The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-16 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The PARLIAMENTARY COMPANION for 1841.
By Charles B. Dodd; Esq.—Whittaker and Co.
Mr.'Dodd, with his usual skill.and expedition,
has 'just brought out a new edition of this valu-
aLl2 and entertainin,T publication. It contains a
complete list of all the Members of
.the New
House of Commons, with a great variety of in-
teresting details' personal as well as local, the
state of the poll at every contested election, the
number of 101. electors, the amount of assessed
taxes for each borough, and the constituency of
each 'county,' city, and borough throughout the
United Kingdom, forming altogether, perhaps,
the most useful Parliamentary, guide yet pub-
lished. As a specimen of the information fur-
nished respecting Members of the House of
Commons, we take at random the denription
of Mr. Muntz, the Member for Birmingham,
which is thus briefly given :
MuNTZ, GEORGE FREDERICK--(Binningham.)--S.
of a German merchant of great respectability, who
settled in Birmingham in the year 1783, and married a
Miss Purden, of that town. B. 1794, m. in 1818 d. of
Rev. John Pryce. Is a merchant, a metal and in-
ventor and manufacturer of patent yellow meta.l ship
sheathing and bolts. Was the first Vice-Chairman a
the Birmingham Political Union, and one of its tnoe
strenuous supporters : underwent several prosecutions on
account of an alleged riot at a Church-rate meeting in
Birmingham—was convicted upon this charge in 1837,
but the proceedings were quashed, the Judge (the late
Sir J. A. Park) and the Court of Queen's Bench being
of opinion that they were illegal, and that the prosecu-
tion should never have been instituted. A Radical Re-
former, " wishing to remove all abuses without injury to
the just rights of any." Has written several pamphlets
on commercial, financial, and politico-economical sub-
jects.—Reform : Britton ferry House, Glamorgansh.
It contains also a list of the Peerage, with the
dates of creation, and the ages 'of the Members;
and in addition to the usual information given in
former editions, has a new department, under
the title " Explanation of Parliamentary Terms
and Proceedings." . This will be found useful to
new Members, of whom there are about 106 who
did not sit in the last Parliament, arid nearly 130
who never sat in any Parliament. It will' be of
service even to some of the old stagers, and to
the common reader will furnish no little insight
into the mode of conducting business in the Re-
formed HonSe of Commons. The book is beau-
tifully printed, and the arrangement altogether
is well adapted for speedy reference.

THEATRICALS DURING THE
PAST WEEK.

The past week has bean prolific in the production of
dramatic novelties,. and, with the exception of the Italian
Opera House, the season of which is drawing fast to a
close, every theatre of importance has contributed its
share. At the English Opera House, on Monday even-
in.., Mr. C. Selby contrived to place Mr. Keeley and
Mrs. Waylett in "a peculiarly perplexing situation."
Every evening since that gentleman and lady have found
themselves equally perplexed,and there is every probability
of their perplexities being renewed nightly to the end of the
season. At the Strand Theatre on the same evening Hall
produced as an afterpiece a version of Barnaby Budge,
from the pen of Mr. Stirling. It was, as stated at the
time, completely successful, and with The Frolics of the
Fairies, will carry on the management triumphantly to
the end of the season. At the Olympic the
" Burnt-out" dramatic company of Astley's still con-
tinue their performances, and have been fortunate in
receiving the assistance of various minor stars. This
week Miss Mitchell, from the Philadelphia Theatre, vo-
lunteered her services in their behalf, and performed the
character of Agnes de Vere on Monday. Another ver-
sion of Barnaby Budge was on the same evening pro-
duced at Sadler's Wells, where Elton has been
starring it during the past week, and has been
most ably supported by Marston and Mrs. R. Hon-
ner. Ducrow commenced his engagement at the
Surrey, on Monday, with Mazeppa, and the scenes in
the circle. The manner in which the pit has been
adapted for the equestrian performances reflects the
highest credit on the skill and ingenuity of Mr. Lowe,
the mechanist. It is needless to say that the theatre has
been crowded every evening—who ever knew the Sur-
rey otherwise ? At the Victoria, which, under
the judicious management of Mr. Osbaldiston,
has completely regained its former high chwacter,
there was produced on Monday one of those touching
domestic dramas for which this theatre has of late
become so celebrated It is founded on the story of
Mother Brownrigg's cruelties, and as Miss Vincent
acted the part of the heroine, it is almost a
work of supererogation to say that the drama
was completely successful. This theatre, like
its rival, is crowded every evening. On Wed
nesday, at the Haymarket, a very pleasant two
act comedy was produced, entitled Foreign Affairs.
It is well written, well acted, and superbly got up ; and
Will therefore run through the remainder of Celeste's
engagement, whose personation of the Count St.
Louis (the hero of the comedy), is excessively
clever. At the same theatre on Friday. Mr. Placide, the
celebrated American comedian made his bow to anEnglish
public in the characters of Sir Peter Teazle and Lingo.
His Sir Peter had—his Lingo very good. While on
this subject, we would just hint to those concerned, that
the dialogue of the School for Scandal is so carefully
written, that it is exceedingly improbable that
it can be 'amcnded; and therefore it would be advis-
able for those who act in it to adhere strictly
to the text. Where, for instance, does Mr. Placide find
that Sir Peter Teazle ever addressed Sir Joseph Surface
as Joe. It is a vulgar familiarity of which the polished
Sir Peter Teazle could never have been guilty. Joe, per-
haps, to his servant, but Joseph to his equal. Again,
Mr. Wrench, as Sir Benjamin Backbite, talks ' of
a - rivulet of letter -press . murmuring through a
meadow of margin. Sheridan's Sir Benjamin speaks
of a rivulet of letter-press meandering through a meadow
of margin. Now letter-press may meander, but it can-
not murmur, and therefore Mr. Wrench is wrong and
Sheridan is right. At the Queen's Theatre, which closed
on Friday, Mrs. Honey has been starring it foe the last ,
few weeks, to the mutual satisfaction of herself and the
manager ; and down in the far East, we understand that •
Mr. Denvil is drawing crowds to the Pavilion every
evening. „ -

