The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-11 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

SATURDAY REVIEW.—There were points which
might well have lifted the murder atWigwell Lodge
out of the annals of vulgar crime and given it an
ideal character. The heroine filled her part well.
Beautiful, attractive, self-reliant, and fearless, as it
seems, of that temper which by the murderer's own
showing had betrayed itself to her as dangerous—
bent on softening the blow she must inflict, and not
shrinking from scenes that cannot but have been
highly wrought and harrowing—there is no short-
coming here. The hero, too, had some of the qua-
lities we look for in romance. Tall, handsome,ol
good bearing, gifted with many of the qualities that
ladies love, and capable of a fixed purpose for which
he is ready to sacrifice his life—at least we should
have expected violence from him to harmonise with
our poetical conceptions of crime to which passion,
and no directly sordid aim, is the instigator. Yet
what a strange revelation the whole scene is of the
predominance of habit, of the mastery of the com-
moner influences over the obvious claims of the
occasion, of that slowness to apprehend the bearing
and consequences of anything terrible or startling
which characterises ordinary men so long as cir-
cumstances will allow! Even the very proper-
ties and surroundings, the images brought before
our eyes by the narrative, excite a sense of indigna-
tion at the deference to instincts of the very com-
monest everyday life in that supremest moment.
That sweet girl, for such she was—pretty, graceful,
animated, courted, beloved—who had, less than
an hour before, left her drawing-room, her own
proper domain, in all the pride of youth and bloom,
is carried dead into the kitchen by her lover, and
laid on its hard, rude floor. Then, to be sure, lot-
lows a melodramatic flourish of heroics. 'I he old
grandfather asks, " What ever made you do it ?"
and there is the reply, "The woman that deceives
me dies." But here begins and ends the only fea-
ture of the scene in common with the romance of
fiction. No remorse, no apostrophizing !—how
should there be in the kitchen ? It would seem as
if the poor old gentleman, in a vague sense of dis-
comfort and bewilderment, wanted that great con-
soler of old age—his tea. The murderer had been
his guest. For different reasons he must not leave
him in the kitchen ; and the way that suggested
itself out of the dilemma was to propose that they
should have a cup of tea together, and "talk it
over." Townley accordingly goes upstair to wash
his hands, and sits down with his" Bessie'a" grand-
father to tea ann brandy and water. How far,
we wonder, did the scene strike the family doctor
as natural when, having taken his necessary survey
of the murdered girl he had known so well, stretched
cold and stff on the kitchen floor, be was introduced
into the library to find the pair at tea together ?
There was, he sass, little conversation during the
quarter of an hour of waiting for the policeman.
The prisoner, however, was perfectly self-possessed,
and alive to little personal inconveniences. "Look
here," he says, showing his hand, "I have cut my-
self too; can you do something for it ?'"llen
arrives the constable. The prisoner gives himself
up, asks to see his victim, is taken once more to the
kitchen, looks at her, and pronounces himself far
happier than he was before. Now this apathy, this
unimpassioned look of things, this routine of every
day in such an unspeakable contrast of circumstance,
dces not, we know, mean all that it appears to do,
but it does mean something. We ace a sort of stolid
habit prevailing among the main actors. The poor
old grandfather might think afterwards that he
had acted with a set purpose of detaining the pci-
sorter ; but in fact, when utterly bewildered, especi-
ally at his age, people do follow habit, and the
idea " of talking it over at tea" implied, no doubt,
a very indistinct notion of what the thing to be
talked over was. But how sit down to tea with
bloody hands ?—therefore his guest must be asked
to wash them. And that poor girl on the kitchen
floor ! It is not in ordinary human nature—in no
nature that is not carried out of itself—to bring
dropping blood, even life-blood of the dearest
upon carpets and furniture and front stairs.
It belongs to a universal instinct, strengthened by
nurses and servants till it becomes part of us; there-
fore the victim must be laid where blood will leave
no stain. We resent it all, but the true vulgarity
of the scene rests with the murderer himself—with
that dull low nature which felt no remorse, which
could be sensitive to the pain of a scratch, and still
feel a relish for his tea after he had satisfied his
revenge—which could look upon her he professed
to have loved, and realise that recent act of brutal
vengeance, and " feel happier," and 'seep a good
appetite, and be composed and well-behaved, and
never for a moment sorry, never stung by memory,
never oppressed by that "insupportable and heavy
hour" when a soul made for better things wakes to
the sense of an irrevocable crime. A restless desire
to be comfortable seems to lie at the bottom of this
state of mind—a craving for satisfaction and an
immediate relief when this is attained. Selfishness
of this magnitude cannot regard things for a
moment out of their relation to self, so as to be ob-
jects of disinterested pity or sorrow. Remorse
does not know how to find its way into such minds.
They feel so strongly the right and duty to make
themselves comfortable that no other consideration
can find an entrance. A very similar case, tried in
the same court, occurred, it may be remembered,
two years ago. The man Thorley was a pugilist,
a low sort of fellow, but not without friends and
sympathisers. He saw his sweetheart two
or three times in company with a soldier cousin,
" and didn't like it ;" and so he cut her throat,
and told the policeman to whom he gave him-
self in charge that he felt a deal more comfortable
after it. He had but two requests to make after
this relief to his feelings—the first to the constable,
that he would allow him to smoke his pipe out, for
perhaps he should never have another—the second
to the magistrates, that his mother might bring
him his Sunday dinner. Education does not uni-
formly make a differenee. At the bottom of all may
lurk the savage, lulled for the moment and smoothed
over by a little outside polish, bat only waiting for
his occasion. There was a moment when Othello
felt a touch of this mood, and he knew it—when he
felt the rising demon turning that into murder
which was sacrifice. But he did not rest an instant
in the comfortable stage. Nor did he murder his
wife for the sake of his own ease, but on some blind
notion of injured honour. He felt for his victim
throughout—" the pity of it, lago, the pity of it"—
and remorse rushed in with the first knowledge that
he had accomplished his purpose, not waiting to be
undeceived. With him it was—" My wife, my
wife ! What wife ? I have no wife" instead of
pipes, and tea, and brandy and water.
LONDON REVIEW.—The curious stress laid on the fact
that Townley justified openly in his cell the deed for which
he was condemned, reminds us not a little of a similar scene
depicted Ly that master hand which, within tho last few
weeks, has been laid cold in death. Everybody knows Sir
Bultver Lytton's "Eugene Aram." Everybody knows Mr.
Thackeray's amusing and witty parody of it in his comic
imitation novel, entitled " George do Barnewell." Seated
in the condemned cell, George de Barnewell conversed with
his excellent chaplain upon metaphysics in general—the
soul—existence—Plato—and the Ideal and the Beautiful.
Where there is no remorse, said George de Barnewell,
there can be no crime. I am not sorry—therefore I am
innocent. Is my reasoning correct ? And the venerable
chaplain admitted that the argument could not bo con-
futed. We cannot help thinking that some similar
scene must have taken place in the gaol, when Mr. Gordon
attempting to prove to George Victor Townley that murder
was sinful, George Victor Townley rolled his eyes, and told
the gentleMr.Gordon that, upon all moral and philosophical
grounds, Mr. Gordon's reasoning was unsound. Lastly,
the public have before them at some length, in the Derby-
shire Advertiser, a history of the vacillations which Sir

