5 FEBRUARY 1842, Page 12

The new " comedy " of Marriage, produced at the

Haymarket on Saturday, was a severe trial of the patience of an audience predisposed to applaud at every opportunity : to listen to four hours' talking, not of the most brilliant kind, with nothing done all the while, was a feat of endurance ; and to applaud it after all, the triumph of generosity. Titles of plays are mere catch-words, and mean nothing; therefore II' Superfluous to take an exception to Marriage on this score,— perticularly as there are so many other points of greater importance much more exceptionable. There are "four and twenty characters all in a row," each of whom has something to say, and several of them a good deal ; though very little to the purpose, and that little not always intelligible : but the business of the plot is conducted by two couples of lovers, who play at cross-purposes ; a melodramatic couple, of very equivocal reputation, dealing in sentimentality and seduction ; and a genteel comedy couple, whose forte is flippancy and flirtation. The sentimental pair are Mr. Baldwin, alias Mordaunt, a broken black- leg, grave and mysterious, "with a throng of wishes in his eyes," and moreover an intense" starer ; and Miss Clara somebody, who intro- duces a scoundrel whom she passes off for her father by the name of Irwin. The lively pair are Sir Harry Vivid, rich, a rake, and an MP.; and Miss Adelaide Temple, a beauty and a fortune. The sensitive Mr. Baldwin loves Miss Temple " in utter despair," or, according to his explanation, "as maniacs woo the stars" ; but he sets about win- ning her in a business-like way, though not much more rationally : with the promise of a quarter of the lady's fortune he bribes a corn- rogue of his, one Drouk, to disgust Miss Temple with Sir Harry Vivid by inducing Sir Harry to patronize a set of levellers called the Pro Bono Publico Society, and to lure him from his lady-love by the charms of the aforesaid Miss Clara ; while Baldwin himself, in lunatic fashion, makes love to Miss Temple. This notable scheme is frustrated by the intended syren ; who, instead of ensnaring her victim, tells him of the trap, and exposes the villany of Baldwin, whom Miss Temple had been flirting with to pique Sir Harry. Mr. Baldwin, when he finds his real name and character discovered, vents a few high-flown phrases, and even goes so far as to " confess he is ashamed "; a declaration that suffices to set him right in the eyes of all parties : he casts off his bad habits with his alias, and "the faults of Baldwin are forgotten in the atoning efforts of Mordaunt." Clara is confronted with him, and at sight of her he instantaneously undergoes a moral transformation ; his passion for Miss Temple vanishes, and fondness for Clara takes its place. "Can you forgive me ? " he asks Clara: "I have nothing to forgive," says she ; while Sir Harry, not to be behindhand in generosity, offers to pension the hopeful pair. The score of dramatis personre that remain to be accounted for are mere walking and talking nobodies. Two of the number have some pretensions to character, as far as re- gards externals : these are the before-named scoundrel Drouh, a low sottish brute—capitally dressed and acted by WEBETTER—who passes for a wealthy country gentleman, the father of Clara, though his ap- pearance and manners would not have imposed on a child ; and the Llonourable Cavendish Pause, a Peer expectant, debating on matrimony, and constantly reiterating the phrase "such as it is "—personated in an easy pleasant way by WHENCE; who drops out his qualifying sentence ia the manner of one to whom it has become habitual. WALLACE plays Sir Harry Vivid with force and vivacity, and appears more of the gentleman than many real Baronets. Miss CHARLES—or Mrs. CHARLES PErrnecaLL as she is now called—is sprightly and wicked enoegt. for the coquette : she would succeed still better by showing less ettbrt, and forgetting Mrs. NISBET. Mr. STUART, as Baldwin, stares in- tensely, and declaims vigorously ; but "there is too little speculation in those eyes," and his action is that of an automaton. Mrs. EDWIN Yea- NOLD, as MAI, uot only redeemed a doubtful character and made it in- :.sting, by the seeming artlessness of her personation, but the earnest and impassioned expression with which she related her history, aroused the flagging attention at a critical point, and was mainly instrumental in saving the piece : the genuine pathos of her narrative was most effective ; the feeling of the speaker went to the heart of the audience, who responded with visible emotion as well as loud and prolonged applause. Among the half a score of ladies, we need onlylmention Mrs. W. CLIFFORD, SS Lady Pierrepoint, a blue-stocking, who reviews her own novels ; Miss Mevwooh, as Mrs. Doubtful, an amiable young ward, married to a peevish and jealous old guardian ; and the Misses Comma., whose personal attractions and lady-like deportment are not their only recommendations to notice. The comedy, so far as the dialogue is concerned, is not without smartness in the lighter parts ; and some satirical hits told well : the first act and part of the second promised favourably ; but no sooner were the principal characters introduced than the attraction ceased— their second appearance did but destroy the curiosity they at first excited. The old custom of prologue and epilogue was revived : but the pro- logue served only to raise expectations that were not fulfilled, and the epilogue went halting off like the comedy. The author is Mr. ROBERT BELL, a veteran litterateur, but a tyro in dramatic writing, who has un- fortunately taken Sir EDWARD BIILWER as his model: the attempts at equivoque and "situation"—as where a billet-doux wrongly delivered is mistaken for an answer to a deputation, and vice versa—are more bold than successful : in short, the generic character of the composition is imitative, not original. The puce is got up with commendable pains, us a sufficiently effective manner, as regards scenic appointments ; the "fancy bazaar" in particular is a very bustling scene : and with need- ful curtailment, Marriage, with all its faults, may be followed by a honeymoon of prosperity.