The Sun. — London, England, 1821-01-20 00:00:00

FOREIGN_ LITERATURE. GREEK DRAMA.-7'he Greek 'Theatre, by the PERE Bite. NOT, new Edition, by M. RAouL-RocuErrE,, mem. be,r of the French Institute. True knowledge is modest, of which M. Raoul- Rochette affords another proof, by publishing the work we announce, under the simple title •of a Second Edition of the Greek Theatre, by the Pere Brumoy ; when in fact the additions, cor rections, alterations in the arrangement,. phHolo gical dissertations, and new translations are so numerous, that the original work of the learned Je;uit forms but a very small portion of this new -Edition. - - M. Raoul-Rochette` has . conferred an import ant benefit on Literature, by completing a col lectiOn of the Dramatic Works of the ancient Poets, by furnishing notes replete with sound criticisms, which elucidate the meaning of ob scure passages, and by arranging in chronologi cal order, ag the plays of the Greek Theatre which had been neglected by the Pere Brumoy. In the prosecution of this plan, he has in seve ral instances given new translations, or intro duced the translations of M.M. Rochefort and du Theil, in preference of the text of, the Pere Bruthoy ; and at. the end of the work he has an nexed the criticisms of La Harne, .on the Greek prisms, and imitations in verse of the finest scsnes in those pieces, by the same author, and by a living poet, M. Terrasson. After having bestowed' this just tribute of praise on the labours of M. Raoul-Rochette, we shall discuss a new literary doctrine peculiar to himself,' - Which has been developed in a curious dissertation at the beginning of the present work, -entitled" Observations on the Origin of the Greek Tragedy aii'd Comedy." IL th s dissertation he has advanced an opinion at variance with all antiquity, denying to Thespis the merit of having fi rs t g i ven a d rama ti c f orm to Tragedy, imperfect as it was, since a cart was the stage, and the whole company, except the 'chorus, consisted of one person only, who dis - guised his face, and recited the action. We will now proceed to examine in detail the opinions of M. Raoul-Rochette on the origin of Tragedy. The word Tragedy means e song of a goat. At first sight it is not easy to comprehend what connection can possibly exist bet Ween a goat and the, representation of the murder of Agamemnon; but the mystery will soon be explained on a per . ilia' of history; and by reflecting on the strange variations produced by time in things, without, however, changing their names. We know, for instance, that our theatrical re psesentations were called mysteries three hundred years ago. If Trissino, in Italy, and lodelie, in France, and the other Dramatic Authors of that age, had not, when they restored the Greek ,Plays, preserved their antient names, our Tra gedies and Comedies would now bear the same - appellation they had three hundred years ago. A comic opera would.be a mystery, and so would Eigh Life below Stairs, or Harlequin and Faustus. Ancient traditions say that a certain Icaritis, wl.o gave his name to part of Attica, and who , introduced there the art of cultivating the vine, caught one day a goat which had committed great havoc in his vineyards. lie sacrificed it to Bac chus. This took place during the vintage season : 'the neighbours assembled, surrounded the vie tim, and amused themselves in singing hymns to the god of wine. It was a gay and merry festi val they determined on repeating it frequently, and called it - a tragedy. A? that time, poetry was an object of public amusement and general competition. The rich 'and harmonious language of Greece was admir ably calculated for the art of extempore speak ing : they composed at. the instant dithyrambics, or songs in honour of Bacchus ; the chorus re 'peated them as they danced round the sacrifice, and the best improvisatore received as a prize, either a flask of wine or a goat. This was the commencement of tragedy. Dur'ng the same period, the poeMs of Homer And Hesiod were recited throughout all Greece by RhapsOdi ; the beauty of the style, the sub 'Entity of the ideas, and the importance of the events celebrated by these two great Poets de lighted the people of Attica. In the time of So lon, Thespis conceived the idea of relieving the joyous dythySambics of his tragedies, by the re tital of some heroic action delivered by a single performer at the intervals of repose between these Bacchic dances and stings. This happy innova tion succeeded. Thespis then began to travel through the towns of Attica in a cart, from which be dec:ainted his pieces, that is to say, his reci tatierts.intermi.Xed with dances and chorines.