The Sun. — London, England, 1862-05-06 00:00:00

THEAT RF,-ROYAT„ HAYMARKET. Lessee Mr. J B. Buckstone. THIS EVENING, JOHN JONES. Alter which, at ball-past 7. will be performed (115th time) OUR AMERICAN COUSIN. Asa Trenchard, Mr. Buck stone ; Lord Dundreary, Mr. Sothern. Followed by the Spanish Ballet entit.ed THE STAR OF ANDALUSIA. Senora Perea Venn , Senor Ricardo, and the Corps de Ballet. To conclude with MY HUSBAND'S GHOST. Commence AL 7. OYAL LYCEUM THEATRE. Sole Lessee and Manager—Mr. Edmund Falconer. 148th Night of the continuous run of" Peep o'Day." THIS EVENIN G,'PEEP O'DAY ; or, Savourneen Deelish. Messrs. Walter Lacy, Addison, Charles Selby, Geo. Melville, and Edmund Falcone! : Mrs. D. P. Bowers, Miss Clara Weston, and Miss M. Hudson. After which, a new musical, pictorial, poetical, and ballet interlude, entitled KILLARNEY. Miss Anna Whitty and Miss Lydia Thomson. To conclude with the new farce entitled I COULDN'T KELP IT. Characters by Mr. Addison, Mr. Warlow, and Alm Lydia Thompson. Acting Manager—Mr. F. B. Chatterton. Prices as usual. Doors open at half-past 6, to commence at r. Box-office open daily from 11 tlll5. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE. Lessee, Mr A. Harris. THIS EVENING, THE LIT rLE TREASURE : Messrs. J, G. Shore, B. Potter, R. Cathcart, Miss Elsworthy, Mrs. Weston, and Miss Maria Harris. After wh;ch, at half-past Eight, BUY BL AS : Ray Blas, Mr. Pechter; Messrs. Basil Potter, J. G. Shore, Meadows, B. Cathcart, &O. ; Mrs. Weston, Miss R. Leclercq, and Miss C. Leclerc i. To conclude with THE LOST LETTER : Messrs. Widdi- Combs, Higgie ; Miss Howard and Miss Rose Leclercq. NEW THEATRE-ROYAL, ADELPHL--. Sole Proprietor and Manager. Mr. B. Webster. THIS EVENING the new domestic drama, entitled DOT': Meosrs. J. L. Toole, Emery, Billington, Stephenson ; Miss L. Keeley, Miss Woolgar, Miss H. Simms, Miss K. Kelly, and Mrs. U. Marston. After which, THE PITANTOM. Rnthvcn, Mr. Dion Boucicault; Messrs. Emery, Toole, Billington, P. Bedford , Miss Simms, Miss K. Kelly, Szo. Commence at 7. A STLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE. - A Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. W. Batty. 'inns EVENING, the new farce of THE LADY OF THE JIII LL. Followed by the grand spectacle of ALICE WINGOLD ; the Pearl of London City. Characters by Miss Julia Sea man, Mr. F. Huntley, Mr. C, Mortimer. &c. (;oncludinn• with brillignt and novel scenes in the Circle by British and Foreign Artists. Commence at 7 o'clock. t3tage Manager, Mr. W. Searle. CA NT ERBURY HALL AND FINE -ARTS GALLERY. The miraculous STECKEL at a quarter to 11. The renowned RUESEY and NEWCOMB MINSTRELS at Nine o'clock. Grand Selections from "La Sonnambula," by Miss Rus sell, with Band and full Chorus, conducted by Mr. Jongh mans. UNSWOR ill, in his celebrated Stump Speech " Or any other man," and EUGENE, the great Burlesque Singer and Dancer, at Ten o'clock. The'best Comic talent in London. Messrs, Morton and Stanley beg to inform visitors to Lon don during the Exhi' ition that the GALLERY of PAINT INGS well be Ooen, free between the hours of Twelve and Two o'clock on and after Monday. THE OXFORD, 6. OXFOR D-STREFT.- 4 , MAY DAY," a cantata written by John Oxenford, music by G. A. Macfarren ; Burns' "Jolly Beggars ;" also a cantata, with Georg e Linley's music, and brand Operatic Selections by the eompany. Full Band and Chorus.—Con ductor, Mr. F. Jonghmans. Rumsey and Newcomb's Min. strels, and Unsworth and Eugene, in addition to a host of comic talent ; and HENRI and PFAU on the Flying Trapeze, every evening. Dail, ed.; Balcony and Stalls, is. ; Private Boxes, 10s. 6d. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tine DA.Y.—Morning, 6h. 15m..--Afternoon, 6h. 40m. TO-IfOItROW.-Morning, 10m.—Afternoon, 7h, 40m, NOTICE. All remiitanceg are, henceforth, to be made to Mr. JOHN CHAPLIN, at The Sun office, 112, Strand, who has been appointed, by the Lord Chancellor, Receiver and Manager of The Sun newspaper, and the outstanding debts due in respect thereof. le ~, , Nei" A ' ~, g— , —-- •s , i --"*" 's .." •- ~,, 1 l' „ w•,..-- , ' 4 ~,,,..,„ ......_ ..... THE SUN. LONDON, 'TUESDAY, MAY 6, 1862. So for the year the education battle—we ought to call it the managers' money battle—is over. In the most condescending language, General WALPOLE accepted the terms of capitulation of fered by General LoWE. The Government marches out with the honours of war, the Tories carry off the best part of its spoils. The country has to thank an unscrupulous Opposition for depriving it of one of the most honest amendments ever offered to it in any department of Administration. Were the same principle to be applied to the Admiralty and its Dockyards, the saving would be one of millions to the country, combined with increased security. We need hardly say that the one thing in which Mr. WALPOLE has thwarted the design of the Government is—the principle of paying for results. ?hat was tie cardinal point of the Government proposals. Payment, whether the work were done or not—payment, whether the children could read, write, and cypher or not .—p a yment, come what will, so that all teachers, managers, a nd pupil teachers, as they grew up, should vote for the Tories—this was the single minded object of the Opposition. They have been but too successful. We do not deny that some good will result from the diluted alterations. The decentralisation of the payments is itself an advantage, and a consider able one. The payment of part of the grant or examination is also some advantage, but it is so much neutralised by giving up the classification by age, that it will be of nest to no service this years and but of little use for many years to come. The least we can say is that there is the germ of a better system introduced, and that if it be cherished and cultivated, it may bring forth fruit in fifteen years. Meanwhile, should the Tories by the help of Roman Catholic ingratitude, get into office, we know that they will rather repress than cherish the good still left in the new Code, while as long as its authors keep their seats, they must be more patriotic than most Governments to stir up again a nest of hornets. We are probably surrendered, therefore, for a series of years to a large annual waste of money under the guise of encouraging education. The fact being that money is to be paid rather for getting the children to the school than for teaching them when there. The worst part of the whole business, however, i s that the greater part of the schools in the coun try, including decidedly those which most need assistance , get none whatever. Nothing can exceed in capriciousness the bestowment of the grants ! rather by th e wea l t h th an b y It is regulated, in deed, the poverty of the district. While 10,000 schools are assisted, 15,000 —most of them needing assist ance much more—get nothing whatever. The sensible resolution prc;posed by Mr. WALTER did go a considerable way towards meeting this greatest blot on the Privy Council sy stem. It eroposed to create a kind of free trade in the grant. Those who could produce the result requited, pretlnce it how th e y would, wire to rceeiv e the cap? 