The Express.
London, England, 1848-12-07 00:00:00

lied with the benefit it bee done, and is nom hopeful
for the future than their brethren of the weat.

TRIAL OF THE GREENOCK ASSASSIN.
Oa licedsy, at the High Court of Issticary, Edinburgh.
John Thomas was Wei for shoot's' at Mr. Gray, town
tisk of Greesock. The nista pleaded isemeity, sad a
declaration made by him was redHe said that he was
labouring seder aberration of totalled is the math of 381 y
last, and bought the pistol libelled is the ithielmest tor the
purpose of destroying himself. Os the
le
et the 20th
July he was organise to a druggist's le My • quality of
laudanum, when meeting Mr. Gray, the Urns sleek, he pre.
seated ad fired the pistol at nag esstlesess He as not
sensible at the time whether the dist had talus effect, bat
baling oosselous that he hod dame a bed aides, was no-
ending up the Vessel to Pee Meat up to the Maid Bab-
stitute, when a ass ages up sad ask km he. esseedy.
Mr. Gray was salted Ind eamini—Resmeishese ►the gni
of July last • had semi up trove Damen is ess of the
steamers that erecestag; lathed at Gresesek then hedged
nine, and west straight to the tows eleak's dandmell fa
Haeafttenniest. Moat a garter bean gm he the
chambers, and reseeded westward dew Handlneastreat
West m tar as the Teasel, on the Berth side of the stank
end as I was anions to ed westward I sassed the Vessel,
sad walked es the math side of the street. Whoa lln
observed the prase, he was walking very wieldy woes lie
street to the south side where I was. He was walking very
quickly, sod Ids nye:ranee ateseted my attention. I termed
nand adjust said, ' Well, Thomson, what do you want '
At that memest he was only a few feet from me. He made
as answer, he did not speak. Only • semen elapsed be-
tas* my remark until I Tanen a shot from 'I
At that time he wore $ marten, asi was welkin with his
baths behind his beck. I seta{ se lire.arms in his pes-
simist. I saw his hued raisek but his moth= were so
pick that I did asses the phial. When I received the shot
I said Oh God 1 I am thin" I then stepped tale
raith's shop, before whose deer the theametames osesend.
The gest gentleman that dame op le sae was Dr. 111•Gewea,'
and immediately afterwards soma star medial uses ease
into the shaft, and a lame crowd gathered before the ion.
I was tarried over to the White-Hatt Inn in so infirmary
medic The bullet entered the lit die, and crowed the
this. I wee about five weeks essilmel Is the White Hart.
She wound Is stitl open, and I as sew very Imperfectly
natured. I knew the prisoner Wars I met him in the
ptheernourt several times. Oa several °anions he was
with a breach of the Paine Act, by intemsting
the even with auction sales. MINIM refused to obey the
leaden of the magistrates la this matter, sad several saw
irZt=made satinet Ma by the lakabitrats of Deem
I MEI as swan is the megitrates is Ems
Imagine. Themese, on ass eseadee, was Imsd is a mei
sem, but wemerelly he was eammbied, and MU est ti ref
safe the slime main. As I thzearthat Thema was met
...trued that he bad dime mese& I was alas
swells of sapkining tbe saline et the asses te
Derby time several sonsenallems he appeared to me Is be
a am of ordlury imtelligeaer
Dr. nes ph to the lunatic asylum at
nig he was dinned to stead the prisoner is
pellain.lbrse' mer Tasemise ieememtlp. saiesaversei with him
at pest Nag& if. GEM MS at Dale whatever of ism%
le manses& with him about the ezeed te tthinens, mad
assigf disttaeah em the ed~
= quid Int.Wgeaely
a
sea was a
the of WM Wed. By Mr. Bran :
d hisa M dale{ that Timm
Imiamised beed the , sad eleuved the mark
• • wound es the skim. examined the mark very nre-
gelly the skis wed freely one the dm& sod it appeared
te as that so Isaresdea had beam made es the skull. I
make that aesmeenamt of End M an likely to be ceased
by a blow on the led. Oesadsmally, but sot gaserally,
mend daemons, is eased by a severe blow on the head
ago* the twain. A onseedes nese is sulkiest, is
aim geese, to produce inesaity. The internal plate of the
*MI ma rely be depressed by a pointed instrument plain
=the external plate, which would leave a mall aper-
ike latter. A person with an injury a the brain is
nen easily excited sad more silken to fits of insanity than
•asen with no such injury ; and I have known oases Is
to people of insane mad had as irresistible impulse to
hr new Rena.
