The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-23 00:00:00

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Aut.

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LONDON, MONDAY, JAN. 23, 1865.

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It is evident from the intelligence brought by the
Australasian that the Confederates at last are fully
awake to the importance of arresting the progress
of SHERMAN, and are disposed to concentrate their
forces with, that object. Hitherto they appear to
have fallen into the common mistake of underrating
their enemy, and have suffered for it accordingly.
It was undoubtedly an error in the disposition of
their forces to allow Ho op, after virtually driving
SHERMAN from Atlanta, to wander away into Ten-
nessee instead of closely pursuing him. THOMAS
was evidently employed as a decoy to lead HOOD
further and further away from SHERMAN, who was
allowed to pursue an almost uninterrupted march
through Georgia. This was the great mistake on
the Southern side of the campaign, for even sup-
posing HOOD to have succeeded in capturing Nash-
ville, that triumph would have been counterbalanced
by the loss of Savannah, and possibly of other
cities. LEE should now recall HOOD from his un-
satisfactoryand combine all his avail-
able expedition,
forces to confront SHERMAN, whose next point
is said to be Branchville, in North Carolina, a posi-
tion of the utmost importance. It is a central point,
and commands the whole of the Carolina railways,
and consequently, should SHERMAN get possession
of it, he will gain a valuable acquisition, and have
the means of further advance in his hands. No
sooner did the Confederates gain an intimation of
his probable route than they despatched able engi-
neers to fortify Branchville, but fortifications are of
little use without men to defend them. Savannah
was well fortified, but powerless, because it was not
illamled by a sufficient number of troops, and therefore
it is .
iniPeratwely necessary that the South should be
upon their guard time enough to throw a really
competent force into the town. SHERMAN'S route
is, in fact, just Row
th coe:tnra. l point of the war,
and Branchville is
really
important than more in danger and more
Richmond itself. The feeling of
the South is strong in the matter, and it has even
been rumoured that General LEE 'has assumed the
chief command of all the Confederate
armies, put-
ting BEAU REGARD in command of the defences of
Richmond, and intending to proceed himself with-
out delay to confront SHERMAN. SHER
MAN's move-
ments are said to be held by LEE to be more ma.
portant than anything which GRANT is likely to
effect within the next four months. Whether or no
the fact of the change in the direction of the
Southern armies be true, there is no doubt that the
main features of this programme are the wisest
under the circumstances. It would decidedly be
the best course to pursue to concentrate the Southern
forces in South Carolina, and stop SHERMAN'S pro-
gress northward, if the Confederates wish to retrieve
the disasters of this campaign. The silence which
the Northern organs keep respecting SHER3uN's

movement is suspicious, and very unlike their usual
braggadocio. The fact is, that the North is fully '
aware of the importance of the movement, and is
anxious to divert Southern attention from the right
quarter. Another attack on Wilmington is loudly
announced, which is, no doubt, a feint to draw off
regard from SHERMAN, for certainly it would
be a strange mode of setting about an attack
to give the enemy notice to get ready to re-
ceive it.. LEE is, however, we should hope, too
keen-sighted a tactician to be easily misled on such
' points. Meanwhile the public mortification at New
York and Washington has been pacified as usual,
and one general has been disgraced, as the French-
man
_said, to encourage the others. Certainly, if
ever a man went into the shade without regret or
sympathy, that man is the fallen hero of New
Orleans, and if hard measure has been dealt to him
in the present case, the universal feeling is that he
has only got his deserts. It is not quite

" The arbiter of others' fate,
A suppliant for his own,"