George Grey's mind has undergone on the subject. The new
material on which the prisoner's sentence was changed is set
forth at length. First and foremost, having brought Dr.
Winslow to swear that the prisoner's conversation contained
symptoms of moral insanity, the friends of the prisoner now
come forward to declare that the prisoner's early life and

opinions were irreproachable. If so, so much the worse for
Dr. Winslow's theory. If Townley had always been mad,
it would have been one thing. If he was only mad since
the murder, and while conversing with his doctor and his
chaplain, the affair alters its complexion. Mr. Dolan, a
friend of Townley's—who was not called at the trial—next
made statement on oath that in London on one occasion
Townley had purchased seven white hats and three um•
brellas, and had cut holes in the hats to distinguish them
from one another. On another occasion Townley had jumped
into the water with his clothes on, in apparent ignorance
that he was not undressed. The evidence looks strangely
suspicious. If given, it was given on an affidavit without
cross-examination, and ex parte statementz of this kind—we
mean no disrespect to Mr. Dolan—are worth as a rule about
as much as the paper on which they are written. But where
was Mr. Dolan at the trial ? Explanations, we are informed
have been given to the Home Secretary as to his absence.
We shall be very glad to see them. As Townley's friends
had got three months's notice of his trial, it is rather strange
so important a witness was not present, though he is
able to turn up a fortnight after, when the judge and the
cross-examining counsel have gone back to their Christmas
fireside. But even if Mr Dolan's evidence were all irre
fragable, to what a ludicrous nothing does it amount?
Townley is absent in mind. Townley is eccentric in the
way he treats his hats. Therefore Townley, when he cut
Miss Goodwin'a throat, did not know what he was doing.
The inference is absurd, even if were not overwhelmed and
destroyed by the mass of plain testimony to the contrary
given in court at Derby. Next we arrive at the Lunacy
Commission sent down by Sir G. Grey to visit Townley in
prison. We are told that Townley was never made aware
of the object of their visit. Very possibly. But did Town-
ley not know it as well as if governor, turnkeys, and chap.
lain had all thundered it in his ears ? Credal Judceus, we
say. Three Commissioners are hard at work probing the
state of George Victor Townley's mental faculties, three
days before the day of execution,and Mr. Townley converses
as innocently and ignorantly of it all as a babe. If Townley
did in truth remain unconscious of all this kindly inquisi-