'ion grant. Certificated teacbeis and pupil teachers ~ - z ere not to be an indispensatde Condition. If the children could do the three thiugs required, pay was to be awarded to them. We are Lorry to record that, for what appears to us to be very insufficient reason, the House rejected, by a small majority, thi s I 'very reasonable resolution. Th e protective system is retained intact. It strikes us that Mr. WALTER has yet scope for carrying out the spirit of his resolution in a way which might do the country every-way !much ser e. As he stated, a great part of these 15,000 anbeneficed schools need help more than those which get it. What will he and Mr. LOWE say to pro- posing that they all should be offered the ter , t s of the original Revised Code of the Government, we mean of the single condition of payment for all pupils that will bear the examination proposed, when classified according to age. Throw overboard, in the case of the 15,000, all limitations, restrictions, and inter meddling—offer them the pay for the required results, get them how they may. If they got but a few pounds a year, to many of them this little aid would be of the greatest value. The public would, so far, gain a real education of the most needy. And, what would be as desirable as anything, the beneficed schools would be stimulated by the com petition of those they are now so ready to despise. The trial would solve many of the problems over which there is now so much dispute ; the Great Certificated could not complain that there was any poaching on their manor, for the system would only be applied to schools, at which their more dignified services would never be required ; while the Government would have again some trial, though not of the most advantageous one, for the scheme which interest and faction have contrived too successfully to defeat. It is insinuated, we observe, that the mere fact of barely one quarter of the Lambeth constituency having been polled on Saturday, indicates the in eradicable apathy of the great mass of the registered electors in availing themselves of the privilege ac cruing to each by right of his £lO tenancy. Rather we should venture,however, not so much to insinuate' as roundly to assert that the circumstance of no more than six thousand out of the twenty-four thou sand registered electors of Lambeth having voted for all three of the candidates put together. betrays their indifferenee, not to the possession and exercise of the elective franchise, but to the very feeble choice that was in any way discoverable among those same three candidates ! For, in homely phrase, those three candidates were really and truly, and quite undeniably, much of a muchness. Their political principles were, in point of fact, all but identical. They were all three of them Liberals. They were all three of them Reformers. They were all three—as indeed but well becomes anyone who aspired to succeed to the representation of that particular metropolitan borough—so strongly in favour of economy, and as soon as might be in any way rendered practicable, after a conscientious at tention to the exigencies of the country, for a gradual but comprehensive, and in the end very consider able reduction, in the aggregate amount of our an nual expenditure. Eaeh of the three candidates, by the way, it ought at the same tints to be borne particularly in remembrance had a distinctive claim of his own, of one kind or another—such as it was—upon the consideration of the Lambeth constituency. Taking their names in the order in which from first to last they stood upon the polling-books—there was, to begin with, the triumphantly successful candidate (triumphantly we mean, so far as concerns the ignominious defeat of his two antagonists), there was Mr. DOULTON. Now Mr. DOULTON, besides being a shrewd, hard-headed man of business, had the very obvious advantage of being thoroughly well known in the borough; with the local interests of which his own individual interests are largely and intimately connected. Like many another trader now enrolled among the members of the British House of Commons—such as Mr. BASS, whose very name has a positive relish for us all in the mere utterance of it, as associated with the brewing interests, as identified indeed with what Mr. GLAD. STONE gratefully calls that "incomparable beve rage" pale or bitter ale—Mr. DOULTON stands be fore the world as head of a firm high among the ranks of our merchant princes, and conspicuously placed among our leading manufacturers. Mr. DOULTON, briefly be it said, besides being a thorough-going Liberal, Reformer and Economist, was perfectly well known to the Lambeth consti tuency, was a large employer there in the borough, was one amongst its wealthiest traders, and therefore—having besides that a wholly undamaged and untarnished reputation— was the very candidate, in most respects, in whom a Lambeth constituency might confide. And how they have confided in him—those, at least, who voted at all for anyone on Saturday—we all now know perfectly. Mr. DOULTON having polled (so far as the returns have yet been corrected) 5,124 votes. Whereas his two opponents together could muster but very little over the first thousand ! Abd yet each of those rival candidates, as we have already vaguely intimated, had in turn his peculiar claims upon the attention of the Lambeth constituency. There was the forensic gen tleman, who stood next upon the list on Saturday, though a very long way down indeed below Mr. DOULTON, so far as numbers serve to indicate a candidates' position upon the polling-book. Whereas Mr. DOULTON, as we have seen, numbers up at the close of the day's polling, as many as 5,124 votes in all—this second candidate, a very long way down we premise again apologetically, could count up in his favour no more than 754 supporters altogether ! And yet the aspirant for the suffrages of the Lam beth constituency who was thus cavalierly treated by the great mass of the 24,000 registered electors, was no other than the well-known Old Bailey Barris ter, Mr. W. CAMPBELL SLEIGH, a practitioner, who has during the last few years been rising into so very large a practice of a particular kind; one who has in a remarkablo degree what Jack calls "the gift of the gab"—and who although still robed merely in his stuff gown, as a counsel called to the bar and not within it, is fast acquiring for himself among the several constituencies that have already rejected him (the Lambeth constituency being the last to have that honour), a sort of ex officio right to the I title of—Somerro-a-n ~.ENERAL Now, of