The Sun.
London, England, 1839-09-03 00:00:00

CHANGES.

Lord and Lady Portman, at Bryancton House, Dorset,
from a visit to Miss Portman at the Close, Salisbury; Lord
Yarborough, Lord Worsley, and Sir Joseph Copley, Bart.,
from Plymouth, for Gibraltar ; the Marquis of Bute, at
the Ship Hotel, Dover, from Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire ;
Lord Forester, at Dover, from Walmer Castle ; Lord
Ashbrook. at Beaumont Lodge, Berkshire, from Egham ;
Sir Archibald Murray, Bart., at Cowes, Isle of Wight,
from Dover ; Sir Arthur and Lady Hesilrige, from their
?eat, Nosely Hall, Leicestershire, on a tour the Right
Hon. Sir Edward Knatchbull, at Mt'rsham Hatch, from
Dover ;'Lord Brecknock, at the Wilderness, Kent, from
Dover.

THEATRES.

NEW STRAND THEATRE.

Two novelties were produced here last night. The
first was called the Scottish Chiefs, in which Bennett
acted an old Manchester manufacturer, who has taken
a Highland estate for a bad debt, and goes to live on
his new property clad in a kilt as the Highland chief-
tain. A disapproved suitor of this old blockhead's niece,
acted by Lee, disguises himself as a rival chief, and
threatens to cut the throat of the Manchester chief
unless.his niece's hand is bestowed upon him. The old
man consents, and this, with the addition of the terror
of a maiden sister, who is frightened by stories about
the Highlanders, singularly terrible and singularly dull,
is the whole of a piece in which no character is por-
trayed (except a sketch of a wild Highlander played by
Searle), no comic situation occurs, and no joke uttered.
The other novelty, The First of September, was in-
finitely better than the first. The introductory scene
of the two 'prentices talking together from the shop-
doors of their respective misters, and anticipating their
sport on the following day, was highly comic and cha-
racteristic, and kept the audience is a roar. Oxberry
and Attwood were the heroes of the field. The house
was crowded.

ASTLEY'S AMPHITHEATRE.
The southern sight-seeking population were highly
delighted here last night by Mr. Ducrow's Tournament
—an exhibition which they had the advantage of seeing
without being drenched to the skin or compelled to go to
Ayrshire for. According to the bills the pageant is
taken from the chivalrous scenes at Ashby, as repre-
sented in Sir Walter. Scott's beautiful romance. But
in fact it is merely a pageant, but as a pageant it is gay
and gorgeous in a high degree. The scenery and acces
sori.s of the whole exhibition are good, and in many
parts perfect. The several performers did their utmost
to represent with effect the characters they had to
sustain ; and when at the close one of them cried out
from the stage, " Success to chivalry and the Tourna-
ment at Astley's !" there was not a single voice of dis-
sent raised in any part of the house. After the Tourna-
ment, an elephant amused the audience by the feats
he performed with his feet, tusks, and proboscis. He
put himself into a dancing attitude, walked on his knees,
hobbled along as if he was lame, and his last exploit
was, by means of his proboscis and tusks, to raise up his
keeper from the ground upon the latter, and bear him off
from the arena, amidst the loud acclamations of the au-
dience. The house was very fully attended its every
part, and all present appeared to be much pleased with
the entertainments of the evening.

The retirement of Lord Howick has naturally
attracted much attention, and various surmises have been
made as to its cause. It is unnecessary on our part to
disclaim any official information on this subject, but we
may most safely repudiate the absurd nonsense put forth
by some persons that his Lordship's resignation is to be
attributed to the fact of his bring a more active and a more
Reformer than the other Members of the Cabinet.
His speech on the ballot ought (one would suppose) to
silence that supposition, but nothing can silence or satisfy
faction. Then, again—and here we are merely the
reporters of political gossip—it is said that his Lordship
was so much the creature of caprice (some call it inferiority
of temper), that he must necessarily impede the %corking of
any Government. This we utterly disbelieve. Connected
with the retirement of Lord Howick, we must notice that of
Mr. Charles Wood from the Chief Secretaryship of the Ad-
miralty. It has been stated, over and over again, that Mr.
Wood was to leave the Admiralty for some higher appoint-
ment. We know of no appointment for which Mr. Charles
Wood would not be adequate ; but he declines office alto-
gether; and although we cannot but respect the feelings
which prompt that gentleman to retire from the Govern-
ment, namely, his intimate family connexion with Lord
Howick, we cannot but lament on public grounds that her
Majesty should thus be deprived of the services of one who
has, during the past Si:ssisn, in his splendid exposition 0'
the nay .1 administration of this country, proved himself
to be a man of the highest order of political ability, and
who is well and affectionately esteemed by all who have
ever load the good fortune of intimate relation with him.
Observer.

SINGULAR DEATH.—On Wednesday last an
inquest was held at Ely, on the body of Martha Day, a
girl ahout thirteen years of age, whose death occurred on
Tuesday afternoon, under very extraordinary circumstances.
It appeared in evidence that about °Le o'clock on the
was heard to call out for her mother, who on
going heer immediately, found her standing on a low
branch, or crutch of an apple-tree, in the orchard adjoin-
ing the house; and on lifting her down from the tree, she
could not stand, and appeared to have lost the use of her
limbs, and before she could he carried into the house she
expired. A post mortem examination was made hy Messrs.
Muriel, when it was discovered that by some cause a disk-
cation of the first vertebras of the neck had taken place,
which had coused total paralysis of all the parts below the
injury, and almost instant death.—Verdict accordingly.
The deceased was in perfect health, and was gleaning
about a quarter of an hour before.—Cambridge Chronicle.