The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-31 00:00:00

Yesterday, by order of the Right Hon.W. Cowper,
First Commissioner of Words and Public Buildings,
Messrs. Pullen, Horne, and Eversfield submitted to
public auction, at the Government Store-Yard,
Great Smith-street, Westminster, the whole of the
trappings, funeral equipments, and furniture, used
on the occasion of the lying•in-state and funeral
of the late Field-Marshal his Grace the Duke of
Wellington in the month of November, 1852, and
which were of the most costly and elaborate de-
scription, including the splendid velvet pall
which covered the coffin, the silk altar-cloth and
the cloth of gold which were employed in that grand
display of funeral pomp, which was almost unpre-
cedented for its richness and splendour. There was
also the costly arms of the late duke, emblazoned on
banners, and richly embroidered on velvet in gold
and coloured silk; a large cross, richly emblazoned
in gold and silver, and coloured silk and white lin-
ing, with many other ornaments of the most beauti-
ful workmanship. The funeral trappings consisted
of 243 velvet housings, embroidered with crests
and silver lace fringe, and the very superior har-
ness made for the eight horses that drew the mas-
sive funeral car. The novelty of the sale drew
together a large concourse of persons who were
anxious to possess a relic of the event; but, al-
though for some of the lots there was a brisk
competition, on the whole they fetched very low
prices,

The first lot consisted of the massive framed ca-
nopy, with silvered cornices, and four suspension
rods, which was immediately over the body, and
formed so prominent an object at the lying-in-state
of the great captain at Chelsea Hospital. The bid-
ding for this relic began at a few shillings only,
and after several other bids had been made, it was
finally knocked down for 225. The gilt caps for
columns, and cast iron standards with spear heads,
used on the same occasion, were sold for a few

shillings.
The next lot of any importance was eight velvet
housings of black velvet, 52in. by 36in., embroi-
dered with the late Duke of Wellington's crest, and
silver fringe at the ends, together with the motto
richly worked. The competition was spirited, and
they were knocked down at 17s. each housing, or
£5 16s. the lot. Several other lots were sold at
this price, but as the sale proceeded the price de-
clined to ss. 6d. each housing, or £2 4s. the lot.

Three splendid banners, displaying the Duke of
'Wellington's coats of arms, richly embroidered on
velvet in gold and colours, met with but a small
amount of competition, and were knocked down at
£2 each.

The next lot was a cross, embroidered in gold and
silver, coloured silk and white lining. This formed
a striking object on the altar at Chelsea Hos-
pital. After a spirited competition it was
knocked down at £3 10s. Thirty-three
yards of cloth of gold, also forming decora-
tions for the altar, fetched the small sum of £2 ;
and 22 yards of broad silver lace produced but ls.
per yard.
The next article put up was the rich velvet pall,
18 feet by 16 feet 6 inches, which covered the coffin,
and of the finest workmanship. For the posses-
sion of this there was considerable competition, and
it was finally knocked down to a Mr. Townley for
£l7 10s.

The next article of importance was the rich
figured silk altar cloth, 20 feet 6 inches by 9 feet
6 inches, with gold and silver fringe, and lined
with white silk. This was really a most beautiful
article, but it was knocked down for the small sum
of £l3.

The unusually strong harness, made expressly for
the horses drawing the funeral cir, was then put
up, and realised £2 Bs. per set.
The rest of the lots were disposed of at very mo-

derate prices, and some surprise was expressed that
there was no Government reserve on any of the
articles put up for competition.

COLLIERY ACCIDENT AND Loss GF TWELVE
LIVES.—Early on Monday a frightful accident

occurred at one of the pits of the Lilleshall Colliery Com

pany, situate at Priors Lee, near Shiffnal, by which twelve
persons lost their lives. it appears that the men were be-
ing let down the shaft to their work, and that nine men and
three boys had got into the cage at once and were being
lowered, when one of the pine of the gearing gave way,
end they were all precipitated to the bottom of the shaft.
They had a great depth to fall, and were all killed on the
spot, the bodies being much mangled. This deplorable
accident leaves five women widows, and 27 children father-

FOUR MEN DROWNED IN THE TAY,—About 9
o'clock on the morning of Thursday last four men