course, neither Mr. DOULTON, the successful candidate on Saturday, nor yet again that other candidate not already men tioned here by name neither Mr. DOULTON nor yet Mr. WILKINSON could venture in any way to compete with Mr. W. C. SLEIGH as a platform orator—Mr. SLEIGH being admirably well prepared by his forensic practice for any amount of rhetorical display that he may ever have the oppor tunity for—first of all upon the hustings, and as he yet hopes, no doubt, eventually within the walls of Parliament. Yet, in spite of Mr. SLEIGH'S Won derful witcheries of speech, Mr. DOULTON, silenced additionally though he was with an inopportune cold towards the close of last week, distanced his formidablecompet itor, the practisedlegal practitioner and already we should presume also the practised canvasser of parochial and metropolitan constituen cies—and distanced him, too, not by a few odd hun dreds, but by a g lod swinging net majority of 4,370 ovtes . ! A ludicrons non sequitur enough, remember ing tnat upon the nomination dey Mr. SLEIGH had obtained the show of bands—coming off with flying colours, at that preliminarystageof the prcceedings, as the favourite of the Lambeth non-electors! Fi na lly, there was the last candidate of the three, the one who tailed off on Saturday with no more than just 347 Totes when the poll closed at four o'clock in the afternoon! Yet Mr. WILKINSON, who thus came unmistakably hindmost in the race, kills supporters being more than doubled by those 'LONDON, TUESDAY ',EVENING, MAY 6, 1862, SUN, even of Mr. SLEIGH, who had a clear 207 ahead of him—Mr. WILKINSON, while at the close of the poll, while nearly 5,000 less than the chosen candi date of the constituency, bad himself once upon a time taken his seat in the House of Commons as M.P. for that very borough of Lambeth ! A ques tionable advantage, however, as it appears, judging from the result of the voting on Saturday, as but just now particularised. Upon the whole, we can not but feel that the electors of Lambeth have out of the three candidates who stood before them made a really judicious selection. But as to the apathy of the rest of the great mass of 24,000 electors con stituting the Lambeth constituency—we feel tole rably well persuaded that that illusion (actually floating just now before the mind's eye of some observers) would be quickly enough disssipated whenever any genuine contest should put the Lam beth constituency to the test. Let us say, if upon one of these fine days—when there is another vacancy in the representation of the borough—a real live Tory candidate should venture to make his appear ance upon the hustings. In that contingency we warrant we should hear no more about the electoral apathy now sneered at. Our readers will observe with gratification that the loyalty of the Neapolitans to the King of their choice continues to be demonstrated in the moot decisive manner. The point of this day's news we take to be that not only the many, but the " select classes," if we may use such an invidious expression, are unanimouily in his favour. These were indeed the classes whom the Bourbons per secuted most. They had education and could think for themselves—the most undesirable qualifications possible for the subjects of either vigorous or feeblo tyrants. If they kept silence, it was supposed their thoughts were such as a tyrant could not endure; if they spoke submissively, it was rea sonably suspected to be hypocrisy; if they dared to doubt royal wisdom or the merits of the police, why, St. Elmo or the island prison was a certainty. Nothing but a heavy bribe could save them from months or years of incarceration with out trial, or from a trial in which every witness was perjured. We cannot wonder, therefore, that the whole middle and upper-class population of Naples, which did not owe its safety or success to sycophancy, crowded to the theatre to welcome their deliverer. Still, account for it as we may, it is gratifying to see that the class of whom our Tories cannot pretend that it has nothing to lose, were as hearty in their place—the theatre—as the multitude the preceding day in the streets, and on the housetops. The came enthusiastic shouts for the King of an United ITALY were heard there, as in the open air. And what was received with the greatest enthusiasm of all was a song, in which the star of Savoy (no jealousy of a North Italian King) was invoked as the Saviour of Rome and Venice, and the possessor of the crown of the OMAR& One of the largest and most beau tiful theatres in Europe was crowded with loyal and enthusiastic attendants from top to bottom, many of them having purchased admission at exorbitant prices. There can be no mistake about such a meet ing. Let the oppressors of Warsaw, and of Pesth and Venice contrast this with the receptions which they could obtain in their outlying capitals. We should add that the officers of the French and Eng lish fleets encouraged the people by their presence. Let us hope that the former will not report what they saw in vain. A most useful and judicious Royal liberality has, however, been shown towards other classes. All pledges below two ducats have been redeemed by the KING. It seems that, expecting a visit from GARIBALDI, the pawnbrokers had been largely re sorted to, but the KING has shown that Royalty can do what is hardly in the power of the most justly popular General whom Italy ever had, or is likely to have. Equally wise was an amnesty, the appropriate grace of Royal fetes, for all offences of the Press, and all " contraventions of discipline" by the National Guard. " Let byegones be byegones" was the truly English sentiment of his MAJESTY and his councillors. What a contrast to the vin dictive amnesties of the Bourbons and the Haps burgs. The Royal visit to the South must do great good. It will reassure the Neapolitans, and enable them to see, as well as to believe, that the KING is not a mere Piedmontese but an Italian. It will give the impetus of social confidence to foreign trade—which, indeed, so far as England is con cerned, has more than doubled at Naples, in three or four years; and with encouragement of agricultural commercial and social energies for the rale, instead of repression, as under the Bourbons, we shall soon see the South of Italy rapidly advancing in wealth. One of the fairest countries of Europe will soon become one of the most flourishing. Such is the blessing of shaking off the paralyzing yoke of tyranny and priestcraft. THE QUEEN IN SCOTLAND. BALMORAL, MAY 4. The Queen, accompanied by their Royal Highnesses Princess Helena and Princess Louise, drova out yesterday afternoon. The Duchess of Athole attended her Majesty. DEPARTURE OP ThE CROWN PRINCE OF _ER UASSIA. The Crown Prince of Prussia visited the International Exhibition twice yesterday. His royal highness was at- tended by Count Puckler and Lieut.