— The flesh of the victims and wine were lavished on his troop, and the profession of a tragedian becaine lucrative ; we presume, however, not so lucrative as to enable the actors of those- days to keep hand Some country houses, as in modern times ; they had then no established Theatres, but performed in the open air. After Thespis followed Plirynicus his pupil, then Cheriltis and Pratinus, who seems to have been the - first actor who fixed his residence with his -T-heatre in the town' of Athens. Eschylus at length appeared, and introduced two actors on the stage, the only mode of representing a true action ; he also invented the scenery and machinery. After Eschylus, Sophocles his pu pil,and Euripides, brought tragedy to the height of perfection at which the Greeks left it. Thespis flourished in the sixtieth Olympiad, and So phocles and Euripides died in the nineteenth : thus the time which elapsed between the inven tion.of the tragic spectacle, and its utmost degree of splendour, does not exceed one hundred and fifty years. Such is the information derived from.. the ancients on the origin of tragedy ; but M., Raoul-Rochette assures us that we have been led by them into error.. He says, in the first place, that " it would be " an insult to the good sense of his readers to " imagine they could give credit to so Tidied " lous an origin, (the song of a goat) founded 46 on a story (that of Icarius) which is still more 4 ' ridiculous." We cannot easily subscribe to the opinion of M. Raoul-Rochette, which by the way is deli vered in rather too dictatorial a tone, and our op.= position is founded first ou the authority of ety- mology : the word tragedy is evidently derived from tragos, a goat ) and ode, a song ; and when the antients say that the song of the goat took its origin from, a )yric festival in honour of Bacchus, in consequence of a goat- which was sacrificed to this god, we comprehendtperfectly the possibility and even the probability of such au etymology. We are therefgre 'disposed to give crediCto this story, on the evidence 4 the 'ancients, until a more certain, or at least a more probable, origin be given to us of the word tragedy - . It is not enough for M. Raoul-Rochette to say, this his tory is false ; he should also add, here is another which is true. If.M. Raoul-Rochette pretends to assert, with some modern Authors, that the name of tragedy originated in the circumstance of a goat having been sometimes given as a prize for the best Poem, we are constrained to say that this argu ment is by no means convincing to our minds. Is it not more reasonable to suppose that the goat preceded the song of the goat, than to imagine that 'the song took its name from the prize with which it was rewarded ? Does not the word tra gedy signify a song with relation to a goat rather than a goat with relation to a song ? This is a great question which may perhaps take a long time in deciding, at which we are concerned, as we are very - desirous of -haying this contested point settled. M. Raoul-Rochette is not satisfied with deny ing this poor Oat the glory of having:given birth to tragedy, but he also wishes to deprive Thespis of the honours decreed• to him by antiquity, as the first inventor of tragic exhibitions. On this subject he says : " How can we reconcile the idea the Scholiasts " give us of the plays of Thespis, with the pro " gress of preceding ages, and the state of the " age itself in which he composed his tragedies ? " Men, whose faces were bedaubed with mire or '' covered with a mask, mounted on a table or in " a cart, amused the passengers by representa " tions sometimes grand, and at other times lu " dicrous, in language either serious or familiar, 66 according to the caprices of their own imagina " tions or the taste of their hearers. Such was, 64 no doubt, the spectacles exhibited in the in " fancy of the tragic muse, but certainly not in " the age of Thespis. The titles of some of his 44 pieces, the only wrecks of his great renown " which have reached us, prove that he must have. " been acquainted with the true principles of the " art, and the subject of Alcestis which he has " treated successfully, cannot be reconciled with " the idea of the gross scenes attributed to him by Horace. We know that at the first per formances of Thespis, the wise Solon, alarmed at the enthusiasm with which they inspired the Athenians, was compelled to prohibit an exh bition which disguised ancient traditions b agreeable fictions; Is it to be conceived, that the legislator of Athens, in the most enlightened age and country of Greece, should have treated with so much severity a spectacle which only presented, according to Horace, lies without wit, humour, delicacy, or object" - We shall confire our observations in refutation of this passage to the testimony afforded by the works of the ancients. In the first place, Aris totle declares, in express terms, that Eschylus, who lived fifty years after Thespis, made great improvements in tragedy. Thespis disguised the faces of his actors with false colours. Eschy lus covered them with a mask. Thespis carried them