OUR LONDON FLANEUR. SOCIAL, THEATRICAL, and LITERARY. [BY THE AUCKLAND "STAR'S" LONDON CORRESPONDENT.] London, October 9.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 79, 6 December 1884, Page 5

OUR LONDON FLANEUR. SOCIAL, THEATRICAL, and LITERARY. [BY THE AUCKLAND "STAR'S" LONDON CORRESPONDENT.] London, October 9.

The autumn session of Parliament opens next week, and with it will commence a short season of small dinner-parties, cosy 11 at homes," and impromptu dances. The latter are to many minds far pleasanter entertainments than the great crushes in May and June. True, the grandes dames of society seldom condescend to shed the light of their august counte'fnces on October and November reunions; but, owing to the very fact of their absence, there is less formality and more supper. At the big balls in summer portly and great ladies occupy the refreshment rooms continually, to the detriment of younger and less exalted folk. Girls are often parched with thirst for a glass of champagne or lemonade, which their partners try vainly to get for them, because of the dense crowd in the supper-rooms, where elderly people literally sit by the hour together absorbing chicken and Pommery and talking scandal. In the autumn there is nothing of this objectionable kind. The parties are small, and regulated with some regard to the general comfort. The Grand Duke of Hesse's unfortunate morganatic marriage continues an allabsorbing topic of conversation in seciety. You know, of course, that the Countess Romrod intends to oppose the divorce, and that, should she prove successful, the Duke will resign the Government of Hesse to his son and retire I into private life. The Queen is credited with having laid down this ultimatum. She is extraordinarily scandalised and bitter about the affair, and I fancy "dear Louis" got a nice "wigging" when he visited Windsor last week. The Queen, nevertheless, sticks loyally to the Grand Duke. Considering her devotion to the late Princess Alice, her entire belief in her son-in-law's undying grief for his wife, and the singularly inappropriate time which he chose to marry the ribqiie German countess, it wouldn't have been surprising had Her Majesty turned her back finally upon him. The Emperor of Germany and the Crown Princess did so (as we know) promptly ; even the Prince of Wales felt very angry. All, however, -will be forgiven if "Louis" carries through that divorce successfully. Public rumour in Germany opines he will fail, and be obliged to abdicate in his son's favour. Mrs Kcndal, one of the cleverest and most charming of living actresses, has got into terrible "hot water" with the theatrical profession in consequence of a paper on the stage which she read before the Social Science Congress last week. Most of the assertions made were unanswerable, though materially none the less irritating on that account, and a great many allusions seemed too pointed not to be personal. The " World " avers Mrs Kendal has notoriously an ill-natured tongue, and that on one occasion Irving refused to act with her afc a benefit performance because of the bitter remarks she had gratuitously made about himself, Ellen Terry, and other members of the profession. I can, however, scarcely credit that yarn. "Saints and Sinners, " a five act drama by H. A. Jones (part author of the (t Silver King"), has achieved a succes d'estime at the Vaudeville Theatre. I went the third night, and thought it very dull. The' same old story has been told fifty times. Letty Fletcher (daughter of Rev. Jacob Fletcher, the mild-eyed minister of a midland county town Little Bethel) has two lovers, one, an honest farmer, named Kingsmill, the other a distractingly handsome and fascinating military "gent," Captain EustaceFanphame. Of course Letty loves the naughty Fansluime, and the latter has little difficulty in tricking her into eloping with him to Torquay. There it transpires that Fanshame is already married. Letty begins to rue ; but, fortunately, the minister turns up, assures her nothing is known of the elopement at Sheepleford, and begs his erring child to return home. She assents, and the scene ends with a fracas between Kingsmill and Fanshame, in which the latter (contrary to the author's intention) secures the entire sympathy of the audience. In the fourth uct a wicked deacon, belonging to Little Bethel, finds out the secret of Letty 's so-called visit to London, and tells. Thereupon, the minister, broken-hearted, resigns his position, and Kingsmill chivalrously offers to marry the "soiled dove." The climax to this scene was not, I regret to say, so effective as it should have been. The Rev. Fletcher, when reminded that the loss of his pastorate entailed deprivation of various kinds for himself and