tion, it says far more for his imbecility than has ever
yet been said for his insanity. The Commissioners
then examine witnesses. Was there anybody to
cross-examine them ? Why were not these witnesses forth-
coming when the prisoner stood before the judge and jury
on his deliverance ? We really do not know. Let us hope
that Sir George Grey at least knows, and that he will vouch-
safe to give this valuable information to the country.
Finally, has there been the faintest shadow of fact to rebut
the proof given at the assizes—a proof so unequivocal that
after five minutes' deliberation the jury came to the conclu-
sion that at the moment of doing the deed Townley knew
what he was about ? Mental derangement of a certain sort
will not do. Moral blindness is not enough. Blind pas-
sions and uncontrollable impulses are besides the question.
What else has appeared to modify the former indestructible
evidence we are left for the present to guess, hopelessly in
the dark; but as two out of the three Commissioners sent
down by the Home Office were doctors, the third being a
solicitor, we cannot help our suspicions. Upon the report
of the Commission, or of a majority of the Commission, Sir
George Grey has acted. George Victor Townley passes by
a happy transition from the scaffold to Bethlehem Hospi-
tal. The country may congratulate itself if the arrange.
ment does net issue in a vast increaseof bloodshed through•
out the length and breadth of England. These things sow
their seed, and the seed is unhappily the seed of blood.
In the interest of human life this case must not pass
over without explanation. It is because humane men
hate hanging and regard it as a sad necessity, that
they ask that if mercy is to be shown it should not
be shown in cases where to show mercy is to encourage
mad passion and crime. The law is clear, and made
for the protection of human life. Life becomes insecure
when the law comes down from its high seat and makes
way for a commission of doctors. Some step must be taken,
for the sake of society, to come to a clear understanding on
the question both of insanity and of the present exercise of
the royal prerogative by the Home Mee. As at present
advised we are inclinedto believe with much dissatisfaction
that Townley owes a justly-forfeited life to the illegal
theories of a few doctors, to the weakness of Sir George
Grey, and to the great activity of Townley's many
friends. So far we are of one mind with " S. G. 0,"
Let there be one law for rich and poor. Townley has had
advantages which men less favourably circumstanced
never would have possessed; and, on the very doubtful
hypothesis that Sir George Grey is right in remitting
his sentence, every poor man has the right to ask that the
law and procedure in cases of murderous insanity should be
carefully reformed.
SPECTITOR,—.Every incident of the week has made war
itself more probable, and almost every one has drawn
England deeper into the fray. Defers our next number
issues hostilities may have commenced between Denmark
and the Diet, with the full understancing that England is
about to become one of the active belli;erents. The events
which have led to this situation, so ds.ngerous and so an-
noying, are all tolerably clear, though our Government,
considering the imminence of tin danger is more reticent
than its wont. The British Ministry, it seems evident,
though deeply offended at the conditions foisted into the
treaty of 1852, resolved not to fight simply to prevent the
execution in Holstein. Whoever was Duke, the province
was German, and Germany in her collective capacity had
a right to march troops into the duchy on grounds of whose
validity she alone was the legal judge. Lord Wodehouse
was, therefore, instructed to advise the Danes to retire, and
they did retire, yielding up even the military work which
protects the passage of the Eider. So completely was
this concession at variance with Danish feeling, and so
eager were the invaders, that at the very last moment
hostilities were on the point of breaking cut, and a Danish
captain chased a Saxon regiment which had advanced too
far on the bridge back at the point of the bayonet. Still
the concession was made, and was rewarded by the imme-
diate loss of Holstein to the Danish Crown. Everywhere as
the Danes retired the people proclaimed Duke Frederick
and all the force of a popular election is now added to all
the strength he derives from hereditary descent. This cen-
cesion made the Germans advance a step further. The
smaller governments resolved thatSchlesvig should also be
occupied, and the resolve met with a cordial response from
the mass of the German people. The two great Courts,
afraid at once of a general war and of prcvoking a revolu-
tion, proposed in the Diet that Schleswig should be " occu-
pied " unless the common constitution were withdrawn.
The condition is an impossible one, became the withdrawal
demands a vote King Christian cannot get; but we are
bound to say it was not of necessity dishonestly made.
The Austrian, if not the Prussian, idea vas, no doubt, to
occupy Schleswig, instead of invading it, and then refer
the question, as being an international one, to a conference,
of the Powers. To make this plan successful, however, the
consent of Denmark was necessary, and Denmark refused
to consent. Schleswig—whatever its individual rights—
was still a fief of Denmark, and not of Germany, and for
the Danes to give up their dependencies under menace—
even if legally as little their property as the Septinsular
Republic was the property of Great Britain—was to sign
their own extinction as an independent people. Great
Britain for the same reason could not advise a step which
would involve all the results of defeat before the struggle
had been begun. Moreover, she was bound by every
feeling of honour to give the ally who had accepted her
advice to her own hurt some protection in return for
her previous docility. The object, also, of the treaty of
1852 was to protect the integrity and independence of Den-
mark; to yield up Schleswig was to yield that indepen-
dence, and, therefore, to abolish a treaty prepared by the
very Minister now responsible for the eouncils of Great
Britain. Finally, there was no proof, or not sufficient
proof, that the people of Schleswig, even if entitled to the
rights of nationality—an impossible admission, unless
Wales and Brittany are nationalities—have ever rejected the
Danish connection. On the contrary, it is believed that the
Danish and Frisian vote would be thrown in favour of
Denmark, and that together they would outnumber the re-
luctant German minority. Moved by all these considera-
tions, and others of which we may know nothing, Earl
Russell addressed to the Diet a note, which the Germans
describe as " blustering," but which apparently amounts to
this—if the troops of the Diet cross the Eider England will
be unable any longer to refuse Denmark her assistance. In
other words, the British Government will, if the Germans
persist, declare war on so much of Germany as shall help
in the invasion of Schleswig. Will, then, the Germans
persist, for it is with them, and net with England or Den-
mark, that the issues now rest ? SS e greatly fear that they
will. It is possible that Austria, not being wholly depen-
dent on Germany, and terrified by risings in Venetia and
Hungary, may have the nerve to retire ; but that will not
very seriously alter the situation. Germany would bo
still too powerful for Denmark, still ready to brave Great
Britain rather than surrender the coveted province. The
remaining German States are urged on by one of those
fits of enthusiasm which sometimes seizes great
nations, which, in Teutonic races, burn very slowly out,
and which at any moment may produce a movement or a
vote terminating all discussion. It is said, with apparent
truth, that Francs has consented to the English proposal of
a conference on the matter; but this consent, even if given,
does not settle the difficulty. The Diet may not consent,
and probably will not, for the Diet has throughout the
affair pressed two immovable points—Holstein is German,
and its occupation a matter of internal concern; Schleswig
is inseperably united with Holstein, and must share its fate.
If the Diet, therefore, consents to put Schleswig into the
crucible it is beaten without a fight, and can henceforward
make no pretensions to lead the German race. It is diffi-
cult to believe that the Diet, well aware that submission
may lead to immediate revolution, will consent to submit,
unless pressed by a coalition of which there seems no
chance. This conference is the last hope—but near as we
seem to war, there is nothing in the proceedings of the
British Government which can reasonably be blamed. It

