The Sun.
London, England, 1849-05-23 00:00:00

COURT CIRCULAR.

The Queen and Prince Albert left town at ten minutes
before ten yesterday morning for her Majesty's marine
residence, Osborne, Isle of Wight. Her Majesty and his
Royal Highness were accompanied by their Royal High-
nesses the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the Princess
Royal, the Princess Alice, the Princess Helena, and the
Princess Louisa, and were attended by the Viscountess
Canning, General Bowles, General Wemyss, Lieut.-
Colonel the Hon. Alexander Gordon, and Mr. Birch.
The Queen and Prince Albert were conducted to their
carriage by the Hon. Misses Murray and Macdonald,
the Marquis of Breudalbanc, the Duke of Norfolk, the
Earl of Morton, Viscount Clilden, Lord Edward Howard,
Sir Edward Bowater, and Captain Francis Seymour.
A detachment of the 11th Huasars formed the Royal
escort from Buckingham Palace to the Nine Elms sta-
don. The august party left by a special train on the
London and South-Western Railway.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent visited her
Majesty the Queen Dowager yesterday at Marlborough
House.
His Royal Highness Prince Henry of the Netherlands
paid a visit to her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent
yesterday. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge
also visited her Royal Highness yesterday at Clarence
House, St. James's.

Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Cambridge
and the Priccess Mary, and her Royal Highness the
Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenbourg Strelitz,
attended by Mr. Edmond Mildmay, honoured her Ma-
jesty's Theatre with their presence yesterday evening.
A Cabinet Council was held at twelve o'clock yester-
day at the Foreign-office. It was attended by Lord
John Russell, the Marquis of Lansdowne, the Earl of
Minto, Sir George Grey, Viscount Palmerston, Earl
Grey, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Francis
Baring, Sir John Ilobhouse, Lord Campbell, the Right
Hon. H. Laboucherti, the Esrl of Carlisle, and the Mar-
quis of Clanricarde. The Council sat one hour and a
half.
A deputation from the United Presbyterian Church of
Scotland bad an interview with Sir George Grey yester-
day at the Home-office.
The Belgian Minister bad an interview with Lord
John Russell yesterday. Viscount Ponsonby had also
an interview yesterday with the Noble Lord, at his
official residence in Downing-street.
A deputation from the Iron Trade of Staffordshire,
beaded by Mr. Thornely, M.P., and including Messrs.
Foster, Sparrow, Barker, and W. Foster, had an inter-
view yesterday with Sir George Grey.

We are informed that the gentleman who was first
to seize the offender after the attack upon the Queen on
Saturday, was Mr. B. B. Williams, of Westbourne ter-
race, Hyde-park.
Colonel Lloyd Vaughan Watkins, M.P. for Breck-
nock, has been prevented attending his Parliamentary
duties for the last ten days in consequence of a severe
attack of gout, from which he is still suffering.
,When the Irish deputation called on the Premier,
the latter remarked after a protracted debate, that he
thought he had better "retire." We have been of the
same opinion as his Lordship for some time past.—The Pup-
pet Show.
We should never divide from any man upon the
difference of an opinion, or be angry with his judgment
for not agreeing with us in that, from which, within a
few days, wu may dissent ourselves.—.Elixa Cook's
Journal.
IMPROVEMENTS IN BILLINGSGATE MARKET.—III
consequence of the vast increase of business transacted
at Billingsgate Market, it has become necessary to en-
large the area of the market for the better accommoda-
tion of the salesmen and the public, and the convenience
of the fish trade generally. For this purpose it is in-
tended to add to the area of the market the apace oc-
cupied by Billingsgate Dock, by enclosing it with a
wharf wall, in continuation of the line 01 Custom-house-
, quay, and extending to Joiners -quay ; also removing
the portion of the market now projecting into the River
beyond that line. The whole of the present roofing and
arrargement of the market to be removed entirely, and
a new roof to be constructed, with skylights facing the
north, and a handsome façade, 180 feet, erected next to
the River, with a lofty clock and hell tower in the centre,
in harmony with the new Coal Exchange. Fronting
Thames-street a warehouse is to be built, for the recep-
tion of fish brought into London by railway; and on the
rite of the dock a sub-market is to be constructed for
sale of shell-fish. The whole of the alterations are from
a design furnished by Mr. Bunning, the City's architect,
tit > 95Saste4 cost 9f Ow; 20 000
/ •

