Mrs. S. C. HALL'S first essay in dramatic writing met
with a very flattering reception at the St. James's Theatre On Monday. The French Emigrant is a sentimental story of the sorrows of a (laughter for her breach of filial duty in concealing a love-affair and her marriage from her further: this is heightened by the anger of the old man, who being a noble of thc vitille cour, has a refilled sense of honour and duty. The innocent mystery is soon cleared up to the satisfaction of all parties, and the general happiness is crowned by the timely intelli- gence of the restoration of the estates of' the emigri!. The characters of the French Emigrant and his daughter are well adapted to the talents of BARNETT and Miss Aleasos: ; both of whom did ample justice to them. We cannot bring ourselves to like or lose sight of the mannerism of either ; although it does not prevent our appre- ciating their talents, it certainly deprives their acting of much of its pathetic effect,—ceperially when the pathos is of itself somewhat of the mawkish kind, which was the case in the present instauee. It it rather too late in the day, by the by, to attempt to affect people's feel- ings by such a ludicrous instance of reverential loyalty as that of a French Matquis keeping the part of his arm covered up which had been accidentally touched by the b.md of Menne ANTOINETTE. This looks like a burlesque of the brass plate on the pier at Calais, where Louts the Eighteenth lam eed at his restoration. We must not omit to monition Miss JULIA SMITH, who played the part of an envious, spiteful, little vixen, with so much heartiness : she was a most frank and cordial hater.
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