The Sun. — London, England, 1862-02-17 00:00:00

.0100 , 13. R. and MRS. CHARLES KEAN are engaged A- at the Theatre -Royal Drury-lane for a limited num ber of nights, and will appear THIS EVENING (Monday), 17th, in Louis XI. ; Tuesday, 18th, The Wife's Sec Fr- ret ; Wednesday, 19th, Hamlet ; Tuursday, 20th, Louis XI. ; day, 21st, Hamlet ; Saturday, 22d, The Wife's Secret. To conclude each evening with the Grand PANTOMIME. -------- YAL ENGLISH OPERA, COVENT GARDEN. Unler the management of Miss Louisa Pyne and Mr. W. Harrison. THIS EVENING, THE LILY OF KILLARNEY. Misses Louisa Pyne, Susan Pyne, Jessie M`Lean, and Topham ; Messrs. Santley, H. Haigh, E. Dussek, C. Lyall, Patey, Wallworth, and Mr. W. Harrison. To conclude with HARLEQUIN GULLIVER ; or, Giants and Dwarfs. Messrs. W. H., F., and H. Payne, H., If., and S. Lauri, and Miss Jenny Lauri. Conductor, Mr. ALFRED MELLON. Commence at Seven. -r 1-tEA Tit 0 Y AL, HAYMARKET, Lessee, Mr. J. B. /3 aerzsteue. THIS EVENING, to commence with OUR AMERICAN COUSIN. Lord Dundreary, Mr. Sothern ; Asa Trenchard, Mr. Buckstone. After which, a Comic Christmas Pantomime, LITTLE MISS MUFFET AND LITTLE BOY BLUE • or, Harle quin and Old Daddy Longlegs. Louise Leclercq;Charles Le clercq, Herr Cole, a Becket, and Miss Rosine. Commence a 7. OYAL LYCEUM THEATRE. A Manager---Mr. Edmund Falconer. THIS EVENING, Feb. 17, the new and original Drama, entitled PEEP O'DAY ; or, Savourneen Deebsh. Messrs. Walter Lacy, Hermann Vezin, Charles Selby, Edmund Fal coner ; Mrs. D. P. Bowers, Miss Clara Weston. After which, a new and original Burlesque Extravaganza, entitled LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD; or, The Fairies of the Rose, the Thistle, and the Shamrcck. Principal charac ters by Mr. Chas. Selby, Mr. Warlow, Miss Cicely Nott, and Miss Lydia Thompson. Acting Manager—Mr. F. B. Chatterton. Prices as usual. Doors open at half-past 6, to commence at 7. Box-office open daily from 11 tlll5. THEAT.ttII.-- ROYAL riti.NUE S&S Lessee, Mr A. Harris. THIS EVENING, a new Mystic Drama, in four parts entitled THE ANGEL OF MIDNIGHT. Mr. Ryder, Mr. Potter, Mr. Jordan, Mr. W iddicomb, &c. ; Miss Marriott, 3liss Fieldinn, &c. After which a Comic Christmas Pantomime, wrirfTINO TON AND HIS CAT ; or, Harlequin Ring Kollywobtc ) and the Genius of Good Humour. The grotesque openin. Invented and written by Heni y J. Byron, Esq., author of the Princeos's Pantomime of "Jack the Giant Killer. " The Scenery by Mr. James Gates, Mr. H. Cuthbert, and numerous assistants. Good Humour, Miss Helen Howard; Princess Popsiwopsi, Miss Rose Leclereq; Alice, Miss Pauline Le- Haat clercq ; Messrs. Garden, Cathcart, Morland, Collett, inc.& Raymond; Dick Whittlngton, Miss Maria Harris; Robin Goodfellow and the Cat, Master John Haslem, (pupil of the celebrated Gabriel Ravel; Clown, Mr. Hildyard ; Harlequin, Mr. John Law! ; Pantaloon, Mr. Paulo; Colum bine, Mss Caroline Adams. N E W THRATRE-R0 VAL, ADELPHI. - - Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. B. Webster. 354th Night of the Engagement o OUCICAULT .f Mr. and Mrs. DION B T R/0 EVENING, the great American Drama of THE OCTOROON. Messrs. Dion Boucicault, S. Emery, Billington, Jamison, P. Bedford, Stephenson, Eburne, Powell, Romer, H. Lewis ; Billington, Mrs. H. Marston. Miss Latimer, Miss Denvil. After which (4th time), THE DUBLIN BOY. And_ Mrs. Boucicault. To conclude with M ARGERY DA y . Messrs. D. Fisher, Billington, W. Smith, Miss Wool gar, and Miss K. Kelly. Commence at 7. NEW ROYALTY THEATRE, Dean-street, Oxford-street. THIS EVENING, the Opera Buffo, entitled LE MARI AGE ayn AUX LANTERNE. Mr. John Morgan, Mesdames St a nley, Pe, and Masons Stanley. - After which A NICE QUIET DAY. Followed by the screaming Farce of CARNATION OF CARNATION COTTAGE. To conclude with A CHINESE ROMANCE. Commence at half-past 7. ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.- Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. W. Batty. TO-NIGHT, Feb. 17, and during the week, first appearance of Rumsey and Newcomb's Double Troupe of Ethiopian Min strels, late of the Crystal Palace. To be followed by NEW SCENES IN THE CIRCLE , b3r Mazotti, 3ladlle. Goldsmidt, Mons. Goldkette, and Mons. Gerard Goldsmidt. Concluding with a screaming Farce. On Monday, Feb. 24, will be produced a gorgeous Eastern Spectacle, in which Two of the finest Performing Elephants St ever seen in this country l appear. Sage Manager, Mr. W. Searle. CANTERBURY HALL-VICTOR JULIEN, "the FLYING MAN," at half-past Nine Continued success of "THE ENCHANTED HASH " by Mr. E. Marshall, at a quarter-past Ten. Grand Selections from "La Circassienne" by Mdlle. Negri, with Band and a powerful Chorus, at Ten o'clock. Also the following combination of Comic talent, viz.: Mr. Randall, Mr. Frederick French, Mr. J. G. Forde, Miss Har riet Coveney, and Miss Greene. Musical Director, Mr. Jonghmans. Admission—Hall, 6d. ; Stalls and Balcony, is. THE OXFORD, 6, OXFORD-STREET.- " LES MERVEILLES GYMNASTIQUES" ITENRI (aged Eleven years), and PFAU (aged Nine years), From the "Cirque Napoleon," Paris, Whose Double Feats on the Flying Trapeze are unsurpassed for daring, skill, and grace, make their First Appearance in England This Evening. Their performances do not in any way interfere with the Musical Entertainment, which as usual consists of Two Operatic Selections by the entire Company, Full Band and Chorus.—Conductor, Mr. F. Jonghmans. And Varied Vocal, Instrumental, and Comic Attractions. Hall, 6d. ; Stalls and Balcony, Is. ; Private Boxes, 10s. ed. lIIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. THIS DAT.—Morning, 3h. 41m.—Afternoon, 4h. Om. To-MORROW. -Morning, 4h. 17m.—Afternoon, 4h. 36m. THE WEATHER.—STN OFFICE, FEBRUARY 16, 1862. THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE. 40—highest since noon yesterday. 32—lowest this morning and during the night. 38—this day at noon. BAROMETER-29.98; falling. WIND—S.-Easterly; fresh, with bitter cold weather. FEB. 17. THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADS. 39—laighest since noon yesterday. 33—lowest this morning and during the night. 39 —this day at:noon. BAROMETER-29.50. WlND—Easterly ; light, with dirty rainy, hazy weather. 3 o'Clock—Wind changed to North and North-west, moderate, with very dark hazy weather, amounting to fog, with continoua rain. Barometer—Down to 29.47. There is a storm not far off. \\, i.„..L • t 41t. THE SUN. LONDON, MONDAY, FEB. 17, 1862. It may seem of small consequence to England whether an Austrian Archduke be installed Emperor of Mexico or not. Lord RUSSELL was, however, perfectly right in making inquiry as to the truth of the alleged rumours, which assigned to France so large a share in the proposed scheme. The only thing in his Lordship's way was that such negotia tions as had taken place lay in such a form that a F renc h Foreign Secretary could easily give them an official denial. M. THOUVENEL could doubtless reply with perfect truth that no negotiations were pending between the French Government and that of Austria. Mad he been asked whether any conver sations had occurred on the subject between the French EMPEROR and the Archduke MAXIMILIAN, he might not, it appears, have been able to reply with so unconditional a negative; unless, indeed, official etiquette enabled him to answer on behalf of the EMPEROR with the same amount of literal truth as is contained in the very frequent words " not at home If a ell-informed " correspondent" be right, the some -what whimsical as well as clever Emperor of the F REwelt, _ making a mexican n as long cherished the idea of Emperor of the Archduke. It appears he was pe r sonallyßpleased with the man, and, according to M. ,rEt