but it is a sufficient downfall to show a refreshing
example of poetical justice in real life. General
Butler has been removed and ordered to report at
Lowell, Massachusetts. " General ORD has tempo-
rarily superseded him," so runs the news, and a
further paragraph informs us that he was ordered to
turn everything, including public moneys, over to
his successor, so that the rapturous enthusiasm
which he inspired at New York a few weeks back
has not served him much, and the exile which he
kindly advocated for the Southern people has begun
upon himself. THOMAS is opening a base of supplies
at Eastport, on the Tennessee River, with a view, it
is said, to a march towards Mobile. No such
rumours, however, should be suffered to call off the
Southern armies from the great point of interest and
importance. It must not be forgotten that SHER-
mAN has now the means of obtaining reinforcements
by sea since the capture of Savannah, and therefore
his forces must not be reckoned at so low a number
as he is known to have had with him on entering
Savannah. The rumour that the Georgia officials
have asked to return to the Union bears absurdity
on the face of it. There were only 17 persons at
the meeting held by the Mayor of Savannah—evi-
dently coerced by SHERMAN. If Georgia had not
asked to join before SHERMAN'S savage raid through
the centre of the State, where he found comfort and
prosperity, and left a wilderness of ruin and desola-
tion, it is not likely her people would wish now to
degrade themselves by rejoining the hdted Union
after such cruel experience. Whatever victories the
North may gain only puts them further from their
end by widening the gulf between them and the
South by the merciless use which they make of the
power which falls into their hands. The inhabi-
tants of the Shenandoah, for instance, are now said
to be suffering from famine—a natural result of
SHERIDAN'S devastation. It is such barbarities as
this which drive the South to desperation, and we
only hope they will display the antagonism to the
North which they talk so much about by impressing
their negroes into the service. Such a step would
have the most important consequences. It would in
the first place have a powerful effect on the war,
since not only would it add a large body of men to
the Confederate ranks, but the negroes in the
Northern army would be most unwilling to fight
against their fellows. It would secondly take away
the only excuse from the great Powers for with-
holding their recognition of the South, and would
afford England at least a plea for affording moral as-
sistance to the Confederates. The tone of Southern
organs has undergone a perceptible change in this
as in other respects within the last few months, and
in that aspect of the ease the late disasters to the
Southern arms may have done good service.
Whether the financial difficulties of the North will
have a beneficial effect on them remains to be seen.
Mr. FESSENDEN'S proposed retirement is significant.
There is a Richmond within Washington itself,
which is more unconquerable than the Southern
capital, and it is no great wonder that the ablest
financiers shrink from the hopeless undertaking.
Mr. LINCOLN no doubt already feels that his
Cabinet will not carry him through four years more.
He is probably now awaiting anxiously the coming
of March, which will offer so tempting an oppor-
tunity to those who may be prepared to question the
extent of his sovereignty.

It is the best proof of the tendency of those en-
gaged in any trade to impose upon the public, and
to mar those opportunities from which all should
derive advantage, that at different times the vari-
ous modes of traffic are compelled to be taken under
the consideration of the Legislature. No rules can
be too strict that are made for the benefit of the
numerous travellers and passengers who are so con-
stantly passing to and fro in divers directions. The
railways became a failure to the poorer classes until
Parliament made the stipulations which compelled
the adoption of cheap trains for ordinary purposes,
as well as for special occasions, and excursion
trains. In many other respects also the laws
passed in respect to the locomotives were
of signal service to those concerned. The
cabs, as all remember, were put under strict rules
some years back, and it was high time that some
interference took place, for they were fast degene-
rating into a nuisance with the unseemly squabbles
so constantly taking place, the gross extortions
practised upon the unwary, and the unsatisfactory
manner in which their services were rendered. The
great deficiency that we have now to complain of
is the immunity that the omnibuses are allowed
to enjoy, an immunity that costs the community
very dear in time, money, and comfort. It must be
quite evident to all those who frequent this mode of
conveyance that great impositions are practised
upon the public—in fact, that they are the victims
to a monopoly. It is the more to be regretted that
should be the case, because the classes that especially
depend upon omnibuses as a means of transit are
just those who cannot afford to take more expensive
conveyances, and yet are often obliged to get at
great distances by certain hours. The worst feature
in the conduct of the omnibus proprietors is, that
they will not allow others to enter the field or per-
form those tasks properly which they themselves
to
seem unable or unwilling to do the satisfaction
and convenience of the public. In spite of all re-
monstrances, and even threats, and notwithstanding
frequent appeals to courts of law, there is a very
pernicious system persisted in whenever any of the
new set start on their ventures. Lives are thus en-
dangered,ut in jeopardy, and all for the
monopolisers
win
the day and carry their point.
The game has, however, been quite long enough in
their hands, and the interests of the public demand
that this session shall not pass without some definite
rules and regulations being laid down which shall
prevent from henceforth the recurrence of the incon-
sistent practices now in vogue, and the inconvenient
methods now pursued by these one-sided charioteers
who cater for their own particular views, under the
plea of working
trial classes.
railways, and th
per mile, and
exempt from all kinds of
to follow their own vagaries
for the general good of the in' clus-
It is quite out of character that special
regulations shall be
laid down for the charge of
restriction,
check or counterpoise, e amount that cab-fares should pay
yet that the omnibuses should be
and permitted
Anwithomoulit.efl3elikt oertihiie:

are constantly occurring in our social system, and it
requires the exercise of vigilant caution and the
care of experienced observers to adjust the difficul-
ties that frequently arise, and perpetually point out
the necessity of prompt and vigorous treatment.
Doubtless some opposition will be raised to any
plan proposed to remedy the grievance which the
omnibus traffic has now become, not only on the
part of those who are immediately concerned, but
also among those quite unconnected with the subjeet
in a personal way, but object to what is called arbi-
trary interference. All these demurrers should be
silenced, however, by the fact that the present
regime of omnibus conveyance does not meet the
necessities or suit the requirements of the public.
Far too much is charged for short distances,
to make it often worth the while of many to ride
at all ; while others, who are unwary, are trapped
into paying perhaps double what they intended or
can sometimes spare for their expedition. All this
inconsistent practice should be placed on a proper
footing, and stated charges for stated distances
should be settled and adhered to. It is true that
it is possible for persons to go a long way by an
omnibus at a cheap rate, but then it also happens
that by rigidly adhering to their arbitrary rules, the
conductors take double the sum that is suitable for
short distances between the prescribed places. It is
not apparent to any one of common sense
and right judgment, why such abuses of
a system should be tolerated, and yet unless
some decided steps are taken, no remedy can be
applied, and no cure devised. As things are at
present constituted, the poor travellers are subjected
to all kinds of losses and annoyances, while the
business folks who depend upon the omnibuses as a
means of transit are put to all sorts of inconvenience,
and waste of time, money, and comfort into the
bargain. It has, therefore, become incumbent upon
the Legislature to do something at once, and to the
point, that the public should no more be subjected
to the freaks and fancies of omnibus proprietors,
who carry on a brisk trade, and one of much
importance to the community whose welfare they
despise, and whose comfort they seem to laugh at.
It seems quite astonishing that something
should not have been done before this, when we
reflect upon the many dodges and devices which
have been practised from time to time. What with
the " nursing" trick, the putting on and the with-
drawal of extra omnibuses to meet the whim of the
moment, the sudden rise in the price of fares with-
out any public notice, the ingenious devices of
charging sixpence for a ten minutes' ride on the plea
of the distance being beyond the limits of the spots
fixed upon as landmarks, it is almost impossible to
conceive how or in what manner any certainty can
be attained or convenience enjoyed by those who
frequent the omnibuses. The grievance cannot be
so great that by a due amount of attention it may
not be remedied, and neither is it so small or so
trifling that it should be passed over ; for it is the
bounden duty of the authorities to look to those
matters which affect the interest of the public.

BUST OF THE LAUREATE.—Messrs. Moxon, of
Dover-street, are about to publish a new portrait in
bronze, plain or silvered, of the Poet-Laureate, by Mr.
Woolner. This work differs from former likenesses of Mr.
Tennyson by the sculptor—the bust, which is in the
Library at Trinity College, Cambridge, and a medallion—
in having the beard as now worn ; it is not only a fine
example of art, but an admirable and recent likeness. It is
a three-quarter face, a medallion in high relief, with a bold
moulding, which forms a circular frame, so that the work
is complete in itself.

LITERATURE LN ENGLAND.—In the year 1864
there were published in London, according to the
Literary Gazette, 3,553 new works and new editions, in-
cluding pamphlets. Of these there were of religious 715,
biography and history 233, geography, topography, and
books of travel 151, fiction, including juvenile works, 842,
poetry and general literature 565, annuals and new serials
166, law and parliamentary 79, medical and surgical 124,
European and classical philology, including translations,
132, English philology and education 177, naval, military,
and engineering 52, politics and questions of the day 56,
agriculture, horticulture, and field sports 46, art, architec-
ture, &c. 52, commercial 41, science and natural history
122.

