The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-05 00:00:00

A very crowded and fashionable audience filled the
lecture room of the above institution yesterday evening,
attracted by the announcement that Sir Robert Peel had
invited them t) spent an evening with him and the
poets. Such an invitation coming from a baronet and
a bachelor was sure to be promptly responded -to by the
ladies, and accordingly we were not surprised to find all
the reserved seats occupied at an early hour by the
fairer portion of creation. The members of the institd-
tion also mustered in great force, and to all who at-
tleded, the lecture of the hon. baronet evidently
afforded high and sustained gratification. He began
by pointing out the connection between the poetry
and prosperity of a nation. When the sense of inde-
pendence was strong, the poetic feeling was high, mid
there was nothing that excited people to such: daring
deeds as a spirit-stirring ode or war song. From poetry
in general, Sir Robert soon came to that of England in
particular, starting from Shakspere, cf, whom his admire-
tion was of course unbounded. The naturalness, creatie
power, and peculiar beauty of the language of "fancy's
sweetest child," wera pointed out in a few judicious ob-
servations, and several well-known passages were recited
" with due emphasis and discretion." Hamlet's advice
to the .players quite brought down the house; and there
were several other quotations which were only less at-
tractive. Milton, who came next, was rapidly sketched,
not forgetting the munificent, price paid for " Paradile
Lost," well-named one of the six epics written since the
creation of the world. The lecturer critically remarked
that Milton was, of all the poets, Christian or pagab,
the only one oho repietsented God otherwise than as ,a
tyrant. It was the blind poet's beautiful peculiarity to
paint the deity as a father, and a judge who tempor4d.
ju t:ce with ine:cy. A Idi :en's crit.cisms were then.
mentioned, as placing Milton on his proper pedesCal, and
then he took leave of epic, and hurried to the poetic
satirists; Under this head Dryden's well known sketch
of Buckingham was given with wonderful fire, and
was loudly and deservedly applauded. Pope and Jobi-
son wera •ften glanced with appropriate quotations
f nal each, and the audience next found themselves
fof aTye lißrial:7tlesrsaeioansftdel interested with
name ttii
tuoipt i:aphaocdi
,nitccheae:
in tnbi eetlib lecturerr h° ru g'
episode on the war and its causes. There were some lit tie
disapprobation evinced at this portion of the proceedings,
but whether it was that the dissentients thought polities
out of place, or thlit there is a concealed Russian party
in Marylebone, we were not able to asceitain. Sir Robert
pointed out that this was the first time an English army
had invaded the Russian territory, although it was 302
years since our ships first visited the country for the pur-
poses of trade. Now we invaded Russia to put an end
to the imposture of fifty years, and to teach that power
that she was about to receive at the hands of civilisation
the retribution her crimes deserved. A. well-mented
eulogium on the late Lord Dudley Stuart closed this
part of the lecture, and a few not very novel but exceed-
ingly well-delivered recitations introduced the topic of
shipwrecks generally ; and, apropos of shipwrecks, tha
lecturer, amid the most profound attention on the part
of the audience, detailed his own escape from that dire
calamity in the spring of last year. They left Genoa, he
said, on the 24th April, 1854, a happy party, of whom
the only survivors were himself and a gentleman who was
at that moment one of his auditory. They started at
mid-day, with full crew, and full passengers, 90 in all, and,
singular to say, there was a presentiment of coming dan-
ger in the minds of every one on board. At about seven
in the evening they could just see the land, and then the
clouds gathered. Shortly after they broke, and the pale
moon cast her silver light on everything. The wind
whistled sullenly through the tackle, but what did
they care, the word was passed, "All's well," and they
were sure to reach Marseilles on the morrow. But
hark hush ! what sound was that ? The wind had been
gradually lulling, when the man-at the wheel was heard
to shout frantically—" Ease her " " Stop her "
" Back her "—then a horrible crash—they had come
into collision with another vessel. He (Sir Robert) was
on deck in his carriage, an'l by a miracle escaped the
first crush ; then he saw numbers of his fellow-passen-
gers engulphed, and knew that several more were en-
tombed alive in the cabin, by the accidental closing RP,
of the companion passage. He could bear their Bar
cries for help, as the vessel went down, and the nett
moment he was in the sea swimming for his We. He
roundswam strongly,an d
watch atnhde
lwa
sets
ofs ut ffih
ec isei nn
sinking
n gcollected oe
!t
ou
three
nn
other persons. One by one,
feeble and benumbed, and he was himself beginning
he saw a light upon the water,
despair, when suddenly
moment
drowned off Barcelona,
he saw thosseelfthbreeegiederi oepg o fft
0,
deep silenee of his audience,
"If
anyoinydeath, he can
he
he e
was
ahse
saved.heard the
Os sound de
exclaimed
eel% se,da ntd4u lecturerth e;lßeaerxetlmid
knowsthe
what it is to be saved from imminent
i_ding
myself in
imagine what my sensationsftweenreh:ajki
a been in great
eaoinrgerolntionied—onee so near
that little boat."
and
dtw
sketa poieted at his breast ;
as to have had fourteen ranif
se neer what Carlyle
called
but never did he feel him?
the •
danger—oncece o f
the "conflux of eternity" on. terrible occasion
describe.
beingb e before rlisetheeotfa
ring which
As soon as the eheee
had subsided,greeted the termination
of this little narrative
the the hon, baronet
d by exhor. Young men ofthe •
conclude
leisure by the diligent
institution
to improve their. e cultivation of
which he had attempted to_
describe.
careful perusal of the best English
authors.
Jacob Bell
Mr. ja who presided
thanks to Sir Robert Peel, which proposed a vote of
vended to, and the was rapturously re-
proceed' lugs terminated.
their intellect and tn

.OLYROOD-PAII
mitaadaeetlodthoef
apbublitel);7lA at
a\Vorp, asrade.
eastifliairogye r additionood,
h y has
embracing just
within
ex-
pired,l3 acres, situated north of the Duke's
walk, aado the ground used for military exercise
This field was purchased by the Board of
it
is Seteonly
yearsni
.y
now a gaov ;a i but,la
ble tflorre
conjunction lease having
with just
theex -
pasturage of the Royal park. The rectangular wall
which formerly cut it off has been r,.smaved, and the
public park has thus been extended to its natural b( It ,-
dary formed by the Old Portoliello-r, ad. The additi nr
will undoubtedly mhance tha beauty as well as do
utility of this portion of the park. From the sum nit of
a gentle rise in the ground lately enclosed, and which
mayiri a
diary
path,w be
a b
reachedeautbifyulahslieigwhtoidiivaeirlg:iidicees fromtbh:
oeijr:
d may
tained ; while the removal of the wall opens up the out-
lines of the ground in such a manner as greatly to
improve its appearance, not only from the Duke's-walk,
but from the Palace of B.olyrood itself.—Scottish Prea,
A letter in the Independance Bettie states that Lord
Jobn Russell was on the point of leaving Vienna for
England, when the telegraph informed him of the ap-
proaching visit of M. Drouyn de l'iluys. The same
letter England have insisted that
andanimosity between Austria and
pthieedlmassott stnatyessm thatpo
halltm F e
s of
disappear,ranc
and that M. Buol, after much
hesitation, has promised that the sequestration of the
property of Lombard refugees naturalised in PiedmOnt
shall be annulled. The writer thinks, howeTer, that
Awitriag Fables aro not invariably kept.