OTIVENEL, Mexicans have come to Europe and gone object. Whether the to Vienna with this Mexicans suggested the idea to the EmPEnon , or to the Mexicans, can , of course , never be known till one of the parties chooses to tell tm. Certain it is that it were better for those who wi iseed to attain the object, that the Mexicans should ap pear pro minent in the business. M. TnonTENEL well knows that when, through Lord R t7 Q -sELL, h e put before the diplomatic world the statement that the negotiations had been carried on by Mexicans only who had come over for the pur ruse and gone to Vienna, he was best serv ing the object. What the French Foreign Secretary would have said could a reply have been obtained from him to the question—at whose suggestion did the Mexicans come over for purpose, or was it a purely spontaneous journey— "re may easily guess ; but of course we are not in it Position to assert. One thing seems to be certain that the Arch duke found some very reasonable difficulties in con senting. R e did not reply to the offer without hesi tation. He properly observed, " That he could not accept or refuse a throne which was not yet in 1 existence. When rival factions in Mexico were put down, the wrongs of the contracting Powers re dressed or avenged, brigandage crushed, and public tranquillity restored, then, indeed, if the Mexican people turned towards him and invited him to rule over them as a constitutional Sovereign, he did not think he should hesitate." With such views actuating the chief per sonage concerned, England has little to say in the matter. Her rulers would all of them be well pleased enough to serve Austria if Aus tria thought the acquisition of any service, and we imagine the people of this country would be most profoundly indifferent to the question, whether the Archduke, or th 3 Arch -anything was at the head of Mexico. They would be glad to see the Central American Empire well governed, freely governed if possible—civil and religious liberty there, as everywhere, would be most pleasing to them ; but after we had got what is due to our subjects we certainly would not tolerate the expenditure of a cartridge to give this per son or that, one party or the other, the supre macy in Mexico. We should not like to see the priest party triumph, nor should we like to see this ',fair country delivered over to the Confederate States, and slavery ; all we desire is, that the Mexicans sheuld freely choose what Government they will, provided it be a real Government, not a faction and its leaders. The Vienna papers have all along scouted the notion of an honourable banishment of one of their invaluable Archdukes. They have, however, sup posed that a Mexican throne was to purchase the surrender of Venetia to Italy. This adjustment has not yet been mentioned in any way to lead to the supposition that it is any part of the bargain; It would be a pleasant way of squaring things, but Austria has got quite another idea into her head. She proposes, we are now told, to offer to the Italian Government recognition and Rome itself, so far as she can give it, in ex change for Italian recognition of her right to Venetia. This latter proposal can, however, never be accep ted. VICTOR EMMANUEL would cease to be King of ITALY from the day that he gave up the Italian claim on Venetia. The hearts of all Northern and Central Italy would be alienated from him at once. Be the cost what it may he must create and maintain an army, which at the first favourable opportunity should be able to commence the great work of driving out the justly detested oppressors of Venice and the Quadrilateral, and of uniting in one kingdom all who claim to be brother Italians. The French and Spaniards are taking the course to make themselves jointly masters of Mexico; England refuses to have anything to do with the work of internal pacification, the EMPEROR refuses to be behind Spain, and the Mexicans decidedly prefer the French to the Spaniards. The EMPEROR has sent to the scene of action some of his ablest men, and we shall be little surprised to see that French counsels are far more accep table to the Mexicans. The establishment of the ruler and kind of rule, therefore, in Mexico, which the EMPEROR sees fit graciously to recommend, is one of the likeliest results of the in tervention. The Washington Government, with their silly and arrogant MUNROE doctrine, are com pelled, under their circumstances, to bite their lips and witness European intervention on the sacred soil of America. And, whether they like it or not, European aid will probably settle the case. The principal enactment of last session, as we all very well remember, was the one relating to Bankruptcy and Insolvency. The probability is, already, that the principal enactment for the pre seLt session—that is to say, if the sittings in Lords and Commons be only adequately propitious—will be an act regulating anew the Transfer of Land. This evening the Lord Chancellor, the ablest lawyer living, will bring before the Legislature the whole of this carefully elaborated scheme as pre pared (under the supervision of the chief officers of the Crown) by her MAJESTY'S Government. It is perhaps as well, all things considered, that the bill should work its way downwards from the Lords to the Commons instead of vice versa—if only for three several reasons very readily to be particularised. Firstly, because the scheme cannot by reason of the late Lord CAMPBELL'S death be brought nowadays under the consideration of the House of Commons by the Attorney-General of last year, Sir RICHARD BETHELL, as erignally designed. Sir RICHARD having been advanced to the Upper House as Baron WESTBURY, and to the Woolsack as Lord Chancellor, if he is to bring it before the Legis lature in the first instance (as is in every way desirable) must perforce do so from his supreme position at the head of the hereditary legislators of the United Kingdom. That is the first of these three reasons. And it is visibly so good a reason in its way, that it might be regarded at once as all-sufficient. But there are two others almost equally good and forcible in their way also. For example, in the second place—there, in the House of Lords, are assembled together the chief landed proprietors in the realm. It is their property espe cially that the projected enactment will affect the most directly, by facilitating upon all future occa sions (if the bill only be passed into an enactment) its transference. Again, there is a third and final reason, which is so —merely by addressing itself to the sense of good taste, or the sentiment of delicacy, or however we may phrase it, in either House, is still a reason that ought to have some weight among our legislators, whether hereditary or representative as bearing simply upon the order of procedure in regard to the supervision of the new Government Transfer Bill to the two Houses of Parliament. It is a third and final rea son this, that many will doubtless, upon the instant, have already guessed at, and that if they have guessed at they will, as a matter of course, have instantly appreciated the force of. By introducing the new Transfer of Land Bill to the Lords first through the authoritative mediation of the Lord Chancellor WESTBURY, the Government allow of their scheme being calmly taken into considera tion by the Upper House before it can, in the natural course of things, come under the eagle glance of the projector of this great legal improvement, the Solicitor - General, in Lord DERBY'S last Government. In effect it were almost invidious to introduce the scheme proposed by the present Cabinet in the presence and hearing of the hon. and learned member for Belfast, Not