LITERATURE.
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE; a Manual of Sacred
Verse. By the Rev. Robert Montgomery.
This little volume possesses many and peculiar
claims upon our attention and our sympathy. It is
a volume of poems by Robert Montgomery, whose
muse has been silent for the last seven years. Its
theme is one that comes home to every Christian
amongst us, and its individual attractions are en-
hanced by the fact that this Christian volume is de-
dicated to the most Christian cause a Charity. It was
of this little book that Mr. Disraeli spoke when, at
the recent festival in aid of the Brompton Hospital
for Consumption, he said, alluding to Mr. Mont-
gomery—
" The poet -preacher has placed upon the altar of this
charity a volume in which he has embodied his own
feelings, and e>,-presbed yours. He has also-7-one of the
most popular poets of the day—launched thitt volume
upon the waters tct briny riches to your harbour, tind give
its produce to fructify your soil."
The money given to purchase this work will, there-
fore be " twice blest." It will bless those who give and
those who receive it, for the giver will thereby obtain
a manual of poetry and devotion, and the recipient
(the poor victim of consumption) will find that
shelter and assistance his sick frame and drooping
heart so much require. One poem in this collection
peculiarly commemorates this object, and it is, in
consequence, inscribed to Philip Rose, the founder of
the hospital. It is called " The Dying Girl," and
draws a sad yet sweet picture of the decline and death
of a victim of the deceitful disease—

With brilliance in her deep•sot eyes
And on her face a healthless bloom;—
No harsh transition, but a soft decay,
Like dream-born tones of night that melt by dawn
away.
This dying maiden is one of the favoured one's,
whose pains are solaced by all that love can devise or
wealth procure, and her peaceful death forms indeed
a contrast to the cheerless lot of those for whom the
huspital is designed—

But, oh! unlike that beauteous maid
Who died in mercy, truth, and prayer,
Millions expire on damp stones laid,
With none to watch them wither there ;
Creedless and hopeless, fevered, sad, and lone.
Their life an anguish seems, their death a muffled

groan.
We have already, again and again, expressed our
anxious wishes for the success of the Bromptom Hos•
pital; we can only reiterate those wishes and hope
that this volume may, in accordance with the benevo-
lent intention of its author, contribute to the assist-
ance of that very deserving charity. To speak
now of the merits of the " Christian Life" itself, we
may say briefly that it is a collection of beautiful and
holy thoughts, often beautifully, and always sweetly
expressed. t contains upwards of four hundred
pages, and in these are inscribed more than one hun-
dred and twenty poems. The subjects are of singular
diversity, but all tend in some way or other to illus-
trate various phases in " Christian Life." On.e
division, headed "My Prayer-book," for instancie,
(comprising sixteen poems) refers to almost every
vicissitude of life. These various scenes are described
with a beautiful simplicity, and the high truths asso-
ciated with them all are often most happily referred
to, as, for instance, in these lines on " Baptism :"
Safe in His arms, thou mother mild,
With hope baptismal place thy child ;
And doubt not
Henceforward, as a Priest and King
Thy babe becomes a sacred thing,
An heir of grace and glory.
In the poem commemorative of " Marriage" it is
beautifully said, in speaking of the bride's mixed
feelings of sorrow and happiness :
Our life is mystery; and the brightest joy
That flushes round a feeling heart,
Seems coldly shaded by some dim alloy,
Doom'd never from man's world to part :
True mirth with mournfulness is oft allied,
As living babes suggest the ones who died.
And she, the bridal star of beauty now,
Oh marvel not, as there she kneels,
That ere the wife can dawn upon her brow,
Back to bright girlhood fancy steals ;

