Please wait. Contacting image service... loading
Hide article pages Show article pages
  1. Page 5
    Page 5 thumbnail
  2. Page 6
    Page 6 thumbnail

Article text

On this Page 5
LONDON TABLE TALK.
[From our Special Correspondent]
London, October 31, 1891.
Such a rainy summer and autum[?] as that of
1891 has not been experienced in England for
more than twenty years. Here in London
now a days it seems always wet As the
writer of the " Ballade of Bain" moans ill his
Envoy—
It lapses not .it cleaves "•
A way to heart and Main;
It dint, it dona, it deaves;
It worries and waste* and grieres—
Xbe weajy, drearr rain.
The Naval Exhibition closed on Saturday.
It has been a great success from every point of
view, the "^"ffhmfnt catering alone, which ?
Scotchman wrested from Spiers & Pond, leav
ing nothing to be desired. The daily average
of visitors was 15,500, the laigest attendance
(Whit Monday) being 50,795 and the smalle*
about 8,000. Altogether 2,351,683 visitors
passed through the turnstilesauring the season.
These figures sound small compared with those
of cay the " Colindies," but it should be ■?•
membered that the area covered by the show
at Chelsea was comparatively small, and a
very few thousands crowded the buildings un
comfortably. On Saturday when 34,779 people
attended to witnes the winding op ceremonies
they were packed tight as the proverbial
sardines ; in fact, at one time during die after
noon the authorities wisely stopped the inward
flow for half an hour or so.
Tact is evidently not a quality which Sir
William Gordon-Cumming possesses in super
abundance. The Duke and Duchess of Fife
were recently publicly welcomed to the little
town of Elgin by the town councfl. SirW. G>.
Camming is one of the chief landlords of the
county, and under ordinary circumstances is
would have fallen to his lot to play a promi
nent part in the function. Of dourae, however,
the council could not force an exposed ?ard-
Bharper on their guests, and much to Sir
WflDam'e chagrin, and, strange as it mayseent,
to his emprise, he was for tbe first tune in
Scotland publicly ignored. Will it be believed
that the baronet revenged himself by pro
testing to the town council through his
factor against "tbe large amount of public
money wasted in decorating tbe town for fee
Duke and Duchess of Fife's visit." Naturally
this has been taken to signify a public declara
tion of war against royalty. Since their mar
riage tie Cummings have been living quietly
at Sir William's Highland seat. ManyoCtfaa
county families called out of consideration for
lady Middleton and Lady Cnmmins, bat they
were naturally not cordial, and Sir William
lives on the look out for slights.
The last survivor of Waterloo, Colonel
Hewitt, was carried to his grave on Tuesday
afternoon, followed by an impressive and im
pressed crowd.
The appointment of Mr. Baifour to the
leadership of the House has been universally
approved by all sorts and conditions of poli
ticians, even the organs of tbe Irish party ex
pressing grudging respect for their not-so long
ago loathed Chief Secretary. The phases of
feeling which the opponents of this imper
turbable young Tory have gone through with
regard to him during the last five years are ex
tremely interesting to look back upon. He
began by being despised and laughed at.
"Miss Balfour,' "Clara," "Lucy," "the
palsied masher," and the " perfumed popinjay"
are a few of the nicknames of this first
period one recalls. Huge was the contempt
of Biggar, Healey, and Co. at the idea of Ire
land being dragooned into peace and quietness
by this "effeminate mollycoddle." At first
Mr. .Balfour was the essence of courtesy. It
was toujours la politesse (as Fred Leslie would
say) even to Tim Healey. Presently, however,
the Chief Secretary took off his gloves and hit
out hard, hit very hard. One night just then
he spoke with unusual acrimony, interrupted
constantly by Dr. Tanner. The speaker re
buked the doctor. "If," replied the fiery
little Celt, "I have said anything ""parlia
mentary I will withdraw it, but I think you,
sir, will admit that the language of the right
honorable gentleman the Chief Secretary has
not been quite so ladylike this evening
as usual" From being despised Mr.
Baifour grew to be hated and feared.