THE READER.—Those who had taken part in the oppo-
sition to the motion for inviting Mr. Thackeray to a Vice-
Presidency of the Shaksperian Committee have been recently
anxious to explain they had done so on mere grounds of
form, and proposed that the portion of the minutes of the
previous meeting which registered the unfortunate vote
should be erased. The majority, however, were not satis-
fied with this mode of obliterating an act which all now re-
gretted ; and it was at length agreed that the minute of
the unfortunate vote should remain, but that there
should be inserted in the same minute-book a resolution
expressing the participation of the committee in the com-
mon sorrow for Thackeray's premature decease, and their
regret that, owing to circumstances, his name had not been
added before that event to the list of the vice-presidents.
As respects Thackeray or his memory the whole matter is
now of inconceivably small consequence. Little will he
reek, if they let him sleep on. But, from the extreme acer-
bity with which the matter is being commented on in the
public papers and in private talk, it is to be feared
that it will affect the unanimity and success of the
proceedings, already so far advanced, for the
adequate celebration of the coming Shakspeare Tercen-
tenary. This would be a great pity. There are but
three months and a half between us and that 23d
of April which, it had been determined, by the consent of
se many who are far enough from any passion for pageants
or popular demonstrations, should be made, as far as our
British and nineteenth-century habits will permit, a great
national festival. The organisation that, under the name
of the National Shakespeare Committee, has been formed
for this object, and especially for making arrangements for
the erection of a monument to Shakespeare in London, is as
complete and suitable, if we may judge from the names it
includes, as any such organisation could be. If it should
collapse or be crippled, we do not see how, in the brief time
that remains, new arrangements can be made for a Shake-
spearian commemoration on the great scale that was con-
templated. There are a good many, we believe, to whom
this would be a matter for no particular regret— who would
not care although on the approaching 23d of April there
should only be such scattered Shakespeare dinners as there
have always been on that day of the year wherever the
Shakespearian enthusiasm is rife, without any grand de-
vices for the centralisation or inter-connection of them, or
any attempt to swell the feeling on this anniversary of the
event that has made Stratford-on-Avon dear to the world.
But these perhaps peculiarly constituted persons, who turn
their backs upon everything, or in whom sociability is
deficient; and, recollecting how well the Burns Festival
went off five years ago, most people have been thinking
that it would be, to say the least, no bad thing to make a
still greater experiment, in a Shakespeare Festival, of our
powers, even in these morose days, of giving shape and
simu:taneous expression to a joyous national sentiment. It
would be a pity if, while affairs were in train for such an
experiment, there should come unnecessarily an interrup-
tion. And we do not see why an interruption should be
necessary on account of what has recently happened. Why
should not that ungraceful and unfortunate act, which all
now regret, be regarded as simply the act of one scantily at-
tended Committee meeting, rectified, so far as it could be rec-
tified, by a restrospective resolution in another? And why
should not the National Shakespeare Committee still
carry on the work which they were constituted to pro-
mote—that of collecting funds for the erection of a
Shakespeare monument in London, and at the same time
corresponding with whatever local bodies are preparing for
local celebrations of the Tercentenary, so as to give some
sort of unity and centralisation to the whole design ? It
may, indeed, be necessary that more of the General Com-
mittee than have yet taken an active part in the business
should now begin to do so. Wore the Johnsons, the Gar-
ricks, and the Burkes of our day to take a little pains in
arranging for this Shakespeare jubilee, and to lend a little
of their personal co-operation as well as their mere names
to the preliminary proceedings. there would be a general
restoration of confidence. We should be glad to see
Mr. Dickens, for example, who is one of the
Vice-Presidents, bringing his groat popularity and
his well-known powers of organisation to bear
upon the arrangements. A good deal, it seems,
remains to be done and thought of. In particular there has
been dissatisfaction at Stratford-on-Avon on the ground
that the National Committee, instead of paying due regard
to the pre-eminent claims of the dear little town in any
celebration of the tercentenary that may be arranged, have
been drawing all the elements for the celebration into a Lon •
don vortex. On this ground we see that the Mayor of Strat-
ford has been holding meetings and otherwise stirring up
zeal in mid-England for an independent Shakspearian fes-
tival, of which Stratford shall be the centre. For our
part we think that Stratford should be made the centre
of as much of the total national ceremonial of
the celebration as it can be made to accommodate. On
the anniversary, when it comes, most people will dine
at the Shakespeare dinner that chances to be nearest to
them; but who is there that, if he could choose, would not
a thousand times rather be at the Stratford-on-Avon din-
ner than at any of the others ? It might be so arranged
that Stratford should have at least a fair proportion on the
occasion of those celebrities whose time is their own. In
matter of monuments agreement between London and Strat-
ford might be more difficult; but even that might be brought
about by judicious management. What seems immediately
essential is, as we have said, that more of the members of
the General Committee shall take part in the business.

Destructive Fire at the Brighton Railway

Station.

Yesterday morning, shortly after five o'clock, a police-
constable, in passing along Tooley-street, Southwark,
noticed smoke hovering over the great terminus of the
Brighton and South Coast Railway at London-bridge.
At first he imagined that a special train had just arrived,
but in the course of a few seconds the crackling of glass
and a lurid glare, which shot up almost instantaneously,
led him to the belief that a fire had broken out
either within or near the station. He therefore sounded
his rattle, which quickly brought to the spot other
officers, and they then found that the Crystal Palace depart-
ment station was in flames. This particular part of the sta-
tion is about 55 feet broad and about 62 feet long. The roof
was formed of thick glass, supported by iron columns and
cross-bars, but none of them were able to withstand the
intense heat of the fire, and the flames extended with un-
usual rapidity to the electric telegraph department, includ-
ing the lobby, and also to another portion of the station 60
feet long and 50 broad. The fire next seized upon four
goods trucks standing on a siding on the line, and also on
the adjoining offices. One or two of Shand and Mason's
powerful engines are always kept at the station in case of a
fire breaking out, in charge of a well-disciplined fireman;
but after the ordinary traffic is over this person leaves, ge-
nerally at 1 a.m. In the present case he had gone home,
and those left behind appear not to have known where the
fire plugs—of which there were plenty in the station to meet
any emergency—were situated ; consequently the men could
render no assistance, except by removing property from
contiguous offices. Mr. Henderson, the foreman of the
London Brigade ; Mr. J. Gerrard, the head of the steam
land engines ; Mr. Swanton, and various other officials,
came up with landsteam and manual-power engines, as did
also another, which was brought from Hodge's Distillery,
at Lambeth. Unfortunately another obstacle then pre-
sented itself, for the inhabitants, by some means, had for-
gotten to send for the turncocks, and the fire being thereby
unrestrained continued to spread, and seizing upon the book
and newspaper depots belonging to Messrs. W. H. Smith
and Son, the whole presented one blaze, and the heat was
so intense that the glass in the roof became molten, and the
iron rods and supports twisted into a variety of forms.
The turncocks at length arrived, and a splendid supply of
water having been obtained the firemen went to work in
their usual intrepid manner, and happily succeeded in cut-
ting off the further spread of the flames ; but they were
unable to get them extinguished until about sixty or
sixty-five feet of tho roof of the Crystal Palace department
station were destro)ed, and another part, 60 by 40, almost
riddled by the action of the fire. The telegraph lobby, &c.,
are almost burned out, and the offices adjoining severely
damaged by fire, and four trucks partially burned. The
total loss will be very considerable, and it is not known
whether the property was insured. The book depot and the
offices of Messrs. Smith are also burned down, and the
patent slate foot path which led to the trains was parted
asunder by the heat of the conflagration and fell below, so
that a temporary wooden platform was obligated to be laid
down yesterday to enable travellers to reach their respec-
tive carriers.