that any one can anticipate for an instant that Sir HUGH CAIRNS could by any possibility treat a theme of such magnitude and complexi , y, as well as of such severe and grave importance, in anything like a party spirit, or with any perverse predetermination to-be antagonistic. Only with measures in them selves rem ar k a bl e, as th i s one i n contest ibl y must b e instantly recognised to be, for its enormous diffi- . culty and all but bewildering complication — there are, w e may say and blurs, and errors of alm os t a ll ki n d s , errors o f omission and c ommi c s p s r i i o n n ei t p h a a i inevitably, numerous flaws scr utinised C l ause b y clause i n that e Iv a v h e e n t o t bbee bill t comesri d o f t b o y bo ,careful disoo s r s e e v d i s i( 4 ): 4 committee) before the draft of the enactment can fairly be recognised, so to speak, i n its integrity. And all things considered ; we cannot but feel as it were instinctively, that this preliminary labour of revision will come with better grace from the Com mittee of Lords, particularly of some of the law lords—before the measure can be laid upon the House of Commons, where Sir HUGH CAIRNS will now await its advent, no doubt, in a mood worthy in its serene impartiality both of himself and of his own cherished legal improvement. Scarcely will these remarks of oars have gone to press when the Government Bill relating to the Transfer of Land will be explained in all its bear ings by the Lord Chancellor WESTBURY. For that explanation, therefore, we have but the briefest in terval to tarry—and we are certainly enabled to do so with an equanimity all the more assured from its being based upon the prevailing hopeful expectancy. The subject is vast and vital, no doubt, in its dimensions and in its importance. It is, besides this, compli cated during centuries upon centuries almost beyond the seeming possibility of disentanglement. Yet is it now about to be scrutinised and handled by one peculiarly qualified for the task he has un dertaken—that very wondrous task of its disentan glement. Here and there in the labyrinthine web that Lord WESTBURY is this evening about to manipulate with his dexterous touch and to thrid and unravel with the skill won by long practice to his masterhand—here and there doubtless a knot may appear to be so Gordian in its fixity that it would seem only capable of being unloosed by the arbitrary sword-stroke of some legis lative ALEXANDER. Yet even here we are • sanguine that the consummate dexterity of your skilled jurisconsult may prove equal to the occasion. Let but the Great Lawyers upon both sides of each of the two Houses of Parliament co operate with each other dispassionately in dealing with this most difficult Question as to the Facili tation of the Transfer of Land, and we may rest perfectly assured that, the problem can be solved before the close of the present Session, as effectually as the tangled web in the old Fairy Tale was un ravelled for the bewildered Princess in a night, and magically wound off upon a reel by the beneficent agency of the Fairy Godmother. Those who doubt the mercenary character of the agitation against the excellent educational proposals of the Government, would do well to look at two facts mentioned on Thursday —one by Mr. LowE in the House of Commons, the other by Lord GRAN VILLE in the House of Lords. Referring to the ab surd allegation of vested interests, the former said— " The question had been chiefly discussed in refer ence to the public teachers—probably on account of the large number of persons who were concerned —otherwise he did not see why their case should be more debated than the grants for drawing or Welsh. Talking about Welsh, be had heard of rather a tragical case, in which a person complained that his school would gain no grant, because the position of the schoolmaster was similar to that of Hotspur— , This is the deadly spite that angers me; My wife can speak no English, I no Welsh.' The master could not understand the pupils, or the pupils the master; and so the school earned no money." This was a teacher's case ; and if an extreme one, it yet well illustrates the grand secret of all the demands they have made—they want public money, not because they can show service for it, but because they have had it. The Govern ment has given them, at a heavy cost, a good education, has qualified them to earn their living as teachers if they like to do so; but that is not enough. The Government must also pay them for being teachers, whether they teach or not. The evidence may prove that they teach—that is effectually—only one quarter of the children whom the Government pays them to teach ; but when the Government steps in and says, we shall examine the children first, and pay you for work done—instantly, there is a prodigious outcry that they shall all be ruined. Surely the public will rejoin, then ruined you ought to be; for, if after gratuitously educating you, and paying you large augmentations of salary, you send away the children without the minimum of knowledge required you have no title to the money. The uneducated three-fourths have far more of a vested interest in the knowledge you ar• paid to impart, than you in payments for imparting nothing. But the clerical managers show equally with the teachers the motive which stimulates their opposi tion. Lord GRANVILLE'S anecdote related to them. He told a story of one of those notable assemblies termed Diosesan Boards. The Board had passed seventeen resolutions all condemnatory of the minute; a Conservative M.P., who happened to be present, quietly asked whether, if the capi tation tax proposed by the Government for work actually done, were augmented from a penny to twopence a head for each attendance, the minute might not prove unobjectionable. After some con sultation, not seeing the trap laid for them, the sapient board agreed that double pay might remove all objections! To us, the case appears, and is one of the simplest. If the masters would be worse off by being paid only for work done, they have no claim to be heard. Their complaint shows that it is they who must alter their mode of teaching, not the Government its proffered mode of payment. If the managers want grants which they cannot claim, because their teachers have not fulfilled the very ends and objects for which Parliament voted the grants, they are as little entitled to be heard. They must look better to their subordinates. The Government has, we think, been undeservedly merciful in the alterations it has proposed. The negligent teachers and managers are to have a full year to make up for their past indiligence. They are to be paid on the old and illusory system of inspection, instead of that of individual examination of the pupils for yet an other year. If they cannot by that time get the boys and girls they have neglected so sadly, up to the minimum required by the Government for the public money, what taxpayer can be found to pity them. The Government has made other and large con cessions. It has reprieved the very costly training schools, which it was originally agreed should be supported voluntarily, but towards the support of which the government has had to contri bute 95 per cent. It ha 3 allowed the infants under six to become " little treasures" to the masters, by permitting payment for them on attend ance only without examination, and conceded several minor points. Indeed, we think for very shame the teachers, managers, and clergy ought to be silent henceforth, and if they be not, we trust the taxpayers will enable the Government to reduce them to silence. THE GREAT EASTERN.