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

COURT CIRCULAR.

OSBORNE, DEC. 30.

The Queen, accompanied by Princess Louis of Hesse,
drove out yesterday afternoon. Major-General Seymour
attended on horseback.
The Earl of Clarendon and Mr. Fisher arrived at Os-
borne.
The Right Hon. C. Villiers has returned to London.

The Right Hon. Sir George Grey has left town on a
visit to the Earl of Harrowby, at his seat, Sandon House,
Stone.

Despatches were received yesterday at the Colonial-office
from the Governors of the West India Islands.

Despatches were sent to the Lord High Commissioner of
the lonian Islands.

Vicount Powerecourt left town on Sitnrday for
his seat, Powerscourt, Ireland.

Viscount Contades left town yesterday for Paris.
General and Lady Mary Fox have taken the
house in Grosvenor-square, late the residence of Mrs. Sey-
mour Bathurst, for a term of years.

Mr. and Lady Elizabeth Villiers have left
Thomas's Hotel, Berkeley-square, for Sulby Hall, Rugby.
Mr. and Lady Evelyn Brudenell Bruce have re-
turned to Thomas's Hotel, Berkeley-square, from Brighton.

The Right Hon. Sir George Grey has left town
on a visit to the Earl of Harrowby, at his seat, Sandon
House, Stone.

Married yesterday, at Canterbury Cathedral,
Mr. Ralph William Elliot Forster, of Lincoln's-inn, to
Frances Joanna, second daughter of the Rev. William
Stone, Canon of Canterbury. The ceremony was per-
formed by the Very Rev, the Dean Gf Canterbury, Dr.
Alford,

LYCEUM THEATRE.—We understand M. Fechter
is making great preparations for the opening of the
Lyceum on the 10th proximo. One of the great features
will be the re-arrangement of the lighting. The chandeliers
round the boxes will be removed, for which we think the
public ought to feel much indebted to the new lessee. The
heat and smoke arising from them to the great annoyance
of the audience will now be obviated. The theatre will be
lie-hted by Messrs. J. Defries and Sons' " Patent Sun-
lights," arranged so as to resemble a glass chandelier, with-
out impeding the view of the stage. The ventilation has
been undertaken by the same eminent firm, and, if we un-
derstand rightly, the plan intended to be adopted will be
not only novel, but the most effective that has yet been
achieved. There is no doubt that if they succeed in ac-
complishing this object, it will be a great boon to the
habitues of our theatres, as doubtless the other leading
theatres will follow M. Fechter's example, and adopt the
same plan of both lighting and ventilating.

GALLERY OF ILLUSTRATION.—Mr. and Mrs.
German Reed, with Mr. John Parry, havere-
sumed their agreeable entertainment at the Gallery of
Illustration, Regent. street. We have, on more than one
occasion, noticed the successful " Family Legend," and
always with commendation, so that all that is required on
the present occasion is an announcement that it has lost
none of its attraction. Mr. John Parry introduces the
novelty of the evening, viz., a little scene entitled, " Mrs.
Roseleaf's Little Evening Party," which puts the audi-
ence into the highest state of merriment from beginning
to end. This splendid Gallery is nightly filled by a very
brilliant audience.

A BALLET GIRL ON FIRE AT THE BRIGHTON
THEATRE.—On Saturday evening last an accident,
which fortunately was not attended with such serious re-
sults as was at first anticipated, occurred to one of the
ballet girls at this theatre. During the representation of
the pantomime, the performers were making preparations
for the reception of one of the great personages, when one
of the ballet girls approached too near the feat lights and
her dress caught fire. The scene in the theatre cannot be
described on paper—it completely battles all attempt at
description. Women fainted and were carried out of the
house, and the shrieks were terrific. Fortunately several
gentlemen were on the stage, and succeeded in extinguish..
ing the flames, and when order had been restored, the
manager, Mr. Nye Chart, handed in the poor creature in
order to let the audience see that she was not so much in-
jured as had been anticipated. We are also told that she
appeared on the stage at a later period of the pantomime.
We are glad to say that the manager has decided in future
to have wire work over the foot lights, which will prevent
any similar accident.—Sussex Express.
LIBEL,—THE CLYDESDALE BANK V. THE " NORTH
BRITISH MAlL."—This case, which was an action
at the instance of the Clydesdale Banking Company and
George Readman, manager, on behalf of the said joint-
stock banking company, against the printer and publisher
of the North British Daily Mail and of the Glasgow
Weekly Mail, printed and published in Glasgow, came on
for trial before the Lord President and a jury, in the First
Division of the Court of Session, on Monday, and resulted
in a verdict for the defendant.

