On this page
-
Text (1)
-
No. 461, jANUA3iy ^2 ,J,859.] l_- .l-TJg...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
The Crystal Patace.—--Sunday Opening. Th...
» ip edmifed of the charitable baronet ' s illustrious rompany . But many of its supporters , who ha d followed their set into the matter , abandoned it , on reflecting that thus to banish poor old men of talent and fancy from the scenes of their work and the companions of their labours , would be false charity . There are few old literary men , and ,, we think , no old actors who care to be forgotten in these scenes and bv that company—in fact , to be dead to their profession . But this collegiate sequestration would be professional death , and thus , in our opinion , would be at best a cruel kindness . A dozen annuities of SOl each to pensioners , living where and as they like , will make , we engage for it , as many happy old souls . But an equal expenditure in ahnshouse relief ¦ vr i ' lL make , we engage for it , at least half a dozen unhappy and unthankful .
HAYMAEKET . Mr . Bttckstone ' s cleverly planned spectacle of Undine , with its judicious compound of fun and faerie , its pretty ballet , and its well-filled pendent pantomime , continues to draw , as it deserves , good houses . Miss Fanny Wright , as the silver-clad Translucia , and Miss Louise Leclercq , as the lovelorn Sp irit of the Waters , still share the enthusiasm of the public with the gorgeous scenery of the " subaqueous hall" and the " Palace of Delhi . " But it were surely better to invert the order of performance than to make the complaisant frequenters of this ¦ charming theatre , who often come far to enjoy the capital entertainment above mentioned , go through the preliminary purgatory o ( The Soldier ' s Daughter , which was revived on Tuesday evening . ' * Croakers , lie down !¦ " we were disposed to cry when this comedy of the much-belauded old times came to an
urideplored end . " You ever-present faction , who , sigh for the old high and dry , be hailed here for one night only , and ever after be silent . Here , at least , is a work written b y a good old actor of the good old -school , popular in its day—a stock piece apparently in America—and thought worthy of a temporary resuscitation at the temple of legitimate comedy . But were this the work of Buiwer , Bay le , Bernard , or Coyne , the town would hiss , and you would scoff as one man . " The kindest of kindnesses to the memory of Cherry , the author-actor , would be to suppress once and for all this loud claim of his to be immortalised , in the next Duneiad . As we cannot Predicate a week's run tor the piece , we need not
trouble the reader with its \ apid plot . Suffice it to say that Mr , Chippendale ,. as . the gentlemanly old Governor Heartall , was the gem of the historical portrait gallery . Messrs . W . Farren and Villiers did the young men with spirit . The heroine , Widow Cheerly- ^ a par t sacred , when Cherry and volunteer- * ing were extant , and the scarlet fever raged terribly in England , to the fascinating Mrs . Jordan—was represented by an American actress , Mrs . W . C . Forbes . . Di gnified and intelligent though this lady appeared to be , and amiable though the audience
undoubtedly were , the native insipidity and dulness of the play almost bore her down . The military and patriotic talk , which , while a French invasion was imminent , ensured the success of The Soldier ' s Daug hter , fell upon even duller ears than seemed to have been calculated , and the interminable epilogue , in five stories , f ytte s , or acts , grievously imperilled not alone the credit of tlie revival but even the reception of the fair debutante . But the kind feeling of the audience towards the latter saved the former from censure , and the usual honours were awarded nem . dis .
t-YCEUM . Wo hope that Mr . Falconer will at length reap the fruit of his enterprise and exertions , and that the Lyceum , which has somewhat drooped since Christmas , will not merely resume the position it occupied in public favour during the long run of his comedy of Extremes , but will attain to something like the popularity once enjoyed by the Adelphi . A new drama was produced on Thursday , entitled Tho Sister ' a vacrjice , or the Orphans o / Valwige , wilh the view of bringing prominently forward the unrivalled talents or Madame Celeste * and was received , a s it w e ll deserved , with every possible mark of favour , 4-hp orphans of Valnoigo aro Gdncvttvc , a sempstress and shopkeeper . ( Madame Celeste ) , and her young half-sister Josette ( Miss Julia St . George ) . The former
ot tueao , a hi gh-principled and reflective but most amiable character , has , at her mother ' s doath-bedsido , undertaken the sole charge and support of the latter who is thoughtless and giddy . Consequently , whe n her good qualities have px'oourod Gtlnaviico an oxcollorit OfJer of marriage from CyprienGirard , a mountain mrmor ( Mr . Emery ) , she finds horaolf compelled to rotuso it at the eleventh hour beeauno his parents yrm not receive hor sister as well us hovsolf under now roof . This is the sistor ' s " " rat aaorMco , and with it concludes tho first oot . But there is yot ) aV 0 Mw in 8 toro for Gdnoviiue . A few months aro supposed to elapse between tho "rat and second acts . Odn w idue hits passed them at ti i' " returns thonco In tlmo to bo prosont at "lo tunoral of JosoUq , who has died somewhat
sudspeaking highly of them ; but for the moment , have not space to travel , over the ground . At a future opportunity we may do so , but at present will do no more than commend them for the entertainment of young people especially .