He was no longer "Miss dan," bat
"Bloody Balfour," strong, steadfast, immov
able. He used what Mr. Gladstone once
called "the resources of civilisation" to put
down crime and outrage in Ireland, and used
them unflinchingly. Public opinion was
nothing to this Chief Secretary, for he never
reads toe newspapers. If he c ver oonceded a
point concerning political prisoners it was
because his colleagues urged it. Oatside in
fluences were powerless to -move him. The
Irish party Mr. Baifour trmtr-d. as Me.
Morley onoe happily remarked, with "the
easy contempt of a white man for the negroes
of a cotton plantation. Their antics and
drolleries amuse him, and if they, go too far
he can lock them up."
A writer in the Pall Mall Gazette draws an
effective little picture of "Bloody Balfonr" in
the House during the height of the coercion
scare in Ireland. "This" he says " was the
period when Mr. Baifour was the best-hated
man in England. What made things worse
was the impenetrable complacency of the man
—the supercilious indifference to abuse ao-i
invective equally with argument. This was
partly natural, partly assumed or exaggerated
in self-defence. How well it used to serve tbe
Chief Secretary in the House! It was a sight
to distract the sympathies and emotions of
any observer with an eye for two sides of s>
shield—tiie sight of Mr. Balfonr facing, the
whole angry claque of the then unbroken Jbiah
phalanx. They raved, they stormed, they
broke into his replies with intolerable
insults. Speaking or listening he was
imperturbable. He listened, sprawling;
lanky and nonchalant in his seat, to
taunts and charges which from his lips would
have brought every Irishman in the House to
his feet in furious resentment. Me Bdfoar
merely crossed and uncrossed his legs, yawned,
and smiled gently to tiimacJf He was not
pained, or angered; or annoyed, it seemed—
but only bared, terribly bored, waiting for the
thing to finish. When bis turncameto speak,
not all the concerted, half-articulate cries from
the Irish phalanx-fthe forced laughs, the
mocking yells, the indescribable extremes of
parliamentary incontinence to which he pro
voked them—could mask how the hits told.
It was pure fence—pure rapier play ; but hoar
neatly the points were «nade! It needed nerve
as well as wit. But the wit ?~i Tmtnitt?yaMtt.
Take that sawmm, for instance, about W>
O'Brien's passion to be always blacking some
thing: 'yesterday it was Lord Spencer's
character, to-day it is his boots.'" Bat the
daye of coercion are over and let us hope for
gotten. The long painstaking tour which the
Chief Secretary took through tne fr?ii™? dis
tricts last year and the prompt effective
measures he took to provide food and work
altered Irish feeling towards him. Whether
Mr. Baifour will make a good leader Bonw
shrewed judges seem to doubt. Probably
"Labby" offers the likeliest prediction
when he says that if the new leader fails it
will be by trying to be too clever.
The lung illness of Mr. W. EL Smith,
M.P., terminated rather suddenly at Wahner
Castle. He had been seeming a good deal
better, and only the previous day went out for
a emart drive. Probably this was unwise.
Anyhow, a serious change set in the same
night, and a few hours later the right hon
gentleinan lay dead. Mr. Smith was, and X
cay it with the utmost respect, the ideal hero
of Sunday-school story. His first thought
concerning every question in life was, " What
is my duty t" When he could be brought to
" reminisce about himself, which wasn't often,
though he talked, as he did most things,,
capably, the leader of the House would say ho
bad not sought fame and fortune, but both had
come to him as aeonsequenoeof a steady atten
tion to duty in every position and eventof life.
The peculiarity of Mr. Smith's ministerial
advancement lias through all its Btages been
surprise at the annnouncement, followed
gradually, but surely, by the conviction that
however it came about he was the best poasibla
man for the post. At both the War Office and
the Admiralty Mr. Smith was in a quiet way
a complete success. His promotion to the
leadership, however, occasioned some eurprias
till it was accepted as a mere temporary ar
rangement. There seemed something in
congruous tnthisworthymiddle-classtradesniaa
talanga seat once occupied by Peel, round which
the shades of Russell and P&lmerstoo eeetned
to hover where Disraeli sat with folded arms,
and whence Mr. Gladstone had a few months
earlier departed. Still the House even then
liked Mr. Smith, recognising liis sterling
capacity. Moreover the new leader put on oj
frills with his advancement. Ho was, indeed,
almost pathetically anxious to '"give satisfac
tion," as servants say, to both eid&s of tho
House. Mr. .Smith never spoke unless be con
sidered it necessary. J readers of the Hou??
