Vezin  assumed  the  rdle  of 
Napoleon  in  A  Royal  Divorce.  Mr.  Vezin's  reading  was  more 
that  of  a  man  of  destiny,  not  passionate  in  love  or  in  any  way 
romantic,  but  it  was  powerful,  and  was  not  aided  by  an  attempt 
to  resemble  the  portrait  of  the  Bonaparte,  nor  indeed  by  adopting 
the  peculiarity  of  manner  and  carriage  which  are  attributed  to 
him.  Bassett  Roe  was  the  new  Talleyrand,  and  represented 
him  as  a  wily  and  time-serving  courtier.  A  bright,  fascinating 
Stephanie  de  Beauharnais  was  seen  in  Henrietta  Watsoa 

3rd.  English  Opera  House. — The  Basoche,  music  by  Andr^ 
Messager,  the  English  version  of  Albert  Carre's  work  by  Sir 
Augustus  Harris,  lyrics  by  Eugene  Oudier,  produced  under  the 
direction  of  F.  Cellier.  This  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most 
amusing  stories  for  comic  opera  possible.  Without  going  into 
the  ancient  records  of  "  La  Basoche,"  it  will  be  sufficient  to  say 
that  it  was  established  as  a  powerful  guild  some  five  centuries 
ago,  and  was  granted  the  privilege  of  electing  its  own  monarch 
to  rule  over  the  guild.  For  the  purposes  of  the  opera,  Marot, 
the  Basoche  king,  is  mistaken  by  Princess  Mary  of  England 
(who  has  come  to  France  to  be  wedded  to  Louis  XH.)  for  that 
monarch,  and  Colette,  whom  he  has  secretly  wedded  in  the 
country,  coming  to  Paris  in  search  of  him,  is  also  led  to  believe 
that  he  is  the  real  sovereign,  who  has  been  masquerading  in 
order  to  win  her.  The  music  was  charming,  and  D'Oyly  Carte 
mounted  the  opera  sumptuously.  The  performance  throughout 
was  excellent 

3rd.  Lyceum. — As  You  Like  It  was  revived  by  the  Daly 
company,  with  some  slight  changes  from  the  cast  which  appeared 


Nov.,i89x.]  The  Caritsing  Girl,  211 

on  July  isth  of  last  year.  Ada  Rehan  was  of  course  again  the 
Rosalind,  John  Drew  the  Orlando,  and  George  Clarke  the 
Jacques ;  of  the  excellence  of  these  there  is  no  occasion  to 
speak.  Adam  had  a  new  and  very  clever  representative  in 
Tyrone  Power  (a  descendant  of  the  favourite  actor  of  the  same 
name  who  went  down  in  the  President)  ;  Duke  Frederick  was 
played  by  John  Craig,  Amiens  by  Laporte,  "  a  Lord  "  by  Bosworth, 
Oliver  by  Sidney  Bowkett  (whose  delivery  was  fine),  Jacques  (son 
of  Sir  Roland)  by  Ralph  Nisbet,  Silvius  by  Frederick  Bond, 
William  by  William  Sampson,  and  Phoebe  by  Florence  Conron. 
The  revival  was  again  a  distinct  success,  and  was  played  until 
Nov.  12th.  On  the  13th  there  were  afternoon  and  evening  per- 
formances of  The  Last  Word,  and  these  brought  the  Daly  season 
to  a  close.  The  company  carried  back  with  them  the  pleasantest 
of  memories  to  New  York,  for  the  leave  taking  was  quite  affec- 
tionate, so  thoroughly  had  they  ingratiated  themselves  with 
London  audiences.  Miss  Rehan  received  quite  an  ovation,  and 
the  flowers  that  were  presented  to  her  filled  the  stage ;  she 
evidently  deeply  felt  the  kindly  wishes  of  her  audience,  and 
returned  her  thanks  in  a  voice  broken  by  emotion.  The  entire 
company  travelled  at  midnight  by  special  train,  to  sail  from 
Liverpool  on  the  morning  of  Saturday,  the  14th.  It  had  been 
generally  understood  that  we  were  not  to  see  Augustin  Daly's 
company  again  in  this  country  till  1893,  when  they  were  to 
appear  at  the  new  theatre  being  built  for  him,  but  from  a  few  words 
let  drop  by  James  Lewis  in  returning  thanks  for  Mr.  Daly  (in  his 
absence)  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  American  manager  may 
make  arrangements  to  afford  us  the  pleasure  of  seeing  his  clever 
company  during  1892. 

4th.  St.  James's. — Last  performance  of  TAe  Idler. 

4th.  Royalty. — TAe  Catitsing  Girl  was  not  a  very  great 
literary  effort  on  the  part  of  Arthur  Garland,  but  it  raised  many 
hearty  laughs,  thanks  to  the  admirable  travesties  and  situations 
of  H.  Beerbohm  Tree  by  Algernon  Newark,  who  had  thoroughly 
caught  the  voice  and  gestures  of  the  Haymarket  manager.  Lily 
Linfield  very  slightly  burlesqued  Julia  Neilson,  and  Fuller  Mellish 
took  off  James  Fernandez.  The  music,  by  Arthur  E.  Godfrey, 
wa3  bright  and  attractive. 

5  th.  Gaiety  matitUe. — Robert  Soutar  took  his  first  and  only 
benefit  during  a  thirty  years*  connection  with  the  stage.  The 
programme  was  a  good  one,  made  up  of  acts  of  Godpapa  and  of 
The  TimeSf  with  The  Ballad-monger  and  A  Pair  of  Them^  and 
various  songs,  etc.     It  was  principally  to  be  recorded  for  the  cast 


2 1 2  Aunt  Jack.  ttfof^  iS9x- 

of  Act  IV.  of  TA^  Ticket-of'leave  Matty  in  which  R.  Soutar  resumed 
his  original  character  of  Green  Jones,  Henry  Neville  that  of  Bob 
Brierley,  and  Harwood  Cooper  that  of  Maltby.  A.  B.  Tapping 
was  the  Melter  Moss ;  J.  D.  Beveridge,  Hawkshaw  ;  Clara  Jecks, 
Sam  Willoughby ;  Muriel  Wylford,  May  Edwards ;  Mrs,  H. 
Leigh,  Mrs.  Willoughby ;  and  Alma  Stanley,  Miss  St  Evre- 
mond.  Twelve  of  our  best-known  actors  appeared  as  the 
"  navvies." 

Sth.  Court  (revival). — Aunt  Jack,  Ralph  R.  Lumley's  three- 
act  farce  was  originally  produced  at  this  theatre  July  13th,  1889, 
and  a  full  description  of  the  plot  was  given  in  Dramatic  Notes^ 
1 890.  There  is  consequently  no  occasion  to  recapitulate  it ;  but  as 
the  cast  is  almost  altogether  a  fresh  one  I  have  thought  it  better  to 
give  it  in  full.  The  revival  was  a  complete  success,  notwith- 
standing the  recollection  of  such  competent  exponents  of  the 
different  characters  in  the  past,  comparison  being  in  a  great 
measure  avoided  in  consequence  of  the  play  being  taken  on 
broader  and  even  more  farcical  lines,  whereas  it  will  be  remem- 
bered that  some  of  the  former  company  gave  it  an  air  almost  of 
old  comedy.  The  new  departure  seemed  to  please.  Mrs.  John 
Wood  did  not  alter  her  reading,  upon  which  she  could  not  have 
improved,  and  was  the  same  ludicrously  self-assertive,  domineering, 
handsome  spinster,  and  sang  with  the  same  gusto  her  song,  "  Ask 
a  Policeman,"  before  Mr.  Justice  Mundle,  cleverly  played  by  C. 
Rock.  George  Giddens  made  of  Brue  a  more  self-satisfied  gentle- 
man, and  was  only  bashful  and  nervous  when  he  had  to  cross- 
examine  the  lady  he  was  engaged  to.  Reeves-Smith  showed 
naturally  and  in  a  gentlemanly  way  the  dread  that  he  had  of  his 
Aunt  Jack,  Seymour  Hicks  was  a  hectoring  supposed  man  of 
war,  Edward  Righton  somnolent  and  submissive  when  not  a 
meddling  man  of  law,  and  Gerald  Maxwell  a  rather  haughty 
man  about  town.  The  ladies  were  not  quite  so  happily  suited. 
Susie  Vaughan  appeared  a  little  out  of  her  element,  and  Ethel 
Matthews  should  have  been  a  little  more  retiring  for  a  newly 
married  and  very  young  wife.  A  MuUial  Mistake^  with  the 
original  cast,  was  played  as  the  first  piece. 

7th.  Savoy. — The  Nautch  Girl,  Jessie  Bond  and  Rutland 
Barrington  reappeared  in  their  respective  characters. 

7th.  St.  James's. — LordAnerley.  This  on  the  first  night  was  a 
pronounced  success.  Mark  Quinton  and  Henry  Hamilton  gave  us 
a  drawing-room  melodrama,  without  too  much  bloodshed  or  repul- 
sive villainy,  and  acknowledged  their  indebtedness  for  the  leading 
idea  of  their  play  to  A.  Matthey's  novel  *•  Le  Due  de  Kandos." 


Nov..  x89i.]  Lord  Anerley.  213 

Did  they  ever  hear  of  a  play  of  that  name  produced  at  the 
Th^itre  des  Nations  ? — I  think  it  was  Sept  17th,  1881 — for,  save 
that  a  sub-plot,  in  which  the  French  villain  figures  conspicuously, 
is  omitted  in  Lord  Anerley^  the  development  of  the  story  is  much 
the  same,  only  that  the  hero  is  made  an  innocent,  sympathetic 
character,  and  not  a  murderer,  as  in  the  French.  We  have  Rupert 
Lee,  who  has  escaped  from  a  New  York  prison,  where  he  has  been 
in  durance  vile  for  some  years  on  an  unfounded  charge  of  murder 
under  the  name  of  Jos6.  He  has  settled  down  as  a  gaucho  near 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  has  as  a  companion  another  convict,  Harvey 
Lester,  known  as  Miguel.  To  their  corral  comes  Norman,  Lord 
Anerley,  who  at  once  may  be  described  as  a  "  thorough  bad  lot." 
Lester  elicits  that  he  has  murdered  his  wife  Teresita,  a  dancer, 
who  was  no  better  than  she  should  be,  her  most  favoured  lover 
being  Jos6.  When  Lord  Anerley,  who  had  deserted  her,  saw  her 
again,  his  passion  for  her  revived,  and  because  she  repulsed  him  he 
stabbed  her  and  then  set  fire  to  the  house.  By  a  scar  on  his  arm 
Jos^  discovers  him  to  be  the  man  who  committed  the  murder  for 
which  he  (Jos^)  suffered.  An  accusation  leads  to  a  fight  with 
knives,  in  which  Jos^  obtains  the  mastery  and  spares  Norman's 
life ;  but  Harvey  Lester  kills  him  by  a  stab  in  the  back,  and  then, 
pointing  out  the  great  likeness  there  is  between  the  dead  man  and 
Jos^  persuades  the  latter  to  assume  Lord  Anerley's  position.  The 
other  three  acts  take  place  at  Anerley  Chase,  in  England.  The 
blind  Earl  of  Edgehill  has  discarded  Norman  for  his  excesses,  but 
more  especially  for  his  marriage  with  Teresita.  Evelyn  Carew, 
companion  to  Esm6  de  Burgh,  the  Earl's  granddaughter,  has 
always  pleaded  Norman's  cause,  so  that  when  Rupert  Lee  makes 
a  contrite  appearance  in  that  character  the  Earl  forgives  him. 
Rupert  then  marries  Evelyn  and  feels  the  burden  of  his  deceit 
heavy  upon  him,  more  especially  as  Lester  is  always  worrying 
him  for  money.  He  would  confess  all  but  for  the  love  he  bears 
Evelyn.  When  Teresita  (who  was  not,  after  all,  mortally 
wounded)  appears  on  the  scene  under  the  name  of  Madame 
de  Sivori,  she  imagines  it  is  her  husband  whom  she  will  find,  but 
on  discovering  that  it  is  Jos^  himself,  and  that  he  is  married  and 
will  not  renew  his  liaison  with  her,  out  of  pique  and  self-interest 
she  tells  the  old  Earl,  who  is  delighted  at  what  he  hears,  for 
Rupert  Lee  turns  out  to  be  no  other  than  his  eldest  son  by  a 
former  rather  low  marriage,  which  he  had  kept  concealed.  George 
Alexander  as  Rupert  Lee  had  a  sympathetic  character  to  which 
he  did  full  justice  ;  and  Arthur  Bourchier  was  a  satisfactory 
Norman  in  the  only  act  (the  first)  in  which  he  appeared.     Herbert 


214  After  Dark.  [Nov.,x89i. 

Waring  was  a  good  specious  villain  as  Harvey  Lester.     Nutcombe 
Gould  showed  much  feeling  as  the  blind,  aristocratic  old  Elarl,  and 
Ben  Webster  played  George  Beaufort,  a  callow  lover,  well,  and 
was  much  assisted  by  Laura  Graves  as  Esmd      E.  W.  Gardiner 
was  a  model  to  detectives  as  Travers.     Marion  Terry  had   no 
great  opportunities,  but  was  sweet  and  womanly  as  Evelyn  Carew  ; 
and  Gertrude  Kingston  pleased  much  as  the  adventuress  Teresita, 
otherwise  Madame  de  SivorL     The  scenery  was  beautiful,    the 
interiors  of  the  most  perfect  taste  ;  the  sky  changes  in  the  "  Corral 
on  the  Plains "  were  wonderfully  well  managed,  and  were  alone 
worth   seeing.     I   must  call  attention  to  the  excellence   of  the 
music  which   the  orchestra  performed,  under    the   direction   of 
Walter   Slaughter,  and  to  the  admirable  stage  management    of 
Robert  V.  Shone.     During  the  run,  owing  to  an  accident  which 
Mr.  Bourchiermet  with,  his  part  was  for  a  time, satisfactorily  filled 
by  Vernon  Sansbury.     Lily  Hanbury  also  played  Marion  Terry's 
part  occasionally. 

9th.  Princess's  (revival). — After  Dark.  This  play  has  alwajrs 
been  a  favourite  drama  at  the  suburban  theatres  and  in  the  pro- 
vinces. One  notable  revival  of  it  was  at  the  Princess's  on  June 
1 6th,  1877,  under  F.  B.  Chatterton's  management,  when  Herbert 
James  played  Gordon  Chumley ;  William  Terriss,  Sir  George 
Medhurst ;  James  Fernandez,  Old  Tom ;  Harry  Jackson,  Dicey 
Morris ;  Rose  Coghlan,  Eliza ;  Kate  Pattison,  Rose ;  and  Fanny 
Leslie,  Area  Jack,  and  when  Katie  Seymour  and  "the  great 
Mackney,"  etc.,  appeared  in  the  music-hall  scene.  The  play  was 
transferred  to  the  Adelphi  on  Aug.  25  th  of  the  same  year,  and 
there  were  several  changes  in  the  cast.  J.  G.  Shore  resumed  his 
original  character  ;  Sam  Emery  was  the  old  Tom  ;  Howard  Russell, 
Chandos  Bellingham  ;  Edith  Stuart,  Eliza ;  and  Miss  Hudspeth, 
Rose.  There  is  no  occasion  to  go  into  the  plot,  which  is  probably 
well  known  to  most  playgoers,  but  I  may  call  attention  to  the  two 
sensation  scenes — the  first  where  Eliza  throws  herself  from 
Blackfriars  Bridge  and  is  rescued  by  Old  Tom,  and  the  second 
where  Gordon  Chumley,  drugged,  is  laid  across  the  rails  of  the 
Metropolitan  Railway  to  be  run  over  by  a  train,  and  is  snatched 
from  the  very  jaws  of  death,  again  by  Old  Tom,  who  is  the  good 
angel  of  the  play.  These  situations  were  reproduced  with  a 
vraisemblance  that  called  forth  the  loudest  applause,  and  indeed 
the  whole  of  the  scenery  was  excellent.  The  Elysium  Music 
Hall  scene  was  unduly  prolonged,  and  became  tiresome,  although 
the  management  had  secured  the  aid  of  Harriet  Vernon,  who 
appeared  as  Cleopatra,  of  Bessie  Bonehill,  who  sang  one  of  her 


Nov.,  z89z.]  Gloriana,  2 1 5 

favourite  ditties,  and  of  George  Robey,  Alec  Hurley,  McOlive  and 
McKane,  the  latter  two  clever  knockabouts,  and  of  Susie  Harvey, 
who  sang  and  danced  gracefully.  The  making  of  this  scene  such 
a  feature  stopped  the  action  of  the  play,  and  greatly  destroyed 
the  interest.  The  acting  was  generally  good.  Herberte- Basing 
was  quietly  effective,  and  Fuller  Mellish  showed  considerable 
power  and  looked  well.  W.  L.  Abingdon  brought  out  all  the 
villainy  of  Chandos  Bellingham,  and  Henry  Neville  the  pathos  of 
Old  Tom.  Wilfred  Shine  was  only  the  conventional  stage  Jew,  but 
was  amusing.  Henry  Bedford  made  a  good  character  sketch  of 
Area  Jack.  Beatrice  Selwyn  quite  won  the  hearts  of  her  audience 
as  Eliza,  and  should  make  her  mark.  Ella  Terriss  just  a  little 
forced  her  acting  as  Rose  Egerton,  perhaps  owing  to  nervousness. 
Isaac  Cohen  produced  the  play,  which  was  well  received ;  and 
Morris  Angel  contrived  to  show  a  great  variety  of  dress  in  the 
habituis  of  the  music-hall,  loafers,  etc. 

9th.  Marriage  of  Marion  Lea  to  L.  E.  Mitchell,  son  of  Dr.  S. 
Weir  Mitchell,  author  of  The  Misery  which  was  played  in  America 
and  London  by  Wilson  Barrett 

9th.  Sadler's  Wells. — Bells  of  FaU,  five-act  drama  by 
Edward  Darbey.     First  time  in  London. 

9th.  Henry  Irving  delivered  the  opening  address  of  the  session 
of  the  Edinburgh  Philosophical  Institution,  his  theme  being  "  The 
Art  of  Acting." 

9th.  Parkhurst. — Ske  Stoops  to  Conquer.  H.  A.  Saintsbury, 
Young  Marlowe ;  Harry  Ashford,  Tony  Lumpkin ;  Muriel 
Wylford,  Miss  Hardcastie.  G.  B.  Philips,  as  the  manager,  pro- 
duced the  play. 

9th.  Presentation  at  Sandringham  by  a  deputation  of  the 
London  managers  and  the  dramatic  profession  of  a  gold  cigar 
box,  ornamented  with  blue  enamel  and  diamonds,  weighing  about 
a  hundred  ounces,  to  H.R.H.  the  Prince  of  Wales,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  fiftieth  birthday. 

loth.  Pavilion. — Maud  Elmore  appeared  as  Parthenia  in  a 
revival  of  Ingomar. 

loth.  Globe. — Gloriana,  James  Mortimer  was  to  be  congra- 
tulated on  his  new  comedy,  for  though  he  said  that  he  had 
adapted  his  work  from  the  French,  in  doing  so  he  had  so 
thoroughly  anglicised  the  original  as  to  make  it  an  English  play. 
Mr.  Mortimer  had  also  retained  the  pure  vein  of  comedy  in  the 
original  play,  Le  Jeu  deV Amour  et  du  Hasard^  by  Marivaux,  from 
which  Chivot  and  Duru  derived  their  farce  Le  True  d'Arthur^ 
produced    with    great  success    at  the  Palais    Royal  Oct.   14th, 


2 1 6  Gloriana.  CMot^  1891. 

1882.     The   dialogue   is  witty  and    polished;  and  though  the 
situations  are  improbable,  the  characters  in  themselves  are  not, 
and  the  ludicrous  incidents  are  so  happily  brought  about  as  to 
deprive  them  of  the  appearance  of  being  forced.     It  is  almost  im- 
possible to  describe  the  funny  complications  that  arise  from  the 
fact  that  Leopold  Fitz  Jocelyn,  of  the  Foreign  Office,  has  forgotten 
the  old  adage  that  it's  well  to  be  off  with  the  old  love  before  you 
are  on  with  the  new.     He  has  flirted  with  Mrs.  Gloriana  Lovering, 
and  she  does  not  seem  inclined  to  release  him  from  his  bondage  ; 
and  yet  he  is  engaged  to  Jessie  Chadwick,  the  daughter  of  Timothy 
an  opulent  tanner.     He  hopes  to  disenchant  Gloriana  by  appearing 
before  her  in  his  valet  Spinks's  livery  and  taking  away  his  own 
character  by  pretending  that  he  is  only  a  flunkey.     But  Gloriana 
is  romantic,  she  thinks  of  the  lackey  Ruy  Bias  and  his  devotion 
to  his  queen,  and  she  admires   Leopold  so  much  that  she  induces 
Spinks,  now   masquerading  in    Jocelyn's   character,  to   transfer 
Leopold  to  her  service.     Here  he  has  to  assume  the  livery  of  a 
Chasseur,  which   he  assures  his  future  father-in-law  and  bride  is 
the  uniform  of  the  Foreign  Office.     In  the  meantime  Spinks,  still 
representing  Jocelyn,  is  mistaken  by  Count  Vladimir  EvitoflF  for 
the  real  diplomat,  and  received  with  effusion.     He  meets  with  a 
contretemps,  however,  for  Kitty,  Gloriana's  maid,  recognises  him  as 
an  old  sweetheart  who  has  played  her  false  ;  and  he  has  to  pretend 
that  he  is  really  a  gentleman  whose  family  have  forced  him  from 
her,  and  to  renew  his  courtship.     Then  Count  Evitoff,  informed 
by  an  anonymous  letter  that  Gloriana,  to  whom  he  is  engaged,  had 
been  flirting  with   Jocelyn,  vows  vengeance  on   that  individual's 
head  ;  and  so  follows  up  Spinks,  whom  he  knows  in  that  character, 
to  Birmingham,  to  force  on  him  a  duel  to  the  death.     The  real 
Jocelyn  has  gone  there  to  be  married  to  Jessie,  but  is  encountered 
by  Gloriana,  who,  believing  that  he  has  taken  service  with  old 
Chadwick,  has  obtained   a  situation  in  the  same  household  as 
parlourmaid.     I  need  hardly  ^y  that  eveiything  is  cleared  up 
at  last.     Evitoff  forgives  Gloriana,  laying  all  the  blame  on  Spinks, 
whom  Kitty  holds  to  his  bargain,  and  Jocelyn  gets  his  Jessie  after 
all.     Perhaps  some  of  the   players  took  their  parts  a  little  too 
slowly  on  the  first  night,  but  still  the  laughter  was  continuous,  and 
was  raised  by  honest  means,  and  not  by  resorting  to  a  farcical 
method.      W.   H.  Vernon  was  a  perfect  study  as  the  absurdly 
jealous    Russian,  with    the    most    severe  respect  for   his  august 
master  the  Tsar,  outwardly  always  "  calm  and  correct,"  and  yet  in 
his  "  calm  "  moments  throwing  a  man  out  of  the  window.     Flo- 
rence West  was  the  personification  of  charming  and  daring  coquetry, 


Nov.,i89i.}  The  American.  217 

and  Forbes  Dawson  carried  out  Leopold's  dodge  {le  true)  in  an 
easy  and  volatile  manner.  W.  Lestocq's  assumption  of  the  diplo- 
mat was  irresistibly  funny  and  thoroughly  artistic,  and  his  per- 
formance was  quite  equalled  by  that  of  Lydia  Cowell.  Harry 
Paulton's  dry  and  humorous  style  fitted  well  to  the  character  he 
undertook ;  and  Georgie  Esmond  was  graceful  and  unaffected. 
Mr.  Vernon  again  showed  how  well  he  can  produce  a  play.  The 
new  manager  and  lessee,  Murray  Carson,  the  author,  and  the 
company  were  enthusiastically  called  for,  and  deservedly  so,  for 
Gloriana  is  a  most  amusing  play,  well  written,  well  acted,  and 
worthy  of  a  long  and  prosperous  run. 

1 2th.  Opera  Comique  matinie. — Cousin  Jack^  adapted  from 
the  German  by  Hermann  Vezin,  did  not  prove  too  exhilarating 
a  play.  The  adaptor  assumed  the  title  rdle^  and  had  very  con- 
siderable aid  from  Beatrice  Lamb  as  May  Scott,  from  Elsie 
Chester  as  Daisy  Dunn,  and  from  Charlotte  Lucie,  who  played  a 
boy's  part  (Bob  Dunn)  rather  cleverly.  These  two  last-named 
ladies  organised  the  matinie  in  aid  of  the  Women's  International 
Library.  On  the  same  afternoon  was  played  an  *'  adaptation  "  by 
Mme.  de  Naucaze,  entitled  Peruvian^  in  which  this  lady  and 
Mrs.  Kemmis  appeared  as  two  friends  who  quarrel  over  the 
possession  of  a  gallant  who  has  paid  attentions  to  both  of  them, 
but  who  eventually  transfers  his  affections  to  another  quarter. 

1 2th.  Death  of  the  Hon.  Lewis  Strange  Wingfield,  aged  49. 
Though  comparatively  so  young,  Mr.  Wingfield  had  led  an 
eventful  life.  Originally  intended  for  the  medical  profession,  he 
studied  for  a  time,  but  is  not  generally  supposed  to  have  practised. 
His  medical  knowledge,  however,  stood  him  in  good  stead  during 
the  Commune  in  Paris,  and  his  letters  relating  to  the  events  that 
then  happened  were  most  interesting.  He  had  been  an  actor, 
dramatic  critic,  playwright,  artist,  and  war  correspondent,  but 
will  be  principally  remembered  by  the  theatrical  community  for 
the  archaeol(^caI  knowledge  and  taste  he  displayed  in  designing 
scenery  and  dresses.     He  was  buried  in  Kensal  Green  cemetery. 

14th.  Opera  Comique. — The  American  was  performed  for 
the  fiftieth  time.  The  play  had  been  considerably  improved 
since  its  original  production  by  some  judicious  alterations.  On 
the  same  evening  was  produced  here  Hook  and  Eye,  a  very 
punning  comedietta  by  Eille  Norwood,  which  had  already  been 
played  by  Mr.  Compton's  comedy  company  in  the  provinces.  It  is 
a  game  of  misunderstandings  that  amused  the  pit  and  gallery  very 
much.  In  it  Young  Stewart  as  the  old  soldier  Joshua  Gedling  and 
Evelyn  McNay  as  Sylvia,  his  supposed  daughter,  were  good. 


2i8  Antony  and  Cleopatra.  [Nov^xSgs. 

14th.  Alhambra. — Annie  Abbott,  "The  Little  Georgia  Magnet," 
made  her  first  appearance,  and  created  considerable  excitement 
and  controversy  by  her  extraordinary  powers,  which  the  exhibitors 
assert  resulted  from  her  "  electric  '*  organisation.  The  splendid 
ballets  continue  to  attract  lai^e  audiences. 

1 6th.  Royalty. — Fauvette,  Andr6  Messager's  opera  continue 
in  three  acts,  which  was  produced  with  such  success  in  Paris  at 
the  Folies  Dramatiques  Nov.  17th,  1885,  and  ran  for  nearly  a 
year  at  that  theatre,  was  given  to  us  in  London  by  the  Horace 
Lingard  Opera  Company  on  this  date.  The  English  version  is 
by  Alfred  Ray,  the  lyrics  written  by  L.  Fontaine.  The  music  is 
worthy  of  the  composer  of  La  Basoche ;  it  is  musicianly,  yet 
always  bright  and  tuneful.  The  scene  is  laid  partly  in  Paris  and 
partly  in  Algeria ;  and  the  play  turns  on  the  adventures  of  a 
couple  of  conscripts,  Pierre  and  Joseph,  who,  drafted  to  the 
French  colony,  perform  there  prodigies  of  valour,  and  rescue,  fix)m 
the  clutches  of  Ahmed,  Fauvette  and  her  friend  Z61ie,  who  have 
been  captured  by  the  Arab  chief.  The  story  is  amusing.  Lingard, 
who  plajred  Joseph  with  much  humour,  was  well  supported  by  W. 
Rawlins  as  St  Augenor,  supposed  to  be  a  tenor  of  the  past,  and 
who  had  much  fun  in  him.  Harry  Child  (Pierre)  has  a  sweet 
voice,  and  Westlake  Perry  (Ahmed)  a  deep  baritone ;  both  were 
used  to  advantage,  but  the  gentlemen  did  not  act  so  well  as  they 
sang.  Florence  Bums  showed  the  greatest  promise  as  Fauvette, 
and  gained  several  encores  ;  Belle  Harcourt  was  also  very  pleasing 
as  Z61ie.  The  opera  was  handsomely  put  upon  the  stage,  and 
as  favourably  received  in  London  as  it  had  previously  been  in  the 
provinces. 

1 6th.  Parkhurst. — Love  at  Honu^  one-act  comedy  by 
Sylvanus  Dauncey,  adapted  from  the  French  T.K.  et  P.K.  of 
Aug^ste  Hendriks.     First  time  in  London. 

1 6th.  Grand. — Antony  and  Cleopatra.  Mrs.  Langtry  during 
the  week  commencing  on  this  date  appeared  as  Cleopatra,  and 
though  I  think  she  herself  had  improved  her  reading,  playing 
with  greater  nervous  force  and  suasiveness,  the  company  with 
which  she  has  surrounded  herself  was  not  so  good  as  that  which 
appeared  in  Antony  and  Cleopatra  at  the  Princess's.  Some 
among  the  audience  no  doubt  remembered  the  triumphs  of  Phelps 
and  Miss  Glyn  at  the  neighbouring  theatre,  and  must  have 
formed  but  a  poor  opinion  of  the  modem  production.  Mark 
Antony,  Frank  Worthing;  Octavius  Caesar,  Walter  Gay;  Lepidus, 
Arthur  Coe ;  Eros,  Roland  Atwood ;  Sextus  Pompeius,  Kenneth 
Black,  etc.     From  my    strictures    I    exclude    Oscar    Adye,   the 


Nov.,x89xO  The  Old  Bureau,  219 

messenger,  and  Amy  McNeill's  Charmian — both  excellent — and 
to  an  extent  the  Enobarbus  of  Fred  Everill  and  the  Octavia  of 
Ethel  Hope ;  but  the  remainder  of  the  cast  was  not  distinguished. 

17th.  Novelty. — Bess,  an  original  play  by  Mrs.  Oscar 
Beringer,  was  produced  on  this  afternoon  for  copyright  purposes. 
It  had  already  been  secured  by  Genevieve  Ward  and  W.  H. 
Vernon  for  their  South  African  tour. 

1 8th.  St.  George's  Hall. — The  Old  Bureau,  written  by  H.  M. 
Paull  to  music  composed  by  A.  J.  Caldicott,  Mus.  Bac,  was  the 
new  entertainment  at  the  St  George's  Hall.  It  is  scarcely  as 
bright  as  we  might  have  expected  from  the  author  of  The  Great 
Felicidad,  nor  did  it,  except  for  Alfred  German  Reed,  afford  the 
scope  it  should  to  his  clever  little  band  of  performers.  The  story 
is  an  oft-told  one,  that  of  a  treasure  discovered  in  an  old  piece  of 
furniture,  which  enables  a  penniless  young  fellow  of  an  old  family 
to  marry  the  girl  he  loves.  Alfred  Reed  as  a  factotum,  with  a 
fancied  but  mistaken  genius  for  cooking,  and  Fanny  Holland  as 
a  parvenue  American  widow,  made  the  most  of  their  opportunities. 
Nora  Maguire  sang  a  very  pretty  number,  **  Far,  far  away  across 
the  foam,"  very  charmingly,  and  there  were  some  bright  trios  and 
quartetts,  in  which  Avalon  CoUard  and  those  already  named 
took  part.  Indeed,  the  whole  of  the  music  was  decidedly 
pleasing. 

1 8th.  Ladbroke  Hall. — ^A  "costume  recital"  of  Measure 
for  Measure  was  given  by  amateurs. 

1 8th.  Pavilion. — A  new  version  of  Monte  Cristo,  by  J.  tt. 
Clyndes,  was  produced  for  his  benefit. 

1 8th.  Return  to  England  of  Charles  Cartwright  and  Olga 
Nethersole  from  their  Australian  tour. 

19th.  Marriage  of  Henry  V.  Esmond  to  Eva  Moore  at  the 
Savoy  Chapel. 

19th.  Death  of  William  Jermyn  Florence  in  Philadelphia,  of 
pneumonia.  Born  at  Albany,  in  New  York,  July  26th,  1831. 
Made  his  first  appearance  in  England  at  Drury  Lane  in  1856, 
and  is  best  remembered  for  his  performance,  with  that  of  his  wife, 
in  The  Mighty  Dollar  at  the  Gaiety  in  1880.  He  was  a  most 
genial  companion,  and  was  a  g^eat  favourite. 

19th.  Princess's  matinSe. — Leah,  In  aid  of  the  Italian 
Hospital  and  Beneficenza  Society,  a  good  performance  was  given. 
Mme.  du  Barry,  who  appeared  in  the  title  rSle,  showed  not  only 
histrionic  power,  but  a  mastery  over  the  English  language  that 
surprised  many,  but  was  not  physically  suited  for  the  character. 
Mme.  du  Barry  was  well  supported  by  Acton  Bond  as  Rudolf. 


220  ^Twas  in  Trafalgai^s  Bay,  [Nor..  1891. 

Bassett  Roe  has  already  been  seen  as  Nathan,  and  is  one  of  the 
best  exponents  of  the  character.  John  Beauchamp  as  Lorenz, 
H.  de  SoUa  as  Abraham,  and  specially  Henry  Bedford  as  Ludwig, 
deserved  favourable  mention.  Annie  Rose  was  womanly  and 
tender  as  Madalena ;  and  Marjorie  Field-Fisher  not  only  acted 
well  as  Rosel,  but  sang  very  sweetly  in  the  last  act 

2 1  St  W.  H.  Vernon,  Genevieve  Ward,  and  her  company  sailed 
for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

2 1  St  E.  J.  Lonnen  appeared  as  Charles  VH.  at  the  Gaiety  in 
Joan  of  Arc. 

2 1st  Marylebone. — 'Twos  in  Trafalgar^ s  Bay,  by  John 
Henderson,  was  not  quite  what  one  would  expect  from  its  name, 
though  there  are  jack-tars  with  pigtails  (and  some  without,  by 
the  way)  and  lasses  who  love  a  sailor,  besides  other  nautical 
elements.  But  there  were  cotton  riots,  a  murder,  and  a  trial, 
none  of  which  had  to  do  with  the  salt  water,  or  Father  Neptune, 
or  Nelson's  victory,  though  the  Victory  was  supposed  to  be  in 
evidence.  However,  it  had  excitement  enough  in  it  to  please  an 
audience  that  loves  excitement,  and  Mrs.  Gascoigne,  E.  S.  Earle, 
and  F.  J.  Powell  made  the  piece  go,  though  it  was  not  one  of  the 
best  possible. 

2 1st  Lyric,  Hammersmith. — Suggestion;  or,  The  Hypnotist, 
by  Mabel  Collins  and  Heron  Brown  (produced  for  copyright 
purposes). 

22nd.  Mrs.  Mary  Anne  Keeley,  widow  of  Mr.  Robert  Keeley, 
attained  her  eighty-sixth  birthday. 

22nd.  Death  of  Frederick  Stanislaus  from  inflammation  of  the 
lungs.  Bom  at  Kidderminster  December,  1 844.  He  was  well 
known  as  a  composer  (specially  of  the  music  of  The  Lancashire 
Witches),  and  as  an  able  director  at  most  of  the  London  theatres. 
Was  buried  in  Brompton  cemetery. 

23rd.  Grand. — As  You  Like  It.  Mrs.  Langtry  resumed  the 
rSle  of  Rosalind,  and  was  supported  by  Harry  Fenwick  as  the 
Duke  ;  W.  Lockhart  as  Duke  Frederick  ;  E.  B.  Norman,  Jaques ; 
Walter  Gay,  Oliver ;  Frank  Worthing,  Orlando  ;  Kenneth  Black, 
Adam  ;  Fred  Everill,  Touchstone ;  Amy  McNeill,  Celia ;  Adah 
Barton,  Phoebe ;  and  Ethel  Hope,  Audrey.  The  performance, 
with  one  or  two  exceptions,  was  not  above  mediocrity. 

23rd.  Lyric. — From  this  date  John  Peachey  played  the  part  of 
Franz  de  Bemheim  in  La  Cigale. 

23rd.  Surrey. — Light  Ahead,  ndLWtxcUL  drama  in  five  acts  by 
Herbert  Leonard.  The  story  of  this  runs  as  follows  :  Charles 
Titherage,  a  worthy  young  shipbuilding  engineer,  is  married  to 


Nov^i89i.]  Light  Ahead.  221 

Mabel,  but  shortly  after  their  honeymoon  trip  his  first  wife,  Lucy, 
whom  he  supposed  to  be  dead,  turns  up  again.  But  she  isn't  his 
wife,  for  she  was  married  previously  to  Arthur  Druce,  the  villain 
of  the  play,  who  has  deserted  her,  and  whom  she  is  hunting  down. 
This  Arthur  Druce  murders  Mabel's  father,  and  Titherage  is 
accused  of  the  crime.  He  will  not  wait  and  stand  the  trial,  but 
goes  on  board  ship  and  then  throws  himself  off  and  is  rescued  by 
Dan  Durlaw,  a  fisherman,  and  from  that  date  takes  up  a  fisherman's 
life,  and  is  known  as  Charles  Durlaw.  He  builds  a  lifeboat,  which 
saves  his  real  wife,  Mabel,  she  being  then  brought  to  the  Durlaws* 
cottage.  Then  Druce  turns  up  again,  but  he  is  now  Sir  Walter 
Garston's  nephew,  for  he  has  purloined  papers  which  enable  him 
to  represent  himself  as  that  individual.  Druce's  next  victim  is 
his  groom-valet,  Dick  Pargles,  who  knows  too  much  of  his 
master's  secrets ;  so  he  is  knocked  on  the  head,  thrown  into  the 
water,  and  replaced  by  Fritz  Sefton,  who  turns  out  to  be  an  artful 
detective  who  has  been  tracking  the  villain  for  years.  To  make 
matters  more  complicated,  Titherage,  being  mistaken  by  Dan  for 
the  man  who  has  behaved  so  badly  to  his  sister  Lucy,  is  given  up 
to  justice.  But,  the  mistake  being  discovered  in  time,  he  is 
rescued  by  the  fishermen  from  the  blue-coated  myrmidons  of  the 
law.  Of  course  Pargles  turns  up  again  to  accuse  Druce  of  the 
murder,  and  the  curtain  falls  on  the  reunion  of  Titherage  and 
Mabel  and  the  arrest  of  the  assassin.  In  all  this  mystification 
Herbert  Leonard  managed  to  make  his  play  comprehensible  and 
interesting,  though  long-winded.  This  was  his  first  attempt ;  and 
not  only .  the  pruning-knife,  but  even  the  saw,  ought  to  have 
been  used  to  thin  his  dramatic  tree.  With  one  complete  murder 
and  one  attempted,  two  rescues  (one  with  the  aid  of  a  real  life- 
boat), two  sharp  scrimmages  with  the  police,  handcuffs  and 
pistols,  etc.,  he  produced  a  play  much  to  the  taste  of  a  Surrey 
audience,  and  may  go  on  and  become  in  time  a  Sims  or  a  Pettitt 
Clarence  J.  Hague  as  the  virtuous  Titherage  was  strong,  but 
developed  a  bad  habit  of  "  pumping  up  "  his  words  to  emphasise 
his  emotion.  Graham  Wentworth  was  a  very  commonplace  villain 
as  Arthur  Druce.  Ernest  Leicester  was  excellent^as  Dan  Durlaw  ; 
George  Conquest,  jun.,  comic  as  Pargles;  and  E.  Lennox  the 
most  Byronic  of  detectives  as  Sefton.  C.  Cruikshanks  and  H. 
Belding  are  always  good.  Annie  Conway  was  firm  and  impressive 
as  the  vindictive  Lucy,  with  some  good  womanly  touches,  and 
Cissy  Farrell  a  tender-hearted  yet  brave  Mabel  Titherage.  Laura 
Dyson  made  a  bright  merry  little  sweetheart  for  Pai^les. 

23rd.  New  Olympic — A  Royal  Divorce  had  a  new  fifth  act 


222  Her  Oath.  [Nov.,i89z* 

written  to  it  by  Grace  Hawthorne,  which  is  laid  at  Plymouth. 
From  the  BeUerophon  comes  Napoleon,  who  has  an  affecting 
interview  with  Josephine,  she  praying  on  her  knees  that  her 
husband  may  be  sent  to  America.  Admiral  Lord  Keith  is, 
however,  obliged  to  be  deaf  to  her  entreaties,  as  the  allied 
Powers  have  determined  that  the  firebrand  of  Europe  shall  be 
exiled  to  the  lonely  rock  of  St.  Helena.  This  ending  to  the 
play  was  certainly  more  effective,  and  made  a  good  stage  picture. 
J.  T.  Barker  was  dignified  as  Lord  Keith.  Murray  Carson 
resumed  the  r6le  of  Napoleon. 

24th.  The  Grand  Ducal  Theatre  at  Oldenburg  totally  destroyed 
by  fire.     No  loss  of  life. 

24th.  R.  Jope  Slade,  art  and  dramatic  critic,  read  a  paper 
entitled  **A  Plea  for  Conventionality"  at  the  Playgoers  Club.  It 
was  thoroughly  artistic,  scholarly,  and  well  considered.  Mr.  Slade's 
forte  lies  in  the  criticism  of  pictures,  but  he  showed  how  the  laws 
of  the  sister  art  can  and  should  also  govern  dramatic  method. 
The  discussion  which  followed  was  started  by  J.  T.  Grein ;  J.  P. 
Hurst  followed,  and  pertinently  asked  what  was  really  understood 
by  conventionality  and  realism.  Henry  Murray  defended  absolute 
freedom  for  and  in  art  of  every  kind  ;  and  David  Christie  Murray, 
from  the  chair,  promulgated  the  healthy  doctrine  that  art,  with  a 
big  A,  should  not  be  the  "  be  all  and  end  all,"  but  an  adjunct 
to  our  daily  lives. 

26th.  Princess's  matinie.^Her  Oath,  Mrs.  Henry  Wylde's 
play,  carried  us  back  to  the  days  of  the  Indian  Mutiny,  but  at 
a  dreadfully  slow  and  melancholy  pace.  We  had  an  exquisitely 
beautiful  white  woman  called  Ren^,  who  through  some  incom- 
prehensible "  oath "  was  bound  to  live  with  her  supposed  father, 
a  half-caste  brigand,  and  yet  was  enormously  wealthy  and  believed 
in  freeing  the  natives  from  European  rule.  Handsome  Captain 
Frank  Danvers  is  sent  with  despatches  which  the  wicked  Rajah 
of  Dustnugger  wants  to  get  hold  of  Danvers  is  therefore  shot 
down,  but  is  rescued  by  Ren6e  and  her  big  dog  and  nursed  by  a 
sibyl  of  an  ayah  and  by  Rente's  comic  manservant  and  maid. 
Of  course  Ren6e  and  Danvers  fall  in  love  with  each  other,  and 
he  it  is  who  rescues  her  from  the  clutches  of  the  Rajah,  who  has 
captured  her  during  a  Sepoy  revolt  which  takes  place.  Danvers, 
however,  is  subsequently  captured,  and  is  about  to  be  flogged, 
when  Ren^e  intercedes,  her  supposed  father  disposes  of  himself  by 
stabbing,  the  sibyllic  ayah  confesses  that  Ren^e  was  stolen  as  a 
baby  from  Colonel  Westeridge,  and  the  English  troops  rush  in 
and    conquer    the  Sepoys.     The    inference    t^itizthat  Ren6e    and 


Nov.,i89i.}  The  Prancing  Girl.  223 

Danvers  marry,  but  as  to  what  the  "  oath  "  was  I,  for  one,  could 
not  discover.  Mrs.  Wylde's  play  might  have  been  made  big  in 
a  spectacular  sense.  Henry  Neville  as  the  gallant  Danvers  and 
Beatrice  Lamb  as  Ren^e,  did  all  that  was  possible  with  their 
parts  ;  W.  L.  Abingdon  "  villainised  "  as  the  Rajah  with  his 
usual  force ;  Austin  Melford  was  the  truculent  brigand  and 
supposed  father  ;  Frances  Ivor  smutted  her  handsome  face  and 
became  the  ayah  ;  and  Ivan  Watson  did  the  like  with  his  comely 
countenance  as  Ali  Jan,  in  love  with  Josephine,  the  comic  maid, 
neatly  played  by  Clara  Jecks,  who  had  a  European  lover  in  H.  de 
Lange  as  Max.  Mme.  Sinico,  Henry  Bedford,  Charles  Steuart, 
J.  Gibson,  Kingston,  P.  Ames,  and  Miss  Royda  were  also  included 
in  the  cast,  but  had  little  to  do. 

26th.  Prince  of  Wales's. — The  Prancing  Girl,  a  "  travesty  of 
the  modem  drama  up  to  date,"  by  Campbell  Rae  Brown,  music  by 
B.  Brigata.  It  was  scarcely  fair  to  call  this  a  travesty,  as  it  bore 
so  little  actual  reference  to  the  events  of  H.  A.  Jones's  Dancing 
Girl.  It  was  certainly  not  brightly  written,  and  descended  at 
many  points  to  what  was  little  better  than  "  pantomime  rally  " ;  the 
smash  of  crockery,  a  mechanical  sliding  staircase,  a  toy  dog,  and  a 
toy  yacht  produced  more  laughs  than  the  author's  writing.  The 
skit  was  altogether  too  long,  and  should  certainly  not  have  played 
more  than  twenty-five  minutes.  Arthur  Playfair  did  not  quite  under- 
stand the  difference  between  caricature  and  travesty  in  his  imita- 
tion of  H.  B.  Tree  as  the  Duke  of  Goosebury.  Harry  Parker  did 
not  attempt  a  likeness  to  Fred  Terry,  but  simply  transformed  the 
character  into  a  "coster."  T.  A.  Shale  made  up  well  to  re- 
semble F.  Kerr.  Adelaide  Newton  gracefully  burlesqued  Rose 
Leclercq,  and  showed  a  considerable  power  of  imitation.  Natalie 
Brande  was,  I  think,  the  cleverest  of  all  in  reproducing  both 
appearance  and  method  of  Rose  Norreys.  Miss  Ellis  Jeffries 
at  times  caught  the  trick  of  voice  and  manner  of  Julia  Neilson, 
but  could  not  maintain  it  throughout.  She,  however,  both 
sang  and  danced  very  pleasantly.  B.  Brigata's  music  was 
all  that  could  be  desired ;  he  introduced  a  very  pretty  number 
for  Miss  Jeffries,  and  some  catchy  choruses  for  a  number 
of  pretty  Quakeresses  who  enlivened  the  scene.  On  the  same 
evening 

Miss  Dicima  was  transferred  to  this  theatre.  There  were  some 
changes  in  the  original  cast.  Decima  Moore  assumed  the  title 
rdU ;  she  sang  the  music  allotted  to  her  very  sweetly,  and  her 
acting,  though  modelled  on  that  of  the  original,  showed  intelli- 
gence  and  a    certain   amount  of  naYvet^.      C.   Hayden    Coffin 


224  The  Return  of  the  Druses.  cwor.,  1891. 

appeared  as  Peter  Paul  RoUeston,  and  Annie  Schuberth's  fine 
voice  strengthened  the  rdle  of  Senora  Inez. 

26th.  Royal  General  Theatrical  Fund  dinner,  the  forty-sixth 
anniversary,  Frank  Lockwood,  Q.C^  M.P.,  in  the  chair,  who 
proposed  the  toast  of  the  evening,  for  which  Walter  Pallant 
replied.  S.  B.  Bancroft  proposed  "  The  Bar  of  England,"  to  which 
C  F.  Gill  and  Mr.  Pope,  Q.C.,  responded.  J.  C.  Parkinson  pro- 
posed ''^The  Drama," for  which  Lionel Brough  returned  thanks.  John 
Hare  submitted  the  health  of  the  chairman,  and  Walter  Padlant 
that  of  the  musical  artists,  to  which  Wilhelm  Ganz  replied. 
Subscriptions  and  donations  amounted  to  £goo. 

