Angelina

Angelina!
by Mr. W. Cooper (Robert Buchanan)* (an adaptation of the play, Une Mission Délicate by Alexandre Bisson).
London: Vaudeville Theatre. 9, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29 May, 1, 8, 10 June, 1889 (matinée performances).
Brighton: Theatre Royal. 13 June, 1889 (matinée).

*The evidence for attributing Angelina! to Robert Buchanan is all circumstantial but I feel there’s enough of it to warrant its inclusion here. I first came across the Buchanan connection to Angelina! in Women Writers Dramatized : A Calendar of Performances from Narrative Works Published in English to 1900 by H. Philip Bolton (London: Continuum International Publishing, 1999) where the section on Maria Edgeworth (p.195) contains the following:

“Angelina; or, L’amie inconnue bears no relationship to a play, "Angelina," by Robert Buchanan, that was licensed to be performed at the Vaudeville Theatre in 1889. ⁹⁰

⁹⁰Nicoll (V, 324); LC— Add Mss 53422 (M); License no 28.”

The footnote refers to Late Nineteenth Century Drama, 1850-1900 by Allardyce Nicoll (Cambridge University Press) on page 324 of which Angelina! is assigned to W. Cooper and presumably the additional information refers to the Lord Chamberlain’s collection of plays.
Buchanan’s play That Doctor Cupid had been running at the Vaudeville Theatre since January and would eventually be replaced, not by Angelina!, but by another Buchanan piece, The Old Home, so the idea of Buchanan trying out another play at matinée performances, especially one based on a successful French play, seems plausible. Perhaps the clearest clue to Buchanan’s having a hand in the adaptation is that one of the additions to this English version (and noted in several reviews as being a highlight of the piece) is the character played by Cyril Maude of the student of philosophy, who shares Buchanan’s admiration for Herbert Spencer.
I have not come across any other reference to ‘Mr. W. Cooper’ during this period and his name is not associated with any other works. Finally, there are reviews in several provincial newspapers which suggest that Buchanan was the true author (or adapter) of Angelina! and until I come across any evidence to the contrary, I will continue to agree with them.

[Advert for That Doctor Cupid and Angelina! from The Times (9 May, 1889).]

The Times (10 May, 1889 - p.8)

VAUDEVILLE THEATRE.
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Under the title of Angelina Mr. Thomas Thorne and his company essayed at the Vaudeville yesterday an adaptation from the French which is probably destined to take the place of That Doctor Cupid in the evening bill. The work from which the new piece has been derived is Une Mission Délicate, by M. Alexandre Bisson, a comedy of the extravagant order with which the name of the principal author of Les Surprises du Divorce is agreeably associated. For the time being, popular taste does not run in the direction of French adaptations, but Angelina, as rendered into English by Mr. W. Cooper, is unobjectionable enough, and indeed bears few traces of its Gallic origin. A hot-tempered Irish major, having gone abroad on active service, has left his young wife under the care of two of his friends, a retired perfumer and a stockbroker, whose mission it is to “amuse her.” In pursuance of his instructions the perfumer is engaged in treating the lady to a champagne supper at 2 in the morning when the major unexpectedly returns, and as that gallant officer has been reported dead his locum tenens makes his escape in a state of alarm to a cry of “Stop thief,” leaving his hat behind as an incriminating piece of evidence against him. The major is naturally of opinion that the “mission” has been carried a little too far, and in order to punish his false friend he places the affair in the hands of the police as a case of attempted burglary. All this has passed before the rising of the curtain, the action being concerned merely with the results of the perfumer’s indiscretion. These at once assume a serious aspect. The stockbroker having gone to recover his friend’s hat is pounced upon by the police, and in self-defence he has to place the guilt upon the right shoulders. Thus the major has the satisfaction of carrying the war into the enemy’s territory; and as further complications are evolved by his urging his nephew to make love to the perfumer’s wife by way of reprisal, the fun soon reaches the high-pressure point demanded by the public of the Palais Royal and the Variétés. Eventually, of course, a satisfactory understanding is arrived at, not too soon, for the leading idea of the piece is unquestionably somewhat thin and readily exhausted. From the parts of the perfumer, the stockbroker, and the Irish major Mr. Thomas Thorne, Mr. Gilbert Farquhar, and Mr. Fred. Thorne extract a considerable amount of humour; but the most amusing piece of characterization is given incidentally by Mr. Cyril Maude as a youthful philosopher who has a keen eye for his material interests in a world which he declares is so soon to pass into nothingness. It is hardly fair of the adapter to ascribe the absurd transcendental sentiments of this character to Mr. Herbert Spencer; he might so far consult the intelligence of his audience as to lay the responsibility of them upon certain writers of the German school. The piece was well received, although the verdict of a matinée audience is no sure test of popularity.

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The Morning Post (10 May, 1889 - p.5)

VAUDEVILLE THEATRE.
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“Angelina,” an adaptation, by Mr. W. Cooper, from M. Bisson’s farcical piece, “Une Mission Délicate,” was so favourably received yesterday afternoon as to afford the expectation that it will figure as the leading item of Mr. Thomas Thorne’s evening bill whenever the popularity of “That Doctor Cupid” becomes exhausted. If not remarkable for dramatic strength, or for the bustle characteristic of modern comicalities, “Angelina” displays in a striking manner the peculiar artistic skill of Mr. Thomas Thorne and the support rendered him by the chief members of the Vaudeville Company. M. Bisson’s three-act absurdity was first seen at the Renaissance, in Paris, in January, 1886, when MM. Saint-Germain, Vois, and Delaunoy appeared in the characters now respectively played by Messrs. Thomas and Frederick Thorne and Gilbert Farquhar. Naturally, the present adapter has been compelled to make a few changes in the action, but these do not materially affect either the position of the principal or his punishment for having so sedulously watched over the fair Angelina, whilst her husband, the elderly Major O’Gallagher is with his regiment in Africa. Mr. Alfred Gadabout has certainly been entrusted with a most “delicate mission,” and has not been discreet in its execution. His growing admiration of Angelina is checked when the unexpected return of the impulsive, loud-voiced Hibernian son of Mars compels the guardian to hurriedly depart from the house, and is altogether destroyed when Mrs. Gadabout—a lady who is not to be trifled with—pays him back in his own coin by pretending to be impressed with the protestations of affection made by the handsome Hector O’Gallagher in obedience to the instructions of the revengeful Major. As represented by Mr. Thomas Thorne, the penitent Mr. Gadabout, who is at last moved to a frenzied desire to engage in mortal combat with anybody willing to accept his challenge, is never likely to be again justly suspected of neglecting his home or of making his club the excuse for staying out until daybreak. Besides giving Gadabout the drollest appearance, Mr. Thorn offers a ludicrous realisation of the shame and terror experienced by the culprit when he learns that his wife knows all. At future performances this able comedian will probably do yet more than he accomplished yesterday with a character in every way suited to him. Mr. Cyril Maude was also highly successful in an eccentric part, and Mr. Fred Thorne was appropriately gusty as the violent Major. Mr. Gilbert Farquhar showed his accustomed judgment as Harkaway Spangle, a middle-aged easy-going bachelor, who, much against his inclination, is entangled in Gadabout’s ineffectual scheme to baffle discovery. Miss Gladys Homfreys and Mr. Frank Gilllmore also rendered good service to a performance that throughout elicited hearty laughter and applause.

