The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-22 00:00:00

LAW arTELLIGBNCE.--.April 21.

COURT OF QUEEN'S 'BENCH.
- • (Sittings in-Banco.) ' -
(Before Lord Campbell and Justices Wightman, Erle,
and Crompton).
LuithEy P. QTR.

In this case, the plaintif4"-Mr: Benjamin Lumley; th 4
lessee of Her Majesty's Theatre, had brought an action;
against Mr. Frederick Gye,.the director;of the Royel
Italian Opera, Coveritsaiden, to . recover damages fo
enticing and premixing Miss Johanna Wagner to break
a contract into which she had entered with Mr. Lumley',to perform as prima donna at bier geie4.ty§.T4qalre in
."the Season of 1852. , The. deelaration. contained several
codnts, to whi'cli the defelidant pleaded Only the genera
issue. At the - trial.;- *Well' tobk -pine& before- Ler
1
Campbell, at Guildhall,: 'at. the.:sittingt after. last Aerial
the jury, in suhstance,..fennikkVerclict for the defendantt
On that occasion Lord .I(4....inheklefCthree question Ste
thejury for their Considerftlon-1, whether -Miss Vag.
'-'net's, agreement with lfr: Lti.rialey • remained •in felts
when it was alleged Mr. Gye induced her to break it.;.2,.
Whether Mr. Gye induced Mies. Wagner., to break her
agreement, and whether_ she:brake it in consequence of
his inducement ;..' and, 3,' whether Mr. -' Gye' at that
time knew that the agreement between- Mimi, Wagner
'aricl;Mr. tarn- ferwas then io ;existence, • ,The jury found
the Orst.tWo,q,uestiona in the affirmative, brit thair fauna..
the third t4ira *the negatiyenamely,. that Mr.Gye-did•not
know that• Miss Wagner's agreement With -/%1.r-liithley -
was at the time-inexistence. --Lord Campbell had .pre-
viouely directed the jury; that if Xr. Gyesoacf 'ft* be-
lieved that Miss Wagner's agreetnent'with Mr, fiUmley l
had ceased to be binding; the sCientict was not proved;
amdlo.lX.' GY4 would be entitled to a'-verdiCt.- ' Upon the
fl‘.cllug, of. the jury, the verdict. vise entered .for ;the del-.
fendant accordingly. , , - - '
, . Sir7.`Theaiger (with whom • were Sir F. Kelly an
-.Mr. Noggins,. Qke.) 110.* rnaTe.rl on the. part- of the
plaintiff, to set aside the verdict, and to have anew trial
upon the several, grounds. The first -and. principal
greund,was, thatthe finding of the jury upon the third
Auestion submitted to them was contrary to thkeVideneel.
The learned counsel went fully into the evidence give
at the trial, with a view to show that WhenlVlr.Gye, of
the "pqi of April, 1852, induced Miss Wagner. to elite
into an agreement to sing at .Covent-ga.rden.Theatre, .11
must have knoWn that 'the agreeinecit Which. she ha
made with Mr. Lumley on the 9th oflslovember, .1854.
was still subsisting and_ binding .:upon : her. KnowL .
ing• that circumstance, Mr. Gye, both by- his letter*
and by a personal visit which he paid to Miss Wagner
at --Hainburg, induced ' her to violate the engagement
into which she had entered. 'ln his letters he from
time to-time, in the month of Mardi, 1852, threw out
insinuations that Mr. Lumley would not :be able to
open his ' theatre;and. fulfil , his part of the agreement ;
and subseqbently„ on the sili Of April, .1852,' on hiS
visit to Miss Wagner at Hamburg, he. offered her the
sum of 2,0101. if she would sing at his theatre, although
he knew that she had engaged to sing for a longer ,'
period at Mr. Luinley'S" theatre' for the sum of 1;200/.