NovEL RIFLE MATCII.—The first competition in
the simultaneous rifle match for England, Scotland, and
Ireland, took place on the 13th, 14th, and 16th of January,
when 15 squads of five each fired at 800, 900, and 1,000
yards, ten shots at each range, and no sighting shots.
Eight squads fired in different parts of England, five in
Scotland, and two in Ireland, this being the first match in
which Irish riflemen have entered as such with the small
bore. The squads were allowed to fire on any of the three
daye, but the furious gale on the 14th interferred much
with shooting. In one squad the rifle had to be aimed
38ft. off the bull's eye on account of the wind. It will be
seen from the principal scores given below that many of
the best shots competed on this occasion. The prizes are
not, however, won until after four competition 9 in the
spring and summer, and are then to be decided by the
two highest scores of each competitor. Captain Jaques
Caterham, 103 ; Mr. R. W. Dunlop, C. 8., London
Scottish Rifle Volunteers, Inverness, 99 ; Captain
Heaton, Manchester, 98 ; Captain Maxwell, Altcar, and
Sergeant Gibbs, Bristol, 97 ; Mr. Edward Ross, London
Scottish Rifle Volunteers, Harrow, 96 ; Mr. Edin, Inns of
Court Rifle Volunteers, Wimbledon, 96 ; Mr. Cunliffe,
Manchester, 94 ; Mr. Barlow, Dublin, 93 ; Captain Fergus-
son, Inverness, Mr. Rawson, Altcar, and Sergeant Kemp,
Manchester, 92 ; Dr. Goodwin, Altcar, 91 ; Captain Fenton,
Manchester, Captain Paton, Ayr, and Captain Field, Hon.
Artillery Company, Wimbledon, 90 ; Captain King, Inns
of Court Rifle Volunteers, Wimbledon, and Lord Bolton,
Bolton Castle, 89 ; Lieutenant Cunningham, Harrow, 88 ;
Mr. Colvert, Dublin, 87 ; Captain Hawker and Sergeant
Martin Smith, Harrow, 86 ; Mr. Guthrie, Ayrshire, Mr.
Clare, Dublin, Mr. Formby, Altcar, and Mr. Rigby, Dub-
lin, 85 ; Mr. Nugent, Dublin, and Mr. Lane, Bristol, 84 ;
Mr. Fletcher, Altcar, 83 ; Mr. Miller, Bristol, and the Earl
of Aberdeen, Bolton Castle, 79 ; Mr. P. Cunliffe, Manches-
ter, 78 ; " a Lady," who shot with a Rigby rifle at Cater-
ham, 77 ; Captain Bland, 76th Regiment, Belfast, 76.

MR. BRIGHT AND THE AMERICAN WAR.—Mr.
Bright approves the awful slaughter with which the
Federals have dyed the field of Virginia and Tennessee;
he approves of the desolation which has visited thousands
and hundreds of thousands of heretofore happy hearths ;
he does not shrink from renewing these scenes of horror
until no victims shall be left on whom they can be enacted;
and therefore he exerts himself to secure the election of the
man who has been, and will continue to be, the minister of
this bloodthirsty policy so long as he has power to do so.
Is this indeed the same statesman as the one who, in the
crisis of the Crimean war, painted so movingly the near
presence of the Angel of Death ? Is this the man who de-
nounced in language of almost frightful energy the short
Italian campaign, undertaken—in profession, at least—
with the aim of emancipating a people ? It was, indeed,
wonderful acting ; and, but for this American war, we
should have never guessed how completely histrionic it was.
But now we have been taught that the occupation of mu-
tual destruction is not "fiendlike" if its conducted by
Republicans, and that war is no longer, in their hands,
to be looked upon as that " savagery" which will break
down of itself. When Mr. Bright denounced war before,
it was supposed that the American democracy was pacific ;
but now that it has been discovered to be warlike, even
Quakerism becomes warlike too. The leading member of
the Peace Society, in the character of bottle-holder to the
most cruel conflict of modern times, is a phenomenon to
which it is hard to find a parallel in history. Many men
have in every age used the influence they possessed over
others to whet the appetite of the multitude for blood, and
have upon their souls the guilt of human lives prodigally
squandered and human hearts wrung with woe. But they
furnish no analogy to the peace statesmen, for they did not
profess to believe that all war was in itself wrong. The
nearest parallel that can be supplied will be found in the
fact that Robespierre's first appearance in public life was
the composition of an essay against the punishment of
death.—Quarterly Review.

VICTORIA LABOUR-lIARKET.—Dining the, month
of October last there arrived in the colony of
Victoria 2,665 persons, of whom 916 were from the United
Kingdom, and the remaining' 1,749 from other places. The
number of departures from the colony was 1,304, of whom
127 were for the United Kingdom. The current rates of
wages ranged from £3O per annum for single farm labourers
to £6O for married labourers without children, and from
£l5 for nursemaids to £35 for cooks.

PREMIUM FOR PEWS.—The: Rev. Henry Ward
Beecher presided this year, as usual, at the annual letting
of pews and aisle seats in Plymouth Church, Brooklyn.
The proceedings took place in the church on the 3d inst.
The premiums bid were much larger than ever before.
The highest bid last year was $2OO ; this year, $4OO, which,
added to the pew rent, makes the largest total payment for
the year for one pew $520. Twelve pews were sold at prices
(including premium and pew rent) exceeding $4OO each,
And J. 6 more brought above $3OO.