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The Standard (10 May, 1889 - p.2)

VAUDEVILLE THEATRE.
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At a matinée yesterday a piece called Angelina, adapted by Mr. W. Cooper from M. Bisson’s Une Mission Délicate, was produced, with a view, it was understood, to transference to the evening programme, should its reception seem to warrant such a course. The question is one which the manager will find some difficulty in deciding. Angelina is a farcical comedy, containing some very amusing scenes, but the story is slight, and rather loosely put together, so that whether it would be permanently attractive is a little problematical, though it was very well received yesterday afternoon. Angelina, who gives a name to the piece, has been secretly married to Major O’Gallagher, who, before leaving England on foreign service, confides her to the charge of two friends, Mr. Spangle, a stockbroker and a bachelor, and Mr. Alfred Gadabout, a retired hairdresser, husband of a wife of the most military tendencies, given to drilling her household and teaching the use of the sword. A report of the Major’s death reaches England, and the two friends proceed to console the widow. Mr. Gadabout’s consolation takes the form of supping with her after a masked ball, at which he has been her escort; and, while so engaged, the Major’s voice is heard outside the door. Gadabout flies, leaving his hat behind him, and this leads to the arrest—first of Spangle, who goes to recover the missing headgear for his friend, and then of the real owner, while O’Gallagher’s furious jealousy is not unnaturally roused. Mr. Thorne gives a very diverting representation of the perplexities of Gadabout, terrified lest his wife should discover his mission of consoling Angelina (for she knows nothing of the Major’s marriage), alarmed at O’Gallagher’s fire-eating propensities, and apprehensive of arrest, there having been near Angelina’s residence an attempted burglary, of which the owner of the hat is suspected. The incident of Gadabout’s arrest by a detective, who, after dining with the supposed criminal at his house, causes him to be carried off by a couple of policemen, is too absurd even for farcical comedy; but Mr. Thorne plays capitally in the last act, where Gadabout finds his way to Spangle’s rooms and makes himself at home, disregarding the indignation of the proprietor. The sketch is, indeed, altogether well carried out. Mr. Gilbert Farquhar gives character and consistency to the performance of Spangle, and a remarkably clever, fresh, and well-sustained study of a philosophical youth who devotes his mind to Mr. Herbert Spencer’s books, and regards his fellow-creatures as phenomena, is furnished by Mr. Cyril Maude, a young comedian who increases his reputation with every fresh part he plays. Mr. F. Thorne has necessarily to follow a beaten track as Major O’Gallagher. These irascible officers are familiar stage figures, but the actor displays much spirit and vigour. Mr. Frank Gilmore, as the Major’s nephew, who is forced by his uncle to the uncongenial task of making love to Mrs. Gadabout, is a little wanting in ease and lightness of touch. Miss Gladys Homfreys bears herself well as the soldierlike Mrs. Gadabout, and the daughter Cicely is very prettily played by Miss Ella Banister. There was considerable applause at the fall of the curtain.

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The Daily Telegraph (10 May, 1889 - p.5)

VAUDEVILLE THEATRE.