Another fire happened yesterday morning, on the pre-
mises of Messrs. Blumenthal and Co„ horsehair manufac-
turers, No. 11, Grey-street, Commercial-road East. The
engines of the parish and the London Brigade, and the
escapes quickly attended, and a bountiful supply of water
having been procured the fireman went to work, but they
were unable to get the fire subdued until some tons weight of
valuable stock were destroyed. Insured in the Commercial
Union (Ace, 'ihe origin of the fire is unknown.

The hope that all cause for apprehension from
the foreign element in rebel interests had ceased
has been some what rudely dissipated. The steamer
Firefly—next to the Hyson the most useful boat at
Gordon's disposal—was seized last week by a body
of foreigners while lying at anchor in the Wongpoo,
and carried off in triumph to Soochow. The Firefly
came down on Friday afternoon, and was to have
left again on Saturday, but was detained at General
Brown's request, as he desired an interview with
Gorden, and was unable to leave till the following
day. At daylight on Sunday morning, however, her
quartermaster made his appearance at headquar-
ters with the announcement that she had been car-
ried off daring the night, that the rest of her crew
had been made prisoners, but that he had escaped
by jumping overboard. The Firefly had on board
the armaments for the Tsatlee, another small steamer
which has just been chartered by the Futai for ser-
vice with Gordon, and it was feared that her captors
might by a bold stroke succeed in carrying off this
vessel too; that her change of masters being un-
known, she might run through the Imperialist lines
alongside the Tsatlee, as though for the purpose of
discharging the stores destined for the latter and
overpower the small crew. A mounted messenger
was despatched in all haste to warn Gordon of his
danger; but, as it turned out, the apprehension was
unfounded. The captors of the Firefly were satisfied
with one prize, and took her directly to Soochow,
where no doubt they were welcomed with empresse-
ment by the Mowang and handsomely rewarded.
Suspicion at once pointed to Burgevine as the in-
stigator of the deed; it was like one of his bold
strokes, and no one else could be thought of who pos•
sensed the ability to plan or the courage to carry out
so daring an enterprise. Whether or not he were con-
cerned in the affair is likely to remain a mystery for
the present, as he of course will not confess it, and
his only confidants, if confidants they were, are now
safely under the walls of Soochow. The next day a
rumour got abroad that he had in person endea-
voured to seize another Chinese steamer, the Fei-
loong, but it was not till Tuesday that the story as-
sumed a definite shape, through the receipt of infor-
mation that Burgevine was a prisoner in the hands
of the Futai. Immediate steps were taken to obtain
his release, bat in the meantime his Excellency had
become frightened at the breach of treaty of which
he was guilty in detaining an American subject, and
sent him, under a strong guard to the American
consulate. The circumstances which led to his
arrest are very differently narrated by Burgevine
and by the Chinese. The former says that he wished
to see Gordon, knew the steamer was getting up
steam to go to Soochow, and went on board to ask a
passage ; that he had been on board an hour or two
waiting for her to start, when a posse of mandarin
soldiers came on board, seized and bound him, flung
him down, spat and jumped on !elm, and robbed him
of all his valuables. The Chinese, on the other hand,
say that shortly after Burgevine's arrival three other
Europeans came alongside in a sampan, refused to
answer when hailed, were fired on, and sheered off;
that Bargevine, directly they appeared, attempted
to stop the firing, caught up a hatchet, cut one
man down and split another's face open, and endea-
voured to sever the Feiloong's hawser, and cut her
adrift. However this may be, Bargevine was at
once set at liberty by the United States' Consul,
greatly to the disgust of the Chinese, and took to
his bed in consequence of the injuries he had re-
ceived at their hands. The following day, however,
he was again arrested, this time by the United
States' Consul himself, and is lodged in the Con-
sular gaol until his health will permit him to be de-
ported from China. Nothing. has, I believe, been
proved against him, but the feeling is general that so
long as he remains in Shanghai captures of Fircflys
and despatches of boatloads of arms to the rebels
are always to be dreaded_ Besides, the Chinese
regard him with suspicion, and permitting him to
remain at large will certainly engender ill-feeling
on their part toward both the English and American
authorities, for they do not discriminate very
lucidly between the two nationalities in such a case
as the present.
In the meantime Gordon has captured another
stockade, after one of the sharpest actions that has
yet taken place. The rebel position was not far from
Sikow, the scene of his last encounter, and lay be-
tween that village and the city, from which it was
not far distant. Early on the morning of the 11th
he set out with about 1,200 disciplined Chinese and
some field pieces, with which he opened fire shortly
before noon. The shell did not seem to have their
usual effect on this occasion, and an assault was
ordered so soon as a breach had been effected in the
earthworks, without the defenders having shown
any symptom of wavering. Capt. Gibb fell, shot
through the heart, while leading the stormers ; and
Lieut. Parker was badly wounded, besides a num-
ber of Chinese put hors de combat; but the position
was eventually carried at the point of the bayonet,
and the rebels driven with heavy loss under shelter
of the guns of Soochow. It is reported that Gordon
has now extended his lines as far as his limited force
will permit him, and purposes soon to commence

to bombard the city itself. I am inclined, how•
ever, to think that he will await the arrival o

further bodies of mandarin soldiers whom it is
hoped the Fatal will be persuaded to send.
Macartney has been cruising through the Tae-ho,
or Great Lake, to the south west of Soochow, with
2,000 men and 50 gunboats, and has effectually
cleared it and the numerous islands with which it

is studded of rebels, capturing several stockades
and receiving the homage of the inhabitants, who
seem perfectly indifferent as to who rules, pro-
vided they are allowed to attend in peace to their
silkworms and mulberry trees. They offered to
shave their heads, but Macartney deferred exacting
this mark of submission to the Tartar until he
should be in a position to permanently occupy the
district.