THEATRE ROYAL LYOEITM,

Pechter as Robert Macaire.

In spite of the densest fog that London has been
smothered in for years—a fog, by the way, that
seemed to lead us groping blindly back by a chain
of flaring links into the Dark Ages of a hundred
years ago, to the old-world street-cry of " Buy a
Link, Sir ! Buy a Link !" a once familiar street-
cry revived for one night only, by particular request
—in spite, we say, of the funereal fog of Saturday,
the Lyceum Theatre was crowded, early in the
evening, from floor to ceiling, by nearly all the pick
of our London playgoers. And no wonder. For
upon that night M. Charles Fechter was an-
nounced to make his first appearance in the
character of Robert Macaire, the famous part
enacted years ago to enraptured audiences, both in
Paris and in London, by M. Frederic Lemaitre.
Adapted to the English stage, L'Auberge des Adrets
becomes " The Roadside Inn." It should be said,
at once, moreover, that the denouement of the play
(first translated into English, we believe, by the late
Charles Selby) has been considerably modified, now,
in the process of this later and more refined adap-
tation of it to English tastes. The curtain falls at
last leaving the hero of the piece not—as he was
wont to be left at the conclusion of L'Auberge des
Adrets—a red-handed murderer. His victim—still
pillaged, if you will, of his pocket-book stuffed
with bank-notes—is announced, immediately before
the descent of the curtain, as in a fair way towards
recovery ! The Theatrical Doctor, who effects this
miraculous restoration, and who is the means, in
consequence of eliciting its announcement—one of
the regular Stage Physicians, three-cornered cocked
hat and all—was, thereupon, delightfully dubbed in our
hearing by one of the audience—in compliment at once
to the cocked hat and the recovery—a Perfect Cure.
Twenty years have now elapsea bli
piece was first produced—Frederic Lemaitre then
making it the framework of his most brilliant and
successful impersonation. Another Frederick, here,
in England, Frederick Yates, to wit—a man of
parts so very numerous that his role ranged from
Richard M. to Quilp, from Sir Peter Teazle in the
Comedy to anything you might fancy in the wildest
extravagance of a Farce first brought Robert
Macaire, on this side of theichannel, within
the compass of the London playgoer's acquaint-
ance. Other popular English actors after
Yates, among them the gay, aerial, handsome
Wallack, among them even light-footed, limber-
legged T. P. Cooke, the mere sight of whom, gene-
rally, before the footlights seemed to transform the
stage into a deck—continued for some years
among Londoners a knowledge of the tradi-
tional peculiarities of the most renowned of
all French Rapscallions. Without disparagement
to any of these clever impersonators of
Robert Macaire, whether upon the French or Eng-
lish boards, the Macaire of nowadays—(who that
was present in the Lyceum on Saturday evening
will hesitating about coinciding fully in our asser-
tion ?)—the natural successor, the riyal, the compeer
of Frederic Lemaitre as Robert Macaire is the same
accomplished actor who has already won so largely
of our admiration here, in England, in characters
as marvellously different as Ruy Blas and Ham-
let, as the Lacquey of Victor Hugo and the
Prince of Shakspere. Having, now, witnessed his
performance of Robert Macaire, we have acquired a
new, and, shall we confess it, an unexpected
view of the range taken by Mr. Fechter as
an actor—in more ways than we had looked
for—of exceptionally remarkable genius. His
Hamlet, and his Ruy. Blas, together with
other parts that he has made essentially his own,
we remember through our tears. His Robert Macaire,
however, we can recall to mind only through our
laughter— a laughter free and unstinted in
its spontaneous abandonment, and yet a laughter
rendered poignant, here and there, as one might say
by the sense as of a sudden shudder ! The airy grace
and playful humour of the elegant vagabond being
dropped for an instant now and then—upon rare
occasions, that is, when the natural or assumed
gaiety of the Convict-Gentleman is shot through,
so to speak, by lightning-gleams of in-born ruth-
lessness and ferocity 1 Immediately Mr. Fechter
became visible in the ragged dandyism of Robert
Macaire, the absolute transformation of the actor