have from time immemorial been accustomed
to wind up an iniportantdebate and cheer their
followers with a stirring speech. Often D>a
raeli took upon hiutsrlf the task, Glad
stone delighted in it. Mr. Smith, with
characteristic modesty, never once thrust
himself to tiie fore in a big de
bate. He everything in council
with his colleagues.. If things went well ha
was quite content to keep quiet in the back
ground. Not so, howdvbr, when trouble
loomed on the horizon. Then "Old Morality"
squared his shoulders, and calmly rising to
face the storm, especially when it set from tha
Irish quarter, sluiced the Parliamentary hurly
burly with a cold douche of unwistakaUla
couittionfcen.se. Smiling benignly the white
Mr. Smith would Answer a foaming opponent
with a tolerant, careful courtesy, which aloaa«k
invariably had its effect. Toe House ootetft
these and many other things, and ultimately
yielded the prosaic bookseller both deforaaoa
and affection.
When our Gracimis Sovereign Lady Queen
Victoria succeeded to the throne there weM
but! two other living heirs—the present Duke
of Cambridge and the late King of Haoaver.
P.v the birth of tbe last baby Batteobstg tin
number of bee Majesty's accumulated cWU
dies, grandchildren, and great graaiiohildro*
has leached the respectable numbec ttf

&h.

Our Royal Family may have their : aults, but
to do tbem justice they are philoprogenitive.
Tbe late Gilbert A'Beokett, who died last
week, after a long fltoeas, was the son of the
author of the "Comic Histories of England
and Bone," and himself a humorist in a small
way. He succeeded his father on the staff of
AmA and lor years did much of the solid
literary work for that too often unexhilarating
periodical. "GQ" A'Beckett, as his friends
called him, wrote neat scholarly verse.
Witness his librettos for Dr. Vflliers Stanford's
"Savonarola" and "Canterbury Pilgrims,"
admirable work of their kind. He also pro
duced many burlesques, which enjoyed
ephemeral success. Probably, however,
A'Becketf s magnum opus was a poetic play
called "The White Pilgrim," written in con
wawtwu with Herman Merivale for the Court
Theatre. It did not succeed, but everyone
agreed the writing was extremely fine.
The Charity Organisation Society has issued
a statement which if verified beyond doubt
would effectually stop the flow of public sub
scriptions into General Booth's coffers. It is
the report of tbe special committee appointed
to enquire into the condition of the homeless
poor. The committee was drawn from various
organisations aad examined 25 expert wit
nesses, five of them iiispectore of police. "The
result of their researches," says a Tory weekly,
"is to show that (1) the great nomadtio army
of the night is a pure coinage of. the Stead-
Hoothian brain; that (2) the refuge accommo
dation at present in existence is far in excess
of the demands upon it, so that if a certain
number of 'casuals'go on sleeping in the open
air they do so from not necessity but ohoioa;
that (3) the Booth-Steadian estimate of the
terming millions that never go to bed
toraause-they have never a bed to go to is a
vat* deal store misleading than a statement
of ' tacf by Sir William Haroourt, let as
cay; thai (4) the numbers of homeless London
poor ■are steadily decreasing; and that (5)
tfcerepsnomcre need of 'General' Booth in
London than these is of 'General' Booth at
Emwlkwiibi, or, for that matter, anywhere else
ia the habitable globe—always saving and ex
cepting the house which calls him master and
•the ofices, jom-nalktio and other, in which,
tfeectta&getntio nartof him pot by, he is free
to be til finaniww, aad financing to finance."
If the Charity Organisation Society had the
fallmn?deao? of the public these statements
wftold be a-serious matter for General Booth.
Furl—aft dy tte obstinate optimism is almost as
notorious aa General Booth's indubitable sin
cerity. Yon can get so-called expert witnesses
to prove anything you like with good manage
ment. No doubt toe number of homeless poor
■in ilniiiiwii?(i Well, that of itself shows that
tfae repent agitations and the efforts of tbe
Salvation Array, ftc., have bad their effect.