about in a cart. Eschylus established them in a theatre. He introduced a more grave and austere style into his choruses, in place, of the burlesque style of Thespis. Aristotle adds, what is more important, that Eschylus began by adding an actor to that of Thespis ; that he abridged the songs of the choruses, and that he invented the first part of a play, or the protagonist. Philostratus, in his Life of Eschy lus, says, that this poet provided his actors with masks and dresses suited to their parts, and ob tained a theatre furnished with machines, and embellished with decorations. Here the sound of the trumpet was reverberated incense was seen to burn on the altars the shades of the dead to arise from the tomb— and the Furies to rash from the gulfs of Tartarus. Pausanias observes, that PhrynicUs, the pupil of Thespis, first introduced a Woman's part on the stage; Neophron, of Sicyon, that of the peda gogue ; an actor of Megara those of the valet and cook; and that Eichvlus invented the hideous masks of the Eumenides, &c. All these authorities, that of Plutarch and many others, which might be cited, agree in attributing to Thespis the honour of first inventing tragic exhi bitions. To deprive him of it, more is required than inferences drawn from the titles of his plays. At the first commencement,. what was then denominated the pieces of Thespis, was only an heroic song recited by an actor. The art was yet in its infancy ; and it is precisely because these imperfect sketches were produced in the " most enlightened country and age of Greece," that we must conclude Thespis was the. inventor. If he had composed his performances from any models, he would have carried the art of tra gedy to greater perfection. e are at a loss to know from what antient authorities-M. Raoul•Roebette has attributed to Thespis the - tragedy of Alcestis. We have only the titles of four plays ascribed to this Father of Tragedy, which are, Phorbas, Sacerdotes, Ado. lescentes, and Pentheus. To Phrynicusi his pu pil, antiquity ascribes this tragedy of Alcestis, with those of Acteon, the Persae, the Danaides, and five others. This observation is in other respects of little importance. M. Raoul-Rochette remarks, that Solon pro scribed the Tragedies of Thespis. This observa tion may be cited against him, for Archilochus, who lived in the time of Solon, and who never composed any _Tragedies, was also banished on account of his licentious and satirical dithyram bics. If Thespis incurred the same disgrace from the Athenian Legislator, we are justified in supposing that it was because he sang in the streets, before the assembled populace, hymns to Bacchus, in which .decency was often out- raged, as is reported by the Ancients ; indeed, it is not at all probable that Thespis would have been exiled, if he had performed in a Theatre, or had known how to restrict his recitations to serious penis, such as those of Etchylus ) in which he would have had the art, by conforminglo the circumstances of his •tirne , , of representing to the Athenians the great features of their mythology or their history. Whence it may be concluded - , that if he was bani Shed, as well as Archilochtts, as a corrupter of morals,, it was because his im-1 perfect representations-were then only Bauble dYthyrambics relieved by simple recitals. • After having attacked the almost universally admitted origin of tragedy, it was absolutely necessary that M. Raoul-Rochette . should find out another for it: We will not follow him in his profound researches on this subject, but shall give, the result. " In the rustic festivals of the Athenians,= " which had their origin in the earliest periods cc of antiquity, choruses of men and children cc sang ex,tempore poetic effusions, and the prize " of the best poem was a tripod. It was under " this last form, and among this class of men, " that the dythyrambic by degrees gave birth 46 to dramatic. poetry." But if theSe festivals, from the remotest anti quity among the Athenians, gave birth to tra gedy a considerable time before Thespis, why 'did the Athenians attribute this invention to Thespis ? This lively, vain people, would they have neglected, to claim to themselves the ancient origin of an art which constituted their delight? Would they have left the henour of asserting their pretensions to an ingenious Frenchman, born three thousand years later ? Moreover, we shall again refer to ttymologY. M. Raoul tochette, who has declared' war against the' goat, pretends that this animal did not figure at all in the ancient festivals 'of 'which he Speaks, and that they gave : as a prize for the best song a tripod. But tripod in. Greek is called tripous, and riot tragos : the exhibition derived from these festivals ought not therefore to have been called tragedy, but rather trirody. We have considered it a duty we owe to the great authors of antiquity, to combat the new doctrine of M. Raoul-ttochette on the origin of tragedy, and we now leave the world to judge between us.