THE MILITARY PRISONS OF RICHMOND.—The
prisons of Richmond are in charge of the Provost
Marshal and his deputies. They were in August last nine
in number, of which seven were military and two civil. The
captives then numbered more than 7,000 ; the state pri-
soners less than 200. Castle Godwin is the Bastile of
Richmond. It is an abandoned negro mart, situate
on a low piece of ground, and approached by
steps descending from Broad-street. Natives and
foreigners—(of the latter class, Germans particularly)—
have suffered long confinement here ; and some have gone
hence, seated on their coffins, to the fair grounds north of
the city, where a rope and cross-beam stand always. The
rope is attached to their necks, the cart driven off, and
they are left dangling. The military prisons—of whichthe
Libby is the most widely known —are chiefly abandoned
tobacco warehouses, built of brick, and generally large,
airy, and isolated. The bloody six days' battles that re-
deemed Richmond and the South, crowded them with
bruised, mangled, and lunatic captives, for whom little pre-
paration was possible. The wounds of the sufferers re-
mained unstanched all the night and some men who
were but scarred lay neglected till mortification ensued.
The fevered tossed through many hours with lips a-flame
and weary longings for home, and some that died remained
unburied for days, in horrible companionship with the liv-
ing. All suffered front hunger. Contagious diseases ap-
peared. Crimes broke out among the despairing and
brutal. Some gamed with cards and dice—others robbed
the helpless of what they them-elves could seldom keep.
When, after the hostile governments arranged for an ex-
change, the survivors were marched in bevies to the river
and embarked—they huddled upon the open deck, ragged,
cold, and tortured with vermin, looking wistfully for the
expected transport. And when at length the hull of the
relief came in, view, with a bit of sp ►ngled something that
flaunted on the flag-pole, the cripple flung up his crutches,
and the sick grew strong for a little while. The condition
of the returned prisoners excited much indignation at the
North, and wilful cruelty was imputed to the Richmond
authorities. But lam satisfied that they only failed to do
what they could not do. Their own wounded filled the city,
engrossing all attention, and thousands of their dead
covered the field meanwhile. The surgeons were not
numerous, and there were no medicines. The best attested
case of murder was that of a Federal soldier, who went over
to the Confederates, and, being taunted with disloyalty,
deliberately shot one of his countrymen. The prisoners
were generally insubordinate, and commonly hooted Pre-
sident Davis and his colours, in and out of prison.—Corn-
hill Magazine.

MURDER.—A recent statistical table of the corn _
parative number of murders in the different coun-
tries of Europe shows that in England there are 4 in every
million of inhabitants; in Belgium, 17—in Belgium, 17—
Sardinia, 20—Franca, 31—Austria, 36—Bavaria, 68—Lom-
bardy, 45—Rome, :00—Sicily, 90—and in Naples, 200. In
the Vaudois valleys murder is almost unknown.—
Galignani.

It appears from the Prussian journals that out of
42,000 elcetors of Berlin who took part in the last elections,
40,007 have signed the addresses of adhesion to the Chain-
ber of RI uties.

THE OASTLER MEMORIAL.—The committee ap-
pointed to raise a fund for this object have received £l,OOO,
and a full-length statue of the great factory king is to bo
erected in one of the principal towns of the West Riding—
probably Bradford—where the short•time movement origi-
nated.

WESTMINSTER BRIDGE.—From a Parliamentary
return just isBuc,d it appears that up to the 14th
of last July a sum of £303,189 19s. 2d. was expended on
Westminster Bridge. Of this amount, £145,057 18s. 5d
was paid to contractors, and £248,132 Os, 9d. to other par-
ties. The amount expended on the approaches was
.E 109,051 4s. 9d. The whole of the outlay has been sup-
plied from property belonging to the Westminster Bridge
Commissioners, and from votes of Parliament.