Recently tbe Crystal Palace was the scene
of a novel and striking memorial service in
honor of the late Mrs. Booth, who died (it
scarcely • dooms «o long) a year ago. About
10,000 persons were present, and But for the
early hoar of the fixture tbe crowd would hare
■been much greater. On the Handel orchestra
sat 3,000 ef the Salvation Army's best singing
Itfdsaad lasses, tbe concert platform was occu
pied br«ke Booth fanriry and the staff, whilst
on the door of the palace stood tbe rank and
-£le nOed «ff from the general public by strong
harness. The service wae most singular, ana
at In same tnne most nnprsfesrve. It was con
ducted (one who happened to be in the palace
tefls me) in darkness, tbe lights being put
oat and tfae transept enclosed by enormous
oUflMBs TCafilung from roof to floor. There
-was bo i'[i—l Inn. the vast size of the place
MtMAe it; aad yet there were many short
mriiMMii One could not ne to read a book,
battoaay hymns were snug, ptayereTepearted,
■and passages from the Bitde read. There was
'■0 ■tinted programme; but step by step the
ilaannin service was placed before the congre
gation <with a clearness, a certainty never
reached in church or ohapeL The great front
tsf tn .xttnfednume stage was covered Trom :
top 4o hottcm with a white sheet, upon
•wtiah itfttafcons as to standing, sitting, .
iriMjiiiij, iMtTiug, and praying, 'Witb tbe re
-qriiraq vtnes. chapters, and brief homines, ;
wwefroieoted from a lantern-far away at the <
>«*eread <6f the transept. Bight across the ;
iwiiww -dark space, Over the heads of the ,
«rti<imni,WMnethelong pale rays of the lantern, i
«*g fxd?i *be dinrtnus beneath rose from time
4o«toe cries'of " Amse," "Bless the Lord."
~aan*rtah/and "Glory,glory." After the
nMHas tun fftwyeu toe mneni msca oompooea
tyCJ—uder Herbert Booth on his mother's
aaaEi'thegprt <«ratM}sappeared On the screen—
Booth, mother of the Salvation
AMny, more than conqueror." And the
•mttxmd eMde added, "Who being dead yet
mliaimli ? At the words" Arid toereshau be
-ao'mtre death," contained in a passage from
gi wihtkm, loud cries arose of "Amen" and j
"Glory." later on the screen promised " A '
♦?vorllBBo«g"of Mr& Booth's, and imiiealftterjr j
c«me Iheikyaai bugiuaing—
WrtWfrt LonLmlaiceigrrfuttiL
«tf«Sty tor my t??tHngsnuT
Then appeared a short description of the de
• cued lady, opening with the statement i
" Mrs. Sooth was converted to God in early ■
life," and finishing " Listen, sinner, to God r 3 '
voice fipealdntc to yon by the history of
Hie-servant." There was an exhortation to a
Fpecial class. "Backslider,"'said the lommtraa
in the darkness, "here is Mis. Booth's
message: 'If there are any backsliders here to
uigut, I bcofloch Vwi to rwwiwi||ip>*r from what
•yen nave fallen.'" Several slides were re- -
quired to convey tfae message, of which this
passage was only a part. & fact, in scarcely
any ease did a single -elide suffice. Some of
tbe families and chapters required nearly 20.
One«f Use sermons was on tfae text, "Mrs.
Sooth all along thought it her duty to give up :
tier children to the service of God 7" and .
another fcegan with the remark that perhaps
Ike Kindest achievement of the deceased
lady's'fife was the manner in which God used
tier to increase the power of womea'B ministry.
It would lie impossible to mention all the
ebdes, their Dumber was too great; but one
-west away fearing that the use to which they
nad been put and the attendant circumstances
had made the occasion most thrilling.
An Tingiinh doctor resident in India claims
to have discovered and cultivates the "leprosy
microbe," and even to have succeeded in
neutralising it Mons. Pastern- denies the
fin* of there claims, allows the possibility of
tbe second, and is sceptical anent the third.