only. Ile thus bribed Miss Wagner to break her con-
tract with Nfr. Lumley by thnoffer of nearly double the
amount which she -was to receive :from:him. It was
then proposed by. Miss ViTagner that Mr. Gye should
gjve'her ari iiideinnity„aed this also was readily given by
Mr. Gyato faCilitate the transaction. Tjie learnedCaunsel
here read M. Wagner's letter,.which appeared in. the
lllorning Post, but which was proved at the trial to have
been. in the handwriting of Mr. Gye, to show that, in the
early part of March,- he (Mr. ' Gye) • represented 'to
Miss Wagner that her contract with Mi. Lutnleywas not
likely to be' carried (ink; and also an eitract from an afo-
- made by Mr. Gye, in which, in reference to this
subject, he (Mr. Gye) statecr that, in. the month of March,
.1854 Mr. Lkitnley was' arrested for the sum of 2,2751.
18s., -and :remained, in. Custody about. three 'days. • =He
thenrea4 Mr. Gye's letter to Miss Wagner of the 9th of
March, 1852,, in which Mr, Gye said, " There 'is only
one thing wanting to render the progrananie perfect—it •
is the•'nanie of MadeMoisell& Wagner. Is there any
1 possibility of thatl If you think so, write rue tw'ci lines
li because there is still time." It was evident from that
letter that Mr. Gye was Alvaro that at .that..4lllp the
' agreement with Mr..Luniley was a subsisting agreement.
'On thd 30th of March Mr. •GYe again wrote to.lllBB
Wagner as. folio* ;7--. .. , . . ..
`,`London, March.3o, 1&52.
"Dear Mademoiselle Wagner,---Will you have the good-
ness to write-me-one-word in reply ta-my last letter?_ For-
give me for troithling-yon, but it is said that your
arrangements are not quite fixed- with Mr. Lumley. Is this
true ? My theatre opened last -Saturday. The opening of
Mr. Lumleyn7theatrs was announced for last Saturday,
but it did not_ take place ;..it was again announced for to-
night, but was again put olf. - .Another bill has now come
out, in which the opening is announced for Thursday, but
there is much dOillaL You will see by the enclosed pro-
, gramme that M. Negrini' the tenor singer of whom I
.spoke to. You, is engaged at Covent-garden; the troupe
is fine, is it not ? Excuse me for-writing in such. ahurry.
°die ine tifOlineiiiiinsier.—Believe me, dm., . .
- - - "F. GtE."
That 'letter showed that Covent-garden had- at that
.time been opened, but, though it was so important for,
the manager tobe present, Mr. Gye, on the Ist or 2nd.
of. April, without waiting for an answerito his letters,
search of
went first to Berlin, and then to Hanurg
Miss. Wagner. - Hi there saw Miss'. Wagnerm
on the sth'
of 'April, ..and- indsCed her to enter into an
with him-(Mr. Gye) to' sing at Co. vent•gardeil;ltheatrieei;.
Mr. Gye's account of.what took place at that.
iein interview
was, that as soon as be entered the M. W• , .
said, ..fe suis libre;" •that..s.he.W.t3 11. 0,..0e. at
. liberty to
enter into,an agreement with hun.Afill.r. +aye), illasmuch.
as Mr..Lumley had not kept. one. of the terms of his
agreement with MiSs, Wagner—viz., to. pay ,her the
sum of 300. - open account on the 15th of March. 11e'
admitted that Miss Wagnervianted him -to wait, a day•
or tWo longer, but be refused, and at once concluded an ,
agreement by, which he covenanted.to pay Miss Wagner,
nearly double the . amount promised by Mr. Luniley,
and also to' give her an indemritty. . • , . : .
" Lord Campbell 'observed that' Mr. Gye knew :at the
time that be was outbidding•Mr.Lumle
y.
Sir F. :Thesiger said the account given of this inter-
view by Miss Wagner to Dr. Eicher, as proved by Dr.