-Col. the Hon. D. de Ros. His royal highness paid a visit to Prince Oscar of Sweden in Stratton-street, and also went to the Houses of Parliament. The Crown Prince visited both the Water-colour Exhi- bitions: His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge visited and took leave of his royal highness at Buckingham Palace in the evening. The Crown Prince of Prussia left Buckingham Palace at 5 mince.. before r 5 O'CIOCK last evening for the Victoria sta tion, and travelled by the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway to Dover, where the prince will embark for Calais, on his return to the Continent. Sir Cusack Roney, one of the directors of the company, and Mr. Forbes, general manager, were in attendance at the station to receive the Crown Prince, and proceeded to Dover in attendance upon his royal highness. His Royal. Highness Prince Oscar of Sweden paid a visit to the Crown Prince of Prussia, at Bucking ham Palace, yesterday morning, to take leave of his royal highness. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Prussia and suite visited the International Bazaar yesterday, and made several purchases. His Highness the Maharajah Duleep Singh has left Claridge's Hotel for Mnlgrave Castle, Yorkshire. The Duke and Duchess of Manchester arrived in town yesterday from visiting the Earl of Sandwich, at Hinchinbroke House, Huntingdon. The Duke of Richmond has taken a house in Belgrave-square, for a term of years, the residence of the late Lord Herbert. The Earl Delawarr passed through town yester day from Buelhurst Park for Ruthin Castle, North Wales, to attend tho funeral of Mr. F. R. West. The Earl and Countess of Aylesford have arrived at Claridge's Hotel for the season. The Earl of Rosslyv n;:dladv Harriet St. Clair have arrived at Claridge's Hotel from the Continent for the season. Viscount and Viscountess Campden have been entertaining a succession of visitors during the Easter n Powerscourt, the Hon. J. re cess at Campden House, Gloucestershire. The Marquis and s . B Marchionessai l li r n v d i o s cnoduerrt y, Lord Dufferin, Mr. and Stonor, Mr. Sanford, and Mr. Kennedy Erskine have been Cochrane, of i amongst the guests of the noble viscount and viscountess. Lord and Lady Leconfield have left Grosvenor place for Petworth. Lord and Lady Farnham have arrived at Cla ridge's Hotel for the season. _._ ~. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. MADLLE. PATTI. We live undoubtedly in an age of' wonders. The world has got electrified within the last twenty or thirty years, and whether in science, art, or politics—does nothing now that is not extraordinary. Every day we have some great discovery—some fresh surprise, or some strik ing change—some revolution in arts or systems which re-inspires human energy, or re-arranges the world's map! What is our great Exhibition, which is both the evidence and triumph of our time, but a congeries of wonders--industrial and practical —any one of which a century ago would have sufficed to empty the inkstands of all the learned bodies of Europe. It seems in harmony with such an age that loves to set aside all precedents and perplex us with fresh surprises—that we should have a young songstress come from America—the land of no song—not even with birds, and wholly un known to fame or Europe, win a reputation instantly. One who was so young in look that she seemed scarcely to have entered girlhood, and yet so advanced in discipline that she gave us the impression of maturity. One whose gifts too, in voice and person, were just as extra ordinary as her culture, and who did not fear to challenge our criticism, whilst she had the right to demand our sympathies. The result was accord ingly a marvel in perfect keeping with the power. Whilst great singers for the most part have required a season to win their fame in—a series of great characters, or at least a night's performance—Madlle. Patti asked ten minutes, and the delivery of a single air. Those who wit nessed her debut will bear us Out in this encomium. An entire stranger to the audience when she entered for the first time as Amina, and believed by many to be a mere make-shift, caused by some mana gerial difficulty, the simple delivery of her first aria, the " Come per me Serene," settled the question of her fame. The rapturous encore it elicited was a decision that the triumph of the night only variously confirmed. Byron has told us in reference to Childe Harold, that he went to bed unknown, and woke in the morning celebrated. Madlle. Patti achieved her end in probably less time than it took Byron to pull off his boots ! The only solution of such a mystery is the theory we set out with. We live in an age of wonders, and Madlle. Patti belongs to the age. Her first appearance, therefore, for the season is necessarily one of its great events. Though last evening was an off night, and consequently the mass of the subscribers were absent, the state of the theatrdwas a sufficient evidence of her popularity with the world at large, and even more strikingly was this evinced by the enthusiastic nature of her reception, which was one loud and fervent welcome from all parts of the house. Mr. Gye, with his usual skill, selected the " Sonnambuia" for her re-appearance, in order to enable her to renew her labours with the great im pression they commenced with. We are happy to say that that impression was rather ex panded than renewed. In the brief in terval that has elapsed since her last ap pearance in London, Mademoiselle Patti has gained an increase of physical power, which stamps a higher character both on her singing and her act ing. Her now agreeably rounded form shows she is rapidly passing into womanhood, and the result is not only a general improvement in her voice—a greater richness in her higher tones, and a greater depth in her lower, but a palpable increase of feeling which communicates to all her tones a double influence and significance. Thus, whilst she retains all her characteristics of last sea son unimpaired, her singular brilliancy and truth, resulting from a voice of the utmost compass, flexi bility, and sympathy, united to a discipline so perfect that her facility was never for an instant at the cost of her precision —her power of embellishment, or that of unravelling the most intricate mazes of sound, being always founded on the sense of the individual value of each note, she now exhi bits, in addition, the higher dramatic ele ment of feeling, which will enable her to interpret adequately the various demands of character, The improvement in Madlle. Patti is therefore to be summed up in a word. She is altogether more passionate. Her brilliancy is pass ing into a union with an intensity that, as her strength increases, must place her claims in an entirely new light. This was indicated last evening in her singing from first to last. The " Come per me Serene" had an increased