—(Gazetie de France, Jan. 12.) Et3DOMED ItY. SUNDAII2I, 3d Sunday after Epipliany.—Sita rises 44 m. after 7 ; sets le su. after 4.—Moon rises 1 m. after evening. _ _ MoNnAY 22.—Stin rises 43 m. after 7.; sets 17,m. after 4. Moon rises It tn. after 9 evening. TUESDAY 23.—H il. Term begins.—Sun rises 41 m. after 7 ; sets 19 us. after 4.—Moon rises 22 m. after 10 night. WEDNESDAY 24.—Sun rises 40 m. after 7; sets 20 m. after 4. Moon rises 30 rn. after 11 night, THURSDAY 25.—Cone. St. Paul.—Hil. 2 ret.—Snn rises 39 so. after 7; sets 21 nt. after 4.—Nloon rises in the Morn.— Duration (if Twilight, 1 h. 55 ns. FRIDAY 26.—Son. rises 37 M. after 7 ; set 23 m. after 4. Moon last quarter 10 It. 42 ns. morning. SA I U RDA,' 27.—D. Sussex b.—Sua rises 35 m. after 7; sets 25 In after 4.—Moon rises 58 m. after 1 morning. * 4 l, For HOLY ORDERS, No. X. see the Fourth Page. -.Om PRICE OF sTocKs TITS DAY AT TWELVE O'CLOCK. 3 per Cent. Red 7O 3 per Cent. Cow. C9 3f per Cent. 4 per Cents. 5 per Cent. Navy Ann lo4f Bank Long Ann... 18 I-160 India Bonds 345. 3Ss. pr. Ex. Bills, 23 Cons. for February 690. HIGH WAT E R AT LONIM Morning, ►o tnitlutes.after 3. )N BRIDGE TO-MORROW. I Evening, 25 ailtlints after 3. THE SUl\• SOLE I Q 1.714 DICERS FALSUAT D E.AT LONDON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 1321. We have received - French Papers up to the 17th instant. The Budget for the present year was presented to the Chamber of Deputies by he Minister of Finance on the 16th. It wi be taken into consideration at a future day, which is not yet fixed. It is supposed the Cham ber will not meet again until Monday or Tues day next. A Grand Deputation frbm the Chamber has been appointed to assist at the funeral ceremony which will be celebrated to-morrow at the Cathedral of Saint Denis, in commemoration of the anniversary- of the 21st January. The last accounts from Naples state that the Parliament has appointed a military Board to inspect the state of the army and fortresses, and to exaluine the plans submitted to or adopted by the late Minister of War. This Board is to deliver in a Report weekly; to furnish the National Guard with arms and ammunition in readiness to proceed to the frontiers at a moment's notice. General Pipr, AMBROSIO, and ARCOVITO, who command the three PiVisions of the Army, have - joined' their respective forc'es. The PRINCE REGENT has also formed a Board of General Officers, to arrange plans for the defence of the Country. The arrangernents of the late Minister of War have been adopted by this Board, but the formation of a Military Board by the Parliament, clearly evinces the distrust of the prevailing party in the Assembly. Sicily is represented in the Neapolitan Journals to be perfectly tranquil ; yet, private Letters men tion, that some symptoms of discontent have manifested themselves in that Country. Seve ral persons had been arrested, but there was no open revolt. On the 28th and 29th of last month very warm debates took place in the Nea politan Parliament respecting the Ex-Ministers of the Interior and Foreign Affairs, who were called upon to explain their conduct. After they had been heard in their defence, and several Members had spoken on the subject, one of the Members moved that the sitting be adjourned sing die, which proposition was carried by a majority or 6, to 17. Lieutenant-General FELANGIER,I has ad dressed a letter to the PRINCE REGENT., resign ing his Commission.--From the Milan Paper it appears that the aged King of NApLts was pro:. ceeding by slow journies to Lay bach, owing to the 'obstructions offered by the deep snows of the Appennines: on the 2d instant he had reached Modena. It is reported - that the Allied. Sove , reigns willsrn f irch at", the head-. of'their should the conferences at Laybach not have a pacific termination. The last intelligence from Spain represents that country as being a prey to the numerous bands of robbers who traverse all the provinces, carrying on an extensive system of plunder and devastation. Letters from Madrid of the Gth inst. confirm the report of the invitation sent by the Allied Sovereigns to the King of , Spain, to be present at the Congress, and also state that the permanent Deputation of the Cortes actually assembled on the 4th, very late at night, to take the same into consideration. It was the . general belief, that the KING would not be permitted to leave the Kingdom. It would appear that the report of Ali Pacha having made his peace with the Porte is premature, for advises from Constantinople of the 11th December state, that more vigorous measures have been adopted to reduce his for tress and bring him to justice.. FRENCH FUNDS. Jan. 13.