The Sun.
London, England, 1836-08-19 00:00:00

COURT CIRCULAR.

Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent's birth-day was
observed in the usual manner, on the 17th, at Claremont
and Kensington Palace. Her Royal. Highness entertained
at dinner, at the former place, their Royal Highnesses the
Princess Sophia and the Princess Victoria, the Earl of 11-
chester, the Earl of Liverpool, the Ladies Catherine and
Selina Jenkinson, Sir Edward and Lady Cust, Sir Robert
and Lady Gardiner, Baroness Lehzen, Sir John Conroy,
Colonel Hill, Colonel Harcourt,-and Dr. Clark.
Her Royal Highness's tradesmen it, Lon(len. and Ken-
sington dined together at Kensington.
His Majesty will bold a Council this day, at St. James's
Palace, at which the King's Speech on closing the Session
of Parliament will be arranged,
Tile Speaker of the Hutu,* of Commons and the Right
Hon. R. entlar 'NO ru intec'.etv with Visronnt
MePa.~:c.it4
Air. Carey, with despatches bfrom Sir Francis Head,
Lieut.-Governor of Upper Canada, arrived in town yester-
day, and transacted business at the Colonial-office.
The Lord Advocate of Scotland had an interview with
Lord John Russell yesterday, at the Home-office.
Count Bjornstjerna, the Swedish Minister, gave a grand
dinner on Wednesday evening, in Belgrave-street, to a party
of his Majesty's Ministers.
Mr. Ewart, M.P., had an interview yesterday with the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, in Downing-street.
The Duke of Marlborough and Mr. Hume had interviews
yesterday with Viscount Melbourne.
Sir John Franklin transacted business yesterday at the
Colonial-office.

A discovery has lately been made at a village in
Hanover of a bundle of papers, believed to be the whole, or a
part, of the manuscripts of Voltaire, that were stolen from,
Ferney, in 1812, without it being ever ascertained by whom
they were abstracted.
The King of Naples intends remaining in Paris
till the end of the month. He will then assist at the ma-
nceuvres of Compiegne, and from thence will go direct to Lon-
don, where he thinks of stopping a fortnight.
The Journal de /Armee says—" The standards
taken from Ab-del-Kader have arrived at Paris, and have
been delivered to the Minister of War. I".tese ensigns, to
which the Arabs are as much attached as the Europeans are
to theirs, are of either figured or plain silk of different colours.
Some are green and white, some all green, some crimson, and
in the middle of each is a hand, or rather half a glove of a
very different kind of stuff. They are affixed to a staff of a
very hard but very light wood, on the top of which is a small
globe, of brass or pewter, terminating in a point. Most of
them are much torn and stained with blood, and appear to
have been dearly won. They are to be deposited in the chum:a, of the Invalides."

