"A BACHELOR'S HONEYMOON."

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 626, 4 October 1909, Page 8

"A BACHELOR'S HONEYMOON."

A" farcical ■-comedy in three acts, by John Stapleton. 'iCast:— : ••' .- •-, :•■■""', Benjamin Bachelor >..!..... Mr., tough J. Ward ■■'■-. ■•"■; - (Who married in haste) ;.' ,:. ■■. Minerva :......;.; ;... Miss, Celia Ghiloni . ■ ■' ' ' (His sister, and moral guardian),:: : Amaryllis. .:,V.i ...'.... Miss Florence Eedfern: Charyllis ........................... Miss Euby Baiter ~ • " '(His twin • ■■..■••','.' iMarianne ........................ Miss Eose -Muserove(A maid-servant, who gets a cine-in her head) Joe. (a man* servant)". Mr. H, H. Wallace Stephen Honitbn .'.. Mr. .Reginald Wykoham ■■ ~,'-.: , .(A very, busy .man) " *■ '» Dr;.;LTidwig Schwartz .... Mr. Arthur .Eldred ■. <i *.ii(Who nurses a secret sorrow) ■ . Anthony Gumbug ..;.......;. Mr; Eobert , Greig ; ijV.cr :-. (A confidential - : agent),;•.'"•■ ■.■.:.-:.-■ ;..".;....'. s Miss , .Grace' -"Ralptta 1 .'('(Known .on the stage as Juiio. Jo joe)',*' "A Bachelor's' Honeymoon" can , .'hardly be .criticised..as a , play. ~ It- is .simply meant. to amuse, and in that.it succeeded .abundantly at the. : Opera House on Saturday night. It is riot, at : all instructive,- arid it', aasn't ,any, moral, unless it',is,-thai- one which might be applied , to - so ■ many compositions *of this ;_.;:■ vj, '::.-. ;■''■■:.; *; ~ . ;!\ ■■■' ■■ ■ "Ah;, what a tangled web we .weave,". 1 : ,-When : 'first we * practise to .deceive!" . ■The ""bachelor" is a, married, man when the play- begins,' and.; he has only '.just left off being a' widower.. "Bachelor," in, fact, is his 'surname'/. -His : other , name r is Benjamin— "Benny", for. short. .He '-has'just married*'an: •actress" known- professionally as' Jurio Joyce, and otherwise as Miss ArbUctle, arid .the

beginning, the first act-sees them arrive at Bachelors, house;.. Believing '■.that .Miss. Aγ-. buckle-would object to being,a .stepniother, Bachelor-.has .not, told, her that he.' is the father of girl twins, almost', grown • up. ; The girls are being looked after by their Aunt ; Slinerva,. who was made, by her father's-will, the "'moral guardian"' of Her -brother .Benjamin..; .Thei.latter's share' of .their, patrimony is only -to be paid over when .he marries •. a second-.time with her full : approval. ■ Miss Minerva -and 'the , girls soon come on '. the scene,'arid-the bridegroom .gets comically and delightfully'frantic ..in hying/to conceal, his bride,' from his '--family,•' and also to; conceal, his. daughters 'from , his- bride.;■ .. A-, Dr. Schwartz, who.is'ah old flame, of Juno's, and a young lawyer named Houston ..happen along to intensify complications by being supposed :to .be or " about, to' be • married to one or another, .'of, the ladies of the -. story. A very' confidential' detective also .helps to. make, amusing trouble. Every fresh - complication "brings its own crop of absurdities, the maidservant, who - has been understudying • Sherlock Holmes, has plenty of clues,.but they don't lead anywhere. Miss Minerva repeatedly commands her hapless' "brother to "explain, which is, of course, the last thing -within his power.' After the bride has appeared in the "Greek dress"

that she used to wear on the stage, and has been seen kissing Benjamin, Aunt Minerva and the girls (under her direction) appear in mourning; and announce that their erring relative is dead to them. Until within a few.minutes of the end, the tangle looks quite impossible to unravel, but it is done, , ana -the final curtain has on one side, of .itva merry, family party, and on the other a.crowd of folks who are-telling each other' they don't..remember when 'they have -laughed , -60 'much". ■■ '■' The leading members of .Mr. : Ward's .company are so -well and • favourably known in Wellington that little need be' said : about them; Mr. Hugh Ward , 'himself:' made the- most of every,point in;the.part of:Ben.'Bachelor, and' the,.points were not'few. His ease, ,and .his, mastery of the art of comedy, acting;.>ere' ap- : parent throughout. 'His-dancing; was a' joyespecially when he. sat down to • Miss , Grace Palotta—it must be said/ even if it,is a punis first of all and above all, graceful. ;Tho man ,who would try to' pick among Wellington's established dramatic favourites one ,who has,a more L charming stage'presence would land himself'in, an. argument.- _Miss'Palotta.is.also "a very accomplished actress and she', showed ■it on' Saturday night. Miss Rose,. Mnsgrove; as a. servant-maid, of the.grotesque order, made spmo of tho'brightest and clevorest fun of the evening.- Miss Celia Ghiloni, a,s Minerva, the moral guardian,' lectured and;. attitudinised' to the life. 1 The Stephen. Houston of Sfr. Reginald Wykeham'.was well studied and full : of charactOT.;Mr. Arthur" EldredJ as the' German doctor, should have spoken niore distinctly, but was 'otherwise, satisfactory. Misses Florence Eodfernarid Euby,-Baxter, were charming twins, and, Messrs. Robert Ctrbig and H. H. Wallaco were-admirable in their different ways. ■ .■ ;The songs, introduced Ky Misses Palotta , and Musgrove and Mr. Ward wore not great music-' ft'Ur.Vbut; they'amused,- and thfy helped mat.ters.alonK very nicely. ~ ..■■'"' '!•,-.:.■■:- ' ' T.hcrc a' full house, : ahd the Bpaeoh'-'pro'-" auess'to:bo 'a;Tery;t>ijnular ; on». ■• ■. . -