In Ningpo, the Mandarins and Franco-Chinese,
on the one hand, and Colonel Cooke on the other,
seem to be resting on their laurels, acquired at Foy-
ang and Wantaquan respectively. Cooke, however,
is on the point of starting for the former city to
endeavour to arrange with the Fanti for an attack
on the departmental city of Hangchow, formerly
one of the richest and most beautiful in China, and
at which an old saying of the Chinese affirms that a
man ought to have passed a portion of his existence

in order to enjoy life thoroughly.
A meeting of all the foreign consuls was held on
the l'lth at the British Consulate, her Britannic
Majesty's Consul in the chair, to deliberate on the
best means to be adopted for suppressing the row-
dyism, which has lately been increasing to an alarm•
iug extent in the settlement. England, France,
Russia, America, Prussia, Portugal, Denmark, the
Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Spain, and
the Hanse Towns were all represented. The Ameri-
can settlement has of late became a perfect nest of
loafing, unemployed vagabonds, whom the necessity
for earning a livelihood, apart from any natural
proclivities, drives into all kinds of crimes. The ab-
duction of the Firefly was a climax to the robberies,
murders, and piracies which have of late been com-
mitted with grave frequency, considering the com-
paratively small number of the foreign population,
and forced on the representatives of the several
treaty Powers the conviction that it was due
to their own nationals and to the Chinese,
who are jealously excluded from all juris-
diction over foreigners, to endeavour to plAce some
check to the evil. The matter, however, is diffi-
cult to deal with. ft is easy enough after a crime
has been committed to punish the culprit if he be
caught ; but it is far from easy to bring any preven-
tive agency to work in the case of a host of loafiing
ruffians who have no legitimate means of livelihood,
and are known to be capable of any villany that may
be practicable, but have not as yet brought them-

la ..t, 1% :,,-_, int ..,:t
V,
selves within reach of the law. DeportatioW 01'''. '
—. • 1. .i:-1 .
~:-4
only apparent remedy, but this the majorit3t fatl.h: A 4-41 -
‘,7
i
consuls declared they had not ouffioiellt Pcke, i,_t'.9-:,4)4,/
adopt. A good deal of discussion took place, ifr-fhq a -.'
'44c,----"
:1 s
course of which several resolutions were arrived af"-
but not all of a very practical nature. In the first
place, a better surveillance over members of unre-
presented nationalities is hoped to be attained, by
requesting the Chinese to delegate to the Municipal
Council their right to deal with such. But this
measure is not likely to be of much effect, as Greeks
are almost the only unrepresented nationals in Shan-
ghai. An injudicious proposal was made by the
English Consul, and, I regret, to say, adopted, viz.,
that the Chinese should be requested rigorously to
arrest eery foreigner discovered in the interior
without a passport. At a first glance this may
appear likely to be effectual in preventing the wan-
derings of improper characters, but t -:is will rot be
its only effect. It encourages the ChiAese in the
maintenance of that exclusiveness which it is our
great interest to break down. Every useful purpose
would be served if the Mandarins arrested any
foreigner found committing crime in the interior,
and handed him over to his national representative,
and this they are not likely to neglect to do. To
authorise them—nay, to request them to arrest any
traveller not provided with a regular pass is at once to
re-establish barriers which had been partially broken
down. It is by destroying its root and source that
the evil of rowdyism must be attacked, not by lop-
ping away its offshoots. So long as a low-class un-
employed population is allowed to accumulate at
Shanghai, crimes will be of constant occurrence.
Some supervision should be exercised over these,
and all who can give no satisfactory account of
themselves or their prospects, requested to " move
on" to some other port. Acting on this principle,
the Spanish Consul informed the meeting that ho
had already written to Manilla fora Spanish frigate,
to convey away between 200 and 300 Manillamen
who are infesting the settlement. It was ultimately
resolved that a general meeting of foreign consuls
should take place every month; that a committee
should be appointed consiting of several of the prin-
cipal consuls and the Chairman of the English and
French Municipal Councils, to frame such regula-

tions as they might deem suitable for the mainte-
nance of order among the foreign populations; and
lastly, that such consuls as were not satisfied with
the extent of their powers should write to their
respective Governments for an extension of them.
The intelligence which has been received during
the past fortnight from Japan is much more satisfac-
tory than any which has arrived of late, and affords
hope that war may yet be avoided. The Prince
of Satsuma Las at length become convinced. that
it is useless to protract his resistance to the Eng-
lish demands, and has consented to accede to
every request we have made. He deputed several
of his high officers to visit Colonel Neale, with
whom they had three long interviews, and in the
last agreed to arrangements of a perfectly satis-
factory nature. A high officer of the Tycoon was
present during the interviews, and distinctly under-
stood and approved the result. Atfirst the envoys ex-
pressed a strong feeling that the Prince of Satsuma
had not been well treated by the British fleet in
seizing and burning his steamers without warning of
Admiral Kuper's intention, but they confessed that
the matter assumed a different aspect after Colonel
Neale'a explanation—that the steamers had been
seized in the first instance, without any intention
of burning them, on account of the Prince's dilatori-
ness in replying to Col. Neale's despatch, and had
subsequently been destroyed when the Japanese
commenced hostilities by firing on the English ships.
So friendly has Satsuma now become, if appear-
ances may be trusted, that he expressed, through
his envoys, a desire to send some of the young nobi-
lity to England to be educated.
The Jeddo Government has recalled the edict
which was issued some two months ago, decreeing
the expulsion of foreigners from Japan, but the re-
quest that foreigners would withdraw from Yoko-
hama, which was made a few weeks ago to the
American and Dutch Ministers, has been formally
communicated to the English and French. The
Japanese seem to be awaiting a reply from the seve-
ral Governments before carrying the matter further.
Ia the meantime trade has slightly improved, though
complaints are still made of the short supply of silk
brought into the market.
Since writing the above' have learnt that Gordon
has crossed the Tae-ho, to the wf.st side of Soochow,
where he has c iptured some stockades on the grand
canal, and effected a junction with some Mandarin.
troops who have marched down from theupper por-
tion of the province. It is believed the bombardment
of the city will have begun at the time I am writ-
ing this.

