The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-16 00:00:00

do be lieve M. MAZZINI'S word to be as good as his
ROYAL ENGLISH OPERA,
COVENT-GARDEN. bon G ! looking upon bond and word of his as of
Under the Management of Miss Louisa Fyne and
Mr. W. Harrison. exv,ctiy about the same value !)—" BUT," writes
THIS EVENING, SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER : Miss M. MAZZINI, y
Louisa Pyne, Miss Hiles ; Messrs. H. Corri, G. rerren, and ; my testimony might be decisive of
W. Harrison. t.%ie question I cannot withhold it from one whose
To conclude with FANCHETTE.
Doors open at half-past Sis--(2ommenee at Seven. friendship I highly value, and who has spoken so
generously of me in an assembly where his doing
so might expose him to some inconvenience and
misinterpretation." After that, who shall dare to
breathe one syllable against the occupant of 35,
Thurloe-square P Even the law officers of the
Imperial Crown of France must, of course, by this
time be satisfied—now that no one less than M.
MAZZINI himself should have vindicated the charac-
ter of this Engiish Minister and member of Perlis-

THEATRE ROYAL DRUR Y-LAN E.
Managers, Messrs. Edmond Falconer and
E. B. Chatterton.

THIS EVENING, the Performances will commence with
THE FOUR. MOWBRAYS. Master Percy Roselle.
After which, MANFRED. Manfred, Mr. P'nelp 3.
To conclude with a new farce, TETE AL ABA.JIA. Mr. G.
Belmore and Miss Lydia Thompson.
Prices as usual. Box Office open from 10 till 5 daily.

ifIIE AT RE ROYAL HAY NI ARKET,-
Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr, Backstone.
THIS EVENING, THE LITTLE DAISY.
After which, BUNKUM MULLER. Mr. Sothern.
To be followed by OUR AMERICAN COUSIN: Messrs.
Sothern, Buckstone, Chippendale, Rovers, Clark, Gordon,
Braid, &c. ; Mesdames Angel, Lindley, Hill, Harris, Snowden,
Ake

wont.

There is evidently something very generous, in-
deed, in the temperament of M. MAZZINI. It is not
alone Mr. STANSFELD that he has stood forth thus
very recently to champion. There was pear
GRECO, the other day, over in Paris—that
amiable GRECO, whose little foible it was
to carry about with him a few trifles, in the
shape of bomb-shells of the most fearfully
destructive character, and whose other little weak-
ness it was to inveigle hornplayers like TREBUCCO
and scapegraces like IMPERATORI into charming
little deadly conspiracies of the most interesting
character imaginable ! Yes, there was this ingenu-
ous and delightful creature GRECO, who was under
a slight cloud, the other day, over in the French
capital—and it will be remembered of course per-
fectly well how M. MAZZINI (in the same frank
and spontaneous manner with which he is
now offering his inestimable tribute to the
English member of Parliament and "Minister
of the Crown"), wrote generously and
ingenuously of this poor amiable GRECO (as
MAZZINI did) as—" an enthusiastic patriot."
The last paragraph, by the way, in M. MAzziisis
letter to our leading contemporary is really
and truly in its way something quite exem-
plary ! "As to the Theory of the Dagger,"
writes M. MAZZINI, referring to the pamphlet from
which Mr. HENNESSY was quoting so lengthily,
and as it still appears to us so very aptly
the other evening:in the House of Commons. "As
to The Theory of the Dagger,' " writes M. MAZ •
ZINI, "the first time I happen to write upon it"—
[so that he is just possibly going to write upon it
again : refreshing thought !]—" the first time I
happen to write on it will be modified"—[so
that, according to M. kIAZZINI'S own show-
ing, it does admit of modification l] " it will
be modified into the Theory of the Moral
Dagger.' " The italics sic in M. MAZZINI'S
own letter. "Theory of the Moral Dagger !" We
long to witness the appearance of M. MAZZINI as
a moralist. Now that he has thrown out an ex-
tenuating phrase in regard to GRECO, now that he
has vouchsafed a good word for Mr. STANSFELD—
by all means let us have M, MAZZINI in his new
character as a moralist, and (so appropriately, too!)
a moralist about daggers !
It matters very little of course that we cannot
even now obtain the slightest clue in the world
as to who possibly this Mr. FLOWER may be
who has his letters directed on the sly to No, 35,
Thur;oe-square, Brompton, S.W. It matters still
less that M. MAZZINI in his Theory-of-the-Dagger
Pamphlet—addressing himself to " enthusiastic
patriots " like GRECO—there told them years ago
" make daggers of your files"—recalling to their
thoughts " the dagger of the Vespers," " the stone
of BALILLA." " the knife of PALAFOX." It matters
just absolutely nothing that he said to
to them "Blessed in your hands be every weapon
that can sat you free "—hinting to them the
adoption of " tbe weapon that slew MINCOWICEI,"
and that other weapon that "slew the Minister
Rossi in Rome." Plaiu words it may be thought,
these. But—Ah ! what to those others, wherein
M. MAZZINI pronounced the Governments them-
selves to be " responsible for the daggers that
glitter in the darkness of the land !
Always daggers always glittering they
fairly captivate his imagination, What are his
other utterances ? Listen !—" Sacred in the hand
°of JUDITS is the sword that took the life of HOLO-
FERNES." " Sacred was the dagger which HAR
MODIUS encircled with roses." " Sacred was the
stiletto of the Sicilian." "I recognise in that mani •
festation of tremendous equality between the tyrant
of millions and a single individual, the finger of
GOD." Surely, these are amenities culled from the
vary Evangel of Assassination. There is evidently,
according to M. Mazzitsi, but one Political Theory,
the Theory of the Dagger, call it, even if you will,
the Moral Dagger—and of that Theory, ripened into
a Religion, M. MAZZINI is himself at once the Pro
phet and the Evangelist.

