The Sun. — London, England, 1862-06-09 00:00:00

RE-RO Y AL, HAYMA RKET. 1 Lessee. Mr. J. B. Buckstone. THIS EVENING, a Household Picture, under Two Lights, entitled THE WIFE'S PORTRAIT. Mr. Howe, Mr. W. Farren, Mrs. C. Young, &c. After which, at hall-past 7, will be performed (144th time) OUR AMERICAN COUSIN. Asa - Trenchard, Mr. Vie ) OUR ; Lord Dundreary, Mr. Sothcrn. Followed by a new Spanish Ballet entitled LA CONTRA BANDISTA. Senora Peres Nena, Senor Ricardo, and the Corps de Ballet. To conclude with MY HUSBAND'S GHOST. ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE. Sole Lessee and Manager —Mr. Edmund Falconer. 177th Night of the continuous run of "Peep o'Day." /HIS EVENING, PEEP O'DAY ; or, Savourneen Deelish. Messrs. Walter Lacy, Addison, Charles Selby, Geo. Melville, and Edmund Falconer ; Mrs. D. P. Bowers, Miss Clara Weston, and Miss M. Hudson. After which, a new musical, pictorial, poetical, and ballet interlude, entitled KILLARNF.Y. Miss Anna Whitty and Miss Lydia Thomson. To conclude with the new f Addsttld I COULDN'T HELP IT. Characters by Mr.son, Mr. Warlow, and Miss Lydia Thompson. Acting Manager—Mr. F. B. Chatterton. Prices as usual. Doors open at half-past 6, to commence at !. Box-office open daily from 11 Ull5. Commence s' 7 ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE. Lessee, Mr A. Harris, THIS EVENING, TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING. Miss M. Harris. Atter which, at EiOlt o'clock LOUIS XI. Mr. and Mrs. C. Kean. Supported by Messrs. J. F. Cathcart, B. Potter, Everett, Shore, R. Cathcart, Raymond, &c. ; Miss Chapman, and Miss N. Chapman. To conclude with THRICE MARRIED. Commence at 7. No half-price. NEW THI ATRE-R0 VAL, ADELPHI,- Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. B. Webster. TO-NIGHT. WI ON FABLE FRANCAISE : Messrs. J. T. Toole, Billington, Emery ; Misses K. Kelly, Laidlaw, K Bland, and Mrs. H. Marston. To be followed by THE OCTOROON. Messrs. Dien Boucicault, Emery, Jamison, Billington, P. Bedford, Phillips, Stephenson. Powell, Romer; Mrs. Billington, Mrs. H. Mar ston, Miss Latimer, and Miss DenviL To conclude with THE SHILLING DAY. Messrs. J. L, Toole, P. Bedford, Emery, Miss Latimer, Mrs. H. Lewis. Commence at 7. CANTERBURY HALL AND FINE ARTS GALLERY. STECKEL, the Greatest Trapeze Performer in the World, at 10 o'clock. Grand Operatic Selection, conducted by Principal Artiste, Miss Russell. Great Comic Trio, Unsworth, Eugene, and Miley, includ ing' the celebrated Stump Speech, " Or any other man " (the original), in addition to the following array of Comic Talent, viz. : —Mr. E. Marshall (in new songs), Mr. J. G. Forde, Mr. Hollingsworth, Miss Georgina Smithson, and Joe Brown, the renowned American Dancer. A Grand Selection from Donizetti's Opera, "Don tiers." country will shortly be produced, for the first time in this countri. T " OXFO R D, 6, OXFORD STREET. GREAT ATTRACTION FOR THE WHITSUN HOLIDAIS. THIS EVENING First appearance of the miraculous STECKEL, Champion of the Trapeze. Operatic Selections, and the Cantatas of "THE JOLLY BEGGARS," (by G. Linley) and " MAY DAY " (by er• A. Mactarren). Principal Vocalists - Miss Russell, Madame Enderssohn, Messrs. Morley, Greene, and Albert. Full Band and Chorus. Musical Director, Mr. F. Joughmans. COMlC—Those unrivalled Ethiopian Comedians, Rumsey and Newcomb's Minstrels, EUGENE au UNSWOR and TH (the original "or any other man"), . Randall, Miss Caroline Parkes. Ball, 6d.; Balcony and Stalls, 18. ; PriYate Boxes, 10s. 6d. In a few days will be produced, with increased Band and greatly augmented Chorus, Verdi's " Great International Exhibition Cantata." ,--------__ HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. THIS DAT.-31orning, 10h. 50m.—Afternoon, 11h. 20m, To-xonnow.-Morning, 11h. 53m.—Afternoon, h. in, 4 he will no longer be near to support M'CLELLAN in his attack on Richmond. At their Capital the Confederates seem to be pre paring to fight with desperation. They have ap propriated forty thousand pounds towards re moving women, children, and decrepid persons to a place of safety. General JOHNSTONE, he who by his able movements, turned the day against the Federals at Bull's Run, is in chief command. The Confederates report themselves as fully pre pared for a battle at Corinth, and as having gained a gunboat victory at Fort Pillow ; there is certain information of the surrender of Natchez on the Mississippi, and the capture of Vicks burg. These are the two principal places ascend ing from New Orleans, and Baton Rouge, to Memphis. But, again, to counterbalance this, the Secessionists claim a Confederate rising in Western Tennessee. Altogether the balance of news is, this time, decidedly against the Federals, their only successful movement in Virginia being the capture by them of Hanover Court-house. In the West things look little, if at all, better for them—while in Virginia the success of EWELL and JACKSON, against BANKS, will be very encouraging to the Confederates, and is not balanced by what w e yet k,noto of the movements of 111‘DowELL. It looks well for the Confederates, that while M'CLELLAN so closely threatens their capital, they can spare 15,000 men to drive back BANKS across the Potomac. It seems to show they have ample force besides at Richmond. Politically, there is not much doing. We pre sume that the steam-press manufacture of money goes on as fast as ever, for we read that money is abundant, and gold at hardly four per cent. pre mium. Congress will not pass a bill to confiscate the slaves of rebels, but is willing to confiscate the property of men who shall take office hereafter under the Confederate Government. The levy of fresh troops proceeds with vigour in the North; Mr. LINCOLN asked for fifty thousand, it is said that ten times that number have offered themselves. The want cf trade doubtless explains in great part the readiness of numbers to volunteer. The whole aspect of things looks, however, towards an in definite prolongation of the war. The South is incapable of submission ; though, of course, it may in time be conquered. But the armies of each appear unwilling still to risk anything like a deci sive engagement. The South is encircled by sea and on the rivers, but within the vast circle the fire of rebellion burns as fiercely and indomitably as ever. Whatever interests, like the cotton interest, are affected by this war, will certainly do wisely not to calculate on its early termination. The parliamentary intelligence from Turin is as unsatisfactory in many respects as the sympathisers with the cause of Italian unity could have antici- pated. Signor RATAZZI, having adroitly won his way to power, is now quite manifestly bent upon giving the go by to a far greater man than he— General GARIBALDI. It was under the protect ing shadow of the name and fame of GARIBALDI that the now Premier of VICTOR EMMANUEL'S Go vernment contrived to supplant his far abler and more honest rival—RicAsom. Who was it that scornfully defined gratitude—[was it not ROCHEFOU CA ULT ?]