26th.  The  Return  of  the  Druses. — A  dramatic  reading  of  this 
play  of  Robert  Browning's  was  given  in  the  Botanical  Theatre, 
University  College,  London,  by  the  following :  Rev.  J.  G.  Mills, 
the  Grand  Master's  Prefect ;  Rev.  C.  R.  Taylor,  the  Patriarch's 
Nuncio  ;  Mr.  Fry,  Loys  de  Dreux  (Knight  Novice) ;  Acton  Bond, 
Djabel ;  Mr.  Clegg,  Khali! ;  Myer  S.  Nathan,  Karshook ;  R  L. 
Abrahams,  Ayoob ;  N.  S.  Joseph,  Maani ;  Esther  Phoebe  Defries, 
Anael.  Acton  Bond  and  Esther  Phoebe  Defries  specially  distin- 
guished themselves. 

28th.  Last  performance  of  the  triple  bill  at  Toole's  Theatre. 
During  the  run  at  this  theatre  W.  Grossmith  was  replaced  first  by 
Compton  Coutts,  and  afterwards  by  Adolphus  Vane  Tempest 

28th.  D'Oyly  Carte  brought  the  season  of  La  Basoche  to  a  close, 
with  a  view  to  making  fresh  arrangements  as  to  reproductioa 

28th.  Park  Town  Theatre,  Battersea. — Fairy  Madge;  or, 
the  Slavery  of  Drink.     Dramatic  sketch  by  Claude  Trevelyan. 

29th.  Death  of  John  Huy,  for  many  years  acting  manager  of 
the  Court  and  St  James's  Theatres. 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


D«c,x89x.]  Mrs.  M.P,  225 

XII. 

December. 

1st  Opera  Comique  {matinie). — Mrs.  M.P.,  an  adaptation, 
by  Hermann  Vezin,  from  the  German  of  Julius  Rosen.  The 
principal  character  is  one  of  that  sort  which  Mrs.  John  Wood 
revels  in — ^a  strong-minded  lady  who  imagines  she  can  do  any- 
thing and  everything,  but  is  lamentably  deceived  by  one  of  the 
male  sex  more  keen-witted  than  herself.  Mrs.  Masterman^is 
"  Mrs.  M.P."  She  so  long  guided  her  late  husband's  Parliamentary 
doings  that  she  learnt  to  look  upon  herself  as  infallible.  Her 
meek  and  mild  son  Samuel,  who  is  shy  to  a  degree,  she  has  deter- 
mined shall  marry  Constance,  a  rich  heiress,  to  whom  her  brother, 
Buzzard,  is  guardian.  So  she  enlists  the  services  of  Frank  Cope, 
a  Radical  journalist  He  is  to  make  love  to  Constance  and  keep 
off  intruders,  whilst  Samuel  is  to  make  his  way  quietly  with  her. 
But  Samuel  has  a  love  affair  of  his  own  with  Mary,  a  guileless ' 
little  creature  his  mother  has  adopted,  and  Cope  helps  this  on. 
Further,  he  assists  Sir  John  Loveday,  an  M.P.  he  "  goes  for  "  in 
print  and  esteems  in  private  life,  and  sets  him  all  right  with 
Buzzard's  daughter  Emma,  whom  the  baronet  is  longing  to  make 
his  own.  All  this  time  the  astute  Cope  has  won  the  heiress  and 
deceived  the  clever  **  Mrs.  M.P.,"  who  is  obliged  to  make  terms 
with  him,  he  promising  to  lick  her  shy  offspring  Samuel  into 
shape  and  fit  him  to  be  a  "  Home  Ruler."  Hermann  Vezin's  dia- 
logue is  polished  as  wdl  as  smart  Agatha  Kelly  was  the  most 
modest  of  little  maids  as  Mary,  and  Elsie  Chester  was  so  clever 
as  Mrs.  Masterman  that  she  may  be  safely  cast  for  that  line,  as 
well  as  for  character  parts.  Hermann  Vezin  was  not  at  all  fitted 
for  the  Wyndham  part  of  Frank  Cope,  and  the  piece  naturally 
suffered.  Graham  Wentworth  did  fairly  well  as  the  Baronet, 
Orlando  Bamett  was  thoroughly  amusing  and  natural  as  the 
sheepish  Samuel,  and  G.  R.  Foss  was  quaint  and  humorous  as 
the  absent-minded  Buzzard.  On  the  same  afternoon  was  played 
A  Breach  of  Promise^  comedietta  by  Mabel  Freund  Lloyd,  the 
sole  idea  of  which  was  the  proposal  by  a  young  fellow  to  an  aunt 
in  mistake  for  the  niece  with  whom  he  is  in  love.  Eleanor 
Bufton  as  the  Aunt,  Mrs.  Grimley  ;  Orlando  Bamett  good  as  Jack 
Greythorpe,  a  pleasant  young  Englishman,  the  lover;  Graham 
Wentworth,  Mary  Mordaunt  and  Alice  Maitland,  also  in  the  cast 

Court. — Last  night  of  the  revival  oi  Aunt  Jac^.^^^^^Qoo^Z 

1$ 


226  Brighton.  CDk.»  1891. 

Criterion  (revival). — Brighton  was  a  great  success  when  first 
produced ;  though  it  must  be  said  that  it  owes  the  hold  it  has 
taken  on  the  public  more  to  the  briskness  and  animation  witii 
which  the  part  of  Bob  Sackett  has  always  been  played  than  to 
the  actual  merit  of  the  play  itself,  merrily  as  it  is  written.  It 
may  be  interesting  to  give  the  casts  of  the  three  revivals  since  the 
original  production,  viz.,  at  the  Olympic,  Jan.  17th,  1880  ;  at  the 
Criterion,  Oct.  loth,  1881  ;  and  at  the  same  theatre  April  16th, 
1884  ;  the  performers'  names  being  placed  in  chronological  order. 
Charles  Wyndham  has  always  in  London  been  cast  for  Bob 
Ss^kett  (though  Edgar  Bruce  did  in  his  absence  occasionally  play 
the  part  remarkably  well),  Jack  Benedict,  J.  G.  Graham,  Herbert 
Standing,  and  W.  Draycott ;  Sir  Lewis  Park,  F.  Charles,  A.  M. 
Denison,  H.  Astley ;  Columbus  Drake,  David  Fisher,  jun.,  H. 
Astley,  H.  R.  Teesdale  ;  Mr.  Vanderpump,E.  Righton,  W.  Blakeley 
(twice) ;  Mr.  W.  Carter,  John  Maclean,  J.  Hudspeth,  H.  Saker ; 
Mr.  Fred  Carter,  W.  S.  Penley,  George  Giddens  (twice)  ;  Miss 
Virginia  Vanderpump,  (Miss)  Gwynn  Williams,  Mary  Rorke, 
Kate  Rorke  ;  Mrs.  Olivia  Alston,  Edith  Bruce,  Miss  Chalgrove 
(twice) ;  Mrs.  Vanderpump,  Mrs.  Leigh,  Miss  Hudspeth  (twice) ; 
Mrs.  W.  Carter,  Miss  Amalia,  Miss  Norreys  ;  Effie  Remington, 
Rose  Saker  (three  times).  As  a  matter  of  record  it  should  also 
be  noted  that  it  was  with  Brighton  that  Mr.  Wyndham  reopened 
the  rebuilt  and  thoroughly  renovated  Criterion  in  1884,  the  old 
one  having  been  condemned  by  the  Board  of  Works  as  unsafe, 
etc.  The  lessee  had  gone  to  America  for  a  five-months'  tour,  but 
was  so  successful  that  he  remained  there  for  one  year  and  three 
months,  and  thus  afibrded  the  contractors  ample  time  to  complete 
his  remodelled  theatre.  Bob  Sackett,  as  almost  every  playgoer 
knows,  is  one  of  those  peculiarly  susceptible  creatures  that  falls  in 
love  with  every  pretty  face  he  sees.  He  is  engaged  at  one  and 
the  same  time  to  three  young  ladies,  he  answers  an  advertisement 
from  a  fourth,  and  also  becomes  desperate  over  a  pretty  young 
wife  whom  he  saves  from  danger.  These  ladies  all  come  together, 
rendering  it  very  awkward  for  the  universal  lover,  notwithstanding 
the  assistance  ever  rendered  to  him  by  his  faithful  friend  Jack 
Benedict.  Charles  Wyndham  plays  Bob  Sackett  with  the  saaie 
irresistible  "  go  "  and  spirit  that  he  did  seventeen  years  ago,  and 
has  excellent  aid  from  W.  Blakeley  and  F.  Atherley,  two  important 
factors  in  bringing  about  the  success  of  such  a  play.  Mary  Moore 
threw  herself  into  the  coquetry  of  her  part,  and  Emilie  Grattan 
was  delightfully  piquante  as  the  newly-made  wife  Mrs.  Carter. 
Mary  Ansell,  Fanny  Frances,  and  Miss  C.  Ewell  were  thoroughly 


Dsc.,  x89x.]  The  Reckoning.  227 

in  the  picture ;  Walter  Everard  and  Cecil  Crofton  were  clever  as 
two  types  of  antiquated  beaux.  In  fact,  all  in  the  cast  aided 
in  making  the  piece  go  capitally.  Palgrave  Simpson's  Heads  or 
Tails  made  up  the  programme. 

2nd.  Lyric. — Matinie  for  the  benefit  of  Harry  Williamson. 
There  were  given  the  first  act  of  his  play  Retiring^  supported  by 
Lionel  Brough  in  his  original  character,  Mrs.  John  Carter,  Cicely 
Richards,  Sydney  Brough,  etc. ;  a  little  play  without  words  by 
M.  Marius  and  Mdlle.  Marie ;  with  a  scene  from  The  Flowers  of 
the  Forest^  in  which  Charles  Glenney  as  Lemuel,  Harry  NichoUs 
as  "the  Kinchin,"  and  Kate  James  as  Starlight  Bess,  took  part; 
the  latter  was  particularly  good. 

2nd.  Court. — Mr.  Brandon  Thomas  assumed  the  direction, 
and  produced  here  a  "  triple  bill."  It  consisted  of  A  Commission^ 
A  Pantomime  Rehearsal^  and  Buckstone's  Good  for  Nothing.  In 
A  Commission  the  author  and  Brandon  Thomas  appeared  in  their 
original  characters,  Wilfred  Draycott  being  Mr.  Marshall ;  Edith 
Chester,  Mrs.  Hemmersley ;  May  Palfrey,  Parker.  In  A  Panto- 
mime  Rehearsal  there  were  the  following  changes  from  the  original 
cast :  C.  Little  played  Jack  Deedes ;  Wilfred  Draycott,  Sir 
Charles  Grandison  ;  Carlotta  Addison,  Lady  Muriel  Beauclerc  ; 
May  Palfrey  and  Maude  McNaught,  Miss  May  and  Miss  Rose 
Portman,  and  Rose  Norreys  once  more  appeared  as  Miss  Lily 
Belgrave.  The  skit  never  went  better.  As  a  first  piece  Good  for 
Nothing  was  played,  with  Miss  Norreys  as  Nan,  a  character  in 
which  the  clever  actress  had  been  well  spoken  of  at  the  Hay- 
market  The  rest  of  the  cast  was  as  follows :  Jim  Dibbles, 
Brandon  Thomas ;  Harry  Collier,  Mr.  Branscombe ;  Charley, 
Wilfred  Draycott ;  and  Young  Mr,  Simpson,  Weedon  Grossmith, 
who  gave  an  original  and  most  diverting  reading  of  the  character. 

Haymarket. — The  Dancing  Girl.  Netta  Aylward  took  up 
the  part  of  Sybil  Crake  very  satisfactorily. 

3rd.  Globe  matinie. — The  Reckoning.  In  this  play  Sylvanus 
Dauncey  showed  us  that  he  possesses  some  of  the  dramatic 
faculty  of  his  brother  Henry  Arthur  Jones,  and  that  he  can  write 
some  excellent  dialogue.  The  first  two  acts  were  very  strong, 
but  there  was  not  sufficient  material  for  the  remaining  two,  which 
should  have  been  comprised  in  one.  Captain  Philip  Conway  is 
just  about  to  be  married  to  Dora  Deacon,  when  he  receives  a 
telegram  telling  him  that  Constance  Oliver,  a  girl  whom  he  had 
seduced  and  deserted,  wishes  to  see  him  before  she  dies.  She  is 
apparently  in  articulo  mortis  when  he  reaches  her  bedside,  and 
she  implores  him  to  marry  her.     He  does  so,  her  father,  a  clergy- 


228  The  End  of  a  Z>ay.  CDk^  x«9«. 

man,  performing  the  ceremony ;  immediately  on  the  completion 
of  which  she  proves  to  her  husband  how  he  has  been  tricked  by 
leaving  her  couch  in  the  best  of  health.  In  her  deception  she 
has  been  aided  by  Mr.  Leach,  a  man  madly  in  love  with  her, 
whom  she  has  promised  to  join  directly  she  has  accomplished  her 
ends.  Dora  is  evidently  an  angel,  for  she  worships  Philip  all  the 
more  for  having  done  justice  to  Constance,  who,  in  her  turn,  is  a 
she-devil,  for  she  shadows  Conway  and  insists  on  being  recogjniscd 
as  his  wife.  But  she  also  fools  Leach,  and  he,  meeting  her  near 
an  opportune  bridge,  throws  her  over ;  Philip  being  as  opportunely 
at  hand  to  save  her,  which  he  does  from  a  sense  of  duty.  His 
bravery  is  not  fruitless,  for  Constance,  regretting  her  evil  doings, 
and  grateful  to  Dora  for  her  tenderness  to  her,  takes  poison,  and 
so  rids  the  lovers  of  the  obstacle  to  their  happiness.  Lewis 
Waller,  as  Philip  Conway,  had  a  part  which  brought  out  all  his 
strength.  Florence  West,  as  Constance  Oliver,  was  a  true  woman 
of  ungovemed  instinct ;  passion  overcame  all  scruples  for  the  time, 
but  could  not  make  her  utterly  bad.  Gracie  Warner  may  take  to 
sympathetic  heroines'  parts  at  once,  if  one  is  to  judge  from  the 
way  she  played  Dora  Deacon.  Murray  Carson  was  just  a  little 
too  melodramatic  as  Mr.  Leach.  James  A.  Welch  gave  us  one  of 
the  best  bits  of  "  pawky  "  Scotch  character  as  Dr.  McPherson,  and 
T.  W.  Percyval  was  firm  as  Frank  Gibbon.  Janet,  a  maid,  was 
very  cleverly  played  by  Lillie  Belmore ;  and  J.  A.  Willes  was  as 
natural  and  full  of  humour  as  anything  I  have  seen  in  the  way  of 
butlers.  His  rival,  Rigby  Nicks,  was  racily  portrayed  by  Wilfred 
E.  Shine.  The  scenes  in  which  these  three  servants  took  part 
went  splendidly.  Lena  Ashwell's  intelligent  and  ladylike  perform- 
ance of  Mrs.  Chilcot  showed  great  promise  for  her  future  as  an 
actress. 

4th.  Opera  Comique. — Last  night  of  The  American. 

5th.  Royal  English  Opera  House  reopened  with  The 
Basoche. 

5th.  Royalty.— rA?  End  of  a  Day,  one-act  play,  by  Herbert 
Burnett  This  rather  poetic,  but  sad  little  piece,  takes  its  title 
from  the  close  of  a  day  eventful  to  the  three  principal  characters. 
Evelyn  Carlyon,  a  rich,  honest-hearted  girl,  has  two  lovers,  the 
Rev.  Frank  Thornton,  a  poor  curate  (whom  she  has  alwajrs 
treated  so  kindly  and  frankly  that  he  has  deluded  himself  into 
the  belief  that  she  cares  for  him),  and  Archie,  Lord  Fielding, 
a  young  cavalry  officer,  whom  she  really  loves.  The  latter 
proposes  and  is  accepted ;  and  when,  consequently  upon  the  un- 
expected presentation  of  a  living,  Thornton  feels  in  a  portion 


Dec..  1891.]  Margaret  Byng,  229 


to  offer  himself,  be  finds  he  is  doomed  to  disappointment ;  but  bears 
his  fate  like  the  good  fellow  he  is.  H.  A.  Saintsbury  was  a  little 
too  subdued,  but  played  with  great  feeling  as  the  curate.  Violet 
Thomycroft  was  charmingly  natural  and  unaffected.  But  the 
wooing  of  Thomas  Terriss  (son  of  William  Terriss)  was  rather 
that  of  a  bluff  sailor  than  the  more  polished  love-making  of 
an  officer  in  a  crack  cavalry  regiment.  On  the  same  evening 
was  played  for  the  first  time  The  Gambler^  by  J.  W.  Boulding, 
which  could  only  be  accepted  at  a  provincial  theatre.  The  hero, 
looked  upon  as  all  that  is  noble  by  his  wife  and  uncle,  an  old 
general,  has  forged  in  the  past,  and  deserted  a  woman  who  knows 
about  the  crime.  She  obtains  an  engagement  as  companion  to 
his  wife,  and  endeavours  to  win  her  former  lover  back ;  and 
failing  in  this,  with  the  assistance  of  a  confederate  reveals  the 
secret  to  the  old  general.  The  wife  takes  the  forgery  upon 
herself,  but  the  shock  kills  the  old  man.  Crude,  and  with  long 
speeches,  though  replete  with  pathos  as  was  her  part,  Mrs. 
Bennett  struggled  hard  with  the  character  of  the  wife,  Victoria 
Dudley.  Leonard  Outram  could  make  nothing  of  the  hero,  and 
offended  the  eye  by  appearing,  contrary  to  all  usage,  constantly 
in  uniform.  The  parts  really  well  played  were  those  of  Maud 
Staunton,  the  adventuress,  by  Madame  De  Naucaze ;  and  her 
blackleg  confederate,  William  Fraser,  by  Cecil  Thornbury. 

5  th.  Opera  Comique. — The  Queen's  Room  and  The  Liar  in 
evening  bill. 

5th.  Drury  Lane. — Last  night  oi  A  Sailot^s  Knot. 

6th.  St.  James's  Hai.L. — H.  Beerbohm  Tree  read  a  clever 
paper  before  the  Playgoers*  Club  on  "  Some  Interesting  Fallacies 
Concerning  the  Modem  Stage." 

7th.  PaRKHURST. — The  Secret  of  a  Life. 

8th.  Comedy. — A  Breezy  Morning,  duologue,  by  Eden  Philpot, 
went  merrily.  It  treats  of  a  little  matrimonial  "  breeze,"  that 
springs  up  between  a  couple  on  their  honeymoon  ;  and  is  brightly 
written,  and  with  considerable  originality  in  the  treatment  of  the 
idea.  The  characters  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Golding  were  very  neatly 
played  by  Sam  Sothem  and  Florence  Fordyce,  the  latter  intro- 
ducing some  charming  womanly  touches.  A  Breezy  Morning 
would  be  acceptable  to  amateurs. 

8th.  Criterion  matime. — Margaret  Byng,  by  F.  C.  Philips 
and  Percy  Fendall.  There  is  originality  in  the  first  act,  for 
Margaret  Byng  and  her  husband,  having  been  submitted  to  the 
unpleasant  visits  of  a  man  in  possession  and  a  bill  of  sale 
gentleman  who  is  going  to  carry  off  their  goods  the  next  day, 


230  The  Road  to  Ruin,  [Dscis^i. 

agree  to  part  company  for  a  year  without  even  writing  to  each 
other.  Of  what  the  lady  is  going  to  do  we  do  not  get  even 
an  inkling,  but  she  evidently  returns  to  her  vagabond  father,  for 
they  are  at  their  wits'  end  to  pay  the  hotel  bilL  We  aiust 
suppose  that  a  Mr.  Domton  has  a  sneaking  affection  for  her, 
for  she  determines  to  borrow  ;£^5,ooo  of  him,  and  with  this  view 
travels  with  him  in  the  same  train,  and  is  going  to  get  into 
the  ^me  carriage  when  she  sees  that  he  has  been  murdered. 
She  follows  a  stranger  who  has  just  left  the  compartment  ;  taxes 
him  with  the  crime ;  and  to  close  her  mouth  he  hands  her 
;£^5,ooo.  Of  course  there  is  a  hue  and  cry,  and  she  is  alarmed 
for  her  own  safety  ;  still  more  so  when  the  murderer,  Bazano,  a 
Corsican,  turns  up  and  insists  on  her  marrying  him.  The  dead 
man's  brother,  Captain  Domton,  also  makes  a  similar  request, 
and  as  she  cares  for  him,  she  makes  a  clean  breast  of  it,  with  the 
result  that  he  promises  to  keep  the  secret  but  will  have  nothing 
more  to  do  with  her.  Bazano  having  seen  him  leave  the  house, 
she  owns  to  the  Corsican  that  she  has  told  the  whole  truth.  In 
his  rage  the  foreigner  stabs  her,  and  her  lover  bursting  open 
the  door  she  dies  in  the  latter's  arms.  There  were  one  or  two 
strong  situations,  but  both  plot  and  characters  were  sketchy. 
Estelle  Bumey  gave  an  unsympathetic  rendering  of  the  heroine ; 
her  transitions  were  violent,  but  she  displayed  undoubted  power. 
Charles  Brookfield  was  original  and  clever  as  the  Corsican, 
Bazano ;  and  Ben  Webster  made  love  eamestly.  The  other 
characters  were  very  thinly  drawn. 

8th.  Manor  Rooms,  Hackney. — The  Bam  at  Beccles^  original 
one-act  comedy,  by  George  Hughes  and  A.  C.  Bickley.  Same 
day,  Warm  Members^  farcical  comedy. 

9th.  Opera  Comique.  {RevivaL)  Tfu  Road  to  Ruin. — 
Holcroft's  comedy.  Edward  Compton  on  this  occasion  assumed 
only  the  rSle  of  Charles  Goldfinch,  and  not,  as  on  February  4th, 
1887  (at  the  Strand),  doubling  it  with  that  of  Harry  Doraton« 
For  a  time,  the  revival  of  The  Road  to  Ruin  is  always  a  success, 
and  it  had  every  appearance  of  proving  so  in  this  case.  Eldwaid 
Compton,  with  his  catch-phrase  "  That's  your  sort !  "  was  a  good 
representative  of  the  Tom  and  Jerry  "  blood  "  of  the  period,  and 
w?is  very  amusing.  Lewis  Ball's  Old  Domton  is  well  known 
and  universally  admired.  Elinor  Aickin,  too,  has  played  the 
part  of  Widow  Warren  so  frequently  as  to  need  no  pan^yric. 
Clarence  Blakiston's  Harry  Dornton  was  reckless,  light-hearted, 
and  earnest  by  turns,  but  could  have  been  toned  down  a  little 
with  advantage.     Sydney  Paxton's  Sulky  was  of  decided  merit 


Dec.,x8qx.]  The  Young  Pretender.  231 

Young  Stewart's  Mr.  Silky  was  clever,  but  a  little  reminiscent  of 
another  well-known  miser.  Harrison  Hunter  was  neat  as  Jack 
Milford,  Miss  C.  Lindsay  as  Jenny,  the  intriguing  maid,  was. 
fairly  good.  As  Sophia  Freelove  Evelyn  McNay  was  ingenuous 
and  winning  ;  artless,  without  being  affected. 

loth.  Avenue  matinee. — W.  H.  Pennington,  one  of  the 
Balaclava  charge  heroes,  took  his  farewell  of  the  stage, 
and  appeared  in  Act  I.,  Scene  2,  of  Richelieu  as  the  Cardinal. 
His  method  is  of  the  robust  school,  but  he  is  one  of  our  best 
elocutionists,  and  from  this  time  devoted  himself  to  the  teaching 
of  the  art  in  which  he  is  a  proficient 

loth.  Opera  Comique  matiiiSe. — The  Young  Pretender. 
Barton  White's  farcical  comedy  was  originally  produced  at  Rams- 
gate  on  July  3rd,  1890.  The  humour  of  the  piece  turns  on  the 
adventures  of  Matthew  Honeybun,  who  has  been  sent  off  to  do 
a  tour  of  the  world.  Having  a  great  objection  to  crossing  the 
ocean  and  a  great  inclination  for  London,  Matthew  remains  in 
chambers  with  his  friend  Jones,  who  is  to  assist  him  in  fathering 
his  histories  of  foreign  parts  on  his  supposed  return ;  and,  when 
the  two  go  down  to  Honeybun's  house  in  the  country,  they  get 
into  all  sorts  of  difficulties  through  the  severe  cross-examination 
to  which  they  are  subjected  by  Aunt  Harriett.  The  author  had 
got  hold  of  an  excellent  idea,  but  could  carry  it  no  farther 
than  his  first  act.  John  Tresahar,  as  Matthew  Honeybun,  assumed 
for  the  nonce  the  method,  and  at  times  the  voice,  of  Edward 
Terry  ;  Fred  Kaye  was  very  droll  as  an  absent-minded  professor 
of  geology.  Professor  Fossil :  Sophie  Larkin  was,  of  course,  good 
as  Aunt  Harriett ;  Nina  Williams  scored  as  a  precocious  little 
minx  named  Mia ;  and  Nora  Williamson,  pas3ing  tall  and  passing 
fair,  was  an  engaging  Maud  Honeybun.  Mark  Melford  claimed 
the  title,  which  it  was  at  one  time  intended  to  change  to  that  of 
The  Globe  Trotter. 

loth.  Sudden  death  of  Mrs.  Charles  Glenney. 

1 2  th.  Lyric. — Last  performance  of  La  Cigak^  originally 
produced  here  Oct.  9th,  1890. 

1 2  th.  Eighth  annual  dinner  of  the  Playgoers'  Club  at  the 
Criterion  Restaurant.  J.  T.  Grein,  in  the  chair,  proposed  the 
"  Health  of  the  Club,"  Cecil  Raleigh  responded.  R.  Jope  Slade 
rose  for  the  Drama,  for  which  J.  K.  Jerome  replied.  The  Club 
was  shown  to  be  in  a  very  flourishing  condition,  having  greatly 
increased  its  number  of  members  during  the  past  year,  and  the 
chairman  held  out  the  prospect  of  their  shortly  having  a  club 
house  of  their  own.  Digitized  by  CiOOqIc 


232  He  Stoofis  to  fVtn.  [Dk,i»9«. 


1 2th.  Royalty  matin/e, — Cock  Robin  and  Old  King'  Cole, 
children's  operettas  set  to  pretty  music  by  Florian  Pascal,  were 
produced  by  John  Donald  and  C.  Burleigh  Tessman  for  a  series  of 
afternoon  performances.  Grace  Murielle  distinguished  herself  by 
her  clearness  of  delivery  and  due  emphasis.  A  harlequinade  made 
up  the  bill ;  and  in  this  Master  Harry  Paulo  was  a  capital  down, 
and  was  much  assisted  by  Masters  K  King  and  Gr^g,  the 
juvenile  Atwoods  and  Julia  Johnson. 

13th.  St.  James's  Hall. — ^A  new  departure  was  made  in 
inviting  the  Press  to  the  reading  of  a  play.  Frank  Lindo  very 
cleverly  assumed  the  eight  characters  in  his  comedy,  A  Social 
Victim. 

13th.  Death  of  William  Gorman  Wills  of  jaundice  at  Guy's 
Hospital  Bom  in  1828.  Was  a  painter,  novelist  and  dramatist 
His  best-known  plays  were  TAe  Man  o*  Airiie,  Charles  /.,  Eugene 
Aranty  Jane  Shore,  Ninon,  Olivia,  William  and  Susan,  Faust  and 
lolanthe.  With  Henry  Herman  he  wrote  Claudian,  and  with 
Sydney  Grundy  The  Pompadour.  His  last  dramatic  effort  was 
A  Royal  Divorce.  His  best-known  novels  were  "  Notice  to  Quit " 
and  "  The  Wife's  Evidence."  He  was  a  talented  but  very  shy  man, 
generous  and  kind-hearted,  a  Bohemian  of  the  old  school,  and  the 
soul  of  honour.  He  left  behind  him  the  following  :  King  Arthur, 
Don  Quixote,  and  Riensi;  a  dramatisation  of  Thackeray's 
"  Esmond,"  and  of  his  own  novel,  "  The  Wife's  Evidence " ; 
also  a  comedy,  Merry  and  Wise.  With  Henry  Herman  he 
collaborated  in  Honi  Soit,  a  historical  play ;  with  A.  Dubourg  in 
Lculy  Bountiful,  and  with  Sir  .Charles  Young  in  an  unnamed  play, 
and  neither  of  these  have  yet  seen  the  light  Was  buried  at 
Brompton  Cemetery. 

14th.  Strand. — The  Late  Lamented.  Beatrice  Lamb  took  up 
the  character  of  Mrs.  Richard  Webb. 

14th.  Parkhurst. —  White  Roses,  by  Edwin  Gilbert,  placed  in 
the  evening  bill.  Produced  for  copyright  purposes  at  Ladbroke 
Hall  on  August  20th. 

15  th.  Lyric  Club. — He  Stoops  to  Win  was  a  very  amusing 
little  operetta  cleverly  sketched  out  by  Cunningham  Bridgman, 
who  had  also  written  for  it  some  admirable  lyrics  set  to  very 
pretty  and  taking  music  by  Wilfred  Bendall.  The  story  is  simply 
one  of  a  young  fellow  who  turns  valet  to  a  gouty  old  general  in 
order  that  he  may  win  the  niece ;  and  the  general's  old  house- 
keeper plays  an  important  part  in  their  wooing.  Rosina  Brandram 
in  the  latter  character  (Mrs.  Crumpet)  had  a  deliciously  droll 
"  number,"  "  The    romance  of  a  muffin   and  a   crumpet,"  with  a 


dbc,  x89i.]  The  Ughinin^s  Flash.  233 

telling  chorus,  both  of  which  went  capitally.  General  Blunt,  a 
gouty,  good-hearted,  hot-tempered  old  gentleman,  had  a  good 
representative  in  Wallace  Brownlow.  Courtice  Pounds,  who  acted 
the  valet.  Dale,  well,  has  a  pretty  song,  "  Love's  Slavery  "  ;  and 
Decima  Moore,  as  the  pretty  Alice,  sang  her  ballad, "  I  love  him 
so,*'  charmingly.  This  operetta  should  become  a  great  favourite 
with  amateurs. 

17th.  Opera  Comique  matinSe. — The  Light  of  Pengarth,hy 
Ina  Leon  Cassilis,  took  its  title  from  a  beacon  erected  to  warn 
fishermen  off  the  rocks,  but  which  is  extinguished  by  Jesse 
Crannock  because  Minna  refuses  him  and  prefers  Will  Devenish. 
So  Minna  makes  a  bonfire  of  her  furniture  to  warn  and  save  her 
lover.  It  was  well  played  by  Cairns  James,  W.  R.  Shirley,  and 
Laura  Linden. 

A  Debt  of  Honour^  by  C.  P.  Colnaghi,  is  one  which  ought  to  be 
paid  by  a  young  fellow  for  having  betrayed  his  friend,  but  which 
the  (riend  foregoes  because  of  the  young  fellow's  young  wife.  C. 
Fulton,  Ben  Webster,  and  Marie  Linden  were  good  in  a  very  weak 
piece.     Cotsford  Dick's  music  in  the  fanciful  operetta. 

The  Spring  Legend,  was  pretty,  but  the  best  number  was  very — 
remindful  There  is  no  plot,  save  that  ridiculous  situations  are 
brought  about  through  the  legend  of  a  haunted  spring — which 
legend  was  charmingly  sung  by  Jessie  Moore,  who  was  a  brilliant 
success.  Cairns  James,  as  a  nimble  dancing  doctor ;  Edith  Chester 
and  Laura  Linden,  as  his  daughters ;  George  W.  F.  Power,  W.  R. 
Shirley,  and  S.  Barraclough,  as  lovers  ;  and  Mrs.  F.  Coplestone,  as 
a  gushing  old  maid,  did  their  best  to  make  the  farcical  element 
tell. 

17th.  Surrey. — The  Lightnings  Flashy  original  four-act  drama 
by  Arthur  Shirley.  The  author  has  taken  the  title  of  his  play 
from  an  event  in  real  life,  when,  from  the  effects  of  a  flash  of 
lightning,  Adam  Bate,  the  Bilston  collier,  recovered  the  sight  which 
had  been  previously  lost  to  him.  Mr.  Shirley  restores  his  vision 
.  to  his  hero,  Stephen  Merrick,  in  the  same  way,  he  having  been 
tied  up  in  the  Australian  wilds  by  a  party  of  bushrangers.  There 
is  much  incident,  and  a  great  deal  of  the  play  is  interesting,  but 
before  being  included  in  a  regular  bill  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  work  will  have  to  be  re-written.  It  was  produced  for  the 
benefit  of  Clarence  J.  Hague,  who  played  the  hero. 

19th.  Garrick. — Last  night  of  the  run  of  School. 

19th.  Death  of  John  Maddison  Morton,  in  the  Charterhouse, 
aged  8 1.  Bom  at  Pangboume  January  3rd,  181 1.  Commenced 
his  education  in  France  and  Germany,  and  completed  it  with  Dr. 


234  Oliver  Twist.  [D«:.,  xSju 

Richardson,  of  Clapham,  by  whom  so  many  noted  actors  were 
instructed.  Maddison  Morton  was  for  some  time  in  the  Civil 
Service,  but  eventually  turned  his  attention  entirely  to  writing. 
His  maiden  production  was  Afy  First  Fit  of  the  Gout^  at  the 
Queen's  Theatre,  Tottenham  Street,  1835.  He  wrote  and 
adapted  nearly  a  hundred  plays  and  pantomimes  ;  of  all,  perhaps, 
those  that  will  be  best  remembered  were  Lend  me  Five  Shillings^ 
Box  and  Cox^  To  Paris  and  Backy  Betsy  Baker^  The  Steeplechase^ 
John  Dobbs,  All  that  Glitters  is  not  Gold^  and  Woodcod^s  Link 
Game.  But  notwithstanding  his  industry  and  the  number  of  his 
plays  that  were  accepted,  he  made  comparatively  little  by  them, 
for  authors'  fees  were  not  great  in  his  day.  Was  specially  fond 
of  fishing.  He  was  a  favourite  with  every  one  to  whom  he  was 
known,  and  deserved  the  universal  esteem  in  which  he  was  held. 
Was  buried  at  Kensal  Green  Cemetery. 

2 1  St  Strand  revival^  matinie. — Hans  the  Boatman.  Clay  M, 
Greene's  musical  comedy  was  revived  for  a  series  of  afternoon 
performances.  It  had  been  written  up  since  it  was  first  seen 
in  London  at  the  Grand,  July  4th,  1887,  and  revived  at  Terry's 
at  Christmas  of  the  same  year.  Charles  Arnold  resumed  the 
character  of  the  thoughtless,  kind-hearted  Hans,  so  fond  of  playing 
with  the  children,  and  sang  and  acted  very  pleasantly.  The  cast 
was  very  much  strengthened  by  Alice  Atherton's  assumption  of 
Jeffie;  in  her  waywardness,  and  with  her  pretty  songs  and  dances. 
Austin  Melford  was  excellent  as  Yank  Thursby,  and  Guy  Staunton 
made  his  mark  as  Lieutenant  Finch.  Agnes  Knights  was  the 
Gladys  Farwell ;  and  two  mites  of  children.  May  Hannan  as  little 
Hans,  and  Alma  Hannan  as  "  Baby  Rooney,"  produced  shouts  of 
laughter. 

2 1  St  New  Olympic. — Oliver  Twist  An  American  version 
was  performed  on  this  afternoon,  and  put  into  the  evening  bill 
on  the  same  day.  Many  of  the  characters  are  but  subsidiary 
ones  in  the  present  adaptation.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bumble,  though 
well  played  by  T.  C.  Dwyer  and  Emily  Borthwick,  had  little 
to  do.  James  A,  Welch,  as  the  "Dodger,"  had  a  song,  the 
"  Chickaleery  Bloke,"  to  sing.  Frank  M.  Wood,  as  Noah  Clay- 
pole,  had  few  opportunities,  but  made  the  most  of  them.  The 
principal  features  are  Oliver's  being  taught  pocket-picking  in 
Fagin's  den  (and  though  Bertie  Willis  was  a  little  too  robust  for 
Oliver,  she  played  neatly) ;  the  burglary  at  Mr.  Brownlow's ; 
"  London  Bridge  under  the  Arches "  (an  excellent  scene,  in 
which  Grace  Hawthorn  was  convincing  as  Nancy ;  but  not  even 
then  as  thoroughly  so  as  in  the  garret  where  Sikes  murders  her. 


dbc,  i89i.]  The  Honourable  Herbert.  235 

and  where  she  brought  out  to  the  utmost  the  beauty  of  the 
character,  and  was  deservedly  called  and  recalled).  It  would 
have  been  better  to  have  closed  the  play  here,  but  a  sensational 
scene  was  introduced  to  show  the  tragic  end  of  Sikes  on  the 
housetops.  This  was  scarcely  well  managed  ;  but  went  better 
after  a  night  or  two.  Bassett  Roe  looked  Bill  Sikes,  and  he  was 
realistically  brutal  in  his  acting.  Henry  de  Solla  made  much 
of  the  comic  side  of  Fagin's  character,  but  in  the  scene  where 
he  thinks  Nancy  has  betrayed  them  all  he  displayed  powerful 
malignity. 

2 1  St  Princess's. — Leonard  Boyne  was  the  original  of  honest 
John  Biddlecombe  in  Robert  Buchanan  and  Harriet  Jay's  Alone 
in  London^  but  he  did  not  act  with  more  earnestness  and  truth 
than  did  Henry  Neville  at  the  Princess's,  when  the  drama  was 
revived  there  on  this  date.  Maud  Elmore  played  Nan  with 
very  considerable  power.  Ella  Terriss  made  a  hit  as  Tom 
Chickweed,  whom  she  made  a  boy,  and  not  a  girl  dressed  up 
in  boy's  clothes.  The  best-played  character  was  the  Mrs. 
Maloney  of  Mrs.  Clifton  ;  it  was  natural,  forcible,  full  of  humour, 
and  in  no  way  strained.  W.  L.  Abingdon  was  of  course 
thoroughly  at  home  as  Redcliffe.  Wilfred  E.  Shine  had  a  good 
character  in  Jenkinson,  which  he  played  well.  Henry  Bedford 
was  capital  as  Charlie  Johnson  ;  he  always  is  in  anything  he 
does.  Julia  Warden  seconded  him  bravely  as  Liz  Jenkinson. 
Fuller  Mellish  had  no  great  chance  as  Spriggins,  but  entered 
into  the  part  well.  Charles  Steuart  and  T.  Kingston  were 
Bumaby,  father  and  son ;  and  Beatrice  Selwyn  was  a  pretty 
and  sympathetic  Ruth  Clifton.  The  scenery  was  excellent,  the 
difficult  mechanical  changes  were  cleverly  managed,  the  company 
engaged  by  Herberte-Basing,  the  manager,  was  a  good  one. 

2 1  St  Alhambra. — Production  of  Temptation^  new  ballet  by 
Carlo  Coppi ;  music  by  G.  Jacobi ;  Signorina  Elia  principal 
dancer.  The  ballet  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  ever  seen, 
even  at  this  house,  so  celebrated  for  such  productions.  The 
dresses,  by  M.  and  Mdme.  Alias,  surpassed  description. 

2 1  St  Shaftesbury. — Joan  of  Arc  removed  to  this  theatre. 
Charles  Danby  as  Jacques  D'Arc ;  E.  J.  Lonnen  (on  this  occasion) 
Charles  VH. ;  Grace  Pedley  in  the  title  r6le ;  Maria  Jones, 
Isabelle  D'Arc,  Joan's  mother.  Richard  Henry's  most  amusing 
piece,  First  Mate,  preceded. 

22nd.  Vaudeville. — The  Honourable  Herbert.  This  play  of 
Haddon  Chambers'  will  be  remembered  if  only  for  the  exquisitely- 
drawn  scene,  towards  the  close  of  the  second  act,  between  Philip 


236  The  Honourable  Herbert.  a>Bc>89i. 

Tenby  and  Mrs.  Doring,  and  also  for  the  truth  to  life  with  which 
the  character  of  Miss  Florrie  Summers  is  drawn.  But,  to  arrive  at 
the  first  good  situation,  the  audience  had  to  wade  through  nearly 
two  acts ;  and  though  some  of  the  dialogue  was  good,  it  did  not 
redeem  the  want  of  interest  The  last  act  showed  the  reunion 
of  man  and  wife,  though,  when  originally  produced,  the  audience 
left  the  theatre  in  doubt  as  to  whether  the  repentant  husband 
was  dead,  or  might  look  forward  to  forgiveness  from  his  injured 
wife.  Later  this  was  remedied  and  made  clear.  The  story  is 
the  simple  one  of  Mrs.  Doring,  a  pure  good  woman,  devotedly 
attached  to  her  husband,  discovering  that  he  has  resumed  a 
liaison  with  a  Miss  Florrie  Summers,  a  demi-mondaine.  Mrs. 
Doring  follows  the  couple  to  Brighton,  and  there,  whilst  taking 
a  drive  with  the  girl  who  is  under  his  protection,  the  Hon. 
Herbert  Doring  is  thrown  from  his  vehicle  and  is  crippled  and 
disfigured:  His  wife  nurses  him  back  to  health  with  every 
affection  and  solicitude,  and  so  shames  him  that  her  presence 
becomes  a  torture  to  him.  She  is  led  to  believe  from  this 
that  she  is  hateful  to  him,  and  is  leaving  the  room  never  to 
see  him  again,  when,  with  an  agonised  cry,  he  recalls  her  to  him. 
The  scene  to  which  I  have  referred  as  being  so  exquisite  is  that 
in  which  Doring's  great  friend,  Philip  Tenby,  who  has  been 
thrown  too  much  into  Mrs.  Dorings  society,  forgets — though 
only  for  a  moment — that  she  is  his  friend's  wife.  Philip  Tenby's 
character  is  altogether  well  drawn,  and  was  acted  with  the  most 
delicate  feeling  and  manly  power  by  Arthur  Elwood,  who  made 
the  hit  of  the  evening.  Dorothy  Dorr  had  some  excellent 
moments  as  Mrs.  Doring,  but  was  not  always  as  natural  as  she 
might  have  been.  Thomas  Thome  appeared  as  an  American 
millionaire,  proud  that  his  daughter  had  married  an  Honourable  ; 
his  other  daughter,  Dorcas,  supposed  to  be  little  better  than 
a  child,  has  a  flirtation  with  the  Honourable  Herbert's  brother 
Harold,  a  lad  in  Eton  jacket ;  Mary  Collette  and  Sydney  Brough 
filled  these  parts  well.  H.  B.  Conway  must  be  forgiven  if  he 
was  not  all  that  was  expected  of  the  Hon.  Herbert,  for  the 
author  had  scarcely  made  it  clear  whether  his  hero  was  really 
repentant,  or  intended  carrying  on  his  life  of  profligacy  so  long 
as  he  was  not  found  out.  Ella  Banister  showed  to  greater 
advantage  as  Florrie  Summers  than  in  anything  she  had  yet 
done.  The  silly  giggling  Mr.  Lavender  was  introduced  without 
the  slightest  necessity,  and  was  made  so  inane  that  he  actually 
militated  against  the  success  of  the  play.  Haddon  Chambers 
evidently  wished  to  show  that  he  could  write  other  than  drawing- 


Dic^iSqt.]  The  Swiss  Express.  237 

room    melodrama;  but   TAe  Honourable   Herbert  will   not   take 
anything  like  rank  with  either  Captain  Swift  or  The  Idler. 

24th.  Gaiety. — Cinder-Ellen  *"  up  too  late,''  written  by  A.  C. 
Torr  and  W.  T.  Vincent,  plays  havoc  with  the  old  nursery  legend. 
We  have  no  fairy  godmother  or  pumpkin  at  the  Gaiety.  The 
three-act  burlesque  is  Cinderella  fin-de-sikcle^  and  has  naturally 
been  put  together  with  a  view  to  the  special  capabilities  of  Fred 
Leslie  and  Nellie  Farren.  Cinder-Ellen  is  the  daughter  of  Sir 
Ludgate  Hill,  and  is  a  young  lady  of  decided  opinions  and  tomboy 
proclivities,  to  remedy  which  she  is  sent  to  Bloomsbury  College. 
Her  bibulous  father  has  intended  her  to  wed  Prince  Belgravia,  but 
the  hero,  described  in  the  programme  as  "  a  Servant,"  is  an  aristo- 
cratic James  de  la  Pluche,  and  the  real  Prince.  He  runs  away 
with  her,  and  they  take  up  the  business  of  costers  in  Covent 
Garden,  where  Cinder-Ellen  appears  in  a  suit  of  "  pearlies."  The 
lovers  are  separated  ;  and,  at  the  school  examination,  her  adorer 
comes  disguised  as  a  professor,  the  Prince  of  Belgravia  appearing 
also,  disguised  as  a  dancing  master.  The  reception  accorded  to 
the  old  favourites  (on  their  return  from  Australia)  was  great ; 
Kate  James,  though  fresh  to  the  Gaiety,  was  as  cordially  welcomed. 
Fred  Leslie  was  indefatigable,  full  of  quaint  conceits,  and  his  song 
to  the  ''  Mirror  "  in  the  second  act  was  charmingly  sung.  Kate 
James  backed  him  up  splendidly.  Her  voice,  not  a  very  strong 
one,  is  sweet  and  well  managed,  and  she  has  all  the  dash  and 
espiiglerie  required  for  her  part.  She  dances  neatly,  and  is  always 
bright.  As  on  these  two  tiie  success  of  the  burlesque  then  hung, 
it  went  all  right  when  they  were  to  the  fore.  E.  J.  Lonnen,  as 
Prince  Belgravia,  had  comparatively  little  to  do.  He  had  one 
new  song,  "  Teaching  McFadden  to  dance,"  a  wonderfully  clever 
drunken  dance,  and  a  very  graceful  minuet  with  Sylvia  Grey,  who 
is  a  charming  Linconzina,  one  of  the  sisters,  Florence  Levey  dis- 
playing the  terpsichorean  graces  of  the  other,  Fettalana.  Arthur 
Williams  had  little  chance  as  Sir  Ludgate  Hill,  but  this  clever 
master  of  wheezes  and  gag  soon  materially  altered  his  part. 
Emily  Miller  appeared  as  the  fashionable  schoolmistress,  Mrs. 
Kensington  Grore,  a  gushing  part  that  just  suited  her  style. 
Meyer  Lutz  was  responsible  for  the  music,  and  had  been  assisted 
by  Osmond  Carr,  Jacobi,  Walter  Slaughter,  Robertson  (of 
Australia),  and  Lionel  Monckton,  who  contributed  Lonnen's 
drinking  song  and  chorus. 

25th.    Death  of  Mrs.  John    Carter,   a     Stirling   actress,  and 
remarkably  clever  in  portraying  Irish  "old  women." 

26th.  Princess's. — The  Swiss  Express  was  revived  for  a  series 


238  Imre  Kiralfyfs  "  Venice  in  London^  [d«c^  i«9«- 

of  afternoon  performances.  As  a  piece  of  Christmas  fooling,  with 
funny  practical  jokes  and  a  tissue  of  ludicrous  absurdity,  it  pleased 
many,  and  made  them  laugh  at  the  antics  of  Charles,  Ren^,  and 
Frederick  Renad,  who  are  always  up  to  amusing  mischief  from  the 
time  that  the  omnibus  upsets  ;  as  witness  the  queer  goings  on  in 
the  train  itself,  and  the  pranks  they  play  at  the  Black  Bear  Inn  at 
Chamounix,  of  which  Henry  Bedford  is  the  comical  host.  Wilfred 
R  Shine  is  the  victimised  Dr.  Gull,  Herberte  Basing  is  the  perse- 
cutor, Bob  Rollingstone,  and  Phyllis  Broughton  the  Virginia 
Squeeze.    R.  Reece's  version  played  by  Hanlon-Lees,  Gaiety,  1 88a 

26th.  Olympia. — Imre  Kiralfy's  "Venice  in  London."  On 
the  opening  of  this  marvellous  enterprise  the  public  discovered 
that  the  reports  as  to  its  magnificence  did  not  even  equal  the 
realisation.  Modem  Venice,  with  its  bridges,  its  canals  and 
gondolas,  its  products,  its  manufacture  of  Venetian  glass  by 
Salviati,  had  all  been  faithfully  reproduced.  For  the  delight 
of  the  multitude  Mr.  Kiralfy  had  organised  some  wonderful 
pageants.  Among  others  were  "  The  Wedding  of  the  Doge  to 
the  Adriatic,"  "  The  Storming  of  Chioggia,"  the  naval  action,  the 
triumph  and  the  rejoicings  to  welcome  the  victorious  return  of  the 
burghers  and  men-at-arms,  consisting  of  aquatic  ballets,  al  fresco 
dances  and  illuminated  water  festivals.  The  dramatic  element 
was  also  introduced  in  the  shape  of  scenes  from-  The  Merchant  of 
Venice^  etc.,  and  in  ballets  on  the  stage,  in  which  the  very  first 
talent  was  engaged.  Upwards  of  1400  people  took  part  in 
this  wonderful  entertainment  The  dresses  were  sumptuous  and 
beautiful,  and  the  gigantic  scenery  exquisitely  painted. 