THE BRIGHTON RAILWAY.
This line is rapidly approaching towards completion,
and in all ptobabiiity will be opened, throughout, about the
Ist of October. The work is one of no ordinary descrip-
tion, and does great credit to the enterprising spirit of
the people of this country, and the skill of the engineer,
who had to encounter the greatest difficulties. The
long tunnels, and the vast excavations, particularly
within two or three miles of Brighton, cannot fail to excite
the astonishment even of those who have travelled on
the other great lines which now traverse the country,
and natives, as well as foreigners, are absolutely at a
loss to find out who furnishes the sums of money re-
quired to carry into effect undertakings far more vast
and useful than those completed by the masters of the
world. The part of the line finished (more than two-
thirds of the whole) is in excellent condition, and no.
thine. can exceed the regularity of the system adopted by
the Directors. Every servant of the Company appears
to be at his post, and signals of the most minute descrip-
tion are regularly made on the arrival of a train at any
points where the slightest danger can be anticipated,
and every precaution is taken to ensure the safety of the
passengers.
•A correspondent of a Morning Paper (the Post) com-
plains that on arriving at one of the stations by coach,
there was no porter to take his luggage ; that he had to
wait long before the doors were opened ; and when that
took place, a great scene of confusion ensued by the dif-
ferent passengers rushing to get seats. We have passed
up and down the line occasionally, and certainly cannot ,
confirm the statement ; but if there are any grounds for
it, the Directors will, no doubt, without delay, take
steps to remedy the defect. They have servants
enough on the line to attend to passengers, lug.
gage, and every thing— many of them indeed
seemed in want of employment, and as no fees are al-
lowed the Directors may be well aware that they will
require to be looked after. There is a complaint,low-
ever, 'of more serious importance than this, namely,
the high fares which the Directors say they are com-
pelled to adopt in consequence of the heavy es
made by the coach proprietors from ll char
asnyinwea.rdt'rsuHthegatilni
mayl‘-a be
wait patiently till the
to Brigilticiton,N..e
il.h'onstlibtlyhei.tehreorree
this,
a
lineis Opened. throughout. When that takes place
there should, be not only a reduction in the fares
but a third class train to accommodate the work-
,
ing classes. If the fares were. 55., 75., and 10s.,
the public and the Proprietors would be alike bene-
fited. The Company must compete not only with the
Brighton coaches but with every railroad from London,
and every large steam
-boat on the Thames. A man
with a family will not
to Brighton while he can payg elevenot
Ramsgate, shillings an head to
twicego
the distance, for half -the price.
While we admire the spirit of the Proprietors who
have raised two millions sterling, to complete this
single line—a sum larger than the French are ever
likely
to raise for the whole of France in a similar way
—iandrd,arme,edeesainronuest toheslee tfheeislisn
piritmeet with its proper
rev
extreme regret at the
ruinous effect it will have on the most splendid coaching
establishments in the world. In a few weeks nearly all
these will be swept from the road, hundreds of persons '
will be thrown out of employment, grass will grow whero
horses and carriages, justly the pride of the country,
were wont hourly to pass, and ere long the far-famed
Brighton drivers, with their magnificent horses and
coaches, will be numbered with the things that were.
Regret, however, is vain. The movement has commenced,
and must go on till new Lines of communication are
established throughout every part of the kingdom. If
we were to take the liberty of making a suggestion to
the Directors in favour of those turned out of employment
bv 'the opening of the line, it would be that all such per-
sOns who are equally fit with other applicants for situa-
tions should have the preference.

THE EARL or HAREWOOD.—We regret to
learn that the state of health of the venerable Earl
of Harewood has lately been such as to afford grounds
for uneasiness to his Lordship's relatives and friends.
His Lordship's ailment is not, we understand, of a very
urgent nature, though at his Lordship's advanced age
the least symptom of derangement in the system ought
to be promptly attended to. Dr. Hobson, of Leeds, has
recently been consulted by the Noble Earl, and, we be-
lieve, that, upon his recommendation, his Lordship has
gone to London to consult Sir Benjamin Brodie, Sir M.
Chambers, or some other of the more eminent of the fa-
culty in town.

MORNING St rN