—as " a lively sense of favours to come P" That is precisely the definition of the gratitude of RA TAZZI to GARIBALDI. The former has cleverly used the immense and unrivalled popularity of the latter to his own selfish ends. Without the aid of that popularity—without the aid of GARIBALDI'S approbation it would have been all but impossible for RATAZZI to have slipped into power as readily as he did but a very few months back—even though (for State purposes in Paris! and for the sake of certain court intrigues at Turin !) he, RATAZZI, had the direct support and countenance (as iticAsoi,i's supplanter) of both the Emperor NAPOLEON and King VICTOR EMMANUEL, Sustained and heartened on by his Imperial and by his Royal Master in the development of his adroit scheme to undermine the ministerial authority of RICASOLI— untiI GARIBALDI, in the hope of furthering the interests of unification, lent his countenance to the great ministerial adventurer, the latter was 1 without any political following whatever. RATAZZI was a chief without a party, a leader without a " tail," an aspirant to supreme power as an administrator without the advantage of any de voted personal entourage. Admirably, however— so far as success goes—has he contrived to play hi■ cards. They were shuffled by NAPOLEON 111., and cut by VICTOR EMMANUEL, and the trump turned up at the commencement was no other than GAR I. BALDI. Having won the odd trick and pocketed the stakes, the wily player seems at length to be resolved upon having a fresh deal altogether. GARI• BALDI has been in regard to RATAZZI far more than a mere stepping -stone to power. The treat- ment now being experienced by GARIBALDI at the hands of RATAZZl—presente to our view more, in truth, the conduct of one who, having mounted to the summit of authority up the " rounds" of that lofty fame and ambition, is now ungratefully re- solved upon hurling down (if he can but manage to do so !) the very ladder by which he has ascended to the apex of the Government. The situation just now in this very serious junc ture at Turin, is (we cannot but feel peruaded) in the highest degree alarming, The hitherto suc cessful intrigues of RATAZZI, countenanced by the KING, encouraged by the EMPEROR, threaten now very imminently to create a fatal division be tween GARIBALDI and the Government. Upon the intriguing Italian Premier immediately, but mediately of course upon the far more pro foundly-intriguing Emperor of the FRENCH, (the sardonic puller of the strings of so many political puppets great and =all) will roat the responsibility of any such fatal estrangement. That the Re Galantuorno could in any way lend himself to the furtherance of such covert and sinister schemes against General GARIBALDI seems really almost beyond belief. If it should eventually turn out to be a fact in no way to be disputed, it will, as a matter of course, be only another verification of the holy words- 6, Put not thy trust in Princes ;" but it w it o w r i l l a l be a very sad and a very bitter one. For who amongst us all here in Europe—throughout wherever the tidings of recent events i n Italy y lta e l t y f h o a rgot have yet penetrated!—who amongst us all how much Italy, how much Xing VICT OR EMmA NIng I, ,each owes to the patriotic heart, and the dauntless souls and t heroich a e rmy , w a was enabled l e o d f GARIBALDI ? If the French E MPEROR, at t h e h ea d of a gigantic and discipli ne d at the close of the campaign of Solf er i no t o h an d over the province of Lombardy to I(in gVlC l, T r o o n 11* - M MANUEL —noble though th e g i ft of that vince was—it was, after all, but the gift of 66 a province." And for that disinterested (!) tran s f e r of those liberated plains of Lombardy—did ' not the Emperor NAPOLEON, like the veriest sordid hunk sterer anywhere to be found in the markets of Christendom, receive payment f or his GI FT (!) in the handing over to his Imperial Maj esty the pro vinces of Nice and Savoy, with all their human live stock in the shape of the then Italian, the now French, Nizzards and Savoyards P Whereas — by way of contrast tothe deeds and the gifts, and the disinterestedness of GARIBALDI in the South—how stand those facts ? " Look on this picture—and NOTICE. All remittances 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. LONDON, MONDAY, JUNE 9, 1862. Washington again in a panio I Mr. COBDEN may now, indeed, write a pamphlet on the Washington panics. In one before the troops from the Northern States collected for its defence ; a second , a as after Bull's Run ; and now,a third is, consequent on the re pulse of BANKS, and the advance of the Confederates towards that notable old passage of the Potomac— Harper's Ferry. The singular thing in this third panic is that while M'CLELLAN'S gunboats are within eight miles of the Capital of Secession, and his army within four miles, the capital of Fede ralism should also be trembling for its safety. But let us clearly understand this remarkable strata of Southern generalship, and the real posi tion of affairs by the last intelligence, which reaches to the 29th. The Capital had by that time recovered its composure ; but, so far as we can judge in this country, and perhaps they can judge little better in Washingtonlitself,the Federal position in Virginia is one for serious solicitude. Let us take the Virginian and Confederate Capital, Richmond as our starting point. It lies about a hundred miles south of Washington. O❑ its north side runs the river, but a small stream there, the Chickahominy. On this General APCLELLAN, with the late grand army of the Potomac, is operating, having ascended to that position via Yorktown. What the force is defending Richmond it is impossible ac curately to know. It is reported to be the larger of the two, but that M'CLELLAN'S army is the better provided with artillery and all military equipments. South-east of Richmond is old General Wool., with five or six thousand men holding Norfolk and its navy yards, and Suffolk; but his force is not more than sufficient to retain what he has. Two other positions now require a moment's attention. M‘DowELL's considerably further north of Richmond, and that of BANKS on the west. BANNS was, in what is termed the valley of the Shenandoah, a river which runs northwards into the Potomac at Harper's Ferry. He was thought to be converging, with M'DOWELL from CLELLAI.I from Yorktown on the t h e north and M 4 east, upo n Richmond. I t now appears that h i s had been muchreduced t o re i n f orce troops M'DOWELL at Fredericksburg on the Rappahan nock, and that JACKSON who was opposed to him, and had so much better information than the Federals, aware of his weakness, attacked and drove him back along the whole route to - R upe e s Ferry capturing large, and doubtless very acceptable supplies at Winchester. He did not stop till he bad driven the Federals once more to their own side of the Potomac. Of General M‘DowELL's movements the tele grams give us almost contradictory information. From New York we are informed that he had crossed the Rappahannock, the river on which Fredericksburg, where he has been some time, is situated, and moved along the railroad probably six miles southward towards Richmond. But a tele gram two days later from Halifax speaks of him as having " advanced " in great force to Manassas. The "advance" is to return of course nearly north, to the old Confederate station in front almost of Washington, near the yet more famous Bull's Run. M'DOWELL could, in the time, make this march, but then it is little likely he would change his advances so suddenly to a virtual retreat to the neighbourhood of Washington. One telegram from New York entirely denies the truth of the re port of M , DowELL's retreat ; the question is whether the one which reached Halifax two days after, and caug ht n the Niagara there, was a the old report, or a nd true piece of infor mation. The differ: ia rather serious, for if MOoIvELL has had to turn back to Manassas u for the safety o f W ashington, to protect it from a surprise b y the arm y Which routed BANKS, • • 4.9? • - -• 1-7 4 or 1 „1, 41* n Tr THE SUN. IHE sing, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JUNE 9, 1862 on this!" 