   “Angelina” is at present too “skimpingly” attired. She once wore a very smart and showy French frock, and she was very much admired in it, though many objected to her flounces and furbelows as a little bit too fast and coquettish. But out of respect to English dowdiness, Mr. “W. Cooper,” who looks like an old friend with a false front, has made almost a guy of poor Angelina, and reduced her so severely by his moral process of exhaustion that few would recognise the gay and impulsive style of the heroine of Bisson’s “Mission Délicate.” In point of fact, the new farce produced with considerable success yesterday afternoon is “too thin,” its vital constitution has been impaired, its stamina is all gone. Strong, hearty, and vigorous enough in Paris, the poor play has travelled over here to show us how a process of paring and scraping can take off all the varnish and colour, and leave only the bare woodwork of what at the outset must have been a vastly amusing comedy.
   A “ticklish trust”—not a bad name for the play, by the way—is that given by the fire-eater Major O’Gallagher to his old cronies Spangle and Gadabout, when he goes off to the wars to get promotion or extinction. He confides to them Angelina, to whom the Major is secretly wedded, bidding the boys comfort and tend the grass widow in her solitude. At once we scent the French origin. The wedded Angelina is Mr. “W. Cooper’s” subterfuge, his sop to Cerberus. In the original Angelina cannot fail to be the peppery little gentleman’s chère amie. Faithfully, indeed, do these wicked old sparks fulfil their trust. Angelina dwells at No. 5a, Hyde Park-mansions, Edgware-road, where we are told mysterious porters and irritating watchmen dog the footsteps and worry to distraction the late Lothario. Thinking that O’Gallagher is dead, the bachelor Spangle offers Angelina his hand and heart; the more practical and wedded Gadabout regales the merry widow with lobsters and champagne. In the midst of this reckless banquet who should turn up but the deceased O’Gallagher, and his sudden appearance so frightens the much-married Gadabout that he makes a a sudden bolt of it, loses his compromising hat, and assaults with unusual violence the prowling porter of the mansions. Mrs. Gadabout, a veritable vixen, has scent of her husband’s infidelity; the major encourages his nephew to make violent love to the monster in petticoats in order to revenge himself on the treacherous Gadabout, both Spangle and Gadabout are in turns arrested by the police on suspicion of committing a burglary at the mansions, and the private peace of three distinct families is jeopardised until the fiery Major, who has come into a fortune, sees that no harm has been done, acknowledges Angelina as his lawful wife, forgives the recreants Spangle and Gadabout, and harmony is restored as quickly as it had been broken.
   When the new play has been better rehearsed, or rather when distracting nervousness and indecision no longer drags the scenes back instead of spurring them forward, there will be plenty of opportunity for comic acting. Mr. Thomas Thorne has secured a capital character in Gadabout, the platonic rake, in mortal dread of his tremendous wife, alternately a craven and a bully, terribly jealous when a beardless youngster kisses his massive spouse, but not averse to champagne and lobsters at unholy hours in Hyde Park-mansions. In contrast to this complex character we have the selfish toady Spangle, cleverly sketched by Mr. Gilbert Farquhar; and again a variety in Major O’Gallagher, who, as played by Mr. Fred Thorne, reminds us of a modern Squire Western with charming whiskers. Miss Gladys Homfreys was physically suited to the character of the termagant wife, but in addition to that she played the part remarkably well, and made all her scenes go. It would have been difficult to find a prettier or sweeter-voiced step-daughter than Miss Ella Banister, who promises to be a charming actress, or a saucier and brisker little maid-of-all-work than Miss Florence Bright. But Mr. “W. Cooper” managed to squeeze a little bit of originality into the play, and he was lucky enough to have at hand so skilful a young artist as Mr. Cyril Maude to do it justice. Charles Spangle, the literary prig, who reads Herbert Spencer and quotes philosophic jargon by the ream, is no invention of M. Bisson. It is a clever skit from real life by a remarkably clever author who is clearly an observant journalist as well as a swift adaptor. Nothing could have been more admirable than the young actor’s instant perception of the fun of the caricature. he had not been on the stage five seconds before he had the audience in a roar of laughter. The perceptive artist communicated his intelligence with a lightning flash. In dress, drawl, nasal whine, and cringing attitude he was the complete epitome of a whole race of modern philosophic prigs, with their irritating self-sufficiency and air of convincing culture. No character will be better remembered in the whole play than the Spencerian disciple of Mr. Cyril Maude, and yet there are actors who protest they are not artistically recognised unless they have the whole play to themselves. If it was worth while to create such an excellent character as this, surely Mr. “W. Cooper” might have attacked the whole play in the same spirit. The groundwork was there, but we wanted more than one splash of colour. If “Angelina” is ever to go into the evening programme, we fear she must be dressed up a little smarter, and made more presentable. At present she is but the scarecrow of a play.

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Daily News (11 May, 1889)

VAUDEVILLE THEATRE.
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When a leading personage in a new farcical comedy is found to bear the name of “Gadabout,” the experienced playgoer can hardly fail to divine how matters stand. Mr. W. Cooper’s adaptation of “Une Mission Délicate,” produced at the Vaudeville on Thursday afternoon with the title of “Angelina,” is in fact another variation upon the theme of the roving husband; but in this instance, it must be confessed that there is a good deal of novelty in the treatment. Mr. Alfred Gadabout, retired perfumer, in spite of his name, is no idle profligate; neither is his old bachelor friend, Harkaway Spangle, of the Stock Exchange; but they have each been inspired with a tender interest in the mysterious Angelina. By an unhappy fatality a fire-eating Irish Major suddenly called abroad on military duties, had insisted on entrusting to these twain the mission délicate of looking after the welfare of a lady to whom he had been privately married. As the Major is some time afterwards reported to be killed, what wonder that these susceptible persons are touched by the romance of the young widow’s story? Gadabout is heard by his wife, a lady of commanding presence and masculine habits, muttering in his dreams the name Angelina. Harkaway actually proposes to the widow and is rejected; and Gadabout is enjoying a little supper tète-à-tète with the same fascinating person when, behold! the fire-eating Irish Major reappears, and here begins the action of the play. The fun of what follows arises partly from the eccentric whim of the major for punishing the supposed perfidy of his friend Gadabout, by instigating a young nephew to make violent love to Mrs. Gadabout, and partly from the scrapes in which both Spangle and his friend are involved through the good-natured efforts of the former to recover a hat which Gadabout had incautiously left at Angelina’s lodgings. All this involves, no doubt, much that is conventional; but there is an abundance of droll situations, which probably only demand a little more briskness of movement and abandonment to the farcical spirit of the piece to secure for “Angelina” as signal a success as was achieved by M. Bisson’s play when brought out at the Renaissance three years ago. Mr. Thomas Thorne plays the part of Gadabout with a serious earnestness and a frequent alternation of fierce defiance and ludicrous distress which are highly diverting, and though Mr. Gilbert Farquhar’s middle-aged beaux are apt to be of a rather stiff, narrow type, a good deal of merriment is aroused by Spangle’s tendency to vent his vexations on his unhappy friend even to the extent of joining forces with his furious enemy. The moderation which the adaptor has deemed it proper to impart to the love- making scene between Mrs. Gadabout and the Major’s nephew, Hector, was probably the reason why Miss Gladys Homfreys and Mr. Frank Gillmore were a little disappointing in this much talked-of passage. Mr. Fred Thorne, after his wont, gives a strong humorous colouring to the part of the Major, and the young heroine Cicely was prettily played by Miss Ella Bannister. Decidedly the freshest and not the least amusing character in the play was that of the priggishly pedantic Charles Spangle, who, like Mr. Balfour, is nothing if not philosophical, and who airs his moral and metaphysical theories at all convenient and inconvenient times. In this comical part Mr. Cyril Maude once more proved himself a thorough artist with a considerable power of humorous characterisation. We may here note that Angelina, represented by Miss Lillie Hanbury, the direful spring of Mr. Gadabout’s woes, remains invisible till the last of the three acts, and has little or no share in the action. The comedy was brought to a close with every token of success. We are requested to state that “Angelina” will be given again by the original cast on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, the 15th and 18th inst.

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The Era (11 May, 1889)

“ANGELINA!”
_____

A Play, in Three Acts, Adapted by W. Cooper
from Alexandre Bisson’s Comedy “Une Mission Délicate,”
Played for the First Time at the Vaudeville Theatre
on Thursday Afternoon, May 9th, 1889.