26th.  Panic  at  the  Theatre  Royal,  Gateshead,  through  a  false 
alarm  of  fire.     Ten  children  and  a  checktaker  lost  their  lives. 

28th.  Death  of  Alfred  Cellier,  composer,  in  his  47th  year. 
Entered  the  Chapel  Royal,  St.  James's,  in  1855,  and  in  1862  was 
appointed  organist  to  All  Saints'  Church,  Blackheath,  and  was,  in 
1 868,  organist  at  St.  Alban's,  Holbom.  Became  connected  with 
the  theatres  in  1871  as  conductor  at  the  Prince's,  Manchester,  and 
afterwards,  from  1877  to  1879,  ^*  ^®  Opera  Comique,  London. 
His  first  operetta  that  made  any  mark  was  Charity  begins  at  Honu^ 
in  1870.  Since  then  he  had  composed  The  Sultan  of  Mocha^  The 
Tower  of  London — later  produced  as  Doris — The  Spectre  Knight^ 
and  Pandora,  It  was,  however,  Dorothy  that  brought  him  fame, 
which  will  be  increased  by  the  exquisite  music  he  has  provided  for 
The  Mountebanks^  which,  but  for  his  death  and  the  consequent  post- 
ponement, would  have  been  more  specially  commented  on  in  this 
year's  Dramatic  Notes.     He  was  buried  at  Norwood  Cemetery. 


Dbc,  1891.1  Forgiveness,  239 

30th.  St.  James's* — Forgiveness,  J.  Comyns  Carr's  original 
four-act  comedy  was  a  complete  artistic  success.  Interesting 
from  the  very  commencement,  without  any  sensational  episodes, 
the  story  is  told  in  well-chosen  dialogue,  in  the  midst  of  which 
every  now  and  then  there  crops  up  a  brilliant  epigram,  a  keen 
touch  of  satire,  or  a  bon  mot  that  illuminates  the  whole.  It  is 
an  eminently  sympathetic  play»  Sir  Edward  Ferrars  has  always 
allowed  his  daughter  Nina  to  believe  that  she  was  born  in  wed- 
lock his  rightful  heiress.  But  he  was  tricked  before  his  marriage 
to  her  mother,  and  this  by  his  own  brother,  who,  to  revenge  him- 
self for  a  rejection  of  his  dishonourable  proposals,  led  Sir  Edward 
to  suppose  that  the  lady  he  was  about  to  marry  was  a  widow, 
whereas  her  husband  was  still  living.  Nina  is  therefore  illegiti- 
mate, and  her  father,  in  order  that  he  may  provide  for  her, 
speculates  wildly  in  American  mines,  trusting  implicitly  the 
conduct  of  his  speculations  to  his  almost  adopted  son,  the  Hon. 
Reginald  Earle.  Sir  Edward  Ferrars*  trust  is  betrayed,  and  ruin 
stares  him  in  the  face,  when  a  Mr.  Edward  Hamilton  appears 
on  the  scene.  He  is  in  reality  Edward  Ferrars,  nephew  to  Sir 
Reginald,  and  is  obeying  the  dying  wishes  of  his  father  to  repair 
the  latter's  evil-doing  in  so  far  as  he  may  obtain  "forgiveness" 
of  the  past  Attracted  to  his  cousin  Nina,  they  soon  love  each 
other ;  but  for  a  time  the  Hon.  Reginald  makes  him  out  to  be 
an  impostor,  for  Hamilton,  who  has  been  manager  of  the  mines 
and  is  aware  of  the  manner  in  which  Earle  has  been  sending  false 
telegrams  and  working  the  market  of  the  shares,  will  not  disclose 
his  identity,  in  order  that  Sir  Eldward  Ferrars  may  not  be  un- 
deceived as  to  his  death,  which  had  been  previously  announced. 
Edward  Ferrars'  position  is  however  secured,  and  his  chivalry  and 
generosity  proved,  through  the  agency  of  Mr.  Tamworth,  the 
family  solicitor,  who  has  been  his  confidant ;  and  the  young  fellow 
has  his  reward  and  happiness  in  Nina's  love.  Nutcombe  Gould 
can  play  an  aristocrat  to  perfection,  and  showed  great  feeling  as 
Sir  Edward  Ferrars.  Marion  Terry  was  sweetly  womanly  as 
Nina,  and  George  Alexander's  Edward  Hamilton  was  deserving 
of  the  very  highest  praise.  The  lighter  characters  were  admirably 
sustained  by  Fanny  Coleman,  a  shrewish  but  not  unkind  man- 
hater  ;  by  Dolores  Drummond,  as  an  intriguing  widow,  and  by 
E.  W.  Gardiner  and  Laura  Graves  as  a  pair  of  very  young  lovers. 
Another  cleverly-drawn  character  is  that  of  Abraham  Flack,  the 
Hon.  Reginald's  confederate,  a  specious  diamond  merchant,  who 
under  the  guise  of  bonhomie  is  as  consummate  a  scoundrel  as 
can  be  well  imagined.     The  character  was  admirably  played  by 


340  PaniOfPMfteS.  tOme^  i»9^ 

H.  de  Lange.     The  comedy  might  in  parts  have  been  compressed 
with  some  little  advantage. 

Prince  of  Wales's. — During  this  month  The  Prancing  Girl 
was  withdrawn,  and  for  it  was  substituted  Palmistry. 


The  following  is  the  list  of  pantomimes  produced  : — 

Britannia. — The  Old  Bogie  of  the  Sea,  by  J.  Addison. 
Mrs.  S.  Lane,  Edward  Leigh,  Willie  Crackles,  Amy  Lyster,  Katie 
Lee,  Little  Levite,  etc 

Crystal  Palace. — TAe  Forty  Thieves,  by  Horace  Lennard, 
music  by  Oscar  Barrett,  who  produced  the  whole.  Edith  and 
Alice  Bruce,  Kitty  Loftus,  D.  Abrahams  (Neddy  the  donkey), 
William  Hogarth,  Sam  Wilkinson,  and  Kate  Chard  specially  dis- 
tinguished themselves.  The  dresses  and  scenery  were  exquisite, 
the  music  of  the  brightest,  and  the  pantomime  the  best  that  had 
been  seen  here,  and  was  only  rivalled  by  one  production  this 
season.     (Christmas  Eve.) 

Drury  Lane. — Humpty  Dumpty ;  or.  Harlequin  the  Yellow 
Dwarf  and  the  Fair  One  with  the  Golden  Locks,  by  Sir  Augustus 
Harris  and  Harrj^  Nicholls,  music  by  John  Crook.  This  was 
admitted  to  be  the  most  beautiful  pantomime,  from  the  artistic 
taste  displayed  in  the  costumes  worn  by  those  representing  the 
twenty-four  different  nationalities  taking  part  in  the  Procession  of 
Nations,  and  also  in  the  delicacy  of  the  dresses,  illuminated  by 
concentrated  batteries  of  electric  lights  in  *•  The  Orange  Grove  ** 
and  in  the  transformation,  "  A  Dream  of  Bliss."  Another  mar- 
vellous scene  was  "The  Dolls  at  Home,"  in  which  John  and 
Emma  D'Auban  figured  as  Japanese  dolls.  The  scenery  was, 
most  of  it,  painted  by  Perkins  and  Kautsky.  The  principal 
characters  were  taken  by  Herbert  Campbell  and  Dan  Leno,  Fred 
and  Ritta  Walton,  E.  S.  Vincent,  Marie  Lloyd,  Fanny  Leslie, 
Mabel  Love,  the  Brothers  Kitchin,  and  Little  Tich,  who  achieved 
a  great  success  as  Humpty  Dumpty.  In  the  double  harlequinade 
Harry  Payne  was  clown  and  Kelly  Louis  pantaloon  in  the  first  set, 
and  Charles  'LdMtifin  de  sUcle  clown  in  the  second. 

Elephant  and  Castle.— Little  Bo-peep,  who  lost  her  Sheep, 
by  John  Henderson.     (Christmas  Eve.) 

Grand  Theatre. —  Whittington  and  his  Cat,  by  Geoffrey 
Thome,  music  by  W.  H.  Brinkworth.  Dick  Whittington  (in  the 
absence  from  illness  of  Millie  Hylton,  who,  on  her  recovery,  took 
up  the  character),  Louie  Wilmot.  Lottie  Collins  was  a  pro- 
nounced success  by  the  excellence  of  her  acting,  her  charming 


Dk^.iSqx.]  Pantomimes.  241 


voice  and  neat  dancing,  full  of  life  and  vivacity,  and  absolutely 
free  from  any  taint  of  vulgarity.  Harry  Randall,  Arthur 
Alexander,  Sonnen  Meadows,  and  Mary  Glover,  also.  This 
pantomime  was  most  thoroughly  amusing.     (Dec.  26th.) 

Novelty. — Cinderella^  libretto  by  H.  Buckstone  Clair,  music 
by  Henry  Parks. 

PavAion. — Little  Red  Riding-Hood.  Alice  and  Grace  Lloyd, 
Arthur  Bell,  Louie  Gilbert,  H.  M.  and  Willie  and  Vinnie 
Edmunds,  James  and  Polly  Albert,  and  Sam  and  Will  Polewki. 

Royal,  Marylebone. — Robinson  Crusoe,  by  W.  Muskerry. 
Nettie  Waite,  Florence  Merry,  Joseph  Ellis,  Johnny  J.  Jones,  J.  K. 
Watton,  T.  G.  Bailey,  principals.     (Christmas  Eve.) 

Standard. — Robinson  Crusoe,  by  Martin  Byam  and  A. 
Melville.  Emily  Spiller,  Rita  Trevano,  Newman  Maurice,  J.  C. 
Piddock,  Charles  Deane,  Charley  Rignold,  Caroline  Cushman  (one 
of  the  Black  Swan  trio,  who  sang  well),  and  Charles  French, 
principals.     Arthur  Verne,  clown. 

Surrey. — The  Fair  One  with  the  Golden  Locks,  by  George 
Conquest  and  H.  Spry.  Amy  and  Cissy  Farrell,  Walton  and 
Lester,  Alice  Westfield,  Victoria  Lytton,  Laura  Dyson,  Lily 
Laurel,  George,  jun.,  Fred  A.  and  C.  Conquest,  and  Lily  Wilford, 
principals. 

ParkhuRST. — Robinson  Crusoe,  by  William  Walton,  who  played 
Friday,  and  afterwards  clown.  Isabel  Lindon,  Annie  Craston, 
Fawdon  Vokes  (afterwards  harlequin),  E.  St.  Alban  as  Dame 
Crusoe. 

Stratford  Theatre  Royal,  E. — Dick  Whittington,  by 
Charles  Stirling  Parker,  Lillian  Bishop,  Katie  Fredericks,  Master 
Giovini  (Grimalkin),  Fred  Fredericks,  Will  Clements. 

Lyric,  Hammersmith. — Dick  Whittington  and  his  Cat,  by 
David  James,  junr.,  Frances  Coventry,  Queenie  Lawrence,  Walter 
King,  May  Verie,  Maude  d'Almaine,  Verrie  Verie,  James  Norris. 


The  Actors'  Association,  concerning  which  particulars  were 
given  in  the  last  issue  of  Dramatic  Notes,  has  made  much 
satisfactory  progress  during  the  year.  Mr.  Henry  Irving  is  at 
the  head  of  it,  associated  in  the  direction  with  an  influential  body 
of  actors  ;  and  the  members'  roll  already  includes  six  or  seven 
hundred  names,  many  of  them  of  distinction.  The  Stage — 
without  which  there  would  have  been  no  Actors'  Association — is 
also  concerned  to  an  extent  in  the  existence  of  another  society, 
ix.,  the  Theatrical  Ladies'  Guild,  the  object  of  which  is  to  assist 

16 


242  New  Theatres  opened  during  1891.  iDK-.ts^t. 


necessitous  married  women-members  of  the  profession,  especially 
in  the  lower  ranks,  in  the  period  of  maternity.  The  society  was 
originated  and  founded  in  November  by  Mrs.  C.  L.  Carson  ;  and 
by  the  end  of  the  year  it  was  already  high  in  favour  with  the 
ladies  of  the  profession,  who  were  co-operating  very  heartily  with 
Mrs.  Carson  in  furtherance  of  the  good  work.  Miss  Fanny  Brough 
is  the  president,  and  Miss  Katie  James  the  vice-president,  and 
there  is  a  strong  representative  committee. 


In  revising  proofs  of  this  year's  Dramatic  Notes,  I  find  that 
I  have  omitted  all  mention  of  the  death  of  Phineas  T.  Bamum, 
one  of  the  greatest  showmen  of  the  age.  He  was  bom  July  5th, 
1 8 ID,  and  died  April  7th,  1891,  and  was  consequently  eighty 
years  of  age.  He  commenced  his  first  exhibition  in  1834,  after 
having  been  by  turns  clerk,  shopkeeper,  and  editor.  After  his  first 
exhibition  he  travelled  for  some  years  with  shows,  and  eventually 
became  proprietor  in  1 84 1  of  Scudder's  American  Museum,  from 
which  he  eventually  amassed  a  very  large  fortune.  In  this  museum 
were  to  be  seen  at  various  times  anything  to  which  the  public 
could  be  attracted  by  advertisement,  in  which  Mr.  Bamum  was  a 
past  master.  He  first  exhibited  Tom  Thumb,  he  also  engaged 
Jenny  Lind,  he  purchased  Jumbo,  and,  it  will  be  remembered, 
brought  his  menagerie  and  natural  curiosities  to  OI)mipia  in  1 889. 
He  was  completely  burnt  out  once,  and  often  had  very  severe 
losses  ;  but  he  was  indomitable.  He  wrote  his  life  in  1855,  and 
several  other  works,  in  which  he  never  spared  himself  as  the 
prince  of  humbugs.  He  was  liberal  in  his  donations  to  his 
country,  had  many  friends,  and  was  much  esteemed  in  America. 
He  was  three  times  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  Legislature. 


New  Theatres  opened  during  1891. — In  London:  Royal 
English  Opera  House,  Cambridge  Circus,  W.,  Jan.  21st.  In  the 
Provinces  :  Metropole,  Birkenhead,  Feb.  9th ;  Pleasure  Gardens, 
Folkestone,  Feb.  12th;  Lyceum,  Ipswich,  March  28th;  Palace 
of  Varieties,  Manchester,  May  iSth;  People's  Palace,  Sunder- 
land, August  3rd  ;  Opera  House,  Southport,  Sept.  7th ;  Royal, 
Ashton-under-Lyne,  Sept.  14th  ;  New  Theatre,  Cheltenham, 
Oct.  1st;  Royal,  Kidderminster,  Nov.  i6th;  Prince's,  Portsmouth, 
Dec.  26th. 


Digitized  by  LjOOQ IC 


243 


NEW  PLAYS  AND   IMPORTANT   REVIVALS. 

FROM  JANUARY  IST   TO  DECEMBER  31ST,    1891. 
WITH  THE  DATES  OF  PRODUCTION  AND  CASTS  OF  CHARACTERS. 


JANUARY. 

5th.     Lyoeum.    Revival. 

MUCH  ADO  ABOUT  NOTHING. 

William  Shakespeare's  Comedy,  in  Five 
Acts,  as  arranged  for  the  stage  by 
Henry  Irving. 


1882. 


Benedick  . 
Don  Pedro 
Don  John  . 
Claudio 
Leonaio.  . 
Antonio 
Balthazar , 
Borachio  , 
Conrade 
Friar  Francis 
Dogberry  . 
Verges  .  . 
Seacoal .  . 
Oatcake,  . 
A  Sexton  . 
A  Messenger 
A  Boy  .  . 
Hero  .  . 
Margaret  . 
Ursula  .  . 
Beatrice     . 


Benedick  , 
Don  Pedro , 
Don  John  , 
Claudio.  . 
Leonato .  . 
Antonio 
Balthazar  . 
Borachio 
Conrade 
Friar  Francis 
Dogberry  . 
Verges  .  . 
SeacocU  .  . 
Oatcake .  . 
A  Sexton  . 
A  Messenger 
A  Boy  ,  . 
Hero  .  . 
Margaret  . 
Ursula  .  . 
Beatrice     . 


Henry  Irving. 
W.  Terriss. 
Charles  Glenney. 
J.  Forbes  Robertson. 
James  Fernandez. 
H.  Howe. 
J.  Robertson. 
F.  Tyars. 
Charles  Hudson. 
T.  Mead. 
S.  Jolmson. 
S.  Calhaem. 
W.  Archer. 
Mr.  Harbury. 
Mr.  Carter. 
Mr.  Haviland. 
K.  Browne. 
Jessie  Millward. 
Lucia  Harwood. 
L.  Payne. 
Ellen  Terry. 


1891. 


'i. 


Henry  Irving. 
Mr.  Macklin. 
Mr.  Haviland. 
W.  Terriss. 
T.  Wenman. 
H.  Howe. 
Robertson. 
.  Tyars. 
Mr.  Harvey. 
Alfred  Bishop. 
Mr.  Mackintosh. 
Mr.  Davis. 
W.  Archer. 
Mr.  Reynolds. 
Mr.  Lfacy. 
Gordon  Craig. 
Master  Harwood. 
Annie  Irish. 
Kate  Phillips. 
Miss  Coleridge. 
Ellen  Terry. 


13th.    Vaudeville.    Revival. 

WOODBARROW^    FARM. 

Original    Comedy,    in    Three    Acts,    by 
Jerome  K.  Jerome. 


Piffin 

Allen  Rollitt  .  .  . 
Luke  Cranboume  , 
Mike  Stratton  .  . 
Mr,  Purtwee .  .  . 
Hon.  Tom  Gussett  . 
Baron  von  Schorr  . 
Richard    Hanning' 

ford 

Ichabod 

Peters 

Colonel  Jack  Dexter 
Clara  Dexter .  .  . 
Mrs.  RollUt  .  .  . 
Rachael  .... 
Deborah  Deacon .    . 


Thomas  Thome. 
Bernard  Gould. 
CecU  M.  Yorke. 
F.  Hamilton-Knight. 
J.  S.  Blythe. 
F.  Gillmore. 
F.  Grove. 

F.  Hamilton-Knight. 
C.  Ramsey. 
J.  Wheatman. 
Fred  Thome. 
Edith  Vane. 
Emily  Thome. 
Miss  Williamson. 
Ella  Banister. 


15th.     Hay  market.     First  Performance. 

THE  DANCING  GIRL. 

New  Four-act  Play,  by  Henry  Arthur 
Jones. 

The  Duke  of  Guise- 
bury  H.  Beerbohm  Tree. 

Hon.  Reginald 


Slingsby 
Augustus  Cheevers 
David  Ives  .  . 
John  Christison  . 
Mr.  Crake,  .  . 
Mr.  Goldspink  . 
Captain  Leddra . 
Charles.  .  .  . 
Lady  Bawtry,  . 
Lady  Brislington 
Sybil  Crake  .  . 
Drusilla  Ives  .  . 
Faith  Ives .  .  . 
Mrs.  Christison  . 
Mrs.  Leddra  .  . 
Sister  Beatrice 


F.  Kerr. 
Mr.  Batson. 
James  Fernandez. 
Fred  Terry. 
C.AUan. 
Robb  Harwood. 
Charles  Hudson. 
Mr.  Leith. 
Rose  Leclercq. 
Adelaide  Gunn. 
Miss  Norreys. 
Julia  Neilson. 
Blanche  Horlock. 
Margaret  Ayrtoun. 
Mrs.  E.  H.  Brooke. 


Drgitiz¥»»s  Hethcote, 


244 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals,       Uan.-Feb.,  189 


24th.    Globe.    First  Performance. 

ALL    THE     COMFORTS    OF 
HOME. 

Farcical  Comedy,  in  Three  Acts,  adapted 
from  Ein  Toller  EinfaU,  by  W. 
Gillette  and  H.  Duckworth. 


Mr.  Egbert  Pettibone 
Rosabelle  Pettibone  . 
Emily  Pettibone  .  . 
Alfred  Hastings  .     . 

Tom 

Christopher  Dabney 
Judson  Langhom  . 
Fiji  Oritanski  .  . 
Theodore      Bender^ 

Esa 

Jostpkine  Bender  , 
Evangeline  Bender  . 
A  ugustus  McDonald 
Victor  Smythe     .     . 

Kate 

Gretchen    .... 


F.  Glover. 
Stella  Maris. 
Sybil  Cariisle. 
>forman  Forbes. 
WilUe  PhilUps. 
Ian  Robertson. 
L.  D'Orsay. 
Lily  Linfield. 

Harry  Paulton. 
Fanny  Coleman. 
Mary  Ansell. 
H.  de  Lange. 
Gerald  Gumey. 
Adrienne  Dairolles. 
Eva  Murray. 


28th.    New  Olympic.    Revival. 

THE    STRANGER. 

Kotzebue's  Play,  as  adapted  by  Sheridan, 

and  arranged  in  Three  Acts. 
The  Stranger .    .    .     Wilson  Barrett. 
Count  Wintersen     .    T.  W.  Percyval. 
Baron  Steinfort  .     .    W.  A.  Elliott 
Solomon     ....    Austin  Melford. 

Peter George  Barrett. 

Tobias Stafford  Smith. 

Francis Cooper  Cliffe. 

George P.  Belmore. 

Countess   Winterstn    Lily  Hanbury. 
Mrs.  Holler   .     .     .    Winifred  Emery. 
Charlotte   ....    Lillie  Belmore. 

Annette Maud  Teiferies. 

Claudine   ....    Alice  Gambier. 
Susan Lily  Twyman. 

d1st.    Royal   English  Opera  House. 
First  Performance. 
IVANHOE. 
New  Three-act  Romantic  Opera,  adapted 
firom  Sir  Walter  Scott*s  novel.     Words 
by  Julian  Sturgis;  Music  by  Arthur 
Sullivan. 

Saturday,  January  31st,  1891. 


Richard  Ccrur-de- 
Lion,  King  of 
England     .    .    . 

Prince  John    .     .     . 

Sir  Brian  de  Bois- 
GUbert  .... 

Maurice  de  Bracy    . 

Lucas  deBeaumanoir 

Cedric  the  Saxon 

WUfrid,  Knight  of 
Ivanhoe  .... 

Friar  Tuck    .     .    . 


Norman  Salmond. 
Richard  Green. 

Eugene  Oudin. 
Chas.  Kenningham 
Adams  Owen. 
Frangcon  Davies. 

Ben  Davies. 
Avon  Saxon. 


Iscuic  of  York .     .    .  Charles  Copland. 

Locksley     .    .    .    .  W.  H.  Stephens. 

The  Squire     .     .     .  F.  Bovill. 

The  Lady  Rowena  .  Esther  Palliscr. 

Ulrica Marie  Groebl. 

Rebecca Maigaret  Macintyre. 

Monday,  February  2nd,  1891. 

Richard    Coeur  -  de  - 

Lion^     King     of 

England  .  .  . 
Prince  John  .  .  . 
Sir  Brian  de  Bois- 

Gilbert   .... 
Maurice  de  Bracy    . 
Lucas  deBeaumanoir 
Cedric  the  Saxon 
mifrid.  Knight  of 

Iifanhoe  .... 
Friar  Tuck  .  .  . 
Iscuu  of  York .  .  . 
Locksley  .... 
The  Squire  .  .  . 
The  Lady  Rowena  . 

Ulrica Marie  Groebl 

Rebecca Miss  Thudichum. 

Wednesday,  February  4th,  1891. 

Richard  Cofur  -  de  • 
•  ZiVif,  King  of 
England 


Franklin  Clive. 
Richard  Green. 

Eugene  Oudin. 
Chas.  Kenningham. 
Adams  Owen. 
Frangcon  Davies. 

Ben  Davies. 
Avon  Saxon. 
Charles  Copland. 
W.  H.  Stephens. 
F.  BoviU. 
LucUle  HiU. 


Prince  John   .     ,     . 
Sir  Brian  de  Bois- 

Gilbert   .... 
Maurice  de  Bracy    . 
Lucas  deBeaumanoir 
Cedric  the  Saxon 
WUfrid,  Knight  of 

Ivanhoe  .... 
Friar  Tuck  .  .  . 
Isaac  of  York .  .  . 
Locksley  .... 
The  Squire  .  .  . 
The  Lady  Rowena 


Norman  Salmond. 
Richard  Green. 

Francois  Noij^. 
Chas.  Kenningham. 
Adams  Owen. 
W.  H.  Buiigon. 

Mr.  O'Mara. 
Avon  Saxon. 
Charles  Copland. 
W.  H.  Stephens. 
F.  BovilL 
Esther  Palliser. 


Ulrica Marie  Groebl. 

Rebecca Margaret  Macint]rre. 


FEBRUARY. 

5th.     Prince  of  Wales's.     First  Per- 
formance. 

MAID    MARIAN. 

Comic  Opera,  in  Three  Acts,  by  H.  B. 
Smith  ;  Music  composed  by  Reginald 

DE  KOVEN. 


?f 


Robert,  Earl 
Huntingdon 
Sir  Tristram  Testy . 
Sir  Guy  of  Gisborne 
Little  John  .  .  . 
Bend-the-Bow  .  . 
FHar  Tuck  .  .  . 
Much  the  Miller,  . 
IVill  Scarlet  .    .    . 

Digiti; 


C.  Hayden  Coffin. 
H.  Monkhouse. 
John  Le  Hay. 
Leonard  Russell. 
Miss  F.  Darby. 
Harry  Parker. 
T.  A.  Shale. 
Egbert  Roberts. 


Feb.,  X89X.] 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals. 


245 


Allan-a-DaU . 
Maido'-the-MUl 
Annabel     .    . 
Dame  Burden 
Maid  Marian 


Violet  Cameron. 
Mr.  CoUini. 
Attalie  Claire. 
Madame  Amadi. 
Marion  Manola. 


7th.     Avenue.     Revival. 

MONTE   CRISTO. 

Romantic  Drama,  in  Five  Acts. 

October  17th,  1868. 


Edmund  Dantes 
Albert  .  .  . 
Femand  .  . 
Danglars  .  . 
M.  de  VUlefort 
Noirtier  .  . 
Caderouse  .  . 
Carconte  .  . 
Merceiles     .     . 


February 

Edmund  Dantes. 
Albert  ,  .  . 
Femand  .  . 
Danglars  .  . 
M.  de  VilUfort 
Noirtier  .  . 
Caderouse  .  . 
M,  Morel  .  . 
Father  Dantes 
AbbiFaria  . 
Governor  of  Chdteau 

c^.^ ; 

Brigadier  .  , 

1st  Agent  .  . 

2nd  Agent .  . 

ist/atler  .  . 

2nd  Jailer .  , 

Germain    ,  . 

Servant.    .  . 

Penelon .    .  . 

Sentinel     .  . 

Carconte    .  . 
Mdlle.  Danglars. 

Mercedes    .  . 


Charles  Fechter. 
Alfred  Mellon. 
Arthur  Stirling. 
R.  Phillips. 
Mr.  Ashley. 
Benjamin  Webster. 
George  Belmore. 
Mrs.  Leigh  Murray. 
Carlotta  Leclercq. 

7th,  1891. 

Charles  Warner. 
E.  H.  Vanderfelt. 
J.  G.  Grahame. 
Luigi  Lablache. 
J.  R.  Crauford. 
Henry  Lee. 
J.  G.  Taylor. 
J.  A.  Howell. 
Charles  F.  Fulton. 
G^eorge  Warde. 

Geoige  Osborne. 
Harold  Foster. 
Thomas  W.  Ford. 
Edward  O'Neil. 
Alfred  P.  PhUlips. 
Georee  Arnold. 
N.  Johnson. 

A.  Godfrey. 

B.  Raikes. 
Rodney  Miller. 
L.  Lanty. 
Elsie  Chester. 
Helena  Dacre. 
Jessie  Millward. 


7th.    Lyceum.    Revival. 
THE    LYONS    MAIL. 

Melodrama,   in  Three  Acts,  founded 


by 
Charles  Reade  on  a  celebrated  French 
Trial. 


May  19th,  1877. 

Henry  Irving. 


Joseph  Lesurques 
Dubosc  {Captain  c 

gang  0/ $00)     ■       , 
Cournol  \  .  jijr^^k^^  fR-  G.  Lyons. 
ChoppardV^'^XTW''  H"W 
FoiUnardt    Zi'   1  J- Archer. 
Durochat]    ^^^^     U- Tapping. 
Jerome  Lesurques     .    T.  M^. 


Dorval 

Didier 

Joliquet 

Guemeau  .... 
Lemtbert  .... 
Postmaster  of  Mont- 

'  geron 

Coco 

Commissary  of  Police 
Postilion  .  .  •  . 
Julie  Lesurques  .  . 
Niece  to  Postmaster . 
Jeanette 


F.  Tyars. 

E.  H.  Brooke. 
Lydia  Howard. 
H.  Holland. 

G.  Cartwright. 


J.  Collett. 
Mr.  Branscombe. 
Mr.  Halwood. 
Mr.  Allen. 
Virginia  Francis. 
Miss  Claire. 
Isabel  Bateman. 


February  7th,  1891. 


Joseph  Lesurques 
Duoosc  {Captain  of  a 
gangofsoo)    .    . 

Fouinard\  ^'^t 
Durochat]  ^"^^ 
Jerome  Lesurques 

Dorval 

Didier 

Joliquet 

Guemeau  .... 
Lambert  .... 
Postmaster  of  Mont- 

geron 

Coco 

Commissary  of  Police 
Postilion    .... 

Waiter 

lulie  Lesurques  .    . 

Marie 

Niece  to  Postmaster . 
Jeanette 


Henry  Irving. 

W.  Terriss. 
S.  Johnson. 
J.  Archer. 
Mr.  Lorriss. 
Mr.  Wenman. 
F.  Tyars. 
Mr.  Haviland. 
Mr.  Harvey. 
Gordon  Craig. 
Mr.  Lacy. 

Mr.  Davis. 
Mr.  Reynolds. 
Mr.  Gushing. 
Mr.  Allen. 
Mr.  Marion. 
Miss  Coleridge. 
Miss  Foster.  • 
Miss  Brown. 
Frances  Ivor. 


9th.    New  Olynnpic.    Revival. 

LIGHTS  O'  LONDON. 

Original  Drama,  in  Five  Acts,  by  G.  R. 
Sims. 

September  10th,  1881. 

Harold  Armytage    .  Wilson  Barrett 

Bess Mary  Eastlake. 

Squire  Armytage     .  G.  R.  Peach. 

CUfford  Artnytage  .  E.  S.  WiUard. 

Marks J.  Beauchamp. 

Seth  Preene    .    .    .  Walter  Speakman. 
Mr.  Skeffington 
Superintendents 
Police     .     .     . 

Cutts  and  Walters 


Constables 


Philosopher  Jack  . 
Percy  deVere,'' Esq:' 
Trotters  .... 
Porter  at  Casual 
Ward 


.    Mr.  Wensleydale. 
of  (Mr.  Layard. 
.  \Mr.  Warren. 

fH.  Evans. 
•  1  Mr.  Manning. 
^W.  P.  Grainger. 
C.  Carthcart. 

B.  CuUen. 

C.  Coote. 
Neville  Doone. 
W.  Waite. 


J.  B.  Morton. 


Joey Master  Worley. 


246 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals.    [Feb.— ma«ch,  1891. 


Janns George  Barrett. 

/i w  ......  T.  W.  Phipps. 

Shakts^re  JarvU  .  Eugenie  Edwards. 

Mrs.jarvis    .    .    .  Mrs.  Stephens. 

Hetty  Preene  .    .    .  Emmeline  Ormsby. 

Tottii M.  Clitherow. 

S<il Lizzie  Adams. 

/oHtt Alice  Cooke. 

Annii Georgina  Wright 

February  9th,  1891. 

Harold  Amtyiage    .    Wilson  Barrett. 

Besi Winifred  Emery. 

^irt  Armytage     .     W.  A.  Elliott 
Clifford  Armytage  .    H.  Cooper  Cliffe. 

Marki Stafford  Smith. 

Sfth  Preene    .    .    .    Austin  Melford. 
Mr.  Skeffington  .  •  .    Mr.  Wensleydale. 
Superintendents     of  f 
Police     .    .    .    .\ 

^•^'^«^^^^'-{Ie& 

Consta^Us {l^^^ST 

Man  in  the  Park    .    P.  Belmore. 
Mr,  Brown  and  Mr,  /C.  Duncan. 

SmUh     .    .    .    .  \T.  W.  Percyval. 
Philosopher  Jack ,    .    Ambrose  Manning. 
Percy de  Vere^^^Esq^    Horace  Hodges. 
Trotters     .     .     .    .     E.  Irwin. 
Porter     at     Casual 

fVard     ....    Mr.  Lloyd. 

/oey Master  Wright. 

Jarvis Geoige  Barrett. 

Jim Mr.  King. 

Shakespeare  Jarvis  .    Louie  Wilmot. 
Mrs.  Jarvis    .    .    .    Mrs.  Henry  Leigh. 
Hetty  Preene  .    .    .    Lily  Hanbury. 

Tottie 

Sal Harrietta  Polini. 

Janet Alice  Gambier. 

AntUe Maud  C.  Jefferies. 


18th.    New  Olynnplc.    First  Per- 
formance. 
THE    YORKSHIRE    LASS. 

New  Drama,  in  Four  Acts,  written  for 
Miss  Eastlake  by  WiLTON  Jones. 

General  Sir  Gilbert 

Selwyn  ....  Charles  J.  Fulton 

Jack  Selwyn   ...  A.  Bourchier. 

Capt.  Stewart  Digby  R.  S.  Boleyn. 

Stephen  Milsom  .     .  F.  H   Macklin. 

Duk  Blosser  ,    .    .  George  Barrett. 

Maurice  Thome .    .  H.  Sparling. 

Gabriel  Oxtobv    .     .  A.  G.  Leigh. 

Inspector  Exley  .    .  W.  L.  Befinore. 

Servant  Kackles      .  Paul  Belmore. 

Eltse  de  Momay .     .  Gertrude  Warden. 

Kate  Grantley     .     .  Gwendolyn  Floyd. 

Patty Kate  Phillips. 

John    Selwyn,  jun, 

{^d  5)  .     .     .     .  Christine  Bernard. 

Paith Mary  Eastlake. 


23rd.    Vaudeville.    First  Performance. 
ROSMERSHOLM. 

Drama,  in  Four  Acts,  by  Hbnrik  Ibsen. 
Pastor  Rosmer    .    .     F.  R.  Benson. 
Rector  Kroll  .     .    .    Athol  Forde. 
Ulric  Brendel     .     .    Charles  Hudson. 
Peter  Morttnsgard  .    J.  Wheatman. 
Madame  Helseth      .    May  Protheroe. 
Rebecca  West .    .    .    Florence  Farr. 

2eth.    St.  James's.    First  Performance. 

THE    IDLER- 
Play,    in    Four    Acts,  by    C.    Haddon 

Chambers. 
Mark  Cross    .    .    .    George  Alexander. 
Sir  John  Harding^ 

MP. Herbert  Waring. 

Simeon    Strong   {of 

New  York) .    .    .    John  Mason. 
Genl.  Merryweaiher    Nutcombe  GouW. 
Bennett     ....    Alfred  Holies. 
Lady  Harding    .    .    Marion  Terry. 
Mrs.  Cross     .    .     .    Lady  Monckton. 
Mrs.   GlynH'Stan* 

more Gertrude  Kingston. 

Kate  Merryweather,    Maude  Millett- 

28th.    Princess's.    First  Performance. 
LADY    BARTER. 

Original  Comedy  of  Modem  Life,  in  Three 

Acts,  by  Charles  Coghlan. 
Lord  Brent    .    .     .    Lewis  Waller. 
Archdeacon  Short    .    Fred  Everill. 
General  Peters     .    .     Arthur  Stirling. 
Colonel  Pearce     .    .    Charles  Coghlan. 

IVright Hubert  Dnicc. 

Servant     ....    Mr.  Kingscote. 
iMdy  Barter  .     .     .    Mrs.  Langtry. 
The     Hon.     Mary 

Brent     ....     Helen  Forsyth- 
Justine Ethel  Hope. 

MARCH. 
3rd.    Vaudeville.     First  Performance. 

OUR    ANGELS. 
New  Original  Drama,  in  Three  Acts,  by 
Dr.  G.  H.   R.   Dabbs   and  Edward 

RiGHTON. 

Sir  Beevor  Vandyke  Lawrence  D'Orsay. 

Mr.  Tarbard .    .    .  Ernest  Hendrie. 

Morton  Farquharson  Lewis  Waller. 
Rupert       Cardwell, 

M.D Ben  Webster. 

Percy  ForUscue  .     .  H.  Eversfield. 

Blinker W.  H.  Vernon. 

Dr.  McRobin.    .    .  Herberte  Basing. 

Hotel  Manager   .    .  Mr.  Aysom. 

Mr.  Hamish  ...  Mr.  Sydney. 

Police  Inspector  .     .  W.  Wyes. 

Sandy W.Riley. 

Jock Edward  Righton. 

Lily Beatrice  Lamb. 

Maud    .     .     .  Digitizp  Fanny  Brough. 


ri 


March,  1891.] 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals. 


247 


4th.    Lyceum.    RevivaL 
CHARLES    I. 


Play,  in  Four  Acts, 
September 
Charles  /..... 
Lord  Huntley  .  . 
Lord  Moray  .  .  . 
Oliver  Cromwell.  . 
Ireton  .  .  .  . 
Princess  Elimbeth  . 
Prince  James .  .  . 
Lady  Eleanor  .  . 
Queen  Henrietta 

Maria    .... 


by  W.  G.  Wills. 
28th,  1872. 
Henry  Irving. 
E.  P.  Addison. 
E.  F.  Edgar. 
G.  Belmore. 
R.  Markby. 
Willa  Brown. 
Miss  Allcroft. 
G.  Pauncefort. 

Isabel  Bateman. 


March  4th,  1891. 
Charles  /.....    Henry  Irving. 


Lord  Huntley 
Lord  Moray  .     .    . 
Oliver  Cromwell,    . 

Lreion 

Princess  Elizabeth  . 
Prince  James  .  .  . 
Lady  Eleanor  .  . 
Queen  Henrietta 
Maria    .... 


H.  Howe. 
W.  Terriss. 
T.  Wenman. 
F.  Tjrars. 
Minnie  Terry. 
Miss  Webb. 
Annie  Irish. 

Ellen  Terry. 


7th.    Qarrick.    First  Performance. 

LADY   BOUNTIFUL. 

New  and  Original  Play,  in  Four  Acts,  by 
A.  W.  Pi  NERO. 

Sir  Lucian  Brent, 

Bart Gilbert  Hare. 

(His  first  appearance  in  London.) 
Sir  Richard  Philliter, 

QC 

Roderick  Heron  .  . 
Dennis  Heron  .  . 
John  Veale  .  .  . 
Pedgrift  (a  Parish 

Clerk  and  Sexton) 
Wimple 


C.  W.  Somerset. 

John  Hare. 
.  Forl)e5-Robertson. 
Charles  Groves. 


R.  Cathcart. 
John  Byron. 
Floyce R.  Power. 


A  ViUager 
Miss  Brent  .  .  . 
Camilla  Brent  .  . 
Beatrix  Brent  .  . 
Mrs,  Veale  ,  .  . 
Margaret  Veale  ,  . 
Mrs,  Hodnut  (a  Pew 
Opener)  .... 

Amelia Miss  Webster. 

A  Villager     .     .    .    E.  Turtle. 


Henry  Rivers. 
Carlotta  Addison. 
Kate  Rorke. 
Beatrice  Ferrar. 
Dolores  Drummond. 
Marie  Linden. 

Caroline  Elton. 


13th.     Royalty.    First  Performance. 

GHOSTS. 

A  Family  Drama,  in  Three  Acts,  by 
Henrik  Ibsen ;  translated  by  Wiluam 
Archer. 


Mrs,  Ahjing  , 
Oswald  Alving 


Mrs.  T.  Wright. 
Frank 'Lindo. 


Pastor  Manders  . 
Jacob  Engstrand 
Regina  .    .    . 


Leonard  Outram. 
Sydney  Howard. 
E)dith  Kenward. 


14th.    Court.    First  Performance. 

THE   VOLCANO. 

Original  Farce,  in  Three  Acts,  by  R.  R. 

LUMLEY. 

The  Duke  of  Dono- 

way Arthur  Cecil. 

Visct.Ratcliffe,M,P.  W.  Grossmitb. 

The    Hon,    Gilbert 

Stukeley ,    ...  A.  Aynesworth. 

Capt, Roland  Gumey^ 

R,H. Brandon  Thomas. 

Daniel  Pultebeck     .  Fred  Cape. 

Ponter John  Clulow. 

VeeUy Master  Wilson. 

Gridd Master  Westgate. 

The     Duchess      of 

Donoway     ,    .    .  Carlotta  Leclercq. 

Leuly  Barbara    .    .  Marion  Caldwell. 

Lady  Mabel   ...  P.  Hudspeth. 

Mrs.Delancey  Valen- 
tine     Mrs.  John  Wood. 


18th.    Vaudeville.    First  Performance. 

DIAMOND    DKANK. 

New  Play,  in  Four  Acts,  by  Henry  W. 
J.  Dam. 

The    Rev,    Ihomas 


Grant 
Mr,  Henry  Denni- 

son,  M.P.  ,  ,  , 
Robert  Dennison  (in 

the  Blues)  ,  .  . 
Lord  Sheldon .  .  . 
John     Murray     {of 

Scotland  Yard)  . 
Johnson      .... 

Lyons 

Mary  Denttison  ,  . 
Miss  Young  ,  ,  , 
Mrs,  Maclane     ,     . 


Thomas  Thome. 

H.  B.  Conway. 

W.  Scott  Buist. 
L.  D'Orsay. 

J.  S.  Blythe. 
Fred  Thome. 
C.  Ramsey. 
Dorothy  Dorr. 
Jessie  Mil  I  ward. 
Mrs.  Canninge. 


19th.  New  Olympic.  First  Performance. 
FATHER    BUONAPARTE. 

New  Three-act  Play,  by  Charles  Hudson- 

Abb^  Buonaparte     .  Wilson  Barrett 

Stephana    .    .     .    .  S.  Miller  Kent. 

Dr.  FMlon   ,    .     .  Austin  Melford. 

General  Morivart    .  Edward  Irwin: 

Colnaghi   ....  Franklin  McLeay. 

A  Soldier  ....  Mr.  Aubrey. 

Countess  UOsa  .    .  Frances  Ivor. 

Luzette Alice  Cooke. 

Mattea Lillie  Belmore. 

Adile    .     .    .     .Di9l^'^^Winifred  Emery. 


248 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals.   [MARCH-Anu^  XB91. 


28th.    Avenue.    First  Performance. 
THE    "HENRIETTA." 

Comedy,    in    Four    Acts,    by    Bronson 
Howard. 


Nickoias  Vanalstyne 

Dr,  Parke  Watn- 
Wright    .... 

Nicholas  Vanalstyne, 
JUH 

Bertie  Vanalstyne   , 

Lord  Arthur  Tre- 
lawney   .... 

Rev.  Dr.  Murray 
Hilton    .... 

Watson  Flint .    ,     . 

Musgrave  .... 

Mrs,  Cornelia  Op- 
dyke  

Rose  Vanalstyne,    , 

Agnes  Lockwood ,    . 

Lady  Arthur  Tre- 
lawney  .... 


W.  H.  Vernon. 

Yorke  Stephens. 

Lewis  Waller. 
John  L.  Shine. 

Earle  Douglas. 

D.  Robertson. 
Henry  Lee. 
Charles  F.  Leon. 

Fanny  Brough. 
Florence  West. 
Marion  Lea. 

Mary  Jocelyn. 


31st. 


Prince  of  Wales's, 
formance. 


First  Per- 


L'ENFANT    PRODIGUE. 

Three-act  Musical  Play  without  words, 
written  by  Michel  Carr^,  fils ;  Music 
by  Andre  Wormsir. 


Pierrot,  jun,  . 
Madame  Pierrot 
Phrynette  ,  . 
Pierrot,  sen.  . 
Le  Baron  ,  , 
Servant      .     . 


Jane  May. 
Mme.  Schmidt. 
Francesca  Zanfretta. 
M.  Courtes. 
Louis  Gou^et 
Jean  Arcueil. 


APRIL 

1st.    Criterion.    Revival. 

THE  SCHOOL  FOR  SCANDAL. 

Richard  Brinslby  Sheridan's  Comedy. 

Sir  Peter  Teazle  ,     ,  William  Farren. 

Sir  Oliver  Surface  ,  H.  H.  Vincent. 

Charles  Suffice  ,    ,  Charles  Wyndham. 

Joseph  Surface     .     ,  A.  Bourcbier. 

Crabtree    ....  William  Blakeley. 
Sir  Benjamin  Back' 

bite Cyril  Maude. 

Careless     ....  George  Giddens. 

Sir  Harry  Bumper .  F.  Atherley. 

Sir  Toby    ....  Mr.  Playfair. 

Snake S.  Hewson. 

Moses S.  Valentine. 

Rowley F,  Emery. 

Trip Mr.  Meadows. 

.Servant      ....  Mr.  Shelley. 

Lady  Teazle  ,     .     .  Mrs.  Bernard  Beere. 

Maria Mary  Moore. 

Mrst  Candour     .     .  M.  A.  Victor. 

Ltuly  Sneerwell  .     .  Emily  Fitzroy. 

Maid EllaTerriss. 


8th.     Princess's.    First  Perfonnance  in 
London. 

LINDA    GREY. 

Original  Play,  in  Five  Acts,  by  the  late 
Sir  Charles  Young. 

Victor  Broughton    .  Bernard  Gould. 

Lord  Parkhurst .     .  Herbert  Standing. 

Sir  Dennis  Brough' 

ton E.  B.  Norman. 

Zed  Jay      ....  Fred  Everill. 

Captain  Beaufort    ,  E.  Maurice. 

Ashby S.  H.  Lechmere. 

Dean Mr.  Kingscote. 

Wilson Hubert  Druce. 

Lady  Broughton .    .  May  Whitty. 

PriscUla  Rovalijrom 

America)    ,    .     .  I^ura  Linden. 

Jane Ethel  Hope. 

Linda  Grey  {kmmm 
on  the  London 
stage  as  Mrs,  Col- 
more)      ....  Mrs.  Langtry. 


16th.    Criterion.    First  Performance. 
RICHARD    SAVAGE, 

Play,  in  Four  Acts,  by  J.  M.  Barrie  and 
H.  B.  Marriott  Watson. 


Richard  Savage  , 
Sir  Richard  Steele 
Colonel  Jocelyn  , 
Jacob  Tonson .  . 
Aynston  ,  ,  . 
Sir  George  Sandys 
WiU  .... 
Lady  Macclesfield 
Lady  Yuill  ,  , 
Betty  SteeU  .  . 
Prue     .... 


Bernard  Gould. 
Cyril  Maude. 
Leonard  Outram. 
Compton  Coutts. 

E.  Webster  Lawson. 

F.  Brandon. 
W.  Lugg. 
Louise  Moodie. 
Marie  Eraser. 
Helen  Forsyth. 

*  Phyllis  Broughton. 


20th.    Vaudeville.    First  Performance. 

HEDDA    GABJJER. 
Drama,  in  Four  Acts,  by  Henri K  Ibssn. 


George  Tesman  .  , 
Mrs.  Hedda  Tesman 
Missjuliana  Tesman 
Mrs,  Elvsted .  .  . 
Judge  Brack  .  ,  , 
EjWert  Lijvborg  .  , 
Bertha 


Scott  Buist 
Elizabeth  Robins. 
H.  Cowen. 
Marion  Lea. 
Charles  Sugden. 
Arthur  Elwood. 
Patty  Chapman. 


21st.   New  Olympic.  First  Performance. 

THE    ACROBAT. 