daughter, observed solemnly, " The ravens will feed us." Now, gallery boys know little or nothing about the Bible, and consequently mistook the allusion, supposing it to be an abstruse joke at which they ought to laugh. You may think I am exaggerating, but there was a loud guffaw from aloft, followed by a yell "Oh ! yah ! ravens indeed !" The last act, of course, sets everything straight. Letty "lives down" her false step, the wicked deacon is found to be a thief, the minister is re-instated, Fanshame dies penitent in India, and Kingsmill wins his love at last. Despite the great age of the story, and the awkward way that Mr H. A. Jones tells it, " Saints and Sinners " is not without merit. Any success the piece achieves will, however, be due to the acting. Mr Thomas Thome's mild old parson with his gentle kindly ways, but sturdy unyielding conscience, is a fine piece of characterisation. Equally good, too, must be pronounced Mr Mackintosh's Samuel Hoggard, the hypocritical deacon, with the strident voice and broad smile, who flatters himself on a resemblance to General Bcoth, of Salvation Army fame. P rabble, the grocer who quarrels with his parson because he won't preach against the Co-operative Stores from the pulpit, is also a "touch of nature;" and Mr F. Thorne makes much of the parson's faithful follower, Luke Burden. The "hit" of the play has, however, been achieved by by Mr H. B. Conway as Fanshame. Usually stage scoundrels are hooted and yelled at ; but, unfortunately, no one could help feeling that Letty would, in all probability, be infinitely happier as the good tempered, insouciant Fanshame's misstress than as the violent but virtuous Kingsmill's wife. We went the other evening to see the 1,500 th performance in London of "Our Boys." I used to think this an awfully over-rated comedy, but then I had not seen David James as the Butterman. Fred Marshall, John Jack, Horace Lingard — all these are fair Perkyn Middlewicks ; but David James is simply inimitable. Moreover, his "Our Boys " is written up to such an oxtent that it is quite a different and a much improved piece to the original. The last nights of " Princess Ida " are announced at the Savoy Theatre, and " The Sorcerer," with "Trial by Jury" as an afterpieco, will be revived, till Gilbert and Sullivan's new opera is ready. From a musical point of view, "Princess Ida" must be pronounced the most tuneful of the coHaborateurs' series, and it seems decidedly odd itshould havoprovedlessptpular than "lolauthe*"

11 In Chancery " is the title of a farcical comedy written by Pinerb for Edward Terry, and produced with some success at Edinburgh last week. The hero suffers hum <t bad accident, and loses his memory. He finds himself at a country inn, but cannot recollect who he is, where he lives, or whether he is married or single. All sorts of complications ensue. The unfortunate fellow gets mistaken for an escaped murderer, won't say whether he has committed the crime or not, and is on the point of marrying the landlord's red-haired virago of a daughter to save himself, when his wife, his mother-in-law, and five children turn up, and all is set right. Another successful piece produced in the provinces, and credited to Frank Barrett, the novelist, bears the title of "Fast Friends." It will be played shortly at a Gaiety matinee, and, if a palpable hit (as i8 anticipated), put on at the Novelty before " Polly." Frank Barrett is very likely one of the playwrights of the future. The plots of his novels, "Little Lady Linton," "A Prodigal's Progress," and " Honest Davie " are eminently dramatic, and his dialogue nearly always reads fresh and sparkling. By the way, talking of dramatised novels, I hear Walter Besant's "Dorothy Foster" is Ufiing arranged for stapo purposes. The champion sensation novel of 1884 has been r/Atten by Edward Jenkins, author of " Ginx's Baby." It is called a " Week of Passion," and purports to be the nistory of a criminal conspiracy between the Earl of Selby, a member of Lord Beaconsfield's Cabinet, and a highly respectable firm of solicitors, The first chapter describes a terrible but highly original murder. In the middle of Regent Circus, on a summer afternoon, at the height of the London season, a man suddenly blows up. Nothing is left of him on the spot, nor any indication of his late whereabouts, save an indentation on th ground ; but, directly afterwards there falls a ghastly ruin of bloody and tiny atoms of flesh, which covers tha clapping of the horrified bystanders. One of them, a Yorkshire farmer, is taken to the police station in order that his coat may bs examined, and imbedded in a clot of blood the chief detective finds a piece of enamel from one of Fordham's (a famous London maker) watches. This, together