seemed to be thoroughly appreciated by the audi-
ence. Lounging down from the precipitous path-
way, hard by the Roadside Inn, there came to view,
in Fechter's Robert Macaire, surely, the most
picturesque tatterdemalion that ever trod the stage !
The battered white hat—(one wonders if it can
possibly last through the run of the piece, or rather
if it must not inevitably number up as many
successors as would, have furnished, let us say, a
year's supply of hats to the cabman Matthews)—the
battered white hat, cocked jauntily on one side with
an ineffable air of devil-me-care nonchalance ! The
rose blooming in the button-hole of the tattered coat
—a coat tattered to the veriest rags, and-yet fitting
with perfection to the symmetrical figure ! The red
pantaloons also fitting like wax to the limbs—
pantaloons stained and threadbare, patched at
the knees, dogs'-eared at the pockets ! The dirty em-
broidered residue.of what was once a waistcoat ! The
gaudy scarlet neckerchief innocent of the merest
hint of body-linen underneath it ! Attired after this
fashion, it is, that Fechter pourtrays Robert Ma-
caire with such unblushing effrontery in all the che-
quered incidents making up the plot of the Road-
side Inn ! The bye-play throughout is marvellously
finished—finished with a nicety of minuteness that
just perfects the illusion. The squeaking snuffbox, the
lightly-puffed cigarette, assume to themselves im-
portance not merely, so to speak, asaccessories in the
picture, but almost, one might say, as integral por-
tions of the impersonation. Wonderfully graceful
and effective was the dance in the first act, where
Robert Macaire, during the gathering of the thunder-
storm, assumes to himself the part of leader of the
revels in the weddingifestivities, outside the Village Inn
—the joyous dance, to which Robert Macaire plays
an accompaniment on the violin—plays it, moreover,
with such an admirable aplomb in every movement of
the bow, as though the notes heard really emanated
elsewhere than from the Orchestra! Robert Macaire,
that genuine convict specimen of Robert le Diable,
towards the close of this dance, throwing aside
his fiddle and bow, in order that he may waltz hither
and thither through all the mazes of the other
dancers—his arm round the waist of one of the
prettiest of the villagers, whom in the midst of his
waltzing he contrives to rifle of her necklace and
earrings, with infinite dexterity ! Inimitably good
was the quietly suppressed " go to the devil !" with
which Robert Macaire abstracts No. 13 from the
bunch of keys in the lock of the cellar-door, when
the loquacious Pierre is heard chattering, about the
wine, from within the cellar. The dinner with the
gens d'armes, again, brings out to full view,
as it were, the consummate effrontery
of Macaire, as represented, in truth, with inimit-
able humour by Mr. Fechter throughout—
that is, at least, until the close of the drama, when
the heart of the dare-devil vagabond is touched at
last in behalf of his wife and son ! Immediately
prior, namely, to Robert Macaire being shot down
at the moment of his attempted flight up the stair-
case—down which (when shot) the actor makes one
of the most break-neck looking descents ever ad-
ventured upon, we should imagine, upon any stage !
The representation was a brilliant triumph from
first to last. And it was a
triumph in which Mr.
Fechter's Robert Macaire was very cleverly sup-
ported by the Bertrand of Mr. Widdicomb. A
dirtier-looking grotesque than Mr. Widdicomb's
Bertrand we, for one at le,ast, should never wish to
see either on or off the stage. Bertrand, better
known in the English version as Jacques Strop,
appearing (according to Mr. Widdicomb's make-up f or
the part) in the filthiest-looking raiment—a raiment
chiefly made up, as one might say, of holes—with
pockets crammed like those of Sir Hudibras—with
a hat seemingly selected from a dunghill—with a
great bulgy umbrella out-gamping-garap! Bertrand
hugging a bundle, all the while, so shapeless and un-
inviting of its kind that one would hesitate about
touching it even with a pitchfork. The one fault
of Mr. Widdicomb's Bertrand, to our thinking,
is the fact that it is laboured throughout to
an ultra - excess of grotesque extravagance.
As to the other actors to whom the minor
parts in this new cast of " The Roadside Inn"
have been allotted, really nothing whatever remains