Mr Alfred Gadabout . . . . . . . . . Mr THOMAS THORNE
Mr Harkaway Spangle . . . . . . . Mr GILBERT FARQUHAR
Charles Spangle . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr CYRIL MAUDE
Major O’Gallagher . . . . . . . . . . Mr FRED. THORNE
Hector O’Gallagher . . . . . . . . . Mr FRANK GILLMORE
Batt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr F. GROVE
Mrs Gadabout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miss GLADYS HOMFREY
Miss Cicely Gadabout . . . . . . . . Miss ELLA BANISTER
Nancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miss FLORENCE BRIGHT
Angelina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miss LILLIE HANBURY

M. Bisson’s three-act comedy Une Mission Délicate, which has been adapted by Mr. W. Cooper under the title Angelina! and was seen in its English form at a matinée at the Vaudeville Theatre on Thursday afternoon, was produced at the Renaissance Theatre, Paris, on Jan. 8th, 1886, when it met with considerable favour. Mr W. Cooper has followed his original pretty closely. The French captain who goes to Algeria and leaves his mistress in the care of his two friends is replaced by an Irish major who is secretly married; but otherwise the adaptor has retained most of the materials, and, it may be added, much of the disconnectedness and dubious flavour of M. Bisson’s piece; and the latter drawback detracts somewhat from the pleasure given by some of the really funny situations. We are made tolerably certain, to start with, that the intent which has led Mr Alfred Gadabout to sup at two o’clock in the morning on oysters and champagne with Mrs Major O’Gallagher, otherwise Angelina, is not an entirely innocent one; and the Major’s plan to revenge himself upon his false friend by setting on his somewhat too subservient nephew to make love to Mrs Gadabout is essentially “French.” Mr Gadabout is a retired perfumer, and, being a little man, is severely henpecked by his wife, a majestic woman of formidable proportions and muscular development. The Major’s marriage is a profound secret to all but Gadabout and O’Gallagher’s other friend, Harkaway Spangle; and the Major being reported to have been killed abroad, the little hairdresser does his best to console the disconsolate widow, and divert her mind from thoughts of her loss. But the Major has not been killed after all, and, turning up suddenly and unexpectedly at his own house in the small hours, so frightens Gadabout, who is supping with Angelina, that he rushes downstairs wildly and escapes, leaving his hat behind him. The Major first suspects Spangle of being the intruder, but finally discovers that Gadabout is the culprit, and sets the police on his track, suggesting that burglary was the trespasser’s aim in being on the premises. The Major completes his revenge by ordering his nephew and expectant heir, Hector, who is enamoured of Cicely, Gadabout’s daughter, to make love to and run away with Mrs. G., and thus ruin Gadabout’s peace of mind. The nephew consents unwillingly, trusting to Mrs Gadabout’s insensibility to render his suit null and void; but she informs the young man that “she is a woman of action,” and that, if she had only detected her husband in the smallest infidelity she would fly with him (Hector) immediately. On hearing this, the Major comes out with the story about Gadabout and Angelina, and the second act ends with Mrs Gadabout’s indignation, Cicely’s astonishment, and the hairdresser’s removal to prison by the police. The third act needs but brief description; indeed, the real action of the piece practically terminates at the end of its second section. Mrs Gadabout thinks better of her intention of running away with Hector, explanations take place all round, and Gadabout’s display of jealous pugnacity persuades his wife to pardon his indiscretion. Cicely’s hand is given to Hector; Spangle’s nephew, Charles, an amusing individual who is steeped in philosophical literature, and expresses himself on all subjects in the style of the abstruser German philosophers, retiring from the field dismayed by the scandals and disturbances which have taken place in the family which he had intended to enter.
Mr Thomas Thorne was intensely quaint and oddly funny as Mr Alfred Gadabout, his appearance after taking a bath subsequent to his return from the lock-up being excruciatingly grotesque, and his acting throughout most amusing. Mr Gilbert Farquhar’s Harkaway Spangle was as easy and natural as it was polished and well studied. Mr Cyril Maude distinguished himself by a really clever and never overdrawn bit of character acting as the eccentric student of philosophy; and Mr Fred. Thorne’s Irish Major was as peppery and pugnacious as could be desired. Mr Frank Gillmore was easy, gentlemanlike, and self-possessed as Hector O’Gallagher; and Mr F. Grove played Butt, a detective, neatly and well. Miss Gladys Homfrey was personally and histrionically exactly suited to the part of Mrs Gadabout; and Miss Ella Banister was simple and unobtrusive as Cicely. Miss Florence Bright made a smart and brisk maid servant, and Miss Lillie Hanbury spoke her lines as Angelina with ease and distinctness. There is much that is laughable in Angelina! but it is decidedly weak in places, and, as we have hinted, the humour is not always of the freshest sort. The adaptation was, however, favourably received, Mr Fred. Thorne coming before the curtain and announcing that the “author” was not in the house.

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The Sheffield Daily Telegraph (11 May 1889 - p.5)

It is doubtful whether the new farcical comedy produced at the Vaudeville yesterday afternoon is strong enough—sufficiently solid and full of vitality—to suit the taste of the ordinary evening audience. It is an adaptation, called “Angelina,” of M. Bisson’s piece, “Une Mission Delicate.” The English author has no doubt done his best to transfer the story to English soil, and to suit English actors, but he has not been very successful therein. The action, as he represents it, is thoroughly Gallic, not English. British husbands are not in the habit of going away for long periods, and leaving their wives to the care of notorious scamps; nor are even British grass widows quite so ready to embark in compromising enterprises, as is here suggested. In the original, the “wife” is a good deal less than a wife, and thus the improbabilities of the story are greatly reduced; but that is a state of things which has never yet been presentable on the English stage. Still, the story never halts, and has amusing turns. Mr. Thomas Thorne, Mr. Gilbert Farquhar, Mr. Fred Thorne, and two or three clever ladies were in the cast, but the palm was carried off by Mr. Cyril Maude in a small but effective part, admirably played, and conveying a telling satire on the modern philosophic prig. The author was called for, but did not appear. It was freely whispered that Mr. Robert Buchanan is the adapter, and certainly the “W. Cooper” mentioned on the programme is a personage unknown in theatrical circles.

