23 JANUARY 1841, Page 10

The Adelphi has produced another of those exciting combinations of

love and murder, horror and merriment, for which it is famous, in cele- bration of the return of that prince of cut-throats 0. SNITH to his con- genial vocation. We had been looking forward to the gratification of welcoming back this fuliginous star to his proper sphere, but accident- ally missed the desired opportunity. The first intimation we had of the appearance of Agnes St. Aubyn with her "two husbands" was the critique on its performance in the Tunes; from which we learn that the drama is well constructed, effectively performed, and completely suc- cessful; and that 0. Salmi was received, as he deserves to be, with long and loud demonstrations of delight, Without him "murder is out of tune, and sweet revenge grows harsh": he is the impersonation of felony—the quintessence of villany : his look, voice, and gesture, be- speak the jailbird ; his gait tens of the gyves—one looks to his bare wrists for the marks of the handcuffs. Moreover, he is a citizen of the world : he becomes equally well the English burglar and the French escroc . nay, further, he is unrivalled as the representative of the demon race, and his genius ranges through both realms of crime : his fiendish laugh of exultation over the evil deeds of others, and the mut- tered execration of despair over his own doom, are each given with a, fearful gusto. The mantle of the Prince of Darkness has certainly fallen upon 0. SMITH'S shoulders : he is Lucifer, without a match.

Mrs. YATES plays the heroine, Agnes St. Aubyn, whose distresses arise from the sudden reappearance of her first husband, Doligny, after she had been married to St. Aubyn : Doligny, who turned outa gambler and had been sent to the genies, was supposed dead, but had contrived to escape ; he returns to his wife, and her efforts to conceal the fact, and, secure his silence and retreat, create jealousy in the mind of St. Aabyn; St. Aubyn shoots Doligny for a robber, and the difficulty and mystery are thus cleared up at once. Mrs. YATES'S acting is described as more than commonly true and powerful; and one or two scenes between Mrs. KEELEY, a jealous wife, and YATES as her husband, are spoken of as nature itself. Mr. LYON, as St. Aubyn, also plays well ; and 0. SMITH, as Doligny, is, of course, perfect : WRIGHT has an amusing part, of an English dandy duped by a French intrigante; and Mr. TUB- /COUR, whose face is his fortune, makes a droll footman.

Deeds of Dreadful Note are also doing here, that send the audience into convulsions—of laughter. Mrs. EEPLEy, WILKINSON, and WRIGHT, are the perpetrators ; and their "victim," though a dummy,. mutely makes a powerful appeal to the ludicrous sympathies. To ex- plain the series of equivokes which lead a husband and wife mutually to suspect each other of a murderous intention, and a gallant to enter- tain a similar suspicion—the three being respectively paralyzed with terror, while the lookers-on roar with laughter—would only spoil a capital game of "fright."