Bather it, the trial, wail-rather different: Dr. Bacher
said,. " The first: hing she (Miss Wagner) said was, ' I
have committed a very,bad action against you.' ' I said,
' What have you done ?' She said, ' I have signed
another .engagement.' I answered, ' That is impos-
sible.' ' She said, 'As I signed -the engagement my
handsArembled, hut 'Mr. Gye has-been-here to say to
us that,Mr.- Lumley, would not open, and offered me
,P;OPQL, nacre, and gave me aeguarantee for all the da-
mages. I was So much embarrassed I had not time 'to
think,'.'' The learned counsel contended • that all the cir•
eiimatances were strong to show that -Mr. Gye knew the
agrepmentwith,Mr. Lumley wasa subsisting agreement,
and that he.had induced 'Miss Wagner, .by a bribe-and
indereity; to violate. it. ' The' learned counsel then pro-
ceededto contend a correspondence which had passed,
.between ,Mr.. Gye .and Miss Wagner, and particularly
.two.lettpra of the 7th of December, 1851, and the 9th of
January; ".1/352,"had ' been improperly received in evi-
dence. • Those letters were well calculated to excite pre-,
' jtidice, but he sUbmitted they were' not- evidentabn the
:issue., ;
LoAm. : ) ..._ • : ..... .'.. ,'. • ' . • - -
was
Capbell saiea part of the plaintiff's case
that Mr. Gye malesfide entered into negotiations with
Miss Wagner after she bad entered into her agreement
t°
with Mr.- Lumley, and -those letters were admit

~ ":--`,.1..,-,Fr-rt-r. g-- .-0
/low that :the negotiation had been commenced- pr.e.
viously.
Sirr:Thesigerthen moved for a new trial upon kthird
gioundi but - '
-Lord Campbell stay that, as it bad hecn agreed at the
trial that the 'three questions which had been subMitted
,to the jury should dbdide the case, this third point' could 4011
not now be :raised.,,,,Vpou-- the two• -ground-pi that} the
"verdiot'Watt against the evidence, and that evidencehad
bifihlroprotierly teceisred; the Court would, grant a rule
_to-show cause why there Should not' be a-new trial; '
•
Rule nisi granted. - - " .''-z-,,,f-%.,..;:i

, .. .
! -... _ - Pd?'l- N C E_SS'S' T lir X:44tilo• ..
The new "magical' drama" produced ere-
ed neee,,j, night 1
with the title ,Faust and Marguerite, is a
-close adaptation
of a French eeieceof,the same name, written by ia. Michel
.
Carre, and brought
_opt at the .GYlnnase in August, 1850.
! Aesu,Olf:lP auPpesed, the incidents ere taken trem,.Gtitlaa's
immortal poem, but --these are "amigo& eta iMeh Seneca
1 fashion that,- 'althougleno . single• -sitiatipieje e.Teeproeigie.
1 iel;lifi 'Whole
,teieree l'in ' litipieseloll 'Ver7--4*0p...t front
that-of-the' German work: - - • - -: e -4,fekt., ---, - ",!.it' V-' 4 ,
-e, - .•, 4,liti ...4
, TO opening Beene ihewe neyecizetebi est . Ad .i tie oc.
tor does not
.exhibit that craving -deeanowledget eehich
e
Geithe•aisighedl6 hlinlbittliiiiiikti
_Vales isms see life,! and
feel the'delightk of kiii:__,A -14iiitYjk_vobat of Of the fiend.
.._....
~causes Mephistopheles to eppeare who temptshiru. ley ihow.
ing a,Yieluneetthe fair: Marguerite, and, Ups eignaturs
P 1463 1 - •
' ' -6
introducebuns in •
-of -a contract; prooneee _ ,to her reality.
~_....e. ~...._„... _., .