Entirely  new  adaptation,  in  Four  Acts,  by 
Wilson  Barrett,  of  Pailasse. 

Belphegor  ....    Wilson  Barrett 
Madeline   ....    Winifred  Emery. 

Henri Edie  King.        j 

Jeannette   .     .     .  DigitiJiollie  Simth^glC 


April-May,  1891.]      Ncw  Ploys  and  Important  Revivals. 


249 


FHp  Flap  ....  George  Barrett 

The  Duke  de  Mont- 
bason      ....  Austin  Melford. 

The  Count  deBlangy  W.  A.  Elliott. 

Laoarennes  {assum- 
ing the  name  of 
the   Chevalier  de 

Rollac)   ....  Cooper  Cliffe. 

Viscount  Hercule  Horace  Hodges. 

Viscount  D^Arpignol  Ambrose  Manning. 

Marquis  de  Courge- 

mont T.  W.  Percjrval. 

General  Pouffiire     .  Edward  Irwin. 

The  Doctor    .    .     .  F.  McLeay. 

Grela Stafford  Smith. 

fason Paul  Belmore. 

Servant    to    MeUle. 

Flora     .    .    .    .  W.  Belmore. 

Servant  to  the  Duke  Mr.  Lloyd. 

Mdlle.  Flora  .    .    .  Lillie  Belmore. 

Mdlle.  Anastcuia     .  Harietta  PolinL 

Mdlle,  Fanny     .     .  Louie  Wilmot 

Mdlle,  de  Vermannr 

dois Mrs.  Henry  Leigh. 

Madame  Catherine  .  Lily  Hanbury. 

Therise Alice  Gambler. 

Characters  in  the  Masquerade. 

Dicuta Lillie  Belmore. 

Cupid  .    .     .    .     .  Louie  Wilmot. 

Mercury    .     .     .     .  H.  Polini. 

Apollo Miss  Foote. 

Venus    ....  Miss  Bedford. 

Adonis Miss  Butler. 

Juno Maud  C.  Jefferies. 

Mars Horace  Hodges. 

Jupiter James  A.  Welch. 

Punch A.  Manning. 

Pierrot T.  W.  Percyval. 


30th.    Criterion.    First  Performance. 

HUSBAND    AND    WIFE. 

Farcical  Comedy,  m  Three  Acts,  by  F.  C. 
Phiups  and  Percy  Fendall. 


Adolphus  Green- 
thome    .... 

Montrevor  Smith 

Alfred  Stepit  ,     .     . 

Phillip  Softdawn      . 

Mr,  Delamere     .     . 

Inspector  Thickhead 

Waiter 

Mrs,  Springfield     . 

Mrs,  Greenthome    . 

Mrs,  Montrevor 
Smith     .... 

Mrs,  Phillip  Soft- 
down 

Mrs,  Delamere   .     . 

Mary 


George  Giddens. 
W.  Blakeley. 
James  Nelson. 
S.  Hewson. 
F.  Emery. 
S.  Valentine. 
Mr.  Shelley. 
Laura  Linden. 
Carlotta  Addison. 

M.  A.  Victor. 

EllaTerriss. 
Annie  HiU. 
Edith  Kenward. 


MAY. 

6th.    Court.    First  Performance. 

THE    LATE    LAMENTED. 

An  adaptation  of  M.  Bisson's  Farce  Feu 
Toupinel^  in  Three  Acts,  by  Fred 
Horner. 

Mr,  Stuart  Crosse  .  Arthur  Cecil. 
Major  Joseph  Mar- 
shall,     .     .    .     .  H.  Standing. 
Mr,  Richard  Webb .  E.  A.  Aynesworth. 
Mr.  Fawceti  .    .    .  G.  Farquhar. 

Parker Fred  Cape. 

Jansen  Smith .    .    .  Charles  Rock. 

Porter John  Clolow. 

Mrs,  Stuart  Crosse  .  Mrs.  John  Wood 

Mrs,  Richard  Webb  Rosina  Filippi. 

KcUe  Morgan ,    .    .  Mrs.Edmund  Phelps. 

Mary F.  Harrington. 


nth.    Terry's.    First  Performance. 
THE  LADY  FROM  THE  SEA. 

Play,  in  Five  Acts,  by  Henrik  Ibsen ; 
translated  (with  the  permission  of  the 
author)  by  Eleanor  Marx  Aveling. 

Dr,  Wangel  .    .     .  Oscar  Adye. 

Ellida  Wangel   .     .  Rose  Meller. 

Bolette Violet  Armbruster. 

mide Edith  Kenward. 

Amholm    ,         .     .  Leonard  Outram. 

Lyngstrand    .     .     .  H.  Sparling. 

Ballested    ....  Ernest  Pattison. 

A  Stranger    .     .    .  Charles  Dalton. 


12th.    Lyceum.    RevivaL 
NANCE    OLDFIELD. 

Comedy,  in  One  Act,  by  Charles  Reade. 

Mrs,  Anne  Oldfeld.  Ellen  Terry. 

Susan  Oldfield    ,    .  Kate  Phillips. 

Nathan  Oldworthy  .  T.  N.  Wenman. 

AlexanderOldworthy  Gordon  Craig. 

12th.    Lyceum.    Revival. 
THE  GORSIGAN  BROTHERS. 

Legendary  Drama,  founded  upon  Dumas' 
novel  "  Les  Fr^res  Corses,"  and  adapted 
for  Charles  Kean  by  Dion  Boucicault. 

M,  Fabien  dd  i 


tdn{     ^\ 


Henry  Irving. 


Franchi  . 
M,  Louis 

Franchi 
M.   de    Chdteau 

Renaud .... 
The  Baron  de  Mont- 

giron 

M,  Alfred  Meynard 

Colonna  f  Corsican  \  S.  Johnson, 

Orlando  \  peasants  ]  T.  N.  Weni 


W.  Terriss. 

F.  H.  Macklhi. 
Mr.  Haviland. 


250 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals.       pdAT-jpn*.  1891 


Antonio  Sanola 
(.Judge  ^  the  dis- 
trict)    Martin  Harvey. 

Gicrdano  Marteili  .  Mr.  Tyars. 

Griffo Mr.  Archer. 

Botssfc  (a  Wood- 
cutter)   ....  Mr.  Reynolds. 

M.  Vcrntr     ...  Mr.  Lacy. 

M.  BeoMchamp   .     .  Gordon  Craig. 

Tomaso  {a  Guide)    .  Mr.  Tabb. 

A  Surgeon      .     .     .  Mr.  Gumey. 

EmiJit  di  tEsparre  Annie  Irish. 

Madame  dei  Franchi  Mrs.  Pauncefort. 

Coralii Kate  Phillips. 

EstilU Amy  Colendge. 

Bwenie     ....  Miss  Oldcastle. 

CeUstine    ....  Miss  Foster. 

Rose Miss  Clive. 

Marii Miss  de  Silva. 


16th.    Shaftesbury.    Revival 

HANDFAST. 

Original  Play,  in  Three  Acts,  by  Henry 
Hamilton  and  Mark  Quinton. 


Earl  of  Cirencester . 
Austin  Woodville  . 
Lambert  D^Arcy 
Comte  de  Prknlli  . 
Viscomte  dejarnac 
Mr,  Barnard  .  . 
Marmctduke  Marsh . 
Dr.  Stubley  .  .  . 
Madame  de  Ligniac 
Irene  Kingston  ,  . 
Mrs.  Treftisis  .  . 
Servant  {to  Madame 
de  Ligniac)     .    . 


Lewis  Waller. 
Cyril  Maude. 
W.  L.  Abingdon. 
William  Herbert. 
H.  de  Lange. 
J.  Beauchamp. 
H.  Reeves-Smith. 
John  Gibson. 
Winifred  Emery. 
Annie  Hughes. 
Carlotta  L^lercq. 

Miss  Bessie. 


26th.     Drury  Lane.    Revival. 
FORMOSA. 

Drama,  in  Three  Acts,  by  Dion 

BOUCICAULT. 


August 

Tom  Burroughs 
Lord  Eden 
Compton  Kerr 
Major  Jorum . 
Dr.  Doremus . 
Sam  Boker  , 
Bob  Saunders 
Spooner.  .  . 
fenny  Boker  . 

Mrs.  Boker     . 
Nelly  Saunders 
Mrs.  Dudley  . 
Countess     .     . 
Edith  Burroug/ts 


5th,  1869. 

J.  B.  Howard. 
Maggie  Brennan. 
Henry  Irving. 
David  Fisher. 
Mr.  Barrett. 
John  Rouse. 
Brittain  Wright. 
F.  Charles. 
K.    Rodgers    (For- 
mosa). 
Mrs.  John  Billington. 
Miss  Dalton. 
Miss  Hudspeth. 
M.  Elsworthy. 
Miss  Macdonald. 


May  25th,  1891 
Tom  Burroughs  .    ,    Charles  Glefmey. 
Lord  Eden 
Comfton  Kerr 
Major  Jorum . 
Dr.  Doremus. 
Sam  Boker 
Bob  Saunders. 
Spooner 
By  field. 
Bancroft 
Sadler  . 
Cutis     . 
Hervey , 
MerivaU 
Lard  Talbot 
Burbage     . 
Jenny  Boker 
Mrs.  Boker 
Nelly  Saunders 
Mrs.  LesUUe 
Mrs.  Dudley 
Sybil  FUtc her 
Maud  Lester 
Mabel  Grace 
Countess 

Constance  Beresford 
Edith  Burroughs    . 
Dudley  . 
Policeman 
Murray 
Cobb.     . 
Welch    . 


Katie  Ja 
Mark  Quinton. 
Austin  Melibrd. 
Walter  RosselL 
Julian  Cross. 
Harry  NicboUs. 
Cecil  Crofton. 
Ronald  Power. 
H.Martin. 
F.  Boltoo. 
R.  Kemble. 
H.  LiUford. 
Mr.  Drelinooait. 
Mr.  Faulkn^. 

{.  Stoner. 
essie  MiUward. 
Mrs.  John  Biliington. 
Mary  Ansell. 
Miss  Conroy. 
Alice  Kingsley. 
Miss  Bartlett. 
AUceSdby. 
L.  Brooking. 
Miss  Winter. 
Miss  Wallace. 
MissLeBerL 
Clifibni  Ldgh. 
Mr.  MacVicais. 
Frank  Damser. 
Thomas  Terriss. 
James  Darlington. 


JUNE. 
1st.    Strand.    Fiist  Performance. 
A    NIGHT'S    FROLIC 
Farcical  Comedy,  in  Three  Acts  (suggested 
by  the  German  of  Von  Moser),  by  Cos 
THOMAS  and  Helen  Barry. 
Lady  Betty  Vane     .    Alice  Athertou. 
Mrs.  Sophie  Sedley  .    Florence  West. 
Nellie  Stanton    .    .    Georgie  Esmond. 

Sarah Venie  Bennett. 

Commodore  Stanton    Willie  E^ouin. 


Mr.  Oakley  Sedley 
Captain   Alfred 
Chandon     .     .     . 
Mr.  Clouded' Elmont 
Phil  Sawyer  .    .    . 


P.  F.  MaishaU. 

Charles  S.  Fawcett. 
S.  Barraclougb. 
William  Lugg. 


2nd.    Criterion.    Revival  (jpm/ot^^. 
A    DOLL'S    HOUSE. 

Ibsen's  Play,  in  Three  Acts;   William 

Archer's  version. 
Thorval  Helmer .    .     Frank  Rodney. 
Dr.  Rank  .     .     .     .    W.  L.  Abingdon. 
NilsKrogstad     .     .     Charles  Fulton. 

Porter Mr.  Brooke. 

Mrs.  Linden  .     .    .     Lucia  Harwood. 
Anna  {the  Nurse)   .     Mrs.  E.  H.  Brooke. 
Ivar       f    Nords    \  Eric  Field- Fisher. 
Emmie  \  children  ]  Caiyl  Field-Fisher. 
Maidservant  .    .     .     Miss  Brooke. 
Nora{Helmet^sivife)     Miss  Norreys. 


June,  1891.] 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals. 


251 


4th.    Avenue.    First  Performance. 

SERGE    PANINE. 

Play,  in  Five  Acts,  from  the  French  of 
M.  Georges  Ohnet. 

Prince  Serge  Panine  Lewis  Waller. 

M.  Cayrol .    .    .    .  W.  H.  Vernon. 

Pierre  de  la  Rue .     .  Webster  Lawson. 

Henry  Desvarennes .  Compton  Coutts. 

Mr,  Herzog    .    .    .  Hamilton  Knight. 

Markhal  .    .     .    .  H.  Dana. 

Jules Mr.  Drew. 

MadameDesvarennes  Genevieve  Ward. 

Micheline  ....  Miss  Webster. 

Jeanne Estelle  Burney. 

Cecile Miss  Baines. 


6th.    Terry's.    First  Performance. 

THE    LANCASHIRE    SAILOR. 

By  Brandon  Thomas. 

Ralph  Ormerod  .    .  W.  L.  Branscombe. 

Alfred Brandon  Thomas. 

Erasmus  Ellerby     .  Compton  Coutts. 

Alice  Ormerod    .     .  Edith  Chester. 

Martha  Remnant   .  Dolores  Drummond. 

A  COMMISSION. 

By  Weedon   Grossmith. 
Marshall   ....     Forbes  Dawson. 


Shaiw  ,  . 
Gloucester  . 
Mrs,  Hemmersley 


W.  Grossmiih. 
Brandon  Thomas. 
Lily  Hanbury. 


Parker Day  Ford, 

A  PANTOMIME  REHEARSAL. 

By  Cecil  Clay. 

Jack  Deedes    .    .     .    C.  P.  Little. 
Sir  Charles  Grandi- 

son A.  Danemore. 

Lord  Arthur  Porne* 

roy W.  Grossmith. 

Capt.  Tom  Robinson    Brandon  Thomas. 
Lady  Muriel  Beau' 

clerc  .....  Helena  Dacre. 
Miss  Lily  f  Eaton  \Laura  Linden. 
Miss  Violet\Belgrave J  Edith  Chester. 
Miss  May  (  Russell  \Ruby  Tyrrell. 
Miss  Rose  \PortmanSU\s&  Tyrrell. 
Lady  Sloane^  Willery  Day  Ford. 
Tomkins    .     .    .     .    W.  Johnson. 


18th.    Criterion.    First  Performance. 

SHYLOCK    AND    GO. 

Farce,  in  Three  Acts,  adapted  from  the 
French  of  Bataille  and  Feguere,  by 
George  Canninge  and  Albert 
Chevalier. 

Prince  Zannibulu   .     H.  Eversfield. 
L>r,  Gossage    .    .     .    S.  Valentine. 
Mr,  Elijah  Quartn .     W.  Blakeley. 


Hector  Rolleston 
Sergeant  Bonser 
Burton  .  . 
Mrs.  Gossage 
Minnie .  . 
Mrs,  Quarm 
Lucy     .     . 


H.  V.  Esmond. 
A.  Leigh. 
F.  Emery. 
Marie  Illington. 
Ella  Terriss. 
Fanny  Frances. 
Mabel  Hardinge. 


25th.    Shaftesbury.   First  Performance. 
CLEOPATRA. 

Three-act  Farcical  Comedy,  adapted  from 
the  French  Les  Amours  de  Cleopatre,  by 
Arthur  Shirley. 


Simon  Rawkins  .  . 
Edwin  Vane  .  .  . 
Bob  Lupton    .    .    . 

Jelks 

Montague  MowUr  . 
Landlord  of  the 
'*  Compass*'  .  . 
Policenian  .... 
Milly  Rawkins  ,  . 
Cleopatra  Collins     . 


Harry  Paulton. 
Fred  Mervm. 
Scott  Buist 
A.  Newark. 
H.  de  Lange. 

E.  Stirlmg. 
Stephen  Caffrey. 
Lilian  Kingston. 
Maud  Milton. 


30th.   Shaftesbury.    First  Performance. 
THE   RULE  OF  THREE. 

Original  Play,  in  Four  Acts,  by  Pierre 
Leclercq. 


Arnold  Seago .  .  . 
Valentine  Mayhood, 
Dr,  Banvil  , 
Tom  ChantUr 
David  Banks , 
Stephen  Banks 
Bernice  Seago 
Gertrude  Banks 
Annie   .    ,    . 


F.  Mervin. 
Fuller  MeUish. 
John  Carter. 
W.  Everard. 
Julian  Cross. 
Henry  Nelson. 
Alma  Murray. 
Marv  Joceljrn. 
Phyllis  Ayriam. 


30th.     Savoy.     First  Performance. 

THE  NAUTCH  GIRL;  OR,  THE 
RAJAH  OF  CHUTNEYPORE. 

New  Indian  Comic  Opera,  in  Two  Acts, 
written  by  George  Dance,  composed 
hy  Edward  Solomon,  the  lyrics  by 
George  Dance  and  Frank  Desprez. 


Punka  .    . 
Iftdru   .    . 
Pyjama 
Chinna  Loofa 
Suttee    .     . 
Cheetah      , 
Baboo  Currie 
Hollee  Beebee 
Banyan 
Kalee    ,    . 
Tijfin    .    . 
Bumbo  .     . 


.  R.  Barrington. 

.  Courtice  Founds. 

.  Frank  Thornton. 

.  Jessie  Bond. 

.  Miss  Saumarez. 

.  Miss  Lawrence. 

.  Frank  Wyatt. 

.  Lenore  Snyder. 

.  Louise  Rowe. 

.  Annie  Cole. 


252 


New  Plays  and  Important  Reviveds. 


CJULV,  1891- 


JULY. 
Ist.    Criterion.    First  Performance. 

MRS.    ANNKSLET. 
Play,  in  Three  Acts,  by  J.  F.  CooKK. 


Afr,  Brandreth  . 
Mr.  AnnesUy.  . 
Father  Andri  . 
Frank  Seagrave  . 
Dr,EUu  .  .  . 
Kackstraw .  .  . 
William  .  .  . 
IVaiUr.  .  .  . 
FslM  Brandreih 
Mrs,  Annaley    . 


Bassett  Roe. 
John  Beaachamp. 
WiUiam  Herbert. 
F.  Harrison. 
Charles  Allan. 
Compton  Coutts. 
Mr.  Warden. 
Mr.  Duval. 
May  Whilty. 
Beatrice  Lamb. 


4th.    Vaudeville.    First  Performance. 
GABRIEL'S    TRUST. 

Domestic  Drama,  in  One  Act,  by  Alfred 

C.  Calmour. 
Gabriel  Stroud  .    .    Alfred  C.  Calmour. 
George  Field  .     .     .     Philip  Cuningham. 
Thomas  Jihodes  .     .     H.  Nelson. 
Constable   ....    J.  Wheatman. 
Mary  Mason  .     .     .    Alice  Bruce. 
Janet Florence  Haydon. 

7th.    Comedy.    Placed  in  evening  bill. 
HUSBAND    AND    WIFE. 

Original  Farcical  Comedy,  in  Three  Acts, 
by  F.  C.  Philups  and  Percy  Fbndall. 

Sir  George  Muddle 
{Stipendiary  Ma- 
gistrate) .    .    .    .  C.  Brookfield. 

Adolphus  Green- 

thcrne    ....  Geoi^e  Giddens. 

Montrei>or  Smith    .  W.  F.  Hawtrey. 

Alfred  Stefit  .     .     .  James  Nelson. 

Philip  Softdown  .     .  Gerald  Gumey. 

Mr,  Delamere     ,     .  S.  H.  Lechmere. 

IVaiter S.  Handel. 

Inspector  Thickhead  W.  Wyes. 

Clerk E.  Cosham. 

Usher C.  Milton. 

P.C,  Blunt    .     .    .  G.  A.  Vaughan. 

Mrs.  Springfidd     .  Lottie  Venne. 

Mrs.  Greenthome    .  Vane  Featherston. 

Mrs,   Montrevor 

Smith     ....  Ada  Murray. 

Mrs,    Phillip   Soft- 

dffivn Ethel  Norton. 

Mrs,  Delamere    .     .  Ethel  Matthews. 

Mary Edith  Kenward. 

7th.    Globe.     First  Performance. 
THE    SCAPEGOAT. 

Original  Play,  in  Four  Acts,  by  Wilton 

Jones. 
Aubrey  de  Vaux,     .     Lewis  Waller. 
Bruce  Laidlaw   .     .     William  Herbert. 
Mr.  Smith     .     .     .     S.  Herberte- Basing. 
Dr.  Marsden  .     .     .    John  Beauchamp. 
Burton A.  Newark. 


Lola Florence  West 

Medfyn  Laidlaw  .     .    Annie  Hughes. 
Lady     Ermyntrude 

Laidlaw     .     .    .    Carlotta  Lederoq. 
The    Marquise    <^\Mrs.     Theodore 

Vaux     .    .     .     ./      Wright. 
Ella  Granville    .     .    Gertrude  Warden. 
MissFoX'  fVilloughby    Adela  Houston. 
Jennings    ....    Miss  Florence. 

23rd.    Critenon.    First  Performance. 
MISS    DECIMLA. 
Operatic  Comedy,  in  Three  Acts,  composed 
by  E.  Audran,  and  adapted  from  the 
French    of   M.    Boucheron    by   F.    C 

BURNAND. 

The  Rev.  Dr,  Jere- 

mie  Jackson     .    .  David  James. 

Peter  Paul  RoUeston  Charles  Conyers. 
Chevalier      Patrick 

Julius  0^ Flanagan  Chaoncey  Olcott. 

jfertie  Brown      .    .  Templar  Saze. 

Marmaduke  Jessop  .  Welton  Dale. 

Donald  Quord    .    .  F.  Besnon. 

Jules H.  Gordon. 

La  Senora  de  Var- 

ganat     ....  M.  A.  Victor. 

Senora  Inet    ,    .     .  Josephine  Findlay. 

Flora Lucy  Buckstone. 

Jeannie Fanny  Frances. 

Rosa A.  McKae. 

MdlU.  Coralie     .     .  B.  Vere. 

Miss  Decima Jackson  Mdlle.  Nesville. 

AUGUST. 

1st.    Adelphl.    First  Performance. 

THE   TRUMPET   CALL. 

Original  Drama,  in  Four  Acts,  by  George 

R.  Sims  and  Robert  Buchanan. 
Cuthbert  Cuthbertson    Leonard  Boyne. 
Sergt.'Maj.  Afilligan    J.  D.  Bevendge. 
Professor  Ginnifer  .    Lionel  Rignold. 
Richard  Featherston    Charles  Dalton. 
Tom  Dutton    .     .   .     R.  H.  Douglas. 
Colonel  Englehardt .     Howard  RusselL 
Sir  William  Barton    Arthur  Leigh. 
Deputy  of  the  Doss- 
house J.  Northcote. 

Captain  Sparks  .    .    W.  Northcote. 
Spriggins  .    .    .    .     H.  Cooper. 
Plummy    .    .     .    .    E.  F.  Saxon. 
Tompkins  ....     Willie  Drew. 
James  Redruth    .     .    James  East. 
Flash  Bob  ....     Koyston  Keith. 
Corporal  Plummer  .    F.  O.  Anderson. 

Bill H.  Cooper,  jun. 

Constance  ....     Elizabeth  Robins. 

Bertha Mrs.  P.  Campbell. 

Mrs.  fVicklow     .     .     Mrs.  H.  Leigh. 

Lill Miss  Vizetelly. 

Lucy E.  HeflFer. 

Mary Alice  Bronse. 

Little  Cuthbert    .    .     Daisy  Strattonl 
Lavinia  Ginnifer    .    Clara  Jecki!^^ 


August-Sept.,  1891.]  New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals. 


253 


25th.    Avenue.    First  Performance. 

THE     FIAT     OF     THK     GODS. 

A  **  Roman  Idyll,"  in  One  Act,  by 

Leonard  Outram. 

Faustina  {Empress  of 

Rome)    ....    Frances  Ivor. 
Neodamia  (a  Slave 

Girl) Sybil  Baird. 

Flavian   (a  Roman 

Noble)    ....    Acton  Bond. 
Galba     (a     Veteran 

Gladiator)  .    .    .    Austin  Melford-. 

27th.    Globe.    First  Performance. 

NED'S    CHUM. 

Original  Comedy  Drama,  in  Three  Acts, 

by  David  Christie  Murray. 
Mr.  Brocklehurst    .    A.  Wood. 
Ned  Fellowes  .    .     .    H.  Reeves-Smith. 

Jlarold Master  I>eo  Byrne. 

Dr.  Wentworth  .    .    George  Alison. 
Mr,  John  Furlong  .    D.  C.  Murray. 
Stuart  WilUmghSy  .    David  James,  jun. 
Bob  Clancy     .     .    .     E.  Dagnall. 

Bill J.  Hatfield. 

A  Trooper ....     Frank  Damer. 
Lucy  Draycott    .     .    Violet  Raye. 
Araminta  ....     Rose  Dearing. 
Mrs.  Brocklehurst  .     Emily  Miller. 

29th.     Princess's.    Revival. 
ARRAH-NA-POGUE. 

Dion  Boucicault's  Three-act  Irish 

Drama. 
Original  Cast,  March  22nd,  1865. 
Colonel  Bagenal 

O' Grady     .    .    .    John  Brougham. 
Beamish  McCoul    .     H.  Vandenhoflf. 
Major  Coffin  .    .    .     F.  Charles. 
The  Secretary     .     .     David  Fisher. 
Shaun-the-Post   .    .     Dion  Boucicault* 
The  Sergeant .     .    .    Mr.  Sevton. 
Mr,  Michael  Feeny .    Dominick  Murray. 
Oiny  Farrel  .    .    .     Mr.  Reynolds. 
Winterbottom      .    .    Mr.  Chapman. 

Regan Mr.  Dowling. 

Lanagan    ....    Mr.  Bentley. 
Arrah  il/^^/i jA\  Mrs.  Boudcault 

{ArrcLh-na-Pogue)]    (Agnes  Robertson). 

Katty Mrs.  Andrews. 

Fanny  Power     .    .    Pattie  Oliver. 

August  29th,  1891. 
Colonel  Bagenal 

C^  Grady     .    .     .     Henry  Neville. 
Beamish  McCoul     .    Arthur  Dacre. 
Major  Coffin  .    .    .    Bassett  Roe. 
The  Secretary     .     .    John  Carter. 
Shaun-the-Post  .    .     Wilfred  E.  Shine. 
The  Sergeant .    .     .    Henry  Bedford. 
Mr.  Michael  Feeny  .    Charles  Ashford. 
Oiny  Farrel   .     .     .    T.  Kingston. 
Winterbottom.    .    .    T.  Vemer. 
Regan C.  Stewart 


Lanagan    .     .     .     .  L.  Warner. 

Sentry P.  Ams. 

Patsey W.  Antcliffe. 

Corporal    ....  George  Aubrey. 
Arrah   Meelish 

(Arrah-na-Pogue)  Ella  Terriss. 

JCatty Mrs.  John  Carter. 

Fanny  Power .     .     .  Amy  Roselle. 

SEPTEMBER. 
6th.     Drury  Lane.     First  Performance. 

A    SAILOR'S    KNOT. 

Original  Drama,  in  Four  Acts,  by  Henry 

Pettitt. 


Jcuk  Westward  .  . 
Harry  Westward  . 
Joe  Strawbones  .  . 
Peter  Pennycad  .  . 
Andri  Delaunay  . 
Capt.  Vernon^  R.N. 
Ben  Charker .  .  . 
George  Seafield  .  . 
Colonel  ScarUtt  .  . 
Major  Vivian  .  . 
Sergeant  C  Grady  . 
Tom  Luard  .  .  . 
Josephine  .... 
Marie  Delaunay 
Margery  Briarwood 


Charles  Warner. 
Charles  Glenney. 
Harry  Nicholls. 
Julian  Cross. 
Edmund  Gumey. 
William  Lugg. 
Fred  DobellT 
Thomas  Terriss. 
Frank  Mac  Vicars. 
Ronald  Power. 
Alfred  Phillips. 
W.  Staunton. 
Ethel  Bland. 
Jessie  Millward. 
Faimy  Brough. 


10th.     New  Olympic.     First  Perform- 
ance in  London. 
A    ROYAL    DIVORCE. 
Original  Romantic  Drama,  in  Five  Acts, 

by  W.  G.  Wills. 
Napoleon  /.    .     .    .    Murray  Carson. 
TaUeyrand    .    .    .    T.  W.  PercyvaL 
Marquis   de   Beau- 
mont  G.  W.  Cockbum. 

General  Augereau  .     Eardley  Turner. 
Dr.  Corvisart     .     .    Mr.  Powell. 
Griviaud   ....    J.  A.  Welch. 
Marshal  Murat  .    .    F.  Victor. 
Marshal  Ney.     .     .    Mr.  East. 
1st  Veteran    .     .     .    T.  C.  Dwyer. 
2nd  Veteran  .     .     .     Henry  Ludlow. 
Brigadier  Jaques     .     Henry  de  Solla. 
c.^.^-./*.  f^^'  Caversham. 

Seruants    .    .    .     •  |  Mr.  Campbell. 

Officer  of  Palace 
Guards  .    .     .    .    T.  Alker. 

Mari£  Louise .    .    .    Lesley  Bell. 

Stephanie  de  BeaU' 
hamais  ....    Georgie  Esmond. 

Blanche  de  L/ervas  .    Louie  Wilmot. 

Angelique  de  Var- 
ennes Lilian  Seccombe. 

Madame  de  Campan    Madge  Herrick. 

Jeanne  La  Terreur .    Miss  H.  Watson. 

Gouvemante  of  the 
Kingof  Rotne.    ,    Louisa  Wyatt. 

The  Little  King  of 
Rome     ....    Ethel  Patrick. 

The  Empress  Jose- 
phine.   .    .    .  ciigitiGrace  Hawthorne. 


254 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals, 


Sktt.,  189X. 


14th.     Pavilion.    First  Pcrformmce. 

FALSK    KVIDENGE. 

Drama,  in  Four  Acts,  by  Wynn  Miller. 

Georgi  Penfold   .    .  J.  H.  Clyndes. 
Sir  Richard  Aylmer, 

alias  Richard 

Goodwin     .    .    .  C.  Cooper. 

AMHaybaU,    .    .  George  Yates. 

Ralph  Giliow,    .    .  Henrv  Hampton. 

Tom  Painter  .     .    .  F.  Wright,  jun. 

Uncle  William   .     .  B.  Gibbon. 
Shippard  and  Har-f  Mr.  Godfrey. 

Hs \  Mr.  Heller. 

Watson  (tf  Warder)  F.  A.  Hammond. 

O'A'elly Mr.  Brunton. 

Wilson Mr.  Sparks. 

Jessie  Pen/old.    .    .  Maud  Elmore. 

Suscm Howe  Carewe. 

SleUa Harriet  Clifton. 

Dorothy     ....  Little  Marie  Jones. 


19lh.     Garrlck.     Revival. 

SCHOOU 

Original  Comedy,  in  Four  Acts,  by  T.  W. 
Robertson. 

Prince  of  Wales's,  January  16th, 1869. 

Lord  Bectttfoy .    .    .  H.J.Montague. 

Dr.  Sutcltffe  .     .     .  Mr.  Addison. 

Beau  Fanntosh  .     .  John  Hare. 

Jack  Pifyntz    .     .     .  S.  B.  Bancroft. 

Mr. /Crux,     .     .     .  F.  Glover. 

Vaughan  ....  Mr.  Hill. 

Mrs.  Sutcliffe .    .    .  Mrs.      Buckingham 
White. 

Bella Carlotta  Addison. 

Naomi  Tighe .    .     .  Marie  Wilton. 

Tilly Augusta  Wilton. 

Milly Miss  George. 

Laura  .     .     .     #    .  Miss  Phillips. 

CUu'a Miss  Una. 

Kitty Miss  Hutton. 

Hetty Miss  Atkins. 

Qarrick,  September  19th,  1891. 

H.  B.  Irving. 
H.  H.  Vincent. 
W.  Mackintosh. 
C.  W.  Garthome. 
Gilbert  Hare. 
Mr.  Hilton. 
Fanny  Robertson. 
Kate  Rorke. 
Annie  Hughes, 
Constance     Robert- 
son. 
Beatrice  Ferrar. 
Kathleen  Dene. 
Gertrude  Baines. 
Lena  Dene. 
Winifred  Fraser, 


Lord  Beaufoy 
Dr.  Sutcltffe 
Beau  Fanntosh 
Jack  Poynti 
Mr.  Krux . 
Vaughan  . 
Mrs,  Sutcliffe 
Bella     .    . 
Naomi  Tighe 
Tilly     .    . 


Milly 

Mary 

Laura 

Lucy 

Clara 


Kitty Kathleen  HilL 

Hetty Kate  Grattan. 

Sybil Jessie  Ferrar. 

Fanny Miss  Grattan. 

Ethel Miss  Lyndalc. 


19th.      Lyceum.      First  Perfonnance  in 
London. 

THE    LAST    W^ORI>. 

Comedy,  in  Four  Acts  (adapted  fitMn  the 
German,  Das  Letzte  Wort,  of  Franz 
von  Schoenthan),  by  Augustin  Daly. 


The  Secretary     .     . 

Harry  Rutherdl  {his 
son) 

Professor  Rutherdl 
{his  brother)    .     . 

Mr.  AlexanderAirey 

BorisB  ouraneef.    , 

Moses  Mossop .    .    . 

Baron  Stuyve     .     . 

Jordan 

Paul 

Faith  Ruthereit  {the 
Secretary s  daugh- 
ter)     

Winifred  {the  Pro- 
fessor's daughter) . 

MdlU.  Lida    .    .    . 

The  Baroness  Vera 
Bouraneef  .    .    . 


George  Clarke. 

John  Drew. 

Charles  Wheatleigh. 
James  Lewis- 
Sidney  Herbert. 
Charles  Ledercq. 
Sidney  Bowkett 
William  Sampson. 
Lula  Smith. 

Isabel  Irving. 

Kitty  Cheatham. 
May  Sylvie. 

AdaRehan. 


26th.     Opera  Comique."    First  Per- 
formance in  London. 

THE    AMKRIGAN. 

Play,  in  Four  Acts  (founded  on  his  novel 
of  the  same  name),  by  Henry  James. 

ChristopherNewman    Edward  Compton. 

Marquis  de  Belle- 
garde Sidney  Paxton. 

Comte  Valentin  de 
Bellegarde  .     .     . 

Lord  Deeprtiere  .     . 

M.  de  Marignac .     . 

M.  Nioche . 


C.  Blakiston. 
C.  M.  HaUard. 
Harrison  Hunter. 
Young  Stewart. 


Doctor  .     !     .    .    .    Fred  W.  Permain. 

Seruant W.  G.  Cunninghamc. 

Marquise  de  BeUeA  Miss  Bateman 

garde /       (Mrs.  Crowe). 

Mrs.  Beard   .     .    .    Louise  Moodie. 
Noimic  Nioche    .    .    A  Dairolles. 
A  Sister  of  Charity .     C.  LindSay. 
Claire  {Comtesse  de 

Cintri)  ,    .igiflzedby^J^e^le 


Oct.,  1891.] 


New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals. 


255 


OCTOBER. 

5th.     Surrey.    First  Performance. 

GRIF. 

Drama,  in  Four  Acts,  by  W.  Lestocq, 
with  the  consent  of  the  author  of  the 
story,  B.  L.  Farjeon. 


C.  Cruikshanks. 
R.  Leslie. 
C.  J.  Hague. 
Henry  Beldmg. 

Ernest  Leicester. 
G.  Conquest,  jun. 
W.  Stevens. 
Edward  Lennox. 
W.  Donne. 
A.  Hall. 

Master  F.  Knight. 
Alice  Esden. 
Eleanor  May. 


Matthew  NtUtall     . 

Nicholas  Nuttall     . 

Richard  HandfUld  . 

Jim  Pitey  .... 

7'he  Tender-hearted 
Oysterman 

Old  Flick   . 

Black  Sam 

mish  Tom 

First  Digger 

/antes    .    . 

Little  Peter 

Grif.    .    .    ,    .    . 

Marian  Nuttall .    , 

Mrs.  Nicholas  Nut- 
tall     Annie  Travers. 

Emily Laura  Djrson. 

Alice  Nuttall .    .    .    Annie  Conway. 


9th.     Royalty.     First  Performance. 

THERESE    RAQUIN. 
Drama,   in  Four  Acts,   by  Emile  Zola; 
translated  by  A.   Teixeira  de  Mattos; 
sjpedally  revised   for    the   Independent 
Theatre  by  George  Moore. 

Laurent     .    .    .    .  W.  L.  Abingdon. 

Camille S.  Herbcrte-Basing. 

Grivet H.  de  Lange. 

Michaud    ....  John  Gibson. 

Madame Raquin     .  Mrs.    Theodore 


Thirise  Raquin 
Suzanne    .    . 


Wright. 
Laura  J ohnson^ 
Clarice  Shirley. 


12th.     Vaudeville.     First  Performance. 

THE  PRINCE  AND  THE 
PAUPER. 

Original  Play,  in  Four  Acts  (founded  upon 
Mark  Twain*s  historic  romance),  by 
Joseph  Hatton. 


ffValesA 
£d'\ 

y\    'thei 


The  Prince  of  lVales,\ 

afterwards 

ward  VL 
Tom      Canty  ^ 

Pauper 
Earl  of  Hertford 
Lord  Seymour  .  . 
Archbishop  Cranmer 
Miles  Hendon  .  . 
Antony  Gorse .  .  . 
John  Canty  .  .  . 
HughGallard    .    . 


Bessie  Hatton. 


Henry  Howe. 
Charles  Fulton. 
G.  Wilsonia. 
Forbes  Dawson. 
Bassett  Roe. 
Mark  Kinghome. 
Cecil  Crofton. 


Captain  of  the  Palace 

Guard   ....  A.  T.  Hendon. 
Landlord     of     the 

'    '' Kinls  Arms'\  W.  Birch. 

The  Ruffler    .     .    .  H.  Nelson. 
The  Princess  Eliza- 

heth Marie  Linden. 

Mrs.  Canty    .    .     .  Mrs.  Macklin. 

Nan  Canty    .    .    .  Laura  Linden. 


21st.     Court     First  Performance. 
PAMELA'S    PRODIGY. 

•*A  Lively  Comedy,"  in  Three  Acts,  by 
Clyde  Fitch. 


Mr,  Algernon 
Serious  .... 

Mr.  Adolphus  Todd 

Mr,  Samuel  Bogle  . 

Mr.  Jennings      .    . 

Mr.  Edward  Hamil- 
ton      

Sir  Timothy  Iggins . 

James 

Mrs.  Pamela  Podkins 

Clarissa  Podkins 

Miss  Lucinda  Mitts 

Lady  Iggins  .     .    . 

A  Lady  of  Title  .    . 

Marie 

Seraphina  .... 


George  Giddens. 
Edward  Righton. 
D.  Robertson. 
Seymour  Hicks. 

Percy  Brough. 
Charles  Rock. 
John  Clulow. 
Mrs.  John  Wood. 
Mary  Jocelyn. 
Emily  Miller. 
Mrs.  Edmund  Phelps. 
Jessie  Lee. 
M.  Caldwell. 
Daisy  Stratton. 


21st. 


Opera  Comique. 
formance. 


First  Per- 


THE    QUEEN»S    ROOM. 

Poetical  Play,  in  One  Act,  by  F.  Frank- 
fort Moore. 


Father  Allen  .  .  • 
Chastelard.  .  .  . 
ffenry^  Lord  Dam- 

ley 

Captain  of  the  Guard 

Mary  Stuart  (Queen 

of  Scotland)     .    . 

Mary  Beaton .    .    . 


Edward  Compton. 
C.  Blakiston. 


Harrison  Hunter. 
W.  G.  Cunninghame. 
Mrs.  Lancaster- Wal- 
lis  (Miss  Wallis). 
Evelyn  McNay. 


22nd.     Comedy.     First  Performance. 
GODPAPA. 

Farcical  Comedy,  in  Three  Acts,  by  F.  C. 
Philips  and  Charles  Brookfield. 


Reginald  .... 
Mr.  Bunbury  .  . 
Sir  GeorgeTanworth 
Mr.  Craven  .  .  . 
*^^  Pygmalion**  .  . 
Servant  .... 
Mrs.  St.  Germain  . 
Mrs,  Craven  .  .  . 
Miss  Violet  Bunbury 


C.  H.  Hawtrey. 
C.  Brookfield. 
James  Nelson. 
W.  F.  Hawtrey. 
W.  Wyes. 
Ernest  Cosham. 
Annie  Irish. 
Vane  Featherston. 
Violet  Armbruster. 


256 

«*  TrixU  —  tk^^ 

roughfydowus- 

Hcated'\    , 
^'AGtrmanUidy 

of  TUU—fdu 

cater'    .     . 
"  The  Daughter 

of  a   CotitUry 

indrey    . 
''Flossie  and\ 

Maude  —  two\ 

sisters'*  .     .     J 
Miss  Mary  Browne . 


New  Plays  and  ImporUmt  Revivals.       [Oct.-nov.,  ,891. 


Helen  Lambert 

Eva  Williams. 

Stella  Maris. 

[  Mrs.  A.  Griffith. 
Lottie  Vemie. 


24th.    Terry's.  First  Performance. 

THE    TIMES, 

Original  Four-act  Comedy,  by  W.  Pinero. 

Denhamt     Viscount 

LurgashaU.    .    .  W.  T.  LoveU. 
Hon.    Montague 

TrimbU,    .    .    .  W.   G.  ElUott. 
Percy  Egtrton^Bom" 

pas,  M.P.  .    .     .  Edward  Terry. 

Hffward     ....  Henry  V.  Esmond. 
Timothy   MShani, 

M,P. Fred.  Thome. 

jglf Albert  Sims. 

Countess  of  Ripston .  Miss  M.  Talbot 

Mrs.Eg€rtonBompas  Fanny  Brough. 

Beryl Annie  HilL 

Mrs.  HooUy  .    .    .  Alexes  Leighton. 

Honoria     ....  Laura  BarradelL 

Miss  Cazalet  .    .    .  Helena  Dacre. 

Lucy  Tuck     .    .    .  Hetty  Dene. 


NOVEMBER. 

2nd.    Avenue.    First  Performance. 

THE    CRUSADERS. 

New  Comedy  of  Modem  London  Life,  by 
Henry  Arthur  Jones. 


Lord  Bumham  .  . 
The  Hon,  Dick 
Rusper  .... 
Philos  Ingarfield  . 
Mr,  Palsam  .  .  . 
Mr.  Burgejttwle  . 
Mr.  Figg  .... 
Rev.  Algernon  Portal 

Worrell  .... 
Cynthia  Greenslade. 
Mrs.  Campion-Blake 

The  Queen  of  the 
Mcwshal  Niels     . 

The  Lady  Gloire  de 
Dijon     .... 

Victorine    .... 

Una  DeU  .... 


Arthur  Cecil. 

Yorke  Stephens. 
Lewis  Waller. 
Weedon  Grossmith. 
Henry  Kemble. 
Sant  Matthews. 
A.  Aynesworth. 
G.  L.  Leith. 
Winifred  Emery. 
Lady  Monckton. 

Lillie  Belmore. 

Ettie  Williams. 
T^r^  Mayer. 
Olga  Brandon. 


3rd.    Royal  English  Opera.     First 
Performance. 


THE    BASOCHE. 

English  veraon  of  Messager's  opera  La 
Basoche,  the  book  adapted  from  the 
French  of  M.  Albert  Carr6  by  Sir 
Augustus  Harris,  the  lyrics  by 
Eugene  Oudin. 

His    Ma/esty  King 
Louis     XIL     of 

France   ....  W.  H.  Burgon. 

U  Due  de  Longue-  

yilU David  Bispham. 

CUment    Marot   (a 

/W) BcnDavies. 

VEveilU{hisFri£nd)  Chas.  Kainmgham 

Roland .    .    •    .    .  Charles  Copland. 

Master  Guillot    .    .  John  Le  Hay. 
The  Chancellor  of  the 

Basoche .    .    .    .  Fred  BovilL 
The  Equerry  of  the  «,«.,. 

King.    ...    .  Wilson  Shcffidd. 

The  Grand  Provost  Mr.  Uridge. 

Jacquet David  Cowis. 

A  Royal  Page     .    .  Mr.  Carrington. 

The  Watchman  .    .  Godwin  Hunt 

Marie  d'Angleterre .  Esther  Palliscr. 

Colette LudlleHill. 

Janette Esm^  Lee. 

-^Clarice Kate  Vito. 


5th.    Court    Revival. 


AUNT    JACK. 


Original  Three-act  Farce,  by  Ralph  R. 

LUMLEY. 


S.  Berkeley  Brue  . 
CcUeb  X^ornish  .  . 
Mr.Juffin.  .  .  . 
Colonel  Tavenor.  . 
Lord  St.  John 
Brompton  .    .    • 

Swoffer 

Mr.  Justice  Mundle 
Associate    .... 

Usher 

Joseph 

Foreman  of  the  Jury 
Joan  Bryson  .  .  . 
Mrs.  Ephraim  B. 
Vanstreek  .  .  . 
Mildred     .... 

Digitized  by 


George  Giddens. 
H.  Reeves-Smitfa. 
Edward  Ri^ton. 
Seymour  Hicks. 


G.  MazwelL 
W.  T.  Rfley. 
Charles  Rode. 
Mr.  Quinton. 
F.  Fair. 
Percy  Broogh. 
John  Qulow. 
Mrs.  John  Wood. 

Susie  Vaug^ian. 
Ethel  Matthews. 


NOV.-DBC,  x89x.]      New  Plays  and  Important  Revivals. 


257 


7th.    St.  James's.    First  Performance. 

LORD    ANERLKY. 

Play,  in  Four  Acts,  by  Mark  Quinton 
and  Henry  Hamilton. 


7^  EarlrfEdgehm 
Norman,  Lard  After- 

ley 

George  Beaufort .  . 
Rupert  Lee  (ktwum 

asJosSthe  Gaucho) 
Herv€yLester(knowH 

as  Miguel)  .  .  . 
Trovers  {a  Detective) 

Evans 

Esme  de  Burgh  .  . 
Madame  de  Sivori  . 
Evelyn  Carew    ,    . 


Nutcombe  Gould. 


A.  Bourchier. 
Ben  Webster. 

Geoige  Alexander. 

Herbert  Waring. 
K  W.  Gardiner. 
Alfred  HoUes. 
Laura  Graves. 
Gertrude  Kingston. 
Marion  Terry. 


9th.     Princess's.    Revival. 

AFTER    DARK. 

Dion  Boucicault*s  Drama,  in  Five  Acts. 

August  12th,  1868. 


Gordon  Chumley 
Sir  George  Medhirst 
Ckandos  Bellingham 
Old  Tom    , 
Dicey  Morris. 
Pointer .    . 
Crumpets  . 
Area /ack  . 
Jem  .    .    . 
Eliza    .    . 
Rose  Egerton 


J.  G.  Shore. 
H.  T.  Montague. 
Waiter  Lacy. 
George  Vining. 
Dominick  Murray. 
W.  D.  Gresham. 
J.  Maclean. 
Mr.  Holston. 
H.  Marshall 
Rose  Leclercq. 
Frissy  Marston. 


November  9th,  1891. 


Gordon  Chumley  . 
Sir  George  Medhurst 
CJumdos  Bellingham 
Old  Tom  .  .  .  . 
Dicey  Morris .    .    . 

Pointer 

Crumpets  ...  * 
Area  Jack  .... 
Street  Urchin  .  . 
\st  Player .... 
2nd  Player  .  .  . 
\st  Marker  .  .  . 
2nd  Marker  .  .  . 
Servant  ai  the  Lilacs 

Jem 

Eliza 

Rose  Egerton  .     .    . 


S.  Herberte-Basing. 
Fuller  Mellish. 
W.  L.  Abingdon. 
Henry  NeviUe. 
Wilfred  E.  Shine. 
Charles  Steuart 
Thomas  Vemer. 
Henry  Bedford. 
Bella  Orchard. 
Themas  Kingston. 
H.  E.  Yeo. 
Percy  Ames. 
William  Clifford. 
Knox  Ord. 
Louis  Warner. 
Beatrice  Selwyn. 
Ella  Terriss. 


10th.    Globe.    First  Performance. 

GLORIANA. 

*  Modem  Light  Comedy,"  in  Three  Acts, 
adapted  from  the  French  by  Jambs 
Mortimer. 


Timet hv  Chadwick . 
Leopold  Fitsjocelyn . 
Count  VladmirEvi' 

toff 

Spinks 

Baron  Kronikoff  . 
Major  Stonideff .  . 
Richards  .... 
Mrs,  Gloriana  Lave- 


ring  .     .    . 
Jessie  Chadwick 
Kitty    .    .    . 