fervour, which showed the more le °manly intuitions in its outpouring of delight; the " Son geloso" was a warmer acknowledgment of the ardour of her lover, the whole of the dream music in the presence of Ridolto, when she pictures her union with Elvino had a tenderer tone of ecstacy, and the arousing to a sense of her position under the misconceptions she has created had a corresponding depth of anguish which gave a deeper pathos to the exquisite appeal of the d'un penseiro, d'unaccento, and reached a truer climax in her final struggle to retain her lover. And her acting was, of course, in harmony with this marked improvement in her singing. Whilst it retained all its playful naturalness, which is so childlike in its innocence—it rounded as the action proceeded like her person and her voice to a true depth of emotion, and at the close of the Second Act, in the wild cry with which she flung herself on the bosom of her lover and defied his efforts to repel her, it reached a climax not unworthy of the great Malibran herself. Mdlle. Patti, need we say, aroused the ui most excitement of her audience by this exquisite performance, being enthusiasti cally called for at the close of every act, and twice at the fall of the curtain, after her more than usually wonderful delivery of the rondo. finale. The Elvino of the evening was Signor G ar d on i , his second appearance for the season, who sung with his usual grace and feeling, but with a want of power in the second act, which we must refer to his recent illness, of which his face, we were pained to see, bore but too evidently the signs. The re mainder of the performance exhibited the usual perfection of this house. Sir James Matheson, Bart,, M.P., and Lady Matheson have arrived at their mansion in Cleveland-row. THE JAPANESE AMBASSADORS IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.—When Mr. Walpole was speaking on the edu cation code the Japanese Ambassadors entered the House of Commons, and took their seats in front - of the Speaker's gallery. Their appearance excited but little attention, ex traordinary people and costumes being in the present day no novelties. They aoneared to listen attentiv..ir to Clio right hon. gentleman's too elaborate criticism on the intri cate subjects embraced in theCodo revised and amended, but it is needless to say that his eloquence was lost on them. They used their fans occasionally, and made themselves quite at home, and after a stay of 15 minutes or so took their departure. THE GUANO TRADE WITH PERU.—The arrange. ments are now completed in regard to the agency in this country for the sale of Peruvian guano, which is in the hands of Messrs. Thomson, Bonar, and Co., a firm which, in the person of its premier, some years since gave a Chan cellor of the Exchequer to the Government, and subse quently a Governor-General to Canada, under the title of Lord Sydenham. Mr William Gladstone,brother of Lieu tenant-Colonel Gladstone, is second partner in the firm, having joined the hcuse when Lord Sydenham went to Canada. The agents in Liverpool will be Messrs. Gladstone and Serjeantson, and the standing and character of these firms is a sufficient guarantee to the agriculturist that every care and precaution will be taken in keeping the guano free from adulteration, the same as in the case of the previous contractors, Messrs. Antony Gibbs and Sons, and their agents, who were exceedingly careful in this respect, as every one knows. The vessels have only just left this country to load at the Chinchas under the new contract, and will not return for a few months; in the meantime the old stock in the possession of the late contractors will be brought within a narrow compass. — Liverpool Albion. THE HARROW CEP.—Ten members of the Uni versity Cempanyof the West Middlesex, having challenged a like number of the let or A Company of the Victoria Rifles for the icy ssession of the new Harrow Challenge Cup, the competition took place on Saturday last, at Harrow. The result was three points in favour of the Victoria Company, who consequently still retain the cup. The distances were 300, 500, and 600 yards, five shots at each. The winners in charge of Ensign Thrupp, acting musketry instructor, made at 300 yards 50 points, at 500 yards 44 points, and at 400 yards 32 points—in all 126 points. The West Middlesex Company made at 300 yards 43 points, at 600 yards 42 points, at 600 yards 31 points—in all 123 points. The highest scores Isere made by Privates Watson (19 points) and Cobb (16 points), both on the losing side. Privates 1%.1 ills, Carter, and BaTnard, of the Victoria Company, made 16 pinto eaoh. 21 1 E 2 .7(LEATRES. ST. JAMES'S. Another fai , ..7 extravaganza was produced last evening at the above theatre. It is from the pro digal pen of Mr. William Brough, and is entitled Prince Amabel ; or the Fairy Roses." There is no necessity for a detailed description either of its plot or its incidents ; they may be guessed almost by its title. Of course there is a tyrannical father, admirably represented by Mr. Frank Matthews, two ugly daughters, whom he is desirous of marrying, and one pretty daughter, whom he is equally determined to prevent from getting married. The former object he accomplishes, but not the latter ; as Prince Amabel interferes, with the irresistible powers com bined of youth, good looks, and a beneficent fairy. The machinery of the piece turns exclusively upon the peculiar property possessed by fairy-grown roses of enabling their owner to make himself in visible at the wished-for moment. By the aid of this charm several laughable and convenient situ ations are produced and evolved. The extravaganza is written with more than usual spirit, and was received with still more than usual enthusiasm. To those who have a taste for modern burlesques, we can recommend " Prince Amabel." Its author was summoned before the curtain and most demon stratively applauded. STRAND. A new farce, entitled "Keep your Temper," was produced at this house last night, and was received with favour. The idea on which this piece, which is from the pen of Mr. J. P. Wooler, is founded is sufficiently extravagant for the most uproarious farce. A certain Mr. Archer, a wild, eccentric law student, makes a morning call upon his friends the Browns, and finds that a furious quarrel all about nothing has sprung up between a man and his wife. He remonstrates with them upon the un reasonableness of losing their temper without adequate cause, and, finding that they pay but little attention to his philosophic precepts, he determines to surround them with actual troubles, in the hope that, when they feel the sting of real sorrow, they may perceive the folly of sacrificing their happiness to imaginary grievances. His scandalous reports have the effect of destroying the peace of the household. Every one feels wretched, and in the extremity of his