'The --Seen% = elingeri,-- atetz represents; Ise st...Topt iti .0 -old*
fashioned file4irtian-treee4evitbear satin, diatice the-auto:wee
and a beeteley fell ,ef ..rojef.eiing Atudeekts,..-"lyhoselebrate
-the 'departure to the' were ef Merenfititifeierotheic Velene
tine. ' 17145'k:end lifiaphistoPhelerieritifeena, while-741e for-
inter; foilowe the lovely Marguerite to the cathedrat,.. the
Tatter astounds, the party inethe, tavern by 'drawing. wins
from the cask which, with Bacchus- upon. it, forms- the sign
of -the establishment; and telling fertunes in no very agree-
able style. r, • •- e ' :• -
Tivesecond:eet, which takes place in ille.Ps43l of Ms&
guerite's house, more, closely follows the German poem than
the rest of the piece, and the progress of Faust in gaining
the'affections Of Marguerite, as well as the efforts of the
detestable old Martha to win the heart of MephistOpheles,
are carried out precisely is indicated by Goethe. But even
hero. the-nuthbie while he edopti the
.plan and some of the
*auctions of the great German, carefully avoids similarity
of. detail, and thus we are constantly warned'off the origi-
-41; white we are gebatlylsiiiPted to recoiled it.
The third act, which takes place outside the cathedral,
-and is supposed to follow the seduction of Marguerite by'
Freest, comprises the return of e Valentine and the duel
II:to:ash the eeducer, "which ends .With his untimely death.
margueriPcntofitaittzshe tare is brought
tfi'l, audtreg termination,
dead with grief at the fate of her brother,
!I:Mt her spirit ascends to heaven. Faust, on the other
.hand, is conducted by -Mephirithphels•doWn a well which
is supposed to lead to a place unmentionable to ears polite.
The plot just described' ie an instance of French ' •
eke te employed ----on the task of traiisforiningrilie-Most nn-
- dramatic drama in the -weed- into. •-a- coin Pact effective
melodrama. . The,,poetry and philosophy of the original are
dismissed at one fell. awpop, and nothing is left but such
practical dialogiie as May serve to. connect the " effects" of
the piece. As this total absence of peetry 'may awaken an
uneasy sensation in the, u4i);id, of the spectator whO goes to
see .Faust and Marguerite primed with Strong:doses of
• Gothe, we would advise as deep an oblivion as possible of
the 'original' German text, for, it would he a pitjetOreee
, the effect of a very Magnificent and admirably acted tell
of enchantment beeinconvenient reminiscences;2 .
•As a spe6taele, this is one of the most tasteful' and else.
borate ever seen even on the boards of the Princess's
dleatra: The whole action takes place ha kites, but every
one of them is a gem of its kind, and thedetails, architectu-
ral and social, of old Gernianlife are represented to' perfec.tioe, Especial attention has-been paidto tfiegrouping and
• movement of the masses who -fornethe background to the
principal figures. Thus the throng of Visitors who press
~,-. into the cathedral, while almost every, individual has a
, distinctive occupation; and the crowd (after-Retisch) who
surround the dying Valentine, aro excellent specimens of
-mere earthly effects. For . the unearthly part of "the
. business we might -cite the -first revelation'Of Marguerite
to 'Faust, but the whole piece terminates with such an
extraordinary burst of , supernatural splendours that it
thrusts all antecedents of a similar kind into:compara-
tive oblivion. ~ This is the ascent of Marguerite; borne
`by angels 'to the . regions of ' bliss, while ' the cathe-
drel iloWly sinks -in the foreground. -The *reel) is
after • a well.- known picture. .of eSt. Catherme,, and
seldom has a' theatrical effect excited so much admiration
and astonishine'nt. The admiration is bestowed on the
beauty of the 'group, which .ii woudiOnsly heightened, by
an-effective distribution 'Of light ; the astonishment, it
prOdUced by the mystathis" 'Manner in which the figures
ascend. - Neither rope'. Mir- bar; nor wire -iii visible, but,
like the figures in the fast Christmas piece at the Lyceum,
, •Maiguerite and her companions sail through-empty space
by means unknown to the uninitiated into modern stage
.contrivances.. - , . •
Mr. Charles IZean's Mephistopheles" staide ' pre-eminent
-in :'the histrionic - part in the eibibition: The • fami-
liar -fiend -of (lithe :is sarcastic, but-the fiend • inlhe
new piece is decidedly comic, uttering so much - enn•
ning satire as blunt. downright truth. " His 'odd- . re-
partees, not very „pungent as .far as the writing is
concerned, gained immense value from Ake .:poeuliar
hutiaour wit.b:, which they .were uttered 'by...Mrt*Ksan.
his manner. was. not caustic, his gestures were nutaceethe
most part, .demoniac but he, hovered - about - the 'stage
as a sort of eccentric Atilosoplietewha-, with ott-baving a
iery,bed heart, Falk_pleasedloAnd4hi4dandtutedtheories
prove correct. As for ,the " makeeiprs2otthe,..eheiatter,
it was admirable. ;So completely had-,Mr. CharienKnan
' identified himself, with. the demon - he eareleiii-117to' be,
that it was ' hard to trace his original features.• A.
Similar - praise . for perfect transformation' may ,be
S,Watcled. to`'Mrs. Winstanley, for hard . indeed it was
to_ recognize the . handsome _buxom 'widow' of genteel
comedy in the hideous. beldame-eerie:me advances would
even terrify rellephistopheles. . Faust, respectably played
by 4r. Fisher, is, after all,. a mere nonentity in this
French- Version of ihit stery-; but . Marguerite served
to display to an extraoedinery_ degree the talents of
Miss .Leclerq.. Her appearance,. -butt} gs
.the happy
'innocent' girl, and as the victim of 'retatee, was-beau-
. tifulle ~ picturesque, and -her - pantoneinie,e- which; was
iMportent thronglent, was always graceful and impressive.
-Mr. Cathcart' did hinlielf, more than-nstiit credit' In the
,:pant of Valentine, and the death .scone was most impres-
sively doae. The audience, who had followed the ,piece
eagerly throeghent, were raised. :to' a.pitch of the highist
enthusiasm by the beauty of , the concluding and
the `certain-feu arnid'tumultUout applause.'

AT.AL ACCIDENT ON THE ;VIIDLAND,PANAVVRESTEEN
RAILWAT:--We regret to announce the death of Mr.
Charles Tarrant, engineer of the CanafdePartinent of
the Midland line, which was' occasioned iby(hin being
run over by a locomotive shortly ,after. half-past four
O'clock on Thursday evening: It appears that theengine
which was to convey the 5 p.m. cloWn'traintolkifield
had been taken in fuel at the Doke-ovens, , and was,com.
ing down the inclined plane, in the direetleti of the ter-
minus considerable speed,- for the purpose-of being
attached to its train, at the same time th4-the deceased
gentleman *as 'returning .alOng the, line, his own
house, as he was itrthe habit of doing each diy after inn-
aeon. ,Mr. Tarrant•had just reached the wooden platform
where the tickets are usually taken,' at Wliieh point the
road is suddenly narrowed, owing to a deep water-cut
that runs on the side of it, and but for which ,pecnlia-
ritY the accident might, in all probability, have been
'avoided, when his hat was blown off hi consequence of the
draft caused .by t4O, rapid approach. of Ahe-eintitte and
tender ; and having.stooped Ito recover it the s4irts,of
his coat 'were 'caught' by the machinery
-dragged under -the wheels, :Wiriele :Coninletelyiernoved
the hinder.portion of his, skull, • causing instantapeone
death; ,and after dragging the' 'body along Alio:line for
adistance of 50 Yards/ finally Lure: off one of the thighs
and otherwise mangled the remains. .kis said that the
coming danger'was Observed by 'a man at the side of the
road, who gave the alarm by crying out to Mr. Tarrarft ;
upon which the engine-driver shut off steam and reversed
the lever of the locomatiie,
,but unfortunately without
'effect' as it. was at the time within two perches of the
deceased. Thpmas Dowd, the engine driver, was in-
staiitly'placed under arrest,. to abide the issue of, the
vestigation, which will be held this day, before Dr. Kir-
wan, one of the coroners for Dublin, into-all the circum-
stances connected with the melancholy catastrophe. The
iiigine-driver is said to have always held the' character
Of a steady,, sober man. - • • •