'Yonder, in the North, the con quest, as we have seen, was the conquest of a province. In the South it was the conquest, not of a province, but of the whole of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies I And it was a conquest as it were by one man, e rebyonneewgarl upon anda a nd glorious reputation. It was the more colossal scale of the famous feat of arms boasted of by CORIOLANVS. GARIBALDI might have said at the close of his campaign, " Alone I did it —/ fluttered your Volscians at Corioli." And for the gift of the Neapolitan kingdom in its entirety to his Majesty King VICTOR EMMANUEL, General GARIBALDI, unlike the imperial liberator (!) in the North received nothing whatever in the shape of a consideration. On the contrary, when at the end of his marvellous achievements there in the south of the Roman peninsula, the veritable liberatcr, the liberator of Italy returned to his little island home at Caprera—his own native land, Savoy, had been shamefully sold to the other " libera ! tor" (save the mark !) the French EMPEROR ! And now that GARIBALDI has been more recently deluded into placing reliance upon the good faith of that nominee more of a clique than of the nation, Signor RATAZZI—the latter, when the pear of bis intrigue seems to him ripe, grasps it for his own selfish enjoyment, and warns away from the ban quet the man of men among all the chiefs of the Ita lian canse—GARIBALDI ! GARIBALDI'S letter to the Chambers, in which the deceit practised upon him is bluntly explained, will be found in another part of our impression of this evening. It is, in truth, a remarkable document. It has been sneered at as a sort of arrogant Russian ukase or haughty Spanish pronunciamento. It is insinuated that it reads more like the production of Mantra than of GARIBALDI. There, however, in our columns this evening, in the reflected form of a literal trans lation, are the writer's ipsissima ferba. Let any dispassionate observer read them, and then say whether they do or do not read like the truthful outpourings of that great and honest heart ? GARI BALDI'S letter, in effect, speaks for itself. It is a fatal reproach to RATAZZl—clever, consummately clever and adroit though the Minister's speech, explaining it away for the time being, has proved. " Cast but mine innocence into the scale," exclaims the heroine of Sir WALTER SCOTT'S most chivalric story, " Cast but mine innocence into the scale, and the glove of silk shall outway the glove of iron !" In the face of Europe, in the presence of all the civilised races, GARIBALDI might yet more forcibly cry out, placing his sword like CAMILLUS in the Balance of Public Opinion, " Cast but mine honesty into the scale, and the iron blade shall outweigh the golden sceptres"—even though the latter were those two bran-new gewgaws, the Impe perial bauble of NAPOLEON 111. and the Royal bauble of VICTOR EMMANUEL 11, Times are mended since imprisonment, banish ment, and even the stake, awaited the heretic. Mr. ISIDORE HEATH loses indeed "that whereby he lives" to the amount of £6OO or £7OO a-year; but he does not lose his life forthwith, and perhaps he may have, or may find, another " whereby" to live. All will compasionately hope, at least, that this may be the case. Mr. HEATH as a clergyman was altogether an Englishman. He would let his law yers fight for him as long as they could, for he had probably come to the sincere belief that he was as free to contradict the articles, and so forth, he had signed,as any lay gentleman who had not signed them But when called on by the Court to "revoke" or be deprived, he had, unlike Mr. WALPOLE the other night, nothing to revoke, not he. He had published what he really thought, and was not the man to withdraw it though he saw £7OO a year of good lawful money slipping from his grasp. All honour to such men, be they in what line of life they may —the men whom no penalties or losses will keep from publishing their convictions, and abiding by what they have published. From the Atheist to straitest sect of Evangelicals, we respect from our hearts the man who dares to think, and to bear the consequences of thinking aloud. We cannot, on the other hand, accuse our courts of persecution. The whole affair of a clergyman's position and duties is one of siniple contract with the State. Whether it were right or wrong, the TUDORS and STUARTS with their Parliaments con structed a Christian church after their own notions. Every part and pinnacle of it they made a part of the statute law of the land. There is no such thing as a national Church or an Esta blished Church, apart from the statutes which create it, and the prayer-book with the articles, and all in it, are declared to be a part of the Act of Uniformity to be construed with it, and the book was actually appended to the Act. So long, there fore, as our judges shall not desert their province, and become lawmakers instead of administrators of the law, we cannot charge them with persecu tion in deciding according to the statute law of the land. Mr, ISIDORE HEATH and all other clergymen voluntarily pledged themselves to believe in every part of the Prayer Book to the letter, to conform entirely to it, and to teach and preach no other doctrine. We need not describe again Mr. HEATH'S peculiar notions. They were iplainly in contravention of the doctrines, and the book to which he had pledged his conformity. His notions, whatever their abstract troth or falsehood, were undeniably, not only different from, but contradictory to those of his professed creed. The recital of the points of contradiction in Mr. HEATH'S published sermons, by Lord CRANWORTIE, were sufficient to move a smile, by their obvious contrariety with the book of Common Prayer, combined with the apparent simplicity of their author in asking to be shown wherein he is in error, declaring that if he differs from the articles and formularies it is "unwittingly." The impression produced on our minds is, that it is a case of intellectual hallu eination,it not being easy to see how any thoroughly sound mind could fail to perceive the contradictions pointed out by Lord CRANWORTH. The wider question---what subscription, what diversities of doctrine, a national church ought to require is one likely to be a good deal discussed in our times. We shall soon hear from Dr. Lvsit- INGTON his decision on the " Essays and Reviews," and :it will be seen whether adroitness in state ment can cover divergence from the real creeds or the Church, as great as that of Mr. HEAT H himself. The whole difficulty of th e case li es here, that a State Church ought to be a National Church, and a National Church it cannot be, in any fair sense of the phrase, or even in equity towards all, who are equally subjects, un less it comprehends all the diversities of creed and worship to be found in the nation. Such has been the opinion of some of the ablest men in the Church, both in ancient and modern times, and it obviously points in the direction of abolishing the TUDOR and STUART Acts of Uniformity, and delivering the thought and belief of the nineteenth century from the fetters forged for it by the Legislature of the seventeenth. A letter received in Paris on Saturday from Brussels says that th e h ea l t h o f t h e Ki ng o f t h e Belgians is i n by no means a satisfactory state. It is certain that Dr. Civiale has again left Paris to attend his Majesty, hav ing been summoned by a telegraphic despatch. ROYA OPERA, HERR IVACHTEL. Mr. rye's " Exhibition Season" seems to unfold as it proceeds some features which are very suggestive of the great event that has inspired it. Whilst its performances are gradually extending to every