F"-_The 1 'our Half-Yearly Volumes of FUN,
containing s .hove Twelve Hundred humorous Illus-
trations and Writ in:q4, by the most talented Authors, in
handsome boards, price 3s. each Volume, or 12s. the set of
Four Volumes, will . be ready on WEDNESDAY next.
80, Fleet-street.

II
JOY Af., 'ENGLISH OPERA,
C OVENT-GARDEN.
Under the Vlan agement of Miss Louisa Pyne and
Mr. W. Harrison.
THIS EVENLNI 3-, to commence with (7th time) an en-
tirely new Operetta entitled FANCHETTE. Miss Louisa
ryne and Mr. W. trnson.
After which, a Gr a ad
Christmas Pantomime, on a scale of
iinprecedented mag n lficence, entitled
HARLEQUIN E Y. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON.
Doors open at b. alf-past Six—Ammence at Seven.

THEATRE ILOYAL DRUR Y-L AN E.
31anag,e,rs, 3.Tessrs. Edmond Falconer and
fr.. B. Chatterton.
THIS EVF,Nr...gG, NIGHT AND MORN. Messrs.
Phelps, Ryder, Itayncsr, Fitzjames ; Miss R. Leclercq, Miss
Atkinson, and 51i is He.
To conclude wit h the new Grand Christmas Comic Panto-
mime of SINBAD THE SAILOR ; or, The Seven Wonders
of, thA World. Cl owns, Messrs. H. Bolen° and C. Lauri ;
liarlequins, Alessr s. J. Corrnack and S. Saville; Pantaloons.
Messrs. W. A• Barnes and J. 2uorris ; Columbines, Madame
Bolen() and Misses, Gunniss.
Prices as usual. Box Office open from 10 till 5 daily.

THE A.TRE ROYAL DRUR Y-L AN E. 1
igazagers, Messrs. Edmund Falconer and
F. B. Chatterton.
A GRAN D MORNING PERFORMANCE of the Panto-
mime NEX' l' WEDNESDAY, at Two o'clock, when the Boys
of the Duke of York's School with their Band will attend.
The Free [List entirely suspenthd, the public press ex-
cepted.
THIS EVENING, the Performances will comence witht
ith
the New Se d.o-Comic Drama, by Edmund Falconmer, e
NIGHT Alin MORN. Principal characters by Mr. Phelps,
supported by Messrs. Ryder, Raynor, zjames, and Misses
B. Leclercq, Atkinson, and Heath.
After which, the Grand Comic Christmas PANTO-
MIME, written by E. L. Blanchard, Esq.. entitled and
founded on the popular Oriental story of SINDBAD THE
SAILOR. The gorgeously beautiful character of the decora-
tions. inclutitve of more than the usual amount of scenical
surprises an.d. transtormation wonders, are ensured by the
fact of their. being entirely designed and for the most part
executed by the celebrated artist, William Beverley, whose
eminent
ly for tile senrices have een retained this Christmas exclu-
sive Theatre Royal Drury-Lane. The general
action f the Pantomime, arranged by, and the whole pro-
duced under the direction of, Mr. Robert Roxby. Principal
characters in the opening by Messrs. Tom Matthews, J. Ne-
vil!e, Fitzjaracs, Meagreson, G. Weston, and Master Percy
Roselle ; 48E13 Lizzie ilmore, Rose Leclercq, E. Weston,
Coventry, and Cicely Nott. The Harlequinade will include
the services of those popular Pantomimists (forming a
double comp any), Harry Boleno and Mr. C. Lau Clowns ;
Mr. W. A. Barnes and Mr. J. Morris, Pantaloons ; Mr.
Cormack a nil Mr. S. Saville, Harlequins ; Madame
Boleno and Misses Gunnies, Columbines. The masks,
devices, and dresses, from designs by the humorously re-
nowned Dykwynkvn. The music selected and arranged by
Mr. J. Barn ord. The dances and action of the Ballet ar-
ranged by Mr. Cormack. Comic scenes, tricks, J=., invented
by Messrs. IL Boleno and Cormack. Box Office open daily
from 10 till 5 o'clock.
The massive and beautiful decorations of the amphitheatre,
proscenium. and ceiling, designed and completed under the
direction of Marsh Nelson, Esq., in that uorgeous style of
ornamentation known as characteristic of the Louis Quatorze
period. and which elicited so much praise from the press and
the public last year, having been thoroughly cleansed, make
the aspect of the house before the curtain (which, when
lighted up, is admitted to be the most beautiful in Euro,,e),
an object p
of admiration which in itself is worth a visit.
Seven
Door,
as open at Half-ast Six. Performances commence at
nd terminate every evening at Eleven o'clock.

OYA.I, LYCEUM THEATRE.
Under the Sole Management of Mr. Fechter.
BEL DENIONIO (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 :
',team. 11. Widdicombe, Shore, Garden, F. Charles Collett,
Illoreland; Misses Percy, Pauline Leclerc, Wood, Mrs. Lee,
and Miss E. Lavenu.
After which, at Eight o'clock, BEL DEIIONIO, a Love
estory, in Twelve Tableaux, taken from Stendhal's "Italian
Chronicle;," by Mr. John Brougoam. Principal charac-
ter by Mr. Fechter, supported by Messrs. Jordan, Charles,
BrrnV,hlm, Emery, Raymond, Moreland, Smith, Clifford,
Collett, Sims ; Miss Kate Terry, E. Lavenu, Mrs. Lee, and
tdiss 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 hat, and cloaks, and
that the attendants in all parts of the house are forbidden to
receive any gratuities whatever.
Box-office open daily from 11 to 5. Commence at 7.

THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET.-
Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr, Buckstone.
THIS EVENING, OUR AMERICAN COUSIN : Messrs.
Sothern, Buckstone, Chippendale, Braid, Gordon, Rogers,
Clark, Cullentord, &c. ; Mesdames Angel, Snowden, Terry,
Lindley, Hill, &c
After which, KING ARTHUR ; or The Days and Knights
of the Round 'Table. Messrs. Chipnendate, Compton, Braid,
Clark, Rogers, Tilbury, &c. ; Mesdames L. Keeley, Brough,
Wright, Terry, Lindley, Rogers, &c.
Commence at 7.

"ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.-
Sole Lesee and Manager, Mr. Geo. Vining.
THIS EVENING, DONNA DIANA.
After which, HARLEQUIN LITTLE TOM TUCKER;
or The Fine Lady of Banbury Cross, and the Old Woman
who Lived in a Shoe and Had so Many Children she didn't
snow what to do.

EW THE ATRE-RO Y AL, ADELPHL—
Sole Proprietor and Manager. Mr. B. Webster.
THIS EVENING, THE MOTHER AND CHILD
ARE DOING WELL Mr. J. L. Toole.
at to Eight, the New Drama of LEAH Miss Bate-
ran, supported by Messrs. Arthur Stirling, R. Phillips,
lington, Stuart, Stephenson, Eburne ; Miss H. Simms, and
Mrs. Billingtcn.
To conclude with LADY BELLE BELLE; or, Fortnnio
and his Seven '..vlagh Men. Messrs. J. Clarke, it. Phillips,
Stenson ; Miss Woolgar, Miss K. Kelly, Miss
_I" atti
Josephs, Miss L. Laicilaw, Miss Seaman.

Commence at 7.

LEAH.-EVERY NIGHT

MISS BATEMAN.—LEAH.—THIS EVENING.
the 87th appearance of the great Tragic Actress, Miss
BATEMAN, in the character of LEAH. In consequence of
the unbounded success with which Miss Bateman's imperso-
nation of the priLcipal character in the new Five Act Drama
of LEAH has been attended. Mr Webster begs to announce
That it will be performed EVERY EVENING until further
notice.

The Weather—Sun Office, Jan. 11, 1864,

---4---

THERMOMETER.

This day at Two o'clock..

Barometer-30.00.
Wind—E. ; moderate, and fine.

Zljg (c....-47411Wp SIM

LONDON, MONDAY, JAN. 11, 1864.

ROYAT, ST, JAMES'S THEATRE, under the
Management of Mr. B. WEBSTER.
GRELT ATTIL&CTION. —First Week of Mr. and Mrs.
CLIAR-Lias MATHEWS.—Mr. J. L. Toole as Mrs. Brown,
3,cr. rnel.,s. Mr. Yeehter, and Lady Audley every evening.
1853; or, the Sensation• of the Past season, until further
notice. .Ataong the artistes whe will appear here are Mr.
Benjamin 'Webster, Mr. J. L. To, ,le, Mr. Paul Bedford, and
Mr. Charles Mathews; Mrs. Stirling, Mrs. Frank Mat-
thews, Miss: Cottrell, Miss Wentworth, Miss Fanny Josephs,
and Mrs. Charles Mathews.
THIS 14: V.-ENING. and during the Week, at 7, THE
.ADVENTLIKES OF A LOVE LETTER; COOL AS A
CUCUMBER; and 1863; or, THE SENSATIONS OF
THE PAST SEASON.

ROYAL STRAND THEATRE.
Manager, Mr. W. H. Swanborongh.
THIS EVENING, ORANGE BLOSSOMS : Miss K.
Carson.
After which, the Grand Christmas Burlesque, ORPHEUS
AND WRY DICI; : Messrs. Honey, Wood, James Fenton,
Mssdames Swattborough, Marie Wilton, Hughes,
Followed by MARGATE SANDS.
To conclude with TURN HIM OUT.
Commence at 7.

pHE THIRD EDITION OF " THE SUN,"
Containing; the Latest SPORTING INTELLIGENCE,
out be had Every Evening of
'l. it. GLENIE, NEWS AGENT,
No. I, Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Tins D&4. —Morning, 3h. 21m.—Afternoon, 3h. 45m
i0•1410RIZO ic.-Morning, 4h. sm.—Afternoon, 4h. 30m.

The news from Windsor continues most satis
factory. As was anticipated, her MAJESTY, on the
receipt of the joyful intelligence, hastened
up from Osborne to join the family group and
take a personal part in the new happiness
of her Son. It seems but the other day
that similar rejoicings were resounding
through the land on the birth of that
son himself, the infant heir of the youthful
VicronLe. A crowd of tender emotions and
tender memories overpowered the heart of the
QUEEN as she responded to the affectionate embrace
of the Prince of WALES when :he greeted her on
her hasty arrival at Windsor. The inhabitants
of that loyal town which had welcomed her in the
happineee of her bridal hour, which had
witnessed the first anguish of her widow's
bereavement, sympathised with responding
eeutiments to the emotions which, deep but joyful,
so plainly and so naturally overpowered the Royal
Lady as she passed from the station at Windsor
on her visit to Frogmore Lodge and a kindred feel-
ing pervades every heart throughout the country.
In her domestic, no less than in ber political career,
(linen VICTORIA has long been the object of the
respectful and affectionate admiration of her people
—a people especially appreciative of all domestic
excellence. Like that touch of nature which
makes the whole world kin, the homely
flresiclo virtues flourish alike in the palace