PROFESSOR BARNOM . —STi JA . BtESSHA . Lt . That Regius professor of worldly wisdom and humbug , Mr . P . T . Barnum , continues his entertaining course of lectures" to very large classes of undergraduates in those faculties . Humbuggees in thousands-r-possible humbugs all—attend his soirees , and leave them intent upon putting in practice at least the sagacious maxims upon money-making , which our genial Yankee philosopher so entertainingly sets forth and illustrates . As a reader , Mr . Barnum is above the average . His voice is sonorous , his delivery clear . His subject is of course interesting almost beyond compare , and hia treatment of it , while seemingly artless , rough , and ready , is , nevertheless , well-studied and elaborate . His
views on ' making money" are so clearly correct that , if it were not too great humbug , we should like , in some future course , to be favoured with some ideas about " keeping it . " Something original in this way would be a boon to the world and the worthy inventor too ; but failing absolute novelty , the author of the Barnum lectures has such a felicitous mode of dealing with the oldest saws and stories and the most modern axioms that we doubt not that lie would also handle very pleasantly the important topic we suggest . For the benefit of the curious , we may mention that this Mr . Barnum is a person of unassuming manners , and has a clear , bright eye . His age is doubtful ; but his lectures present internal evidence of his birth some time since Solomon . No
one yet , we believe , has questioned his genuineness j but at the feet of such a Gamaliel an apt pupil may be pardoned the somewhat heretical query whether even a " sham Barnum may not exist , and , that granted , whether this one must of necessity be the ori ginal . The simultaneous operations in the two hemispheres of duplicate humbug-rprdphets would be an excellent and , no doubt , profitable joke . We are onl y taking a leaf out of our pundit ' s book when we suggest that he should fortify himself with certificates from his legation , properly attested , t hat he is in truth the P . T . Barnum , or another .
ST . JAMBS ' S HALL POPULAR CONCERTS . We are glad to observe that the value of this establishment as a home for permanent entertainments and a perch ing-spot forcasual lectures , meetings , concerts , and balls , ; is beginning to ,: be appreciated by professionals and public alike . The Monday popular concerts are now looked for , arid though London can , hardly be called full , are frequented by the best company . At that on Monday last , the most novel feature was the appearance , pursuant to announcement , of Mr . Sims Reeves ^ This gentleman , whose " indispositions" have been often and much derided ,
denl y . She at the same ti me receives a letter , from which she gathers that , during her absence , Josttie had become affianced to a young soldier . Allusions in the letter to the possible birth of a child convince her that poor josetle had also surrendered her honour . At this intelligence she swoons . A village busybody and social detective , named Catherine ( Mrs . Keeley ) , who has become engaged in the interim to Cyprien , and happens to be present , unluckily reads the fatal letter . She has ' soon occasion to use her nevieee
information , for the obstacle presented by Ge ' s devotion to Josette being now removed , Cyprien proposes a return to his first love . She reaccepts him while her tears are yet flowing ; but the jealous busybody at once disparages the connexion by telling all she knows . To save harmless the fame of her departed sister a second sacrifice is now demanded of Genevieve . She at once declares that the revelation in the letter applies to herself , and is thrown scorned and deserted upon the world . in broken
¦ the third act we find that a weary , - hearted traveller has sought shelter from a storm in the outhouse of a mountain farm . It is the stricken Genevieve ., whose footsteps chance has led to the abode of the Girards on the very morning appointed for the marriage—again arranged—of Cyprien and Catherine . She conceals herself , but is discovered by the latter and the comic servant of the establishment , Pierre ( Mr . Rogers ) . Here incidents ot strongly tragic cast would have been afforded by the death of : the heroine and perhaps the suicide of . her lover ; but the penchant of both authors and audiences for happy endings carries the story to another conclusion . A scene of no great power follows the discovery of Gdnevieve , in wliich the better nature of the shrew and the simple
benevolence of the peasants lead them to house the wanderer . At the sight of her the heart of Cyprien again pants for freedom , but honour and filial duty prescribe iiistant slavery to the unloved Catlxerine The bidden guests now arrive , and with them a Madame Belan ( Mrs . Weston ) who had been sole depositary of the secret . She now determines to hold it no longer , and at oiwe clears the character of the heroine . . The news -of her innocence is received with acclamation , but the ' sufferings of Cyprien are of course intense . All . difficulties are however , removed by a sacrifice scarcely less noble than those we have seen before . When all is . ready , Catherine appears in simple peasant dress . She leads by the hand GenevUve , whom she has clad in the bridal robes , and in whose favour she wisely has resolved to resign all claims upoii Cyprien .
