THE SIGHTS OF SYDNEY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2287, 30 December 1897, Page 43

THE SIGHTS OF SYDNEY.

By Cigarette,

A NIGHT^WITH- NAPOLEON.

Qukjkly the weeifs are' slipping by, Christmas will soon be here, and your visit to Sydney will ba at-an.end ; but before you return to your beautiful, cool Dunedin just come with me to Her Majesty's Theatre, and you will haye 1 something to think of all the way back to New Zeaiand. Doubtless you have seen many plays in your lifetime, but wait till you have seen " The Royal Divorce" ; it will leave a deeper impression on you than anything you have seen before. So come with me to-night, and let me introduce you to Napoleon, as represented by Julius Koight. Never mind the heat, though it is almost unbearable ; but you will soon be out of it", and then as you "wander about the breezy hills of Dunedin or bask on the sand dunes by the sea, you will look back on this hot eight and thank your stars your lot is not cast; in Sydney. Here we are at Her Majesty'?. It is lucky cur seats are booked, for notwithstandiLg the heat the theatre is crowded. Messrs Williamson and Muegrove always seem to hit the popular taste. Crowds flocked to the " Sign of the Cross " and "The Prisoner of Zenda." Then carao a season of musical vaudeville, and all Sidney laughed over the fun and frolic of " The Gay Paiisienne " and i' The French Maid." • Then " Two Little Vagabonds " with its pathos drew tears from bo many eyes that according to the Sydney Bulletin the hired opera glasses had to be emptied into a bucket when returned to their rightful owners I And cow the magnificence of " The Royal Divorce " eclipses ail that has gone before. The. play opens with the announcement to' Josephine of the Emperor's intention to obtain a divorce. " Sha 'refuses, to believe it, and retires to adorn herself for his return. Miss Ada Ferrar enacts the part of Josephine, and plays, it well. In a magnificent gow,n of embroidered satin, with a regal train of ruby velvet, she looks the character to perfection, and has a charm of manner all her own which wins the hearts of the audience completely. Amidst great pomp and show of military glory Napoleon enters. Is ib not wonderful how completely Julius KnJght is disguised ? Surely it is Napoleon himself stepped out of a picture. 2he pale face and knitted brow, the firm lips, the slightly-rounded shoulders, the lock of hair falling on the forehead, and last, but not least, the costume. As the piece goes on the individuality of Napoleon lays hold on us ; the iron will, the dauntless ambition, the gigantic selfishness of the man are shown in a series of excellently worked out acts. Although not historically scrrect in every detail, the main facts are adhered to ; and when the tableau is presented of the retreat from Moscow, the audience holds its breath in admiration. Away in the distance is seen the city in flames ; then miles of snowy distance, and the army in retreat in the foreground with sick and wounded trailirg slowly through the thickly falling enow — Napoleon at their head, wrappsd in his military cloak, and the shadow of the future clouding his brow. Is it not realistic in the extreme? The audience are loud in their expressions of delight, and if there was no acticg at all the tableaux alone aTe worth coming to see. Bat the cast is an exceptionally strong "one. There are Talleyrand'(W. IT. Hawtrey), who is worthy of notice, the' Marquis de Beaumont (G-aston Mervale), and General .Angeraien (H. J. Carvill), besides several minor characters, who all show careful study of the parts they represent. Bat as in history, so in the drama — Napoleon overshadows them all. Josephine as the discarded wife, wandering in Ibe palace gardens and meeting with the Emperor's infant son, is very pathetic; the little King of Borne does his part (or rather here, for it is girl) beautifully, and asks in a sweetly innocent way, " Wbat is a divorce 1 " Miss Elliott Page as the Empress Marie Louise might make more of hor part if she were able-; but it is a thankless one to play, and the sympathies of the audience are all with the discarded Josephine.

Now comes the tableau of Waterloo. Is it not marvellous 1 Look at the English in their red coats dashing up behind and cutting off retreat 1 What a volume of smoke and name I And the firmg — is it not deafening ? It is a wonder the horses are not startled. There stands Napoleon — defeated I Surely the climax is*reached at last. But no ; there is soother tableau yet.

Next 'we see the fallen Emperor on the deck of the Northumberland awaitiDg bis sentence of exile from the British admiral. Josephine pleads -wildly to accompany him, but is denied — the flat has gone forth, and he mast bear his exile alone. Now comes the closing seene — the final tableau. It is' the rock of St; Helena, where Napoleon stands alone gazing out over the waste of water, his pale profile outlined against the sunset sky. His whole figure Is bathed in sunlight ; but gradually the shadows creep up and envelop bim : the sun is going down — its last rays flicker awhile on 'his face, then fade away. Sis sun has set I Down goes the ourtain ; the play is over, and involuntarily we smother a sigh. That lonely figure of Napoleon still bannts me, and pity for the fallen eagle is the thought that bears us company after all the magnificence of this wonderful play has passed away*