To Dr. Hankel, of Sweden, Pasteur allots the
honor of having revealed the leprosy microbe,
which is remarkable for its famnitesimal size.
The French savant has no doubt that a leprous
-vadne wi? soon be discovered, but to say that
leprosy can be cured he points out is quite
■nether matter. "We must," he says, " wait
for results, which are often disappointing." _
Sir William Cleaver Robinson has under
taken to contribute a paper on "Australian
euHuv" to an early number of Literary
Opimon. The November issue of Mr. Pat
cbett Martin's magazine keeps up, one is glad
to notice, the high level of excellence of its
predecessors. The leadingfeature is an exceed
ingry able and discriminating critical notice of
Mr. W. E. Henley, whom each succeeding
month seems to bring more and more to the
front. The article nappens to be specially
mprepot, as Mr. Henley's "Lyra Heroica" was
published yesterday, and the National Observer
of Saturday contained a really exquisite poem
of bis, written in tfae rough but beautiful
rlrjvnn of the now famous "In hospital" Beries.
Mr. Henley's "Lyra Heroica: a book of
verse for boys* is printed by Constable on hand
made paper, ana win form a delightful gift
book for youngsters. Four lines on the cover
indicate its aim aad scope—
Sound, waaad the cUrkro, fin the file '
To •& tbe wnsml world procUim,
Oneerended boor of glorious Dte
Is «nth ai age without a name. _
Ie tbeenface, wnich has quite a Johnsonian
ring afoot it, Mr. Henley explains—"My
pmpastj has been to choose and sheave a
certain number of those achievements in verse
which, *«b expressing the simpler sentimente
and more elemental emotions, might fitly be
■ddrenad to each boys—and men, for that
Mtta as are privileged to use our noble
■ng&fa tongue. To set forth, as only art can,
the beauty aad joy of living, the beauty
aad -MamhM?? of death, the glory
of tattle oad adventure, tbe nobility of devo
tiO? tto a euse, an ideal a passion even); the
«>>Pn«y. «f resistance, the sacred cause of
palni*mm, that is my ambition here." The
wwe?toon «ontams two of tfae best things
Kipnag ever •wrote—-"The ballad of east and
•art" and "The flag of England." I regret
tonotiao the absence of Australian names from
tberwt «f authors. Amongst the boys who
■pwlt "«mr noble English tongue," and who
will nswel in " Lyra Heroica " are many thon
«and? of tasty young Australians. These wOl
wwent, land with some reason the absence of
recsgrntfon which tbe inclusion of even a
f«r liaes of Gordon's (say) would have implied.
All should take in MacMUlan's new illus
****?* «***«? of J- R- Green's •• Short History
of tbe riiglirfi People," now appearing in shil
ling parts- Nothing like it has been attempted
tiefore. Tbe book, of course, you know. Up
wards of 200,000 copies of the 7s. 6d. edition
ha*e been sold in England alone. But the
«h«m«! of illuptrition is entirely noveL
'"Wtead of imaginative pictures a series drawn
from authentic sources, and showing the artx,
industries, costumes, coins, and architecture of
tbe SBocecsive periods wiJl lie given. An ex
haustive series of portraits i« also a feature of
the scheme, and a nuralwr of colored maps.
The work will be complete in 30 monthly parts.
No. 1 is just out.
In "According to St. John" Miss Am'-lie
Km* means to the morbid and unwholesome
oratnl idea of "The Quick and tbe Dead."