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The Referee (12 May, 1889 - p.3)

Thomas Thorne, who still seems determined to pose as a First-Nighterophobist, trotted out for trial by matinée at the Vaudeville on Thursday an adaptation from the French. This was (according to the programme) a new three-act comedy, entitled “Angelina,” adapted by W. Cooper from M. Bisson’s “Une Mission Délicate.” Many have been much exercised as to the identity of this adapter. Certain cognoscenti assure me that “W. Cooper” is but the present nom de programme of a somewhat timid poetical playwright, whose initials were under former poetic circumstances “Thomas Maitland,” and in later playwriting ventures “R. Buchanan.” Some opine that Buchanan (if it is Buchanan) had disguised himself as a Cooper in order to discover whether Chivalry was still possible. Whether he really desired to escape observation I know not. If you ask me I should say not—such not being his recognised method. But this I know, that in the Vaudeville vestibule on Thursday strong men reeked with the rumour. Whence it came none knew, for there is never any knowing how these things get about. On one point, however, all agreed, and that is that Crummles is not a Prussian.

Angelina, who doesn’t appear till the curtain is about to fall, and who didn’t appear at all in the original, is a bride. In the original she was a “mistress.” She has been secretly married to Major O’Gallagher, who, on being called to the wars, left her to the guardianship of his friends, Gadabout (husband) and Spangle (widower). Gadabout, on a certain evening, treats Angelina to a sumptuous supper, when suddenly the Major’s voice is heard approaching. Gadabout flies in terror and down several staircases, contriving, en route, to lose his white hat and to assault a watchman. The play is supposed to commence on the morning after this escapade. Gadabout is dreading lest his big military wife, a kind of Mrs. Bagnet, should learn of his carryings-on, and he prevails on Spangle to try to find the compromising white hat. During his search Spangle is arrested as the assaulter. Meanwhile, the fiery Major turns up with intent to kill Gadabout, but presently changes his mind, and resolves to torture him by mashing Mrs. Gadabout. Anon, he compels his nephew (who is secretly in love with Gadabout’s daughter) to do the mashing instead. Mrs. G. accepts the youth’s pretended addresses with such ardour as to frighten him, and, learning soon of Gadabout’s supposed perfidy, she embraces the lad coram populo, and vows to elope forthwith. Gadabout, to the intense delight of the Major, rages furiously, but is checked by being forcibly arrested and carried off to gaol. On explaining matters he is released, and rushes in a torn and tattered condition to Spangle’s rooms, borrows his bath, his shirts, &c., and indulges in frantic low-comedy business generally. On emerging from the bath-room, he is again driven to frenzy by seeing his vast wife embracing the Major’s nephew. This time, however, they were only embracing as prospective mother-in-law and son-in-law, thus ousting Spangle’s nephew, a philosopher-cad, who babbles Herbert Spencer all over the place. Previous to the general reconciliation, Mrs. Gadabout has hinted to old Spangle that if ever she eloped it would be with such a man as he. Spangle shies at this notion, and offers to “meet her half way”—that is, to take her with him to Boulogne for a fortnight. She objects, however, to only having a fortnight’s revenge upon her husband. This episode, and some lines about Gadabout having attempted to “amuse” both the Major’s wife and his own, brought blushes to the cheek of many a modest critic.

Thomas Thorne, as Gadabout, was very droll when he settled down to his part, which wasn’t until the end of the first act. His mock rage and despair were capitally simulated. Fred Thorne was full of “go” as the fiery Major; Miss Gladys Homfreys was amusing as the mock-melodramatic Mrs. Gadabout; and Miss Ella Banister, a comparatively new actress, was highly attractive as Cicely Gadabout. But the hit of the piece was made by Cyril Maude, who eclipsed all his previous clever character-studies by his acting as the vacuous Herbert-Spencerian cad—which is not, as some opine, a new character, but merely a rearrangement of the original, who was a disciple of the dreary Schopenhauer. Maude’s method of pronouncing on the Unknowable, the Gulf of Being, and the impending annihilation of himself and all similar phenomena was screamingly funny, so were his make-up and his walk. It was the perfection of comic acting. “Angelina” was so well received that it will be repeated next Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.

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The Sheffield & Rotherham Independent (13 May, 1889 - p.5)

“Angelina” is the title of a new farcical play tried at a Vaudeville matinee. It is avowedly founded on a well-known French piece called “The Delicate Mission.” It requires very skilful handling to dress these Parisian successes in decent English garb without covering up their most attractive features. Whether “Angelina” has been effectually treated in this respect is a matter on which opinion may reasonably differ; but the author has introduced some characters and episodes that are amusing as well as original, and has provided Mr. Thomas Thorne with a rattling good character as “Gadabout,” a rakish husband with a termagant wife. The play bristles with points, and on its repetition this week will doubtless be seen to much better advantage.

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The Stage (17 May, 1889 - p.10)

THE VAUDEVILLE.

On Thursday afternoon, May 9, 1889, was produced a new three-act comedy, adapted by W. Cooper from M. Bisson’s Une Mission Délicate, entitled:—

Angelina.

Mr. Alfred Gadabout . . . . . . . . . Mr. Thomas Thorne
Mr. Harkaway Spangle . . . . . . . Mr. Gilbert Farquhar
Charles Spangle. . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr. Cyril Maude
Major O’Gallagher . . . . . . . . . . Mr. Fred Thorne
Hector O’Gallagher . . . . . . . . . Mr. Frank Gillmore
Batt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr. F. Grove
John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr. E. F. Saxon
Mrs. Gadabout . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miss Gladys Homfrey
Miss Cicely Gadabout . . . . . . . . Miss Ella Banister
Nancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miss Florence Bright
Angelina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miss Lillie Hanbury