Harry  Paulton. 
Forbes  Dawson. 

W.  H  Vernon. 
W.  Lestocq. 
C.  Howell. 
J.  W.  Valsoff. 
J.  A.  Welch. 

Florence  West. 
Georgie  Esmond. 
Lydia  Cowell. 


DEGEMBER. 

1st.    Griterion.    Revival 

BRIGHTON. 

Comedy,  in  Four  Acts,  a  localised  version 
by  Frank  Marshall  of  Bronson 
Howard's  Saratoga, 

Court  Theatre,  May  25th,  1874. 


BobSacket 
Jack  Benedict .  .  . 
Sir  Lewis  Park  .  . 
Columbus  Drake  . 
Mr,  Vanderpump  . 
Mr,  fV,  Carter  .  . 
Mr,  Fred,  Carter  . 
Major  IVhist .  .  . 
Prank  LUtUfield  . 
Miss  Virginia  Van* 

derpump  .  .  . 
Mrs.  Oliina  Alston . 
Mrs,  Vanderpump  , 
Mrs,  W.  Carter,  . 
MissKate  Livingston 
Miss  Effie  Remming- 

ton Sylvia  Hodson. 

Criterion,  December  1st,  1891 


Charles  Wyndham. 
Edgar  Bruce. 
Alfred  Bi^op. 

C.  Steync. 
W.T.Hill. 
Clifford  Cooper. 

D.  Stone. 
Mr.  Parry. 
Mr.  Heywood. 

Kate  Phillips. 
Marie  de  Grey. 
Mrs.  C.  Cooper. 
Rose  Egan. 
Miss  Rawlings. 


BobSacket,  . 
Jack  Benedict .  .  . 
Sir  Lewis  Park  ,  . 
Columbus  Drake  . 
Mr,  Vanderpump  . 
Mr.  W,  Carter  .  . 
Mr,  Fred.  Carter  . 
Major  Whist .  .  . 
Prank  LittUJield.  . 
Miss  Virginia  Van' 
derpump  .  .  . 
Mrs.  Olivia  Alston , 
Mrs.  Vanderpump  , 
Mrs.  W,  Carter,  . 
Miss  fenny  Ogden  , 
Miss  Laura  Tracy  . 


Charles  Wyndham. 
F.  Atherley. 
Walter  Everard. 
Cecil  Crofton. 
W.  Blakeley. 
S.  Valentine. 
S.  Hewson. 
W.  Shirley. 
Akerman  May. 

Mary  Ansell. 
Faimy  Frances. 
C.Ewell. 
Emilie  Grattan. 
Sybil  Carlisle. 
Nellie  Gregory. 
Miss  Granville. 


MissKate  Livingston 

Miss  Effie  Remming'  ry,r^n\o 

ton MaiyMW^g^^ 

17 


258 


New  Phys  and  Important  Revivals. 


[Dsc,  1891. 


3rd.    Globe.    First  Performance. 

THE    RECKONING. 

Play,  in  Four  Acts,  by  Sylvanus 
Dauncby. 


Sir  Wiliiam  Dtacon 
Capt,  Philip  Conway 
Mr,  Leach.  .  .  . 
Pranh  Gibbon  .  . 
Dr.  McPherson  .  . 
Riv,  Samtul  Oliver 
PigbyNichs   .    .    . 

S&hir 

Duchett  .... 
Dora  Deacon  .  .  . 
Afrs.  Chilcot  .    .    . 

/anet 

Constanu  Oliver 


Edward  Lennox. 
Lewis  WaUer. 
Murray  Carson. 
T.  W.  PercyvaL 
Tames  A.  Welch. 
Frederick  Victor. 
Wilfred  E.  Shine. 
J.  Willes. 
James  Caversham. 
Grade  Warner. 
Lena  AshwelL 
Lillie  Belmore. 
Florence  West 


22nd.    Vaudeville.    First  Performance. 

THE  HONOURABLE 
HERBERT. 

Mr.  Pym  Brady,    .  Thomas  Thome. 
The   Hon.   Herbert 

Doring  .    .    .    .  H.  B.  Conway. 

Mr,  Philip  Tenby  .  Arthur  Elwood. 


The  Hon.  Harold 
Doring  .... 

Mr.  Lavender     .    . 

Mr.  Amner   .     .     . 

A  fVaiter  .... 

Banks 

AServani.    .    .    . 

Mrs.  Doring .     .     . 

Miss  Florrie  Sum' 
mers 

Miss  Dorcas  Brady. 

LadyHighfidd  .    . 

Simpson     .... 


Sidney  Brough. 
Qiarles  Dodsworth. 
A.  Vane  Tempest. 
Oswald  Vorke. 
G.  Robinson. 
A.  Austin. 
Dorothy  Dorr. 

Ella  Banister. 
Mary  Collettc. 
Gertrude  Warden. 
Miss  Trench. 


30th.    St.  James's.    First  Performance. 


FORGIVENESS. 


Sir  Edward  Ferrars 
Hon.  Reginald  Rarle 
Rev.  Mainland  Muir 
Tommy  Muir  .  . 
Mr.  Tamworth  .  . 
Abrahmn  Plack  .  . 
Edward  Hamilton  . 
Mrs.  Badger  .  .  . 
Lucy  Badger  .  .  . 
Miss  Meakin .  .  . 
Nina  Ferrars     .     . 


Nutcombe  Gould. 
Arthur  Bourchier. 
H.  H.  Vincent 
E.  W.  Gardiner. 
Fred  EverilL 
H.  de  Lange. 
George  Alexander. 
Dolores  Dnunmond. 
Laura  Graves. 
Fanny  Coknmn. 
Marion  Terry. 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


259 


PRODUCTIONS  IN  THE  PROVINCES,  ETC.,  DURING  1891. 


^raS?^."^:     '^^•^.^T^yij^gd^y  w/wW?.}q  April  ao 

Ameriom,  The.    pi.    4A.    .        .       .    Henry  James.       .{^ISfthpo^'"**.''''' .    ^*:}^*°-    ^ 
Anthony's  Legacy.    Com.    z  A. .       .    A.  G.  Charlson       .    T.  R.  Wigan    .  .    April  z8 

Author,  The.    Com EdenGreville.       .    Grand  HaU,  Maidenhead    Aug.  6 

BahesintheWood.    Bur.Extrav.      .{*^By^V^£   *"*|}Lyric  Hall,  Rhyl     .       .  Sept.  14 

Bahes  in  the  Wood.    Bur.    .  .    Terence  Ramsdale .    T.  R.  Aldershot  .  Aug.  3 

Back  in  Five  Mlnntei.    Comtta. .       .    A.  T.  Johnson        .    Parkhurst,  Holloway     .  Feb.  16 

B^  Singer,  The.    Mua.:Com.Dr.jTom  Craven    .       .}  Gaiety  T.  Hastings        .  July  .6 

Barmaid,  The.    Com.    3  A. .  .    George  Dance .       .    Comedy  T.  Manchester  .  Aug.  31 

'^DSS£.TlS?*'Dr^,A!^   ^'^•^■}LloydCl«rance       .}t.  R.  Stockton^n-Tees  .  June  x 

Bens  Of  Fate.    Dr.    5  a.  .    Edward  Darbey      .    Queen's  T.  Keighley      .  Sept.  ax 

!R.  Fenton  Mackay) 

andLouisS.Den-V  Grand  T.Nottingham    .  Feb.  9 
high       .       .       .) 

Breeiy  Morning,  A.    Comtu.    lA.    .    £.  Phillpots    •       .    Grand,  Leeds  .  .  April  37 

OanHePorglTeHer?    Play  Pro.  and  JMr..^  Charles    Cal-^co^^^yT.  Manchester.  Sept.  x8 

Carl's  FOUy.    Pastoral  Play.    4  A.      .    Clay  M.Greene      .    T.R.Hull  .  March  a6 

Charity's  Cloak.    Com.    x  A.      .       .    Sylvanus  Dauncey .    Royalty,  Glasgow   .       .  Feb.  35 

Claimants.    Com.    lA.        ...    Hermann  Vezin      •  { ^ Wo^rthSig'    .^^^^"'^'ISept.  38 

{Arthur     Chapman, ) 
mus.    by    J.    M.  J-T.  R.Richmond      .       .    Oct.  39 
Capel    .  .) 

COOSinJaiOc.    Com.  3  A.       .       .       .    Hermann  Vezin     -{^wVrSi^g^    /^**^°»»;}Sept.  30 

Dark  continent,  The.    Dr.  5  A.  .       . { ^^d^n!  nlMSJlJSi  }t.  R.  Bamsley        .       .  June  xx 

Darkest  London.    Dr.    5  A.  .    Butler  Stanhope     .    T.  R.  Birkenhead  .        .  April  4 

Days  of  Terror.    Rom.  Dr.    4  A.        .    C  A.  Qarke    .       .    T.  R.  Bishop  Auckland  .  March  34 

Dan|^terofthePeople,The.  Dr.  5A.    Frank  Harvey        .    T.  R.  South  Shields       .  Feb.  x6 

Dead  Letter,  A.    Domestic  Dr.    x  A.  .    W.  H.  Brabner       .    Gaiety  T.  Dublin     .       .  April  17 

Dead;  or,  the  Living  Will.   Dr.    5  A.-[J*^^^^****  ^^Py^TownHall,BrierleyHiU  Nov.  35 

DoaUe  Brent,  A.    Comtta.  .  .    Alfred  Wilkinson   .    T.  R.  York  .    Aug.  7 

{William     Manning) 
and     Edward)- Queen's T.  Keighley      .    Feb.  xs 
Darbey .  . ) 

(Mus.   by   A.    Mes-) 
sager,    lib.    by  [-Lyceum,  Edinburgh       .    May  18 

First  Breese,  The.    Fare.  Com.    X  A. .  (Unknown)  .    T.  R.  West  Hartlepool  .    March 

For  Better  for  Worse.    Dr.    4  A.       .  Miss  Braddon .       .    Gaiety,  Brighton  .    April  6 

For  Valour.    Love  Story,    x  A.   .       .  Charles  S.  Fawcett    Royal,  York     .       .       .    Oct.  x6 

Friend  or  Foe.    Dr.    4A.     .       .       .  Frederick  Wright  .{T^^^^T.    Newca8tleK>n.Jj^,^  ^3 

From  Shore  to  Shore.    Dr.  .       .  .  Percy  Edwin    .  .  Star,  Wolverhampton    .    April  30 

Olendalongh.    Rom.  Dr.  4  A.       .  .  Edmund  Gumey  .  Queen's,  Manchester      .    Dec  14 

QOlden  AllPle,  The.    Myth.  Op.  .  .  Frank  Sylvester  .  Public  Hall,  Godalming .    April  xx 

QOlden  Chanoe,  The.    Dr.    5  A. .  .  St.  Aubyn  Miller  .  T.  R.  Gateshead             .    Nov.  33 

Golden  Leek,  The.  Rom.Op.Dr.  4A.    FrankE.Wade      .{^yen4^"^!^^°':}M««*5 
aolden8orroW,A.DomesUcDr.  3A.{^^r  ^-    ^'i^;  [victoria  Hall,  Ealing     .    Feb.  3 
Hasard.    Farce,    x  A.    .  .    Herbert  Burnett     .    T.  R.  Margate .  .    July  x 

He  ^OVes  Me,  He  Lores  Me  Not.    Dr.  \  j^^  g  Greville    .  \  Gnmd  Hall,  Maidenhead    Dec.  x6 
Her  Mother's  Ransom.   Dr.  4  a.       .    Preston  Marchant  .    T.  R.,  Rugby  .  .    May  7 

Her  Ttue  colours.    Comtu.       .       .}w.ABrabner        .{^^«uSdJl^*y     Ro^°>»;}Nov.  6 


26o 


Productions  in  the  Provinces,  etc. 


HlddMLTtoTOr.A.   Dr.    4  A. 


MarkMelford. 


•{''^^i:^*^.'''^:^:}««k'« 


(  Quurles      Thonuui, ) 

Harriet  VLync  HaU,  Ealing  . 


A     mas.   by 
(    Young  . 
Woods  Lawrence 


.) 


Dec  XX 


HOUy-Bnaoli,  TlM.  Opcu.  xA. 

BxmmX  Ltrlag;  In.    Com.  Dr.    3  A.  .    Woods  Lawrence   .    Opera  House,  Wakefield    March  13 

HOP*.    Com.    3  A (Unknown)      .       .  {  *^  <>f  ^alesMJver^  J  S^p^^  ,^ 

HOOMOfOardlfA.   Play  in  4  A..       .    By  Sydney  Gnmdy.    T.  R.  Brigfaton  .    Nov.  13 

LO.U.    Fare  Com. {  ^  A.  (S^?r}NewT.  Richmond  .       .    Jan.  xt 

m  GbWf*.    Fare  Com.        .       .       .    H.  C.  Duckworth   .  { ^^^J^jf  Rooms,  Chel- J.^p^  ^ 

(Lib.   by  R.  Black-) 
ford,     rous.      b]^  VT.  R.  Bradford 
Clarence  C  Corn) 
Mr&  William  Greet    Her  Mj^esty's  T.  Carlisle 
W.  H.  Dearlove     .    Spa,  Harrowgate 
Wilson  Barrett       .    Prince's,  Bristol 
C  A.  Clarke    .       .    Star  T.  Wolveriiampton 

|^**;|Lyric  Hall,  Ealing  .       .    April  ao 
New  T.  Richmond  .       .    FeU  35 


mSmillllirDajl.    Com.  Op.    3  A. 

JMkBOB'S  Boy.    Melodr.    5  A.     . 
JaalOViy*    Humorous  Rom.    i  A. 

Jenny  tht  Barbtr.  Com.   x  A.  . 
Joan  of  Are.    Hist.  Dr.    4  A. 
Jonat.    Fare.  Com.    3  A. 

XlMinff  Cop's  Race.  Dr.  4A.  . 

KlUy.    Fare  Com.    3  A.  .    (Anonymous)  . 

/Lib.  by  W.    Percy 

Knight   Of  the    Boad,   The.      Irish  J     French,  mus.   by 

Comedy  Opera J     W.  Houston  Col- 

\    lison 
Letter,  The.    Comtta.    x  A.  .  .    W.  H.  Vemonjunr. 

Life's  Battle.    Com.  Dr.  4  A.  .    (George  Comer . 

Life's  Harrest    Melodr.    3  A.     .       .    E.  A.  Shute     . 
Little  Widow,  The.    Fare  Com.    3  A.    (Unknown) 


Blarcha 

March  a8 
Jan.  X7 
Dec  xo 
Aug.  31 
Oct.  x6 


(Campbell 
*  (     Brown 


Queen's  T.  Dublin 


LostBheePbA.    Fare  Com.    3  A. 
Lore  at  Home.    Farce.   xA. 
Lore's  l^es.   Comtta.    . 
Madame  Oartondie.  c:om.Op. 


(Walter  Parke    and 

•  (     Arthur  Shiriey    . , 

{Founded  on  T,  K. 
€t  P,  K.  by  Syl- 
vanus  Dauncey 

•  E,  Lawrence  Levy 


T.  R.  (Gateshead 
Pavilion,  Lytham    . 
Drill  Hall,  Nuneaton 
T.  R.  Liverpool 

-T.R.Bradford       . 


A. 

Ed- 


Man  Hunter,  The. 

and  4  A.  . 


Sensa.  Dr. 


Mar'**^'wi-  • 


{Adapted      by 
Sutherland 
wards    . 

^^; }  Frederidt  Jarman 

/  Dramatization      by ' 
J     Robert  Buchanan ' 
•■)     of     Sir     Walter 
V    Scott's  poem 
(Unknown) 


Prince  of  Wales', 
mingham 


•t 


T.  R.  West  Hartlepool 


April  97 

May6 
Aug.  3 
Feb.  as 
Feb.  9 

Julyx3 


B*^}March5 


^  Royal     Opera 
^    Lieicester 

Victoria    T. 
(Mon.)  . 


"f«»*;}Sept,a 
Newport  J.  ^^y  xi 


-T.  R.  Glasgow. 


Aprils 


Ma's  Old  Bean.    Comtta.    xA. 

Moonbeams.    Comtta ^HaslingdenRusseU^^^^P*^  "y* 

Mr8.M.P.    Com.    3A.   .       . 


Grand,  Nottingham.       .    May  x4 
Liver.Jj„,y^ 


My  Native  Land.    Dr W.  Manning 

New  Tear's  Ohlmes.    Melodr.    4  A.  .    Arthur  Shirley 
NoUe  Coward,  A.    Dr.    4  A.  .    Thomas  Naden 

Nonsuited.    Farce,    i  A.  .    Walter  C.  Rhoades. 

'Founded  on  HarriO 
son  Ainsworth's 
"Old  London! 
Bridge,"  by  Ar- 1 
thur  Shirley  and 
W.  Muskerry         ' 


(     mann  Vezin         . )     *"    *     *       *       '       ') 


T.  R.  Coatbridge 
T.  R.  Bradford 
T.  R .  Great  Grimsby 
Vestry  Hall,  Tooting 


Oct.  99 
Jan.  30 
Feb.  st^ 
AprBr 


Old  London.    Spec.  Dr.    Pro  and  3  A. - 


xA. 


Old  Virginia.  Play. 

On  Her  Majesty's  Service. 


On  the 

Melodr. 


Frontier. 

A.  5.       . 


Dr. 

American 


4  A. 

Mil. 


-Queen's  T.  Manchester  .    Ji^y  95 


/Shakespeare  T. 
•\    pool      .       . 


Liver- 


Henry  Herman 

\  S^.-G^'^May':}  Avenue,  Sunderland 

\Shake8peare  T.   Liv«-\Mareh 


VMardi3s 
Nov.  ao 


/     pool 


On  Zeidiyrs'  Wings.  Pastoral  Pi. 
Orpheus  and  (P)  Enrydloe.  Bur. 

Our  Belatlons.    Fare.  Com.    3  A. 


»A.{^l5HSgs^':}TownHaU,Teddington    July  30 
,  A    /  Edward     Rose 

.    Frederick  Jarman 


& )  Royal  Aquarium,  Great )  .„,„ , 
.f     YarmoSth     .       .        .j-J^^y* 


Brighton  Aquarium 


Oct.  5 


Productions  in  the  Provinces^  etc. 


261 


Oatfldflir*  TlM.   Sporting  Melodr.  5  A.    Forbes  Dawson 
PanoaThont    Dr.    3A.      .  .j-RossChallis 


Aquarium,  Gt.  Yarmouth 

f  Royal     Opera     House, ) 

Wakefield     .  ^ 


March  a 
/  Royal     Opera     House,  I  a  „^i  , 
.pw»,^«««o    .       .|     virakefield     .       .       If  April  3 

p-^     TV  /George  Roberts  and  i  Roy  alArtiUeryT.  Wool- \v«„  ,< 

nX.    Dr I     Henry  Emm        .  f    wich      .       .       .       .|Nov.i6 

Power  of  ConsoianCOpTlie.  Play.  4  A.    Reginald  P.  Rutter.    Grand  T.  Stalybridge     .    July  23 

Bomanoe  of  LOV^  A.    Com.  Dr.    a  A.  {  Alexander  Steven  .  {  ^i^^on-xS^d'  .^"i }  J^^y  '3 

SOM  Of  the  AUiamtea.    Bur.  Extrav.  j  Charles       Stirling  >  j  j^  Stratford,  E. 


3  Spasms t     Parker.       .       .f 

K07alI>i70roe,A.    Play.    5A.    .       .    W.G.Wills    .       .    Avenue,  Sunderland     . 

{Shirley       H  owlett ) 
(copyright      per-  V  County  Hall,  Bootle 
tormance)     .       . ) 
St.  Qeoge  a&A  tlire  DraiTOlL    Extrav.    CaptainR.L.Bayliff  T.R.Richmond 
Shakespeare.    Com.    4  A.    .  .    Eden  E.  Greville    .    Grand  Hall,  Maidenhead 

.J-T.  R.  Huddersfield 


Bhamxo^  and  theSOM,  The.  Iri«h}  waiter  Reynolds 


Btrawherrles  and  Cream.  Fare  Play, 

aA 


Sweet  Slmi^llolty.  Comtta. 

SylTlA-    Rom.  Op.  . 


June  6 
Mayx 

Nov.  19 

Dec.  z6 
May  37 

Oct.  7 
Oct.  za 

Nov.  6 

{Revised  Version  of) 
The  Actor,  by  T.  VHer  Majesty's,  Dundee.    Fob.  6 
Edgar  Pemberton  j 
Collaboration  in  au-' 
thorsbip  with  E 

T.     De      Banzie  V  Princess's,  Glasgow       .    Feb.  a6 
claimed  by  James 
Grant    . 
Wilford  F.  Field 


Dr. 
Showman's  Daughter,  The.  Domestic )  Mrs.  Francis  Hodg-  \  ,p  «    Worce«t*r 
Com.    3A.     .       .       .       .       .       .)    son  Burnett.         1 1  •  *^.  Worcester 

8iMaofIife,The.   Dr.  4  A. 
Step  Brothers.  Com.  3  a. 


•{^S'^rpSSj;^^??}*"""*^".  Sheffield 


{Collaboration  in  au-^ 
thorsbip  with  E.  I 
T.     De      Banzie  V 
daimed  by  James  | 
Grant    .       .       .J 
Wilford  F.  Field     . 
(Lib.bvM.J.BUtch-) 
<     fora ;  rous.  by  J.  > 
I     H.Sykes      .       .J 


Talisman,  The.  Op.  3  A.  . 
Thanks  to  Jaidc   Comtta.   . 

ThatAwftalBor-    Farce,    x  A. 
That  Idiot  Oarla    Comtta.   . 
This  World  of  Ours.   Dr.   4  A. 

TohaoooJars.  Optta.   iA. 

Trooper  Hntfll.    Dram.  Sketch 
True  as  Truth.   Play,   i  A. 

Trust  to  LUdL    Dram.  Pro.    3  A. 

Two  ahrlstmas  Bros. 

Dr.    5  A. 


Utopia.    Com.  Op. 

Vaiprant,  The. 

Vengeanoe  Is  lUne.   Rom.  Dr. 

Vlda.    Soc.  Dr.    4  A.      . 


Public  Rooms,  Southall.    Feb.  33 

Grand,  Halifax        .       .    Oct.  ao 
tes      .       .; 
(Michael   W.    Balfe) 
I     (first  time  inEng-  [-Court  T.  Liverpool         .    Jan.  15 

J  Devonshire     Park     T.  \  *  „„., 
•t     Eastbourne.       .       ./April 

(  Prince  of  Wales',  South- )  . 
•\    ampton .       .       .       .fJ 
.    T.  R.  Blackburn      . 
.    T.  R.  Brighton 
Monckton , ) 
\     mus.   by  Harriet  >  Lyric  Hall,  Ealing  . 
(     Young  .       .       .j 
Alfred  Wilkinson   .    T.  R.  York      . 
A.  C.  Drinkwater   .    Royalty,  Glasgow  . 
C.  A.aarke    .       .    New  T.  Newport  (Mon.) 
Original  pom.  I  Albert  ^E.     IWnk-J  Victoria  HaU,  Ealing     . 

(Dr.  W.  H.    Hunt';) 
A     lib.    by  John    J.  V Town  Hall,  Birkenhead. 
I     Wood    .       .       .j 
Domestic  Dr.    5  A.    .    George  De  Lara      .    Aquarium,  Scarborough 


.-{Evelyn  Hardy 

.-[w.  F.  MiUer    . 

.    Philip  Hayman 
.    Seymour  Hicks 
(Lady 


Ian.  15 

Feb.  la 
Julyao 

Dec.  zz 

Mays 

Dec.  4 

'  April  27 

Feb.  5 

May  4 

Dec.  7 
,  A  /Sutton  Vane  (copy-)  Assembly  Rooms,  Chel- )*__{,  ._ 
*  A.  I     right  purposes)    .  f    tenham .       .       .       .  f  ^P"'  *' 


•{ 


Ina  Leon  Gassilis  &  \  Londesborough  T. 
Charles  Lander  ./    borough 
(  Mrs.  Hodg8on_  and 


Scar- 


Prince  of  Wales',  South- \  . 
ampton.       .       .       ./J 


Wat<dllng  and  Waiting.    Com.    3  A. -I     Archibald  Hodg- 

(    son 

Wealth  Of  the  World,  The.   Dr.   4  a.    Edward  J.  Lampard    T.  R.  Blyth 
White  Lily,  The.    Dr.    4A..       .       .{A^J^«-"°*"°f"°«:}T.  R.  Hanley  . 
Wdlves  and  WalflL    Com.  Dr.    5  A.   .    Alfred  Cox  .    Gaiety,  Brighton 

W<««n-.I46L    Dr.    .A.     .       .       .{^■^/S"i,R?^d""!}T.  R- M^gat. 
WOXiChOX,  The.    Comtta.    z  A.    .       .    Tom  Craven    .       .    T.  R.  Weymouth 
Zaaut ;    or,   Bonnie  Bohemia.    Dr. )  wrybert  Clive  .       .  }  T.  R.  Gateshead 


I  Nov.  17 


an.  x5 


June  39 
Aug.  31 
Julyao 
Julyao 

July  9 
Aug.  I  a 


Digitized  by  LjOOQ IC 


262 


80ME    TITLES   GIVEN    TO    " SKETCHES"  PRODUCED 

AT  VABI0U8  PLACES  OF  AMUSEMENT  IN  LONDON.  OTHER  THAN  THE  THEATRES, 
FROM  JANUARY  1S90,   TO  END  OF  DECEMBER  1S91. 


AMMTdato  MyiWry,  The Herberte  Combmation                      .  Aug.  1890 

Adrift;  or,  tht  Kiudtr  of  the  FlilMrboy  of 

Hull W.  Harry  Lynn Feb.  1890 

At  Hll  Pott Leo  Dryden June  1891 

At  Lait E.  S.  Vincent  ft  Co Mar.  xSgt 

ATirloe Harry  Lynn Sept.  1891 

ATirloe;  or,  Old  Flint  and  Hll  Wa<«r      .    J.B.Howe Mar.  2891 

BafflOd Eardley  Turner Sept.  1891 

BambOOdOd Mra.  De  SoUa Mar.  1890 

Bankor,  The Harrison-Howard  Co.        .       .       .  April  1890 

Bay  Mare,  The    ........    Reegan  ft  Co. Febu  1890 

Beauty,  The Fred  Williams May  1890 

Bed  Of  Diamonds.  The Herberte  Combination                      .  Jan.  1890 

Bedlamania Le  Clair  ft  Leslie        ....  Oct.  Z890 

Beware  of  the  Widowa Arthur  Lloyd Jan.  1890 

Bewildered  Barrlater,  The      ....    Cecil  Merrie  ft  Co April  1890 

Bewitched  Onrate,  The Harry  White  ftCo Mar.  1890 

Bit  of  China,  A W.  Bailey April  1890 

BladkJoatloe Hellis,  Hurst  ft  Juby                        .  Nov.  1890 

Black  and  White John  D'Auban July  1891 

Blaolnnall John  Douglas Feb.  1891 

Blind G.  Belmont April  1890 

Bookie,  The;  or,  Laying  the  Oddi  .   Wal  Pink Mar.  1891 

Boya  In  Blue,  The £.  S.  Vincent Feb.  1891 

Broken  Ice John  Douglas Feb.  1892 

Brompton  "Bna,  The  • W.  H.  Sharp  and  F.  Walton             .  April  1890 

Brother  Bill Rice  ft  Co April  1890 

Broni^t  to  Bay    .......    Hampton  ft  Co Mar.  1890 

Burglar,  The H.  D.  Burton  ft  Co Sept.  2890 

Chase  for  Lore,  A H.  Le  Fre  ft  Co July  2892 

Chlckweed  and  OroundseU     ....  Brothers  Clayton  and  Sisters  Wood  July  2892 

Chink  of  Gold,  The F.  DobeU  ft  Co May  2891 

Chlpps  In  Japan Keene  ft  Reeves  Combination  .       .  April  2892 

Christmas  Carol,  A;  or,  The  Miser's  Mirror  H.  D.  Burton  ft  Co Jan.  2892 

Christmas  Eve W.  Sharpe  and  Kate  Owen               .  Jan.  1890 

Christmas  Tree,  The Mohawks Jan.  2890 

city  Waif,  The;  or.  The  streets  of  London  Jenny  Hill Mar.  2890 

Club,  The;  or,  1^  wife's  Baby     .  .    Brown  ft  Kelly Feb.  2890 

Comedy  and  Burlesque Austin  Fryers June  2890 

Conn        .  Jenny  Hill April  2890 

Convlot,  The Arthur  Combes Jan.  2890 

Country  Nurse,  The Johnny  Hanson  ft  Co.                       .  Nov.  2892 

Cousin  Bob Maud  Stoneham  and  Violet  Evelyn  .  Nov.  2890 

Cracking  a  Crib Keegan  ft  Co Feb.  2890 

Crime;  or,  Shadowed  In  BusaU   .      .      .   £.  S.  Vincent April  2892 

Cur,  ^e  J.  B.  Howe Sept.  2892 

Cushla-ma-Chree W.  Muskeny Mar.  2890 

Dangerous  Ground Colona  Co May  2890 

Dark  Shadow,  A J.  B.  Howe  ft  Co Mar.  2892 

Darkness  and  Light Belle  Rae Jan.  2892 

Dead  Men's  Shoes J.  G.  Johnson  ft  Co May  2892 

Deep  Shadows     .       , Brien  McCullough      ....  Oct.  2892 

Deserted J.  B.  Howe  and  W.  Gardiner    .        .  Jan.  2890 

Deserter,  The Harry  Olden April  2892 

Diamonds The  Fothergills June  2892 

^Dimple's  DouUe .  Paul  Courtney's  Combination  ^^^Sept.z89i 

digitized  by  VjOC 


Some  Titles  given  to  Sketches. 


263 


Doctor,  The 

Donns^nrook 

Doomed  Sblp,  Tlie 

Down  tbe  Area 

Drawing  a  Badger 

Drogans,  The 

Drudge,  The 

Datch  Girl,  The 

Daty;  or,  the  Two  Hiuwani  . 
Eleventh  Hour,  The        .      .      .      . 

Eleventh  Hoar,  The 

Entrapped 

Farmer's  Dream,  The      .      .      .      . 
F^uBt  Beversed;  or.  All  Ckme  Wrong. 

Fettered 

Fisher's  Wife,  The 

Flying  Ja6k 

Flying  Jack  . 

For  Better  or  Worse 

Forger,  The 

Fortune's  Wheel 

Found    

Frtts'sVMt 

Ftom  Twilight  to  Dawn  .... 
Fun  In  a  Chinese  Laundry    . 

Fun  on  the  Island 

gamekeeper,  The 

Gentleman  Scamp,  The   .... 

Golden  Greed 

GOlden  Stream,  The 

Good  for  Evil 

Good  for  Nothing 

Goose,  Goose 

Green-Byed  Lobster,  The .... 

Gypsy  Gin,  The 

Hamlet  up  to  Date 

Hansom  Oabby,  The 

Happy  Jack 

Hard  Ltnes 

Haunted 

He,  She,  Htm,  and  Her    .... 

Hearts  of  Stone 

Her  First  Appearance     .... 

HUanty 

Home,  Sweet  Home 

Homeward  Bound 

House  of  Commons 

Icy  Douche,  The 

In  Darkest  Africa 

In  the  Law 

In  the  Law 


Lee 


Indian  Meeting,  The 

Indian  Blslng,  The;  or,  The  Last  Flight  of 

Sitting  BuU 

Innocent 

Invention 

Ireland  In  1791 

Is  Marriage  a  Failure  7- 

Jack;  or,  the  Knights  of  the  Road 

Jail  Birds 

Joan  of  Arc 

Kathleen;  or,  a  True  Iridi  Girl  . 

Kentucky  Saloon  Bar,  A 

Kl-kl-ko-ko-oh-kl-key 

Killing  Indians 

(K)nlght  In  Armour,  A 

^vee  to  CMnd 


Johnny  Hanson  . 

J.  P.  Sutherland  &  Co. 

Mrs.  Bennett  Algernon  Syms, 

William  Baily's  Operetta  Co. 

W.  H.  Day  &  Co. 

Charles  Stevens  &  Co. 

F.  Williams  and  Barwick 

James  Taylor 

Harry  Bruce  &  Co.      . 

J.  B.  Howe  Combination 

Charles  Willmott 

Herberte  Combination 

H.  Lynn  &  Co.     . 

NeUie  Temple  ft  Co.   . 

Harold  Whyte  and  Alfred 

Herberte  Combination 

Marie  Montagu  ft  Co. 

Keene  ft  Reeves  . 

John  Douglass     . 

Harry  Lynn  . 

Brien  McCuUough  ft  Co. 

Harry  Lynn . 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watson 

fVankHaU   .       j> 

Kelly  and  Ashby . 

The  Haytors 

Peter  Conroy 

LeW»Trio. 

E.  S.  Vincent  ft  Co. 

J.  J.  Stamford      . 

A.  C.  Lilly  Co.     . 

W.  Harry  Lynn   . 

Rice,  Lovell  ft  Co. 

Herberte  Combination 

Mortimer  Combination 

Le  Clair  and  Leslie 

Keegan  ft  Co.      . 

Emily  Adams  ft  Co. 

Florence  Smither's  Co 

Lynn  Combination 

W.  Walton  ft  Co. 

Herberte  Combination 

Arthur  Lloyd 

The  Kamos  . 

W.  Wylde  ft  Co. . 

Charles  Godfrey  . 

Brown,  Newland  &  Co. 

Daventry  ft  Howard 

Athol  Mayhew     . 

Tom  White  . 

Keegan  ft  Elvin  . 

George  Daventry 

Clare  Howard  ft  Co. 


AdaTorrftCo.   . 
Harry  Calden 
The  Gcro      . 
E.  S.  Vincent  ft  Co. 
Forrest  Combination 
Excel  Quartette  . 
Hone  McKay  Co. 
Henri  Grey  . 
George  Marriott  . 
Rice,  Melrose  ft  Co. 
Ted  Lauri,  sen.    . 
Brown  Newlands  Co. 
Bruce's  Combination 
Charles  Daly 


Feb.  2890 
April  2891 
Jan.  1890 
Aug.  1890 
April   1891 
May  1890 
April  1890 
April  1890 
Aug.  1890 
Oct.  1890 
Feb.  1891 
Sept.  1890 
May  2890 
June  1890 
Sept.  2890 
April  2890 
April  2890 
Aug.  2890 
Oct.  2892 
Jan.  2890 
Dec.  2892 
April  2892 
Aug.  2890 
Mar.  2890 
July  2892 
June  2890 
Oct.  2892 
July  2890 
May  2892 
Feb.  2892 
Aug.  2890 
April  2890 
Dec.  2890 
June  2890 
Mar.  2892 
Oct.  2890 
Jan.  2890 
June  2890 
May  2892 
Nov.  2890 
Oct.  2892 
Aug.  2892 
April  2890 
Sept.  2892 
Nov.  2890 
Feb.  2890 
June  2890 
Feb.  2890 
May  2890 
Jan.  2890 
April  2892 
Sept.  2890 
April  2890 


Digitized  by 


.  Jan.  2892 

.  July  2890 

.  Mar.  2890 

.  April  2892 

.  Jan.  2890 

.  Oct.  2890 

.  July,  2890 

.  June  2892 

.  Aug.  T892 

.  April  2892 

.  June  2892 

.  June  2890 

.  Sept.  2890 


I 


264  Soffte  Titles  given  to  Sketches. 

Late  on  Panule Foster,  Wallace  ft  Co.  .    Dec  1890 

LMptomanla Leopolds April  X89X 

Life  tor  a  Lift,  A J.  C.  Hamilton Aug.  1890 

Lift  In  tlie  OU-fkehlOOed  Days     .  .    Daltry  &  Co Feb.  1891 

Light  0*  DiJ Brien  McCuUoch June  1891 

Llllle  Of  TronTUle,  The (Unknown) Nov.  1890 

Little  Briek,  The Miss  K.  Lee July  1891 

Little  Brtok,  The Atbol  Mayhew Aug.  1891 

Little  Ctyp Jenny  Hill Aug.  1890 

LltOe  Lady  Macbeth R.  A.  MarshaU  and  T.  Kent  .    Oct.  1890 

LltOe  Marfuerlte (Unknown) Mar.  1890 

Little  Peaoemaker.  The F.  Bowyer  and  J.  S.  Baker  .    Mar.  1891 

Little  BtOWaway.  The Jenny  HiU Oct.  1890 

Lively  for  Two  of  'em Albert  and  Edmund's  Troupe  .       .    Aug,  1890 

LOOket,  The Charles  WUlmott        ....    June  1891 

LOfloal  Lodgen C  L.  Mannon Mar.  1891 

London  life Brothers  Home  O Aug.  1890 

Look  In,  A H.  M.  Fdmunds  and  Wal  Pink .       .    May  1890 

Lost  Oame,  A J.  B.  Howe  Combination   .  .    Oct.  1890 

Lot  83 Charles  Barnard  and   Joe   Elvin ; 

music  by  John  S.  Baker  .       .       .    Jan.  1891 

LnMn'8  Secret Reene  and  Reeves  Combination       .    Jan.  1891 

Lntiky  Bhining,  The Charies  (Godfrey Jan.  1890 

Kan  and  Matter G.  Roberts  and  F.  DobeU  .  .    Feb.  1891 

Margery F.  Bowyer  and  John  Baker  .    Sept.  1890 

Mary  Ann's  Birthday Johnny  Hanson  &  Co.  .    Sept.  1891 

Maion,  The James  Taylor  Co Mar.  1890 

Matrimonial  BUit NeUie  Estelle  ft  (>> Mar.  1890 

Matrimonial  ManoBUTres       ....  juUa  Egiey  &  Co Sept.  1890 

Matrimony Owen  Dacroy Mar.  1890 

Melomanla Boisset  Troupe Oct.  1891 

Men  and  Metal Herberte  Combination  .    June  1890 

Mepho;  or,  Fanit  after  Date.       .       .       .  G.  Lupino  and  H.  Fox  .    Oct.  1891 

Midnight  Mall,  The Graham  Wentworth  ft  0>.  .    May  1891 

MUlstream,  The —  Bailey Sept.  1890 

Mlijndged Herberte  Combination  •    Jal^  1890 

Monte  OarlO Daventry  and  Howard  .    Aug.  1890 

Mr.  and  Mn.  Orowl A.  Alexander  and  T.  Kent .  .    Oct.  1890 

Mr.  BoblnBOn  Omsoe Mohawks Jan.  1890 

Mnslcal  Lanndry,  The Four  Vendomes Mar.  1891 

Mniloal  Smithy,  The The  Jees Aug.  1890 

Musical  studio,  The E.  Fielding  and  Fan.  Johnson  .       .    June  X890 

My  Brother  BUI;  or.  The  Faker  .  Heiiis  ft  Co ApHi  1890 

My  Wife's  First  Baby  .    Brown  and  Kelly  Co May  1890 

My  Willie Geo.  Conquest,  jun April  1890 

Mystery  of  a  Foar-Wheeled  Cab,  The.       .    Charles  E.  Stevens  ft  C:o.  .  .  April  1891 

Naughty  Dustman.  The Johnny  Hanson  &  Co.        .  .  Bfar.  1891 

NaTal  Bzhlhltlon,  The Professor  Baker Sept.  1891 

Neck  or  Nothing  ' Harrison  Howard  ft  Co.     .       .       .  Feb.  2890 

Night  In  McOulnness'S  Kitchen,  A  .    Frank  FoUoy's  MidgeU  .  Aug.  1890 

Night  Of  Terror,  A Tom  Melrose  ft  Co Oct.  1890 

Night  I>Uty Alf  Baker  and  Nellie  Beresford        .  Jan.  1891 

Night  Mall,  The Herberte  Combination  .  Oct.  1890 

Nine-Forty  Bxprees,  The Stanley  Combination  ....  July  1891 

Nonsense  on  the  Brain Harry  Pleon  ft  Co Mar.  1890 

Korah Miss  O'Neill  ft  Co Dec.  1890 

Norah;  or,  Ireland  by  Night  and  Day      .   H.  Hampton  and  W.  G.  LUiy  .      .   Feb.  1890 

Office  Boy,  The Alice  £:sden  and  Alfred  Murray       .  Sept.  1891 

Old  Mill  Stream,  The Sophie  Fane  ft  Co Aug.  1891 

Old  Ninety Frank  Hammond  ft  Co.      .  .  May  1890 

Old  Times OUph  Webb Dec.  1890 

Old  Water  Mill,  The John  Douglass April  1891 

On  Guard Charles  Godfrey Sept,  1890 

On  Outpost;  or.  For  His  Lore's  Sake  .      .  Deuch  ft  Co April  1890 

On  the  Sands Fred  Walton  ft  Co Oct.  1890 

One  In  the  Know,  The H.  Pleon April  1890 

Only  a  Dream Paul  Pelham July  1891 

Ordered  Abroad Frederick  Bowyer      ....  Seoi.  1890 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


Some  Titles  given  to  Sketches,  265 

OnOian'S  D^lmt,  Tbe C.  MorUmer  &  Co July  1891 

Ont  for  a  Holiday G.  Deane Oct.  189X 

Onr  Lad8  in  Bed F.  Bowyer Apnl  1890 

Our  PlonlO Albert  and  Edmunds*  Troupe   .       .  June  1891 

Out  Ton  Go (Unknown) April  1890 

Outcast G.  H.  Macdermott       ....  Aug.  1891 

Outcast  London J.  B.  Montage  ft  Co April   1891 

Outline  Picket,  The Miss  H.  Graham  ft  Co.  .  Jan.  1890 

Outpost,  The Harry  Calden  ft  Co Feb.  1891 

Pardoned Charles  H.  Howard  ft  Co.         .       .  Sept.  1890 

Paris Albert  and  Edmunds'  Troupe   .       .  Sept.  1890 

Paris  Might  by  mght Martinettis  ......  Jan.  1890 

Parrott,  The Florrie  Moore  ft  Co June  1891 

Pauper  Aliens  .  E.  S.  Vincent Oct.  1891 

Pedlar  Sam Dobell-Felton  Combination       .       .  Aug.  1891 

Pepper  and  Salt Qayton  Twins June  1891 

Photographic  Fan Walter  Browne Dec.  1890 

Players,  The Albert  and  Edmunds' Troupe   .       .  Aug.  1890 

Poor  Jo Lynn  Family Oct.  1891 

Portland Brian  McCuUougfa       ....  Sept.  1891 

Professor  FlulfBn'S  Poodle       ....  Lauri  Family July  1891 

Queen  Bess  BamhooHed  and   Leicester 

Squared J.  Hanson  ft  Co Jan.  1891 

Queen's  Birthday,  The Johnny  Hanson  ft  Co.                       .  Oct.  1890 

Quits  at  Last (Unknown) May  1890 

Bank  and  File Alfred  Haynes Feb.  1890 

Beal  Jack,  The;  or.  The  Knights  of  the 

Bead George  Lupino,  jun Sept.  1890 

Bed  Light,  The Walter  Steadman  ft  Co.     .  .    Jan.  1891 

Beparation Brian  McCulloch  ft  Co.      .  .    July  1891 

Bestored Lynn  Family •  April  1891 

Blspah Jan.  1890 

Bohert  Kaculre  .       .  ....  Martinettis Mar.  1890 

Boiling  Wave,  The W.  Bailey June  1890 

Bose  of  Klllamey Herberte  CombinaUon  .    May  1890 

Bose  Pompom  Henry  Besley Aug.  1890 

Bun  for  a  Wife,  A      .  .  Keene  Combination    ....    Aug.  1890 

Bural  Betirement  .  The  Leggetts Oct.  1890 

Sally's  Ckme  Dotty Carolus May  1890 

Sam,  the  Crossing  Sweeper    ....  WiUmore  Combination  .    Nov.  1891 

Santa  Glaus Herberte  Combination  .       .    Jan.  1890 

Satanic  Gambols The  Three  Delevines.        .       .       .July  1891 

Sauce  for  the  Ck>OSe Nellie  Estelle Mar.  2890 

Saved  ftom  the  Tardarm  .  J.  G.  Harrington         ....    May  1890 

Scare  in  the  Harem,  A Herberte  Combination       .  .    Sept.  1890 

Scarlet  Towers,  The Henry  de  SoUa Jan.  X891 

School,  The Top  Leach Mar.  1891 

Schoolmaster,  The Martinetti  Troupe       ....    Jan.  1890 

Shades  of  St.  Paul's,  The        .       .       .       .  R.  Barnard  and  J.  S.  Baker  .    July  1891 

ShamrodC  Green J.  G.  Johnson's  Combination     .       .    Oct.  2891 

Shaun ;  or.  The  Dawn  Of  Day  .  Harry  Calders Sept.  1890 

She  Couldn't  Help  It £.  S.  Vincent  &  Co April  1891 

Siege  of  Lucknow,  The Amy  Roselle Mar.  1890 

Silent  Witness,  The W.  steadman  ft  Co Feb.  1891 

Simon;  or.  The  Dutch  Girl's  Troubles        .  James  Taylor  ft  Co April  1891 

Sister's  Honour,  A J.  B.  Howe  Combination   .       .       .    Oct.  1890 

Slightly  Mixed R.  D.  Lincoln  and  T.  Corrie  .    Feb.  1890 

Slow  Express,   The;  or.  The  Midnight 

Female Harry  Pleon Feb.  1891 

Smiles  and  Tears H.  Lynn June  1890 

Sodety  Actress,  A J.  L.  Owen  and  W.  G.  Eaton    .       .    Oct.  1892 

Society  Star,  A H.  Le  Claire  and  E.  Leslie  .    Aug.  2890 

Stage  struck The  Fordes May  1890 

Stanley  and  Africa C.  Godfrey Feb.  2890 

stolen  Child,  The W.  Harry  Lynn Jan.  2890 

Stony  Broke Walter  Blount  ft  Co May  2890 

Strange  Witness,  A A.  Syms,  W.  Steadman,  etc.    /^^.    Feb.  2890 

Strcdllng  Players,  The ThcFothergills  .      iai^zed.by  V^.*- May^892 


266  Some  Titles  given  k>  Sketches, 

BtrOBffeft  Kan  ITn— rthed,  The    .  .    The  Mohawks Jan.  1890 

SnilBllilM  aft«r  Rain Ted  Forrest  ft  Co ApHl  1890 

Iwttthtarto  and  WItm A.  George  and  Ruby  Lee   .               .  Oct.  X891 

Tallyman,  Tlie Richard  D.  Lincoln     ....  Mar.  1891 

Tamlnc  of  a  Bbrnr A.  George  and  Ruby  Lee   .       .       .  AprU  1891 

Tandem,  The Levite  Combination    ....  Nov.  1890 

TerrlUe  Night,  A MartinetUs Mar.  1890 

Teny;  or.  Ttne  to  Hla  Ttnit.  .   Sutton  Vane Juiyi89i 

That  Letter R.  C.  Lyons  ft  Co Aug.  1891 

Three  Cbraoee,  The M.  Servais  le  Roy       ....  Nov.  1890 

Tlcrete,  The Johnny  Hanson  ft  Co.                       .  Sept.  1890 

Tinker's  Holiday,  The Keegan  ft  Co Mar.  1890 

Tom  Oribb'8  Parlour Will  Kiiis June  1891 

Touched Kool  Kennedy  and  J.  Elvin              .  Feb.  1891 

Tratelgar  Fothergills Junei89z 

Ttapped Harry  Lynn Nov.  1890 

Trouhlei  Of  An  Editor,  The     ....    McCarthy  family Aug.  1890 

Two  Mothen Amy  Forest April  1891 

Two  Telegrama,  The Lydia  Yeamans Nov.  1890 

Vnole  Tank The  Mannons Feb.  1890 

irnder  the  Ftenoh  Flag G.  Daventry  ft  Co Nov.  z88o 

Vnfturtnnate  Kan,  The Arthur  Uoyd April  1890 

Vacahond,  The W.  Lestocq April  1891 

Valentine  and  Onon W.  Walton July  1891 

VlUace  Smithy,  The Charles  D.  Hickman  and  John  S. 