With the exception ot this third act , which has something about it weak and awkward , the Sister ' s Sacrifice is a powerful melodrama . The first scone in Gerieicve ' s little village shop is acted with delightful freshness by Madame Celeste and Miss St . George , the sudden termination of whose part at the first act ' s end was regretted , by all who observed her intelligence during its progress . In the various situations we have indicated as giving scope , for the exercise of her peculiar gift of expression , Madame Celeste was quite herself and was rapturously applauded by great and small , young and old , critical and uncritical . The parts o f Girard , the Provencal farmer , and his
has in truth been incapacitated from vocal , thoug h not from other exertions . It is right the public should bo informed that in the case of this celebrated tenor , the malady is of the throat not of the temper . Hia execution of Balfe ' s " Let me whisper in thine ear , " " My pretty Jane , " and " The Bay of Biscaj ' , " was magnificent and duly appredated . Miss Arabella Go : iclard ' s p ianoforte playing- was the other great feature of the evening , and , he who would demand more than three performances by each of these artists for one evening ' s amusement may almost be called a musical glutton .
son Cyprian were thoroughly well sustained by Messrs . Barrett and Emery . The latter artist , whose costume exhibited that excellent sense , of . the picturesque for which lie is so remarkable , rendered excellently tho ffauc / ierie and bashfulness of the peasant lover . Mrs . Keeley applied all her talent to make the best of a part necessarily an up-hill one ; and Mr . Rogers was , of cour s e , amusing in his delivery of the most uncomical " bits" of comic interpolation . We shall , doubtless , have- further opportunities Qf n oticing th e Sister ' s Sacrifice , Which , if it have tho success wo wish it , will hold tho stage for some time . It bears the impress , wo should add , of almost literal translation from tho French .
At a more convenient season we may perhaps en- * largo upon the time , t e mper , money , and quality sacrificed by entrepreneurs , and the public in giving and getting"long entertainments . Long plays , lo n g balls ( long bills ) , long concerts , are all mistakes . But to return to Miss Goddtml ; she * gave an air with variations by Mozart , ' The Harmonious Blacksmith , " "A Fantasia by Benedict , " and Thalberg ' s •' arrangement" ( query disarrangement ) of " Iloirie , sweet Home . " The Swedish melodists contributed some German part-songs to the entertainment of a goodly company , whose satisfaction was too often and loudly expressed to loavo any doubt of its genuineness . MM . AN' 1 > » mS . 'HOW . VKD PAUL . —ST . JAMES'S-UALL ,
Git BAT GI . O 11 E , LKICK 31-EH-SQUAIIK . This rotund establishment of Mr . WyId ' s c o n t inu e s to pile up amusement and instruction sandwiohf a shion , until it may almost bo said to " play round the clock . " Here , from ten a . m ., in fact , to ten p . m . Paterfamilias may indulge , if ho bo so minded , hia young barbarians with a continualleast of reasonable a > ul seasonable quality—geographical , t o pogr a phical , ethnological , and historical . Twice each day are exhibited very fuirly painted dioramas of Japanese , Chinoso , and Upper Indian and Lower Indian scenery ,
We have been gratified to observe the excellent progress this clover couple are-making in public estimation . We wore among tho first to cheer and encourage them while as yot tlioy wore , as 'drawingro om ent e rtaine r s , " comparatively unknown to fame . Wo were confident that with n little of that assistance , wliioh our fraternity are seldom backward in loiuling to marked tulont , the benohes of the little mUo in Piccadilly , at first rather bare , would be soon better oucupicil ; and we had the pleasure before the soason closed there of seeing our predictions verified . Wo now fliul that the same entertainment fills a much larger room and with a more fashionable class of company . They have taken rank in fact among tho praiseablos . F ol k s of the fa int e st ' taatb or talent can now venture to bo loud upon Mrs . Howard Paul ' s versatility as an aotross ami the admirable quality of her voice . The " Patchwork " is now m
with tho usual run-nnd-read descriptive obligato — to ¦ wiseacres , rubbish—but to plain folks like ourboIvcs , who like our momoiicB frcshenod up when wo have ft"J' » and can be thankful for oven a grain ot n ow kno w l e dge , very satisfactory . The Chinese diorama , of twenty-six paintings , wo notiood on a former occasion . Tho Japanese , to tell tho truth , wo have not yot soon . About tho Lower Indian , we are in tho samo position } but during tho week wo have soon all the pictorial illustrations of our late operations in . Upper India . Wo aro justified in
No. 461, Janua3iy ^2 ,J,859.] L_- .L-Tjg...
No . 461 , jANUA 3 iy ^ 2 , J , 859 . ] l _ - . l-TJgL'fe 111
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 22, 1859, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_22011859/page/15/
-