And AN UNLUCKY MORTAL : Mr. W. Farren and
Miss M. Harris.

Commence at 7.

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.-
Sole Lesee and Manager, Mr. Geo. Vining,.
THIS EVENING, PAUL'S RETURN-.
After which, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS. The Two
Dromios, by the Brothers Webb.
And JACK'S ARRIVAL FROM CANTON.

ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE
Under the Sole Management of Mr. Fechter.
Last Four Nights before Easter.
BEL DEMONIC) (a Triumphant Success) will be repeated
Every Evening during the Week.

THIS EVENING, the performance will commence with a
New. and Original Farce, entitled THE LOST CHILD:
Messrs. H. Widdicombe, Shore, Garden, F. Charles Collett,
M9reland; Misses Percy, Pauline Lezlerci, Wood, Mrs. Lee,
and Miss E. Lavenu.

A Ater which, at Eight o'clock, the 112th Night of BEL
DEMONIO, a Love Story, in Twelve Tableaux, taken from
Stendhal's "Italian Chronicle 4," by Mr. John Brougham
Messrs. Jordan, Charles, Brougham, Emery, F. Morton,
Rayxnond, Moreland, Smith, Clifford, Collett, Sims ; Miss
Kate Terry, Miss E. Lavenu, Mrs. Lee, %lies Elsworthy.
The Public are entreated to take notice that No Charge is
made to the occupants of Boxes, Box-places, or Stalls, either
for play bills or for the safe keeping of hate and cloaks, and
that the attendants in all parts of the house are forbidden to
receive any gratuities whatever.

'he full extent of the recent calamity at Shef-
field is now pretty well known. It has far ex-
ceeded even the wild reports of rumour, and the
vast destruction of property occasioned by the
deluge is forgotten, while we contemplate the
great lose of life which has resulted from this
catastrophe. The Bradfield reservoir is some six
miles horn Sheffield, at the junction of the
Loxley and Stammington Hills, and forming one
of the many belonging to the Sheffield Water
Company. Advantage was taken of the position
of the hills to form an immense reservoir between
them, by constructing a huge embankment some
300 yards, in length, and upwards of 80 feet
in height, so as to enclose a triangular
basin of some 76 acres area, and capable of con-
taining more than 100,000,000 cubic feet of
water. Oa Friday night this barrier gave way,
and the pent up waters rushed down the valley of
the Don, carrying all before them, destroying
houses and bridges, and sweeping every living
thing away. The full particulars of the tragedy
have been repeated in so many forms already that
it is unnecessary for us to dwell uFon this sad scene
at the present moment. The first feeling of horror
and astonishment over the whole country has
awakened to the necessity of promptly aiding the
surviving sufferers. The people of Sheffield have
come forward with an eagerness which does them
great credit, and their example will no doubt be
liberally followed. But while we use our best
endeavours to assist those who have been
so suddenly bereft of their relations and their pro-
perty, let us turn our attention to the cause of all
this misery. England may well be proud of the
great works that have been executed by her en-
gineers. In a comparatively short time she has
risen from scientific obscurity to be the first en-
gineering nation in the world. Works are now
undertaken as ordinary matters of every day busi-
ness which our forefathers would not have drsamed
of, and private companies undertake and carry out
enterprises tha magnitude of which would have
made illustrious the mighty monarchs of former
times. Yet with all cur enterprises and resources
we are every day undermining our hard won pres.
tige by neglecting the dictates of prudence, as
the deep and silent waters in the wolds of York
shire were sapping the foundations of the Bradfield
dam. The bursting of a reservoir is no uncommon
occurrence. The pressure of water is well under-
stood, and the neglect of the proper precautions to
ensure security is an unpardonable oversight on
the part of all concerned. It is not the want of
engineering skill that occasions the frequent acci-