It has been generally understood that the production of Angelina was, in accordance with Mr. Thorne’s custom with new plays, intended to test its value with a view to putting the comedy in the night bill. Notwithstanding that it was received with every sign of favour by the audience, notwithstanding that it contains some amusing situations and neatly fits the company with parts, it may be doubted whether Angelina is strong enough, or for that matter even long enough, to form the principal attraction in an evening’s performance. Une Mission Délicate, the original, was a bright and amusing play, depending for most of its point upon social relationships, which happily, are not regarded in England so lightly as to make their representation tolerable on our stage. In the French comedy, an officer ordered to Algeria confides a pretty girl, whom he is keeping, to the care of his two old friends, one married, the other a bachelor, and each of the friends seek to draw the girl from her lightly-bound allegiance. In the adaptation the officer is supposed to be married to the girl he leaves behind him, and much of the significance of the original is thereby necessarily destroyed. Mr. Alfred Gadabout, a retired perfumer, the hero of Angelina, is very much married to a massive and comely lady of martial descent, who has heard Gadabout mutter “Angelina” in his sleep, and whose suspicions are consequently aroused. Gadabout has been spending the evening with the wife and supposed widow of his friend, Major O’Gallagher, a fire-eating Irish officer, who, ordered abroad on service, has suddenly returned. Gadabout, surprised in a meal of lobsters and champagne at 2 a.m., with Angelina, the wife in question, thinks it better to avoid explanations, and in the course of a very hurried departure, loses his hat and assaults the doorkeeper of the “mansions.” Fearful of his wife’s summary vengeance, Gadabout persuades his friend Spangle, an elderly bachelor of mashing proclivities, to seek the missing hat. Spangle is arrested, when he recovers the hat, on suspicion of burglary and for assaulting the doorkeeper. He contrives, however, to fix the guilt on the proper person, whereupon Major O’Gallagher falls on the unhappy Gadabout and swears to have a dramatic revenge by eloping with his supposed rival’s wife. Finding his own blandishments of small avail with Mrs. Gadabout, he forces his nephew, Hector—who is in love with Mrs. Gadabout’s stepdaughter—unwillingly to further his scheme by making clandestine love to the mother of the girl he wishes to marry. Much to his astonishment, Mrs. Gadabout agrees to elope with him, while her unhappy husband is hauled off to prison as a burglar. In the third act much amusement is caused by the appearance of Gadabout, who, being bailed out, turns up in a most dilapidated condition at Spangle’s apartments, and ultimately, of course, explanations ensue, Angelina, Mrs. O’Gallagher, making a tardy entrance to clear up the imbroglio. The dialogue is terse and smart, and not wholly free from le sel Gaulois. Mr. Thorne had in Gadabout a part that suited him capitally so far as it goes, but the part is rather thin, and would bear elaboration. The outline is there, and Mr. Thorne did it ample justice; but much filling in is necessary. Mr. Fred Thorne was capital as the hot-tempered Irish Major. Mr. Farquhar played Spangle with some appreciation of character and after his accustomed manner. Mr. Frank Gillmore was a little stiff as Hector O’Gallagher. Mr. Cyril Maude made a distinct hit as Charles Spangle, a foxy-looking prig with a perpetual cold in his nose, who is stuffed with egotism and Spencerian “philosophy.” Miss Homfreys looked the part of Mrs. Gadabout grandly, and played it no less well. Miss Bannister made a very pretty and interesting Cicely, and Miss Hanbury as Angelina, by her charming appearance and excellent delivery of the few lines allotted to her, made every one sympathise with Gadabout’s slip, and regret the brevity of the part she played. Angelina was applauded freely, and the author called for at the fall of the curtain. It was announced for repetition on Wednesday and Saturday mornings of this week.

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Supplement to The York Herald (18 May, 1889 - p.1)

“Angelina,” a new farcical comedy, adapted by “W. Cooper’s” (said to be Robert Buchanan) from Une Mission Delicate by Alexander Bisson, one of the authors of Les Surprises du Divorce (“Mamma”) was produced by Mr. Thomas Thorne at a matinee at the Vaudeville Theatre on the 9th inst. The piece is brightly written, and the plot though slight affords plenty of opportunity for comic acting. Briefly, a fire-eating Irish Major, going abroad, leaves his young wife, to whom he is secretly married, in the care of two old cronies, with the injunction that they should take her about and “amuse her.” Needless to say the trust is faithfully discharged. Anon, the Major is reported dead, but of course turns up at an inopportune moment, and a variety of amusing complications, common to farces from the French, ensues. Eventually, the Major, who has come into a fortune, acknowledges Angelina as his lawful wife; and harmony is restored as quickly as it had been broken. The play was excellently acted. Mr. Thomas Thorne had a part exactly suiting is style as Gadabout, a platonic rake, in mortal dread of his wife, a veritable vixen; and the other old spark Spangle was capitally played by Mr. Gilbert Farquhar. Mr. Frederick Thorne gave a clever character sketch as Major O’Gallagher, and Mr. Cyril Maude made a decided hit as an amateur philosopher and reader of Herbert Spencer, a member of the modern school whose theory is that “the height of human knowledge is attained when we discover that we know nothing.” Miss Gladys Homfrey, Mr. Frank Gillmore, and Miss Ella Bannister, Lillie Hanbury, and Florence Bright all rendered efficient aid in their respective characters. The play was received with evident favour by a large audience, and in consequence of its success, a second matinée was given on Wednesday last, the performance being repeated today. “Angelina” is probably destined to succeed “That Doctor Cupid” in the evening bill, at the conclusion of the run of that amusing comedy, which it may be mentioned, has now been played over 120 times.

[Advert for That Doctor Cupid and Angelina! from The Standard (18 May, 1889 - p.4).]

The Illustrated London News (18 May, 1889 - p.6)

London is so large now-a-days that it is able to provide each manager with a double set of audiences—one in the morning and one at night. Mr. Thomas Thorne is, accordingly, clever enough to arrange plays for each set. “Doctor Cupid” is going merrily at night; so “Angelina,” a broadly funny play, has been rehearsed and successfully produced for a series of Vaudeville matinées. This is a version of one of the very few good farces that have been produced lately in Paris—“Une Mission Délicate,” by Bisson. The story in French will scarcely bear repeating; but the adaptor has got out of his difficulty remarkably well, and now that the artists have warmed to their work, and shaken off their nervousness, “Angelina” makes everyone roar with laughter. Mr. Thomas Thorne has a part replete with comic terror which he understands so thoroughly, and as a contrast to his nervous irritability, we have the phlegmatic precision of Mr. Gilbert Farquhar and the fiery irascibility of Mr. Fred. Thorne. Miss Gladys Homfreys, Miss Florence Bright, and pretty fair-haired Miss Bannister are seen to great advantage; but the artistic success is made by Mr. Cyril Maude as a bumptious and pretentious young philosopher of the new school. It is but a sketch, but in the hands of this clever young actor it stands out in brilliant relief. “Angelina” will, however, require a little padding out before the farce can constitute the full evening’s programme.

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The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News (18 May, 1889 - p.13)

DRAMA.

VAUDEVILLE THEATRE.

