The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-14 00:00:00

THE SUN,
LONDO, N WEDNESDAY, EVENING,' !MAY 14, 1862.

neutral-tinted of political mediocrities. A Cabinet
so formed was thrust by the arbitrary will of this
"Right-Divine" Ruler of a Kingdom only created
in the lest century, upon the acceptance of an
unwilling Parliiment. Unable to act with that
unwilling Parliament, the latter has been dissolved,
the country has been appealed to : and with what
result all Europe now recognises—the wilful
Monarch himself now feels very painfully and
ignominiously. "Pride," the adage says, "shall
have a fall." It has seldom met with a more sum-
mary punishment of that kind than in the in-
stance before us. King WILLIAM has certainly
cause at length brought directly home to him for
serious reflection. May it lead him, this tim,ly
meditation—as it ought—to a revision of his policy
ab initio. Otherwise—they have a pleasant pros-
pect, politically, at Berlin !
For, what in effect is the situation of affairs there
at this juncture in the annals of that Constitutional
Government? Here is a Prince, now seated upon
the throne of Prussia, who, while heir presumptive
to that Crown he now wears so very arrogantly, was
supposed to be a champion of the most liberal ideas,
an ardent lover of the most advanced and enlight-
ened principles. Scarcely had this liberal Prince
succeeded the poor roi faineant, his brother, who
had for so long an interval lapsed into imbecility in
that misnamed scene of his sad seclusion, San Souci
—when the illusion of this supposed liberalism
has utterly vanished from the ken of all !
King LOG has given place to King STORK. The
diadem of the HOHENZOLLERNS is seized by a
hand delicately clothed in Silk—but within the
silken glove there is a grasp of Iron; WILLIAM
of Prussia is crowned, or rather, disdaining to be
merely crowned by a church dignitary, however
exalted, crowns himself after the fashion of
NAPOLEON, though without NAPOLEON'S recog-
nised and consummate genius as a Lawgiver,
and assuredly without NAPOLEON'S fame and his
heroic and deathless deeds of valour as the Conqueror
of other nations and the Organiser of a Strong Go-
vernment for his own. The earliest Ministry work-
ing under the regsme of this newly enthroned and
haughtypotentate—now in possession of the sceptre,
and as he apparently thinks also of the fee simple,
of Prussia—does not work to his liking, is not
submissive enough to his will, is not composed in
fact of sufficiently plastic mediocrities. It gives
place, under his mandate, to another, so feeble in its
general character, so insignificant in the reputation
of most of the men composing it, that it has been forced
into power in very despite of the Prussian Legisla-
ture. The Representative Chamber is consequently,
in obedience to a simple necessity, dissolved. The
eonstituencies are appealed to by the Ministry—
yea, through the Ministry, by the SOVEREIGN him-
self. For the Cabinet is notoriously oneof His
MAJESTY'S own construction. Hence the extraor-
dinary and unexampled fiasco—a Ministry with
not one of its members having a seat in the popular
branch of the Legislature. We shall look for the
sequel, of course, with eager curiosity, but at the
same time without one particle of anxiety. For
in simple truth, the KING, with all his hauteur,
is utterly powerless in the. presence of so over-
whelming a demonstration.

The House of Lords, in its wisdom, has again, if
we remember rightly, the third time rejected the
" Qualifications for Offices Bill," sent up to it by
the House of Commons. It is of very little conse-
quence, indeed, so far as the subject-matter of the
bill is concerned. It is to repeal a declaration, sub-
stituted for the old Test and Corporation Act, by
persons taking certain offices—that they will not,
by virtue of their office, do any harm to the Church
as by law established. It is cleverly contrived, by
means of an annual indemnity act, that no persons
shall be liable to any penalty for omitting to make
the declaration but the municipal officers of corpora-
tions. The reason, no doubt, why the tiff Church.
men so arrange, is that the latter are frequently
Dissenters. Many Churchmen do not like the declara-
tion, it being, as they say, absurd to call on them not
to injure their own Church. Dissenters dislike it
because, as Lord CHELMSFORD expressed it, the
declaration was a testimony to the dominance of
the Church of England. This indeed is all. It is
a badge of Church supremacy, and Dissenters do
not like to wear it. It cannot have the slightest
practical utility as a check upon the hostile opera-
tions of the most virulent Dissenter. It is strictly
limited to his official conduct, and if he used his
office to aid in dis-endowing and dis-estabiislsing
the Church, he could plead that with his views he
was doing the Church service. He thinks Volun-
taryism a purification for Churches.

The conduct of the Upper House must strike
every common sense Englishman as exceedingly
petty and wilful. They ere worse than children
in the matter. They show a silly pleasure in simply
teasing. Last time the ex-Lord Chancellor or ex-
barrister, Lord CHELMSFORD, headed the rejectors ;
this year the saintly leadership of the Duke of
MARLBOROUGH was invited. This sage legislator
of an Upper House, too, had actually the wisdom to
faggot up the Bill with a number of measures, ap-
proved by the Liberation Society—all of which
must be meant to destroy the Church. So a legis-
lator for all the Eng:ish people, instead of asking
whether a confessedly superfluous and useless

declaration should be abolished, merely because,
though useless, it was insulting to some of her
MAJESTY'S subjects, gets it rejected by others as
wise as himself, because some other persons approve
the Bill. Men, not measures, he says. These men
whom I hate, like it, therefore I don't like it. So
reason evangelical Dukes, and lords, who laugh at
them, yet vote, for party's sake, with them.

BURNTISLAND—ARRIVAL OF PRINCE ALFRED,
AND EMBARKATION ON BOARD THE ST. GEORGE.—As
previously arranged, his Royal Highness Prince Alfred
left Balmoral yesterday morning, on his return to his ship,
the St. George, and travelling via Perth, arrived at the
railway terminus hero exactly at 8 p.m. Some prepara-
tions for a becoming reception to so august a visitor were
improvised by the railway authorities—the station having
its arches and pillars hung with festoons of evergreens and
flowers, with the word " Welcome" twisted in large cha-
racters, and the building otherwise tastefully decorated. A
considerable number of people asserab'ed at the 5 p.m. train,
expecting the Prince at that hour, and by 8 p.m. the quad-
rangle in front of the station was completely blocked up
by the crowd, a select number only being admitted within
the precincts of the station. The arrival of the train was
the signal for a continued round of cheering, and as the
Prince stepped out, dressed as a civilian, the assemblage
cheered vociferously. Captain Egerton was waiting at the
station. The Prince was accompanied by Major Cowell.
The crowd drove in the gates, and accompanied the Prince
to his boat. He left the shore amidst great cheering, and
looking very much pleased. He bowed several times, and
lifted his hat to the crowd.—Scotsman.

PRINCE ARTHUR.—His Royal Highness Prince
Arthur landed at Plymouth, from tho ni=d lwri, by
the_ eight o'clock train this morning (Tuesday), for Tavi-
stock, and inspected the mines there. His Royal High-
ness returned to Plymouth at 6.30 p.m. to •day, and re-em-
barked on board the Vivid.

Their Higl;:nesses the Prince and the Princess
Michel Schahoffskoy have arrived at the Brunswick Hotel,
Jermyn-street, from St. Petersburg, for the season.
The Earl and Countess Russell entertained the
Japanese Ambassadors at dinner last evening, at their re-
sidence in Chesham-place. The following were also pre-
sent :—The Marquis and Marchioness of Westminster,
Viscountess Palmerston, Lord Dufforin, &c. Mr. Mac-
donald was in waiting on the ambassadors. Later in the
evening her ladyship had an assembly.
It appears that the promoters of a scheme put
forward in Melbourne for a monthly line of steamers with
England propose coming here for a portion of the necessary
capital, should the colonial government grant the subsidy
asked for.

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

SIGNOR ARMENDI.

The "tragedy of tragedies," as Byron so empha-
tically called the "Bride of Lammermoor," has
scarcely supplied to Donizetti the breadth
of design one would have supposed. He
has translated all its pathos, ail its deep
and absorbing passion, but he has left
almost untouched the historic beauty of the story.
Edgar of Ravenswood under his hand has sunk
from a highly poetic to an ordinary passionate
conception. He is no longer, as he is with Scott,
a sketch of mediaeval heroism—a relic of the pest,
lofty in attitude and noble in proportion—which
from the very shadow that it lies in gathers a
grandeur that not Ire successfnlly combats the strong
light of the present—he emerges in the opera as the
mere hero of border rivalry, whose highest
characteristic is a certain personal and family
pride. A family feud is the entire subject—a gulf
of border discord, bridged over, as in ancient story,
by the love of one of the combatants for the sister
of the other. A secret pledge, a forged letter,
and a broken vow, in consequence, followed
by the sudden return of the betrayed lover to re-
veal the treachery which has ensured the utter de-
solation of the victims such are the entire
materials. Denuded of all historical, and there-
fore imaginative beauty, they have nevertheless an
emotional depth that sufficed to elicit frbm Doni-
sette some of his most vigorous and pathetic
fancies. Some of his loveliest meledies, some of his
noblest choruses, and some of his most character-
istic concerted pieces, are to he found in this pro-
duction. His mode of treatment has made the
heroine instead of the hero its central
interest, on whose account, with but rare
exceptions, the opera is now produced• Never-
theless, he has given certain distinctions
to the music of the Lord of Ravenswood which
render its effective delivery a very rare matter of
success. It depicts a proud, impulsive being who
unites the opposite qualities of the utmost vehem-
ence and tenderness—who requires to combine a
highly declamatory with a highly passionate
delivery. Effectually to render the maledizione
and the fra poco of the opera wovld ordinarily
demand the powers of the most differently gifted
singers. Such a conception is one that Rossini and
Meyerbeer, in their " Arnold" and " John of Ley-
den," have treated on the grandest scale, but which
few singers in recent years have been found at all
adequate to realise. Dupree and Moriani are the
most signal instances of the past, and of all our liv-
ing artists the great exemplar is Signor Tamberlik.
Signor Armandi, who last evening made his
debut in Edgar, at this theatre, challenged the
the ordeal under circumstances which almost de-
prive us of the right of criticism. We under-

stand that he was labouring under an amount of
indisposition which would have prevented his
appearing, but from his anxiety to keep faith
with the management. We can judge of
him therefore but partially, though, we are
happy to add, that all we have to say is
very greatly in his favour. His defect
last night lay in his voice, which seemed
to want both power and quality—an impression
which it is very probable his subsequent exertions
will remove—his obvious merits were his genuine
passion and his high dramatic feeling, which
stamped his acting throughout the character with
every quality it needed. These merits, we must
add, he sustains with the advantages of a manly per-
son and an easy spirited bearing. To these conclu-
sions we must limit ourselves till we have an oppor-
tunity of again hearing him—simply recording
that he produced a very favourable impression_ in
the opening act, and that he extended it in the
great scene of and in the delivery of the
malediction, which roused the audience to
a degree of enthusiasm that led to his recall.
The Lucia of Madame Titiens requires no conces-
sions at our hands. Though a character which
affords her no dramatic scope whatever, and one
which also seems scarcely in unison with the
mature bloom of her person, nevertheless the pre-
rogative of genius to elevate everything it touches,
enables her to make it the vehicle of
some of ner most passionate ebullitions, and the
channel also for the display of some of 'ter most
brilliant vocalisation. Never was her incomparable
voice in finer order than it was last evening—
never more resonant, more fluent, or more com-
mandingly melodious. Its wonderful quality—
which places it apart from anything that has
been heard in recent years, and in the matter of
delicious sound makes it alone a great enjoyment,
flooded the house throughout the Might with all its
best impressions. Nor did her triumph terminate
here. If her delivery of the opening cavatina,
the superb duetto with Enrico, and her share
in the grand concerted piece of the scene of the
malediction, " Chi ritiene it min furore," sustained
all her ample fame, and fulfilled the highest expec-
pectations, it was in the music of the mad scene
that she carried satisfaction to the highest point—
alike in the force of its dramatic_ expression
and. the singular brilliancy of the vocalisation.
Here the music rose from her lips like the clear
stream of a fountain, and, high in air, broke away
into as brilliant a mass of sparkles. The acknow•
ledgment of this achievement was a very vociferous
recal—an honour which, with signor Armandi, she
also enjoyed at the end of every act. Signor Gassier
was the Enrico, and very ably he sustained it,
giving another proof to "the public of his sub-
stantial powee as singer and actor ; a power not
more remarkable for its strength than for its
range. The charming choruses of this opera were
very admirably sung, and the band under Signor
Arditi was all that could be desired. The scenery
and the movement were also very striking. On
the whole this was a very excellent and satisfac-
tory performance.

LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST RAlL-
WAT.—Yesterday a special general meeting of the share-
holders of this company, convened in compliance with the
Wharncliffe order, was held at the London. bridge station,
Mr. Leo Schuster in the chair, for the purpose of consider-
ing the following bills, which are at present before Parlia-
ment, viz. :—A bill for making a railway from the Sutton
station of the Croydon and Epsom branch of the London,
Brighton, and South Coast Railway, to Banstead and Epsom
Downs, in the county of Surrey ; a bill for making a rail-
way from Horsham to Dorking, and for other purposes ; a
bill for making a railway, to be called the "East Grinstead,
Groombridge, and Tunbridge Wells Railway," and for
other purposes; a bill for enabling the Mid Sussex and
Midhurst Junction Railway Company to extend the time
for completing their railway, to sell or lease their under-
taking to the Loudon, Brighton, and South Coast Railway
Company, and for other purposes. The meeting having
been opened in the usual form, the Chairman said he very
much regretted that, as the bills mentioned in the notice
had not yet been read a second time in the House of Lords,
as the directors had expected would ere this have been the
case when they fixed the day of meeting, he would have to
trouble the shareholders by asking them again to attend.
He would therefore move that the consideration of the bills
in question be postponed until Monday, the 26th inst. The
motion, having been se, ended by Mr. Lushington, was una-
nimously agreed to, and the proceedings terminated.

SUSPECTED CHILD MURDER.—Oa Saturday
evening, as some boys were bird-nesting among the ivy
which grows on the top of the wall at Tweedbank, on the
Coldstream road, opposite Shedden Park, they came on a
parcel wrapped up in some pieces of black alpaca, which,
on examination, proved to be the body of a full• grown male
child. It was shortly after taken to the police station, and
on being examined by a medical man, he gave it as his
opinion that the body had lain from three to four weeks in
the position in which it was found. It was very much de-
composed. No trace has been obtained of the unnatural
moth er.—.Kelso Mail.

FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE CALEDONIAN RAIL.
entuidny uytully; JULLICN cerey, Drak,:sznan on
the Caledonian Railway, accidentally lost his life near
Hangingshaw, on the south side of the river. He was
reaching over the tender of the engine, which was in mo-
tion at the time, for a piece of cotton-waste, when he over-
balanced and fll on to the rails, the locomotive passing
over him. He was 22 years of age, and unmarried.—N. B.

BALLOON ACCIDENT.—A dreedful accident has
just. taken place in the town of Barcelona. The ascension
was announced of a Montgolfier balloon of 14,000 cubic
metres, to which tt trapeze was attached, on which gym-
nastic teats were to be performed by a young lad. The bal-
loon shortly after ascending took fire, and the lad, who had
got up on the trapeze, was seen calmly holding on by one of
the ropes below it. The balloon at last fell on a house,
where the lad hung from the roof until his strength failed,
when he dropped to the ground, fracturing an arm and a
leg. A young man, who bad got on the roof of a house to
witness the descent of the balloon also fell, and was Juno
on the spot,