—At 12.15 p.m. yesterday the Great Eastern slipped her moorings at Milford, and proceeded up the haven to be placed on the gridiron. It was blocdng strong from the east. At 8 p.m. last night the attempt to put her on the gridiron proved unsuccessful. The flow of the tide was insufficient, and the wind blew too strong. All was ready last night, however, for this morn ing's tide.7-Muroun, Monday.—The weather having moderated, the Great Eastern was safely placed on the gridiron at 8.30 this morning. SACRED HARMONIC SOCTETY.—Mendelssohn'p 4I Lobgesang," and Rossini's " Stabat Mater" will be per • formed on the 28th inst., Mademoiselle Titiens, Madame Sainton-Dolby, Mr. Sims Reeves, and Signor Belletti being the principal vocalists. 111E1 SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 17, 1862. REFUGE HAVENS, OR SA FE2Y PLACES FOR 1111NERS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. STR,—Colliery proprietors are doubtlessly now impressed wita the necessity of universally hav ing two shafts to each pit, and also a communi cation or staple between different seams of coal, the want of which caused the fatality during the late tragedy. Yet there is another safety valve which would save the lives of miners if the wooden brattice should be destroyed by explosion, fire, or otherwise, and it has not been noticed by others permit me to describe my idea. Division of a shaft generally occasions sufficient ventilation in the whole of a pit to enable miners to do their work in any part. When a brattice is disarranged the upward current of gas and downward passage of air cease, and probably at the same time the mode for the men leaving is ungeared. Inexpressible re lief would be conferred on the imprisoned miners by their having the facility at such a time to escape to a particular and selected part in any of the seams, where they could congregate and wait for relief. This object could be secured by embedding under the brick or wooden casing of the shaft a diaphragmatic pipe, or a double concentric pipe, laid from the outer air to the spots chosen as " havens of safety" in each of the seams, which could be thus ventilated perfectly distinct from and independent of the mode adopted for the remainder of the pit. This is merely an extension of the brattice principle, and a mode daily used for ven tilating particular rooms in buildings. It may be desirable to have the power at each of the selected spots to close the ventilating pipe in any other seams where the use of it may not be required.—l am, yours truly, GEORGE WALCOTT, C.E. 24, Abehureh-lane, Feb. 14. PRINCESS'S THEATRE. On Saturday evening a new mystic drama, entitled " The Angel of Midnight," was produced at this theatre. The piece, which belongs, in every sense of the word, to the " sensation" class, is an adaptation, by Mr John Brougham, from the French of MM. Barriera and Plouvier, in which all the startling effects have been preserved with scrupu lous care. The plot of the drama is not of the clearest de scription, but where magical effects are to be produced, that is always looked upon as a secondary consideration. The Angel of Midnight, or, in other words, the Spirit of Death, jealous of the skill of a ,certain young physician, Albert Werner, appeqrs to him on a lovely moonlight night, and there compels him, on pain of losing his much-loved mother, to enter into a com pact, the conditions of which are, that whenever she ap pears at midnight and takes by the hand any sick person on whom he is attending he will forthwith retire from the con test and leave the dying person to his fate. Remorse to a certain degree follows the completion of the unholy con tract, and ever after Albert, in his happiest moments, is continually meeting with the Angel of Midnight—flrst in the sick chamber of his father-in-law in perspective; next at the ball given in honour of his approaching nuptials ; then again in the gloomy recesses of a forest in the depth of winter, where a duel to the death is fought amidst the fall ing snow; and lastly, amongst the bridesmaids who are about to attend his young and lovely bride Margaret to the altar. The agony of choosing whom to lose, his bride or mother, impels Albert to appeal to a Higher Power than death, and thus the terrible angel is vanquished, and Albert is left to enjoy uninterrupted happiness. Of course, a drama such as that we have briefly sketched affords unlimited scope for stage effect and scenic grandeur, and Mr. Harris has availed himself to the utmost of the opportunity presented ; but as an acting play it is not one that creates universal satisfaction, although it will most unquestionably attract for a time. Miss Marriott made her first appearance at this theatre as the Angel, her dress and action being all that the most wonder-loving play,-goer could desire. Mr. Ryder, as Col. Lambeth, the villain of the piece ; Mr. Shore, as Karl ; Mr. Widdicombe, as Dr. Blokk, the quack doctor; Mr. Meadows, as the Usurer; Mr. Potter, as the Count Stromberg ; Miss Louisa Angel, as his daughter ; and Miss Mary Fielding, as Mad ame Werner, sustained their parts with their usual ability. The drama has been most carefully and elaborately "mounted," and at the fall of the curtain all the principal performers were called for—even the unearthly Angel of Death had to make her reappearance before the " floats." The house was crowded in every part. HER MAJESTY.—We believe, in a short time, her Majesty will return to Windsor Castle. It is not at all im probable that the Queen will then pay an occasional visit to Buckingham Palace, for the purpose of personally superintending the affairs of the late Prince Consort. The active business habits of the late Prince were the cause of his receiving a voluminous mass of papers and correspon dence which will have to be carefully examined ; and on the disposal of the more important portions the Queen her self will decide. The same feeling will probably take the Queen to Balmoral in the spring —for the late Prince was busy everywhere, even in the midst of his sperts—and the place being seen at a different season, the visit will, per haps, be less fraught, with painful recollections than if it were postponed to the autumn.—Court Journal. MR. CHARLES KEAN.—We understand that, on the 22d March, Mr. C. Kean will be presented, at the St. James's Hall, with the plate which has been subscribed for by the numerous admirers among his friends and the public. The Duke of Newcastle will preside, which may be accepted as a mark of admiration of Mr. C. Kean's genius as an actor, respect for his upright conduct as a gentleman, and a display of that warm feeling for the brother schoolfellow of Eton which is peculiar to the race Etonian. The plate is of the value of 2,000 guineas, and consists of several pieces, chiefly ornamental ; among others, one which intro duces Eton, also ten pieces representing Shaksperian plays in which Mr. C. Kean has won honour. There are also two magnificent candelabra.—Court Journal. BRITISH AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES.--Dnring the last few days a large tumulus on the Howardian-hills, near Milton, has been opened. At about the usual depth of burials the fragments of a Roman glass bottle, of consider able size, were very unexpectedly found, the position Fetray ing the fact that a previous examination of the tumulus had at some period been made, and all save the glass removed. On account of the very large size of the mound the base of which was far from reached, the excavations were con tinued, and at a depth of 10ft. a British cyst, enclosing a cinerary urn, was discovered. It is therefore apparent that the British burialplace had been adopted by the Romans, and hence the large size of the mound. A few weeks back a tumulus adjoining was opened, and two British urns ob tained, both cinerary. In this case the burials were side by side. Mr. Pycock, of Melton, directs the work. BURNING OF ANOTHER AUSTRALIAN SHIP AT SEA. —Advices have just been received from Ascension Island, with intelligence of a marvellous escape of the passengers and crew of the ship Orient, 1,236 tons, Captain Lawrence, from Adelaide to London, which put into the island on the 6th of January, having been on fire three days, and it had not been got under up to the morning of the 6th. The Orient had a very valuable cargo on board, and about 60 passengers. Captain Lawrence, in a letter to the owners, states that the fire was observed on the morning of the 2d inst,, and after making an unsuccessful attempt to get at the fire, they battened down the hatches, and every place was made secure. Scuttles were then cut in the deck, and water poured down in torrents, but it had no effect, and the fire extended aft rapidly. All that day, the following night, and next day, they continued at the pumps, the passengers rendering great help. The boats were got the second day, when by an accident the cutter and lifeboat got athwart each other, and were smashed to pieces, leaving only the longboat to take upwards of 100 people, but which could not hold one-half the number. Another night passed, and, the fire still raging, the suspense and anxiety among all on board were dreadful, for many parts of the deck were burnt through, and the whole cargo appeared to be a live fire, At daybreak on the third day a sail was seen from aloft on the port beam, and all speed was made to bear down upon it. They succeeded in coming up to the vessel. She proved to be the Dutch barque Van der Heim. All the passengers were, without loss of time, put on board of her, and the captain agreed to remain by the Orient, which he did. By dint of great exertion the Orient was got into Ascension on that day, the sth. She was still on fire, and, according to the last accounts, was still burning. THE LATE TERRIBLE COLLIERY ACCIDENT AT KINGSWOOD, NEAR BRlSTOL.—Kingswood, Saturday Night.—The workmen, after a vast amount of labour, have succeeded in recovering the body of the missing man Iles. The effort was one of difficulty, on account of the unstable character of some of the earthwork, and the consequent mishaps experienced while putting in the timbering. Mr. Lionel Though, one of the Government inspectors, has been down the works and is of opinion that the unfortunate men were, at the time of the catastrophe, working at the " tip," the support h av i ng b een remove d , t h e eart h fell in. considers that Iles m us t h ave b een a li ve w h en and ßrain'sithat, He body was recovered, and that when the second fall took place he must have scrambled up above it. Some curiosity has been evinced as to the manner in which Dumollard, the French murderer, comports him self since sentence of death has been passed on him. It w, s said that he had sunk into a state of nervous exhaus tion, and was, when physical strength re t urne d, a p re y to the most terrible despai r , All t hi s, it appears, on excel l ent authority, was entirely unfounded, as the wholesale mur derer incarcerated in the prison of Ain displays an un broken sang froid, and pays the most minute attention to his personal comforts. He wraps his shackles round with linen to prevent them coming in contact with his flesh, and complains frequently of their weight and coldness. He does not expect his appeal to succeed ; but is, nevertheless, totally indifferent to the chaplain's exhortations, and has several times interrupted them to complain of the prison fare tzid the bad sausages of Ain. LATEST NEWS. PARIS, FEB. 17. The draft of the address in reply to the Empe ror's speech will be read to-day in the Senate. TURIN, FEB. 17. The Diritto of to-day contains the following : " Garibaldi, having been informed that in some towns clandestine enrolments are being made in his name, has requested us to declare that he has neither authorised nor recommended the adoption of any such steps." THORN, FEB. 14. Yesterday the churches of Warsaw were solemnly reopened. In the cathedral this ceremony was performed by the archbishop, who, in a speech to a numerous congregation, dissuaded them from singing pro hibited hymns. He also said that, if they abstained from such manifestations, he could decidedly guarantee the Emperor's gracious intentions to wards Poland. FEB. 15. Archbishop Felinski has received the clergy of Warsaw, and advised them to abstain from singing prohibited songs in the churches. The priests who were confined in prison have all been removed to Russia. M. Schlenkei has been condemned to reside per manently within the walls of Wologda, a city 60 miles distant from Moscow. CONSTANTINOPLE, FEB. 15. A treaty of commerce between Russia and Turkey has been eigned. The steamers, having on board troops, have left for the Herzegovina. MADRID, FEB. 14. Senor don Xavier de Isturitz, Spanish Ambas sador to England, has been nominated President of the Council of State, and will be succeeded in the embassy at London by Senor Gonzales: It is considered probable that General Serrano will be replaced by General Dulce. BOMBAY, JAN. 27. Universal sorrow has been caused in India by the news of Prince Albert's demise. The Legislative Councils in Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras have held their first meetings. The Madras Army is about to be reduced by 12 regiments. A memorial to the Secretary of State on the de fenceless condition of Bombay has been adopted by the Chamber of Commerce of this city. The supposed Nana Sahib has been brought down in irons to Bombay, and lodged in Tannah gaol. Shirtings dull and declining ; 811 b., or sr. Ba, to sr. 14a. Mule twist dull and unchanged. Cotton advancing; Broach, 185; saw-ginned Dharva, 225. A fair inquiry for copper sheathing, at 60r.; tile dull and unchanged in price. Malwa opium, 15r. 15a. Exchange on London, 2s. ON. Government Securities—Four per Cents., 86i; Five per Cents., 982; Five-and-a-Half per Cents., 106. (By Telegraph to Bombay.) CALCUTTA, JAN. 25. Skirtings dull and declining. Mule twist dull, but prices unchanged. Copper sheathing advanc ing ; tile dull and unchanged. Indigo active at advancing prices. Linseed buoyant. Rice dull at previous quotations. Exchange on London, 2s. 0-2-d. Government Securities—Four per Cents., 88 to 88*; Five-and-a-Half per Cents., 107 to 1071. Freight to London—Seeds, 80s. THE BOMBAY MAIL. MONDAY, FEB. 17. The Valetta, with the above mails, arrived at Marseilles at 7 a.m. this day. The mails were to leave for London at 10 a.m. The Mooltan, with the heavy portion of the mails, arrived at Malta at 7 a.m. on the 14th inst., and sailed for Southampton at 2 p.m. THE OUTWARD CALCUTTA AND CHINA MAILS. The Indus (from Southampton on the Ist inst.) and the Massilia (from Marseilles on the 12th) left Malta for Alexandria at 11 p.m. on the 14th. PRUSSIAN NOTE ON THE GERMAN QUESTION. BERLIN, FEB. 15. The Preussische Zeitung of to-day says that an identical Prussian note was remitted yesterday to Austria and the other German States of the Wurz• burg coalition. The following are the principal passages of this note : Since Austria, taking into consideration the general interests of Germany as well as positive rights, feels herself called upon to protest against the views of Prussia in reference to German affairs, the Prussian Government will not conceal the fact that there does not appear to be any well-founded motive or any right for such a protest. The step, which is rendered still more striking by the send• in g of identical