Baker April  1891 

Wanderer,  The G.  H.  Macdermott       ....  Jan.  1891 

Which  is  Brown The  Wardropers Dec  1890 

Whiltle,  The Florrie  Moore Oct.  1890 

Wife's  Derotion,  A Mrs.  Bennett  ft  Co June  1891 

Wild  Delnsion,  A George  Power  &  Co Sept.  1890 

Wild  Rose Harrison  ft  Co June  1890 

Woman  Outwitted,  A Harry  Bruce  ft  Co Sept.  z^ 

Woman's  Justice Clare  Howard Aug.  Z89X 

Workman's  Wife,  The A.  George  and  Ruby  Lee   .       .       .  Sept.  189Z 

Wreck,  The Charles  Godfrey Dec  Z890 

Wrecker,  The Daventry  and  Howard                      .  Mar.  Z890 

wrong  Village,  The J.  Le  Fre Jan.  Z891 

Te  Olden  Time;  or,  London  in  the  XV. 

Oentury E.  Colona,  etc Feb.  Z890 

Tes Florrie  Moore  ft  Co Aug.  189Z 

TorkShire  Lad,  The a.  George  and  Ruby  Lee  .       .       •  Dec  Z89Z 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


267 


PRODUCTIONS  IN  PARIS  DURING  1891. 


L'AJM  Vlnoent.    Com.,  X  A.      .    Grenet  Dancourt  .    Odeon     . 

L'AUette.    Com.,  X  A.  .    Maurice  Ordonneau   .       .       .    Menus-Plaisirs 

AJoe.te.    Ver.i.Dr..5A.    .       •  {^^SidJeG^i^i """•."' ^"l} «<'*'»    • 

yte  Raymonde  &  Maxime  j  F^angais 


I'Aml  de  la  liaison.  Com.,  3  a.  {  "£,uciieron 

AmonreOBe.    Com.,  3  A.     .       .    Georges  de  Porto  Riche 

TAim^e  Ptanco-Busaa.    Revue.  |  ^m.  Milher  and  Numes 
3  A. / 

Antonio,  Pto  et  Hla.    Vaud.,1  ^t^^  Barr^       .       . 

3  A / 

L* Article  281.    Com.,  3  A.  .       .    Paul  Ferrier 
rAnbergadeslIaiinlm.  D«-.»\EmUeMoreau    .      . 

^dilH  Aff  *?  "•*  "^}  Albin  Valabr^e       . 
Bon  Ami,  Un.    Com.,  x  A.  .       .    Adolphe  Aderer  . 
Bonhenr  k  Qoatro.    Com.,  3  A.    Leon  Gandillot    . 
Brelan  de  Dootenra.  Vdlle.,  x  A.    Paul  D'lvoy 


Od^on 
Quny 

Th^tre  Quny 
Franks 
Ambigu  . 

Gaiet^     . 

Vaudeville 
Vaudeville 
D^jazet  . 

ChAtelet 


*'¥^,'?S?Wiit.S^..5l!}H.  Blanchard  and  J.  M.UU„ 

(Arr.  by  Barrique  de  F< 
tainieu;  mus.  by  Charles 
Sivry ) 

CkOller  de  Bapllln,  Le.    Pant.,  j  CatuUe  Mendis ;  mus.  by  Gabriel  \  j^ouveau  Thifttre 

Ownpire'aumerL    Comic  Op.,  J  B^and^^u^Caval^^^ 

date  d'ATlU.    Versical  Com.,\Aueu8te  Dochai:  mus.  by  Ch.\rwi^- 
4A. /    M.Widor.        .       .       .       .|Od«k)n     .       .       . 

00Q.Le.    Operetta.3A.      .       .{^•^fl^tvimr  R?^'""?^^^  • 

OoaUseesdePa]lB,Le8.  Revue, )  Froyez,  Oudot  Duret  and  '^  l  Nouveautis 
3  A )     Gorsse /  '        * 

Crime  d'nne  ]lk«,  U.    P»ece,J.^  gyg^j^^j^j^Qy^^j^g^^bert    Chateau  d'Eau 

^'?mf  x^A!*7^T^°*?^;}^*'"^*°'^^^y^"*       •       •       •    Vaudeville     .       . 

•rw«M<UiiAii«  4«  ■n<^i.i^i%#».A  T  «   C  Maurice  Desvalli^res  &  Antony  ) 

DMMteelle^dn  TelepHone,  La.  J     ^ars;  mus.  by  Gaston  Scr-  [Nouveaut<§s   .       . 

DentlEte,  S.  ft  J.,  Le.  Com.,  x  A.    Emile  Seurat       ....    Palais-Royal  . 
Deuz  Ans  Apr^    Com.,  x  A.    .    Andr^  Raibaud   ....    Ambigu  . 
Donx    OamUles,    Lee.       Com.  \  Eugene    M^ina    and    Henri  \  |^,._.. 
Vdllcn A.  .       .       .       .       ./    Q)urdier |L»eja2et  .       .       . 

DenxOonttesdTan.  Op.,  x  A.{P»jSlu^^r'' r*|'^^**''!}MenusPi^    . 

mva  en  Tonrn^e,  La.    Com.,^  Q^^yuot       ^      ^      ^ 

lA. f 

DlTOroe  k  I'AlmaUe,  Un.  Com., )  Stephen  Lemonnier    . 

^^^^xaP^^   ^'    ^"''.JMillanoogeandCressonnois 

I)nmeen01i^ 

LTntreadl.    Optta.,  x  A.     .       .    Georges  Villain  . 

Ptanllle  Venus,  La.   Op.  Vdllc,  \  Clairville  and  B^nidik ;  mus.  by  \  Renaissance 

3  A /    L^on  Vasscur  .       .       .       .  /  *^«^"*»'»«»«"^«5  • 

Femme,  La.    Com.,  3  A.     .       .    Albln  Valabr^gue  .    Vaudeville 

FUle  de  PancllonlaVlelleuse,lLiorat,  Busnach  and  Fonteny;!  p^y     u^^j 

La.    Com.  Op.,  4  A.  .       .       ./    mus.  by  Louis  Vamey    .       ,j«r""co  *yi*uu«uHuc» 


Vaudeville     . 

Varia^s.       .       . 

Od6on     . 

Historique     . 
Bouffes  Parisiens . 


April  13 
March  28 

March  98 
Oct.  3 
April  35 
Nov.  ao 

March? 
July  XX 
Dec.4 
June  x9 

April  ao 
March  35 
Nov.  5 

March  3 

MayxS 

Nov.  3 
Sept.  x8 
March  la 
Oct.  30 
Jan.  a6 
Nov.  7 
May  X4 

Maya 

Nov.  30 
May  30 

Junes 
May  XX 
March  35 
June  7 
Sept.  X 

March  a8 
April  x6 
Maya 
June  xa 
Ncg.k 


268 


Productions  in  Paris. 


a«l  Nomiaild.  Vn.    Optt«.,iA.{A™JJ^V<&T;mu8.byCh«rles 


Orililidll.    VersiPlay 

Hadda  CMflcr.    IbMn's  Dnumu 
4  A. 


I.    Dr.,  4  A.         .       . 

L'HerlMCttr.   Com.,  3  A.    . 
Htoti«nQllltflULrd,L0l.    Com 
VdUe..  3  A 

L'HoMl  Oodalot    Com.,  3  A. 
Lldole.    Dr.,  4  A. 

nrnperatrtM  FteitliM.    Dr. 

SA. 


Llnfld^    Versi.  Com.,  I  A. 

JaaniM  a'Aro.    Spec.  Dr.,  5  a. 
JObATdl,  Les.    Com.,  3  A.  . 

JplM  da  la  PatanlO,  Lai. 

Fare.  Com.,  3  A. . 

luanlta.  Com.Op.,3A.   . 
Jnmaaiix  d'Acatba.  Las.  Com. 

I  A 


JnitlaaIiifoinna,La.  Com.,  xA. 
Llllaiia.  Com.,  3  A.    . 


Com.,  3  A. 
MadamalaMar^dHala.  Pi.,  3  A 

lladamotaalla  Aimod^.  Optta., 
3A. 


lUtraaaa,  da  Lamuaa.  Vna. 

Com.  VdlIe.,3A.        .       . 

M^twftllA  ^iwipitfi^    Melodr. 

5  A 

llar^dial-Farrant,  La.    Piece, 

sA.      .      .     ?     .      .      ' 

Karlaga  Blano.   Dr.,  3  A. . 

Karlonnattaa  da  I'Aim^  Laa. 

Revue,  3  A.,  za  Sc.     . 

]l6daclndaBFoUas,La.   Piece. 
5  A.       .        .       .  •    .        . 

M^gto  ApprlYOls^,  La.  Com. 

4  A.    (Taming  of  the.Shrew) 
Mar,  La.    Piece,  3  A.    . 

Mltron,  La.    Vdlle.  Optta.  . 

Hon  Onola  Barbaiaon.    Fan- 
tastic Qom.,  4  A. 

MoniiatirrAbl)^.    Com.,  3  a. 


/  AnnaDd  Silvestre  and  EoWnie 
I     Morand 

I  Translated  by  M.Frozor  .       .    Vaudeville 

r-lsS^V   ""^  !»'  ^'"*}v.adeviUe 

PaulHarel Od6on     . 

|GastonMarot      ....    Vari^t^. 

iVictorien   Sardoa  and    Henri )»       , 

t     Crisafulli ^Renaissance 


/Henri  Crisafulli  and  Leopold 
\    SUpleaux  *^ 


IComte  Stanislaus  de  Rzewuski 

/De  Porto-Riche:  mus.  by  F. 
\  Thom^  ..... 
/Joseph  Fabre;  mus.  by  Ben- 
\  jaminGodard  .  .  .  , 
A.  Guinon  and  H.  Denier 

} 
{ 


Alexandre    Biason    and    Vast 
Ricouard  . 


j-  Menus-Plaiairs      .  Nov.  •% 

Vaudeville     .       .  July  xo 

Vaudeville     .       .  June  9 

|ThatreFnn9ais.  May 


|Ambigu  . 

Porte  St.  Martin 

}VaudeviUe     . 

\chAtelet. 

Vaudeville     . 
I  Palais-Royal  . 

|Folies-Dnunatiques  April 

Dtfjazet  . 


Lib.  by  A.  Vanloo  ft  Leterrier 
mus.  by  Franx  Supp^ 

j- Gaston  Desolesse 

Michel  Carrd  Fils  ft  H.  Remond    Nouveaut^s 
^FeUde„^au»p«ur  ft  "opold  Jy.„j^^„, 

Julien  Berr  de  Turrique    .       .    Gymnase 

Alphonse  Lemonnier .       .       .    Ambigu  . 

I  Paul  Ferrier  and  Charles  Clair-  \ 

\     ^'*1%V.  "^"■•„^-^  ^^  Laicome  V  Renaissance  . 
(     and  Victor  Roger    .  .j 

I  Crisafulli  and  Carcenac     .       .  Menus-PIaisirs 

}  Francois  Oswald        .       .       .  Ambigu  . 

|HenriDemesse  ....  CluUeaud'Eaa 

Jules  LemAitre    ....  Fran9ai5 

I  Charles  OairviUe       .  .  Renaissance. 


Dec  17 

Sept.  15 
Sept.  19 
June  33 

Jan.  19 

June  30 

March  13 

March  «s 

Jan.s7 
Nov.  5 
Feb.  93 

4 

Junes 

March  12 

Feb.  34 

Sept.3 
Julys 

Nov.  «4 

Feb.  6 
Oct.  83 
Dec3 
Mardiao 
Sept.  19 

Sept.x8 


}■  X.  de  Montekin  ft  Jules  Domay    Ambigu  . 

)  Drawn  from   Shakespeare,  hy\  n     ^j-    r* 

}     Paul  Delair  .       .       .  /  Com^e  Fran^aise  1  Nov.  19 

JeanJuUien        ....    Od^n     .       .       .    Sept.  30 
/Boucheron  and  Mars;  mus.  by)  r-  ,1      tn_ 
\    Andri  Martinet       .       .       .  /  Folies-Dramatiques  Sept.  S4 

|£milyBlavetandFabriceCarr6    Gymnase  .    Nov.  6 

{"Xlbi^"'"'.'"^.  ^.^^  f*^*}Pid*is  Royal  . 
Moniiatir  Joaaph.  Vdlle.,  z  A.  Alfred  Dehla  .  !  !  '.  Quny  .  . 
MOBOUa.    Play,  3  A.    .       .       .{^^o^S"P^»*°*  *>^<1"«»}  Gymnase        . 

^?S;.??J?^^-^^^.^:}GrenetDan<;ourt*       \  \    Menus-Plalsirs 

Korall  la  Domptanae.    Vdlle.,\Grenet  Dancourt  and  Georeesl  i^t 
3  A. /     Bertal        ....         j-Nouveaut^   . 

L'(EUd'Adll6mar.    Com.,  xA.  .    H.  Gourdier        .  *    D^jjuet  . 

L'Onola  Oaiaattn.  Optta.-bouffe,  \Ordonncau  and  Henri  K6roul : )  ^  ™  .  / 

3  A. /    mus.  by  Edmond  Audnan      '  r  Menus-PUisirs 

^^l^^^trV^"     .•    VjSly^ndMock    ....    Folies-Dnunatiques  Jan. ., 

Pans  Port  da  Mar.    Revue,  3  a.    Blondeau  and  Monrial       .        .    Vari^t^s.     ^      .    Mf^  6 

Digitized  by  VjO'OQTc 


Nov.  z8 
Sept.  14 
MaxTh4 

Feb.  x8 

Oct.3x 
June  x5 
Mardia4 


Productions  in  Paris.  269 


Passtonn^mdllt.    Com.,  4  A.      .    Albert  Delpit      ....    Odcon     .  .  March  3 

Petit  F^QStk  Le    ....    Re-written Porte  St.  Martin  .  May  16 

(Michel    Carr6  fils  and    Henri) 

Petit  SaTOyardf  La.    Fknt.        A     Kemond;    mus.    by    Andre  >Noaveaut^s   .  .  March  zo 

I    Gedalge    .       .       .       .       .j 

Petite    Ponoette,    La.     VdllcVOrdonneau    and    Hennequin  ; )  ^ ._  .|__^„_  »f««.ii  r 

Optta.,  5  A. .       .       .       .       .  /    mus.  by  Raoul  Pugno    .       .  \  R«n«»»ance  .  .  March  5 

Pierrot  BumriB.    BaUet,iA.    .^Mg8oimeuve;mua.byAdolpheJ^^^  P^^,  ^^ 

Plno^    C6m.»3A.      .  .    Albert  MiUaud    ....    Vari^t^.  .  Nov.  17 

'wfe!^  ThomaMlll,     La-^MauriceOrdonneau  .       .       .    Foliea-Dramatiques  June  . 

PrtX  (to  Beant^.  *  Fare.   Com.,' JA^drt.^Raibaud   and  Georges  J^^^.^  .  May  30 

Proote-VeitMa.    VdUe.       .       .'    Albert  Barr^        ....    Cluny     .       .  .  Sept.  14 

(Founded   on   Zola*s  story    by) 

Kere,  Le.    Lyr.  Dr.      .       .       .1     Louis  Gallet;  mus.  by  Alfred  VOp^raComique  .  June  18 

Be»-d»-0hang8^,  Le.  Com.,  i  A.    Berr  de  Turrique        .  .    Fran^ais  .  May  99 

BalnteBlUBto.    PUy.jA.         .{^^fS5i^'S^ij„^?.-"^\°*"*:}Histori^^       .  .  Jan.30 

8<mwt Homme yarto.    Versij^ugusteFacquerie     .       .       .    Fran^ais.       .  .  Julyax 

T^atlon  de  8t  AntOlne,  La.|Jaine  and  Duval;  mus.  by  M.  jg^^^  ^^^^^ 

Thennidoir.    Drama,  4  A.   .       .    Victorien  Sardou        .  .    Fran^ais  .  Jan.  34 

Tout  Paris.    Spec  Piece    .       .    Georges  Duval:  mus.  by  Gaune    Chatelet.  .  June  x6 

Veita  de  Motte,  La.    VdUe.,| Maurice^ O^omjeju,  mus.  byj^ouve^ut^i    .  .  Dec.  ,4 

^!fA?  *!  *^.^"*?'    ^"-^Alex.  Dumas,  fils        .       .       .    Fhm9ais.       .  .  April  xx 

VoyageadaaaParla.  Spec.,  5  A.    Ernest  Blum  and  Raoul  Toch^.    Porte  St.  Martin  .  Nov.  ax 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


270 


ENGLISH  PLAYS  ON  THE  CONTINENT. 

Before  1885  no  English  playwrights,  except  Shakespeare, 
Sheridan,  and  Lytton,  had  access  to  the  Continental  boards. 

The  English  drama,  which  was  then  just  emerging  from  a 
period  of  decay,  was  regarded  with  contempt  by  Continental 
managers  and  critics.  "  Modem  English  plays  !  pouh — a  !  "  That 
was  the  opinion  in  Holland,  in  Belgium,  in  France,  in  Germany, 
in  the  North,  from  people  connected  with  the  stage  and  people 
who  had  been  in  London  for  a  holiday  trip. 

And  when  I  tried  to  set  up  a  meek  defence — for  England  was 
then  a  terra  incognita  to  me — I  was  promptly  shut  up  with  a 
snub  :  "  You  had  better  wait  and  see  ;  we  tell  you,  in  England  they 
have  got  no  drama  and  no  actors,  and  to  show  you  how  right  we 
are,  they  have  not  even  the  pluck  to  print  their  so-called  plays 
when  they  are  produced  in  London." 

That  settled  me.     I  did  wait  till  the  time  came — in  1885. 

In  the  beginning — I  will  honestly  confess  it — I  felt  inclined 
to  believe  that  the  scoffers  were  not  so  very  wrong.  I  went  to 
the  Lyceum,  saw  Shakespeare  acted  by  Mary  Anderson's  company, 
and  could  not  help  thinking  that  Shakespeare  is  better  understood 
and  acted  at  the  Royal  Dutch  Comedy  in  Amsterdam  or  the 
Grand  Ducal  Theatre  in  Weimar  than  it  was  in  the  first  theatre 
of  the  English-speaking  world. 

But  I  pronounced  no  opinion  in  the  foreign  press.  I  persevered 
in  visiting  the  theatre,  in  making  myself  familiar  with  the  history 
of  the  London  stage  from  1850  up  to  date.  The  earlier  history 
of  the  English  drama  I  had  studied  at  home. 

This  work  cost  me  nearly  three  years'  incessant  study,  reading, 
play-going.  But  at  the  end  of  that  period  I  felt  equal  to  speaking 
with  authority  on  the  subject  and  to  taking  up  the  gauntlet  for  the 
much-maligned  and  hastily  condemned  "  British  drama." 

In  the  end  of  1887,  at  the  bidding  of  the  editor  of  the  Dutch 
Art  Chronicle  in  Rotterdam,  I  began  a  brief"  History  of  the  Modem 
English  Stage,"  which  I  continued  week  after  week  until  it  was 
completed  in  March,  i888.  This  essay — for  I  claim  no  more 
pretentious  title  for  it — seemed  to  awake  some  interest  in  Holland 


English  Plays  on  the  Continent.  271 

and  Belgium.  I  got  many  letters  on  the  subject  from  literary 
men  and  theatrical  managers,  whose  curiosity  to  become  acquainted 
with  some  of  the  plays  named  was  tickled ;  several  teachers  of 
English  literature  in  Holland  asked  me  to  allow  the  use  of  my 
essays  for  their  lessons ;  and,  finally,  I  reprinted  the  whole  of  the 
study  in  a  book  about  London  published  at  Amsterdam  in  1888. 

Shortly  after,  the  manager  of  a  Dutch  company,  who  was 
a  friend  of  mine,  invited  me  to  call  his  attention  to  any  good 
English  plays  I  might  see,  as  he  would  feel  inclined  to  produce 
them  and  help  me  in  my  efforts  to  convince  Continental  play- 
goers "  that  there  was  such  a  thing  as  a  modem  English  drama." 

I  set  at  once  to  work ;  but  before  making  any  definite  proposals 
I  addressed  a  letter  to  all  Dutch  companies  asking  them  whether 
they  would  be  prepared  to  offer  a  percentage  to  English  authors, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Holland  had  not  joined  the  Berne 
Convention,  and  that  foreign  dramatists  were  unprotected  in  that 
country. 

I  added  one  stipulation  :  I  asked  the  companies  to  pledge 
themselves  in  accepting  my  services  not  to  employ  any  other 
intermediary ;  this  I  did  to  put  an  end  to  the  manipulations  of 
unscrupulous  agents,  who  had,  for  instance,  sold  in  Holland  a 
German  perversion  of  The  Magistrate^  without  Mr.  Pinero's  consent 
and  without  offering  him  a  percentage. 

After  an  enormous  correspondence  and  several  journeys,  I 
succeeded  in  opening  the  Dutch  and  Belgian  theatres,  some  of 
the  leading  playhouses  in  Germany,  even  the  Svenska  Theatre 
in  Helsing^ors,  to  the  British  dramatist.  France,  unfortunately, 
remains  still  recalcitrant,  although  Pierre  Berton,  who,  at  my 
request,  translated  The  Middleman,  hopes  that  1892  may  see  its 
production  at  a  leading  house  in  Paris. 

I  am  happy  to  say  that  other  pioneers  are  actively  working  in 
the  same  direction  as  myself.  Mr.  Sylvain  Mayer  has  arranged 
the  production  of  several  of  Mr.  Pinero's  and  Mr.  Jones's  plays  in 
Germany  and  Austria,  Mr.  H.  L.  Brackstad  has  brought  The 
Middleman  to  Scandinavia,  and  Mr.  Pitro  has  exported  one  or  two 
melodramas  to  the  suburbs  of  Vienna.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
sooner  or  later  a  "  bureau  "  may  be  established  in  London  from 
which  all  Continental  business  may  be  conducted. 

In  Holland  and  Belgium  I  have  the  field  to  myself,  but  in 
Germany  and  Austria  Mr.  Sylvain  Mayer  and  I  are  practically, 
though  not  intentionally,  vying  with  each  other,  because  we 
have  to  work  upon  the  same  ground  with  competing  material. 
If  means  could  be  found  to  bring  about  a  fusion  between  all  the 


2/2 


English  Plays  on  the  Continent, 


intermediaries,  I  feel  convinced  that  the  result  would  show  a 
much  quicker  and  more  effective  propagation  of  the  British 
drama  in  the  two  great  central  European  countries,  than  has 
been  possible  until  now. 

It  is  sometimes  in  print  asked,  How  do  I  reconcile  my  position 
of  dramatic  critic  with  my  activity  as  an  intermediary  ?  The 
answer  is  simple  :  I  never  recommend  a  play  to  a  foreign  manager 
unless  I  feel  convinced  that  I  can  honestly  do  so ;  on  the  other 
hand,  if  a  manager  asks  me  for  a  play,  however  unfavourably  I 
may  personally  think  of  it,  I  never  decline  to  approach  the  author 
and  to  negotiate  the  transaction,  although  I  decline  to  accept  in 
this  case  any  reward  for  my  trouble.  For  my  mission  is  simply 
one  of  protection  and  propaganda.  I  have  succeeded  in  defending 
the  rights  of  our  dramatists  in  countries  where  they  are  unpro- 
tected. I  have  through  my  humble  efforts  opened  the  Continental 
stage  to  modern  English  plays,  and  the  work  of  every  author, 
whether  I  consider  it  to  be  artistic  or  not,  is  to  my  mind  entitled 
to  the  same  fair  treatment  at  my  hands. 


ENQLI8H  PLAYS  PRODUCED  ON  THE  CONTINENT 

Through  the  tntermediation  of  J.  T,  QREIN. 


The  Daadiiff  CUrl 
Der  HongertlLiimi 


Little  Lord  F^nntleroy 

Eastlynne 

The  Middleman 


189L 

H.  A.  Jones     .... 
Gustav   Kadelburg's  adapU> 
Hon  of  Judah 


Coleman  and  Shute 


Royal  Dutch  Comedy,  Amsterdam. 

Thalia  Theatre,  Hamburg. 

Deutsche  Theatre,  Berlin  (and 
accepted  for  production  in  twelve 
principal  German  cities). 

Municipal  Theatre,  Antwerp. 

Grand  Theatre,  Amsterdam. 

Svenska  Theatre,  Helsingfivs. 


And  the  production  of  the  following  plays  has  been  arranged  for  by  contract  daring 


1892  and  1893  :— 


Woodharrow  Farm . 
The  Marquesa  . 
The  Prince  and  the  Pauper 
Wealth      .... 
Sister  Mary      ... 
The  Middlemaa 


Grand  Theatre,  Amsterdam. 


Royal  Dutch  Comedy,  Amsterdam, 


The  Pharisee 


J.  K.  Jerome     . 

John  Uniacke    . 

Mrs.  Beringer  . 

H.A.Jones      ....„„  ,.  ,. 

W.  Barrett  and  Clement  Scott    Tlvoli  Theatre,  Rotterdam. 

H.  A.  Jones       ....    Adapted  by  P.  Berton,  and  to  be 

produced  in  Paris. 
Malcolm   Watson     and    Mrs.    Adapted  by  Gustav  Kaddbmi^ 
Lancaster  Wallis  and  to  be  produced  in  Hamburg. 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


273 


ENQLI8H  {AND  A  FEW  OTHER)  PLAYS,  etc.,  PRODUCED 
IN  NEW  YORK.  etc..  IN  1891. 


OardiiuaBlii.A 

dgale  et  La  Fonnnl,  La 

COeopatra 

Omild'BlfoiMiigMr      .      .      .      . 
Dame  de  ahallaat,  La  .... 

Dandng  CMrl,  The 

Don  Juan;  or,  Tlio  Bad  AdTintiim 

ofaToatb 

DnamFaoM 

Brtlior  Saadrai 

Fenn^ 

Fonr-liCSOd  Fortano,  A 


French . 

Rider  Haggard  . 
A.  C.  Calmour  . 
Giuseppe  Giaoosa 
H.  A.  Jones . 


Sept.   7 
Jan.  zx 
March  a 
Oct  a8 
Dec  3 
Aug.  31 


Gay  DeoolTer,  A    . 
Onldo  Forrantt 
HteF^thor 
HnatMuUU  and  WlTM  . 

Jane 

John  Needluun'8  DonUle 
LaToeoa  .... 
Ladles' BatUe,Tlie 
LadyBarler    . 
LadyBonntUtal 
Love  and  War. 
Mr.  WlUdneon's  Widows 
Nanoe  Oldfldld 
Nerves      .... 
Nishi'sFroile.A    .     . 
mohe       .... 
Pbarlsee,  The . 
Pleire  the  Prodigal 
Pillars  of  SoeletF,  The . 
Sailor's  Snot,  A     .      . 
SU^er  Shield,  The.      . 
Slsterllary    •      •      . 
SoUdtor,  The  . 
Sunlight  and  Shadow  . 
Ttiermldor 
Untiles  and  Annts  . 
Viper  on  the  Hearth,  The 
Wealth     .... 
Yorkshire  Lass,  A . 


Richard  Mansfield 

Wynn  Miller 

SydneyGrundy  .#•.... 

Jerome  K.  Jerome 

Revised  Version  of  Wilson  Barrett's  Norn- 
tuUtys        .......a 

Charies  T.  Vincent 

Oscar  Wilde 

Ed.  Rose  and  John  Douglass    .... 

B.  F.  Roeder 

Harry  NichoUs  and  W.  Lestocq 

Joseph  Hatton 

(French) 

T.W.Robertson 

Charles  Coghlan 

A.  W.  Pinero 

C.  Haddon  Chambers  .  '  .  .  *  . 
W.H.  Gillette  (/VN7V>w/iii#/).       .       . 

Charles  Reade 

J.  ComynsCarr 

Franz  Reinau  and  others 

Harry  and  Edward  Panlton  .... 
Blalcohn  Watson  and  Mrs.  Lancaster  Wallis . 
A.  Daly's  version  of  V Enfant  Prodigu* . 

H.Ibsen 

Henry  Pettitt 

Sydney  Grundy 

Qement  Scott  and  ^^ison  Barrett  . 

J.H.Damley 

R.CCarton 

Victorien  Sardou 

W.  Lestocq  and  Walter  Everard      . 

J.  M.  Campbell 

H.  A.  Jones 

Wilton  Jones 


May  i8 
April  37 
Jan.  8 
May  I 

Feb.  a3 
Nov.  S9 
Jan.  a6 
Jan.  Z8 
Feb.  x6 
Aug.  3 
Feb.  4 
Feb.  5 
April  i6 
Jan.  a 
Nov.  x6 
'March   9 
March  93 
May  4 
Jan.  19 
Feb.  x6 
May  zz 
March  16 
March  9 
March  6 
Nov.  30 
Jan.  6 
March  zz 
Sept.  8 
Feb.  3 
Oct.  s 
May  38 
Jan.  96 
March  9 
Oct.  5 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 
18 


274 


NOTABLE  PRODUCTIONS  IN  AUSTRALIA  UP  TO  THE 
END  OF  NOVEMBER.  1891. 


ImlMMMdor,  Th« 

'^iTht  Dum'a  Daughtn) 

BMk  fimn  the  GntTt 
BtlliofHulMiMre    . 
Blafik  Flat,  TlM  . 
BrldcetO'Brtin.lMi.- 
Biitl«r,  TlM  . 
(Ml«lmtMOaM,A    . 
dndtr-EUm,  Ut»  Too  Lato 
Oolonol,Tlit . 
Oomimdoi 
Oonalr,  Tlio  . 
Oonntj  FUr,  Tlio 
Danolnf  CBrl,  Tlio 
DotU  OarMfoot  . 

DOTOtlOll 

Dr.  BUI   .      .      .      . 


BTugtUno    . 
Flylnff  from  Jmtlot  . 
FOrtiiiitofWar,Tlio  . 
OOldenLaddor.Tlio    . 
Ckmdoliari,  Tlio  . 
BarTOffe  • 
Horooi ;  or,  Tlio  Whito  FMitliir 
Hmioat  Haarta  ana  WlUlnff 


BCelbourki. 

^ 

Theatre  Boyal  .  May  9 

Alexandra  .  Jam.  34 

Bijou  .  Maya 

Princeaa's  .  Aug.  sa 


Garrick 


Sydney. 

.    Sept.  5 


Opera  House . 

Opera  House  . 

Royal 

Bijou 

Bijou        .       . 

B^ou 

Opera  House  . 

Theatre  Royal 


Hook  ana  B70 
Idler,  Tho 
Jane 


JUtThe       ... 

KliidredSoiili 

Late  Lamented,  The  . 

Led  Aftray  . 

Little  Black-eyed  Bnaan 

Little  Widow,  The      . 

London  Day  Hy  Day  . 

Kaiter  anA  Ibui  • 

Merry  Wlvea  of  Wlndaor 

viviQ)  ... 
Middleman,  The  . 
Minora'  BUtht,  The  . 
ModemWlvea  .  , 
NewBnBh,The  .  . 
01danajd,The  .  . 
Oar  Flat. 

Falrof8peota01ea,A 
Fanllne  Blandiard 
Peril  (known  here  formerly 

FrmuU) 

Poor  Jonathan 
Potter  of  Tezaa   . 
Profligate.  The 


(re. 


)  Opera  House  . 

(Benefit  Maiinit) 
Bijou        .       . 
Bijou 
Alexandra 

Opera  House  . 
Princess's 


)  Theatre  Royal 

Theatre  Royal 

Alexandra 

BUou 

Theatre  Royal 

Princess's 

Princess's 

Bijou 

I  Bijou 

Opera  House 

BUou 


Oct.  3 
July  XX 
July  25 
March  7 
Aug.  as 
Jan. xo 
April  17 

March7 


Aug.  x5 

Aprils 
May 
Septs 
July  x8 

March  7 
Sept.  X9 


Theatre  Royal 

Garrick    .       . 

Her  Migesty's 
Theatre  Royal 
Criterion 
Criterion . 
Theatre  Royal 
Her  Miyesty's 
Her  Mi^esty's 

Criterion  . 

Criterion  . 
Theatre  Royal 

Theatre  Royal 
Theatre  Royal 
Criterion  . 
Garrick     .       . 
Her  Mi^sty's 


Garrick    . 
Criterion 

Criterion 


Sept.  X9 

Feb.  ax 
Feb.  X4 
Oct.  xo 
Mays 
April  XX 
Oct.  3 
Oct  3 

July  31 

June  4 

June  XX 


Criterion . 
Garrick    . 
(Warrick     . 
Theatre  Royal 
Theatre  Royal 


(Warrick    .       . 

Criterion . 

Theatre  Royal 
(Sarrick    . 

Theatre  Royal 
Criterion  . 


May  9 

MardiaS 

Septig 
OcLs 
April  18 
Jan.  19 
Nov.  14 
June  6 
Oct.  17 

Sept.  5 

June«o 
Julys 

Mait:ht8 

Jan.  XO 
Julyao 
Aug.  I 


Jan.  99 
May  23 

Feb.  14 


Sept.  19 
April  35 

Nov.  91 

April  t8 
Feb.  98 


Jan.  xo 

April  95 

Aug.  xo 
June  97 

July  x5 
Sept.x9 


Garrick    . 
Garrick    . 

Jigitized  by 


.    Oct.3 


Notable  Productions  in  Australia. 


275 


MlLBOURNK 

Sydney. 

Prompter's  Story,  Tbe 

Theatre  Royal 

.    Sept.s 

BoblMry  under  Amu 

Royal 

.    Oct.3x 

BnnWUd      .... 

Opera  House  . 

.    June  38 

Garrick    .       . 

.    Nov.  7 

BuyBlaB      .... 

Princess's 

.    June  a8 

Theatre  Royal 

.    Sept.  X4 

SOhoolmlstreBi,  The  . 

.    Bijou.       .       . 

.    April  x8 

Criterion . 

.    March  38 

8oout,Tlie    .... 

Alexandra 

.    May9 

SimllglituidBluulow 

Criterion . 

.    Oct.  7 

Sumy  Soutli,  Tlie 

Theatre  Royal 

.    April  27 

Garrick    .       . 

.    Oct.  xo 

Snneet 

Garrick     . 

.    Aug.  25 

This  Great  Glty   .     .      . 

Alexandra 

.    Nov.  ax 

Transported  for  Life  . 

Theatre  Royal 

.    April  18 

Trapper,  The 

Alexandra 

.    June  90 

TwoWldkedllalds    .      . 

Opera  House  . 

.    March  14 

Union  Jack 

Theatre  Royal 

.    March  25 

Village  Priest^  A.      .      .      . 

Garrick     .       . 

.    Sept.x9 

Wages  of  Bin,  The 

Alexandra 

.    April  x8 

WeTwo.      .... 

Theatre  Royal 

.    Aug.  8 

WoodbarrowFarm    . 

.    Theatre  Royal 

.    Aug.  8 

Her  Majesty's 

.    Oct.  3 

Workman,  The 

.    Alexandra 

.    Jan.  xo 

PLAYS  IN  WHICH  MADAME  SARAH  BERNHARDT  APPEARED  IN  AUSTRALIA. 

Melbourne  :  Oamille,  May  30 ;  La  Tosca,  June  x ;  Fedora,  June  2 ;  COeopatra,  June  8 ; 
Adrlenne  LeoonTrenr,  June  xs;  Ftou-FTon,  June  x6;  Jeanne  d'Arc,  June  X7;  Theodora, 
June  22.    Afterwards  appeared  in  the  most  famous  characters  in  her  repertoire  in  Sydney. 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


277 


INDEX 


A. 

Abbott,  Annie,  ai8 

Abbott.  Emma,  5 

Abingdon,  W.  L.,  X09,  xi8, 155, 194,  904»  s>5»  033, 

AcrobaL  Ths,  86,  948 
Actor-Managers  and  Aathors,  171 
Actors' Association,  55,  341  • 
Actors'  Benevolent  Fund,  xoo,  135 
Adair,  Beatrice,  43 
Adams,  W.  Davenport;  197 
Addison,  Carlotta,  93, 937,  347-9 
Adelphi,  93,  xoo,  133,  157, 353 
Adve,  Oscar,  41,  3x8, 349 
A/hr  Dark,  3x4,  357 
Aickin,  Elinor,  199,  330 


Alberton,  J.  R.,  195 
Aldin,  Charles  A.,  164 


Alexander,  George,  17,  3a,  39,  xso-x,  x88,  3x3, 339, 

.  a46,357<8 

Alhambra,  56, 139,  ax8, 335 

Alias,  35,  139,335^ 

Alison,  George,  169. 353 

All  About  a  Bonntt,Q» 

All  ths  Comforts  of  Homt,  17, 344 

Allan,  Charles,  xtt,  343,  353 

AUmt  in  Lonaon,  335 

Amadi,  Madame,  35,  906,  345,  356 

Ambient,  Mark,  94 

AmtricoH,  Th«,  185,  ax7»  3a8,  354 

Ames,  Percy,  333 

Ami  Frita,  L',  141 

Annandale,  R.,  37 

Anouymoua  Lstttr,  Tht,  94 

AnMH.  Marv,  xx,  x8,  59, 113,  x49>  936,  344f  «57 

Antony  and  CUopatra,  3x8 
Archer,  Charles,  30-6 
Archer,  J.,  3^3-5,  350 
Archer.  William,  $3, 347,  350 
Arcueil,  Jeans,  60,  348 
Armbmster,  Violet,  104,  ao3,  349,  355 
Arnold,  Charles,  334 

Arrah-na'Pog$4St26g,  9S3 

••  Art  of  ActinfiN  The."  315 

Arthur,  Miss  (Mrs.  Howard  Ptiul),  304 

Article,  £.'7.  xii 

As  You  Ltkt  IL  X33,  3IO,  330 

Ascher,  Mrs.  Gordon,  89 

Ashford,  Charles,  171, 353 

Ashford,  Harry,  315 

Ash  well,  Lena,  68,  338,  358 

Atherley,  F.,  336,  948,  357 

Atherton,  Alice,  78, 113, 137,  334,  350 

Atwood,  Roland,  X47,  318 

Auld  Lang  Syng.  X33 

Aunt  Agatha's  Doctor,  93 

Aunt  Cnarlotte's  Maui,  137 

Aunt  Jack,  319,  335,  356 

Austin,  H.,  5x,  79 

Aveling,  Eleanor  Marx,  X03, 349 

Avenue,  96,  43-4,  60,  xx8,  X3x,  148, 165, 178,  906, 

33X,  34<-8,  351.3.6 
Avocat,  lulie,  179 

ylwara,  Netta,  337 

ynesworth,  E.  A.,  54,  347.9,  956 
Ayrian,  Phyllis,  145,  351 


Ayrtoun.  Margaret,  343 
Aysom,  Mr.,  346 


«S8 


B. 

Baby,  Ths^  75 

Back  in  Five  Miptutsa,  33,  89 

Baddeley  Cake,  7 

Bade,  Eugenie,  69 

Baily,  Harrington,  144 

Baines,  Miss,  133,  351 

Baird,  S;^bil,  X67, 353 

Baken  CtaX,  43 

Ball,  Lewis,  187,  X99,  930 

Ballad-Monger,  The,  5 

Banister,  Efla,  xx,  xox,  xx3, 336,  343, 

Bantock,  Charles,  x6,  51 

Barker,  J.  F.,  333 

Bam  at  Beecles,  The,  330 

Bamett,  Orlando.  156,  335 

Bamum,  P.  T^  Death  of,  343 

Barradough,  S.,  8,  33,  78,  89,  X37,  333,  350 

BarradellfXaura,  904 

Barrett,  Charles  F.,  xso 

Barrett,  George,  5, 3i,  3X1  So-9»  A  88, 1$$,  344-6-9 

Barrett,  Lawrence,  57 

Barrett,  Oscar,  147 

Barrett,  Wilson,  5,  ax,  31,  50.71  76, 86.8,  xox,  903, 

344-6-7-8 
Bard,  Horace,  X57 
Barrie,  J.  M.,  8x.  xx^  348 
Barrington,  Rutland,  140,  sis,  351 
Ban7,lielen,  x  16,350 
Bartlett,  J.  1.,  xx 
Barton,  Adah,  330 
Basoche,  The,  3x0,  334-^ 

«     »»         ^»    Cas»ia56 

Bateman,  Kate,  187, 354 

Batson,  Mr.,  343 

Bayardf,  Helen,  X44 

Bayne,  Ronald,  13  x 

BajHiton,  Henry,  33,  79 

Bealby.  Kate,  S9,  isS 

Beau  Austin,  5 

Beauchamp.  J.,  8.  33, 78,  X09, 135,  330,  350^ 

Beauty  and  the  Beast,  71,  197 

a'Becket,  Gilbert  Arthur,  X97 

Bedford,  Henry,  X55. 17X,  3x5, 930-3,  «35"8»  353-7 

Beere,  Mrs.  Bernard,  71  >  348 

Belding,  Henry,  X91,  33x,  355 

Bell,  Mrs.  Hugh,  53,  xx7 

Bell,  Lesley,  353 

Bell,  Malcolm,  X39 

BelU  Clarisse,  La,  50 

Bells  of  Fate,  315 

Bells,  The,  66.  X33, 174 

Belmore,  LiUie,  3x,  507,  88,  3xo»  338,  347-^,  356.8 

Belmore,  Paul,  344-6^ 

Belmore,  W.  L.,  346-9 

Bendall,  Wilfred,  333 

Ben-my-Chree,  50 

Bennett,  Mrs.,  X48, 156, 160-3,  9^9 

Bennett,  Venie,  X37,  350 

Benson,  F.  R.«  37»  946 

Beresford,  E.  H.,  X73 

Berinfrer,  Mrs.  Oscar,  »S»  M9  /^^  ^  ^ ^T ^ 

Beringer,  Vera,  x5   jigitized  by  VjOOQ  IC 

Berkeley,  Miss,  93  ^ 


278 


Index, 


Bemai^e,  George,  175 
P^rnurd,  Christine,  946 

BcamIc,  kl  I  am  belli,  TK^  109,  155,  aso 
Baaalr.  Mary,  71^,  lio 

9V«HdKO,  U,,  is9t  sia,  asa 

Bicyt^v,  A,  C.«  i|Q 


>  350 
,  107 


iiit^hf*lm»  f>f  f'*»ig*r9f  The, 
H I tih#i».  Alfred,  *'^^  '43 
lUiick,  Ketiiiethf  3i^,  jao 

liUf  kinuri  .  W,  t;.  35 

Hi.ik»'lt?y,  W,.  51.70,  9a,  no,  131,  aad,  348-9,  351-7 

llUtiialoti,  CUftrutCj  187,  199,  aoo,  ajo,  a54-5 

liiAiiditfi  AiJcij  i7i  »M 

HIi-ntitdTH,  ElM,  »6,  sa 

litomJ^  Ji,tuc?t  J.,  isj 

Hiytbc,  L  S,.  ^6,  u^r 

BoleVHt  R.  £ii  J4,  546 

Bond,  A  Clan  p  177,  143*  167,  axo,  3a4«  353 

Rjwi,  lt*5saie,  140,  nit,  851 

B(j"ud*  FrnJuricJist  jii 

IVirthwick,  Emilys,  134 

Bul/i  Sfdfs  tif  the  QtisstioH,  148 

lioLicicmukt  Di-m,  i6g,  iqi,  a49,  350-3-7 

H^-itildinic.  J.  W.p  339 

I'Mmxchier^  Anhnr^  ^70,  133,  313,  346-8, "357-8 

KiiwkeU,  bidiirry,  jii*  354 

Howne,  WillUin,  145 

Boyne,  Leonard,  100,  159,  353 

Brabner,  W.  Ay  187 

Bradley.  Mrs.  Campbell,  94 

Brand,  Kate,  144 

Brande,  Natalie,  ao6,  aa3,  856 

Brandon,  F.,  348 

Brandon,  OlpLf  100,  356 

Brand  ram.  Kosina,  185,  333 

Branscombe,  W.  L.,  337,  351 

Breach  of  Promise,  A.,  335 

Breeay  Morning,  A.,  339 

Brian,  Marie,  5,  <i 

Bridgman.  Cunningham,  333 

Brigata,  B.,  333 

Bright,  Eva,  89 

Bright,  Florence,  89 

Brighton,  3a6,  357 

Britannia.  i8x,  340 

Brodie,  Matthew,  11 

Broken  Sixpence,  A,  107 

Brooke,  Mrs.  E.,  xi8,  343,  350 

Brookfield,  C.  H.,  146,  aoi-a,  330,  353-5 

Brough,  Fanny,  19,  43,  61,  90,  119,  160,  174,  304, 

346,348.353 
Brough,  Lionel,  133-5,  337 
Brough,  Mary,  is8 
Brough,  Percy,  355-6 
Brough,  Sydney,  90,  no,  135,  337,  336,  358 
Brough,  William.  3S 
Broughton,  Phyllis.  16,  83,  14a,  338,  348 
Brown,  Campbell  Rae,  71,  84,  333 
Brown.  Heron,  330 
Brownlow,  Wallace,  333 
Bruce,  Alice,  144-5,  150,  353 
Bruce,  Edith,  145,  340 
Brunton,  Mrs.,  304 

Buchanan,  Robert,  113-9,  X57»  160,  335,  353 
Buckstone,  Lucy,  35,  91, 353 
Bufton,  Eleanor,  335 
Buist.  W.  Scott,  56,  86,  130-6,  347-8,  351 
Bumble,  ijj 

Bumand,  F.  C,  7, 152,  353 
Burnett,  Herbert,  238 
Bumey,  Estelle,  13a,  330,  351 
Bums,  Florence,  318 
Burt,  Sidney,  43 
Buss,  Master  H.,  8 
Bussy,  Bernard  F.,  35 
Byde,  Alfred,  30 
Byrne,  Bessie,  99 


Byrne,  Master  Leo,  169,  353 
Byron,  John,  50,  347 
Byron,  Josiah,  189 

C. 

Caffrey,  Stephen,  it,  136,  155,  351 

Caine,  Hall,  50 

Caldicott,  A.  J.|  197,  319 

Caldwell,  Marion,  71,  347,  255 

Callon,  MarVp  a  10 

Calmour,  A.  C,  aa,  54.  i44«  35a 

Calvert,  William,  90,  116 

Cameron.  Violet,  35,  345 

Campbell,  Duncan,  n^ 

Campbell,  Mrs.  Patrick,  133,  159,  353 

Canninge,  George,  131,  351 

Canninge,  Mrs.,  347 

Can'ising  Giri,  The,  an 

Cape,  Fred,  54,  98,  i6o»  347-9 

Capel,  G.,  i6« 

Capital  and  iMbour,  51,  x8i 

Capper,  Charles,  ia6 

Captain  Billy,  184 

Captain  Swtft,  169 

Caravoglia,  C.  F.,  33 

Carlisle,  Sybil,  18,  344,  357 

Carlyle,  RiU,  51 

Carmen  Up  to  Data,  34,  135, 145 

Carr,  F.  Osmond,  15,  337 

Carr,  J.  Comyns,  339 

Carre,  Michel, y¥/s,  «3, 178,  348 

Carson,  S.  Murray,  160-4,  X7^  317,  aaa,  353-8 

Carte,  D'Oyly,  33,  46, 140,  17a,  aio,  334 

Carter,  lohn,  1*5,  156,  171,  351-3 

Carter,  Mrs/Jonn,  171,  s 

Cartwright,  Charles,  319 


337,  337,  353 


Caryll,  Ivan,  44, 14a 

Cassilis,  Ina  Leon,  107, 133,  333 

Caste,  no 

Castle,  Egerton,  37 

Cathcart,  R.,  50,  347 

Cecil,  Arthur,  54,  98,  347-9,  as^ 

Ceili,  Frank  H.,  135, 143 

Cellier,  Alfred,  338 

Cellier,  Francois,  184,  axo 

Chambers,  C.  Haddon,  38,  335,  346 

Chambers,  Emma,  x6 

Chamillac,  x^i 

Changes  ana  Chances,  43 

Chansons  En/antinei,  l^s,  14X 

Chapman,  Patty,  86,  348 

Chapman,  W.  £.,  34 

Charles  /.,  44-6,  347 

Charles,  Miss,  X64 

Charlie,  99 

Charteris,  Edith,  4a 

Chattaway,  Miss  M.,  34 

Chatterton,  loa 

Chawles;  or,  A  Fool  and  His  Mon^y,  X14 

Cheatham,  Kitty,  184,  354 

Cheesman,  W.,  79 

Chelsea  Barracks,  67 

Chessman^  Edward,  9X 

Chester,  Exlith,  134,  161-3,  337,  333,  351 

Chester,  Edward,  33 

Chester,  Elsie,  aS,  79,  3x7, 335,  345 

Chevalier,  Albert,  xao-6,  X3X,  35X 

Child,  Harry,  3x8 

Cigale,  La,  44f  xxo,  i33i  iS7,  i9»»  mo,  331 

Cmder-Ellen,  up  too  Late,  337 

Clair,  Buckstone,  30,  5X 

Claire,  Attalie,  35,  245 

Clarence^  O.  B.,  43 

Clarke,  C.  A.,  X5x 

Clarke,  George.  X84,  3xx,  354 

Clarke,  Richuxl,  173 

Clay,  Cecily  125,  351 

Clement,  Frank  A.,  147 

Cleopatra,  X35,  351 

Clitte,  H.  Cooper,  5,  3x,  3X,  50,  76,  88,  344-6-9 

Qiflon,  Mrs.,  335 

Qifton,  Harriet,  180 

aive,"i^Si,^r'i|Si-d  by  Google 


Index. 