[eft the Old Shore, Perth, in a sand-carrying boat of 20 tons

burden, and proceeded down the river to the Middle Bank,
about two miles below Cairnie Pier, and situated about

midway between Pitfour Dyke on the north side of the Tay,
sad Mugdrum Island on the south, for the purpose of
loading a cargo of masons' sand and returning to Perth

with the afternoon tide. When the party left Perth, though
the river was a good deal swollen by the recent rains, there

was but little wind, and not the least cause for apprehend..
ing any danger:in the-prosecution of their avocation. By
. . . . _

one o'clock in the afternoon, however, a strong gale from
the north-west sprung up, accompanied by heavy rain,
which continued till Friday morning. The party did not
return to Perth on Thursday night, but their friends were
not greatly alarmed on that account, and naturally thought
that owing t, the boisterous state of the weather the m n

had landed either at Cairnie Pier or at Inchyra, not deem-
ing it prudent to proceeo up the river so dark and stormy a
night. When Friday came,
however, there was no appear.
ante of the men and the boat, either with the morning or
evening tide. This absence, of course, caused much anxiety
to the families and relatives of the missing men ; and con-
sequently, at an early hour on Saturday morning, two men
went down the river in a boat to make inquiries. No person,
however, had seen the missing men since Thursday after-
noon, when they were at the Aliddle Bank, taking in a cgrgo
of sand. The two men in rowing near to the Middle Bank
observed that the missing boat had sunk at the tail of the
bank, but owing to the boisterous state of the weather they
could not approach close to it. There was no appearance of
any of till crew of the sunken boat ; but the two men, on
reaching Pitfour Dyke, found the large mast of the boat,
three of the oars, and four booms. It is conjectured, from
the place in which the b git lies, that just as it had left the
bank for Perth, a sudden gust of wind sprung up, whereby
the boat filled with water and immediately sank ; and it

is also supposed that this had happaned after dark,
for the owner of the boat was as excellent swimmer,
and could have easily reached the shore in daylight.
The two men returned to Perth on Saturday evening
after a fruitless search for the bodies of the missing
men, who, there cannot be the least doubt, have been
drowned. On Sunday three men left Perth in search of
the bodies in the river, but up to three o'clock in the after-
noon none of them had been found. The names of the
missing men are John M'lntoch (owner of the boat), Hugh
M'Donald, John Mackie, and Thomas Battery. The first
three were married, and have left to mourn their loss widows
and young helpless families.—Scotsman.
BOXING-NIGHT AT THE DUBLIN THEATRE.—
There is always extraordinary excitement in this
theatre on boxing-night to witness the first performance
of the pantomime. Last Friday night the throng was
unprecedented. The subject of the pantomime is
" Cinderella." No sooner had the curtain risen on the
first scene than the whole densely-packed house, from
pit to gallery, broke into one wild ehorus of ap -
plause, Mr. Harris, the manager of the theatre, Mr.
Craven, the artist, Mr. Granby, the stage manager,
Mr. Levey, the composer and conductor of the music—all
were successively called out by the "gods" to receive their
rapturous applause, the tenants of the boxes and of the pit
warmly concurring in the well-merited ovation. The gor-
geous scenery and the admirable acting continued to make
every moment a more and more favourable impression, till a
clever transformation revealed a trophy of flags—" union
jacks," surmounted by a small green flag, with the harp
of Erin in the centre. Immediately a crowd of " tars"
were seen aloft, waving the British flag, but no green flag
this time was to be seen. This threw the nationalists into
the most violent paroxysm on record. The Nation thus de-
scribes the scene :—" A perfect roar of anger burst from
the audience, and it was impossible to hear even the
orchestra with the hurricane of hissing that aroee. Cries
for ' The green flag, the green flag 1" The green flag out,
the green flag out!' were the articulate sounds of any
kind that could be distinguished amid the din. This con-
tinued for some time, the ' clown' and pantaloon' doing
their utmost to play down the disapprobation by persever-
ance. The ' house' was wroth, and would not be appeased
—save by ' the green flag,' which, with lungs that seemed
miraculously enduring, they kept untiringly demanding.
In this manner the performance was galloped' over
rapidly to the end, apparently abbreviated to the utmost,
hoping that the grand tableaux at the finale—a really mag-
nificent spectacle—would cause the little unpleasantness'
to vanish, and all to end, like the fairy tale itself, happily.
But even this calculation was doomed to disappointment,
and the curtain fell amid hissing as loud as ever, and cries
as vehement for the green fig.".