notes, has so little of the character of an exchange of opinions, that the Prussian Govern ment cannot enter into a discussion of the views expressed in the Austrian note in opposition to those entertained by Prussia. The Prussian Go vernment yields precedence to no confederate in the conscientious fulfilment of Federal duties, in the representation of real German interests, in the serious endeavour to do justice to well-founded national claims and to induce their recognition by the other Governments of the Confederation. Should the views on a reform of the Federal con stitution, hinted at in the latter part of the Aus trian note, in favour of the establishment of a con stitution for the whole Confederacy with an efficient executive power at its head, and aiming at a poli tical consolidation of a wider extent, comprising non-German territories, as already stated in the Austrian note of the Bth November, be realised, the Prussian Government would be compelled to see in such realisation a far greater peril to the con tinuance of the Confederacy than in the reforms indicated in the Prussian despatch of the 20th of December. The Prussian Government is far from opposing a formal protest to a mere expression of opinions, but at the same time considers it more proper to await proposals of reform in a more concise shape. At present, as filr as the Prussian Government is able to judge, the proposed reforms are imprac ticable. As the proposals are entirely in contradiction with the views of Prussia, the Prussian Govern ment on its part considers it impossible to enter into discussions on any such reforms. The following is the text of the proposition laid before the Prussian Chamber of Deputies by M. de Carlowitz on the 14th inst., respecting the recogni tion of the King of Italy : " That the Chamber do decide to vote the declara tion, that it is in the interest of Prussia to delay no longer in recognising the Kingdom of Italy." The bill "on Ministerial responsibility" has been adopted by the Committee of the Upper Prussian Chamber by eight votes against four, with the important modification, however, that Ministers cannot be sentenced unless they openly violate the express regulations of the law. The question of the Electorate of Hesse is actually before the Prussian Chamber of Deputies. M. de Twesten, the first speaker, insisted upon the neces sity of Prussia interfering by force of arms. Count Bernstorff replied, that the Government was firmly resolved that any alteration in the Constitution of the Electorate of Hesse of 1831 should be operated only by legal and constitutional means. The debate was adjourned. FRANCE. PARIS, FEB. 16. The Illoniteur of this morning states that the Council of State has taken under consideration a bill for establishing a supplementary tax of 10fr. per 100 kilogrammes upon all denominations of sugar delivered for consumption. The same bill fixes at 20fi. per 100 kilogrammes he consumption tax upon salt. The Courrier du Dimanche of the 15th says : " We have reason to believe that the Prussian Go vernment is about to recognise the kingdom of Italy. The same journal attributes this resolution to the difficulties now pending between Prussia and Austria. BOURSE, Feb. 15.--The market continues in the same inanimate state, but prices have been well maintained. Threes, for the Account, are now at 71f. lOc. The Railway Share Market is also firm, with a slight improvement in some of the lines. The following are the last quotations 41t per per Cents ... 100 80 Credit Fonder 1415 Do end month.... 101 05 ' Belgian .1i lOl 25 3 per Cents Do. end month 7l 151 Roman Bank Shares 3050 Austrian Credit Mobilier.... 765 25 Spanish Threes 5O Do. Account 768 75 ' Home Debt RAILWAYS. Cash. Account. Orleans 1372 50 .. 1377 50 Northern ... New ditto . 932 50 .. Lyons and Mediterranean 1085 .. 1087 50 Geneva 357 50 .. 360 Southern 730 .. 730 Western Eastern Sardinian 532 50 .. Austrian Lombard 548 75 .. 550 LITERATURE. The Private Diary of _Richard, Duke of Bucking ham and Chandos. 3 vols. Hurst and Blackett. Second Notice. The noble duke who was the author of these in teresting volumes was the father of the late and grandfather of the present holder of the title. The financial perplexities of the house of Buckingham have unfortunately been long existing and gene rally known. It was owing to the state of his affairs that the writer of the diary before us was compelled to travel for a time in order to facilitate the necessary retrenchments in his splendid esta blishments. How the embarrassments commenced under which the ducal resources finally collapsed, says the preface, it is not necessary to explain in the present work, but the editor goes on to remark that they unquestionably existed before the writer of this diary acquired his title. " His father had lived with princely magnificence; his expenditure in the luxuries of art and literature was enormous; and the munificent spirit with which he main tained the itoyal Family of France and its nume rous followers, during their residence on one of his estates, not only drained his exchequer, but burthened him with debt. Neither Louis XVIII. nor Charles X. took the slightest notice of the ob ligation they had incurred—apparently regarding such imprudent generosity as the natural acknow ledgment of their exceeding merit. But with their benefactor the evil of pecuniary embarrassments increased year after year, till it became imperative that his expensive establishments should be re duced, and that he should go abroad till his large estates could be nursed, so as to meet the heaviest and most pressing demands. The duke was a mem ber of the Yacht Club, and now had a new yacht built, named by him the Anna Eliza, in which he purposed taking a long voyage. No member of his family accompanied him, and his suite, inde pendent of the officers and crew of the vessel, con sisted only of his secretary, chaplain, surgeon, and a few domestic servants." On this solitary and melancholy journey the Duke set forth with no very cheerful feelings. He describes his last visit to the gardens of Stowe with the Duchess, whose grief at quitting the old family seat was more de monstrative, though not deeper than his own. A few days later he bade farewell to the spot, endeared to him by so many recollections, and makes the fol lowing mournful entry :—" July 11th. This is a very heavy day with me, people pressing me on all sides with business, and my heart longing to be alone, God's will be done !—but my mind is very low, and I cannot look at the scene of my child hood, manhood, and age, for perhaps the last time, without a very, very bitter pang. Some feelings, too, of sorrow swell in upon me and help to over whelm me. But although I have cause for regret, I have none for self-reproach. My country and my neighbours have been the better for my money. No unworthy pursuit has consumed it. With a little management, and the blessing of God, I may yet recover and pass what age God gives ire in comfort. My reason tells me all this, but my feelings fight against my reason and prostrate my strength. Reports from London state the situation of the Ministry to be anything but as satisfactory as Ward asseverated it to Chandos, at the Quarter Sessions, to be. Canning and Lansdowne are said to be at war, and that Canning cannot redeem his pledge about the Catholic Question. If this be so, the whole Government will fall to pieces. Both parties are trying to get the Duke of Gordon. He is nibbling at my house. I close the evening by a melancholy drive and visit to all my dear scenes. Adieu, dear, dear Stowe !