to be said beyond this—that Pierre, as represented by
Mr. Moreland, is the veriest chirrupping chatter-box
that ever drew flagon of wine—and that the two
young lovers look, for all the world, as if they had
just stepped on to the stage from a plum-box.
It should be mentioned as a circumstance really
noteworthy in its way that Mr. Emery made his
first appearance this season in a little drama preced-
ing the performance of " The Roadside Inn !" And
that the little drama in which he did so was no
other than that charming one of "Grandfather W hite -
head." Mr. Emery's mere make-up as Grandfather
Whitehead was, of itself, a masterpiece—the im-
personation by him of old William Farren's
great part being welcomed as a hit by an audience
that summoned him before the footlights (at the
close of the little piece) literally by acclamation.
How often Mr. Fechter was recalled to bow his
acknowledgments to the greeting that announced
the triumph of his Robert Macaire, we stayed not
to count. Again, and yet again, however, he had
(before we left) been constrained to make his ap-
pearance there in answer to reiterated calls from all
parts of the house—the success achieved by his
Robert Macaire being a fact, in its way, quite un-
mistakeable.

MR. PAUL BEDFORD.—This veteran comedian
will take a complimentary benefit on the morning of Thurs-
day, Feb. 2, at Drury-lane Theatre, which has kindly been
granted for the occasion by Messrs. Falconer and Chatterton.
The list of artists who have contributed their assistance
comprises nearly every histrionic name in London.
NEWSPAPER PRESS FUND.—At a meetine.of the
committee of the Newspaper Press Fund held on Saturday
a letter was read from Mr. Charles Dickens stating that he
would have great pleasure in presiding at the annual din-
ner of the fund, to be held in May, and that the committee
might rely on his loyalty to his old calling. The annual
dinner was appointed to be held on Saturday, 20th of
May..

THE LATE MR. JOHN LaCutaifftriw.-0..
day the funeral of the late Mr. John Crockford, the pub-
lisher, of 346, Strand, took place at Highgate Cemetery, in
the presence of a numerous concourse of friends. Mr.
Crockford was well known in connection with the Field,
Queen, Law Times, and other journals, and was highly re-
spected by those who knew him, both for his excellent
business qualities and for the kindliness of his nature. A
large number of the printers and other employes at his
office attended upon the ground ; among the literary gen-
tlemen present were Messrs. E. W. Cox, C. Gruneisen, F.
G. Tomlins, C. W. Quin, Andrew Halliday, G. Prowse,
James Lowe, Francis Francis, C. L. Towshend, R. Black,
W. Moy Thomas, Thomas Spencer, and others.
EXTRAORDINARY ROBBERY AT WINDSOR CASTLE.
—On Sunday afternoon, at 4 o'clock, William
Wilson, foreman of the upholsterers, and George Hammond,
head porter at the Lord Chamberlain's stores, Windsor
Castle, were brought before Capt. Johnson, one of the magic_
trates for the county of Berks, at the borough gaol, Windsor,
and charged with stealing an Indian silk bed furniture, two
embroidered silk curtains, and three draperies to match,
the property of her Majesty the Queen. The circumstances
of the case were extremely peCuliar. It seems that the
goods in question, which were of a valuable description,
were forwarded in the course of last week to the Messrs,
Oxlade's auction rooms in London, for sale. The valuable
nature of the articles aroused suspicion in the minds of the
parties to whom they were consigned, and -information of
the circumstance was at once sent to Scotland-yard.
Sergeant Clark, of the London detective force, who
was employed to investigate the affair, at once put
himself in communication with Mr. Inspector Herbert
Reece, of the Berks constabulary, and these two offers
proceeded to Mr. Seabrook, her Majesty's inspector in the
Lord Chamberlain's department at Windsor Castle, who
identified the articles as being part of the Queen's property,
which had been deposited in the Castle stores. Inquiries
were then made at the goods depot of the Windsor station
of the Great Western Railway, for the purpose of tracing
the sender of the stolen goods, when it was ascertained
that Hammond, the head porter at the Castle stores, had
brought the parcel (which was sent in the name of
Wilson) to the station. Hammond, on being questioned
about the affair, denied all knowledge of the things, but
stated that he had carried the parcel to the station by
Wilson's orders. Wilson, the foreman of the uphol-
sterers, was then called into the room at the Castle stores,
where the stolen articles had been placed, and Ser-
geant Clark told him that he was a detective from
London, upon which Wilson said, "He was very sorry,
but Hammond had persuaded him to do it." Hammond,
however, stoutly denied knowing anything about it. Mr.
Inspector Reece applied for a remand in order that other
evidence might be collected, which Captain Johnson accord-
ingly granted. Wilson was then removed in the custody
of the Berks police to Reading, while Hammond was
liberated on bail to await the next examination.

THE SCAFFOLD ACCIDENT IN WINCHESTER-
BUILDINGS, ClTY.—This accident has up to the pre-
sent time proved fatal in one case—that of Thomas Pears,
10, Horsemonger-lane, Borough, who was suffering
from fractured ribs and arm, and who died on Saturday
night. This will necessitate an inquiry before a
coroner's jury, when the whole case will be investi-
gated, and the facts will be made public. The re-
mainder of the injured men (seven in number) are reported
as going on in the most satisfactory manner, and every
attention is being paid them by the house surgeon (Mr.
Pearless) and the executive of the hospital ; besides which
their families are well attended to by the contractor and
proprietor of the buildings in which the accident occurred.
There are three of them in a very precarious state—one of
them not being expected to survive through the day.