—Five per Cents Bl f. -- C. Bank Stock 1455 f. The general alarm arising from the daring progress of Sedition, which has induced all well disposed people to come forward with demon strations of loyalty and devotion to our admi rable Constitution, has naturally excited the clamours of Party. The Loyal Addressers are said by the factious writers to meet in secret, and to prepare their Addresses in holes and corners. This is a ridiculous, as well as an unjust, charge; far we find that wherever the real friends of their KING and Country may assemble, they are sure to_be haunted by the Spirit of Faction. What Loyal Meeting has taken place, in any part of the country, at which there have not been some intruders, who came for the purpose of creating disturbance and confusion ? We find that those Strolling Orators, WOOLER, THELWALL, &c. not content with attending the Meetings for their own inflammatory purposes, where they are pro perly at home, thrust themselves into assemblies intended to support the Constitution and pro mote harmony among the People at large. These itinerant , Declaimers, these Pedlars in politics, who would probably be wholesale dealers in de mocratical mischief, if they should ever obtain an ascendancy, have lately confined their obtru sions to Meetings not far from the Metropolis ; but if they possessed convenient means, can it be. doubted that they would spread themselves in all directions over the Country, in order to poison the minds of the unthinking multitude ? We find that the charge of secret measures is alleged against those distinguished Mercantile Characters, who have openly announced their intention to celebrate the Accession of his MAJESTY to the Throne. They are also accused of having held themselves forth as the representatives of the chief, if not the whole, - of the great Mercantile Body in the Metropolis ; but the fact is other wise, and ♦C a plain.• tale" would " set down" their malevolent accusers, if the latter were•not wholly callous to shame and decency, for the respectable body in question commence their Declaration in the following terms :—" We, the undersigned Merchants, Bankers, Traders,'? &c. &c.. What now becomes of the charge of arro gant assumption against characters of the highest respectability, who expressly confine themselves to a Declaration from men of their own loyal and constitutional principles ? We observe that a respectable. Morning Paper advises this body of eminent men to attend the ensuing Meeting at ' the Mansion House. Our opinion is wholly dif ferent, for it is by no means probable that they would be suffered to speak on the occasion; and if they were, it is impossible to suppose that they would speak to any purpose among men who are too strongly imbued with the spirit of Party, to attend to any opinions but their own, and there fore the inevitable consequence would be insult, turbulence, and confusion. PERSIA AND RUSSIA.—There are not less than ten thousand Russians in the pay of the Persian Government in various situations, but principally in the Versian Army, which is mostly officered by Russians, and who possess, we believe, a most powerful and injurious influence in the Persian Court. The Opposition Scouts state, that the Minis ters will probably have a majority of only one hundred on the first division in the next Ses sions, and that the accession to their ranks of many independent Members will oblige the Mi nistry to retire; but who will believe these anti cipations of the Whigs EAST A Supplement to The London Gazette irad published this morning ; it is dated " India Board, January J 5, 1824," and consiits of Co- , pies and Extracts from further Reports and General Orders concerning Military Operations in India, which did not arrive in the regular course of the dates. The. first Extract is Alated. .Qsc,, 19, '1817;V? rest „aqr -181% ?nd have all been anticipatid Vy former a.'rrivalsy ex cept a Despatch received at the East India House dated.qth August, 1820, which encloses a Letter from Captain hllLas, of which the.following ara Extracts : Extracts' from a Letter from'Cgptain 'Mt! r 3, Political Agenf, wits► a Detachnfrnt emplo•,•ed zgainsf the Khoosas, dated the tit March 1820: The troops marched on the morning of the '2sth' towards a tank called Nariasur, two Loss beyond Ntiggitr. The town of Nuggur Parkur, is seated under a range o•f bills extending about six loss S. S. E. ftinu littodesui, and is about iwo Lois from that place. Behind the town of Nokgur, is a narrow• pass into the lift which, after a short distance, led to an Open space or 'ratio", where it was reported the inhabitari x ts of l'allur had placed the whole of their cattle and effects. This pass from the broken rugged nature of the ground And the great height And' steep ascent of the hill: on each side, is estimated very,strong aol as I am informed has never been forced. Colonel Barclay not having reason, from th e occurrences of the preceding day, to expect airy hostile proceedings from