misery is ready to fly at the throat of everybody else. When the confusion is at its worst, the author of the mis chief coolly steps in, explains the cause of the tur moil, admits that he is himself at the bottom of all the disturbance, and, after lecturing the Browns upon the absurdity of losing their temper on tri vial occasions, concludes by soliciting the hand of the lady who was to have run off with an imaginary letter-carrier, a boon which is of course conceded without a moment's hesitation. Mr, W. H. S Aran borough plays the part of the Mischief-maker with great spirit, and Mr. J. W. Rae, as a credulous old countryman, who swallows the most indigestible stories, acts with that quiet humour which so much distinguishes his performances. The house was well attended. AS TLEY'S. Last evening one of the best spectacular dramas that has been represented here for a considerable length of time, was produced, and met with the most triumphant, success. It is entitled "Alice Wingold, the Pearl of London City." The scene is laid in London during the year 1665, that ter rible period of plague and pestilence, and the principal incidents arise out of the coerced marriage of the Sheriff of London's daughter, the ever charm ing Alice Wingold, to Sir Philip Rashley, a libertine, despite her affectionate attachment for Walter Markham. Love, jealousy, murder, rapine, elry, nd plunder permeate almost every phase of the spectacle ; but they are worked up with won derful dramatic effect. Some of the scenery and tableaux deserve special mention. " The Water Pageant," with the sheriffs' State barge and the scene at the Chequers, " The Tomb of Alice Win gold," and " The City in Flames," were remark ably well arranged. With the accessories of splen did costumes, appropriate dresses, and equestrian evolutions, the last-named tableau received quite an ovation in the way of applause. There is also some charming ballet-dancing introduced, and those clever little artistes, the Misses Helen and Emma Gunnis, performed their pas to perfection. The character of Alice Wingold was cleverly sustained by Miss Julia Seaman, who made her first appearance. Mr. Frank Huntly, who also appeared for the first time, played the part of Walter Markham. with genuine feeling and good taste. Mr. Searle, as Gabriel the Gipsey, was exceedingly effective. We have to congratulate Mr. _Batty upon the success of this his latest and best production. He has produced a " sensation " scene of a per fectly novel description, and one that must at tract the whole of the play-going public to the Royal Amphitheatre, for certainly nothing has yet been produced to equal, in reality, his repre sentation of " The Fire of London." The spectacle is to be represented every even ing until further notice. SOCIE2Y. The fourth concert of the season took place last evening at the Hanover-square Rooms. Madlle. Titiens sang Meyerbeer's aria, " Vanne, vanne," magnificently, and at its termination the great com poser, who made one of the audience, was unani mously called for, and enthusiastically cheered on rising to respond to the complement. The grand adagia and fugue in D of Mozart, finely performed, was duly appreciated, as was likewise the admi rable execution of Hummelt's concerto in B minor by Herr Pauer. Mr. H. C. Cooper, in Mendelssohn's concerto, proved that his genuine talent, which many years ago created for him a reputation such as few English violinists have achieved, has suffered no deterioration during his long sojourn in the United States, whence •he has just returned. Beethoven's symphony in C, No. 1, like all the other great or chestral works, was done ample justice to under the masterly direction of Professor Bennett, who, owing to causes too well known to need explanation here, received a perfectly overwhelming ovation on enter ing the orchestra. GALLERY OF ILLUSTRATION. After a tour in the provinces, which report speaks of as eminently successful, Mr. Mark Lemon has resumed his clever and interesting lectures on London, at this Gallery, in the day time. He has made some additions and alterations which certainly aid the general effect, and brought the whole into so condensed a space that the readings occupy less time. The pictorialportion now works admirably; and altogether this entertainment will take a prominent place amongst the exhibitions offered to our foreign and provincial visitors. Many would doubtless be attracted by the mere opportunity of seeing and hearing the editor of the world-renowned comic publication ; but quite independent of this gratification of their curiosity, they will find the lectures extremely interesting and worth aettnding. A farmer in the neighbourhood of Douai (Nord) possesses an extraordinary phenomenon in natural history, namely, a fowl which has four legs, placed like those of a quadruped. It walks with difficulty, and other fowls drive it away, and refuse to associate with it. MID SUSSEX AN D MIDIIURST JUN CTION RAILWAY. —A special general meeting of this company took place yesterday at the offices in Parliament •street to consider and approve a bill now pending in Parliament for enabling the said company to extend the time for completing their rail. way, to sell or lease their undertaking to the London, Brighton, and South London Railway Company—Mr. J. Cary in the chair. A resolution in accordance with the terms of the advertisement was proposed and agreed to, the chairman stating that all the earthworks on the line (which was within seven miles in length) were completed, and the I only thing that remained to be done was the making of the tunnel near Midhurst. The contractors, however, would take advantage of the present fine weather, in order that the directors might be enabled to hand the line over to the management of the London and Brighton Company with all fossiblo despatch. LATEST.NEW P RIS, MAY 6. The Constitutionnel of to-day, in an article signed by M. de Limayrac, says : " We do not know whether M. de Mercier has been charged with a mission to Richmond, but we hope that he will give utterance, both at Washing ton and Richmond, to words of conciliation and and peace." BRUSSELS, MAY 6, The Moniteur Beige of to-day contains the fol lowing : " The King underwent a fresh operation on Sun- day last, which afforded him some relief. " Yesterday evening the state of his Majesty's health was less satisfactory." In addition to the above official statement, it is known that the King has been suffering so severely since the end of last week that his son, the Count of Flanders, has not been allowed to see him. On Friday and Saturday last the sufferings of the august patient were somewhat alleviated. His Majesty is not aware of the gravity of his state, precautionary measures having been taken to conceal it from him in order to avoid exciting his apprehension. INDIA. --- (BY TELLEGRAPH TO POINT DE GALLE AND FROM SUEZ.) CALCUTTA, APRIL 16. Mr. Laing has made his financial statement. He anticipates a surplus of £1,550,000. The import duties on piece goods are reduced to 5 per cent., and on yarn to 3s per cent. The reduc tion is to come into operation from the 23d of April. COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. CALCUTTA, APRIL 15. Sairtings firm. Mule twist active, and advancing. The indigo season has terminated. Copper, 2 annas higher. Saltpetre unchanged. Exchange on London, 2s Otd. Government Securities.