The New Strand, under the management of Mr. H. Haan,
bids fair to attain even greater popularity than it enjoyed under that of Mr. Hammmen, in whose company the new manager was a principal performer ; his "Old Weller" being a match for HAMMOND'S " Sammivel." Mr. HALL has opened his first campaign with a small, but picked and well-trained corps of veterans, and a couple of good field-pieces of more than common calibre, albeit one is christened the Silver Thimble : they did great execution among the audience, as was evident by the quantity of linen used to stanch the flow of tears and stop the open mouths of laughter. A continuation of the good general- ship already shown, will enable him to maintain his position in his com- pact little redoubt against a host of competitors. The Silver Thimble is a drama of housekeeping pathos and house- breaking horrors, by Mr. MARK LEMON; and takes its name from the love-token which serves Susan Harvey, the heroine, for a talisman and oracle on all occasions of doubt and difficulty : she is stopped on the highway of Hymen in company with a humble but faithful swain, by a burly footpad of a suitor, who calls upon her to "stand and deliver " her heart ; but the " silver thimble" is her shield from this attack, and other more ferocious ones of a burglarious character by the same desperado ; and she retains in her bosom both heart and thimble, until a bullet from the pistol of a Bow Street runner releases her from danger by cutting short the career of her assailant. Mrs. KEELEY, as Susan Harvey, mingles smiles and tears : her pa- thetics, however, touching though they are, only serve as shadows to set off the playful lights of the character, to which gayety and innocent coquetry give its charm : as her dogged adorer Mr. Nabs has it, "even mashing taturs adds to her nat'ral graces." Her hesitation about giving a kiss to her sheepfaced lover, and the half pettish half bashful manner in which she concludes her deliberation as to the propriety of complying, by saying to herself, "Why doesn't he take it without asking ?" are delicious. Rama as the aforesaid Nabs, a swell Bill Sykes, not only gives fearful effect to the brutal recklessness of the thoroughbred villain when provoked, but shows the determination of the ruffian even when softening his tone to the pleading of an enamoured suitor ; and his subdued look of despairing fondness when he is dragged away dying by the officers is affecting. Arrwoon, as a gaol-bird in the disguise of a mendicant, looks the picture of a hungry, keen-eyed, cun- ning vagabond, as malicious as he is cowardly ; and MAYNARD, as the broken-hearted father of Susan, ruined by the arts of Nabs in revenge for the refusal of his daughter's hand, is actually an object of commiser- ation.
The other piece is a mythological burlesque, of the Olympic order, cleverly written by Mr. LEMAN REDE, and abounding in smart satirical hits and pleasant allusions, interspersed with graver touches of senti- ment. The assembled gods agree to visit earth in mortal form; and a "Tom and Jerry" scene of flirtation and frolic ensues ; in which Mrs. KEELEY, as Mercury in the character of a pretty fellow about town, makes love to all the goddesses, including the formidable dowager Juno herself in the homely shape of a bum-boat-woman, and is " plucked " by the gods, under the direction of Jupiter in the dis- guise of a Yorkshire blackleg ; capitally personated by Mrs. Fos- BROKE and Mr. }Liam ATTWOOD, as a Yankee Nigger disputing the palm of mendacity with Mercury, is very amusing. Mr. CONWAY, from Bath, as Bairington the pickpocket, showed himself more of a gentleman than a sharper ; but he is a welcome acquisition to the London boards, where actors who can become any suit above a livery are very rare. Mrs. KEELEY'S assumption of the airs and im- pertinences of a dashing young spark, overflowing with love of himself and every woman he meets, is quite captivating : the off-hand ease and audacity of her deportment never degenerate into coarseness or swagger, and it is enlivened by arch humour and a vivacious sense of enjoyment, diffusing the spirit of gayety and daylight all around.
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