The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-16 00:00:00

A DELPHI THEATRE.

Notwithstanding that the celebrated drama " Leah" con-
tinues to attract crowded audiences, in a short time it will
disappear from the bills of the Adelphi Theatre, in conse-
quence of the termination, on the 11th of June, of the
engagement of Miss Bateman. The present week is the
last but three of this talented lady's assumption of her
celebrated character, and therefore to those who have yet
the great gratification in store of witnessing " Leah" for the
first time, we say go at once. It was at one time hoped
that Miss Bateman would appear in another character,
and many, we believe, still remain under that impres-
sion ; but we can positively state that the whole
of the remaining period of Mies Bateman's stay at the
Adelphi m ill be devoted to the character of " Leah," and
therefore those who have postponed their visit in the hope
of seeing the celebrated Americtn tragedian in a character
other than that which is now a household word in London,
will most certainly lose the opportunity of seeing her al-
together if the visit to the theatre is not paid within the
next two or three weeks. The performance of Miss Bate-
man on Saturday was as fine as ever, and although the
labour of embonying a character of so much intensity
must be immense, we did not in one instance detect the
slightest attempt to slur or pass lightly over any
the part, notwithstanding that the lady has been repeating
it for about a year, portion of

GAMBLING IN A GOVERNMENT OFFICE. —lt
having been made known privately to the Secretary-
at-War that certain practices of gambling with dice had for
a considerable period been carried on amongst
the clerks in
the War- office, but more especially in one of the largest
subdivisions of a particular branch, Earl De Grey and Ripon
at once ordered an inquiry into the alleged abuses. The
court appointed was under the presidency of Sir Edward
Lugard. It was found that the principal and the second,
as well as a number of the clerks, were implicated, and the
finding of the court received the immediate and grave atten-
tion of Earl De Grey. The leading offenders were at once
dismissed from the office, losing all their interest in the su-
perannuation fund, although they can respectively show 28
and 29 years' service. Several of the clerks have been sum-
marily degraded on the list for promotion, and the Earl De
Grey and Ripon has read to all the gentlemen of the office
a minute, in which ho stigmatises in the severest terms the
practices which have been proved, and threatens instant
dismissal to any one who may attempt to renew the gross
misbehaviour. It is alleged that considerable sums of
money have been involved in these transactions between
the officials, and that loaded dice have
been used.
SMITIIFIELD.—The aspect of Smithfield is not,
at the present time, by any means attractive. There is
nothing of the picturesque about the metropolitan ruins,
and Dr. Syntax might search in vain for a block to illus-
trate his pictorial ideas. Ail within the vast deal hoarding,
enclosing the area, is dilapidation and dirt, broken
cr windows,evaces between
gapin
perg;noflular t shatteredriek walls, looking terribly gateways, yawning
unsteady in their unstrutted and solitary loftiness, whilst in
the midst of this wide-spread devastation, Messrs. Tallis's
printing office stands up proudly, as if it were determined
to resist the hand of the destroyer. But ere long it, too,
must be brought low, and then from Durham yard to
Charterhouse-street, a wide space will be cleared for the
site of the new market. Now that the houses are nearly
all pulled down, and the eye can wander freely over the
area, its large extent may be better estimated. A nobler
site for a great public market was never presented, and its
advantages in respect of ' ventilation and drainage are so
great, that the least possible amount of evil with the
greatest possible amount of good, will, most assuredly,
characterize this last grand effort of the Corporation to
promote the prosperity and well-being of the community,--
City Tress.
A RUSSIAN TRAGEDY.—The Russian journals
mention the occurrence of a melancholy tragedy at
Lipetsk, in the government of Taraboff. A retired sub-
lieutenant, named Orloff, had just killed his cousin, Mdlle.
Apollinairo Sokoloff, by shooting her with a pistol at her
own request. The two cousins were deeply enamoured of
each other, but their relationship being an obstacle to their
union, the lady begged her lover to put an end to her life,
and the latter, in a moment of frenzy, only too faithfully
executed her wishes.