night in the week in order to accommodate, if possible, the rising tide of our foreign visitors, its company is enlarging not only in its talent, but in its nationality, in a manner that appears to us to be peculiarly analogous. Its singers display a variety almost as great as that of the exhibi`ors. They are to be classed as French, Italian, German, Hungarian, and Belgian, and with a very slight strain of the fact, American and Russian. They could produce our lyric masterpieces in so many different languages that the theatre could publish a " repertoire," which might be called a vocal polyglot Z It is certainly a curious fact that this company would not find it difficult to produce some leading operas in Italian, French, and German, on three suc cessive evenings. A more important point, however, is that their polyphonous character is quite as striking as their polygenous. Their talent to discourse in the uni versal tongue of music is quite as singular as its connection with such diversity of speech. Herr Wachtel, the last addition to this extraordinary company, is in no respect the least. He is, with some one or two exceptions only, the very finest Lenore robusto since the debut of Signor Tara berlik. He has a voice of the noblest quality, equally re markable for strength and sweetness, which can rise in de clamatory passages to C sharp with perfect ease—whilst in its mezza voce it is capable of the most tender and subdued expressions. He is also possessed of genuine passion, and consequently true dramatic feeling—and whether musically or histrionically, knows the full use of his gifts. He has in addition the advantage of youth and a handsome face and manly person, and therefore the power of sustaining his efforts with no small amount of illusion. He can not only assume but look a lover, which is no slight point with the public. The only abatement that could be made of Herr Waehtel's claims on Saturday evening was a slight ten dency to excess, which, however, is so easily accounted for that we have a right to assume it will entirely disappear on subsequent occasions. Saturday was not only his first appearance before a critical English audience but his first adventure in Italian, which necessarily affected his enun ciation, and therefore augmented the anxiety that would be most injurious to his efforts. It is further to be remembered that a tenore robusto is of course expected to make the chief impression with his power, and that power is just the qua lity which nervousness affects the most. Consequently Herr Wachtel, in his anxiety to impress this quality suffi- ciently, was not only urged into an occasional excess, which destroyed the truth of the expression, but failed in the end itself, in his inability through excitement to command his voice at the last moment. This was unlucky, especially in _ _ Edgardo, in which his least successful effort was the " Ma lediction," though his sir ging and acting throughout the scene and his share in the exquisite septett, " Chi mi fret's," which conduced so much to its re-demand, were admirable in the extreme. All his defect, therefore, we have a right to refer and to limit to the occasion, whilst in his sustainment of the character generally, and especially in its tender por tions, he achieved a success which could scarcely be ex ceeded. Nothing could be more delicate than his share in the " Veronno a to sull aura," and nothing more pathetic than his delivery of the Fra poco. In these and other passages he excited the warmest testimonies, and was called for with great heartiness at the close of every act. As a singer, therefore, adapted to the passionate and dramatic wants of modern opera, we consider Herr Wachtel a very important acquisition. He is the only one we know of who, when in time he has acquired the art, will be worthy to divide the ground and succeed to the honours of Signor Tamberlik. The Lucia of Madlle, Patti exhibits all the improvement, mental and physi cal, which we observed in her " Sonnambula." It is a far truer and more affecting, because a more passionate per formance. It is now animated throughout with a depth of womanly feeling, which fulfills every necessity of the musio and the story. We no longer look at a wonderful girl, but we listen to an earnest woman —and our sympathies consequently respond just as thoroughly as they are appealed to. Thus, whilst her act ing is so improved, and not more in its more vigorous than its more delicate expressions—not more in the frantic energy with which she clings to her lover after the male diction—than in the piteousness of her appeal to her brother to release her from the contract—her singing in due adjustment to it relies now for its general effect quite as much upon the depth as upon the brilliancy of its ex pression. Taken as a whole, hers is now the most perfect embodiment of Lucia which we have had since Persiani, and one that, in unison with the undeniable attraction of her youth and person, allows of no existing rivalry. The Enrico of the evening was Signor Belle Sedie, who, if his voice were only equal to his taste and feeling, would be the first of modern baritones; and the Raimondo was a Signor Capponi, who made a successful first appear ance, as a basso, possessed of a voice of more than ordinary pretensions. Of the perfect condition of the band and chorus we can have no occasion to speak. Its great dis tinction was never more obvious, or more honourable than on this evening. The house was very full. LATEST NEWS. THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA. DEFEAT OF GENERAL BANKS. (Per Niagara via Boston and Roche's Point.) NEW YORK, MAT 27 (EVENING). After the attack by the Confederates, already reported, on the Federal advance, Gen. Banks fell back to Winchester. At daybreak on the 25th the Confederates, under Generals E well and Johnston, 15,000 strong, at tacked Gen. Banks at Winchester. Gen. Banks's force was reduced to 4,000 by reinforcing General M'Dowell. The Federal force retreated through Martinburg to Williamsburg, and crossed the Potomac at Wil liamsport from Virginia to Maryland. The Confe derates kept up an active pursuit of Gen. Banks all along the route. The loss of the latter is therefore considerable, but the number is not officially reported. The loss of military stores at Winchester, in cluding 50 waggon trains, is large. The Confederates by this action regain the control of the Valley of the Shenandoah. This unexpected advance of the Confederates on Maryland and Washington has caused intense ex citement throughout the Northern States. Baltimore became a scene of riot and confusion. During Sunday and Monday, 25th and 26th, all persons of Secession proclivities were attacked by ,he mob, bat order is now restored. President Lincoln has taken military possession of all the railroads in the United States for the :ranaport of troops. The Governors of New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachussetts have issued a call for militia to pro ceed forthwith to defend Washington. in twenty four hours the New York Ist Regiment, 800 strong, left for Washington. Many other regiments are hastening to defend the capital. General M'Dowell has crossed the Rappahannock, and advanced six miles beyond Fredericksburg. The Confederates retreated, destroyed the bridges behind them, but they are not supposed to be in force in the neighbourhood. (Per Niagara, by Telegraph to Halifax, and from Queenstown.) NEW YORK, MAY 29 (EVENING). The excitement concerning General Banks's de feat has entirely subsided. His command has been heavily reinforced at Williamsport and Harper's Ferry. The