The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-30 00:00:00

S

G~
~L~~

WIFE OF MR; w1z7)11:44

A D üblin correspondent to the Belfast News letter
furnishes a graphic sketch of Mrs. Windham tree
Agnes Willoughby. lie writes—Although that
cause celebrc—the Windham lunacy inquiry—has
occupied so much of the attention of the public, I
have not, as yet, seen the fact mentioned in any of
our journals that the heroine of the " romance," as
it is most inappropriately termed by the London
papers—was a constant attendant at the Theatre
Royal, Dublin, during the series of operatic per-
formances, at the close of the month of September
last, in which Signor Giuglini and Madamo Titiens
were the " particular stars." I have read no de-
scription of the syren who bewitched the owner of
Felbrigg Hall I would fain supply, by a hasty
pen and•ink sketch, the want of the photograph
which the jury were fortunate enough to see. 'Twas
Saturday night ; the house was crowded from the
pit, the region of critics, to the gallery, " the abode
of the happy gods," to hear the latest creation of
Verdi's genius, Un Ballo in At aschera. In the second
act, during the singing of the beautifully voiced
terzetto, Conesntimi U &Signore, the attention of the
fashionables in the boxes was attracted by the en-
trance of a party into the righthand stage box on
the " first tier." A young lady, a decided blonde,
with deep blue eyes, and a profusion of bright, fair,
wavy hair, simply but elegantly arranged, advanced
to the front of the box, with a rather prononce air.
She was of middle height and her features were
intelligent—piquante and pretty rather than hand-
some. She stood for a moment at the box front, and
as her eyes "of Heaven's own tint"—Saint■hevin
would probably think "of most unholy blue"—
glanced confidently round the house, an attendant
removed from her shoulders a black velvet mantle
trimmed with magnificent sables, which even a Rus-
sian millionaire might have envied. Her fan and
bouquet—of choicest flowers—being duly deposited
on the cushion, she turned round ere she took her
seat, and displayed to the best advantage certainly
one of the most exquisitely-fitting dresses I have
ever seen. Her figure is remarkably good, and shown
by her dress of rich white silk—made a la Rafiaelle,
and cut square, rather low, and but half concealing
a very fair, well shaped bust, and revealing a beau-
tifully-rounded arm. Confining her hair, which she
wore in a plain, full, broad braid or band, was a
coronet of sky-blue velvet, ornamented with dia-
mond stars. Her necklace, earrings, brooch, and
bracelets were of diamonds, with a radiance so bril-
liant as almost to light up her graceful figure.
These were, doubtless, some of the jewels purchased
at the cost of £14,000 for the enchantress by Wind-
ham the witless. Many were the inquiries, " Who
is the lady in the stage box P" By and by it was
whispered round the house, " Her name is Wind-
ham; she is very wealthy, is a frequent denizen of
the stage box during the present engagement, and
cherishes a penchant for a celebrated Italian tenor."

