The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-05 00:00:00

Banquet to Rear-Admiral Sir James Hope.

The members of the United Service aub gave a
splendid entertainment last evening at their noble
clubhouse in Pall-mall, to Rear-Admiral Sir James
Hope, K.C.8., late commander-in-chief on the East
Indies and China station, on his return home from
China, and in compliment to his eminent services
while in that naval command. Field-Marshal his
Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, K.G ,
kindly consented to preside on the occasion, and Vis-
count Palmerston likewise accfpted an invitation
to dine with the gallant company. The banquet,
which was of a sumptuous description, was served
up in the coffee-room, and covers were laid for 124
persons. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cam-
bridge, attended by Col. Clifton, arrived early and
joined the company in the library. Viscount Pal-
merston did not reach the club until late, so that
the dinner was not announced till after eight, when
the members and friends descended to the banquet-
ing-room. The Duke of Cambridge presided, Admiral
Sir J. Hope on the right, and Viscount Palmerston on
the left, supporting his royal highness. The Duke of
Somerset,First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir H. Parkes,
Commander Douglas, R.N., Hon. F. A. Kinnaird,
M.P., and Mr,Ashby, naval secretary to Sir J. Hope,
were visitors on the occasion. Major-General A.
Anderson, Lieut.-General E. Gascoigne, Captain
George S. Hands, R.N., Vice-Admiral R. H. Man-
ners, Captain John Seccombe, R.N., and Captain
Sir W. S. Wiseman, R.N., discharged the duties of
vice-presidents at the different tables. The
following were amongst the members of the club
whn were present at the entertainment :—Lieu-
tenant-Colonel George G. Alexander, Field Mar-
shal Lord Clyde, Rear-Admiral Lord Clarence
Paget, Vice-Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, Captain
B. J. Sulivan, R.N., Lieut.-General the Hon. Sir
James Yorke Scarlett, Lieut.-General Sir F. Smith,
the Earl of Selkirk, Vice-Admiral the Earl of
Shrewsbury and Talbot, and Rear-Admiral the
Marquis of Townshend. After dessert was com-
menced, the Duke of Cambridge proposed " The
Queen," followed by " His Rffal Highness the
Prince of Wales and the Royal Family." His Royal
Highness after these loyal toasts gave "The Navy
and the Array" and other toasts. Admiral Sir Jas.
Hope, the Duke of Somerset, Lord Palmerston,
&c., were among the speakers.

DEATH OF MR. F. CALCUTT, MX. FOR CLARE.—
The Dublin Freeman announces the decease of this gentle-
man at his residence at St. Catherines, county Clare. He
had been in a bad state of health for some time past.
It is said that Victor Emmanuel will commence
his tour through Italy next month. He intends to visit
Bologna and Florence, in company with the Prince Royal,
and afterwards stop a month at Naples.
A story is told concerning the late Mc. Douglas
Jerrold, which may serve to illustrate the reason
why Robert Browning, confessedly one of the most power-
ful poets of the day, is by common consent the least popular,
Worn out and wearied by the incessant labours of jour-
nalism,-Jerrold had taken a holiday; and was resting on
his sofa one day, when a packet of books was brought to
him. Listlessly opening the first that came to hand, he
commenced its perusal. His wife, who sat "pposite, saw an
expression of wonder and bewilderment stealing over hi,
face. The plain fact was that Jerrold could not in the least
understand what he was reading. A man who lives by his
brain is naturally apt to be somewhat nervous as to its
health; and the sudden terror startled Jerrold that his own
was radically diseased. Impatiently he passed the volume
to his wife, and asked her what she thought of it. She
read for an instant or two, the keen eyes of her husband
watching her intently all the while, and she exclaimed :
" Why, my dear, I can't understand a word of it I" "Then
I'm not mad I" cried Jerrold in delight. The obscurity
was not in hie own intellect; it was in the book itself.—
The Critic.

The two men in custody on a charge of having
been concerned in the daring robbery at the Bank of Man-
chester were, yesterday, committed for trial.
VICTOR HUGO ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.—In a
recent letter to a Belgian association for the aboli-
tion of capital punishment, Victor Hugo says :--"The
abolition of the punishment of death is henceforth certain
in all civilised countries. The inviolability of man is the
starting point of every principle ; it will be an honour to
the nineteenth century to transform this philosophical
truth into a social reality. and to wipe away the stain of
blood from the august forehead of civilisatio!a,: