The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-26 00:00:00

.1( 0
10;

LONDON, TUESDAY, DEC. 26, 1865.

After being out of the public mind for some time,
Hungary now occupies incessant attention. Day
by day accounts reach us of the doings of the
EMPEROR and the Diet, which show how arduous
is the task that the Imperial Government has under-
taken of
,conciliating the people of Hungary, and
how difficult that people and their representatives
will find it to establish their liberties on a firm basis.
We meet with plenty of professions on both sides,
but the question is whether any faith can be placed
in them. The real tug of war has yet to come, when
the EMPEROR has returned, and when the Diet sets
to work in good earnest to adjust its difficulties and
solve its problems. The first sitting of the
Lower Chamber of the Hungarian Diet was held
on the 20th December, and was a momentous one
in every respect. More than 300 deputies assembled
in the Ball of the Museum where the sittings are
now held. In the first place there was a " difficulty"
to be got over as to whether the members against
whom " reclamations" had been made were entitled
to vote or not. An animated discussion ensued on
this subject, but the climax of confusion was reached
when M. BismAßcic., the President, said that be felt

bound to .leave the chair, because_ doubts had
been entertained respecting the validity of his
election. Much will not take place just
yet, for it is generally understood that
the Diet will adjourn to the 7th of January.
Special committees will have to inquire into the
so-called " reclamation " before the debate on
the address will begin, so again another hindrance
presents itself. Some desire to have two addresses,
but the majority disapprove of the suggestion.
" The Royal Speech is a document of the highest
political importance, and one and the same reply
must therefore be given to it by the two Chambers
of the Diet," is the decisive reply by which they
silence the:proposal of dividing the task.
M. Von DEKE appears to show great sense in his
mode of dealing with the House ; he is very mo-
derate, and his great influence is always em-
ployed in calming those who get excited in the
course of the initiating discussion in which they
engage. His importance will best be estimated by
the fact that he was sent for by the EMPEROR and
remained with him for an hour, Of course nothing
is officially made known of the nature of the inter-
view, but some declare that they have good autho-
rity for declaring that the result was satisfactory,
and that the great Liberal champion had obtained
a promise from the EMPEROR that he would not lose
patience even if the Diet did not at first accede to
the desires of the Imperial Government. For
the sake of peace, and for the true interests
of Hungary, it is very fortunate that the
man who possesses so much influence over
the turbulent and excited spirits of the Diet
is one of discernment and self-control, and not
one of the fiery agitators who care for nailing so
much as making evident their own power, though
by so doing they create endless confusion, and
awake the storm " that shuts the gates of mercy on
mankind." To his honour be it said, the present
ruler of Hungary entertains a very different
sense of his responsibilities, and prefers to deserve
honour rather than to make the parade of acquiring
renown. The EMPEROR also gave interviews to
some more of the Deputies, and in every way seems
to be striving to feel his way, and to make things
smooth, before the grand argument begins as to
the disproportion of power, and the modifications of
the Constitution.

Genial and gracious influences are not wanting
to soften down asperities and take the bitterness
from animated discussion and considerable
diversities of opinion. The Empress appears
to be in high favour in Hungary, and nu-
merous have been the wishes expressed that
her Imperial Majesty should visit the scene.
A deputation has gone to Vienna from the two
Chambers of the Diet for the purpose of congratu-
lating the EMPRESS on her birthday, and to invite
her formally to honour the city of Pesth with her
presence. This shows good feeling at any rate, and
perhaps the visit of his gracious Consort may do
more to favour the plans of the EMPEROR than even
his own manoeuvres and machinations. It is a for-
tunate thing that the desire to welcome the EMPRESS
has been so unanimously expressed, because it fur-
nishes a good chance of a better settlement than
otherwise we might have hoped for.
The EMPEROR has adopted the plan of taking
things for granted, and assuming virtues for the
Hungarians whether they have them or not.
After he had departed, and a most enthusiastic
greeting had been given to him, an Imperial
autograph was posted in all parts of the city. In
this FRANCIS JOSEPH attests the delight he has felt
at his reception, in ingratitude for which he feels he
must afford another testimony. The " hearty
proofs of loyalty" have afforded great confidence
and satisfaction to him, and he is astute enough to
take advantage of the temporary excitement fur-
ni6lted by the eclat of his visit in order to form a
solid basis if he can, and make this visit to Pesth
the corner-stone of the great work which is to
cement more closely the ties between Austria and
Hungary. "It is my firm belief," he declares,
" that the mutual confidence which has arisen during
the joyful days of my sojourn here is the pleasure
of a happy future." This may prove to be a true
prophecy or not, according to the policy pursued
by the EMPEROR. He has now a grand chance
before him, and if he neglect to make the most of
it he will not deserve the pity of any one. Let him
not be led away by the evil counsels of Prussia, but
resolve to act in accordance with the dictates of his
own conscience. He has discernment enough to
know the path he should tread in, and if he swerves
from it he will bring himself and his subjects into
turmoil and discord, instead of leading them in the
ways of pleasantness and peace.

The Anti-Malt-Tax Association are bestirring
themselves in anticipation of the coming session,
and SIR FITZROY KELLY, who has constituted him-
self the champion of the cause, has been renewing
his arguments in favour of its abolition. A meeting
of some importance was held in Ipswich last week,
at which a considerable number of M. P.'s were
present, preparing, apparently, for the evolutions of
the new campaign. The tenant-farmer interest was
also strongly represented, and one of the farmers
was called to the chair. The usual arguments were
brought forward, the grievance was represented
as a very serious one, and the antagonists of the tax
were charged to renew their efforts for its total
repeal. Sir FITZROY KELLY was, of course, the
principal speaker, and he said all that could be said
for his cause. lle demanded the repeal on the
principle of free trade. The farmers, he declared,
had suffered both ways. " They had been made the
victims of free trade when the protective duty on
foreign corn was removed, and they had remained
the victims of free trade, and the continuation and
perpetuation of the malt-tax. Real freedom of
trade," continued the learned gentleman, " con-
sisted not merely in the repeal of protective duties,
but in the right to grow, to buy, to manufacture,
to import, to export, to use, to exchange, to
sell, unrestrained by any fiscal or arbitrary
law ; and all that he asked, on behalf of those
who suffered from the burdens of the malt tax
was that the clear, true, and just principles of
free trade should be applied to the malt tax."
This sounds very
well and very plausible ; but if
these " clear, true, and just" principles were car-
,
ried out to their full extent, our revenue tables
would look rather foolish at the end, the
quarter ! Sir FITZROY KELLY hardly wishes we
should imagine to see the national balance-sheet
assume the aspect familiar to the financiers of other
European nations, or to see Englishmen forced to
atone, by heavy direct taxation, for the removal
of all our customary imposts. Undoubtedly the
farmer has as good a right as any one else to the
removal of oppressive and unequal burdens ; per-
haps, indeed, he has even a greater claim on the
Legislature, considering the tardiness of his profits,
and the recent heavy losses which have befallen him.
The great difficulty in dealing with the malt tax is,
however, that it is very questionable how far it will
benefit the farmers. There is good reason to be-
lieve from former experience that the profits of the
repeal or the diminution of the tax will be divided
between brewers and landlords. When the Duke of
WELLINGTON took off the beer-tax, which amounted
to three millions, the public profited by the remova
to the extent of about a farthing a quart, and the

benefit that they would receive from the repeal now
asked for would very likely be in the same degree.
As for the farmer, if the landlord chose to raise his
rent, as he would be very likely to do in case of the'
repeal of the malt tax, it would not be much gain
to him to have the privilege of doing what he likes
with his own barley. Good unadulterated and
and cheap malt liquor would unquestionably be a
great gain. Many hard-working men and women
would be able to obtain from it the nourish-
ment and stimulant which their exhausted
energies and over-taxed strength really require,
and, in spite of the Teetotallers, it would in reality
be a powerful counteractive to intemperance. Of
course, it would be certain that many would drink
too much of it as they do now of the wretched stuff
which they pay a high a price for, but the intoxicating
and stupifying powers of the pure malt would be
very much less than those of extraordinary com-
pounds which the publicans now pass off upon their
customers. A working man may easily find a very
little of such mixtures too much for his sobriety ;
while, if the liquor were really pure malt, it would
be as wholesome as it is now injurious. The farmer's
friends, or those who profess to be so, have for
some time been agitating for the repeal of this tax,
supported, of course, by the farmers, who naturally
believe their advocates, and by the landlords, whose
interest, as we have said, is in favour of the repeal.
Last year a powerful movement to obtain the re-
duction was set on foot, and some hope was enter-
tained by the agitators of carrying their point.
This year they have a more powerful argument in
their favour, which, strange to say, does not
seem to have been employed the other day
at Ipswich. The agriculturist interest has
undoubtedly suffered very heavily this year
through the visitation of the cattle plague, and the
public sympathies have been largely called forth in
their favour. All classes have been made to pay
pretty heavily for the infliction by the exorbitant
price of meat; but the farmer has certainly borne
the brunt, especially as the danger is unfortunately
increasing instead of diminishing. Generally
speaking, when any particular class is affected by
an exceptional disaster, the public expresses its
interest by sending contributions towards its relief.
Unluckily the butcher has received the benefit as
yet, and the brewer is likely to do so should the
malt tax be removed. At the same time, the experi-
ment might fairly be tried in a degree which would
not seriously disarrange the finances of the country,
and which would be more likely to relieve the farmer
than an extensive alteration, because it would allow
no ground for others to claim the benefit. If the
malt tax were reduced by one quarter, the farmer
might very possibly gain more than from a larger
reduction, and we might learn from the success or
failure of that experiment how far we might subse-
quently proceed with safety. Such a concession
may very well be made by the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, and we hope that he will give the pro-
posal due consideration. A wholesale alteration
would be neither wise nor expedient, but such a
change as this would be both advisable and just.

LA TEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.) •

CALCUTTA AND CHINA MAILS.

MARSEILLES, DEC. 26.

The Pera, with the above mails, arrived here at
2 a.m. yesterday. The mails left for London at
11.30 a.m. Free pratique.
The Ripon, with the heavy portion of the above
mails, left Malta at 6 a.m. on the 24th. She may
be expected at Southampton about the 2d January.

Death of Sir Charles Eastlake.

Lyceum Theatre.

A telegram, which reached town on Sunday from
Pisa, announces the sad intelligence of the death of
Sir C. Eastlake, President of the Royal Academy.
" Men of the Time" contains the following notice of
the late president :—Sir Chas. Locke Eastlake was
the son of a solicitor at Plymouth, where he was
born about 1793. He was educated at the Charter-
house, which he quitted at an early age, for the
purpose of pursuing his artistic studies. After the
usual probation at the Royal Academy, under Fuseli,
he painted a picture of "The Raising of Jairus's
daughter," purchased by the late Mr. Jeremiah
Harman, one of the leading connoisseurs of the
time, by whom he was employed to
trona celebrated pictures in the Louvre—an occupa-
tion which the incursion of the Emperor Napoleon
from Elba, in 1815, compelled him to relinquish.
On his return home he employed himself chiefly in
portrait painting in his native town, and on the
arrival at Plymouth of the Bellerophon with Napo-
leon Bonaparte on board, he managed, from sketches
made daily alongside, to paint a full length
life-size portrait of the ex-Emperor, as he appeared
at the gangway of the ship. In 1817 Mr. Eastlake
visited Italy, and in 1819 Greece, accompanied by
the late Sir Charles Barry. In the following year he
made the tour of Sicily, after which he returned to
Rome, where ho remained several years. The first
year in which we find any pictures in the Royal
Academy from his pencil was in 1823, when he ex-
hibited views of the bridge and castle of St. Angelo,
the Coliseum, and St. Peter's. Soon afterwards he
began to paint those costumed groups, illustrative of
Italian life, for which the neighbourhood of Rome
affords such abundant materials, a class of subjects
then much sought for by its occasional visitors. The
first of his works of this kind sent over to England
for exhibition was " A Girl of Albano Leading a
Blind Woman to Mass" (1825), to which succeeded,
in 1827, a more ambitious attempt, " The Spartan
Isadas." In 1827 Mr. Eastlake was elected an asso-
ciate of the Royal Academy, and in the year ensuing
he produced his " Pilgrims Arriving in Sight of
Rome," his most successful effort. During his resi-
dence in Rome he painted many pictures of cabinet
size, of subjects connected with Roman banditti,
contadini, &c. In 1830 he attained the rank of Royal
Academician, and returned to England, when he
abandoned his Italian costumed groups for a higher
walk of art. He still continued, however, to illus-
trate Italian history, poetry, and manners; and his
" Contadina and Family Returning from a Festa
prisoners to Banditti," a repetition of a similar sub-
ject painted by him in Rome, and "Escape of Fran-
cesco di Carrara and his wife," must always rank
among his most successful efforts. Iu a similar
category may be classed several scenes of theTurco-
Greek war, his " Greek Fugitives," his " Arab
Selling his Captives ;" his " Gaston de Foix," &c.
About this period he began to devote himself
more especially to religious subjects, and his
" Christ Blessing the Little Children," " Christ
Weeping over Jerusalem," " Hagar and Ishmael,"
remind us in sentiment of some of the best works of
Ary Scheffer, but are more agreeable in colour. The
reputation attained by Mr. Eastlake, both as an
artist and connoisseur, led to his appointment in
1841, by Sir R. Peel, to the office of secretary to the
Royal Commission of Fine Arts. In 1843 he was
appointed Keeper of the National Gallery, but he
resigned the office in 1847. In 1850, on the death
of Sir M. A. Shee, he was elected President of the
Royal Academy, and received the honour of knight-
hood. In 1855 Sir Charles Eastlake was appointed
director of the National Gallery, under the new
and greatly extended form of organisation, since
which that institution has received numerous and
valuable additions worthy of the chefs d'ccuvre in
the Angerstein collection gallery, which formed the
basis of our national collection. His avocations,
however, appear to have left him little leisure for
art, and we have accordingly had but few pictures
o f the
translation
fine from his easel for some time past. Sir C. Eastlake
has made several valuable contributions to the lite-
rature
arts , among whichoet
eon c
may beo omen-
tionedColour,"
his ,
of c4h
" Notes to Kugler's Handbook of Painting," and
"Contributions towards a History of Oil Painting."
He was one of the trustees of the National Portrait
Gallery, and also ex-officio a trustee of the British
Museum.

DR. PRITCIIARD, THE MURDERER.-011 Thurs-
day Dr. James Paterson was presented, in the
Crown Hotel, Glasgow, with a testimonial subscribed for
by a large number of citizons, as a mark of respect for
and sympathy with him in the difficult position in which
he was placed in connexion with Dr. Pitchard's trial. The
testimonial consisted of a purse containing 200 guineas,
and a handsome silver salver bearing a suitable inscriptio
which had been subscribed for by a number of old and at-
tached friends, and also by many who know nothing of
Dr. Paterson except from, his conduct.

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 26, lEEE.

The success which attended the first representation
of the new drama " The Master of Ravenswood"
was of the most decided character. It is pleasing
to record the fact, because failure, after so much
labour in all departments of the theatre, would
have been dispiriting and almost insupportable.
That the adapter, Mr. Palgrave Simpson, had a
difficult task will be at once admitted, especially
as the plot of the great navel of Sir Walter Scott,
the " Bride of Lammermoor," had been already
appropriated by lyric, dramatic, and burlesque
writers, and the public were also well acquainted
with the incidents of the tragic story. To enable
Mr. Simpson to perform his work of producing a
new version of the tale to suit the peculiar require-
ments of the management of the Lyceum certain
alterations became absolutely necessary, and it was
not to be expected that the departures from the
original would be so contrived as to give universal
satisfaction. However, taking all matters into
consideration, we think it will be generally ad-
mitted that Mr. Simpson has performed the task
allotted to him with judgment and discretion. The
principal alterations occur towards the end of the
play, the conclusion of the drama being the fulfil-
ment of the following " legend"—

When the last Lain( of Ravenswood to Ravenswood shall

. ___
ride
To woo a dead maiden to be his bride,
He shall find his last bed in the Kelpie's Flow,
And his name shall be lost for evormoe.

In the opening scene of the drama, a beautiful
representation of the "Mermaid's Well," Edgar,
the Master of Ravenswood, appears as the preserver
of the lives of Sir William and Lucy Ashton from
the deadly pursuit of some wild cattle on the
knight's estates, and here also we learn that Hey-
ston of Bucklaw, and his would-be brave follower
Craigengelt, are engaged in the endeavour to per-
suade the Master to join the Jacobites over the
water. The latter intention Edgar has lightly enter-
tained, but the incident above referred to causes him
to alter his determination, and he goes ,against the
wishes of Alice, an old dependent of the ill-fated
house of Ravenswood, to the hall of Sir William
Ashton, to receive the thanks his unerring aim as a
marksman has entitled him to in preserving not
only the life of Lucy but that of her father—the
deadliest enemy of the house of Ravenswood. Sir
William Ashton thinks it policy to bring about a
marriage with Edgar and Lucy, and the course of
true love is allowed to run on its peaceful course,
the father of the lady at the same time guarding
himself from giving his positive assent to their
union. Heystone, of Bucklaw, at the opening of the
play, is a sort of half-outlaw, half-adventurer, but,
by the death of a relative, he becomes the possessor
of a splendid fortune, and, having been smitten
with the charms of Lucy, he easily falls into the
toils set for him by Lady Ashton, who
thinks him a desirable husband for her
daughter. Secret intelligence is forwarded to
Lady Ashton of the suit of the Master of Ravens-
wood, and she arrives unexpected to the Hall ; and
finding Edgar there she indignantly desires to leave
a place where his presence is so distasteful to all
except the now unhappy Lucy. The suit of Buck-
law is now rapidly pressed by Lady Ashton. Lucy
appeals to her father, whom she fondly expected
would at once openly acknowledge his approval of
her match with Edgar, but he fearing the auger of
his now enraged wife, only consoles Lucy with the
declaration that though he had not interrupted her
suit with Edgar he had never given his formal ap-
proval of it. He urges Lucy to comply with the
wishes of her mother, tells her that Edgar has for-
gotten her for another, and that her marriage with
Bucklaw will save the house of Ashton from impend-
ing ruin. The letters of Edgar to Lucy have all
been intercepted by Lady Ashton, and thus
she helps on her suit in favour of Bucklaw, until at
last Lucy, heartbroken and almost bereft of reason,
is induced to sign the marriage contract with the
now much-courted Heyston, of Bucklaw. At this
moment Edgar rushes in breathless from a long
journey, and, finding that Lucy has signed the
document fatal to his hopes, he upbraids her with
her perfidy ; she falls to the ground in a paroxysm
of grief, and her lover endeavours to seek repose
in the ruined castle of the Ravenswoods. Here he
fancies ho secs the form of old Alice, and, following
in his imagination the shadow of the old sybil, he