--Four per Cents., 91t- ; Five per Cents., 1031. Freights, 658. Cotton steady. Twist advancing. Piece goods in moderate demand. Linseed, prices advancing. Five per Cent. Government Securities, 103. Freights quiet. CHINA. (By TELEGRAPH FROM SUEZ.) CANTON, APRIL 1. Gray shirtings and water twist unchanged. Tea firm, but little doing. Total export to date 86,393,0001 b. Exchange on London, 4s. 61d. SIIAXGHAL MARCH 22. Gray shirtings advancing. Tea active. Silk 10 taels higher. No. 3 Tsatlee, 390. Settlements in fortnight, 3,500 bales. Export to date, 62,900 bales. Exchange on India, 298. Freights for tea, 110 s ; silks,l2os. AUSTRALIA. MELBOURNE, MARCH 25. The total export of gold since the departure of the last mail amounts to 133,019. Martell's and Hennessy's brandies, oats, hams, tea, and sugar, advancing in price. An active busi ness doing in Geneva and butter at advancing prices. For Bass's ale and flour, higher prices de manded. Rice dull. Coffee unchanged. Exchange firm. ADELAIDE, MARCH 27, Exchange rising. Trade dull. SYDNEY, MARCH 22. Exchange unaltered. Trade active. THE CALCUTTA, CHINA, AND AUSTRA- LIAN MAILS. ALEXANDRIA, MAY 5. The Vectis and Ripon leave with the above mails at 10 a.m. this day for Marseilles and Southampton respectively. The Bengal brought the mails to Suez, arriving there on the 3d inst. FRANCE. The Constitutionnel publishes the following as the full text of the letter addressed by the King of Italy to the Emperor of the French : "NAPLES, May 3, 12.30 p.m. " THE KING OF ITALY TO HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH. I have just visited the fleet which you have been so good as to send to this port. This act of careful kindness on your part for my person, and of sympathy far the cause of Italy, has much moved me, ant I thank you for it. It is a long time, Sire, since I have undergone so many emotions as on this day. The order which prevails in these southern provinces and the warm marks of affection which I receive from all sides reply victoriously to the calumnies of our enemies, and will, I hope, convince Europe that the idea of the unity of Italy rests upon a solid basis, and is deeply engraved in the heart of all Italians. " Accept, Sire, the expression of my sincere and unalterable friendship." BOURSE, May s.—The market opened at - an ad vance on the closing rates of Saturday, but the improvement was not long maintained, and the quotation is now again at 71f. 10c., with a fair amount of business doing. Railways quiet, but firm. The market closed as follows : It per per Cents 98 10 Do end month 98 25 3 per Cents Do. end month, 7l New 3 per Cents Do. end month — Credit Mobilier B5O Do. end month Bank Shares Credit leo:lcier 1530 Belgian Piedmontes( Fives — Italian Loan Austrian Spanieh Threes.... Home Debt ...... rAYS, Cash. Account. Orleans 1320 .. 1320 BAIL' --- - - - Northern New ditto Lyons and Mediterranean 1170 .. 1170 Geneva 372 50 .. 372 50 Southern 842 50 .. 843 75 Western .. Eastern Sardinian - .. 382 50 Austrian Lombard 6OO 605 -- ITALY. The Milan Gazette mentions a disturbance which took place at Monza on the 30th ult., when a large crowd of people assembled before the palace of the Vicar Monsignor Caccia, uttering menaces against him. The sub Prefect immediately proceeded to the spot, and advised the multitude to disperse, which a part did ; but many workmen remained, or paraded the streets with cries against the cotton merchants and those who had closed their factories in consequence of the dearth of that material ; and the disturbance would have become more serious had not the National Guard and troops arrived in time to maintain order. ROME. A letter from Rome of the 30th ult., in the Gazette the Midi, says : "Accounts received yesterday evening bring excellent news on the health of the Sovereign Pontiff. His Holiness has derived much benefit from his retirement at Porto d'Anzio. It appears that the difficulties which had arisen on the occasion of the re-establishment of the apostolic nunciature at St. Petersburg have been removed, as Mgr. Berardi, the new Nuncio, is to leave Rome for his post during the first fortnight of May. His Excel• lency will pass through France on his way. It is thought that the bishops who will be present at the canonisation on the Bth June, will be upwards of 500 in number. France will be represented, it is said, by at least 60 members of her episcopacy. The prelate, in whose diocese St. Petersburg is situated, is, it is said, already on his way to Rome with three of the principal dignitaries of his clergy. The trial of the capitular vicar of. Bologna will shortly come before the assizes of that town ; the list of the jury called to decide on the guilt of that prelate has been published; it is composA princi pally of workmen of the town, and among them a shoemaker and a mason, the only person of a liberal profession who figures in it being an advocate—a very fit jury truly to judge if a Latin ordonnance of ecclesiastical discipline is conformable or contrary to the new laws of the country I" AUSTRIA. A letter f►om Munich of the 3d, in the Moniteur, says : " Great reductions have been effected in Austria on the Budgets of the different ministries. That of the Department of Foreign Affiirs, for instance, now scarcely reaches the amount of 2-1 millions of florins (2fr. 60c. each). The representa tion of the country abroad is comf , osed of three ambassadors, one internuncio, twenty-four envoys, one resident Minister and three charg6 d'affaires, costing together 867,000 florins; the ministry de manded 956,066f1. The consulates absorb 548,000f1. Austria has thirty consuls-general; three general agents ; thirty-three consuls; twenty-nine vice consuls, sixty inferior clerks, and thirteen agents. At the plenary sitting of the Committee of Finance of the 26th ult., the Budget of the Ministry of Finance was presented. M. de Plener and Baron de HE ck warmly defended the expenses of that de partment, but their arguments did not prevent the committee from effecting rather considerable reduc tions. The extraordinary expenses have been les sened 10 per cent.; and the officials of the Ministry have been decreased by ten councillors and an equal number of secretaries, CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE Now ON VIEW AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM EVERY DAY