Dead joys revive in tombs to fancy dear,
Melt through the heart, and mingle with a tear!
" The ',Visitation [of the Sick" comes with peculiar
force from Mr. Montgomery's pen, when we remem-
ber it is his voice which so frequently ministers con-
solation to the sick and dying inmates of that hospital
of which he is so zealous a supporter. We might
quote many passages in these four hundred pages,
in evidence of the truly Christian spirit of love and
faith with which the whole volume is suffused, or as
examples of the practical lessons gently suggested by
these poems, as, for instance, those lines in the
stanzas commemorating the " Third Beatitude—
Blessed are the Meek !
lie whose will wus crucified
Throughout His sad career—
Whom earth abhorr'd, and man denied
One sympthetic tear,
By bearing outrage, wrong, and hate,
This heaven-burn lesson taught,—
That souls are not divinely great
Except with meekness fraught.
The Divine Teacher's suffering lite is yet more
beautifully alluded to in the following forceful
v erses

His life was cne celvtial pain,
A martyrdom of care—
Denial had its perfect reign
In each perfection there.
Through all some crucifixion ran,
The Cross became His will,
Whore God beheld a faultless man,
And cries " Behold Him" still.
Some of the most beautiful and deeply pathetic
passages in this volume are those which suggest com-
fort—the only comfort—to the afflicted. These pas-
sages are numerous, but one of the best is contained
in the poem, entitled, " Hearts which have no Echoes"
—suggested by that saying in the Proverbs, " The
heart knoweth its own bitterness." An extract from

this very beautiful poem will exemplify better than
any comment how well Mr. Montgomery's pen
can reveal the secrets of the human heart ; and,
moreover, what a soothing and healthful influence he
can infuse into those sorrowful revelations. With

this quotation we take leave of the volume and its be-
nevolent author, heartily wishing for the book and
the charity the popularity and success which
they so well deserve. (Before concluding, however,
we would observe, that iu the preface to this volume,
Mr. Montgomery, alluding to Mr. Macaulay's very
severe criticism of his Poems, observes, that the
faults so censured now exist only in that criticism, Mr.
Montgomery's maturer observation having induced
him to correct and obliterate his early productions
to such an extent that, one of them is, he tells us,
almost a new poem )

''GENERAL THEATRICAL FUND.

ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL.
On Monday evening a brilliant festival was held at the
_London Tavern, Bishopsgate-street, to commemorate the
tenth anniversary of the General Theatrical Fund, at
which about 200 gentlemen were present, including some
of the most eminent comedians and literary mon of the.
present day.

Charles Kean, Esq., presided on the occasion; and
ar nong the gentlemen who occupied seats in the imme-
di ate vicinity of the chair we noticed Charles Dickers.
q., Rev. A. Dyce, Sir John Burgoyne, Mayor Genera],
K. C. 8., Major-General Grant, C. 8., MajoreGeneral
CLarritie, T. H. Jesse, the Historian ; Sir Charles
Yc ung, Garter King-at-Arms ; Sir George Pocock.
Leach, the Artist; Dr. Forbes Winslow; J. Judd,
E tq., Surgeon of the 3d; Coptain D'Aguilar, Grenadier
Grin.ards; Major Boys, G. Lovell, Esq., author of the
Wife's .Secret; Ibbetson, Esq., cum multis aliis.
The gallery at the end of the room and the reserved
i(rttS behind the chair were occupied by au immense
number of elegantly dressed ladies, whose presence lent
an additional fascination to the brilliancy of the festival.
Aroong the ladies immediately behind the chair we ob-
served Mrs. Charles Kean, also Mrs. C. Dickens.
The musical arrangements of the evening, which were
.unusually attractive, were under the eminent direction
of Mr. lialfe, assisted by Miss I)olby, Madame Dulcken,
Miss Uansford, Mr. Hobbs, arid several other eminent
artistes, ell of whom gave their: services gratuitously.
On the removal of the clot's the grace was beautifully
sung by the professional vocalists.

