The Duke of St. Kitts......My. Weswe. Lord Robert Wyckham...Mr. Wiuttas Aoxew, John Bowlby, M.P. Mr. Joun The Hon. Archibald Vyse...Mr.
Jopheot, a Butler Lady Sylvia Bowlby Hour, Violet Aynsloy...Mr. May Wittovonpy, Angela Muir ino Litas Dovotas. Mrs, Croppor Miss Cana Coxe, A playwright less wise than the author of "A Country Mouse" would have bon tempted to add a fourth to the throe sparkling acts of his play, and thereby spoiled the whole effect. For it is one of the chief merits of this particularly clever comedy that the interest moves forward and increases from act to act, and of the three capital curtains, each of which has a neatly, contrived unexpectedness, the moat clover, and the one containing the key to the whole plot, is th wonderfully picturesque English interiors, but those who saw it for the first time on Saturday night must have derived s groat part of their satisfaction from the mere unravelling of an interesting atory of modern life, story happily without " moral unless it be that simplicity may not be always quite 90 less as it soams. We will not, therefore, spoil the pleasure of those who have reserved themselves for the second performance to-morrow night by revealing the details of the plot.
Mise Lilin Douglas is Angola Muir, the "country manso," whose artlessness proves so powerfully attractive to the blase mon friends of the very blase Lady Sylvia Bowlby, daughter of the Dake of St.Ki'te and payment in kind" obligations to Mr. John last production to this vading role, end Miss Douglas owes it to the freshness her enthusiasm and her obvious acting that she surmounted difficulties over which a more experienced actress, proceeding on conven-might easily have stumbled.
freedom from "staginess makes hor greatest charm, and Angela charms un' eniably. Witness the di monstrations she provoked from house on Saturday and the floral bask—not the one of the play—whicl was handed up to her at the close. Miss Abbey Holme must often have longed for such a part as she has in Lady Sylvis, for she rose to it in a manner which surprised those even who admire her most. To make it convincing required sound judgment and splendid restraint in avoiding equally the farcical and the melodra~ matic; the management of the interview with Angela in the second act was a very powerful piece of work and Miss Holme should have returned to take lirtations, which were not flirtaof Violet Aynsley with "the" Lord Robert—Wyckham wore made attractively interesting by Miss May Willoughby who has nothing to learn rt of fascination, and by Mr. William Agoow her painstaking partner. Miss Clara Cole was inclined to "charadi a8 Mrs, Cropper; #0 hopelessly intolerable a person would hardly Tistened to at all, 3 bat it was a humorous interpretation and Miss Cole did not spare herself.
Beside Lord Robert, who has.|beon already mentioned, there are only four male reles, and they wore most successfully cast. Mr. Wynne is never better than as an elderly roue, and his Duke of St. Kitts was exactly the Duke we are all of us meeting every day of our lives, suave to all Indies, condescending to most mon, sure of his kingdom, and_quite unconsciously but completely selfish. His younger rival, the Hon, Archibald Vyso, jealous of the Duke because of "all those years before I was born," a perfectly conscienceless creature, who yet wins sympathy because of his edroitnoss, was skilfully personated by Mr. Thynno, perhaps the most promising of the younger generation of local amateurs. His finency and easy stage presence are valuable assets, Mr. John Wethoroll was very grave and intensely respectable ast the aged butler, touched " genuine note of pathos.
A further reference is due to the exceedingly pretty stage pictures, all the Tarniebing and mural decorations of which wore specially designed by Messrs. R. A. Rickard & Ao. and carried out under the direction of Mr, Wynne. They wore essentially English and a direct retort to the supposition that a English interior cannot be light and For the stage management Mr, E. G. Portier was responsible, and it to the footlights at the close. The Town Band, efficiently conducted by Mr. Castro, filled up the intervals agreoably.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.