FROM FIVE TO EIGHT P.M. By a generous arrangement on the part of the trustees of the British Museum, the public generally are admitted every evening between five and eight o'clock to inspect a very choice selection of the most precious among the printed and manuscript trea sures of that great national institution. During the earlier part of the day several of the noble rooms devoted to the Grenville Library and th© King's Library are accessible to all comers and and goers who care to pass through them. And the apartments themselves are worthy of a visit —and their contents of a very careful examination. Later on, as we have said—towards evening, when the readers have left—the inner doors are thrown open, and the public who are not readers are per mitted to scrutinise at their leisure the very pick of those Curiosities of Literature, curiosities which, the readers themselves have seldom if ever before been permitted a sight of! Yesterday afternoon, by the courtesy of Mr. Winter Jones, we were enabled to examine at our ease one of the most remarkable of these curiosities—a sort of a Brob dignagian Atlas, about six feet high, and now laid open of an evening for general inspection, like a giant picture upon the easel of some Art Goliath. Considering the date at which these gigantic maps were produced (the age of King Charles ll.)—the work is altogether a perfect marvel to look at. It has long been lying there perdu, so far as the public at large are concerned, among the wonders of the King's library—the noble collection of works be queathed to the nation by King George 111. Here is Mr. Jones's account of it, as given in his instruc tive little guide to these purely temporary attrac tions to the British Museum collection —for the rooms containing them will only remain open to the public during the period of the Great Interna tional Exhibition. The catalogue raisonee says 2. An Atlas of the World, comprising the finest maps by Blaeu, Hondius, Visscher, &c., brought together and presented to Charles II , at the Restoration in 1660, by I. Klencke, with the following address at the commencement in letters of gold : Soli Britannico reduci Carolo Secundo Regum Augustissimo hoc orbis term compendium humill. off. I. Klencke,' The binders' names occur on the back of the volume in the following form • Kees Dirckz. et Filius, D. K. compegerunt, anno 1665: From the Library of King George III." And it is odd enough to remark cheek by jowl with this Monster Atlas, produced in the days of the Commonwealth, and presented to Charles 11. immediately after the Restoration—a curiosity, as unlooked for by its side as the following : " 1. One of the great edicts used by the Chinese insur gent chief Tai-ping, in the summer of 1853, impressed with the stamp of his cabinet. Announcing the object of the insurrection to be the extermination of the ' Tartar hordes,' and calling upon all classes of the people to pursue their avocations quietly." As for this colossal Atlas, it might provoke the jealousy even of the member for,Bodmin, or of that other distinguished geographer of the far north, Mr. Keith Johnstone. Does any one care to look at the autographs of the great men of all ages and countries ? Here they are disposed in orderly array, in glass cases, about these hitherto impenetrable belle of art and literature. Here they are in abundance —veritable autographs of men such as Leibnitz, Moliere, Cor neille, Mat Prior, Voltaire, Nelson, Wellington. Has any one a fancy to glance at the Great Seals of the Kings of England ? Here, again, his curio sity may be readily gratified. Is there a fastidious Book Hunter or Biblioina niac amongst us who wishes to feast his eye upon the very perfection of bookbinding? The op portunity is here within his reach—an oppor tunity that Mr. Hill Burton would revel in ! Specimens they are of bookbinding from the six teenth century downwards. And the oldest of them—though of a period so remote--b 0 inimitably beautiful and costly as specimens of their art as to be at once the despair and the admiration of the most skilled among our present race of bookbinders. What, indeed, upon this point, says Mr. Winter Jones in his pleasant handbook ? "Of this art," he writes, "it may be observed that, like that of printing, its earliest specimens display a degree of excellence which cannot be surpassed at the present day, and which modern binders are proud to be able to imitate successfully." Then, again, as Specimens of Printing—here in the rooms now opened to public view for a brief in terval of time at the British Museum, are examples of the earliest productions of the printing presses of Germany, of Italy, of France, of England, and of the Low Countries. Here too are " Block Books" of a date still earlier. Here are the first woodcut illustrations to letterpress_Caxton's )Esop for example—so clumsy and uncouth in their way as to appear what they really are. of that art in its very childhood ! Looking at the cases set apart for specimens of " Fine and Sumptuous Printing," and for rare and gorgeous illumination —we cannot but linger delighted over that lovely " Breviary of the Camaidolese Monks," printed on 4to vellum in 1484, at Florence, by that consummate artificer AntoniausMiscominus. In that same case (ix.) there is a glorious Sallust, that one's mouth waters to turn the leaves of ! It is numbered and noted in the catalogue as follows : a 12, Sallust.—Translated into Spanish by the Infant Don Gabriel under the superintendence of his tutor Fr. Perez Bayer. Printed at Madrid by Joachin Ibarra, in italic letters, in 1 772. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Reverting, however, to the one remarkable volume, a curiosity to examine which led us yesterday down to those newly-opened treasures of art and litera ture down at Bloomsbury—viz., the enormous six-feotshigh Atlas, formerly belonging to King Charles the Second—we would particularly call the attention of all visitors who may wend. their way to the British Museum to see it, to the fact that the room in which it is now displayed was one of the two rooms formerly set apart for the use of Readers before that magnificent circular Reading Room (now in use) was constructed ! Surely—this last—the noblest library anywhere to be found in the length and breadth of all Christen dom. Entering. once more, after the lapse of so long an interval, one of those two dear dreadful old Reading rooms in which,years and years ago,we our selves have so often obtained the unwelcome luxury of une of the celebrated British Museum Headaches —to say nothing of having been occasionally driven to distraction there by the no less celebrated British Museum Flea—we have really no adequate words in which to express our gratitude for that splendid structure, under the dome of which Study seems to be encompassed with a halo of architectural mag nificence, .~ ' k 1. 1