The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-03 00:00:00

ITALY.

The Parma Gazette of the 27th 'ult. contains the
following account of the assassination of the Duke
.of Parma :
• "A horrible crime was committed yesterday, 26th, at
• p.m., by an infamous assassin on the sacred person
of his Royal Highness our august and beloved Sove-
eign, while returning from the public walk, and in the
midst-of a number of quiet citizens ;he was on his way
to the royal palace on foot, accompanied by one of his
adjutants. It appears the assassin stood in ambush at the
corner of the Borgo San Biagio, leading to.the street of
Santa Lucia, and when he saw the august Prince ap-
proach he stepped in his way, and wounded him with a
stiletto. His Royal Highness fell under the stroke, but
was immediately taken up and c trried to the Royal
Palace, which was close by. The wound being exit-
'rained, it was ascertained that the stiletto had penetrated
to the depth of nearly three inches into the cavity of the
IYPogastrium, causing injuries to the periteneuin, and
at the same time wouoding the ventricle, from which
proceeded most violent haemorrhages, repeated six times
in the course of four hours."
The Opinione of Turin quotes a private letter
from Parma confirming the above statement and
adding some further particulars. It states that
the assassin was unknown to the Duke f that
he approached as if to speak to him ; that the
uke made a sign commanding him to stand aloof,
and that it was then he struck the blow. The
officer who accompanied the Duke upon this
drew his sword, but stumbled and fell while at-
tempting to pursue the assassin, who, turning a
corner, disappeared without leaving any clue to
the place of his concealment. The Opinione also
Mentions a rumour by which it is attempted to
explain the motive for the crime, but which does
alot coincide with the circumstances above related.
It is said that the Duke having invited several of
his favorite officers to his table, he became rather
gay, and happening to mention more than lightly
the name of. a lady who was sister to one of the
officers present, that the latter stepped forward and
bid the Duke retry ;t his statement • in answer to
'which the Duke threatened to strike him ; that the
officer then snatched up a knife from the table and
Stabbed the Duke. The other officers were then
Stated to have connived at the escape of the culprit.
The refugees from Parma who had established
themselves at Stradella, as soon as they learnt
the death of the Duke, returned to their homes,
after a short struggle with the douaniers.
A number of Piedmontese officers have applied
to the Minister of War for authorisation to enter
the French service in order to proceed to the East.
The Minister of War is said to have given a nega-
tive reply to all these demands, became he pro-
bably thinks that Piedmont may have to take its
Tart in the approaching war.
SPAIN.

Our accounts from Madrid are of the 28th ult.

M. Isturitz had arrived at Madrid.

We read in the Espana :
"For some days rumours of Ministerial crisis or modi-
fication of the Cabinet have circulated. Messrs. Isturitz,
Narvaez, and Bravo Murillo were talked of as likely to
be charged with the construction of a new Administra-
tion., General Cordova was previously said to have been
entrusted with the same mission, and Messrs. Llorente,
Pastor, and Murge were reported to have accepted
°ißee under him. If we be correctly informed, all these
rurnours are totally unfounded, at least for the pre-
sent. Nobody was deputed to Marshal Narvaez, none
of the above-mentioned personages were summoned to
the palace, and no partial renewal of the personnel of the
Cabinet was even thought of.
The account of the murder of the Duke of Parma,
ho was last month in Madrid, had caused a pain-
Ili' impression at the Spanish Court,
The Clamor Publico of the 28th had been seized
by order of the Civil Governor. _

- -------
The Three per Cents. were done at 33 50 ; the
New Three per Cents., at 17 50 ; the Debt of the
First °lags, at 8 ; and that of the Second, at 4 25.

T 11.6 COM.A.T.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
811,--The following ephemeris, indicating the approxi-
mate positions of the comet in the heavens, and derived
'OM elements which I calculated last night from our
01vn observations, may probably be acceptable to such
cif your readers as are desirous of tracinv, its course
Among the stirs. They are adapted to 8 o'clock, Green-
wich time, which is about the most favourable hour for
°l:eery ation.

Right Ascension. North Declination.
h. m.
Monde April 3 h. m.
... 2 19 ... 17 12 Sets at 9 8 p.m.
cesaay, 4 ... 2 32 ... 16 18
Wednesday, 5 ... 2 44 ... 15 22
111.11,411rtlaY, 6 ... 255 ... 14 25
—uaY, . 7...3 5 ... 13 26
Sunday
n 8 ... 3 14 12 28
/ 9 ... 3 23 ... 11 31 Sets at 914 p.m
On Monday evening, at 8 o'clock, the comet will be 7
.il.°P. distant from a Arietis, towards the south point of
the horizon, at abont the same altitude as the star. On
Saturday, at the same hour, it will appear in the verti-
tical of the Pleiades, 13 dogs. below them ; and on the
12th its position will bP 10 dep. below the brizht star
Aldebaran, in the Hyades, in nearly the same vertical.
The comet was at its least distance from the sun on
the 24th of March ; it is now slowly receding from the
earth, but this circumstance is less likely to affect its
brilliancy during the ensuing week than the increasing
laloonlight. It will cross the plane of the earth's path
at noon on Tuesday next, a little outside the orbit of
Mercury, at an inclination of pearly .80 degs. to that
plane. I may add that the nucleus this evening was
rather more than 5,000 miles in diameter, and the extent
of the tail 6,000,000 miles. At my best views I was
certain of the existence of a luminous jet, thrown out
from the star-like point some 30,000 miles along the
preceding border of the tail—an appearance which has
been remarked in several previous comets.
I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,

J. R. HIND.
J
Mr. Bishop's Observatory Regent's-park,
Saturday Ni'
ght.

THE RIVALifiEv'BLANCS.

solicitor 14,
Mr. Henry Davies, so Buckingham-street,
Strand, applied to Mr. Hardwick, at the Marlborough-
Street Police-court, on behalf of Mr. J. R. Smith, pro-
prietor, of the panorama of Mont Blanc and the Tour
of Europe, Leicester-square, for a summons against Mr.
Albert Smith, for sending a threatening letter to his
client, calculated to lead to a breach of the peace. The
following is a copy of the letter alluded to :
g, Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly.
"SIM,—I understand that you are in the habit of making
impertinent remarks about me in your lectures. If this is
not dropped I shall be under the necessity of giving you
you
oua
sound thrashing the next time I see you ; so, if after
receive this, any more remarks are made about me, I i=hall
take the law into my own hands, and teach you that in
England a gentleman is not insulted with impunity. I
have always refrained from making the slightest allusions
to you in my
addresses to the London gentry, and shall
expect you to do the same in regard to myself After this
notice you will take the consequence. I am, sir, yours,
&e
"ALBERT SMITH."
lir. Davies said Mr. Smith, his client, on the receipt of
the above letter, fel, di-posed to settle the "difficulty
after the fashion of his country, with revolvers and
11° leg : but, acting and ri its (Ar. Davies'a) advice, he
thought better to apely to his worship for the protec
too of the law. Mr. Hardwick immediately grantec
the summons.

'EWERS FOR ARCTIC SHlTS.—Letters for officer,
seamen, and marines, serving in the undermentioned
!hips will be forwarded by her Majesty's ship Plicenix,
if sent to the Admiralty no or before 12th of April :
"--Rer Majesty's ships Enterprise, Investigator, Assist'
Wee, Resolute, Pioneer, Intrepid, and North Star.