MR. THORNE, who still makes a bugbear of first night criticism, put forward the other afternoon the new play which is understood to be the intended successor of That Doctor Cupid. In this particular instance the manager was perhaps justified in his timidity, for Angelina as presented on this occasion might easily have roused the opposition of an exacting audience. It has its amusing passages no doubt, this adaptation of the risky Une Mission Délicate of M. Bisson, but the adapter, who writes under the pseudonym of W. Cooper, has not contrived to make out of it a very consistent or plausible joke. The modified motive fails wholly to justify the action founded on it, and this action is itself rather slight, rather lacking in freshness, and wholly dependent for its effect upon brisk interpretation. This latter Angelina cannot be said to have attained to perfection at the hands of the Vaudeville company, which often allowed the fun to flag, as in the second act, where the inherent impossibilities of the situation required manipulation with a much quicker and lighter touch. In this respect, however, the comedy will doubtless gain by the experience afforded in the matinées arranged for it during the week, so that it may eventually come before the public with more likelihood of lasting success than was suggested by its first performance.
The delicate mission alluded to in the title of the original piece is that imposed upon a bachelor stockbroker and a married hairdresser, who are asked by an officer in the army, ordered on foreign service, to look after a lady in whom he is deeply interested, and whom he has to leave behind him. In the English play, this lady, Angelina, becomes the secretly married wife of Major O’Gallagher, so one would think there was no particular harm or danger in the trust undertaken by his oddly chosen friends, Spangle the stockbroker, and Gadabout the retired perfumer. But Gadabout’s consolation of the lone lady takes the form of a supper of lobsters and champagne, whilst, on receipt of the news of the gallant major’s death, Spangle promptly proposes to his widow. The officer’s return is not precisely convenient to either of the friends whom he has left in charge of Angelina; but to Gadabout, whom he catches supping with her on his unlooked for resurrection, it means disaster. The wretched hairdresser bolts, but leaves his hat behind him, his terror being caused mainly by his fear lest his own wife should hear of his nocturnal indiscretion. For Mrs. Gadabout, who indulges in military exercises, and is a swordswoman of much determination, is a most formidable spouse, and the mild perfumer’s dread of offending her is much more comprehensible than his failure to stay and explain to O’Gallagher how innocently he is fulfilling his mission. Spangle is prevailed upon to go and seek his friend’s missing hat, but is arrested on a charge of attempted burglary, until he is cleared by the wretched Gadabout’s seizure, which takes place in his own drawing-room. This latter arrest might be much more reasonably managed than it is at the Vaudeville; for in England, at any rate, it is simply preposterous to represent the detective, at whose orders the policemen bear off their victim, as having been the guest of his intended prisoner at dinner. Another unnatural result of the misunderstanding is the angry O’Gallagher’s scheme for avenging himself for the supposed treachery of Gadabout, by making that luckless man previously jealous of the attentions paid by O’Gallagher’s nephew to the martial Mrs. Gadabout. Considering that young O’Gallagher is in love with Miss Gadabout, it is not very likely that he would lend himself to this far-fetched strategy, whilst it seems very improbable that the hen-pecked Gadabout would care if he did. The unfortunate perfumer, however, cuts a funny figure when in the rooms of his selfish friend Spangle he prepares for the bath which is necessary to wash away the horrid memory of the police-cell, and when in his dressing-gown he incongruously asserts himself as a man of spirit. Mr. Thomas Thorne began his work as Gadabout tamely, but made this concluding scene genuinely comic. He was capitally supported by Mr. Gilbert Farquhar as the middle-aged city Lothario; by Mr. F. Thorne as the conventional hot-tempered major; and by Miss Gladys Homfreys, a duly masculine representative of the stalwart and resolute Mrs. Gadabout. Mr. F. Gilmore does not seem able to make out what is wanted of him as young O’Gallagher; but Miss Ella Bannister plays prettily and brightly as the awkward young man’s sweetheart, Cicely. The personal triumph of the afternoon was, however, Mr. Cyril Maude’s, for that young comedian at once entertained and convinced his audience by his delightful skit upon a selfish young prig with a superficial knowledge of Spencerian philosophy and a nasal snuffle. A good many of us will remember this didactic youth after they have forgotten everything else connected with Angelina, for the embodiment has humour, freshness, and individuality.

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Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper (19 May, 1889)

PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS.
_____

VAUDEVILLE THEATRE.

Mr. W. Cooper’s adaptation from Bisson’s Une Mission Delicate, under the title of Angelina, which had a trial performance at this house on the 9th inst., was enjoyed by a friendly audience. Mr. Fred Thorne appeared as a fierce Hibernian Major, who, prior to leaving for foreign service, deputes two friends to watch over the interests of his wife, Angelina. One of them, a good-natured but soft-headed fellow, Mr. Gadabout, a retired perfumer (impersonated with genuine comicality by Mr. Thomas Thorne), ardently fulfils his trust, by well looking after Angelina, even to supping with her—on lobster salad and champagne— at two in the morning. Major O’Gallagher, reported killed at Rorke’s Drift, inopportunely turns up at this moment. The ex-hairdresser beats a furtive and bewildered retreat, only to excite the jealousy of his strong-minded wife (Miss Gladys Homfreys), by subsequently murmuring Angelina’s name in his sleep. Added to matrimonial discord, Gadabout has to face the fire of O’Gallagher’s fury and vituperation, and finds himself in the police dock for a supposed burglarious visit to Hyde-park-mansions, when supping with Angelina. Miss Ella Banister, and Messrs. G. Farquhar, Cyril Maude, and F. Gillmore, were also in the cast. Angelina will be performed again next Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.

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The People (19 May, 1889 - p.4)

It is wonderful how things get about! No sooner had one settled down in one’s seat at the first performance of “Angelina,” than it was whispered in one’s ears that the adaptor of the piece was by no means “W. Cooper” (as the programme had it), but no less a personage than Mr. Robert Buchanan, who, not for the first time, was using a nom-de-guerre. In the same way, at “The Grandsire,” on Wednesday, it was quickly bruited about that the “Archer Woodhouse” of the programmes was but the pseudonym of a friend of Mr. George Alexander’s—a gentleman whose name at least begins with a W.