Confederates are reported to have passed through Martinsburg, and to have returned to Winchester. Several volunteer regiments have left for Wash. ington. Recruiting for the Federal army had actively re• commenced. General officially reports the capture of Hanover Courthouse, on the railroad between Richmond and Fredericksburg. The Confederates were routed. It is stated that the Federals cap- tared sbo prisoners. The Federal fleet has captured Natchez, on the Mississippi. No resistance was offered. The House of Representatives has offered to pass a bill confiscating the property of men who shall hereafter hold office under the rebel Government, or who shall not lay down their arms within sixty days after proclamation duly made by the Presi dent. The House of Representatives has refused to pass a bill confiscating the slaves of rebels. General M'Dowell. has advanced to Manassas, end is reported in large force. The Secessionists in Western Tennessee are again a aan.ifiprable force assembling to march upon Hickman. NEW YORK, MAY 27. News received at the War Department up to eight o'clock yesterday evening, contained no ac count of the retreat of General Banks's forces from Witichester to Williams Fort. An official despatch, received yesterday, fro m General Banks, merely refers to the crossing of the Potomac by his forces in perfect safety. The latest news from Washington states that 300 men of the Ist Maryland Regiment, reported as having been cut off to 40, have returned safely to head-quarters. The rumours that General M.Dowell had aban doned Fredericksburg, and retreated to Washing ton, are entirely without foundation. At the latest accounts he had advanced six miles beyond Fre dericksburg. The Confederates evacuated their camp on Saturday night. The Harris light cavalry scoured the country for fifteen miles from the Rappahannock, but found none of the enemy. The President's call for additional troops from the States has been responded to by nearly half a million men. Colonel Lefferts started for Washington with a full regiment fully equipped, amid the greatest enthusiasm. Several other regiments of militia and Major Bagley will follow with equal promptitude. News from Newbern, North Carolina, states that negotiations have bean entered into between Gene rals Wool and Burnside, and the Confederate Gene rals Hager and Holmes, for the release of 14,000 (P) . prisoners. The PetersburgliTVlng states that on the 19th 18 of the Monitor's crew went ashore at City Point and were surprised by the Confederates. Nine were made prisoners. The remainder pulled for the Monitor, and of these nine eight were killed, and one lost an arm. Great alarm exists in Richmond, in anticipation of a coming battle, which must decide the fate of the city. 200,000 dollars have been appropriated by the Virginian Legislature to remove women and children and decrepid persons at the seat of govern ment to a place of safety. The Confederates, under General Joseph John ston, are now encamped within a few miles of Rich moud ; and the latest advices state that a desperate defence will be made against the advance of Federals. Confederate accounts from Corinth state that all preparations are complete, and that a battle is im minent. There is nothing important from the Virginian valley. Advises from the Mississippi flotilla state that a demand by the Federal Commander for the sur render of Vicksburg Was made, to which the Mayor replied that he was unprotected, but would never surrender. All was quiet on the 19th. A gunboat fight, near Fort Pillow, is represented as another victory for the Confederates. Martial law has been declared in the city of Charlestown. COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. NEW YORK, MAY 29 (Evening.) Money abundant. Gold, 3'a prem. Exchange advancing on London. Bankers' bills,ll4l- to 1144. Stocks dull. Cotton firmer. Breadstuffs declining. CANADA. Tessier. (By Telegraph to Halifax, and from Queenstown.) QUEBEC, MAY 29. The new Canadian Ministry consists of the fol lowing members :—For Canada West—Messrs. J §. M‘Donald, William M'Dougall, Goley, Wil"310 Howland, and Morris. For Canada East—Messrs. Sicotte, Dollon, Eventurel, M.Kee, Abbott, and MEXICO. (Per Niagara via Boston and Roche's Point.) NEW YORK, MAY 27 (Evening). Semi-official Washington despatches, published in the New York papers, state that news, dated Orizaba, 9th May, had been received, stating that 10,000 Mexicans hat attacked the French troops three leagues from the city of Mexico and that the French had been defeated, with a loss of 500 men. The same despatches state that it was not believed that Juarez had quitted the city of Mexico. The British Minister had concluded a treaty by which all the difficulties between Mexico and Eng land were setlled. QUEENSTOWN, JUNE 8. The Royal mail ship Niagara, Captain Stone, with dates from Boston of the 28th, and from Halifax, of the 30th ult., arrived here at 2.30 p.m. to-day. She brings 159 passengers, and 57,709 dollars in specie. She landed 93 sacks of mails and 16 passengers, and proceeded at 2,35 for Liverpool; all well. The Niagara was detained by Lord Lyons eleven hours for despatches. The Royal Mail steamship China, with the out going American mails, arrived here at 2 p.m. to-day. She embarked mails and passengers with latest telegrams, and proceeded at 4 p.m ; all well. ST. PETERSBURG, JUNE 8. The Borsen Zeitung of to-day contains an imperial decree authorising the free export of silver, in coin or bars. The former regulations, however, respect ing silver coin of small denominations still remain unaltered. AUSTRIA. VIENNA, JUNE 6. The prolonged debate on the Budget question has been brought to a very sudden and unexpected close. Both Houses of the Reichsrath readily authorized M. von Plener to raise 50,000,000f1., with which to cover the deficit for the current year, but the Lower Chamber refuses either to impose new taxes or to augment those which already exist until the sum required by Government has been definitively fixed. During the sitting held on the 3d inst. more than one side-blow was given to the Minister of Finance, but on the following day he was directly charged with "shortsightedness, in consistency, and rashness." M. von Plener spoke at length in his own defence, and M. von Schmer ling followed on the same side, but what they said produced little or no impression, as M. von Hopfen, the Reporter of the Committee of Fi nance, had previously informed the House that the Minister of Finance had made a great mistake in his calculations, as the deficit for 1862 was 74,000,00011., and not 60,000,00011. This unlooked for communication produced a most disagreeable impression on the House ; and it showed its want of confidence in M. von Plener by expressing its resolve not to take in hand the question relative to the augmentation of the taxes " until it had been made evident what sum of money would effect the restoration of the equilibrium between the revenue and the expenditure." During the whole sitting very great excitement prevailed, and the House was once on the point of refusing to consent to any augmentation of the taxes. THE ITALIAN PARLIAMENT. In the Italian Chamber of Deputies on the 3d inst., the President commenced the proceedings by reading the following letter from General Gari baldi : Turin, June 3. Monsieur le President,—At the moment when the Cham. ber is about to resume its labours, I feel myself under the obligation of giving my colleagues some exp!anation of the participation which I have taken in public events during the last few M eeks. I left Caprera at the summons of the Ricasoli Ministry, which