Tbe heroine, an emotional young American
named Jean Carter, falls madly in love with
berdying friend's (Mr?. Farrance) handsomo
htntoasd. Farmnce is passionately devoted to
his eick wife, and hardly even realises Jean's
•wistence; but she choosw to consider
b«Tprff "infamous beyond words/ and
in a burst of remorse confides her
" black tin" to Mrs. Farranoe. Instead of
being j?«lou?! or angry the moribund lady in
t'itilal and condolatory. Secretly she writes to
few -hmbaiid urging him to make little Jean
!>:• *«<?nd whY, asid thi« ktter heon!y receive

some cix months after her death. Farranoe
thinks Jean a nice little thing, and despite the
"agony of grief gnawing at hie vitals" obeys
the solemn injunctions ofnis "beloved dead,"
and makes frantic love to her. Jean's " burn
ing passion" is too overpowering to be discern
ing. She presently consents to replace her
dead friend, and the pair get married. They
are externally very happy. Jean adores
Farranoe, and he is full of affection and con
sideration for her. All goes well till one fine
morning Jean chances on a torn sheet of
Farranoe's diary and reads, "This hideous
feeling of disloyalty to the dead and
living. My whole life is one long
hypocrisy." She then discovers, or thinks
she discovers, that her husband's thoughts
are ever with the dead and that he
only cares for her just as much as her caresses
remind him of the first Mrs. Farranoe's. In
stead of resolving to cure the good man of this
lamentable morbidity, Jean comes to the
astounding conclusion that her death alone can
give peace. According to St. John (eh. xv., 13)
therefore she decides to "lay down her life for
! her friend." The book ends with a detailed
description of this unnatural young woman's
feelings whilst dying from an overdose of
morphine. Comment on such a story is need
lees. Miss Rives was considered clever when
" The Quick and the Dead" came oat, but her
subsequent work has proved her to have but
one idea.
Hall Game's "The Scapegoat" does not
appeal to me personally as profoundly as did
'Toe Deemster," but there can be no doubt it
us a romance of fine poetic quality, aobly and
manfully written. Three editions have been
called for in as many weeks, <md the reviewers
are for once unanimously eulogistic. James
Payn in the Illustrated calls Hall Came "a
prose poet with powers of imagination, con
ception, and narrative Becond to those of no
living author," whilst another enthusiastic
-admirer vows that "since the days of Banyan
there has been no such writing in England.
It would be idle to deny that whilst Mr. J. M.
Barrie'e "Little Minister" is a beautiful and
pathetic story, which pictures certain phases
of Scotch life with exquisitely sympathetic
art, it will not, as his friends oncehoped, set the
Thames aflame. Truth to tell, the Little Minis
ter's unlucky love tale could have been for better
told in one volume than three. The padding
of Thrum's gossip is rather overdone as it is,
and the story seems to move along terribly
leisurely. You most, however, read "The
Little Minister" when the annual volume of
Good Words is attainable. Scotch folk are
specially sure to enjoy it.
Since Mr. Gladstone attracted attention to
Mrs. B. M. Croker by reading "Proper
Pride" in the Housed Goramona right through
« debate on the Irish question that lady has
developed quite « reputation for Anglo-Indian
'stories. TOI indeed Mr. Kipling came on the
scene it was mainly from Mrs. Croker and
Judge Cunningham we derived our notions of
social life at Simla and TmWnn regimental
stations. Mr. Kipling's genius has naturally
dwarfed Mrs. CrokePe talent, but one hears
tint the lady's pictures of Anglo-Indian society
•re truer as they are certainly kindlier and less
cynical than the man's. The scene of " Inter
ference," Mrs. Croker'e last story, is laid
partly in Ireland and partly at a regimental
station in India. The hero, a Captain
Meredith, comes home on furlough, and
after flirting a bit with handsome Belle
Morgan falls desperately in love with
her young cousin Betty, the Cinderella
of the family. Cirouinstaaoes prevent
Meredith proposing to Betty -before leaving
Ireland, but on arriving in India he comes into
money and promptly sends for her. Mrs.
Morgan, to whom Meredith writes, alters the
same Batty in her letter to Belle, and pretends
the proposal is for the latter. She writes to
Meredith that Betty has engaged herself to
the inevitable another, and implores him not
to repudiate her darting Belle, whom she sends
out in Betty's place. Meredith has not the
strength of mind to -undeceive poor Belle, and
believing Betty lost to him for ever marries
her. What happens afterwards it would be
unfair totelL
Mr. Norris'B novels, like those of Mrs.-Oli
phant, are always pleasantly readable. One
can't remember ever coming upon anything of
bis that was actually bad. At tames, however,
hefallsconeiderablybelowhl?higheststandftrd.
This was reached, we take it, in "The Rogue,"
"Ky Friend Jim," "Chris," "No New
-Thing," and *'Mademoiselle de Menu."