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The Sheffield & Rotherham Independent (20 May, 1889 - p.5)

Mr. Thomas Thorne’s management at the Vaudeville is marked by the so-called “luck” that generally rewards an adept who knows his business and does it thoroughly. When “That Dr. Cupid” ceases to draw his bow and the public, “Angelina” is ready to take his place, to say nothing of other trumps which the manager holds, waiting opportunity to play them. The second production of “Angelina” on Wednesday afternoon was a great improvement on the first, and confirms the impression that the new and lively comedy (said to have been adapted by Mr. Robert Buchanan), will suit the public as well as it suits the chief members of the company. Mr. Thorne, as a retired perfumer, gets into awkward contact with the strong mind and muscle of his martial wife (Miss Gladys Homfrey) by his manner of fulfilling the “delicate mission” of consoling the secretly-wedded wife of his absent friend; his brother (Mr. Fred Thorne) portrays that friend—an Irish fire- eating major, bedad—with all necessary vigour; Mr. Cyril Maude gives a most amusing sketch of a philosophic suitor, who follows Herbert Spencer’s doctrines to the extent of evading matrimony when there is doubt about the nuptial settlements; and there are some minor parts, also so well played as to give point to a very entertaining performance. The play was repeated to a big audience on Saturday afternoon.

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The Theatre (1 June, 1889)

“ANGELINA!”

A new three-act Comedy, adapted by W. COOPER from M. Bisson’s “Une Mission Délicate.”
First produced at the Vaudeville Theatre on the afternoon of May 9, 1889.


	Mr Alfred Gadabout . . . . Mr THOMAS THORNE. Mr Harkaway Spangle . . Mr GILBERT FARQUHAR. Charles Spangle . . . . . . . Mr CYRIL MAUDE. Major O’Gallagher . . . . Mr FRED. THORNE. Hector O’Gallagher . . . . Mr FRANK GILLMORE. Batt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr F. GROVE.


	John . . . . . . . . . . . Mr. E. F. SAXON. Mrs Gadabout . . . . Miss GLADYS HOMFREY. Cicely Gadabout . . Miss ELLA BANISTER. Nancy . . . . . . . . . . Miss FLORENCE BRIGHT. Angelina . . . . . . . . . Miss LILLIE HANDBURY.

Received with considerable applause from an undoubtedly pleased audience, “Angelina” is only a sketch at present. A good one, but too thin for an evening bill. The outline is there, but wants filling in. In evident fear that the piece might prove too naughty for an English public, in its French form, the adapter has taken out much without substituting anything instead. The plot is amusing, the characters are well drawn, there are some capital scenes, but there is a lack of substance; it is a play of possibilities, and I think the general verdict was, how good this will be when written up. Written up it must, and no doubt will be before it starts on a prolonged career. Major O’Gallagher, married to Angelina secretly for fear of being disinherited by a wealthy relation, leaves England for active service. His two old friends Spangle and Gadabout have each promised that during his absence they will look after Angelina, be a father to her in fact. And when he is reported dead they likewise consider it their duty to console her—Spangle with an offer of marriage politely declined, Gadabout with balls, followed by lobster and champagne suppers. It is while partaking of this light refreshment at two o’clock in the morning that they are startled by the return of the Major, very much alive indeed. Angelina screams and faints; Gadabout, losing his head and hat, runs away; and the Major concludes his friend has played him false. It is the working out of his revenge which makes up the intrigue of the play. He compels his nephew Hector to make love to Gadabout’s wife, a lady who prides herself in having more of the soldier than the woman about her, and keeps her husband under strict discipline. Hector, who is in love with Gadabout’s daughter, only consents because he feels certain his impertinence will receive an immediate check. To his dismay, his advances are favourably received by Mrs. Gadabout, who, having heard something about Angelina, wishes to make her husband jealous. This and the arrest of Gadabout, the Major having given his hat to the police as that of a burglar, bring about many complications, everything being explained in the end, by the Major being able to openly declare his marriage to Angelina. Space precludes my saying more. The acting was good all round, as far as the reading of the parts went; but uncertainty as to words let down several of the scenes.
Miss Gladys Homfreys is very good as Mrs. Gadabout, looking both handsome and soldierlike, and Miss Ella Banister is a very pleasing Cicely. Mr. Farquhar and Mr. Fred Thorne will do excellently when memory no longer fails them. Mr. Gillmore is bright as Hector. Mr. Thomas Thorne, also a little shaky as to words, gives a capital and very amusing rendering of the perplexed Gadabout—in the last act he is especially good. But the chef d’œuvre of the production is the smallest character, one that has no fellow in the French play. This pedantic young man, who has made deep study of Herbert Spencer, and considers himself a philosopher, is an original and clever sketch, which does honour to the author and reflects the greatest credit on the impersonater, Mr. Cyril Maude. Dress, gait, make-up, voice, every detail in short, denoted careful observation and true artistic finish. This clever young actor has never done anything better. The smallest of parts can show the actor to be great, when he devotes such artistic excellence to his work.

MARIE DE MENSIAUX.

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The Sheffield & Rotherham Independent (3 June, 1889 - p.8)

The sweet Scotch ballad, “Auld Robin Gray,” suggested a poetical French play called “Jean Marie.” A translation of this, by Mr. F. Wedmore, was very prettily rendered at the Vaudeville on Wednesday afternoon, under the title of “The Farm by the Sea.” The sadness of the dramatic story was redeemed from dreariness by the sympathetic acting of Miss Marion Lea. “Angelina” continues in the afternoon bill, and a new play by Mr. Robert Buchanan has been read to the company with a view to presently replace “That Doctor Cupid” for evening performance.

[Advert for That Doctor Cupid and Angelina! from The Times (5 June, 1889 - p.14).]

The Era (15 June, 1889)

MISS ROSE DUDLEY (one of Miss Dolores Drummond’s daughters), who is engaged for a soubrette’s part in Mr Buchanan’s new piece, now in rehearsal at the Vaudeville, on Whit Monday, at about an hour’s notice, played the part of Nancy the maid, in Angelina, in consequence of the sudden indisposition of the original representative of the part, and scored a complete success.

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The Stage (21 June, 1889 - p.5)

BRIGHTON—ROYAL (Managing Directress, Mrs. Henry Nye Chart; Acting Manager, Mr. Thomas J. Phillips; Stage Manager, Mr. Fred. J. Watts.)—The Vaudeville Co. on Thursday last week drew a fairly large audience, who seemed to thoroughly enjoy the all-round excellent representation of Angelina.

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Next: The Old Home (1889)

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