appeared disposed to ocsupy itself seriously with the national armaments. The New Min stry, which was constituted a short time after my arrival upon the continent, maintained the mandate which I had received to organise the rifle shooting practice ; it gave me in addition great hopes in affirming that it was about to act in the most energetic manner to arrive at a definite construction of our Italy, one and indivisible, such as it has been solemnly proclaimed by the votes of the Southern provinces. Those provinces were about to have a commencement of execution by the creation of two battalions of Genoese Carbineers, the command of which was to be confided to an officer who enjoys my entire confidence. The news of this organisation was hardly spread abroad when eager young men hastened from all parts of Italy to enrol themselves at Genoa. The determination which had been taken not having been carried into execution, the greater part of those who were provided with sufficient means returned to their homes. There remained, however, some hundreds to whom it was repugnant to return, either because they would not any longer submit to the idleness t which they were condemned, or because, having abandoned their occupations and places, they had no lunger any means of livelihood. I advised those fine young men to assemble at certain places in peaceful Lombardy, where, supported by spon taneous contributions of patriotic citizens, they might be trained to the use of arms, so as to be ready for future events. The Government unfortunately made a mistake relative to the object of those depots. Tho young men, arrested without arms and without h av i n g given the least cause t o j us tif y any susp i c i on o f disor der a re many of th em a t t hi s momenti prison awaiting trial, as is also Colonel Nullo, one of The most deserving commanders of the Southern army. The journals which pretend to represent the sentiments of the Govern ment have alleged as a pretext for those harsh measures a projected invasion of the Tyrol, Nothing can be more un true. The idea of that expedition is an idle dream. Those young men had no other mission than to learn the use of arms, and the arms found were only those indispen sable for such exercises. My colleagues may conceive how Painful have been the sad facts which followed those un just suspicions. It is for the Parliament to rectify those fatal errors. Our cry has everywhere been, " Italy and Victor Emmanuel 1" and now, whatever may be the risk or the consequence, we repeat the same cry. Woe be to him who would assail the liberating thought. . Woe to all who would separate the King from the nation, the people from the army I _ _ But to fructify the union of the King and the nation for the common weal, to unify and render invincible the strength of the army and of the people, it is necessary to complete the armarneht so long desired. Switzerland and Prussia ars able, in time of war, to assemble in arms 15 per cent. of their entire population. Give the free citizens of Italy, closely united around their valiant monarch, an organisation like that of Switzerland and Prussia, and you will be certain of delivering both the Crown and the people from all illegitimate influences ; and then, perhaps, without further bloodshed, by the mere moral power of a king sup ported by the whole strength of the nation, we shall obtain the fulfilment of our most ardent desire—ltaly one and indivisible, under the constitutional sceptre of Victor Em- manuel. Italy cannot be tranquilised in any other way. It tends towards unification, as all heavy bodies gravitate towards the centre of the earth. A feverish and ever-increasing agitation impels our youth to the accomplishment of this great work. Inaction is not a remedy for the evil ; if is the source of every imaginable disorder. In a country animated by the spirit of nationality, the true friends of order are those who devote their efforts to the redemption of their country. Passive resistance can never change into reaction. Whoever opposes of stacles to this generous movement assumes the responkbility of all the dangers which threaten us. I request you, sir, as President of tho Chamber, to corn. municate to it these observations which I submit for its serious consideration. G. GARIBALDI. THE LORD ADVOCATE.--A Dundee contemporary Says :—" The Lord Advocate has met with an accident which is likely to prevent his attending in his place in Par liament for some days." We understand that his lordship has broken a sinew in the calla his leg, but that the injury is so slight that he would have been in his place and "on his legs" in the House on Thursday.—)scOevnan. FRANCE. BOURSE, Jane 7.—The market continues in the same inanimate state, and with a slight downward tendency. Threes, for the Account, which are quoted to-day ex-div. (half-yearly) are now at 68f. 80c. Railway market unsteady, but little change in prices. The market closed as follows: ft per per Cents ... 97 20 Bank Shares 3155 Do end month.... Credit }wider 1655 3 per Cents Do. end month.... 68 SO Piedmontest Fives 72 60 New 3 per Cents .. Italian Loan . orni month, _ Ailatriaza Credit Mobilier.... 825 Spanitth Threes - Do. end month.... Home Debt RAILWAYS. Cash. Account. Orleans Northern 1065 .. 1065 New ditto . • -- • • Lyons and Mediterranean 1108 75 .. 1115 Geneva .. Southern Western Eastern .... Sardinian Austrian IJon , bard .. .... 617 50 .. 618 75 LITERATURE. Life and Letters of Washington Irving. Edited by his nephew, Pierre M. Irving, Vol. 1. Bentley, New Burlington-street. Fearful, perchance, of giving us too much of a good thing at once, Mr. Irving is publishing the biography of his uncle in instalments, and we must say that the- present sample makes us wish for more. The task was undertaken, it seems, the Author's express request, who placed in the bio grapher's hands "a mass of material, consisting of journals, note-books, diaries at scattered inter vals, and a large collection of family letters, with files of others from ♦arious correspondents, which, as he said, he had neither time nor spirit to exa mine or arrange." Other letters, too, were contri buted by various friends, and these have been so used as " to make the author, in every stage of his career, as far as possible his own biographer," a mode of procedure which has in this case been eminently successful. This first ♦olume brings us up to Washington Irving's 37th year, when he had published his " Sketch-book," and his reputation as an author was established ; but it commences, very properly, with his "birth, parentage, and ances try." The former event took place in the city of New York, April 3, 1783, and he was the youngest of eleven children. His Either was a native of Sha pinsha, one of the Orkney Islands, and his mother of Falmouth ; and his descent on the pater nal side is traced to William De Irwin, who was the secretary and armour bearer of Robert Bruce. "According to the current legend, Bruce, when a fugitive from the court of Edward 1., was secreted for a considerable time in the house of William de Irwyn's father,who was of the Irvines of Bonshaw, the oldst branch of Irvings of which we have any reliable record ; and on leaving, took with him his eldest son, made him his secretary and armour bearer, and for his continued fidelity knighted him and conferred on him his private coat of arms." This coat of arms consisted of " three holly leaves, with the motto, Sub sole sub umbra virens." And it was adopted by Bruce from his having lain concealed in a copse•of holly, and thus escaped his pursuers, after his defeat at Methven. Irving's father