-12th. My grandchildren took leave of me, and the little girl was deeply affected and cried. Even the little boy repeatedly bade me good-bye. My old servants could not speak, but grasped my hand in silence as I passed : and thus I left my poor dear old residence of my fathers." This ancestral home seems to have been much cherished by the Duke, who mentions the mournful impression made on his mind while on board his yacht in the Mediterranean by a strange and startling dream. He thought that he once more revisited Stowe, and found all deserted—every room as he had left it, but desolate and uninhabited. The precision and fidelity of the dream h aun t e d hi m f or l ong, and net without reason, for the vision was realised, though not in his own ti me . Th e trave ll er li ngere d in London to take leave of the King, and intro duces sundry comments on the political manoeuvres then going on, which, to confess the truth, were not very creditable to those engaged in them. It was during the time of Canning's Premiership, when selfish opposition and unpatriotic partisanship were embittering his brief tenure of the high seat he had so long sought and was so well fitted to fill. The Duke's sympathies, however, were not for the harassed Minister, or for the baulked ambition of the noble Duke, whose finessing had lost him the game. It was for his own disappointment that he felt most keenly. He had hoped to have been offered a high post in the Government, which would have enabled him to combine the inevitable absence from England with the dignities and emolu ments of office. The rulers of India and Ireland, however, were both appointed without any regard to the House of Buckingham, and the consequent disappointment added another pang to the Duke's defeature. But though such painful thoughts must have saddened all his voyage—and mourn , ful reflections often arise in the midst of his graphic descriptions—it was impossible for a man of the Duke's intelligent mind and cultivated taste not to be somewhat distracted from his troubles by the interesting scenes he visited. After leaving England his first landing place was Gibraltar, and among his descriptions of the port we find the following anecdote : TUE "TAKING OF GIBRALTAR" I always thought that to have defended Gibraltar as Heathfle!d did was the greatest achievement of which man's life is _capable ; and now I found myself upon the spot where all that glory had been achieved, whichin the early spring morning of my days had filled my young mind with admiration. I remember, too, how often the present King of France, Charles X., had told my father and me the story of his being summoned to meet almost all the Catholic princes of Christendom, and all the flower of the Frew h and Spanish armies, as to a party of pleasure, to see the " taking of Gibraltar," where various amusements, and b u ll-fi g hts, and balls, were provided to while away each day of anxious e xpectation, when the p ro piti ous morning at last aros e which was again to plant the flag of Spain upon the walls of Gibraltar. So certain did they consider them selves of conquest, that dinner and a ball was prepared at Algesiras for General Elliot and his officers when made prisoners. At length the Spanish batteries moved down, constructed with all the care that science could bestow and art invent. The Academie Francaise contributed its labours to improve upon these mighty engines of destruction—and they moved down, the monuments of the combined science, as well as anger of Europe, united against this ono object so near to the vanity, so dear to the interests, of the parties , engaged in the attempt. The princes witnessed the scene from the first parallel, and the surrounding hills were crowded with the population of the country, fancying even ' the reality of the visionary existence of the Queen of Spain in her chair, who had vowed to remain there until she saw the standard of Spain float upon the walls of the fortress she called her own. In a few hours all was dust and ashes, and the few survivors amongst the assailants owed their lives to British generosity and humanity. On the next day the Spanish and French princes got into their carriages and returned home, parseque rag air avait manque. He attributes the burning of the floating batteries very much to the tin tubes which were inserted in their sides, "like veins in the human body," and which were intended to communicate with reservoirs of water, which, pumped through them by forcing 'pumps, would, as they calculated, keep a strong stream of water meandering through the sides of the vessels, and thus prevent the hot shot from breaking out into a flame. Of the island of Malaga he does not give a very pleasing picture. The system of the Government was then one of comprehensive prohibition, and the frequent quarrels found a reaiy arbiter in the knife. When the French were in possession of the island they checked this evil by forbidding the Spaniards to wear the large dark cloaks, which so effectually screened the murderous weapon. When ever an assassination was committed they seized the assassin and the first Spaniard of the lower class whom they met, then throwing a noose over the culprit's head, made his unexpected executioner hang him to the first tree. The proud Spaniards consequently found the use of the knife less satis factory and abandoned it. The traveller touched at several other places on his route to Italy, and then landed at Palermo after some difficulties owing to the quarantine regulations. A boat kept guard by rowing round the vessel, whose owner shrewdly suspected their intentions with regard to the pro visions hanging over the stern. At Palermo things were then managed in a curious fashion. A WEALTHY LARDER. My apartment is splendid as all the palazzi are; but this Is furnished with a degree of English taste and comfort which seldom attends Italian splendour. The town presents a melancholy scene of splendour and misery: nothing can be finer than the fronts of the palazzi, nothing more wretched than the interior. The nobility live entirely in Palermo, except just at this moment, when they are in Villagiatura, but have not the means of repairing the houses they live in. Almost all let part of them. Few keep any servants, except the footman and coachman, who are hired by the day or week, to convey them to the man sion : even the Viceroy contracts with a cook to furnish his table, at about half-a-crown English per head ; and when he gives a splendid dinner he increases it to 3s. 6d. each. The cook enters, brings the dinner in a fiacre, warms and_ shakes up his casseroles, serves it up, and carries off every— thing in the hackney coach the moment the dinner is over. The Consul was dining with Prince Belmonte at his magnificent palazzo, about a mile from Palermo. Dinner was just over, when it Baron Somebody, w h o hsd been ex.