"Mr. ChaWe Sobs," the cJainafly-obristened
etoiy Tannin? ra Temfte Bar, aadnow foeboot
in three volumes, cannot be naked with these.
nevertheless -worth, say, « barrow-load of
the ordinary circulating lftrary fiction. The
main incident of a mam running away because
be believes himself to have committed a mur
der really the act of another h&s been frequently
used before. Mr. Norris might also, we
think, have exercised some restraint and not
resurrected John Chaine. In fiction one knows
it is unprincipled to kill a hated or incon
venient husband and not to bring him to life
again—for a tune. But one supposed Mr.
Norris GDperior to hack methods.
Mr. Pmero's "The Times," produced at
Terry's Theatre on Saturday with complete
success, will not improbably ran as loner as
"Sweet Lavender." The leading figure,
Percy Ego-ton Bompas, M.P. (Edward Terry),
is a tuccestful draper, a rujutenu riche of tbe
Maple kidney, who has got into Parliament
and now aspires to associate with the smartest
set in society. Into this exclusive circle he
and his wife (Fanny Brough) and daughter
Beryl (Annie dill) are being gradually in
sinuated by the good offices of an aristocratic
tout, the Hon. Montaigne Grimble, a part
admirably played by Mr. Elliott. Beryl is
already happily engaged to LordSnrgasnall,
eon of the Countess of Upslow (Miss
Talbot), and everything is going smoothly
with the family when Bompas's eon, a .
sodden scapegrace lout, surreptitiously married
tbe daughter of an Irish lodginghouse-keeper.
Neither mother nor daughter are in the least
presentable, and thef?ompases are in-despair,
tOl, as csual, Trimble comes to the rescue.
Why not, says he, conceal the marriage and
educate the pair ap to the required social level,
meanwhile inventing for them a distinguished
name and origin, announcing Howard (the
eon's) engagement to the daughter, and after
wards celebrating the union over again with a
flourish of trumpets. The idea is carried out
successfully up to a point. Then the secret
becomes known to a Miss Cazalet (the pro
prietress of a society journal), who hates
Beryl's fiancee. Lord Surgashall, and makes
the fraud public Meanwhile the old lodging
housekeeper, wooed by a racketty Irish M.P.
who believes her rich, confides the truth to
him. The wretch (MacShane by name) uses it
to terrorise Bompas into "ratting" from the
Tories and becoming a Home Ruler. Beryl,
indignant and ashamed of her parents' plot
ting, givts up her smart lover, and finally
tbe son, Howard, for whom so much
has been risked, proves a drunkard as well as
a fooL Misfortune follows misfortune in an
ascending scale, the whole culminating with a
terrific public expos*! at an evening party.
Then Bompas throws up the sponge and re
solves to try and get on no longer. "It is
getting on in the world that has ruined me,"
he cries. "A self-taught man must always be
a proud fool; he has a double share
of vanity—the vanity of the ready pupil and
the vanity of the successful tutor combined.
He is blown out till he bursts. I say there
ought to be a law to prevent nlen uke me
getting on beyond a certain point. Prosperity
weakens our brains and hardens our hearts.'
The part of Bompas of course fits Terry like a
glove, and a young actor named Esmond made
a palpable hit as the loutish Howard, who say 3
little more than "I dunno." Mr. Elliott, I
have said, was exoellent as Trimble, and Fanny
Biough exhibited unexpected emotional
powers. In the comic line she has, of course,
tew peers. The three acts all take place m
Bompas's drawing-room.
" God papa," the new farcical comedy at the
Comedy, goes with a roar from start to finish.
It is not quite ?s broad as "Jane" was in some
parts. The impropriety of tbe original French
piece has indeed been carefully erased, jbut it
leaves an obvious mark, and even Mr. Gilbert's
traditional young maiden of 15 could hardly
help seeing it. To describe the plot of "God
papa" in detail would take hours, but I can
give you the main idea in a few lines. Charlie
Hawtrey (best of light comedians since Charles
Matthews) is once more in comic distress about
a pretty milliner (needless to say Lottie Venne).