The CHAIRMAN then rase and said—Gentlemen, in
rising to propose the first toast of the evening, it be-
comes my pleasing duty rgeviously to announce that our
Gracious Sovereign, the. patroness of this Fund, ever
foremost to recognise the claims of art, and to relieve
the wants of artists, has, presented this institution with a
third donation of 1001.—(Loud cheers.) I anticipate
the burst of enthusiatitic love and respect with which the
health of her Msjes.ty Queen Victoria will be received
by the present corapany.—(Cheers.) The members of;
the theatrical prc,fession have ever been signalised far
their devoted lo falty.—(Cheers.) You are well aware
that in the triubled times of Charles the First, those
times when, according to the poet—
" Civil, dudgeon first grew high,
Awl men fell out they knew not why."
—(Laugh cer.) When domestic quarrels and puritanical
frenzy cl.osed the theatres, many of the actors took up
arms in, defence of their Royal Master.—(Applause.)
Hart. Tibbinson, and Mohun held commissions in.
the King's service, and were remarkable fbr their gal-
lant conduct ; and at a later period Smith, Griffin,
Car lisle and Wiltshire, served as captains in the wars
of William 111., and the two latter fell honourably on
Vie field of battle.—(Cheers;) I mention those facts
'pith mingled pride and satisfaction on the present Oc-
casion. The distinguished company I have now the
honour to address are all deeply interested in the pros-
perity of the drama.—(Cheers.) Those among us who
are not actors are equally well versed with ourselves in
the history of the stage, and as fully impressed as we
are with the difficulties that have lately impeded its pro-
gress and somewhat obscured its brilliancy. But a
star of light has arisen on the darkened horizon of our
prospects, and I trust I am not too sanguine when I hail
it as the harbinger of a favouring dawn, of a steady and
improving sunshine. I allude to the late series of the-
atrical performances at Windsor Castle, which took
place by the command of her Majesty and his Royal
Highness Prince Albert.—(Applause.) We all owe a deep
debt of gratitude for the high honour thus conferred on
us and for the advantages we have thereby gained. By
selecting the drama for their hours of private relaxation,
by introducing it into the chosen circle of their domestic
privacy, by permitting the royal children in their
earliest budding youth to become familiar with the mugio
verse of Shakspere, her Majesty and her Royal Consort
have stamped an importance and impressed a sterling
value on the national stage that will be long felt and
most thankfully appreciated.—(Applause.) Covered by
the protecting shield of royal favour, assisted
by the all-powerful influence and the commanding
prestige of royal taste, heralded, as I may say,
by a patent of precedency—our art and its professors
resume their position with increasing hopes end re-
doubled energy.—(Applause.) The illustrious Lady to
whose health we are about to drink, the Sovereign of
this mighty empire, filling the first public situation in
the civilized world, by her private virtues sheds new
lustre on the throne itself, and gives an added grace to
royalty. —(Loud cheers) As Queen, as daughter,
as wite, and mother, she stands forward an example
to admiring millions.—(Loud cheers.) And as our
lips drain the cup let us echo back the toast—" Long
lite and increasing prosperity to her Majesty the
Queen."—(Cheers.)

Drunk upstanding with three times three ; and the.
National Anthem sung by the whole assembly.
The CHAIRMAN said the toast ho was about to pro-
pose would be received with every demonstration of
loyalty and respect. He would gise them" his Royal
Highness Prince Albert, the ever ready encourager of
native industry and talent, and the willing patreou of
all charitable institutions—(Applause)—together with
Albert, Prince of Wales, the yehtliful hope of England,
and the rest of the Royal Fuwily."—(Cheers.)
Drunk with honours.
bong by Mr. Hobbs.

The-Ct-hintmart said he would next give them " The
Army and Navy, the indomitable bulwarks of our inde-
pendence," uud with that toast ho begged to couple the
honoured and revered name of the Commander. in• Chief,
the Duke of Wt ington—(Cheers)—the great living
Captain, whose long career of glory had known every
vicissitude of war except defeat—(Rencwrd cheers)—
whose name was synonymous with victory—whom the
eloquent historian of the Peninsular war justly desig-
nated as superior to Marlborough, for he had beaten
better Generals than Marlborough ever encountered.