with a human hand discovered on the roof of an adjoining house in Oxfordstreet, affords the police a clue ; and, in a week's time the mystery is solved, and the murderer brought to justice. To tell any more would be to deprive those who revel in elucidating detective horrors of a treat. Equally powerful in its way and far pleasanter reading is " Incognita," by Henry Creswell. This gentleman achieved a deserved succe&s two years ago with "A Modern Greek Heroine," but his second attempt, " Fan and Tree," proved a failure. "Incognita" commences with a private duel in a wood near London, in which the hero, Ravenhill, and a dastard bully fight with sword canes, and the latter is run through the heart. Mr Ravenhill wipes his weapon, and is turning to depart, when a tall girl wearing a black mask confronts him. She ascertains particulars of the quarrel, applauds Ravenhlll's action, and swears silence. Afterwards the pair meet in society, and Ravenhill, who doe&n't recognise in Ariine Cuhner the possessor of his secret, takes a great dislike to the girl. Of course she loves him. Eventually suspicion of the murder attaches to Ariine, and Ravenhill, out of malicious devilry, is encouraging it, when he suddenly learns that the girl he has contemned and disliked and the mysterious " Incognita" are one and the same. Ariine allows herself to be arrested and tried, in order to give Ravenhill time to escape. She is acquitted, but Ravenhill does not reward her with his hand. On the contrary, he marries a Russian peasant, and dies abroad. This is the barest outline of the story, which is carefully elaborated, and capitally told. You should read it. Henry M. Stanley's new work on the Congo will not be out till next March ; but Lady Braseey's "In the Trades, the Tropics, and the Roaring Forties," is just ready. This will, of course, be in great demand at the libraries ; personally, however, I am getting a wee bit tired of the " Sun« i beam.' "John Bull's Womankind," the latest effort of the clever author of " John Bull and hislsland," was to be published in Paris this week. The English translation should be out in about a fortnight. I ought to remind you, too, that James Payn's "Literary Recollections "can how be obtained bound up in one volume. They form capital reading. Payn knew Dickens, Mies Milford, Miss Martinson, the Chambers Bros., and many other interesting folk, and has plenty to tell about his own career. How well " our boys " are catered for in the way of literature nowadays. Authors of the calibre of G. A. Henty, and Manville Fenn, and Charlotte Yonge used to write for juveniles when I was young. Listen to this list of attractive novelties for the coming season : " True to the Old Flag," a story of the American War, by G. A. Henty; "Bungy's Land," the story of a wild journey through New Guinea, by Geo. M.Fenn ; and "St. George for England, "by G. A. Henty. I could name many more, but I will devote a letter specially to the Christmas books for youngsters of all sexes and sizes shortly. Here are some of the most important novelties for older folk promised. Messrs Smith Elder announce "Feristah's Fancies," new poems by Robert Browning ; "With. Hick Pasha on the Soudan," by Hon. J. Colbourne ; a new novel entitled "Doris," by the author of "Phyllis," "Mrs Geoffrey," etc. ; and a cheap edition of the popular novel "John Herring." Longman's most important forthcoming publications include Lord Malinesbury's Autobiography ; " The Black Poodle," and other stories, by F. Anstey ; '• My Friends and T," by Julian Sturgiss ; and a volume of essays by A. K. H. B. Kegan, Paul, and Trench announce cheap editions of " My Ducats and My Daughter, and McDonalds "Donal Grant," and " Simpson Low ;" a six shilling issue of Mrs Riddell's " A Struggle for Fame " and "Berna Boyle."

Mr G. Cowie, general manager of the Colonial Bank at Dunedin, has got six months' leave of absence to visit Europe. A young man sent 12 stamps to an advertiser to learn "how to make money fast," and was advised in reply to glue a five* pound note to the bottom of his trunk. Cambridge Cheese Factory will soon be ready to start operations. Batskin fur and ratskin slippers are a late London freak. Only the skin about tho haunches is used, the remainder being too thin. Five hundred devout Catholics prayed at the shrine of Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey, London, on the 14th inst. "What building is that?" asked a stranger of a boy, pointing to the Wellesleystreet School. "That," said the boy, "why that's a tannery," and he feelingly rubbed the seat of his pants as he passed on. The French have 274 warships, manned ■ by 47,600 men, and carrying 1,500 guns ; England has 233 ships, manned by 53,0QQ [men* and carrying- 1,342 guns.