• pected, and who had been unavoidably detained, arrived. " Ah, taro Barone—have you di ne d r' ct " Oh, ring the bell I Cook, any thing in a minute for il. Barone. Make haste I" In came the maestro della casa :—" Scuta mi, Signora Princessa, but the chef is gone and nothing can be dressed." Well, but then some cold meat ?" " Signora Princessa, scurate me, but the cook has taken away everything." And not a morsel could be got or was got for it Barone I —and this at the house of the riceest man in Sicily. Such is their mode of living. A lengthened account of the lunatic asylum which was conducted by a Baron Pisoni on philanthropic principles, is very interesting. He discriminated carefully between the unhappy patients, and adap ted even the furniture of their rooms to their peculiar tone of mind. Each lunatic's fancy, if harmless, was indulged; if a man thought himself a king he was allowed the insignia of royalty, if a poet he was permitted to scribble, if a soldier he was put into uniform. The Baron, when he entered on his duties as superintendent, found every inmate heavily chained and violently treated. One victim was bent double by wearing chains for five and twenty years, Under the new regime he walked about happy and harmless. The success which fol lowed this treatment was surprising, and the system pursued is worth the attention of the physiologists of the present day. The duke, who was no insi gni cant zoologist, gives the following curious account of an unpleasant neighbour : THE DEVIL FISH. I have seen what has quite confirmed my 4,ii e f i n the old story of the diyer drawn under when diving into Charybdis, by sucking-fish. The sucker, or devil-fish, which is caught here, is the most disgust:mg animal, and at the same time the most dangerous in tie seas. His head and body are like fa toad in shape and colour. His eyes prominent from his head, with a head somewh a t lik e a turtle's. This an i ma l i s in the centre of a large gelatinous web, full of suckers and feelers and from this extends long arms in every direction, which twist and twirl and secure their prey. The arms are studded with sinkers, from which it is very difficult to withdraw the finger when applied to them. By the web this monster adheres to the rocks, and by its arms it encircles and drags down its prey. It has the power of crawling with considerable velocity, and of rising to the surface. They are common here, of a small size, and I have seen them of four feet in circumference. But they are to be found much larger. They are the great terror of bathers. Many stories are on record of men being drawn under waler by their power. Since my stay here a dcg belonging to one of the officers of the garrison was swimming, when one of these animals enveloped its head in its folds and carried it down. A diver on shore imme diately plunged in and brought up both dog and fish, and rescued the former from otherwise inevitable death. The animal has the power of throwing out a quantity of black inky liquor all round him, like the sepia, and thus to hide itself in the turbid water for the purpose of concealment from enemies or of avoiding attack. The very idea of being touched by the devil-fish would throw a swimmer into con vulsions and make him quite unable to save himself, and entirely destroys all my sentimental ideas connected with Mediterranean bathing. The Two Sicilies were at that time rejoicing ii the paternal sway of King Francis 1., the condition of whose State prisons were so eloquently denounced by Mr. Gladstone. The disbursement of the na tional finances was conducted on very original prin ciples. AN ECONOMICAL HOUSEHOLD. The King's expenses are dreadful, and he does nothing for his money, and never gives a dinner. When he Came to the throne he was offered the Civil List, which Murat enjoyed, of 100,000 ducats per month—each ducat 3s. 2d. of our money, which he refused, saying that it was too little, and that La Casa Resle must be uncherked and unlimited in its expenditure. Accordingly be draws for whatever money he wants, and gives no aceo- d iat. I have taken some pains to verity my infornw:ion upon the point, and I am inclined to believe that I am not deceived. No one is responsible for the Royal, expenditure. The Ministre Secretaire d'Etat della Casa Reale is at the head of the palace, and receives the expendit ure money en gres , and distributes it to the Superintendent and the Major Domo, who are officers of state, much too important to look into their own concerns, or those of the King their master. They distribute it to those under them in their respective departments ; and at length, after being filtered and dribbled through all the veins of the body corporate of the palace, which differs from the human body in this re spect, that the blood which flows from the heart does sot return to it— some of the money in question reaches the King. But as all take their share of the plunder before it reaches him, I have reason to believe that he is robbed to the extent of from 70 to 80 per cent. The duke tells an amusing story of his dining with. the Viceroy of Sardinia, at Cagliari, when his host entertained him during the repast with a discourse on the liberal institutions of Sardinia and the im portance of the oath, which he was compelled to take, to preserve the constitutional laws inviolate. The duke, who knew the truth a little better, was , at length provoked to observe that the taking of this oath was doubtless very grating to a man of his religious and liberal feelings after he had taken the previous oath at Turin to execute the King's commands, whatever they might be. " I never," says the diarist, "saw a formal gentleman so com pletely thrown off his balance. He stared at me for a moment, and then, in a low voice, exclaimed " Comment diable saviez vous cela ?" And then bursting out laughing, talked no more about the liberal institutions of Sardinia." The oath referred to was regularly taken, the duke tells us, by every' new Viceroy. Rome and Venice were of couvse among the places visited by the noble traveller, and his descriptions of them are amongst the most interesting pages of his diary. He lingered long at the Eternal City and mixed freely in its society, which welcomed him eagerly. There he met many members of the exiled Bonoparte family, who, strange to say, notwithstanding his well known opinions and the shelter his house had given to the Bourbons, received him most cordially. Queen Hortense invited him to her home and showed him every attention. On the chimney-piece of one of her rooms stood a beautiful white marble bust of a child. It was the likeness of the young King of Rome, which had been sent out to St. Helena. The Duke recognised it, but would not seem to do so. He admired its beauty, when the ex-Queen briefly assented to his praises, and then turned the subject to a neighbouring picture. Doubtless that bust was fraught to her mind with many mournful associations of various kinds. The Princess of Canino (the wife of Lucien) was also in Rome with her family. The anecdotes then cur rent in Roman society are often introduced, and the Duke's shrewd comments on men and things are full of interest. He frequently makes a passing allusion to the aspect of English politics. At the close of February, 1829, he receives the news of the King's speech recommending the removal of the Catholic disabilities, and forgetting all personal vexations in the triumph of the principles he had so consistently maintained, he enters the intelli gence in his diary, with the Ejaculation, "God be praised that I have lived to see this day !" We can understand the Duke's feelings when a King's mes senger arrived, charged by Wellington with orders to collect all the Peers' proxies he could find, and brought the news that the Iron Duke vowed the expulsion of any Government official who voted against the measure. After the Great Duke's previous conduct such a change was some what startling. The election of a new pope to the tiara gave an additional i n t eres t to t h e D u k e 0 , 1 Buckingham's stay in Rome, and he gives a full account of the plot s an d counterp l ots about the election. The works of art b o th a b ove an d under ground are discussed with muc h cr i t i cal a bility. His visited the studios of Th orwai d sen and C an ova, and compares their styl es an d mer i ts. H e fre quently met with Taddea, the eelebratel ire provisatrice, and was m uc h s t ruc k b y the rea diness_ and originality of h er t a l ent, wh i ch his knowledge of the language e na bl e d hi m to apprec i a t e . ~