The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-09 00:00:00

Mrs. Macfarren's Entertainment,

Yesterday afternoon Mrs. John Macfarren re-
peated her delightful " Morning at the Pianoforte,"
written expressly for her by her distinguished
relative, G. A.. Macfarren. The lecture, if such it
can be called, was interesting and animated, giving
many anecdotes of the most eminent composers and
players, with comments ou their varying styles.
The most bgreeable part of the entertainment, how-
ever, was, undoubtedly, the musical illustrations,
in which Mrs. Macfarren displayed a rare degree of
execution and expression happily combined.
Handel's famous old Blacksmith seemed to
gain new harmony from her expres-
sive rendering, while the " Songs without
words," which make so great a demand on the taste
and feeling of tue player, were almost equally ad-
mirable. Selections from Beethoven and Weber
were varied by an old English air, skilfully arranged
by Macfarren, and an elaborate fantasia by Thal-
berg on the "Elisir d'Amore." Miss Eliza Hughes,
who is a young singer of much promise, gave great
satisfaction in the vocal part of the entertainment.
We congratulate Mrs. Macfarren on the success of
ner entertainment, which ail lovers of good music
must desire to see repeated.

THE APPROACHING MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCE
at WALES.—Her Majesty's yacht Victoria and Albeit is
about to be redecorated, internally and externally, by the
Portsmouth Dockyard authorities, preparatory to the con-
veyance from the continent to England of her Royal High-
ness the Princess Alexandra of D nmark, the future partner
of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.

" Mrs. Katharine Thomson, who died at Dover of
gastric fever on the 191 h ult , was the widow of the
late eminent physician, Dr. A. Todd Thompson, and
daughter of Mr. Thos. Beyerley, of Etruria, in Staffordshire.
She was known to the public as the author of many
works of biography and fiction, the first of which, a
Life of Wolsey,' was written for the Society for the
Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. Her first novel, called
Constance,' was published anonymously, and met with
success—an animated picture of country life some forty
it also paints the character of Dr. Parr, with
wellnaaracqauwaienrtee dl.easTplanepnaleaxrt,
andtwo
novels thepublishedago
authoress
with was
her
bars. Thompson turned to biography. The Life of
Raleigh," The Memoirs of the Court of Henry the
Eighth,' were followed by ' Memoirs of Sarah, Duchess
of Sia.rlborough.' The research and reading requisite
for these works gave her material for a series of his- 1
torical novels,--' Anne Boleyn,' Raglan Castle,' The
White Mask,' The Chevalier.' In addition to these works
she published Lives of the Jacobites,' and two novels,
Tracy, or the Apparition,' and ' Widows and Widowers,'
The death of Dr. Thomson, in 1849, put a stop ior a time
to her literary pursuits. On Mrs. Thomson's return to
England, after some years' residence abroad, she published
a novel, ' Court Secret,' founded on the well-known story
of Kaspar Hauser, Faults on both Sides,' and Memoirs
of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham.' Her later works were
written conjointly with her son, and published under the
nems d 5 plume of Grace and Philip Wharton, The Queens
of Society,' and ' Wits and Beaux.' The ' Literature of
Society,' only just given to the world, was Mrs. Thomson's
last production. ller fellow worker, J. C. Thomson, was
, accidentally drowned at Tenby whilst bathing."—Allte-
, naum, Jan. 3, 1863.

s1;':lt d
Court PUBLICof
QuarterE X E e usTelsos
Sessions the
this
wee
Worcestershirektheehair.
man, the Earl of Dudley, made some observations in refer-
ence to the execution of William Ockold, at Worcester, for
murder, reported in The Sun of Saturday last. A great
effort, he said, had been made in Worcester to save Ockold,
not from any doubt that he was guilty, or that the sentence
of death should hAve followed his crime, but because
there was a strong feeling that as the convict was
years old, if
he had been shut up for the remainder
70
of his days justice w
if a
uld have been luny vindicated. It
guarantee were given to the public
generally that sentences p
seemed to him that
asse
passed upon
persons would be duly
carried out every one woulc
I feel pleasure at the discontinu-
ance of such painful scenes as the one that had been wit
named last Frida Mr. Curtler, deputy-chairman, coin-
cided y.
with his lordship. Ho moved that the matter be re-
ferred to a committee, to consider whether a mor : conve-
nient and less dangercus mode could not be found for carry-
ingw
out public executions at the gaol. This - cis seconded
by Mr. Pakington, who, however, wished it to be distinctly
understood that he did not touch at all upon the question of
low the law was to be carried into effect in such cases--e
question which he considered was ono more for the discus-
sion of Parliament and the nation than of that Court, 'The
motion of :lr, Ctirtler was then carried,