CATAISTEOPITS, AT- BRADWELL. DEnDrsEuRE.7-----Pour
men liedeadt' the' works 'erected feur'or five years ago,
near: the old cupola in. aradwell, for The purpose of ex-
tracting, bylut improved process, lead &ern the slag or
refuse of the 'old smelting,)urnaCe: Thee°, works- have
been standing about a year, and were being re-com-
menced on Wedries.day. In consequence of the pump
of the engine net acting properly,- William _Mitchell,
tshuartfaceco veorist.hthe the
manager, bad frequent occasion to:let out air, .by open-
siPif• feeta visvi!ifin:liede s°bnealeswtatghee egrwodull,ida,baoundt
about five feet in Aianieter. It is reached by a shiirt
wtand:rcivekirrad.vaen',l3:awntendweelltootul
rtoe
toaufardnthi
nz: 1s
j!eceililoieenj)koh
shhieieadwi
le4tntuot
.alioitlin
ascertain te or
'the r"eaion. The other *or.iiine en heard him- trying to ronse
Mitchell, and :When his voice' also ceased they became
alarmed, ran out, and found them both senseless at the
bottom of thehole. Another workman then. deseonded, but,
finding himself immediately affected ,bythefeul air, con-
trived; by:the assistauce.of the other tWo, to reach the
.surface again, where he •,fell senseless. These two then
ran for assistance,. and met two young =en, John Edwin
DernellY,. or Donelly, a schoolmaster, about 20. years. of
age, and 'Jonah Elliott, about 27 years, who has lately
returned from Australia._ They were both The sons of
widowed mothers. • The men from the mine informed
these persons. of the positicin of their. Companions, •Can-
tioningthern as to the danger of catering the well. They
ran 'to the place; and Elliott imniediately went 'down,
'regardless of the danger to himself, \to the rescue of
Mitchell and-the:other miner. He succeeded 113 getting
one man partly up the ladder ; but, becoming himself
affected by the air, he let the man go, and Donelly, in
trying to nave his fettmd, was pulled or fell into the hole,
and shared his fate. Thus four men met their death in
a hole, open at the top to the atmosphere, scarcelylarge
enough to serve for a grave for them, suffocated by the
foul air of the place. Mitchell leaves a wife and two
Children; Hallam, a wife, near her confinement, and
four young children, to bemoan their untimely fate.
•The other two were both unmarried.
SUICIDE OF A MAN AND BOY IN THE RIVER T 1411146.
--:-Inforniation has been forwarded from the various Me-
-tropolitan and City PoliCe Stations of The disco Very of &
man and boy near to each other in the River Thames at
Blackfriars. The police, have issued the following de-
scription of them :---Male, about 40 yeamof age, 5 feet
6 inches in height,' dressed in hrown.coat, blue trouierk•
black silk waistcoat with stripes, andßlucheibeots; bey,
about 15 or 16, black cloth trousers and, waistcoat, plaid
scarf, and cord jacket.. On his person Niko& piece of pa.,
per, with the words "Mr. Tyrell,,Remeinbrance-office,
Guildhall, for Mi. Preston." 'TWO shella' having been
procured, the bodies: were. removed to Christchurch
Workhouse; .tO, be_ owned
.and au*nest
SLAVES IN RIISSIA.—Of the fifty-three and a half mil.
lions of people which Russia contained in 1842, not less
than 42,000,000 'we're slaves ; and of these, 15 000 004
. were slaves of the Crown, or the Emperor

SOUTH-WESTERN RAILWAY.
On IVEDNERDAY, the 26th inst., the DAY of HUMILIA-
TION, the Trains on this line will RUN AS ON SUNDAY, with
the addition of the 7 o'clock a.m. down train to Southampton, and
the 7.10_p.m. train from Southampton.
Return Tioketa issued on order 25th inst. will be available till the
*7th inst. By ,
ARCED. SCOTT, Traffic Manager.
Witterloo Station, 22d April, 1654.