279 


Clive,  Franklin,  za6 

Cloven  Foot,  The,  xxj 

Clulow,  John,  58,  247^,  255-6 

Clyndc8,J.H.,ai9,as4 

Cobbe.  John,  176 

Cock  Robin  and  Old  King  Cole,  933 

Cockburn,  G.  W.,  x6o,  178, 253 

Coe.  Arthur,  ai8 

Coffin,  C.  Hayden,  as,  no,  157, 191,  aas,  MA 

Coghlan,  Charles,  40-z,  346 

Cohen.  Isaac,  i8x,  315 

Cole,  Annie,  351 

Coleman,  Fanny,  x8,  35, 1x0,  x88,  339,  a44,  asS 

Co  endgc.  Amy,  30,  343-5,  aso 

Collard,  Avalon,  65,  3x9 

CoUette,  Charles,  00 

Collette,  Mary,  336,  358 

Collini,  Mr.,  345 

Collins,  Lottie,  341 

ColnaghK  C.  P.,  X33,  333 

Colour-Sergeant,  The,  xoa 

Comedy,  ax,  58,  X45,  X64,  aoi,  339,  353-5 

Commission,  A,  135,  x63,  327,  351 

Compton,  Edward,  X87-9,  198-300,  330,  354-5 

Combton,  Sydney,  90 

Confusion,  xoo 

Conquest,  F.,  x6x 

Conquest,  G.,  jun.,  z6x,  X9Z,  331, 355 

Conron,  Florence,  six 

Conway,  Annie,  x6x,  19X,  aax,  355 

Conway,  H.  B.,  75,  xox,  XX3, 133,336,  347,  358 

Convers.  Charles,  X53,  353 

Cooke.  Alice,  3X,  57,  347 

Cooke,  J.  F.,  X43,  353 

Cooper,  Charles.  354 

Cooper,  F.  Kemble,  x7 

Cooper,  H..  159,  313,  353 

Coppi,  Carlo,  130,335 

Copleston.  Mrs.  F.,  333 

Copping,  E.,  165 

Corcoran,  Leslie,  164 

Cordingley,  C,  X57 

Corri^  C.  C,  X7x 

Corsican  Brothers,  X05, 133,  249 

Cosham,  Ernest,  X65,  303,  353-5 

Costello,  MisSf  X55 

County  Councillor,  The,  xox 

Court  Theatre,  53-7, 97,  X98,  3x3, 335-7, 247-9,  aj 

Courtenay,  Foster,  X43 

Courtes,  M.,  68,  348 

Courtneidge,  Robert,  46 

Cousin  Jack,  3x7 

Coutts,  Compton,  X33-4,  334,  348,*35x-a 

Covent  Garden,  45,  56 

Cowell,  Lydia,  as,  1x9,  3x7,  357 

Cowell,  Richard,  X64 

Cowen,  Henrietta,  86,  348 

Craig,  Gordon,  xoo,  343-5-9,  350 

Craig,  John,  axx 

Crauford,  Miss,  X63 

Crauford,  I.  R.,  345 

Crime  and  Christening,  $1 

Crisp,  Henry,  xx7 

Criterion,  38,  5a,  70,  8x,  91,  xo4-9,  1x7,  X39,  X3X, 

X43,  X5X-3,  326-9,  248-9,  250-1-3-7 
Crofton,  Cecil,  ao,  X28,  X34,  337,  350-5-7 
Crofton,  Haidee,  X73 
Crook,  tohn,  68, 
Cross,  A.  B.,  79,  93^ 
L.ross,  Juhaii,  X13, 134,  X56,  X74,  a5o-x-3 
Cross,  Henrietta,  is6 
Cruikshanka.  C,  x6i,  X9X,  331,  355 
Crusaders,  The,  ao6,  356 
Crystal  PaUce,  X47.  240 
Culprits,  45 
Culrik,  Miss,  99 
Cuningham,  Philip,  33,  66, 99,  xxo,  X36, 134,  144, 

150,  3  ID,  352 
Cunniiighame,  W.  G.,  300,  354-5 
Cut  Off  with  a  Shilling,  90 

D. 

g^BBS,  G^H.  R.,  43,  246 
Dacre,  Arthur,  X71,  353 
Dacre,  Helena,  38,  304,  345,  351 


»55-6 


Daggers  Drawn,  8 

DapnaU,  E.,  1x7, 136,  353 

DairoUes,  Adnenne,  66,  X3a,  187,  344,  254 

Dale,  Welton,  35,  X53, 353 

Dallas,  J.  J.,  4a,  163 

Dalton.  Charles.  104,  159,  349,  353 

Daly,  Augustin,  176,  X83,  30z,  354 

Daly,  Charles,  64 

Daly  Company  in  Paris,  177 

Daly's  Theatre,  304 

Dam,  Henry  W.  J.,  55 

Dana,  Henry.  148,  351 

Danby,  Charles,  X5,  335 

Dance,  George,  138,  35X 

Dancing  Gin,  The,  X3,  X7,  189,  337,  343 

Dane,  Essex.  x6o 

Danemore,  A.  (Augustas  Yorke),  133,  a5x 

Darale,  Fy  X44 

Darbey.  Edward,  3x5 

Darby,  Miss  F^  344 

D'Arcy,  Mrs.  Conyers,  36 


Darrell,  Evelyn,  1x7 
Dathenes,  Mily,  X79 
Daughter  of  the  People,  The,  X37 


Dauncey,  Sylvanus,  59, 318,  337,  358 

Dsivey,  Artnur,  90 

David  Garrick,  X39,  X5x 

Davies,  Ben,  X36 

Dawson,  Forbes,  X35,  x63,  X971  8x7,  351-5-7 

Dawson,  Jenny,  X46,  X65,  303 

Day,  G.  D.,  58 

Day.  W.  H.,  356 

De  Lange,  H.,  X9,  X07,  xa9,  136, 194, 304,  •33,  340- 

4,  250-1-5-8 
Delaporte,  Agnes,  x6 
De  Mattos,  A.  Tiezeira,  355 
De  Naucaze,  Mdme,  3x7,  339 
De  Silba,  Miss,  350 
De  Solla,  H.,  220,  235,  253 
De  Winton,  Alice,  1x7 
Dead  Letter,  A,  X87 
Dearing,  Rose,  X69,  353 
Debt  of  Honour,  A,  333 
DefrieSf  Esther  Phoebe,  334 
Dene,  Hetty,  4x,  304 
Dene,  Kathleen,  7x,  354 
Dene,  Lena,  71,  354 
Denison,  A.  M.,  304 
Denny,  W.  H.,  «,  X4o,  a5x 
Denton,  C.  St.  John,  X37 
Deozil,  Madge,  30,  5X 
Derrick,  Joseph,  xoo 
Desprez,  Frank,  X40,  251 
Diamond Deane,  55(247 
Diary  of  a  Tramp,  The,  X98 
Dick,  Cotsford,  233 
Dick  fVilder,  X32 


Digby,  Maud,  94 
iney,J.J.,_ 


Din 


Dinners  and  Diners,  xix 

D.         :.■,    ^^^7g 

Dod^worLli,  CJia,rks,  46,  131,  2ZO,  358 

Dali'n  NimBit  -'/,  tQ,  117,  350 

Donald^  J"^^"!  ^3^ 

iJoont^,  Neville^  ^^t  ^45 

llorr,  I>cjrotby,  56,  75,  139,  13a,  236,  347,  358 

irOrsny,  Lawrrncti»  43,  56,  76,  1x3,  133,  344-6-7 

Dm^bi*  EitnL  Thf^  gl 

Doyglas,  R*  H.j  is^,  ^5* 
DowtPR,  Emily,  3a 
Doyle,  J.  K,  151     ^     , 

Ifraycutt,  WUfred,  i6!it>  337 

Dream  Faces,  9x 

Drew,  X3^ 

Drew,  Jonn,  176,  x84»  six,  354 

Drew,  Willie,  30,  X39,  353 

Drink,  X34 

Drinkwater,  A.  E.,  59, 130 

Driven  from  Home,  55 

Druce,  Hubert,  75,  346-8 

Drummond,  C.  Forbes,  19 

Drummond,  Dolores,  X34,  x6o-2,  239,  247,  251-8 

Drury  Lane,  t,  7X-6, 89,  xx2, 134,  X7a,  229, 340, 250-3 


280 


Index. 


Dry,  Wakdin,  79 

Du  Barry,  Mdme.,  ai9 

Duckworth,  H.,  17,  «44 

Duncan,  p.,  3« 

Durex,  H.,  t6i 

Duval,  Mr.,  asa 

Dwyer,  Michael,  34*  44 

Dwyer,  T.  C  a34,  «53 

Dysart,  Florence,  16 

Dyson,  Laura,  aai,  ass  I 

B. 

Eakle.  E*  5m  «o 
EaiUakt,  M^O'i  J**  ^^ 

K4oiim,  WiUie.  e.  3^-  ^B.  117.  i»6.  «37.  «<^  ^SO 
EdwardeB.  CBornr^  t6i,  •04 
Ed  wftrdft,  ToTiii  ao*.  al^ 
Elcphunt  jiiid  Caille,  15X1  a^o 

EJki^he.  Ml  SB  A,,  117        ^^. 

EJliott,  W.  U..  ao4,  n^ 
Otnort,  Maiid,  iS-"-.  "S.935,  *S4 
Elton,  CtroUne,  3^t  »47  ^     ^ 

Elwoi^d.  Arthur.  68,  7S»  86, 836,  048,  «58 
Eindtn,  Walter,  65 
Kmdtn  Henry,  ba 

^¥".^i?^^.^.a48 


V  Enfant  P*^diSUf,  68- 


EquaiityJ^^^t  4* 

Erit  90 

Erly-nne.  Roydou,  i» 

Efiden,  Alice*  191,  »S 5 

ii:^;|l^e:Tl.  3..  44.89,07.  .37,  .78, 

Eam'onTfi^V.,  46.58.66,75.99.13..  ao4.«9.asi 

ll'S^iAer,  46.  "I.  "38.aa7.a5.-7 
Evcrill.  Wed.  4..  74.  ai9.  aao.  a46^'.«^„ 
Eversfield,  Harry,  43.  .3.-7.  .6..  a46,  as. 
Ewell,  Miss  C,  aa6,  857 

F. 

Faify  Madge;  or,  the  Slavery  of  Dritik,  9H 

False  Evidence,  179.  a54 

Farjeon,  B.  L.,  X89,  asS 

Farquhar,  G.,  a49  . 

Farr,  Florence,  37.  .a9»  a46 

Farrcll,  Amy,  lao 

FarreU,  Cissy,  lao,  161,  aax 

Farren,  Nellie,  7. 

Farren,  "William,  70,  a48 

Father  Buonaparte,  S7.  a47 
Faust,  15. 

FawS{t!'c£rles  S..  ai,  3a.  ..7.  .36,  .45,  .50i  m 

Fawdon,  Annie,  xn        

Featherston,  Vane,  145.  aoa,  a5a-5 
Fell,  Talbot,  1x7,  >57 
Fcndall,  Percy,  9..  '45.  aa9,  a49.  a5a 
Fenwick,  Haxry,  aao 
Fergusson,  Edwara,  30 
Fergusson,  Edwin,  5 
Fernandez,  James,  7.  .4.  .7.  a43 
Ferrar,  Ada,  xoo 
Ferrar,  Beatrice,  50.  a47,  a54 
Ferrers,  Helen,  1x6 
Ferryman*8  Daughter,  The,  X56 
Feu  Toupinel,  07  ^, 
Fiat  of  the  Gods,  The,  x6s,  8S3 
Field,  Charles,  157. 
Field-Fisher,  Alfred  137-8 
field-Fisher,  Caryl,  as© 


FIe\d-FlHfe*r,  Ericv  »4i  =5^ 
Fkld-Fiiher,  Marjorie,  rg*.  aao 
n/te fifth  p/  Ociohtr,  Tht,  163 
Filippi,  Roaijia*  445 
Findliiy,  Josepbiac,  i53.  ^F 
Fires,  ^,  57i  «4i  i33i  ^n*  ^^Si  aaa,  a3» 
/^Vrs*  mate,  335 

Fi^^  M'a^^te  (B*by  Benson).  30 

Fitch,  ayde,  955  ^  ^  , 
Fitii^erafd,  Sj.  Adair,  19s 
Fitzpbbon.J.  J..  17* 
Fitsroy,  E.  S.,  t^v  *4« 
fiashts,  tji     , 
Florence,  W.  j.,  319 
Floyd,  Gwcfldolyn,  34i  ^ 
fhitigfratH  Justkt,  it« 
Fmh^,  104 

Foat*me^  L,,  ^t8 
Foof!^  Trick,  A,  133 

/or  CftiNfiia's  Stkf^  143 

Forbe»,  Norm*?**  i7-»9t  «44 
Forde,  AlhoL  37.  ^6 
Ford,  MiAS  Day.  16,  a4i  =5* 
Fordyce,  Mn,  179 
Fordyce,  Florence,  aag 
For^it'err&s^  ?J9,  ajS 
forWfOJfii  JiSf  3Sa 
Forrest,  Arthur,  44 

Forstcr,  Katp,  17a  . 

ForJ^\^b,  Helcii,  41,  83^  M^,  856 

Knrlescuet  R^**«*  9»«  ^  '* 

Fo»9,  G.  K  p  fi^&l  «47.  t5?i  *a5 

Foann*,  W  iaa*  30.  *45 

FmtrT,  Harold,  ms  ^     , 

Foster,  Thomas  Cook,  103 

FimrbtrKii  ^^  Scttpm*  Lms,  x4x 

Fox,  Charles  H  ,,  67 

Frances,  Fanny^  52*  ^^  a5.-a-7 

Fra.nkliti»  Louise,  g 4 

Kriaser,  Marip,  i9i  "^B 

Frstser,  Winifrpd^  954 

Freoeh  PUys,  ^1.  ^r  ^.^  ^^^  RepresenUtives. 

14V1,  tS7 
Frcm,  CeciI,  gfi 
Frer^i  Cor^s,  Lf$,  1^5,  ^49 
Freund-Uoyd,  MabeU  143.  a35 
Frith,  Walter,  is^i 

Fuller,  T-oie,  44»  2?'4p  "5        ^  ^  ,50,5 

FuUon,  Charles  Fm  I'^t  "8»  »90»  a33.  a450.  aso-S 


Furtado^  Charles  Knox,  89 

G. 

GnbrifPs  Tntsi,  144,  ^sa 

Gait'ty,  34,  #-  7?.  "»i  "S.  .4a-5,  .88,  an,  a37 

Caiffa  the  Gladtator,  165 

t.Mllier,  j.  T,.,  164 

Gambier,  Alice,  a44-<^9 

Gamble,  George,  151 

Giunbhr,  T/rir,  a^fl 

GaiUbony,  Nell  v,  m 

Gnxditlef,^E.  W..  114,  539.  a57-8 

*    Garlaad,  Arthur,  Si  i 
GaTland^OlRi,  77,iw 
Garricb,  47«  »**'*  »^''  *33.  a47,  a54 
Garrifk,  David,  6» 
Garrick  Club,  m 
Garlhornr,  C,  W„ie3ia54 
GB3coigTie,  Mrs.,  aao 
Gaaperi.  M.  de,  60 
CfiivLotharto,  Tftf,  sa,  90 
GaV,  Wa-lter,  aiS,aM 
Gc'daloe,  Andre,  179      ,       _ 

f^iidtr  ^e  M.  Potaer,  Le,  .57 

Genet,  Ernest,  94 

Gf  orif*  CiiHttrQtii  SJ  _ 

Georgia  M*irncl,  I  he,  ax8 

Ghosts,^  S3,  =4? 

Gibson,  John,  194.  "3,  aSo-5 

Ciddens,  GcorKt,  5=1  7©.  9a,  W  *4S.  .98j  axa, 
I       ■;t^a'^,  35a:-5^       Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


Index. 


281 


Giffard,  M.  A.,  ii 

Gifttd  Laefyt  The,  1x8-9 

Gilbert,  Mrs.  G.  H.,  176,  aoz 

Gilbert,  Edwin,  36,  239 

Gilbert,  W.  S.,  X90 

Gillette,  W.,  17,  244 

Gillmore,  F.,  34^ 

Girardot,  Isabelle.  65 

Giassington,  Charles  W.,  94 

Glenney,  Charles,  113, 134, 174,  aa7,  aso-3 

Glenney,  Mrs.  Charles,  931 

Globe,  17,  34t  58»  »a8,  130,  X4S  x68,  x89>  «94»  aiSi 

327,244,352-^-8 
Gioo4  Trotfgr,  Thg,  331 
Glover,  F,,  18,  xoo,  159,  344 
Glorianat  3x5,  357 
Godfrey,  Arthur  £.,  xs5,  six 
Godfrey,  Gerald,  1x7 
Godfrey,  G.  W.,  34 
Goldberg,  Max,  163, 175 
Godpapa.  apx,  355 
Golden  Battt  TtUt  71 
Golden  Sorrow^  A,  130 
Goldsmith,  Ina,  78 
Gombeen*8  Gold,  The,  55 
Gomiolien  at  Windsor,  46 
Good  for  Nothings  71,  337 
GooifOld  QueAtlBess  ;  or,  The  Pearl,  the  Peer, 

and  the  Page,  z3o 
Goodwin,  Nuhaniel,  58 
Goold,  C.  CO,  60 
Gordon,  J.  B.,  58 
Gordon,  Philip,  164 
Gosse,  £dmund,  86 
Gouget,  Louis,  69, 348 
Gould,  Bernard,  xi,  74,  82,  129,  243-8 
Gould,  Nutcombe,  40,  X33,  X76, 314,  339, 346, 357*8 
Gourlay,  Louisa,  x6 
Goward,  Annie,  131 
Graham,  H.,  X9x 
Graham,  J.  F.,  58 
Grahame,  Cissy,  xz 
Grahame,  J.  G.,  38,  345 
Grain,  Comey,  66,  X98 
Gran-a-Aille,  60 
Grand,  58,  68-9,  90,  117,  x2x-7,  X37,  148, 155,  X7X-4, 

3X8,  330,  340 

Granville,  Miss,  40,  357 

Graves,  Laura,  33,  X51,  2x4, 339,  257-8 

Greenbank,  Harry,  99, 184 

Greene,  Clayton,  334 

Greenwich  Theatre,  164 

Greet,  Mrs.  William,  X07 

Gregory,  W.  E.,  xxo 

Grein,  J.  T.,  52-4,  X9X-7,  231 

Gresham,  Herbert,  176 

Greville,  Eden  £.,  xx3 

Greville,  Lady  Violet,  75 

Grey,  Jane,  174 

Grey,  Litton,  X43 

Grey,  Sybil,  58,  x63 

Grey,  Sylvia,  34,  44,  337 

Gn^th|krs.  A.,  356 

Gringotre,  x8 

Grossmith,  Geore^e,  3x0 

Grossmith,  Weeoon,  54^  X25,  i62j  327,  347,  35X-6 

GroveSjJ^harles,  55,  200,  347,  250 

Grove,  F„  76,  loi,  X32, 343 

Grundy,  Sydney,  S5»  xa? 

Guise,  Windham,  xi 

Gunn,  Adelaide,  243 

Gurney,  E.,  68,  76,  X34,  X74^  253 

Gumey,  Gerald,  68,  134,  165,  244,  252 


H. 

Hackney.  Mr.,  78 

Hague,  Clarence  J  ,  x6x,  191,  aaz,  333,  255 

HaTe.J.  R.,  16^ 

Hall-Caine,  Miss,  1x7 

Hallard,  C.  M.,  187,  254 

Hallett,  Miss  (Ailsa  Cfraig),  X95 

Halley,  H.,  X75 

Halton,  Marie,  xxo 


Halswelle,  Keelej',  76 

Hamilton,  Henry,  xo,  107,  2x2,  250-7 

Hamilton-Knight,  F.,  zx,  62,  71,  X22,  243,  251 

Hamlet,  76,  175 

Hanbuiy,  Hilda,  xz3 

Hanbury,  Lily,  17,  21,  31,  76, 88, 107,  X35,  x88,  3x4, 

244-6-9,  25X 
Hand  of  Justice,  The,  X75 
Hand/ast,  X07,  136, 142,  250 
Hann,  W^  159 
Han  nan.  Alma,  234 
Hannan,  May,  234 
Harcourt,  Belle,  2x8 
Hans  the  Boatman,  234 
Harcourt,  F.  C,  30 
Harding-Cox,  Mr.  and  Bfrs.,  xxo 
Hardinge.  Mabel,  52,  25X 
Hare,  Gilbert,  50-5,  x82,  947,  354 
Hare,  John,  8,  49»  55f  247 
Harford,  W.,  19 
Harraden,  Ethel,  93 
Harraden,  Herbert,  93 
Harrington,  F.,  349 

Harris,  Augustus,  7.  45.  76,  i3St  «48,  X71-3,  aw 
Harris,  Charles,  35-6,  X40 
Harris,  George,  sx 

Harrison,  Frederick,  17, 143,  X76, 189,  253 
Harrison,  W.  B.,  90 
Harvey,  Frank,  137,  X37 
Harvey,  Martin,  30 
Harwood,  Lucia,  xx8, 148, 174,  250 
Harwood,  Master,  30,  243 
Harwood,  Robb,  14,  X48,  243 
Hastings.  Helen,  X59,  x6o 
Hatton,  Joseph,  X95-6,  255 
Hatton,  Bessie,  196,  255 
Haviland,  X05.  243-5-9 
Hawthorne.  Grace,  160,  X78,  222,  234,  253 
Hawtrey,  C.  H.,  901,  255 
Hawtrey,  G.  P.,  x6i 
Hawtrey,  W.  F.,  22,  X46,  252-5 
Haydon,  Florence,  gx,  x44-5y  253 
Hayman.  Philip,  189 
Haymarket,  x.  13,  X89,  337,  343 
He  Stoops  to  Win,  333 
Heads  or  Tails,  337 
Hearts  or  Diamonds,  X07 
Heathcote,  Arthur  M.,  33 
Hed€la  Gabler,  84-6,  348 
Helmore,  Arthur.  X76 
Henderson,  Editn,  X38, 144 
Henderson,  John,  220 
Hendon.  A.  T.,  255 
Hendrie,  Ernest,  43,  946 
Henley,  W.  E.,  8x 
Henrietta,  The,  60,  248 
HerOathLoaa 
Herbert,  Charles,  xx7,  X27 
Herbert,  Sidney^  254 
Herbert,  William,  x^,  35,  X09,  X43-7, 350-9 
Herberte-Basing,  S.,  39,  68,  79,  X09,  x9o,  X50-5, 

X7i»  194.  2«S.  235-8.  246,  959-5-7 
Heriot,  Wilton,  1x7 
Herman,  Henry,  5,  xaz,  X78 
Hervey,  Rose,  X79 
Hesters  Mystery,  89 
Hethcote.  Miss,  943 
Hewitt,  Agnes,  x6 
Hewson,  fames,  151 
Hewson,  S.,  948-9,  957 
Hicks,  Seymour^  9x9,  955-6 
Highwayman,  The,  193 
Hin,  Aimie,  09,  lox,  xx3,  X34,  904,  349 
Hingston,  Lilian,  136,  251 
His  Last  Chance,  90 
His  Mother,  ^ 
Hoare,  Mabel,  24,  76 
Hobson,  Maud,  34 
Hodges,  Horace,  5,  3X,  50,  88,  249 
Hodson,  Agatha,  133 
Hodson,  Archibald,  133 
Hodson,  Kate,  90,  xx6 
Holland,  Fanny,  65,  2x9 

T^T^kXl,  by  Google 

Holmes,  Master  C.  G.,  22,  65  ^ 


282 


Index, 


HonourabU  Htrhtri^  The,  a35»  ^58 

Hood,  Marion,  i6 

Hook  and  Eve,  ai7 

Hope,  Ethel,  41,  75, 319,  aao,  346-8 

Horlock,  Blanche,  5,  14,  343 

Homer,  Fred,  97,  349 

Houp  la  I  (Rosabet),  164 

Houston,  Adela,  147;  353 

Howard,  Bronson,  60,  348 

Howard,  Sydney,  53,  347 

Howard,  William,  175 

Howe.  Henry,  6,  45i  196,  aoi.  243-7,  "55 

Howell,  C,  357 

Howell,  J.  A.,  345 

Hubby,  tio 

Hudson,  Charles,  37,  57»  «S7.  343-6-7 

Hudson,  H.,  165 

Hudspeth.  Miss  P.,  247 

Hughes,  Annie,  109,  zaiS,  136,  147,  183,  350-3-4 

Hughes,  Georjge,  144,  x68,  330 

Hunter,  Harnson,  aoo,  331,  354-5 

Husband  in  Clover,  A,  30 

Husband  and  Wife^  91,  i45i  349i  ^53 

Huy^  John,  334 

I. 

Ibsen,  Henrick,  53^346-7-8-9 

Ibsen's  Ghost;  or,  Toole  Up  to  Date,  X14 

lei  on  ine)  Parle  (pas)  Franfais,  138 

Idler,  The,  38,  188,  an,  346 

Idols  of  the  Heart,  137 

Il)in|rton,  Marie,  131-6,  351 

In  Chancery,  4a,  64 

In  Search  of  an  Engagement,  Z3i 

Ingomar,  315 

/.at/.,  131 

Irishman,  The,  139 

Irish,  Annie,  6,  105,  303,  343-7,  a5o-5 

Irving,  Henry,  6,  og,  38, 43-5. 55. 80, 105,  i35i  «74f 

181,  315,  343-5;7-9 
Irving,  Henrv  B.,  34, 183,  354 
Irving,  Isabel,  177,  184,  354 
Irwin,  Edward,  57,346-7-9 
Italian  Opera  at  Islington,  148 
Ifs  Never  Too  Late  to  Mend,  76 
Ivanhoe,  33. 

„        Cast  of,  344 
Ivanova,  Qaire,  58,  x6o 
Ivor,  Frances,  30,  57, 149, 167,  804,  333,  24S-7»  253 


.  ACOBX,  Gjy  163,  335-7 

,  acques,  Frederick,  68 

.  ames,  Cairns,  333 

,  ames,  David,  79,  109, 153,  253 

.  ames,  David  Ouii«)i  169,  353 

.  ames,  Henry,  354 

James,  Kate,   xoi,  1x3,  136,  135. '^63,  174,  337, 

237,  250 
fane,  58 
fane  Shore,  163 
Jarman,  Fred,  86,  zza 
Jarvis,  C.  W.,  54 
fasper's  Revenge,  135 
Jay.  Harriet,  335 

.  ecks,  Clara,  100,  159,  sza,  aa3,  252 
,  effries,  Ellis,  333 
,  effries,  Maud  d  5,  31, 344-6-9 
.erome,  T.  K.,  9,  331,  343 
.  erram,  Sydney,  133 
Joan  of  Arc,  15,  16,  151,  188,  320,  235 
Jocelyn,  Mary,  61,  138,  198,  248,  351-5 
.  ohnson,  H.  T.,  157 
.  lohnson,  Laura,  194,  255 

ohnson,  S..  30,  345-9 
^  ohnson,  Wy  251 
.  ohnstone,  Eliza,  114,  138 
.  ohnstone,  J.  By  90 
.  ohnstone,  H.  T.,  33 
Joie  Fait  Feur,  La,  141 
Joint  Household,  A.,  53 

Jones,  Henry  Arthur,  5,  12,  33,  171,  206,  243,  256 
Jones,  Maria,  235 


Tones,  Marie,  163 

Jones,  Wilton,  33,  90,  146,  346,  253 

Jope-Slade,  R.,  333 

Jordan,  Edith,  35 

journey's  End,  The,  137 

fudah,s» 


Katti,  136 

Kaye,  Fred,  46,  58.  ao6, 33X,  256 

Keeley,  Mrs.,  62-3,  aoi.  320 

Keith,  Koyston,  159,  100,  353 

Kelly,  Agatha,  aa5 

Kemole,  H.,  176,  356 

Kemmis,  Mrft«i  st? 

KtTid*!,  W.  H.,  r\  137,  175 

Kcndal>  Mrs,,  76,  ia7,  175 

Kcndrick.  A.,  46 

Kewoey^  ChArle*  H*,  131 

KeiineVj  Rasa*  B4 

Kenl,  S.  Miller,  57,  247 

Kenwardt  Edith,  4a,  53,  X04,  I30,  146,  347-9,  352 

Kci'r,  Fredjerickf  ii,  343 

Kilbum  Town  Hall,  71,98 

KtUitcTftmpfri  f-j,  198 

Kinep  tMie,  68,  Ed,  348 

King,  Katty  [Mrs,  Arthur  Lloyd),  93 

Kin^,  Ndlie,  163 

King  and  the  MtlUr,  The,  30,  66 

Ki*ig  Henty  F,,  164 

Kiitg  /ohin,^4 

KiDghome,  Mark,  197,  355 

KiDgaeole,  Mjt.,  75,  246-8 

Kinsley,  Alice,  1 13^  350 

KlngaCon^  Gertrude,  40,  314,  346,  357 

KJngijton,  T,t  lajt  235,  353-7 

KJralfy,  imre,  238 

KU^iHg  dtp' a  Racff  71 

Krjitfht,  Master  F.,  355 

Krjig^ht,  Au|rii»line»  127 

Knight »  Ji-iliUN  76 

Koighta,  Agnes,  a|4 

L. 

Lablache.  Luigi,  88,  345 

Laborie,  Mdlle.,  179 

Lacy,  Mr.,  30,  46,  343-5,  350 

Ladbroke  Hall,  la,  33,  411  SOi  7«,  90-3»  «a7i  xj^t 

147,  Z6l.  I9Z,  210 

Ladies'  Battle,  The,  123 

Lady  Barter^  4C^  346 

Lacfy  Bountiful,  47,  347 

Lady  Guide  :  or.  Breaking  the  Bank,  Ths,  79 

Laity  from  the  Sea,  The,  103,  349 

Lamb,  Beatrice,  14,  43>  i43>  161,  3x7,  333*  33a,  346, 

353 
Lambert,  Helen,  165,  356 
Lamboume»  C,  z3o 
Lamboume,  May,  79 
Lancashire  Sailor,  The,  X34,  163,  351 
Lancaster- Wallis,  Mrs.,  31,  68,  aoo,  355 
Land  of  the  Living,  137 
Langtry,  Mrs.,  17,  41,  74i  3x8,  aao,  346-8 
Laporte,  3X1 
Larkin,  Rhoda,  X44 
Larkin.  Sophie,  46,  66,  99,  331 
Last  IVord,  TA^,  183,  354 
Late  Lamented,  The,  97,  x6o,  332,  249 
Latimer,  Frank,  44,  94 
Lauri,  Qiarles,  139 
Law,  Arthur,  45 
Lawrence,  Miss,  351 
Lawrence,  Mr.  (Lawrence  Irving),  164 
Lawrence,  S.  Boyle,  99 
Lawson,  E.  Webster,  133,  248,  251 
Lea,  Marion,  61,  85,  3x5,  248 
Leah  the  Forsaken,  99,  219 
Leather,  Leo,  144 
Leathes,  £klmund.  xi4 
Leave  It  to  Me,  130 
Leaves  of  Shamrock,  133 
Lc  Bert,  Miss,  1x3  ,    (      r\r\cs\o 

Lechmere,  S.  H.,  41,  74.  24^, '^W'^^^^^- 


Index. 


283 


Leclercq,  Carlotta,  54,  107,  147,  a47.  asa 

Leclercq,  Charles,  176,  \^^^  184,  254 

Leclercq,  Pierre,  137,  351 

Ledercq,  Rose,  14,  176,  343 

Lee,  Henry,  28,  61,  245-8 

Lee,  Jessie,  117,  255 

Lee.  Loma,  132 

Le  Hay,  John,  25,  244 

Leicester,  Ernest,  161,  tqi,  231 

Leigh,  A:  G.,  246 

Leigh,  Clifford,  250 

Leigh,  Mrs.  Henry,  31,  xoo,  159,  2x3,  346-9,  352 

Leig^ton,  Alexes,  96,  133,  147,  204 

Leim,  G.  L..  sio,  343,  356 

Lemaistre,  H.,  184 

Lemeire,  Paula,  69 

Lennox,  Kdward,  231,  358 

Leno,  Dan,  126 

Leon,  Charles  F.,  348 

Leonard^  Herbert,  230 

Leone,  Guillaume,  157 

Leslie,  Daisy,  157 

Leslie,  Fred,  337 

Leslie,  Mrs.  Fred,  58 

Leslie,  F.  I.,  189,  195 

Lestocq,  W.,  126,  189,  217,  255-7 

L'Esti-ange,  Madeline,  89 

Leterrier,  E.,  163 

Lethbrid«e,  Alice,  x6 

Lever,  Edwin,  164 

Leveritt,  James,  94 

Levey,  Florence,  237 

Levey,  John,  i8x 

Lewes,  Marie,  89,  X75 

Lewis,  E.,  16 

Lewis,  Eric,  96 

Lewis,  James,  176,  184,  354 

Lewis,  Rudolph,  185 

Leyshon,  Eleanor,  46,  66,  X29,  x8x 

LiuTt  Thtf  198-0,  229 

L^hts  o'  LondoHt  31,  245 

Light  Ahead,  330 

Ltghi  ofPengarth,  The,  233 

Ltghtntft^s  Flash,  Tht,  333 

LiTiford,  H.,  350 

Lind.  Letty,  133 

Linda  Grev,  71-5,  348 

Lindley,  Henrietta,  133 

Linden,  Laura,  35,  7Si  «97»  233i  248-9i  *S^-S 

Linden,  Marie,  8,  50,  196,  333,  347,  255 

Lindo,  Frank,  ^3,  53,  i3o,  333,  347 

Lindsav,  Miss  C,  33X,  354 

Linfiela,  Lily,  x8,  138,  X33,  3xx,  344 

Lingard,  Horace,  3x8 

Listelle,  Julia,  30 

Liston,  EfBe,  x38 

Little,  C.  P.,. 337,  351 

LUtU  Jessie,  144 

Liitle  ^idow.  The,  86 

Lloyd,  Eleanor,  30 

Lockhart,  W.,  320 

Lockwood^  Frank,  Q.C.,  M.P.„  324 

Lonnen,  E.  J.,  76,  ixx,  136,  220,  235-7 

Lorame,  Henry,  76 

Lord  Anerley,  212,  257 

Lorris,  Mr..  245 

Love  and  Art,  ^i 

Love  Chase,  the,  1x5 

Love  at  Home,  218 

Love  and  Law,  44 

Love  in  a  Mist,  147 

Lovers  Labour  Lost,  79 

Love's  Young  Dream,  89 

Lowne,  C.  M.,  x38 

Lucie,  Charlotte,  3x7 

Lugg,  W^8.  9,  83-9.  "7i  174,  248,  350-3 

Lumley,  Ralph  R.,  53,  X97,  313,  347,  356 

Lunn,  H.  C,  7x 

Lutz,  Meyer,  71,  237 

Lyceum,  5,  28,  307,  44,  66-9,  89,  X05-6,  X17,  X32, 

X57,  I76;7,  183,  2x0,  243-5-7-9,  254 
Lyceum,  Ipswich,  62 
Lyons  Matt,  The,  28,  X74,  345 
V^^y^J^'  94, 157,  191,  220-7,  23X 
Lyric  Club,  1x7,  333 
Lyric,  Hammersmith,  64,  86,  106,  156,  s3o,  34X  '^ 


M. 

Mabel,  103 
Maccabe,  Kate,  76 
Macdonnell,  Frank,  77 
Mackay,  Joseph,  58 
Mackintosh,  W.,  6,  X83,  343,  354 
Macklin,  Arthur,  7X 
Macklin,  F.  H.,  6,  34,  243-6-9 
Macklin,  Mrs.,  197,  355 
Macmillan,  J.  T.,  xx9 
Macnamara,  P.  R.,  77 
Macrae,  A.,  353 
Mac  Vicars,  Frank,  174,  353 
Mademoiselle  Cleopatra,  43 
Madge,  5x 

Ma^ire,  Norah,  3x9 
Maid  Marian,  34^  344 
Maister  of  fVoodbarrow,  The,  xi 
Maitland,  Alice,  89,  99,  335 
Maltby,  Alfred,  8,  33 
Manning,  Ambrose,  31,  349 
Margaret  Byng,  339 
Margot,  X4X 
Margrave,  Lion,  X67 
Manola,  Marion,  35,  345 
Mariage  Blanc,  140 
Maris,  Stella,  x8,  244,  256 
Marishka,  94 

Marius,  C.  D.,  x6,  17,  xxs,  xa6,  337 
Marler,  George,  164 
Marlow,  Miss,  14^ 
Marlowe  Memorial,  x8z 
Marshall,  Percy  F.,  78, 1x7,  350 
Martin,  H.,  350 
Marylebone,  X39,  xsx,  320 
Mascotte,  La,  X43 
Mason,  John,  39.  346 
Mas<iue  Ball  at  Covent  Garden,  45 
Matinees,  X5,  X9,  30,  33-5-6, 43-4, 5o-7-8, 68,  71-7-91 
8X-4-8,  9x-2-9»   «03-4i   "1-3-4-5-7-9,    i2i-3i5-S-9» 

I3O-X-3-3-5-7,  X43-3,  X51-5,  X98,  304,  3XX-7-9,  333- 

S-7-9t  ?3 1-2-3-4 
Mairtmofttfii^  ij-j 
Matthews,  Ethel,  i\n,  353*6 
Matthews,  5:iiit|,  356 
Maude^  Cyril,  53,  70,  83,  X09,  sxo,  348,  350 
Msudc,  i^abcl*  148 
Maurice,  E.,  7f ,  149 
Majcwcll,  G«raM ,  2x3,  356 
Maxwell,  W.  IL,  171 
Ma>',  Elc^iori,  iig^  19X 
i\!ay,  |j.nr:,  tA,  -^4^ 

Mayer,  Sylvain,  169 

Mayer,  Terfese,  sxo,  356 

M'Carthy,  Justin  Huntley,  133 

M'CuUougb.  Brien,  5 

McKenzie^  Florence,  30 

McLeay,  I'ranklin,,  347 

McNav.  Evelyn,  x88,  X98-9,  900,  3x7,  33X,  355 

McNeill,  Amy,  41,  89,  319,  330 

McNulty,  Jenny,  X33 

Meadows,  348 

Meadows,  Lonnen,  xxx 

Measure  for  Measure,  3x9 

Melford,  Austin,  5, 3x,  3X,  50-7, 76,88,  X13,  X67, 333, 

3^4,  344-6-7-9,  350-3 
Melford.  Mark,  3X,  xao 
Meller.Rose,  X04,  X48,  349 
Mellisn, Fuller,  X38,  160,304,  axx-5,  335,  35x-7 
Melville,  Andrew,  55 
Men  ofMetaL  xsx 
Merchant  of  Venice,  The,  X74 
Merivale.  H.  C,  30 
Merrie  JP'rince  Hal,  171 
Merritt,  Paul,  306 
Mervin,  Fred,  xix,  X36-8,  351 
Messager,  Andre,  3x0-8 
Middleman,  The,  1x7 
Mighty  Error,  A,  xifi 
MuetMo,  X73 
Miles,  Sophie,  66 

Miller,  Emily,  68,  X33,  »98,a35f2jM^^Tp 
Miller,  Rodney,  345  by  Vj\JU V IV^ 

Miller,  Wynn,  135,  x8o,  354  *^ 


284 


Index, 


Millett,  Maude.  17,  aa,  40,  909,  346 
Millward,  JeMie,  a8,  56,  761  ""i  «34i  «74.  «4S» 

Millward.  Lilian,  38-5,  78*  89 

Milton,  Maud,  135,  951 

MinshuU,  G.  T.,  441  9«>  >^ 

MischitfMaktrt  Tk»^  xaS,  144,  163 

MiMr/Th€y  loa 

M%s%  Dtcima,  15a,  993,  as* 

Miss  Tomboy t  113,  lag 

Mitchell,  Lanedon,  53 

Mitchell,  L.  £.,  ais 

Mitchell,  Rom,  4a 

Mitchell,  S.  Weir,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  loa 

Moliirtf  150.  188 

Monckton,  Lady,  ^ 


Moliirtf  150.  188 
Monckton,  Lady,  4*^  7 
Monckton,  Lionel,  07,  337 


71,  346,  356 


Monckton,  Violet,  16 

Mottty^  75,  80 

Monkhouae,  H.,  as,  13a,  t6t,  191,  344 

Montt  CristOt96^  819 

Month  afttrDatt,  A,  S9 

Moodie,  Louise,  76,  83-187,  948,  354 

Moonflomtrz^  14a 

Moore,  Au^atus  M.,  143 

Moore,  Deama,  185,  333,  333 

Moore,  Eva,  46.  i6x,  319 

Moore,  F.  Frankfort,  aoo,  355 

Moore,  George,  355 

Moore,  Gerald,  19 

Moore,  Mary,  71 1  io9>  "^6,  348,  357 

Moore,  Jessie,  333 

Morgan,  William,  134 

Morton,  Charles,  56 

Morton,  John  Maddison,  333 

Mortimer,  James,  315,  357 

Moss,  A.  B.,  51,  181 

Mouillot,  F.,  X17 

Mrs.  Antuslty^  14^  353 

Mr.  GrtenUas  Courtship^  34 

Mrs.  M.P.^  395 

Mtuh  Ado  About  Nothings  5,  69,  157,  343 

Mudie,  Geoii^e,  34,  96 

Muriel,  Gracie,  155.  aja 

Murray,  Ada,  146,  353 

Murray,  Alma,  138,  150,  351 

Murray,  Eva,  344 

Murray,  David  Christie,  x68-9,  353 

Murray,  Mrs.  Gaston  (Fanny  Hughes),  15 

Murray,  W..  30 


Murton,  C  I.,  X74-S 
Musgrave,  Mrs.  H.,  133 
Mutual  Mistake f  At  sit* 
My  Brother's  Ststert  171 
Afy  Lady  Help.  71 
My  Sweetheart,  174 


Nia^r 


N. 

Nainby,  R.,  80 

Nance  Oldfield,  106,  174 

Nathan.  L.  and  H.,  151 

Naulekka.  Thet  304 

Nautch  Girl;  ort  the  Rajah  of  Chuineyporet 

The,  X38,  X63,  951 
NecTs  Chum,  x68,  353 
Neilson,  Ada,  134 
Neilson,  Julia,  5,  X4,  136,  X89,  343 
Nelson,  Evelyn,  5 
Nelson,  Harold  B.,  58 
Nelson,  Henry,  77,  X50,  35X-3-5 
Nelson,  James,  302,  349,  352-5 
Nesville,  Mdlle.,  X53,  353 
Nethersole,  Olga,  319 

Neville,  Henry,  X09,  170-x,  2x3-5,  33^,  335,  253-7 
New  Olympic,  5,  30,  3X-3,  50-7,76, 86,  xox-7, 160-4, 

»,*77'JL'**»  *"'»  ??*»  a44*5-6-7-8,  353 

New  Theatres  Opened,  343 

Newark,  Algernon,  2x1,  251-3 

Newte,  Horace  C,  93, 137 

Newton,  Adelaide,  44,  333 

NichcUs,  Harry,  113, 136,  174,337,  350-3 

Night  offt  A,  X76 

Nwht  m  Town,  A,  88 

If&hfs  Frolic,  A,  xi6,  350 

Ntue  Points  of  the  Law,  53 


;t,  Ralph,  axx 
Noble  Love,  151 
Norman,  £.  B.,  41,  74,  aao,  948 
Norreys,  Rose,  X4, 1x7-8, 149,  x6x-9,  997,  943,  950 
Noithcote,  J..  X 59,  359 
Northcote,  W.,  isg,  953 
Norton,  Ethel,  959 
Norwood,  Eille,  9x7 
Notcutt,  Oliver,  X47 
Note  of  Hand,  The,  9 
Novelty,  5,  96,  30,  sx,  60,  1x5,  X97,  X53,  9x9 


Olcott,  Chauncey,  X53, 953 

Old  Bureau,  The,  aio 

**  Old  Su^rs  "  at  Canterbury,  x69 

Oliver  Twtstt  334 

Olivia,  80,  X74 

Olliffe,  Geraldine,  904 

Olympia,  938 

On  the  Frontier,  164 

On  Lease,  X04 

O'Neil,  Edwaxd,  35,  7x 

Opera  Comique,  15, 5X,  94,  X93,  xsx,  X85,  X98, 904t 

3x7,  a35-»^,  230-x-3|354-5       ^ 
Opeiung  of  Ipswich  Theatre,  69 
'*OrieUa*'(baUetX  199 
Original  Casts,  343-5-7,  950-3-4-7 
Osborne,  George,  945 
Othello,  X67,  903 
Oudin,  Eugene,  9x0 
Ought  Plays  to  be  Sermoos?  53 
Our  Angeh,  43,  946 
Our  Boys,  9x 
Our  Daughters,  77^ 
Our  Dodors,  58 
Our  Lottie,  33 
Our  Pal,  ^^ 
Our  Regiment,  xo 
Outram,  Leonard,  53,  83,  148,  X50,  X65-7,  999, 

847-8-0,353 
Owen,  Miss,  1x3 
Owen,  Mrs.  C,  X3a 

P. 

pACD£N^  Henry  1 155 

Pnillanse.  16,  248 

Pairo/GMQsi^,A,U 

Pair  of  IjtnaiicSp  A^  17 

Pmrof  SpfctacifK,  A^  If  S5»  «'<> 

Pair  «/  Thetn,  ^,  2it 

Palfrey,  M«y,  -rif 

Palmer,  iVHuuic,  171-^4 

P^imibtpf^itklt^'^ 

Pfimtias  Praais^y,  lyf,  1155 

Ponk  Ht  Tfifljitr*  Royal.  Gateshead,  938 

Patitmntm  ■   P  '    ir-T/,  A,  12$,  i6x,  397,  351 

Pantomimes,  340-x 

Park  Hall,  Camden  Town,  34 

Park  Town  Hall,  Battersea,  79 

Parker,  Harry,  35, 163, 906,  393,  344,  356 

Parker,  Louis  N.,  X47,  X50 

Parkhurst,  Holloway,  33,  76,  89,  90,  t7x,  315-8, 

339, 333,  34  X 
Parson,  The,  194 
Parvenu^  The,  34 
Pascal,  Florian,  333 
Patenuui,  Robert,  xx7 
Paterson,  Alfred,  53 
Patmore,  W.  J.,  51,  x8x 
Pattison,  Ernest,  349 
Paul  Jones,  94 
Paul  Pty,  107 
Paull,  H.  M.,  3x9 
Paulton,  Harry,  x8,  35, 1x9,  X96, 136, 145, 3x7,  944, 

951-7 
Pauncefort,  Qaire,  90 
Pauncefort,  Mrs.,  30,  X05,  950 
Pavilion,  sx.  15X,  X64,  X79,  2x5-9,  354 
Paxtpn.  Sydney.  X87,  X99,  930^  954 
Peach,  Louisa,  68  ^-^  * 

?ISSe?k'4!'"ASLy,^s4-^ ''  Google 


Index. 