ATTACK UPON A BARONET.—The Kilkenny Journal
gives the particulars of a savage attack made the
other night on Sir John Blunden, near Cullen, on his way
home to Castle Blunden. When walking along he heard
some drunken fellows talking behind him, and directing
their remarks to himself. They overtook him, and tried
to trip him up, but Sir John remonstrated with them on
their unseemly conduct, and for a time the remonstrance
had the desired effect ; but the miscreants soon renewed
their attack, and that too in a ferocious style. We are
told that " when Sir John had passed Poulgower Bridge,
two of the cowardly ruffians fell upon him with great
ferocity, the one kicking him in the abdomen, while the
other struck him on the head with, it is thought, a stick.
It is no wonder that Sir John was stunned, and nearly
prostrated to the earth ; still, however, he contrived to
make his way to one of the adjacent houses, his assailants
following him all the time and roaring savagely. The
first door at which he knocked was not opened, the occu-
pants of the house no doubt thinking that the ill-treated
gentleman was one of the drunken fellows who had been
rolling about the road all that evening. As delay would
be worse than useless, Sir John went to another house,
into which he was admitted immediately that he had an-
nounced who he was, and just as he was stepping across
the threshold the blackguards again came up and kicked
at him, but the door was instantly shut in their faces.
When the poor people living in the house saw the exhausted
and weakly state of Sir John Blunden, who is esteemed and
respected by all classes of the community, they were really
frightened. He was then induced to lie on a bed for some
time, and soon after he recovered his failing strength suffi-
ciently to be able to walk home, escorted by a man named
Michael Ryan." Patrick Kenny and William Bolger were
taken into custody next day as the alleged assailants of
the baronet, and sent for trial to the petty sessions. Sir
John Blunden is highly spoken of by the newspaper from
whence this narrative is taken.

LORD PALMERSTON IN THE HUNTING FIELD.—The
Hursley hounds-met last week at Eldon Farm, when
a messenger arrived to announce that Lord Palmerston
intended honouring the field with his presence, and accord-
ingly, punctual to the appointed time, the veteran Premier
made his appearance under the pilotage of the Hon. R.
Dutton, M.P., and with ease dismounted the horse he rode
to cover and got on his hunter, looking as fresh as he did
ten years ago. After he had looked over the pack, the hounds
were taken to Michelmarsh, a covert belonging to Mr. Dut-
ton, when a leash of foxes were immediately afoot, and after
20 minutes in the woodland ran to ground about a mile
from the " find," his lordship being one of the first up with
hounds. Another fox was then hallooed away, and a capi-
tal run of one hour and twenty minutes ensued. Lord
Palmerston remained the first 30 minutes in the open field,
and rode well, his pilot being frequently heard to exclaim,
" This way, my lord," making for a gate or a gap ; but on
one occasion the hounds were running quite in another
direction to that suggested, when his lordship was under-
stood to say, "But there go the hounds, and I must fol-
low them," and away he went and was soon up with the
leading horsmen, leaving his honourable pilot to look out
for the gates and gaps.

INCREASED RAILWAY FACILITIES FOR THE BRENT-
FORD DISTRICT.—A public meeting of the inhabi-
tants of Chiswick, Kew, Brentford, Isleworth, Spring
Grove, and Hounslow, was held on Saturday, at the Town
Hall, Brentford, for the purpose of considering the neces-
sity of increased railway facilities in that district, and the
best means of obtaining the same. Colonel Murray pre-
sided. The meeting was very fully attended. Mr. Tuff-
nell moved the following resolution:—" That this meeting
is of opinion that the existing arrangements of the London
and South-Western Railway Company, as regards the loop-
line traffic, are quite inadequate to meet the present require-
ments of the important and increasing district represented
at this meeting." After dwelling at some length on the
inadequacy and inconvenience of the accommodation
afforded by the loop-line, and pointing out the unfavour-
able position in which the district of Brentford stood in
comparison with other districts within a somewhat similar
distance of the metropolis, Mr. Tuffnell concluded by ex-
pressing his belief that, if the matter was fairly placed
before the directors of the London and South-Western
Railway Company, it would receive every attention. The
resolution was carried unanimously, and a committee
formed to confer with the directors of the South-Western
Railway Company.