Sens witnesses were called who stated their belief that
lieseen was not of sound mind, and that he was much si-
lken to drinking.
Dr. Simpson said that in some eases it would be asessary
to inquire into a man's previous history before coming to a
endemism as to whether he was of sene mini or not. An
Wray of the braia might result in insanity, and a simple
ossuaries of the brain, without an actual fracture of the
skull, might produce the same result. There were eases
where it appeared os examination after death that the
surest plate of the skull was depressed without the external
plate showing any marks of injury. A personwith any in-
jury on the brain was easily excited.—By the Court : I
=mad the prisoner in the pool bat saw nothing to lead
see to think that he was insane.
The jury, after a short abeam, thand the prisms, by a
Inge majority, guilty of the statuary charge as Month, and
seeMmectely recommended Ma to mem.
The Lord Junes Clerk mid the raossiesdation of the
=tetip,li en be transmitted to the Seerstary of State ; and his
attar as impressive address, seaman the prisoner
to be executed at Greemods on Saturday, Dee. 23.

COVINT-OARDEN.—AreasW " grand English opera"
her at length been produced at this theatre. It was fell time
certainly that something new should be brought forward,
but we are by no means sure that the novelty now produced
will satisfy the public. "Quentin Durward," which was
performed last night, is the joint work of Mr. Fitxtall, the
well known libretto manufecturer, and Mr. Henri Laurent,
a young composer who has made his coup sr essai in dra-
matic music. The house was well filled, and the reception
of the opera was such as will enable the Reneger to announce
in large letters ice " triumphant success.' But a first
night's reception is not worth a straw as indicat.
lag the real success of a piece. The most vehement
applause and the meet noisy and pertinacious encores go for
nothing when they are undeserved. Th may keep up a
delusion for a few nights, lint cannot save taho=eamione from
speedy neglect, which is as bad es instant
and therefore we do not see the advantages of the eloguej
system generally, as it is adopted in managerial policy. The
libretto of " Quentin Durward " is probably the wont that
Mr. Fitaball has produced. Walter Scott's novel, &din.
ruble al it is, is poor in matter for the musical stage, and
the dramatist has not made a good use of the few materials
it afforded him. He has taken, almost at random it would
seem, some unconnected passages of the book, and thrown
them into operatic slap ;bat he has given nothing
bat the dry boats of the numbers and landaus, lawing all
the novelist's richness and variety to escape in the
It is true that the hero and heroine mould scarcely be more
insipid in the drama than they are in the novel; but we
have Louie Ms Eleventh, Marks of Burgundy, Williams
do la March, Cardinal Balite, he , divested of all their chi',
rectified. features, drawn in theoriginal with such inimitable
skill, and reduced to melodramatic figures of the most ordi
' say kind, oe (as in the case of Pavillon, the excellent citizen
of
Ukts)sotirely distorted and abased. In short, those who
an aeseavalatad with the novel Of there are any such)
will fie the libretto unintelligible ; while these who under-
stood it will fled it insufferable. It is not worth
while to detail the incidents of a piece like this. The first
eat amain eleadest Dartearers arrival at noels. his meeting
the Ids, disguised so Maitre Pierre, and his meeting, also,
with looloolia eJ Cron. I. the second sot we have his mis-
sies to wort Issbolla to Lillie, the insurrection of the
aisles and the murder of the governor, nal the bishop. In
th'sd sot there is the capture of Lifts by King Louis
end the Duke of Burgundy, who bestows Isabella's hand on
Qom& se the slayer of Dc 4 Yank. The young composer
km bean placed at great disadvantage, as there is small
mow pee the genius of • musician. The first act is
test[ did with heating choruses, the eternal nuisance
of modem epees ; sertainly, Mr. Lamest km strictly
le
the eteeilmg a of sack emapeekkos, his
*gram beim quite Me hem mailtitades that