285 


Pearson,  Herbert,  143 
Pedley,  Grmoe,  335 
Penlev,  W.  S..  90, 163 
Penningtoii,  Alicei  in 
Pennington  Farewell  Benefit,  031 

Percvval,  T.  W.,  31,  $0,  x6o»  aaS,  044-9,  a53-8 

Pn/tctioHiXQia 

Permain,  F.  w.,  aoo,  354 

Perry,  WestUke,  az8 

Petits  OistatiXt  Les,  141 

Pettitt,  Henry,  z6z,  173,  353 

Peruvtattf  917 

Pharia4€j  rAkf.  31,  68 

Phelps,  Mrs.  Edmund,  x6o,  349,  355 

Philips,  F.  C,  01,  X4S,  30X,  339,  a49i  «S«-5 

Philhps,  Gerald,  79 

Phillips,  G.  B.,  3X5 

Phillips,  Kate,  75.  >o6, 343.6-9,  350 

PhiUips,Will/e,x8,344 

Pbilpot,  Eden,  339 

Phipps,  C.  J.,  X3,  304 

Plupps,  John,  346 

Piffard,  Hamilton,  137 

Pigott,  J.  W..  59 

Finero,  A.  W.,  47,  55>  aoa,  347 

PlanUTj  Tk€,  904,  356 

Playacting,  3x0 

Playfiur,  Arthur,  7x,  X93, 333,  348 

Playgoers' Club,  331 

**  Plea  for  ConvenUonality,  A,*'  aas 

PUbtian,  Tht.  155 

Poel,WiUiam,43 

Poison  Fhwtr^  Tfu,  X38 

Polini.  Harrietta,  50,  88, 346-9 

Pollock,  Walter,  00 

Poole.  W.  Howell,  9 

Pouixis,  Courtice,  X40, 333,  35X 

Powell,  F.  J..  330 

Power,  G.  W.  F.,  333 

Power,  Ronald,  350 

Power^  Tyrone,  3xx 

Pranetng  Girl,  Ths,  333 

PracticaiPlasrwriting  and  Cost  of  Production,  54 

Presentation  at  Sandringham,  3x5 

Preston,  John  F.,  163 

Prft0u:9j99 

Price,  Miss  £.,  163 

Prince,  Adelaide.  177 

Pri$tc9  and  the  Paupgr,  7 he,  X95,  353 

Prince  of  Wales's,  34,  68.  X63, 304, 333, 340-4-8, 356 

Princess's,  40,  7x,  X53,  X69,  3x4-9,  a«i  «3S-7»  a46- 

Privait  Inquiry^ 
Productions  in  Paris,  367 

„  „  Provinces,  359 

ProftsMurde  GesU,  Lt,  X4x 
Profligate,  The,  169 
Prologue  to  Richard  Savage,  83 
Protheroe,  May,  37,  89,  346 
Prudes  and  Pros,  133 


JuAiRB,  Ifarcus,  xxs 
Jueen's  Gate  HaU,  76 
Queen's  Room,  The,  aoo,  399,  355 
niickc,  C.  E.,  X36 

uiet  Rubber.  A .,  55.  xxo 

tdnton,  Mark  (Mark  Keogh),  76, 107,  xx3,  X9X, 

3X3,  350-7 

R. 

RaehePs  Messenger,  42 

Raddyffe,  Florence,  X57 

Rae,  Alfred,  3x8 

§am«ay,  CecU,  89,  2x3, 943-7 

RawlinflL  W.,  3x8 

Raye,  Violet,  50,  xxo,  X36,  X33,  X69,  ^53 

Raynard,  Chaiiotte,  69 

Reade,  Charles,  76 

Rebecca  the  Jewess,  33 

Reckoning,  The,  94, 337, 358 

Redmond,  Thomas,  X73 

Redmond,  M.,  178 


Reece,  Robert.  X47 

Reed,  Alfred  German,  65, 3x9 

Reeves-Smith,  H.,  xs,  30, 78,  X09, 139, 169, 3x3, 

350^ 
Regular  Fix,  A,  xx7 
Rehan,  Ada,  176,  X83-4, 304,  axx,  354 
Rezud,  Les,  938 
Renard,  R.,  69 
Renton,  Mrs.  Ernest,  X97 
Retaliation,  155 
Retiring,  997 
Return  of  the  Druses,  The,  994 

„     M ,  ».  ».       Cast,  994 

Revell.  Lilian,  130 

Reynolds,  Mr.,  943,  950 

Rhodes,  Marie,  90 

Richard  III.,  ivj 

Richard-Henry,  5x,  935 

Richard  Savage,  81,  948 

Richards,  Cicely,  58,  ox,  1x9,  X55,  x6x,  937 

Richard's  Pkty,  xa,  36 

Richelieu,  931 

Right  against  Might,  153 

Righton,  Edward,  43,  75,  xxo,  X98, 3X9,  946, 955-6 

Rignold,  Lionel,  zoo,  xs9, 353 

Riley,  W.,  356 

Rivers,  Emma,  zx7 

Road  to  Ruin,  The,  330 

Robert  Mctcaire,  xxx 

Roberts,  Arthur,  X5,  x6,  X36, 143,  x88 

Roberts,  Egbert,  95,  944 

Roberts,  Sir  RandaU  H.,  58 

Robertson,  D.,  948, 955 

Robertson,  Fanny,  so^  183,  954 

Robertson,  Ian,  x8,  35, 66^  944 

Robertson,  J.,  943 

Robertson,  J.  Forbes,  49,  347 

Robertson,  W.  J.,  X75 

Robins,  Elizabeth,  X9,  85, 159,  x87»  948, 359  4 

Robins,  William,  x9o-8 

Robinson  Crusoe,  Esq,,  67 

Robson,  E.  M.,  90 

Rock,  Charles,  58,  9X9, 949, 955-6 

Rocket,  The,  66 

Rodney,  Frank,  zz8,  X47,  950 

Roe,  Bassett,  69,  99,  x3o,  X55,  X7x,  X97,  axo,  390, 

aSSi  «5a-3-S 
Rogers,  John  R.,  X74 
Romeo  tmd  Juliet,  90 
Rorke,  Kate,  49i  189.  947,  954 
Rosabel  iHoup  La  /),  165,  aoa 
Rose,  Aiinie,  96, 990 
Rose,  C.  R.,  X85 
Rose,  Edward,  X76 
Rose  and  the  Ring,  The,  93 
Roselle,  Amy,  X7x,  X9S,  953 
RosencrantM  and  Gutldenstem,  x3o 
Rosmersholm,  36,  346 
Ross,  Adrian,  x5 
Round  the  Rtng,  906 
Roundhead,  The,  3s 
Rouse,  George  w.,  164 


Rowe,  Louise,  ajx 
Rowsell,  Mary  C,  xa,  36 


Royal  Academy,  xx5 

R(^al  Divorce,  A,  X77. 3x0, 33x,  353 

Royal  £Inglish  Opera  House,  33.  9x0, 338, 344,  356 

Royal  General  Theatrical  Fund,  46, 9o»  *^ 

Royalty,  59,  9X,  X40,  X9X,  904,  9Xx-8,  338,  939,  947, 

955 
Rusgles,  Lizzie.  x6z 
Rule  0/ Three,  The,  xyj,  85x 
Russel.  Howard,  151,  953 
Russell,  Langley.  58 
Russell,  Leonard,  x6y4f  344 
RusselL  Walter,  350 
Rutland,  Ruth,  8, 33,  78,  X37 

8. 

Sacrificed,  Z43 

Sadlers  Wells,  9, 30-3, 55, 94*  xia,  199, 133,  f 71-5, 

X97, 3x5 
Sauof's  Knot,  A,  X73,  339,  353 
SainUbury.  M.  A,,;^  51.  94,  x43-4f  x68,  9x5,  999 
Salaman,  Malcolm  u,  X48 


286 


Index. 


Sampson,  Henry,  109 

Sanipaon|WiUuun,  184*  «ii|  354 

Sanger's  Theatre,  55 

Santbunr,  Vernon,  151,  214 

Sapte,  W.  gun.),  49 

Saumarez,  Miss,  951 

Savoy,  133-8.  184,  axa 

Saxe,  Templar,  153.  95a 

Scaptgoat^  Thtt  146,  359 

Schoof,  181,  333,  35^ 

School  for  ScandaJt  The,  17,  70-6,  348 

Schmidt,  Madame,  69,  348 

Schubert,  43 

Schubert,  Annie,  44,  no,  •34 

Scott,  Qementf  80-1,  tat,  304 

Scovel,  Chevalier,  54, 133 

Scribf.  The,  189 

Searelle,  Luscombe,  179 

Seccombe,  Lilian,  x6o,  353 

Secret  of  a  Life^  The,  339 

Securiiedes  FamiiieB,  Ca,  7 

Sedg^er,  Horace,  36,  69,  i9i-7 

Sclwyn,  B«itricc,  1x4,315,  935,  357 

Selwyn,  Wilfred,  its 

Sennett,  Edward,  71 

Sequel yThe,  150 

Serge  Pdnine,  13  k  351 

Sei^eant^ohn.  163 

Serpent  Keliet  Fund  Benefit,  xsi 

Seymour,  Katie,  16,  53 

Shadow  Hunt,  The^  90 

Shaftesbury,  31,  107,  1x0-5,  «3a"S-7.  «4«,  »6x,  335, 

350-1 
Shaheapeare,  1x3 
Shale,  T.  A..  333,  344 
Shattered  *Un,  iso 
She  Stoops  to  Conquer,  3x5 
Shelley,  9^ 
Shelton,  G..  1x4 
Sherbum.  H.  A.,  zxz 
Shine,  Tonn  L.,  X5,  x6,  6x,  z  19,  348 
Shine,  Wilfred  £.,  170,  3x5,  3a8,  335-8,  953-7-8 
Shirley,  Arthur,  1351  sas,  asz 
Shirley,  Oarice  WTR.,  X94,  333.  aS5»  a57 
Shone,  R.  v.,  3x4 
Shylock  cS*  Co,,  131,  351 
Sicilian  Jdvll,  A,  X88 
Silva,  H.  R.,  X5X 
Silver  King,  The,  5,  X7,  X07 
Silverthome,  E.  C,  91 
Silver  Line,  The,  xx3,  136 
Sims,.G.  R.,  3x,  X57,  345,  35a 
Sinico,  Mme.,  333 
Sketches,  363 
Skinner,  George,  157 
Slaughter,  Walter,  33,  x5x,  3x4,  337 
Sleeping  Beauty,  The,  64 
Slightly  Suspicious,  X89 
Smith,  Bruce,  159 
Smith,  Mrs.  C  1.,  xzo 
Smith,  Master  £.  T.,  X45 
Smith,  Pollie,  88,  348 
Smith,  Stafford,  31,  31,  76,  344-6-9 
Smithson,  Frana,  X3x 
Snyder,  Lenore,  X40,  35  x 
Social  Pest,  A,  5 
SocicU  Victim,  A,  333 
Solomon^  Edward,  64,  67. 140,  85X 
''Some   interesting  Fallacies  concerning  the 

Modem  Stage,"  399 
Somerset,  C.  W.,  i3x,  347 
Sothem,  Sam,  339 
Soutar,  Robert,  3x1 
Sowing  and  Reaping,  38 
Sparling.  H.,  8,  34,  78,  X04, 171-5,  346-9 
Spectre  artdegroom.  The,  30 
Spiller,  Emily,  x3o 
Spiritualist,  The,  x6x 
Spring  Leaves.  s± 
Spring  Legend,  The,  333 
Squire  Benefit,  x36 
St.  Ange,  Josephine,  X7X-5 
St.  George's  Hall,  51, 64, 00,  i03»  i"i  i33»  198,  ai9 
St.  James s,  39,  38,  150,  188,  axi-a,  339,  346,  3578 
5t.  James  s  Hall,  133,  sio,  aao,  333 
St,  John,  norence,  136, 149 


St.  Quintin.  9a 

St.  Swithin^s  A.  D.  C,  9X 

"  Stage  of  the  Future,    X97 

Stage  Struck,  III 

Standard,  04,  xx7, 151, 163,  x9x 

SUnding,  Herbert,  74,  98,  160,  348-9 

Stanislaus.  F.,  x6,  330 

Stanley,  Alma,  x6,  313 

Stanton,  Guy,  334 

SUvelev,  W.  R.,  x68 

Steer,  Janet,  xx7,  xax-7 

Steinway  Hall,  53,  84,  X07,  no,  144-8 

Stephens,  Yone,  6x,  348,  956 

Sterry,  Ashby,  69 

Steuart,  Charles,  935,  957 

Stewart,  C,  xao,  353 

Stewart  Young,  X87,  9x7,  33X,  354 

Stewart,  Charles,  333 

Stirling,  Arthur,  41,  346 

Stirling,  E^  a5z 

Stockton,  Reginald,  156 

Stolen  from  Home,  X97 

*•  Story  of  Swordsmanship,  The,"  37 

Strand,  7,  8,  3X,  77»  88-9,  xx6, 135,  x^  x6o,  a3»-4f 

350 
Strange  Adventure  of  a  French  PianisU,  Tke^ 

^'♦*  ^L 

Stranger,  The,  ao,  344 

Stratton,  Daisy,  xsi^^ 353-5 

Streets  of  London,  ihe,  100 

Stuart,  H.  Lechmere,  X33 

Sturgis,  Julian,  33,  344 

Sugden,  Charles,35,  8«,  X33,  348 

Sumstion ;  or.  The  Hypnotist,  aao 

Sulnvan,  Arthur,  33, 344 

Sullivan,  Barry,  93 

Sullivan,  J.  P.,  X33 

Summer  Clouds,  38 

Sumnur's  Dream,  A,  148 

Sunlight  and  Shadow,  aa 

Superjftuous  La^,  A,  xx7 

Supper  Dance^jne,  xio 

Sufprisea  du  Divorce,  Les,  X57 

Surrey,  xa7, 145,  x6x,  189,  ao6,  aao,  933,  841,  ass 

Sutherland,  W.  R.,  93, 155 

Sweepstakes,  xzo 

Swinooume,  lliomas,  46 

Swiss  Express,  The,  337 


Talbot,  904 
Taziner,  Florence,  147 


Tapping,  A.  B.,  axa 
Taylor,  J.  G.,  38,  68,  94,  s 
Taylor,  Tom,  53 


Tearle,  Osmond,  X64 

Temple,  Violet,  33 

Temptation,  335 

Temss,  Ella,  5a,  71,  "o,  x3x,  Z70,  azs,  335,  348-9, 

aS>-3-7 
Terriss,  T.  Herbert,  xa7,  3a9,  350-3 
Terriss,  W.,  6,  45i  X05,  zx7,  a43-ST9 
Terry,  Edward,  46^  59j  66,  99,  909-4 
Terry,  Ellen,  6,  45»  »<»»  "7, 13a*  «57f  X74t  a43-7^ 
Terry,  F.,  x4,  X76,  X89 
Terry,  Marion,  39,  X5X,  9x4,  339,  846,  857-8 
Terry,  Minnie,  x5,  45,  a47 
Terty  :  or,  True  to  Hts  Trust,  90 
Terry's,  x5,  19,  35,  a^S,  58,  66,  75-9»  ^a^t  loj^t 

xxo,  X34,  133,  ao9,  a*©,  951 
Tessman,  C.  Burleigh,  939 
Thalberg,T.  B.,  zoo,  X98^ 
That  iVoman  tn  Pmk.  03 
Theatrical  Ladies*  Guile,  84a 
Then  and  Now,  66 
Theodora,  x6o 
ThMse,  Raquin,  X9x,  355 
Thomas,  Brandon,  54,  xa4-5,  x68,  887,  347,  asz 
Thomas,  Gus,  xx6,  350 
Thoznas,  Walter.  X71 
Thombury,  Cecil,  36, 899 
Thorne,  Emily,  xx,  xoi,  343 
TJorne,  Fred,  xz,  75»  99»  xoi,  ZZ3,  Z3a,  904,  343-7 
Thome,  George,  X73 


Index, 


287 


Thome,  Thomas,  zi,  13,  56,  75-9,  81,  zoz,  zzs, 

236,  a43-7ta52 
Thornton,  Frank.  Z40,  25Z 
Thomycroft.  Violet,  ao,  Z29,  329 
Thur£;ate,  Minnie,  zaz 
Ticket  of  Leav*  Matt^  213 
TilUh*  Half  Hour,  2s 
Times,  The,  203 
Tinnie,  Cora,  Z40 
Todhunter,  John  (M.D.),  138 
Tommy,  qz,  szo 
Toole.  J.  L.,  89,  Z14,  zi8 
Toole  s,  zp,  33,  89,  Z07,  ZZ4,  Z28 
Towers,  Johnson,  Z47 
Travis,  Annie,  z6z 

Tree,  H.  Beerbohxn.  Z4,  zj,  z7S-6,  229,  343 
Tree,  Mrs.  H.  Beerbohm,  Z76 
Tresahar,  John,  33Z 
Trevelyan,  Claude,  224 
Trip  to  Gretna,  A,xig 
Triple  Bill,  Z24,  z6z,  227 
The  Trumpet  Call,  ist,  252 
Trust,  93 
Trying  tt  On,  38 
Turned  Up,  jz 
Turner,  Earaley,  253 
Turner,  H.  J.,  Z97 
Turner,  Solfie,  zss,  Z97 
Turtle,  Miss  £.,  247 
*TtiHis  in  Trafalgat^s  Bay,  22 

Two  in  the  Bush,  Z64 

Two  or  One^  44 
Twyman,  Lily,  3zo,  344 

?y*"«i^i6i^°'  "♦3-5-7.  aso 
Tyrrell,  Miss,  35Z 
TyrreU,  Ruby,  25Z 


U. 

Ulmar,  Geraldine,  zqz 
Unfinished  Stoty,  The,  Z33 
Upper  Crust,  The,  89 


F.C,  76 

Valentine,  S.,  70,  zzo,  Z3Z,  248-9,  2SZ-7 

Vanbrugh,  Irene,  zz4,  Z38 

Vanderfelt,  E.  H.,  38,  90,  zz6,  s 

Vane,  Edith,  zz,  96,  343 

Vane-Sutton,  76,  90 

Vane-Tempest,  Adolphus,  Z33,  224,  358 

Vanloo,  A.,  Z63 

Vanneck,  Frederick,  s 

Vaudeville,  9,  zz,  36,  43,  55,  75-9,  84,  99i   xoo, 

ii^iUi  :?Lil''3'  143-4,  X50-S,  174,  195,  235, 
343-6-7-8,  352-5-8 

Vaudeville,  Paris,  Z77 

Vaughan,  Kate,  Z4 

Vaujfhan,  Susie,  46,  58,  2Z2,  256 

"  Vemcc  m  London,*'  238 

Venne,  Lottie,  Z45,  20Z,  353-6; 

Vere,  Miss  B., 

Vere,  F.  R.,  Z63 

Verity,  A^es,  9Z 

Vemer,  Lmda,  z6,  53 

Vemie,  Eugenie,  so,  32 

Vernon,  C,  38 

Vernon,  Gilbert,  5,  30 

Vernon,  W.  H.,  43,  6z,  96,  zz9,  Z22,  2z6,  320, 

246-8.25Z.7 

vezin,  xiennann,  2zo-z7,  235 


,  a45 


Vtperonthe  Hearth,  The,  119 
Vurgile,  Martini,  69 
Vita,  Floy,  43 
Vizetellv.Miss,  zs9,  353 
Vokes,  Victoria,  zzi 

Votirri,  Adeline,  133 


W. 

Wade,  Cissy,  sz,  79 

Wade^  Florence,  5z,  70 

Waiting  for  the  Coach,  Z47 

Waitittgfor  the  Train,  36 

Waller,   Lewis,  4Z-3,  6z,  7Z,  96,  zo8,  z33-6,  Z47, 

228,  246-8,  250-Z-2-0-8 
Walton,  Georgie,  163 
Warde,  Genevieve,  Z22,  220,  25Z 
Warde,  George,  90,  zz6,  245 
Warde,  W.,  z6,  67 

Warden,  Gertrude,  34,  Z33,  Z47,  246,  252-8 
Warden,  Julia,  89,  Z7z,  235 
Wardes,  E.  D.,  z6 

Waring,  Herbert,  39,  Z5z,  3Z3-4,  346,  357 
Warm  Members,  330 
Wame,  Henley,  Z64 

Warner,  Charles,  38,  76,  Z34,  Z74,  345,  353 
Warner,  Grace,  338,  358 
Warner,  L.,  2<7 
Warren,  Charles,  30 
Warren,  T.  G..  j^.  z6^,  306, 356 
Watching  and  Waiting,  133 
Watson,  Alexander,  79,  z3o 
Watson,  H.  B.  Marriott,  8z,  248 
Watson,  Henrietta,  2zo,  253 
Watson,  Ivan,  zz9,  233 
Watson,  Malcolm,  4  z,  64-8 
We  Two.  37 
Webb,  Miss,  347 

Webster,  Ben,  23,  43,  zsz,  2Z4,  230-3,  346,  257 
Webster,  Miss,  50-5,  Z32,  Z35,  347,  35Z 
Wedded  to  Crime,  zz3 
Welch,  James  A.,  Z78,  328,  234,  249,  253-7-8 
Well-Matched,  Z75 
Wenman,  T.  N.,  6,  45,  zo6,  243-5-7-9 
Wentworth,  Graham,  22z-5 
West,  E.  Lewis,  zsz 
West,  Florence,  6z,  7z,  zz6-7,  x46»  3z6,  338,  348, 

350-2-7-8 
Westerton,  Frank  H.,  79,  904 
Westgate,  Master,  347 
We8tEuid,H.,z38 
Whallevj  T.  W.,  60 
Wheatfeigh,  Charles,  Z76,  354 
Wh^atman.  J.,  37,  xoz,  ZZ3, 343-6,  353 

Wheel  of  Fortune,  The,  9 
Whitbread,  J.  W.,  139 
White,  M.,  z<3 

White  Lie,  A,  Z7S 

White  Roses,  333 

Whitty,  May,  8,  33,  75-8.  «43,  ^SSi  a48,  353 

Wild  Oats,  Z09 

Wild  Primrose,  The,  30 

Wild  Violets,  Z7z 

Wilkinson,  Arthur,  65 

Willard,  E.  S.,  Z37,  Z65,  z7z 

Willard,  Mrs.  E.  S.,  3z,  3zo 

WiUes,J.A-,328,  258 

Williams,  Arthur,  59,  88,  Z26,  Z43,  237 

Williams,  Eva,  256 

Williams,  Hetty,  58 

Williams,  Nina,  204,  23Z 

Williams,  Ettie,  356 

Williamson,  Harry,  227 

"*""'-"' -^^  Nora,  331 

\-:        .  .  ■  I  tie,  12* 

UilPs.  ^^  '  ^i  l\44r  I77i  ^32,  347,  853 

Wiloiot,  Alfred  A.,  36,  51 

Wilraot,  i^QJ^t  3Jt,  n54,  »46^,  353 

Wilsoniaj  G.,  255 

Willoo,  J-  G.,  30j|  51 

Windsor  Thcatncals,  SS 

Winj^field,  Hon*  Lewis  S,,  3Z7 

Wittg.i:  af  f/ie  Siorm,  The,  189 

J  J  'til  n  ing  Dt/cat,  1 1 5 

Wisha\Tf"i  Mrs.  Benmrd,  jK 

Wood,  A.J  169,  as3 

Wood,  FninJt*  i^Si  234 

Wood*  Mrs,  Jobn,  53^  g.S,  198,  3Z3,  347-9,  355-6 

Wooaban-tyw  Fftr*tt,  g^  343 

WQcm^-er,  AnrlrJ-,  C$-,  ^48 

Wright,  Hunfley,  155 


^gl 


288 


Index. 


Wright,  Mrt.  Theodore,  53,  zto,  147,  i94>  Mli 


wj^s,  w.,  sfl,  105,  aoa,  %/p^ 
Wylde,  Bftra.  Henry,  »aa 
Wylford,  Muriel.  ai9-z5 
Wyndham,  Chanet,  70, 


048*957 
Wynne,  BCr.,  5 


a5»-5 

100.X09,  Z99,  xsa,  996, 


Y, 


Yardlby.  William,  67,  aos,  956 
Yco,  H.  E.,  857 
York,  Cedi  M.,  zz,  943 


York,  Gilbert,  70 
Yorke,  Alice,  46 
Yorke,£Ua,«8 
Yoi^,  Oawaid,  zoz,  958 
York$kir9  Lass^  Tht.  33,  946 
KoMMj^  PrtUndeTt  Tnt,  83Z 
Youni:,  Sir  Charles,  7Z,  948 
Younar,  William  L.,  zzo 
YvttU,  Z78 


Zaleska,  Ifadame  Wanda,  94 
Zanfiretta,  Franoeaca,  69,  348 


Digitized  by  VjOOQ IC 


MR.  WILSON  BARRETT 

ON  TOUB  THROUGH 

The    English    Provinces, 

AOOOMPANIBD  BT 

MISS    MAUD    JEFFRIES 

AND 

Entire  Xonlion  Company. 

IRepertoire : 

Haivilet,        Claudian,        Othello, 
Ben-hiy-Chree,  The  Acrobat, 

BTC.f   Etc. 


"  fsAs  a  romantic  and  picturesque  actor ^  Wilson  Barrett  has  no 
rival'^ — Clement  Scott. 

.  Charles  Dickens,  in  Household  Words^  says  : 
"  For  passion^  intensity^  and  pathos  Wilson  Barrett  has  no 
rival  on  the  staged 


IDUR  THROUGH  UNITED  STATES,  1892  AND  1893. 

Business  Managers: 

BIB.  H.  C.  BEB7L  AND  HB.  O.  M.  POLINI 

19 


EllZABETH    BESSIE'S    COMPANY 

OF 

Artists  from  the  London  Theatres 

IN 

PLAYS,  SCEKES,  AND  SKETCHES 

SPECIALLY  ARRANGED  FOR 

-^    OPEN-AIR    -^- 

OR 

I  NDOOR 

KHFORMANGE  WITHOUT  8CENEIY  OR  CURTMIL 


TAe  Rdpertoire  includes 

SHAKESPERIAN     COMEDIES, 

SCENES,  DUOLOGUES,  COMEDIETTAS, 
SKETCHES,  TRAVESTIES^ 

AND 

Scenes  without  Words  (in  dumb  show) 

FROM 

SHAKESPERE,        SHERIDAN.        DICKENS. 

GILBERT.       DE  BANVILLE. 

PAILLERON.       Etc..       Etc..       Etc. 


Address-B.  BBSSLE,  19,  SACKVILLB  STREBT,  LONDON,  W 


THE  JOHN  R.  ROGERS  COMEDY  CO.. 


AND 


M.  P.  M.  S. 

MINNIE  PALMER 

SuccessAil  in  any  undertaking. 
Success  in  Comic  Opera,   Comedy,   or  Farce. 
SUCCESS— Pleases  one's  Friends, 
Astonishes  the  Pregudiced, 

and  Maddens  the  Jealous. 


SUCCESS!  SUCCESSII  SUCCESSIII 


AND 


MINNIE  VMMm. 


Admitted  by  Press  and  Public  to  combine  more  excellent  Varied  Gifts 
than  any  other  Artiste  in  the  World. 

Yours  Merrily  y 
-  JOHN  R.  ROGERS,  Manager: 


AlHAMBSA  TH£ATfi£.  | 

Open  Every  Evening  from  7.30  until  1 1 .30. 


BEAUTIFUL    BALLETS 

AND 

A  Refined  Variety  Entertainment. 


OPERATIC  &  OTHER  SELECTIONS  BY  THE  ORCHESTRA, 

Conducted  by  M.  JACOB/. 


Prices  of  Admission,  6d.,  Is.,  2s.,  8s.,  and  6s.;    Private 
Boxes,  jBl  lis.  6d.  to  jB3  3s. 

CRITERION  THEATRE 

PICCADILLY,   LONDON. 


Sole  Lessee  and  Manager  •  •  Mil.  CEASLES  KTSSBJJL 


MR.  CHARLES  WYNDHAM 

AND   COMPANY   IN 

C  O  ME  D  Y^ 

Digitized  by  VjOO' 


COMEDY    THEATRa 

Manager    Mr.  OHABLES  H.  HAWTBET. 

Every  Evening  at  g. 

THE  GREY  MARE. 

laroioal  Comedy  in  Three  Acts  I7  e£OB&E  B.  SIKS  and  CECIL  BALEIftH. 

MESSRS. 

Eric  Lewis,  James  Nelson, William  Wyes,  E.  Cosham,  Gerald  Gurney, 
W.  F.  Hawtrey,  and  Charles  Brookfield  ; 

MISSES 
Annie  Irish,  A.  Dairolles,  Violet  Armbruster,  and 

AT  8.20  A  COMEDIETTA. 

Box  Office  Open  from  lO  to  lO. 
Business  Manager     -    -    -      Mr.  E.  F.  BRADLEY. 

GAI ETY    THEATRE. 

George  Edwardes  -  -  Lessee  and  Manager. 

Eyeiy  Evening  at  8.30, 

Cinder-Ellen  Up  Too  Late. 

by  a.  C.  TORR  and  W.  T.  VINCENT. 

Mustc  by  MEYER   LUTZ, 


WITH 


lirtroductioiii  by  Osmond  Carr,  Jacobi,  Lionel  MonoKlon,  Waiter  Siaughler,  olii 

MISS   KATE   JAMES,  MR   E.   J.    LONNEN, 

MISS    SYLVIA   QBET,  MR    CHARLES   DANBT, 


AND 


Preceded   at  Eisht  by  an  Operetta. 

D00R8  OPEN  AT  7.80.      BOX  OFFICE  OPEN  TEN  TO  8IX%^^ 


GLOBE  THEATRE. 

(LIffhted  by  Electricity.) 


■r.  Homy  Garson:    -    -    -    -    Lessee  and  Manager. 


A    BOHEMIAN 

(N«w  Play  In  Foup  Aets), 


Author  of  "  The  Sequel." 

Ann.  Lewis  liDir,  FndKTtffli,  IDaBiyimrtl,  Ptrcynl  A  Imnj  Cinoi. 
Iss  luiib  UUttt,  Hss  Flonice  lest,  ud  Its.  CannlBgA. 


NO    FEES. 


In  OfliM  10  till  5.  Aoting  Manager :  %.  W.  I|.  Criffiths. 

I/YCBUM   THEATRE. 

Every  Nlffht  at  8. 

HENRY     VIII. 


Cardinal  Wolsev         -        -    Mr.  IRVING. 

Queen  Katharine        -        -    Miss  ELLEN  TERRY. 


Box  Office  (Mr.  J.  HUBST)  Open  10  to  6. 


LYRIC    THEATRE. 


Mr.  HORACE  SfiDGER,  Sole  Lessee  ft  Manager. 


Every  Evening  at  8-20, 


A    New    Comic    Opera    Entitled 


THE    MOUNTEBANKS, 

BY  W.  S.  CILBERT  &  ALFRED  CEUIER, 


With  the  following  very  Strong  Cast: — 


Mr.  Harry  Monkhouse. 

,1  Frank  Wyatt. 

„  J.  Robertson. 

„  FuRNEAUx  Cook. 

„  Arthur  Playfair. 

„  Charles  Gilbert. 

„  Gilbert  Porteous. 


Mr.  Cecil  Burt. 

„    Lionel  Brough.    . 
Miss  Lucille  Saunders. 

M     AiDA  Jenoure. 

„     Eva  Moore. 

,,     Geraldine    Ulmar 
(Mrs.  Ivan  Caryll). 


Musical  Director    -    -    Mr.  IVAN  CARYLL. 


MATDd^E    EVERT    SATTJRDA7    AT    2.30. 


BOX  OFFICE   OFISN   TEN  TO  TENJ^v 


Google 


PRINCE   OP  WALES 


Proprietor   -    -    -   Mr.  EDGAR  BRUCE. 


UNDER  THE  MANAGEMENT  OF 

MR.     C.     J.     ABUD. 


Every  Evening. 


BLUE- 

Miss 

Marian    Burton, 

Miss 

Grace   Pedley, 

EYED 

MI88 

Katie  Seymoitr, 

and  Miss 

Nellie   Stewart. 

SUSAN. 

Mr. 

Arthur    Roberts, 

Mr. 

Br 

Chauncey  Olcott, 

Mr 

G.  B.  SIMS 

AND 

Willie  Warde, 

and  Mr. 

Arthur   Williams, 

Hmio  by  F.  Osniond  Carr. 

■Wu  fictt  9tateteb  vxCtux  Vut  SiuDam.  at 

Mr.  Hugh  Moss. 

Wu  ffa»ica  fiatoctiim  ntOut  the  ^butitu  tt 
MR.  A.  PLUMPTON. 

Acting  Manager 


Mr.  £  HALLEWELL. 


ST.    GEORGE'S    HALL. 

LANGHAM    PLAGE,   W. 

Xfceiwed  fre  tbe  lotO  ObambetUKn  to  and  undet  tbe  Aanadement  oC 

MR.  ALFRED  8ERMAN  REED  AND  MR.  CORNEY  DRAIN. 


NR.  AMD  MRS.  GERMAN  REED'S  EMTERTAIMMEMT. 

Morning  Perform ancbs — 
TUESDAT,  TETORSDAT,  and  BATXTRDAT,  at  Three. 

EVBNIKG  PBRFORMANCB&— 

MONDAY,    WEDNESDAY,   and   FRIDAY,    at    Eight 


Admission,  Is.,  2s. ;   Stalls,  3s.  and  5s. ;  Boxes,  £1  lis.  6d. 


Si.  Ch^rg^s  Hall  can  be  Hired  far  Amateur  Performances^  Concerts^  Readings^  etc* 


The  vacant  dates  are  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Saturday  Evenings,  and  Monday, 

Wednesday,  and  Friday  Afternoons. 

For  Terms  and  Particulars  apply  to  Mr.  H.  D.  REED,  Secretary. 

ST.  JAMES'S   THEATRE, 

KING  STREET,  ST.  JAMES'S. 

Sole  Lessee  and  Manager   •    -   Mr.  &EOE&E  ALEXAJTBEK. 
open  Every  Evening  with 

COMEDY  &   DRAMA. 


MR.   GEORGE   ALEXANDER 

AND 

POWERFUL     COMPANY. 
Business    Manager,    Mr.    ALWTN    LBWiS. 


TERRY'S     THEATRE, 

105   &   106,   STRAND. 

Sole  Proprietor      ....      Mr.  EDWARD  TEBST. 


CONSTBUGTED   ENTIBELT  OF  CONCBETB 

AND   ntON. 


LIGHTED    BY    ELECTRICITY. 
Open  Every  Evening  throughout  the  Year. 

BntineM  Manager  and  Treaforer,  Xr.  E.  T.  BSICKWELL. 

ALIAS, 

Historical    and   Theatrical 
COSTUMIER, 

36,    SO  HO   SQUARE,    LONDON,    W. 
EVERY  DESCRIPTION  OF  COSTUME  ON  SALE  OR  HIRE. 
FANCY    BALL   COSTUMESigie 


MORRIS  ANGEL  AND  SON, 

Mbolesale  Si  l^etail  Clotbiete 


AND 


THEATRICAL      COSTUMIERS, 

43,  SHAFTESBURY  AVENUE,  LONDON,  W.C. 


(One  door  from  Cambridge  Circus.) 


SPECIALLY  NOTED    FOR   FIRST-GLASS    TAILORS'   MISFITS    FOR 
THEATRICAL  AND  PRIVATE  USE 


■^r  N.B.  —  No   connection  with   any  other  house  in  the 

neiffht>ourhood. 

DURRANT'S 

Press     Cuttings, 

ESTABLISHED  1880.       CHIEF  LONDON  OFFICES :— 

57,  HOLBORN  VIADUCT,  LONDON, 


E.C. 

(Remaioed  from  17,  Southampton  Row). 

Terms  :- 

ei 

Is. 

Od per   126  Extracts 

£2 

2s. 

Od „     300         „ 

£3 

3s. 

Od.            „     600 

£6 

6s. 

Od „  1,000          „ 

Contracts  at  Redaced  Rates  for  3,  6,  or  12  Months. 


MONA  HOTBL,  HBNRIBTTA  8TREBT, 

COVENT  OAROBN,  W.C. 


♦«•«» 


President :  J.  T.  GREIN.       Vice-President :  CECIL  RALEIGH. 

#■•■» 

Tff/S  Club  was  established  m    1 884,  /or  the  purpose  of  affordmg 
Playgoers  opportunities  for  social  intercourse  and  discussion. 

The  Club  is  open  on  Saturdays  from  3  to  12  p.m.,  on  Sundays 
from  6  to  II  p.m.,  and  on  every  other  evening  from  5  to  12  pjn. 

LECTURES,  LADIES  CONCERTS,  and  SMOKING  CONCERTS 
will  be  held  at  frequent  intervals.  In  each  case  notice  of  dates  will  be 
sent  to  all  members. 

annual  Subscription     «      «      «    tmlf  a  Guinea, 
Bnttance  f ee «      «      «      ^     «    five  SbilUnas. 


Applications  for  Membership  should  be  addressed  to  the  Hon.  Sec, 
Percy  House,  from  whom  any  further  niformation  may  be  obtained. 

C.  ST.  JOHN  DENTON, 

MANAQER  for  HUQH  JAY  DIDCOTT  A  Co.,  Musioal  and 
Dramatio  Agents,  20,  Bedford  Street,  Strand. 

MATINEES  MANAQED.  TOURS  BOOKED.   PLAYS  READ. 

Miss  Rose   Dearinq. 

Agents:— HUGH  JAY  DIDCOTT  A  CO.,  20, Bedford  St^  Strand. 

London  &  Goety  Advance  &  Disconnt  Goipany, 

LIMITED. 

CASH  -ADVANCES  from  i:2o  to  i:soo, 
without  preliminary  fees  or  deductions, 
repayable  by  easy  instalments,  upon  personal 
security,  life  policies,  furniture  (without  re- 
moval), etc.     Bills  discounted.     Forms  gratis. 

67  &  58,  CHANCERY  L^NE,  W.C.     JOI|N  STOflE,  Secretaiy. 


CRYSTAL    PALACE 

ELECTRICAL  EXHIBITION. 

if  Open  Daily.  ^ 

THE    BRIGHTEST   SPOT    IN    ENGLAND. 

Latest  Novelties  in  Domestic  Electric  Lighting,  Illustrated  in  Elegant 
Suites  of  Rooms,  specially  Furnished  and  Decorated. 

leitst  Desi^  In  EleeMe  U0t  Mings  for  die  Uner-tiUfl. 
TELEPHONE    MU8I0    BOOM. 

Ekclric  Lighting  Effects  for  the  Stage  shown  in  Siemensfs  Model  Theatre. 

MACHINERY  ANNEXE— Dpamofi,  Electro-motors,  an<]  all  Kinds  of  Machines  at 
work  in  Prodndng,  Distributing,  and  Utilising  th  -  Electric  Current 

Messrs.   HUTCHINSON   &  CO.'S 

New  and  Forthcoming  Works  on 

AUSTRALIA  AND  NEW  ZEALAND. 

BOUin)  THE  COMPASS  IN  AUSTRALIA. 

BY  GILBERT  PARKER 

(Late  Special  Commissioner  of  the  Sydmy  Mornitig  Herald), 
With  numerous  Illustrations.    Crown  8vo,  cloth  gilt. 

HUTCHINSON'S   AUSTRALASIAN   ENCTCLOPADIA 

{Including  NEW  ZEALAND).  Comprising 
An  Alphabetical  Description  of  all  Places  in  the  Australasian  Colonies,  an 
Account  of  the  Events  which  have  taken  place  in  Australasia  from  its  Dis- 
covery to  the  Present  Date,  its  Natural  History,  Scenery,  Resources,  Laws, 
Constitution,  and  Statistics,  and  Biographies  of  Discoverers,  Explorers, 
Officials,  and  Colonists,  from  the  Earliest  Dates  to  1855. 

BY  GEORGE  COLLINS  LEVEY,   C.M.G. 

In  Crown  8vo,  half  leather,  gilt,  7s.  6d.  net 

THE  WEB  OF   THE  SPIDER. 

A  Story  of  New  Zealand  Adventure 

BY     H.     B.     MARRIOTT     WATSON, 

Author  of  ''Marahuna,"  "Lady  Faintheart,"  etc    Crown  8vo,  in  doth  gilt,  69. 
EDITED  BY  PHILIP  MENNELL,  P,R.GS, 

THE  AUSTRALASIAN  DICTIONART  OF  BI06RAPHT 

(INCLUDING  NEW  ZEALAND  AND  FIJI). 

Comprising    Notices    of    Eminent    Colonists    from    the    Inauguration    of 

Responsible  Government  down  to  the  Present  Time  (1855— zSgx). 

By  PHILIP  MENNELL,  F.R.G.S.,  Assisted  by  Eminent  Colonists. 

In  crown  8vo,  half  leather  and  cloth  gilt,  los.  6d.  net 
LONDON:  HUTCHINSON  ft  CO.,  25,  PATERNOSTER  SQUARE. 


MESSRS.   HUTCHINSON  S  CO.'S 

■Rcw  t>ant>6ome  Xibrar^  Edition 


OF 


POPULAR   NOVELS 

BY    AUTHORS    OF    THE    DAY. 

In  tMk,  giU  top,  as.  6i.  each. 


HIW  yOLTJME  by  Anthor  of  "BT  ORDM  OF  THE  CZAB.' 

A    Modern    Ulysses. 

By  JOSEPH  HATTON.     {In  the  Press,) 


TkM  *'GMardian''  says  -.—"Messrs.  HutchiMon's  Popular  Libranr  is  really  a  most 

SoSedof  its  supefluous  spaces  and  maigins.  and  offered  to  the  reader  n«»tly  boynd. 
^rprintS.?o^rtable  to  handle,  with  plenty  of  matter  and  interest,  and  all  for  the 
modest  sum  of  2s,  ^J* 


By  Mn.  RIDDELL 

Austin  Frian 

Too  Much  Afon$ 

The  Rich  Husband 

Maxwelt  Dnwift 

Far  Above  Rubies 

A  Life's  Aesize 

The  World  in  the  Church 

Home,  Sweet  Home 

Phemie  Keller 

Race  for  Wealth 

The  EaH's  Promise 

Itortomley's  Estate 

Frank  Sinclair's  Wife 

The  Ruling  Passion 

Mv  First  and  my  Last  Love 

City  and  Suburb 

Above  Suspicion 

Joy  after  Sorrow 


By  FLORENCE  HARRY  AT. 

Mount  Eden 
Qerald  Estcourt 
Love's  Conflict 
Too  Qood  for  Him 
Woman  against  Woman 
For  Ever  and  Ever 
Nelly  Brooke 
Veronique 

Her  Lord  and  Master 
The  Prey  of  the  Qods 
QiHs  ofFevereham 
Mad  Oumaresq 
No  Intentions 


By  FLORENCE  MARRY  AT 
iCoHtmuid). 
Petronel 
Miss  Harrington's  Husband 

By  JOSEPH  HATTON, 

Clytie 

The  Tallants  of  Barton 

In  the  Lap  of  Fortune 

Valley  of  Poppies 

Not  in  Society 

Christopher  Kenrick 

Cruel  London 

The  Queen  of  Bohemia 

Bitter  Sweets 

By  Order  of  the  Czar 

By  J.  SHERIDAN  LEFANU. 

Checkmate 

AllintheDaHc 

Quy  Deverell 

The  Rose  and  the  Key 

Tenants  of  Malloiy 

Willing  to  Die 

Wylder's  Hand 

By  F.  W,  ROBINSON, 
Christie's  Faith 
Carry's  Confession 
Under  the  Spell 
House  of  Elmore 
Milly's  Hero 
Mr,  Stewart's  Intentions 
No  Man's  Friend 


By  F.  W.  ROBINSON 
iCoMHrnted). 
Wild  Flowers 
Poor  Humanity 
Owen,  a  Waif 
Woodleigh 
A  Woman's  Ransom 
Mattie,  a  Stray 
Slaves  of  the  Ring 
One  and  Twenty 

By  e.  A,  SALA, 
Quite  Alone 

By  SIDNEY  S.  HARRIS, 
The  Sutheriands 
Rutledge 
Christine 

By  ANNIE  THOMAS, 
On  Guard 
Walter  Goring 

By  M,  BETHAM  EDWARDS. 
Love  and  Mirage 

By  JOHN  COLEMAN, 
The  White  Ladye  ofRosemoma 

BySirJULIUS  VOQEL,K.CJfM. 
A.D,  2000:  or,  Woman'* 
Destiny 

By  HELEN  MATHERS, 
Sam's  Sweetheart 

By  IZA  DUFFUS  HARDY. 
The  Qiri  He  did  not  Marry 


London  :  HUTCHINSON  &  CO.,  25,  Paternoster  Squa^Ic 


Ubtee  Ool6  iPe&ate. 

MEMKI  PIVmG  AND  MIFICim  STONE  Co.,  li 

86  AND  87,  STRAND,  W.C. 

Sole  Proprietors  of  Wilkes'  Patent  Metallic  Flooring,  Artificial 
Stone,  and  Eureka  Concrete. 

Fnlon  to  tbe  War  OfDce,letiopo]ttan  Fin  Brigade,^  ths  Intenational  ExUbttioiu. 

This  Company  has  executed 

The  Galleries,  Fireproof  Floors,  Staircases,  Roofs,  and 
Decorative  Fronts 

Of  the  following  THEATRES  and  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS,  amongst  others  :— 

Royal  Court  Theatre,  London,  i  Tivoli  Theatre,  London. 

Terry's  „  „  St.  James'  Hall,  „ 


If 


Oarrick 

Traflalgar  „  „ 

New  Olympic      „  „ 


Prince's         „ 

Royal  Albert  Music  Hall, 

Theatre  Royal,  Oxford. 


Theatre  Royal,  Paisley.  ,  Assembly  Hall,  Mile  End,  B. 


THE  ARTIFICIAL  STONE  CAN  BE  MADE  TO  MATCH  ANY  NATURAL  STONE  IN  COLOUR. 

CARL  HENTSCHEL  &  CO., 

Direct  Photo-etchers  and  Photo-Iitho^raphers, 

182  &  183,  FLEET  STREET,  LONDON,  EX. 

The  leading  London  Illustrated  Papers  have  now  adopted  C^  l|E|IT8CI|EL'8  Syitoiit  of 

a  sufficient  guarantee  that  his  work  is  of  the  highest  quality. 


|f9"Estlmates,  PrioeUsts,  ud  aD  Fnrtber  Information  can  be  bad  onippUcadoiL 

NEVILLE'S   DRAMATIC   STUDIO, 

41,    FITZROY    SQUARE,    W. 
Under  the   Direction  and   Personal  Supervi^'on   of  Mr.    HENRY   NEVILLL 


SIB  AUGUSTUS  HABBIS. 
H.  BBEBBOHH  TBSB,  Biq. 
CHABLB8  WTKBHAII,  BflQ. 
&  8.  WnXABD,  Bsq. 


patrons; 


THOMAS  THOBm,  BflQ. 
JOHN  HOLLXNCrnHBAU,  Biq. 
WILSON  RARBBTT.  BflQ.  CU.SJL 

BUOBNB  TOMPKINS,  Botton  TbMktn, 


Praotioal  Instmotion  for  the  Stage.   Every  Branch  of  the  Art  Taught. 

Amateurs  Coached.   Perfbrmances  Organised  and  Stage-managed* 

Introduction  to  Proitossion.     All  Lessons  given  in  Studio  Theatre. 

FOR  PROBPBCTUB,  ADDRESS  MR.  FRED.  6ARTSIDB. 


IMPROVED  THEATRE  CHAIRS. 


<•» 


Handsome,  Attractive,  and   Durable. 


THE  BEST  AND  CHEAPEST  IN  THE  MARKET. 


Now  In  use  at  several  of  the  piinolpal  Plaoes  of  Entertain- 
ment In  London  and  the  Provinces. 


UPHOLSTS&ED  DT  TELYET  AT  13/6  MCE,  DT  &0W8. 


ILLUSTRATIONS   POST   FREE. 


Portable  CHiIRS  and  SEiTS  of  nery  descri|idon  for  PDUic  issflmliUes  sipplM. 


H.  LAZARUS  and  SON, 

flDanufacturera  d  (Tbeatrical  TllpboUterers, 
33,  CURTAIN    ROAD,  LONDON.      , 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


^  C.    H.    FOX,  ^ 

COSTUMIER,   WIGMAKER,    ETC., 

25,  RUSSELL  STREET,  COVENT  GARDEN,  LONDON,  W.C. 
The  Greatest  Theatrical  Emporium  in  the  World. 


EVERYTHING   REQUIRED    FOR    PRIVATE   THEATRICALS  AND  FANCY   DRESS 
BALLS  IN  STOCK,  FOR  SALE  OR  HIRE. 

Entire  Fit-up  for  Draving-rooms  or  Public  Halls,  Plusli  Curtains, 
Scenery,  Lime%lit8,  Costumes,  Wigs,  Properties,  etc.  Competent  men 
sent  to  any  part  of  the  Globe,  with  everything  necessary.  Illustrated 
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