in the earlier part of his career was a petty officer on board an armed packet ship plying between Falmouth and New York, but after his marriage he settled at the latter city and engaged in trade. He, " a sedate, conscientious, God-fearing man, with much of the strictness of the old Scotch covenanter in his composition, had small sympathy with the amusements of his children, and lost no opportunity of giving their thoughts a serious turn. Of their two half holi days for the week one was required for catechism, and on Sunday the only variation from the regular h routine of church, morning and afternoon, i lecture in the evening, was the reading of in " Pilgrim's Progress," the wonderful adventureslishthough which they devoured the deepest re y followed , f w th t e it is questionable whether they ° closely as the spiritual import of the narrativaeelmwaeasd their father might have wished or d edifying." genesntiaaltctahcahrmacetnert: But his mother was a much more n and it was to her he felt the str f o regligious training Indeed the father's s offspring. " When I was seems to have repelledsystem rather ntumhneoegrh saida o n r wrot attractedhaesrhevery thing t o h n i " I was led to think that so pleasant was wicked." tAh.endlithtlee, eyedearlyage that was with all his brothers and save one, ultimately to his great name sake ton's work is ended," said the mother, "and joined Washington ot her wasset thuss. Ai introduced t a r o v d e u r t 4 Was the child shall be named after him." The appellation was the means of procuring him an early introduction to that illustrious personage, when he came back to I:ew York, then the seat of Government, as President of the United States. A young Scotch maid servant of the family, struck with the enthus,asm which everywhere greeted his arrival, determined to present the child to his distinguished name sake. Accordingly, she followed him one morning into a shop, and pointing to the lad who had scarcely outgrown his virgin trousers—" Please your honour," said she, " here's a bairn was named after you." In the estimation of Lizzie, for so she was called, few claims of kindred could be stronger than this. WashingCondid-notzaain. the delicate affinity, and placing his hand on the head of her little charge, gave him his blessing. It was at the age of 10 that his love of reading first developed itself, when he met with Hoole's translation of the " Orlando Furioso," and he next had a fancy for books of voyages and travels, to which succeeded a longing to go to sea. A rooted antipathy to salt pork, however, nipped his resole- tion in the bud. He turned for — consolation to poetry, and at the age of 13 wrote a play. At 16 his education was finished, and he then entered a lawyer's office. Three years afterwards he began his literary career by contributing a series of humo rous articles to a paper called the Morning Citro • nicle, of which his brother Peter was editor. These were collected in 1823, though without his know ledge or consent, and given to the world under the title of the " Old Style Papers." His first journey from home was to Ogdensburg, Montreal, and Quebec with a party of friends—a tour at that time of no little difficulty, as the following extract will show The next day the waggon in which Irving and some of the ladies were riding stuck fast, and one of the horses laid down, and refused to move. They had therefore to get out and travel after the other waggon, into which the ladies mounted ; but soon that alao mired, and there was no al ternative but for them to take to their feet. " The rain by this time," proceeds the journal, " descended in torrents. In several parts of the road I had been up to my middle in mud and water, and it was equally bad, if not worse, to at tempt to walk in the woods on either side. We helped the ladies to a little shed of bark laid on crotches, about large enough to hold three, where they sat down. It had been a night's shelter to some hunter, but in this case it afforded no protection. One-half of it fell as we were creeping under it, and though we spread greatcoats over the other, they might as weal have been in the open air. The rain now fell in the greatest quantity I had ever seen. The wind blew a perfect hurricane. The trees around shook and bent in the most alarming manner, and threatened every moment to fall and crush us. The ladies were in the highest state of alarm, and entreated that we should walk to a house which we were told was about half a mile distent." They therefore dragged along, and after a most painful walk arrived at the hut, which consisted of one room about eighteen by sixteen feet. In this small apartment, fifteen people were to pass the night; for besides the owner, they found here two men who were driving an ox-team through to Oswegatchie, both noisy and boisterous, and one of them stigmatized in the Journal as "the most impudent, chatter ing, forward scoundrel" the writer had ever known. There was much noisy greeting between these and the drivers, and, to add to the confusion of the scene, they soon seated themseh es in a corner, and "began to play cards for liquor;" an amusement from which they retired after a while almost intoxicated, and stretched themselves on the floor to sleep. " I never," says the journal, " passed so dreary a night in my life. The raia poured down incessantly, and I was frequently obliged to hold up an umbrella to prevent its boating through the roof on the ladies as they slept. I was awake almost all night, and several times heard the crash of the falling trees, and two or three times the long dreary howl of a wolf." He was now turned 21, and as the delicate state of his health inspired his friends with alarm, they de termined to send him to Europe for a change. Accordingly he set sail for Bordeaux, where he stayed six weeks to study the language, and then started for Nice, where, through an informality in his passport, he suffered a long and vexatious deten- tion. Genoa was the next place he visited, meeting there some very pleasant society. And on his voyage thence to Messina the vessel was boarded by pirates ; but, being American, was suffered to pro ceed with but little loss. He now made a tour through Sicily, being forcibly struck with the beauty of the scenery and the wretchedness of the inhabitants. And at a town called Termini he met with the following adventure : Two days more brought them again to the seaside, and they pursued the road along the coast to Termini, a town of some three thousand inhabitants, delightfully situated on the side of a hill, and commanding from its higher parts a fine view of the Mediterranean and of the Sicilian coasts. Here they arrived after dark. Irving was much fatigued, and on reaching the inn, threw himself on a bed in a corner of the large room into which they - were shown, and fell asleep. He was roused from his niumber by the sound of voices in conversation at the other end of the apartment, and listening, perceived the language was English. Hall, observing that he was awake, immediately turned to him, and told him there was to be a ball that evening, it being the season of the carnival, and that the gentleman with whom he was conversing, and whO was in mask of a Turk, had promised them admittance; and being ever ready for a frolic, he proposed that they should go. His fellow-traveller made some demur on the score of fatigue, and the trouble of unpacking his trunk to dress, but finally consented to appear in one of Hall's uniform coats, as a captain of Marines. The stranger then took leave, promising to return after supper, and conduct them to the place. At