the inhabitanti of Nuggur, marched without sn%Picion tiose past the town, when, , without an y p rovoca ti on or apparent cause, he received a dikharge from the matchlocks of a body ri! armed men stationed in it, which I understand killtd one mats and wounded one or two, others. This treacherous and cruel outrage could not be endured however, desirous to sore the peaceable inhabitants who ep- peared mixed with the armed men, Cototiel, Batelay dhected a shot trona the six pounders to be fired over their beads ; this had no effect and.the infantry. were ordered into the town, which was taken possession of with trifling loss, and the kbonsas,' coolies, r4tYpdots, &c. driven into the pass, froco which and the hills they kept up a brisk fire. As the advantage the.ground gave them was great, and much injury likely tim result from their fire, it becansme neces sary to dislodge them again, and accordingly as soon as the men had encamped and refreshed themselves they were form- - ed into divisions, one to force the pass, and another to proi. cited by a road to the right practicable to infantry: • The troops moved off at about half-past eleven in the fore. 7 noon and very gallantly gained the freights and time pass with • trifling loss, considering the badness of the pound, and time fire to which they were exposed; by four o'clock in t)ie after noon they had cleared most ofilme-hills - , and had taken a con siderable booty in cattle, &c. The loss of the rajpoots, bheels, &c. was very considerable, but I have no means of ascertaining the precise amount; the khoosas with PuonAce; it is said, galloped off as soon as the town was attacked. am sorry to add, that in the evening the town war set on fire; however it was soon after got under, and the damage done comparatively sma I s hall not presume to over any commendation of the ex» celleot arvangtolents of so expel ieoced and gallant en Officer as Colonel Barclay ; they will be . seltevideut; UM I most t pertnitttd to say, that the set - vice, tenant) , in all its party dillieult, has been so far accomplished with art 'case and cele tity which can only be referred to his zeal ond The detachment of guicawar silladar horse with me, under the Butt ltshee's Karkoon, have on all occasions done their duty with a promptitude and cordiality which doei them t 1 greatest credit. In conclusion, I beg leave to ofrer to your favourable no- lice as a proof of exertion and' zeal, that in less than thirty days from the movement of the force front Pahlanpore, the kboosas have been expelled from all their stations in the districts of Randattpore„ the Clic:what) . Raj, the Nyties or batiks of the Sooni, and the whole, of the territory at present dependent on the Rana of Parlor, that they haws been followed to their utmost haunts on this side the deseir, and their associates and friends, the inhabitants •of Parini have received a lesson which, in all probability, will prevent Firm again uniting with the khoosas, or reeeiving them ; that the obstacle to our complete snccess has been. what from the nature of things, was insurmountable: It is proper to observe, that delay in the operations would lave rendered our movetutpts beyond the Sunni nearly ina.- ,racticable. An extraordinary Genera! Meeting of "T h Fox Club" will be held on Saturday. nextt, on divers weighty and urgent affairs, and .every ex ertion is made to insure the attendance of all its Members. One of the main objects of the meet ing is, we understand, to re-establish the Whig Club ; to concentrate, if possible, the discordant elements of which that Club was composed ; and to give the Whigs more frequent opportunities of appealing to the tnhabitants of the Metropolis ; but if the Whig Club shondd he revived, we con clude, that many of their former toasts must be. abandoned ; especially those which relate to the Glorious Revolution in 1688, and the establish ment of the Protestant Ascendancy in this Coun-; try ; for with what consistency can these. pseudo-Patriots profess attachment to constitu. tional and Protestant principles, Whilst they are• advocating daily the admission of Papists to the Legislature and the State ; and doing all they can to perpetuate the currupt influence the Aris tocratic Whigs possess in more than four-fifths of the Close Boroughs in the Kingdom ? Where one sad servii ink alike d%otei " he Slave that labours, and the Slave that votes." A Cabinet Council was held yesterday at the Foreign Office, at half-past two o'clock, which sat till half-past four. Major-General Lord CHARLES SOMERSET iS about to embark to assume his' Government at the Cape of Good Hope. ,Yesterday,' the - Princess SoritiA visited the, Duchess of CLARENCE. The Duchess -0-/- KENT spent Wednesday even ing, and drank tea with the Duchess of CLA... RENCE, who, we are happy to say, together with the infant Princess ELIZABETH, continue extreme.. ly 'well.