if J?|j de %™& them in a «_i f(ul *£*■ mother, clever man/ Professor o/"fc the ffi wora?s?M& Macaulay % l'ennyson's, Word? worttte,i.iloores.. There aro still men livinu who delight to qjuoto; whole/pages from' "Bon i^ ntten, Mt excepting:"Eejected (■-,.. . Life 1 of the .Prince Consort, •' . ; "'. of Sir Theodore Martin's middle, age. He Vas sit Arthur Helps, clerk' to: the Privy Council Ot course,••b}-:tliis i time,^he'.was - a , - welbknowS as a. writer H o ' had; published many"tranTtionsv .now .fallen' into neglect, -ani'wal a figure, m, hterarjv society.., Still, it: was a Breat; surprise, to ;hun- to, be asked in' 18M .-f t£Fs L / e >yiHio to think it over, ana at length agreed on. condition that he should recefye.no payment.-.' He explained with honourable modesty "Mv private, ..means aro ample-for aU -my 'wants/' But. .there was another; reason: for, the stipula': , tion. He was.aeUrmined to write with a free.hand, ,and { ho;;f«lf W-cbfld- ngt v do .this if hej were paid for Mu>. labour: Queen-Victoria agreed to both,his conditions, and,invited Mr! Martin her, He went, wonder- ! n S h 7;.*e pass .off. and his heart beat fast when'he , was ushered into hW .Majesty's presence: ; But,li«was very soon it UIS-CflSGt , ; ■ , ■ '■•' *■■■.■.■ '. ' ■ : ■ tr»7. n c h f er n face J , r^aa at ;, a giinoo' marked.l traces, of. the great sorrow: she lad undergone &*rene and full of quiet dignity as .it was, I seemed to perceive in. the Queen's bearinp something of, that nervousness, ataost amountß- - shyness, which, as I camq to know afterwards, her Majesty,.always seemed .to feel in hrst .meeting a.. stranger.-..;..'., ... To show no .signs.ol,embarrassment, but to bo simple and policy, -rue' was. that her Ma-' iesty herself quicKly.became at ease, and by ner.lrank, gracious manner made me feel, as' it were, at home.in the long conversation that ensued, and .in. ; v,;hich, for the first-time, I felt, the charm,that never failed of her exquisite sniile:...and,of ; l>er silver-toned'voice;;' ■ , Queen .Victoria's Frioi'dship, '

• ■ Froni this; time'onward- Sir /Theodore's r£ '■« j" S; ( .V' lth ,:Q<'«en .Victoria, were oloso and mhmate... She,, admitted him' to her fuU. confidence, .and often wrote to him-eipressing, her ■deepest' .feelings.; The free a?ad-for. which he had stipulated he was SwS H^T"'',""¥ th « &:you find it. m the materials, at your comahmd": was hej-Majestys instruction. ■ '-'Truth," she added with a sigh, .'is a.very precious thing to peo- . Vk ?£PPSft'oa" -At one,-point be felt in a difficulty. How could he writo frankly about the' Crimean: War without saying things which would be unacceptable to-tho Russian Royal family, of. which.the Duchess, nf Ediriburch was a member? But Queen. Victoria reassured him at once. "Do not let.my son's ' marrioso ■■"•S'l ' t " k you tai a "oment," she sgitl. ■ VVnatever . conclusions. you ■ como to,' express them, as if no such marriage existed." ' ■■" , Ihe Life came out in the years 1875 to 1880. it was everywhererecognised as. a: carefully and well planned work. .', It vindicated the Prince. Consort ."by showing what his aims'had been and-, how he had always 1 striven for'the welfare and-glory, of his-adopted-country." Yet it did not escape without severe criticism. Its political, bias in favour-oi". Mr. Disraeli's policy ..called forth from the , "Spectator" the" epithet a party- pamphlet/"'anif Mr.-' Gladstone : reviewed it in ,his own defence. But the dust of controversy has settled long ago,, and the five volumes remainto,do-credit alike'to their subject and their author, both exceptionally fine' types.of men. In. 1883 followed a "Lite ; of Lord- Lyndhnrstr , ' and more translations. r The friendship ,of Queen Victoria towards ■i ?i a i£ n " ( w ¥'was niade'a'luCß. in 1880 and K.C.V.O. in 1896). her.Majesty;- extended also,to his wife, the famous actress Helen I'aucit, Browning's, "Shakespeare lady," one ol the most gracious, and intellectual and noble-minded -women who have ever trod the ?ta ?! - no -?? r forty-seven years, until her death in 1898, they were'ideally happy together. All the time, they could spare from London they spent at their,beautiful Welsh 'home, Bryntisilio, near Llangollen, where' Queen Victoria onceyisited them,; and where Sir. Theodore has spent the last years of his life.