the appointed hour he came, dressed as a Turk, and masked as before, and the two set out with him, supposing they were going to a public entertainment. They were somewhat staggered, however, when they found themselves ascending the stairs of a stately mansion, through rows of servants in livery, and a brilliant array of lights, and the feeling was not dissipated when they were ushered into a spacious saloon adorned with taste and mag nificence; and casting a startled glance upon the numerous company, they saw in their conductor the only mask in the room. Before they had recovered from their surprise, the Turk marshalled them to the p'irt of the saloon where stood the master of the entertainment and his daughters, in wait ing to receive their guests. Pointing to his companions as they drew near, then crossing his arms and making a low salaam, without a word of explanation or introduction, ho stood as mute as a statue. It was an awkward situation for the two guests, and the idea flashed across their minds that th, j Leo ;.to could not but seem a graceless intrusion upon the hospitality of a stranger. With much confusion, therefore, and in the best Italian he could muster, Mr. Irving announced their names, and attempted an explanation of the apparent indecorum, by stating their impression that they were coming to a public entertainment. Their host replied very graciously, that they were at the house of the Baron Palmeria, and asked the name of their conductor. Here was a new embarrassment, for they could not give it. "Whoever he is," he rejoined, "I am indebted to him for introducing to my house gentlemen 'whose uni form is a sufficient passport anywhere " 'Upon this the Turk whispered a rapid explanation of his interview with the strangers, and the Baron, turning to them with a smile, informed them that their unknown conductor was a teacher in his family, who was engaged in instructing his daughters in English. Confiding in the general popularity of strangers in Sicily, and the special attraction to his pupils of two who could converse with them in the language they were acquiring, it turned out that he had assumed the responsibility of contriving what he had little doubt would prove to both parties an agreeable surprise. Renew ing his welcome with genuine hospitality, the Baron now commenced a conversation with the spurious captain, in ot t frhae ignorancengcompanyers, o n n of fepitrnhe ge the midst of which th e f o ldi ng -doors were suddenly thrown open, and a corps de ball e t ma d e its appearance to com mpaernecdeta_ join theball in After rh e d this the ; th e rest a of urged, excused themselves on th e plea w figures. Perceiving, however, the dance to be a country dance with which they were familiar, they were induced to change their minds, and Mr. Irving having been introduced to a daughter of the Baron, and his companion to one of the belles of the place, they soon entered with zest into the spirit of the scene. Other dances followed in which they took part, and before they had finished the evening, their spirit had risen to so high a point, and they abandoned themselves with so little constraint to the animation of the scene, that they heard a Sicilian whisper, as they raced by him in the dance, " Son diavoli I" When the assembly broke up, the master of the house expressed great regret at parting with them, and pressed them to remain some days at Termini. tendering them the hospitality of his own mansion, and offering to send for an American in Palermo to keep them company. This was Mr. Nathaniel Amory, of Boston, whose brother was an officer in the fleet, and to whom the author bad a letter of introduction. The invitation, however, was declined, The Baron then despatched a servant withthem, with torches' to light them to their lodgings, and bade them farewell. There was a strangeness and a spice of romance about this adventure that gave it a wonderful zest to the young traveller, and separated it in his after recollections from all his commonplace experience. Twenty years later he records in his note-book a meeting with a cousin of his "chance acquaintance, the Baron Palmeria." He then made short visits to Naples and Rome, making the acquaintance at the latter place of Allston, the painter, and meeting with Madame de Stael, but he was eager to get to Paris, where he stayed four months and then left for London. At this time he was an enthusiastic theatre goer, and his letters and journal contain some very interesting comments on the great performers of the day ' • we meet with the followin g d escr ipti on an d anec dote of Mrs. Siddons my praises of Mrs.. tem .hyperbolical. very on I t rs sv t a t a irae I saw her , SidWdoenres,l I t o n In indulge afraid w y i n t u h o w u n t u r l e d s reserve think n t me. her'dmirati.gestures,delightedin the part of perform,W ha t a wonderful o wasnd e rt' strucku l woman w with I The She penetrated in a moment wholeot o f m l nh y eyr. e feelingsey aberr Calista. Her looks, her voice, h heart. start, She a n excla mation, and. melted it by turns; a glance I hardlyframe. ea'atthi till while h a le i s ,A li i . e e i: The more t exe thrilled through my w up oman is old, and has Lrat all h n er to m sta o g re e ! of figure j think then what must be her powers elegance ' and that she can delightastonish even in the churacters of • and Belvidere. In person Mrs. Siddons is not un likeCalista Mrs. Whitlock, admire ire works h.is her. her sister, on child. And yet outgrown in size the limits even of embonpoint. I even think there is some similarity in their countenances, though that of Mrs. S iddons is i n fi nitely superior. It is in fact the very index of her mind ; and in its mutable transitions may be read those nice gradations of passion that language is inadequate to express. In dignity and grace she is no way interior to Kernble, and they never appear to better advan tage than when acting together. What Mrs. Siddons may have been when she had the advantage of youth and form, I cannot say, but it appears to me that her performance at present leaves room to wish for nothing more. Age has planted no visible wrinkles on her brow, and it is only by the practice and experience of years that she has been en abled to attain her present consummate excellence. The enthusiasm here expressed for the great actress, leads me to step aside from the regular order of events to give an anecdote of a later date, for which I shall not find a more appropriate introduction. Not long after the Sketch Book had been published in London, and made its author remarked .am?ng its literary ' circles he met Mrs. Siddons in spill() fashion a bl e assem blage, and was brou ;ht up to be introduc e d. T he Queen of Tragedy had then long left the stage, b u t h er manner and tines to the last partook of its measured stateliness. The interview was characteristic. As he approached, and was introduced, she looked at him for a moment, and then, in her clear and deep-toned voice, she slowly enunciated, o You've made me weep." N ot hi ng could have been fincx than such a compliment from such a source, but the g , accost" was so abrupt, and the manner so peculiar, that never was modest man so completely disconcerted, and put out of countenance. The appropriate response would have been obvious enough at a more collected moment, but taken entirely by surprise, Geoffrey had not a word to say for himself; and very soon took occasion to retreat and join a group of talkers that were near. After the app earance of his Bracebridge Hall he met her in company aga i n , an d was asked by a friend to be presented. He told him ho