Major General Sir J. BURGO;NE briefly acknowledged
the compliment on behalf of the army.
Song by Hiss Dolby—" My Lords, I salute ye."
The CHAIRMAN then rose to propose the toast of the
evening. The distinguished gentleman spoke as fol-
lows:—Gentlemen, in the order of toasts, as I am in-
structed to propose them, I now arrive at that which
brings immediately before us the object of the present
meeting. The cause entrusted to my feeble advocacy is
one so interesting in itself—so all-important to the nume-
rous parties whose welfare it embraces, appealing so
exclusively to the kindest feelings of our nature, and at
the same time so dependent on the power or weakness
of its pleader, that I shrink embarrassed under the con-
sciousness of my own inability.—(Cheers.) I feel myself
unequal to the task of carrying up this noble argument
to its full vindication, and lament that it has not de-
volved on one more experienced in the duties of a chair-
man—on one less accustomed to repeat exclusively the
thoughts of others—on one more gifted with the
grace of speech, and endowed with that per.
suasive eloquence which enchains the reason,
wins the heart, and controls the sympathies.
—(Loud cheers.) I stand before you as the advocate
of Christian charity, of simple, pure benevolence, as
counsel for the old, the indigent, and the helpless mem-
bers of our profession. Your own generous feelings will
supply my deficiencies, and will plead for my clients
more gracefully and effectually than any efforts of mine,
even though I were inspired for the occasion, as I would
I were, with a power of utterance
"Great and commanding as the breath of kings,
Sweet as the poet's numbers, and prevailing
As soft persuasion."—(Cheers.)
Looking to the means of upholding and invigorating this
valuable institution, I hail the establishment of a General
Theatrical Fund, open alike to the members of every
theatre and the professor of every branch of this most
complicated art, as a powerful auxiliary, a steady prop,
a solid buttress of support, giving to and deriving from
the parent edifice an increase of strength and power, ele-
vating both art and artist in the scale of respectability,
and affording to the latter a haven of refuge when age
and infirmities admonish him that—

" Time steals on, and higher duties crave
Some space between the theatre and the grave."

—(Tremendous cheering.) The present position of
the two great houses of Drury lane and Covent-
garden, those splendid structures so long and fondly
designated as the legitimate temples of Shakspere
and the British drama, so associated with all that
is grand and classical, and ennobling to the heart—
' so inseparably connected with the brightest names that
shed lustre on its annals--the strange uses to which they
are perverted—the long and apparently interminable
eclipse by which they are obscured—these circumstances
yHear,hear.)
participate;
but
engender feelings ot regret in all, and despondency in
many.—(Cheers.)
thethe d
regerspetenldceonrtd—ial(l
The prospects of the drama may be darkened by a pass-
ing cloud, but I cannot feel they are extinguished, even
ar.
am(C notheerL) amongln
though the great houses should never again resume their
iatnsceieanptriacsecse,nuadsayncy.
run
tlo'ohesttridonegolfyfainshfiaovno, veuerr a
of
vthreying in
exotic
ballet, the gorgeous spectacle, or the foreign operas, but
Shekspere still maintains his hold on the hearts of his
countrymen, and will stand pre-eminent on his time•
honoured pedestal as long as truth and nature hold their
sway, and men can feel the power of language
and the grace of action.—(Loud and protracted cheers.)
I hope and think that good days are in
store for us, and as the number ot actors will increase
with the increasing prosperity of the stage, so does the
necessity and advantage of a well-established and libe-
rally-endowed General Theatrical Fund impress itself
forcibly on our convictions. I trust this day we may
make a t;iaut step iu advance of out object. The report
Hof our proceedings, the augmentation of the invested
property, the amount of the collection here will give an
impulse to opinion without—draw to us the support or
strangers and the favour of the general public. I trust
by stuady perseverance to see this comparatively private
institution expand into a national one.—(Cheers.) In
the long struggle of professional life, and more particu-
larly in the actors of life, distinction and independence
are achieved only by the fortunate few, while the labo-
rious but deserving many toil on in the ranks, earning
with difficulty a subsistence for the present, and utterly
unable to lay by any provision for the future.—(Hear.)
Among the intellectual avocations ours has attached to it
some meladcholy peculiarites. Brilliant and captivating
as the actor's triumphs may appear, they are as perish-
ing as the applause by which they are accompanied. The
poet, the painter, the sculptor leave behind them lasting
memorials of the creative genius in the living page, the
glowing canvass, and enduring marble; the actor's
brightest effort dies with himself, or survives but in the
fading records of imperfect tradition.—(Renewed cheers.)
By ceaseless study and long experience only o he