ban semi before them. oesmad est is remarkable
shindy kr the Litge kenneallso,—• mess of habbab and
sonikin, shouting, smeamkg. drommktg, tear
Iso, and firiog, la whisk the amlehans sorely
ionate to swell the gemmed ilia, mad dm pion ossolodss
with a scene, if pomiblo,atatill same obroming wpm, with
exhibitions of red Os and bine fire that wadi do lona= to
a Sway melodrama. In the midst of all this the
mods weak have had no chance, even bad it hen
been than it ie. Bat kr. Laurent is
an ailed* musician, not without talent, batia=
slaw ews~o learn in so far as regards the pasties of
dramatis ffiora. His emorated pieces ars tregmendery
sad koslommt, barging a total absence of enatrustive
still ; and hh is en little more than a bundle of remit&
susses of wen miss Ildian opera mixed up with ballad
=Nof the Nab milmed. • tank and languid sweet-
ib* snag dorasOmilin though there on sow and
limo Omni demikumbb and happy isosims
ininformildho. Haab= the .part of the *set-
thit afiniMmer. He It
el sang is well sa
iota Ms. Douala KW. ams with great can
end imedi trio ; but her woks was la stresigth a
thirlisay the mon appmest, me ths whole win la her
port (as well as in that at MeMetst..)7..r.b.i too high,
and kept the seises tibia on the et:retch.
On the whole, dais an &We/ pion which, after so
long • delay la =log ad • raw Bailin opera, the public
had a right tee
PRINCEIM'S.—A maw big ballad was produced
here yesterday evening with seseen. It is entitled " Robin
Goodfellow," and is the sompaddea of Mr. Loder, whose
popularity It will all the wider extend, that it presents
several ass that may with morallent effect be intro-
duced to the drawing-room. Of the tea or twelve
pieces charmingly executed y, Miss Poole, two are
sure to ibeconte received fanoekas : " Not for the sunny
attend," and "Oh ! were not this a world of blies."
The Titania of the fairy scenes has also several pretty
airs assigned to her, but Min Georgina Smithson does
not folly display the merit of these compositions. Mr.
Charles Graham has a sentimental ballad, " When in
happier days," not particularly new in its general mate.
Mal, but pleasingly elaborated, and well executed, and a
song of a more jocund turn which comes off roundly. Mr.
Weiss has several eongs—tine of them effective enough—
" Sing me the soup of old,' but the effect of his 'minstrelsy
is almost wholly marred to the observer by the very singular
gesticulation which accompany it, and which give him
the effect of a windmill at rest. The choruses are good and
well sung. The story of the piece is briefly this. Puck, or
Robin Good-fellow, having incurred Queen Titania's &-
plums is expelled the realms of Fairy Lend, and
his banishment is to be perpetual, unless within
a given time he find out what is dearest to
woman's heart. He is allowed three guesses: the
failure of the last is to sign his doom. He re-
pairs to earth where—it being the period of the Common.

wealth—he finds In the family of the royalist, Sir Riecord
Morton, a dissented Commailian, emkinliftwo gain Sir
Rieharers estates sad hismis
deter_ by foots a plot upon
the washy Wits The young lady, however, fixed her
afittitiess upon Wean Barlow, her only objection to him
being that Ise is a puritan. This objection he seeks to re-
move by sasuniag a cavalier costume sad manner. An in-
terview of the lovers induces Robin Goodfellow to suppose
that love is the master- passion or the fair: his state-
ment to this effect, however, is rejected by Titania.
Oa a tabeequent visit to the earth he finds Sir
Rickard betrayed by the nefarious Rooklon,but saved by the
heroism of Walter Avian ; his observations of the Lady
Alice's conduct on this occasion make him conclude that
faith is the muter passion with woman ; the solution not
being adopted by Titania, he makes a third experiment, and
anoraks from the future proceedings of the Lady Alice
with her lover, that to have her will, is what is dearest to
wentan's heart, and Titania owning the soft impeachment,
Robin Goodfellow is received into the bosom of his family,
and so the piece ends. The swum is very pretty, and the
plies well pat on the stage.