and' genuine comic opera is returning to amusement seekers; nearly all of the plays successfully running in London have a dash of music in them, and lyric writers are growing in popularity with the public. Again, the American play is a fashion on the increase here. Miss Francis of Yale is the latest of these. Init Mr. Weedon Grossmith gives us a droll impersonation, which is taking the public immensely. This Tib a three-act farce, by Michael Morton, lay -has hada successful New York run. brother of the Miss Morton who wrote A Sleeping Purtner, and other popular dramas. Tt is a story built around three students of "Yale University," U.S.A. Frank Slay-nor—Weedon Grossmith—is a merry fellow fond of dressing up in feminine attire, and doing songs and dances to amuse his fellow students, One of these, Fred. Anderson, his room-mate is en; oped to be mar-riod toa rich New York belle, Miss: Vesta Fitzallen, who with her sister and a Feeps up a sumptuous New York, also a fect masculine ogre of a chaperon
country house. The chaperon, Miss Mann, is a soured spinster. She hates all men, and has brought up her charges to be suspicious of the sex. She goes to Yale to find dut all she can of Fred. Anderson's vices if he has any. Prowling about the students' chambers she reaches his rooms, which she learns are shared by a
her with high kicking songs and plenty of fast locking young, woman, who entertains stage slang. Than she reports to her ward the scandalous conduct of her would-
day before the wedding, when the lady be Iusbond. The play has opened the shows herself more than attentive to the just graduated barrister, her prospective bridegroom, When at last the lady-love leaves him alone to smoke a cigar, from the box she has bought for him, his two friends Staynor and McStuff from{Yale Ror the Yale call, which the college oars-y him a visit. This gives occasion
men made popular in London when they were over here. On their departure, Miss Mann pours her venom into the youn expectant bride's ears. She is jealous an believes the worst, then determines to leave town, dismiss all males from her service and dedicate her life to hating men. She finally compromises by keeping the butler in her service, between whom and her French maid Cosette there is an amusing love plot as under colouring. Complications deepen, and it takes two more acts to show us that the music hall girl" is only a College chum masquerading in petticoats. During these acts he has been taken for a woman in men's clothes when he visits the country house of his friend's lady love. He nearly loses his two friends through his good nature, and is frightened almost to death by the pranks they play on him. As a matter of course all is made clear in the end, and we seem to hear wedding bells in the distance as the curtain descends on the re-united sweethearts. It is pure farce, and the situations are extremely ludicrous. Mr. Grossmith is amusing without ever being coarse, and handles several ery risky situations with marvellous skill. He ends by falling in love with the sister of Vesta Fitzallen. Of course he promises to renounce for ever his amateur theatricals, and he wins over even Miss Mann,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.