A curious piece of antiquity has lately been dis-
_ covered in the church-yard of Hemel Hemstead. 'jogging
a vault for a young lady of' the name of Warren, te sexton,
when he had excavated the earth about four f-eet below the
surface of the ground, struck his spade against something
solid, which, upon inspection, he fauna tc be a large wrought
stone, which proved to be tilt lid of a coffin, and under it the
coffin entire, which was afterwards taken up in perfect condi-
tion; hut the bones i:ontained therein, on beinff exposed to the
air, crumbled to dust. On the lid of the Coen is an inscrip-
tion, partly effaced by time, yet still sufficiently legible to
prove it contained the ashes of the celebrated Offa, King
of the :Mercian, who rebuilt the Abbey of St. Albans,
and died in the Bth century. The coffin is very curiously
carved, and altogether unique of the kind. The church was
built in the 7th century.
The late nocturnal attacks in the streets have given
rise to a singular adventure. On Saturday night, a party of
police, on going its rounds, 'perceived in the rue de Fourcy a
man dragging another by the collar, and at the same time
holding a pistol to his head. They were both taken into
custody, and conducted to the guardhouse, where they were
locked up till the morning. An explanation then took
place, and it appeared that an honest porter of one of the
markets, not being able to find his way home from having got
lute/cleated, accosted his fellow-prisoner to ask the proper di-
rection. The latter, overcome with the general alarm of as-
sasination and robbery, took the poor porter for a thief, and
immediately drew out the pistol he carried for self-protection,
and what the consequences might have been but for the inter-
ference of lawful authority, no one can tell. As it was, it
ended in a hearty breakfast between the suepccted assassin and,
his self-imagined victim.--Paris Papet.
At the Shrewsbury Assizes a rather novo ease was
tried. It was an action brought by a gcntlenrin of landed
property, against a farmer, to recover damages for the loss of
two cottages whieh bad. been burnt down in consequence of the
ignition aa stack tif hay belonging to the defendant, and which
WAS en the premises of the latter adjoining to the plaintiff's
oottages. Front the testimony of the plaintiff's witnesses it
appeared{ that one evening last autumn the hay stack in ques-
tion Oa ht firo, and was wholly consumed. The fire cora-
Munlcatod to the farm buildings of the defendant, and after-
wards to the cottages of the plaintiff, and the whole were de-
stroyed. The stack had stood about a month or six weeks,
and having been observed to smoke very much, an iron rod
had been driven through it, and some portion had been cut
out. It was said, however, that the defendant had not done
enough, that the appearance of the stack for some time before
its combustion was such that it ought to have been taken down.
The value of the cottages was proved to have been about 1501.,
and the amount of the defendant's loss was 5001., for which he
was taot insured. Mr. Justice Patteson, in summing up, said
it was not enough that the defendant had done what lie be-
lieved to be sufficient. He might be a rash and imprudent
person, and therefore his neighbour's property was not to be
endangered by his injudicious conduct. The jury found for
the plaintiff—Damages, Five Pounds. This verdict excited
surprise, as the plaintiff, it was conceived, had a right to the
whole sum claimed, I.sol.—Shrewsbury Chronicle.
SANTA ANNA.—The following extracts of a letter
from an officer in the Texian navy, to his relative in this city,
gives a portraiture of Santa Anna, calculated to mingle un-
qualified contempt with the abhorrence which the cruelty of
that monster in human shape universally inspired:—
" I have seen Santa Anna, and the rest of the Mexican pri-
soners, the most important of whom is Almonti. Santa Anna
is a very ordinary looking man, and the greatest coward the
world ever produced. As a proof of this, I will give you an
instance that came under my own observation. He and his
officers were sent on board our vessel at Velasco, for safe
keeping, He had not been with us over a few days when the
people became dissatisfied, and sent for him. As soon as he
was informed of this, he judged our people by his own, and thought they were going to butcher him. The wretch ex-
claimed in Spanish—" Mercy, mercy ! Oh God ! if they wish
to kill me, let them come and shoot me here,—don't let them
take me ashore." We could not persuade him that his life
was safe. He rushed below, and, like a Turk, took opium to
drown his sorrows. As soon as the effects of the drugs were
over, we hurried him over the side of the vessel into the long
boat, and as he went the tears trickled down his pusillanimous
checks, and
" His coward lips did front their colour fly,
And that same eye whose bend did awe all Mexico,
Did lose its lustre."
His friend Almonti is a thick-set man, speaks English sper-
fectly well, has travelled through the United States, very
talented, affable, and extremely winning in his
consider him a greater villain than Santa Anna, because, like
a serpent, he only embraces to sting, whereas you can read
deceit and indifference in Santa AnnNe a's countenance, and you
york Paper,
know what to expect."--w

•
The chain of convicts which took its departure from
Bicetre in the middle of last month arrived at Brest on the
nuoae nsoyf fromtunusualhe itcnnd
convictsei ss -,
Bth instant. Everything went on without any
order till they came to Bedee place,
where a species of revolt took
suddenly seized the sword of one of the
of
the chain
who were
escorting them, and the two ends chain attempted to
form a junction so as to Oloicise Captain
Thorez, who had the
command of the °wart, and Dr. Leber, who was
in attendance
upon thorn, `ho determined resolution, however, of these
offic.ops. and their men reduced the refractory villains to subjec-
tion, and some of the most turbulent were more heavily
ironed. Among the most violent and audacious was Francois,
the accomplice of Lacenaire, who, throughout the whole
journey, incessantly uttered the most horrible language. The
priest Deiacollonge displayed the most perfect resignation
th
and mildness during e whole of the journey, which even
procured him some tokens of deference from his fellow-
prisoners.

CHINESE CARVING.—In carvig ood d ivor,
and other substances, the Chinese haven Wno rivals. an
We cany - not approach them in their ivory work-baskets, fans, and other
articles; no European artist, we believe, has ever attempted
to cut out from one solid ball of ivory seven or eight interior
ones, each separate from the rest, and as beautifully carted as
the exterior one. These are all cut by moan-4 of the several
circular holes that are, in the ftrg irmanee, bored through the
Solid ball,....Quadedy &Wm,

_Jminissioner LAW sat on Wednesday night unti
half-past eleven o'clock, and resumed this morning at an
early hour, with a determination of clearing the list, and
rising for the recess this week.
Edward Clarke, whose case was before the Court a few
days ago, again came up. He was opposed by Mr. N'eholit on the part of Messrs. Garnett and Taylor, the proprietor
of the Manchester Guardian. His application was supot
ported by Mr. Cooke. The insolvent on the former coaa„
sion was opposed in person by Mr. Garnett. It then ap„
peared that he had brought an action against the Illettichester
Guardian for an alleged libel. The cause was tried in ha
Court of Common Pleas in the course of last year, end ft
verdict given for the defendants, who pleaded a justification.
An application was afterwards made for a new trial, but
refused, and the insolvent was now in custody for the costs
incurred by the present opposing creditors,
Counsel agreed to leavo the Case without comment in silo
bands of Court.
Mr. COMMl23jOrler LAW remanhd him from the de.te of
filing his petition to four months' imprisonment mutler the
discretionary clause.