TILE REGIST.RA.R.GENERAL'S QUIIR-

TERLY RETURN,

The return comprises the births and deaths registered by
2,199 registrars in all the districts of England during the
autumn quarter that ended on December 31, 1861; and the
marriages in 12,527 churches or chapels, about 4,530 regis-
tered places of worship unconnected with the Established
Church, an 635 superintendent registrars' offices, in the
quarter that ended on Sept. 30, 1861. Returns have been
obtained of marriages in the first nine months of last year,
and they show that if the progress of population is taken
into account, the number of alliances formed, was low
during the whole of that period. The birth-rate was
not high in the first quarter of the year, but it rose
above the average in the spring, continued above it
in the summer, and slightly exceeded it in the fourth
quarter. There was no great amount of fatal sickness, for
the mortality was below the average in each quarter of the
year 1861. Of persons who married in the summer quarter
(the third) the number was 79,784. As compared with
those for the same period in 1860, the returns of all the 11
divisions show a decrease, except those of the south-eastern
counties, the south-western, Yorkshire and the northern
counties. Marriages were few in Northamptonshire, nu-
merous in Cornwall, few in Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and
South Wales, numerous in Durham and Northumberland.
The marriage rate was 1.57 per cent. against the average
rate, 1.62. It has rarely been so low as it was in the sum.
mer quarter of last year. The total number of children
born in the last three months of the year was 166,174. The
fourth is that quarter in which births are usually the fewest.
The birth rate was 3.26 per cent., whilst the average for the
quarter is 3'23. It was high in Lancashire, Durham, Nor-
thumberland, and Cumberland. The natural increase of
population is the exoess of births over deaths. This excess
as exhibited in the registers is 61,257 in 92 days, or about
666 daily. In the quarter 16,559 emigrants sailed from
ports in the United Kingdom at which there are Govern-
ment emigration officers ; and of these 8,068 were of Eng-
lish origin ; 1,604 of the English people went to the United
States ; 5,916 to the Australian colonies. In the smaller
emigration of the Scotch the preference for Australasia re-
ceived a still more striking development, whilst the Irish
divvied themselves into forces, not very unequal, between
the two destinations. The total number of emigrants to
all parts in 1861 was 91,770, of which more than half went
to the United States. The Irish element constituted con-
siderably more than half of the emigration to the United
States, but it suffered a great reduction towards the close of
the year; for the Irish emigrants to that portion of the
globe were about 37,000 in the year, but about a 15th part
of that number in the December quarter. In the total
emigration of 1861 the psoportion of unmarried adults to
the married was rather less than 3 to 1. The average
price of consols was 93 2-8 ; it had been 91 6-8 and
91a in the previous quarter of last year. Wheat was
595. 3d. per quarter : it was dearer than in the same
period of 1860, and dearer by 16s. than in that
of 1859. The means of the highest and lowest weekly;prices
of mutton have not varied in the last three December quar-
ters. Beef of the inferior quality was dearer than in the
correspondiag quarter of last year. The mean price of the
best potatoes was 120 s. per ton. Mr. Glaisher writes in his
" Remarks on the Weather," that we must travel back to
1831 for an October so warm as the last, and then back to
1811 for a second example. At Greenwich the mean tem-
perature of last October was 5 deg. in excess of its average.
A marked change took place on the Ist November, and the
weather was cold on almost every day till the 24th. The
ISth of November was singularly cold; its temperature was
below 32 deg. the whole day, and the mean was as much as
15.1 deg. below the average of the day. Another great
change followed on the 25th, and a warm period which be.
gan on that day continued till the 24th of December. The
year closed with cold weather. The fall of rain in Novem-
ber (5.2 inches) was the greatest fall in that month for 45
years, with only one exception. The total fall in 1861 was
20.8 inches, At Truro in the same time it was 39.9 inches;
at Lampoter, 43.9 inches; at Stonyhurst, 39.6 inches; at
Allenheads, 51.7 inches. Tho returns of the Poor Law
Board exhibit a heavy increase of paupers. The number
relieved in-door was 128,533, against an average in the pre-
vious two December quarters of 112,293 ; those who re-
ceived out-door relief wore 716,096, against an average of
678,821. Tho total number of deaths registered last quarter
was 104,917; it was not so great as in the same quarter of
1859, but greater than in that of 1860. The deaths as re-
,urned for last quarter, and distributed in the eleven divi-
sions of England and Wales, are loss numerous than they
were in 1859 in all of these divisions, with the exception of
the north-western and the northern. The excess in the
latter division is unimportant ; that in the north-western
counties is considerable, and arises from a higher mortality
in Lancashire. The death-rate for England and Wales
last quarter was 2.061 per cent, of the population, the
average being 2.179. Within eleven December quarters
the maximum has been 2.4; the minimum 1.995. In the
last quarter, fever under various designations, typhus,
typhoid fever, lowcontinued fever, and scarlatina, prevailed
extensively, and in many parts of the country.