arrives at the chapel cloisters, where he discovers
a marriage ceremony taking place between Lucy
and Bucklaw in the presence of the whole of the
Ashton family and their retainers. Frantic
at the sight, he rushes in, carries off the
bride, and, in order to escape, he flees
to the seashore which leads to Wolf's Crag•
Lucy no longer recognises her deliverer, but, fancy-
ing that she sees in him her hated bridegroom,
Bucklaw, bursts into a paroxysm of madness and
dies in his arms, but not before she recognises her
lover. Their pursuers are at hand, and Edgar, de-
termined she shall be his in death as in life, again
takes her in his arms, and rushing blindly along the
quicksand is instantly covered by the rapidly rising
waves. The followers crowd on the seashore too late
to save, and the curtain falls as Caleb Balderstone
proclaims the fulfilment of the prophecy.
Mr. Fechter, as Edgar, must have fully realised
the expectations of his most ardent admirers.
Although perhaps a little too interesting in the
opening scenes as the gloomy Master of Ravens-
wood, yet, as the action proceeded, he completely
carried the house with him through the entire per-
formance. Nothing could have been more grace-
ful or impasssioned than his declaration of his love
for Lucy—nothing more dignified whilst listening
to the insults of Lady Ashton, or more poignant
than the grief at the sight of the lifeless form
of his adored Lucy. We have already said
in our hasty notice of the first night's per-
formance that it was equal to his Ruy Blas, and
after calm reflection we see no cause to alter our
opinion. Next in importance to the character of
Edgar is that of Lucy Ashton ; and we say at once
in her vivid embodiment of the part, Miss C. Le-
clercq fairly took us by surprise. Her acting in the
bethrothal scene was such as to call forth our
highest admiration ; and, speaking of her imperson-
ation of the entire part, were we to devote a column
to her compliment we should have to come to this
conclusion at last, that it was one of the most
graceful and artistic performances we ever had the
pleasure of witnessing. Mrs. Ternan, as Alice,
deserves high commendation, and, although the part
was by no means a long one, in her hands it became
one of the important features of the piece. Mr.
Jordan sustained the part of Sir William Ashton in
a highly commendable manner, and Mr. Emery, as
Caleb Balderstone, drew a life-like picture of the
true and trusted dependent of the Master of
Ravenswood. Mr. Hermann Vezin made his first
appearance here as Heyston, of Bucklaw, and
although the part afforded but little scope for his
talent, yet that little was performed with the greatest
care and discrimination. We cannot compliment
Widdicombe upon his version of Capt. Craig-
engelt. It is altogether a mistake.
The entire scenery is of unusual beauty and
excellence. The Hall of Ravenswood, the interior
of Wolf's Crag, and the Kelpie's Flow, are beauti-
fully painted, more particularly the last ; for, when
the moon sinks behind the thick black clouds and
the water begins to rise above the sands, the effect
is perfectly magical.
The piece, we feel certain, will well repay all the
trouble and anxiety- attendant on its production.

PLYMOUTH, Sunday Evening.—The screw steam
gun vessel Dart, 5, Commander F. W. Richards, from the
West Coast of Africa, arrived in the Sound last evening.
The merchant steam vessel Cella, Capt. Bellinge, 19 days
from New York, with a general cargo, put into Millbay,
this morning for coal, and left in the afternoon for London.
GENERAL SHERMAN AND THE BLACKS.—The
Albany Argus publishes the following as a characteristic
letter from General Sherman, sent by him to a Methodist
minister in Baltimore, who had complained of the General's
refusal to allow the enlistment of negroes in his depart-
ment :—" Atlanta, September 13. Sir,—Yours of the 29th
of August is received. Thank you for your kind expres-
sions. Iron is iron and steel is steel, and all the popular
clamour on earth will not impart to one the qualities of
the other. So a ' nigger' is not a white man, and all the
Psalm singing on earth won't make him so. It is strange
to me that among the people North and South, who have
so much common sense, you can't say nigger,' but both
parties make fools of themselves, and it is hard to say which
are the worst. When we settle this little fight on hand,
the great 'nigger' question will be found settled also.—
W. T. SHElthidoN, Major-General."