There have been—well, passages in the past
between the two, but now Mr. Hawtrey is
teing to be married to a charming Miss
(anbury, so he resolves to play "god
papa" to his old friend and get her married
too. Alter inflecting bow to achieve
this desirable cud Mr. Hawtrey seek*
tbe aid of an aristocrat in reduced
circumstances, who keeps a matrimonial
agency. On her books be enters Miss Venne
as Mary Browne with a dowry of £1,000.
To this agency also comes Mr. Bunbury
(Mr. Brookfield), Hawtrey's future father-in
law. Of course Bunbury is introduced to
Mary Browne, and a very pretty kettle of fish
commences to simmer when godpapa findi
there is every prospect of his interesting
protege presently becoming his mother-in
law. You can easily imagine how Miss Bun
bury orders her tiance*' to be civil to "dear
mamma that is to be," and how godpapa,
recalling riotous old times with "Mary
Browne," overdoes matters and arouses Bun
bury's jealousy and suspicion. One need
hardly write more. The second act is weak,
but the third picks up again. "Godpapa"
will always require first-clans acting to succeed.
The attempt to run "Therese Raquin" at
tbe Royalty Theatre has proved, as everyone
expected, a dismal failure, and it was taken off
on Tuesday last. Mr. Geo. Moore alone seciu.i
surprised.
The foundation etone of .i new theatre
to be calied, like the one in
New York, "Daly's" was laid yester- j
day afternoon by Ada Rehan. It will j
be opened next summer by the company now
at the Lyceum, with tun J'oet Laureate's
(«etical play "Maid Marian," unless indeed
this much bepuffed play proves an big a frost
in New York as " The Proa:;*; of May."
Pwen ie no longer a propfcet vi bio own

country. The Scandinavians now vote him
"old togeyish" and behind the times. The
genuine genius of the end of the century they
say has been found in Augustas Strindberg, a
Swedish dramatist and a pupil of Frederic
Nietsche, who is "the most recent expression
of the German mind." The independent
theatres of Munich and Berlin are already
revelling in Strindberg. His naturalistic
tragedy "Mademoiselle Julie" has scored a
great success and been widely and philosophi
cally discussed. The action of the piece passes
in a single night, the scene being the kitchen of
a great house. Mdlle. Julie, hysterical by
heredity, falls furiously in love with her father's
handsome valet. She lays siege to his heart
and appeals to his passions by every
means in her power and after a struggle
he succumbs. The pair are kissing prior
to flight when the cook, who left her pocket
edition of Ibsen's plays on the dresser, comes
back and discovers aIL Perhaps you think she
pitches into John Thomas with the rolling-pin
and packs that hussy Julie off to bod. lio ■
a bit of it. Cook is a woman of feeling and
intellect. Her duty is to recall the lovers to a
sense of the obligations of social propriety and
the does so. Julio is reminded that once
passion sates itself she will find it impossible
to disassociate "the scent of the slop-pail"
from her servant-lover. John Thomas has his
memory recalled to Hie fuller coarser charms of
Bella, the housemaid, whom oook assures him
he really loves best. Finally, the pair are con
vinced cook's views are 'sound. They philo
sophically agree to break off the intrigue and
on the departure of the trio to their respective
beds the curtain falls.
Miss Behan is in many respects the most
remarkable actress I have ever seen. One's
first idea of her is a big, rather clumsy, and not
-specially good-looking woman, who dresses
abominably. Bat wait a bit. Whether the
character she plays is the volcanic Russian
Baroness in the " Last Word" or the kittenish
heroine of "A Night Off," or the fiery
Katherine in the "Taming of the Shrew," or
Boealind in "As you Like It," in ten minutes
you will be charmed. Her Rosalind was a
revelation to me. One remembers Lilian Ade
laide Neilson, Mrs. Scott Siddons, Miss
Litton, Missj Wallis, Miss Anderson, Mrs.
KendaJ, and Mrs. Langtry in the part, but
none of them approached her. Miss Litton's
reading was perhaps the nearest to hers. Now
Miss Keban is about to appear in England for
the first time as Lady Teazle, and theatrical
London burns with curiosity to oee her.
Mrs. Brown Potter has accepted an offer to
go to South Africa for a tour. Whether the
inevitable "Curly" will be her leading man
seems uncertain. On dit she would prefer a
change. _^^_^___^^__

$