The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-13 00:00:00

THE WHITTINGTON CLUB.

The Whittington Club held its second soiree at the Crown
and Anchor Tavern last evening; Douglas Jerrold, Esq., in
the chair. The indefatigable president of the institution was
supported by the -presence of several ladies and gentlemen,
distinguished as friends of the middling and industrial classes,
among whom we noticed Mrs. Cowden Clarke, Colonel
Thomson, George Dawson, Mr. Bennock, and many ethers ;
the absence of Mr. Dickens was accounted for on the score of
ill-health, as was that, of Mr. Macready by a professional
engagement elsewhere. If number and good-humoured
hilarity be any sign of success, then does the Whittington
Club bid fair to outvie the most aristocratic assembly of the
day, for the room was literally crammed with well-dressed
ladies and gentlemen; and we learned from the president's
speech that the institution, which but a few short months
since was but a thing existing in the warm imaginations of
its enthusiastic friends, is now a somewhat tangible embodi •
ment of what hearty and united co-operation can accom-
plish ; and it promises, moreover, very shortly to have a
locale of its own in some compendious form of " brick and
mortar."

----Sincerely do we wish it success, if this be not a super-
fluous compliment with an affair that in three short months
has increased its members from 1,200 to upwards of 2,000.
The entertainment of the evening consisted of a mixture of
music and sentiment, and we heard with great pleasure that
distinguished castatrice Miss Maria Hawes, whose beautiful
song of " I'll speak to thee" was sung with great power and
feeling. There was an excellent trio by the Misses Rain-
forth, Bassano, and B. Hawes, and a duet concertante
by M. Benedict and Mr. Carte, which called forth repeated
expressions of approbation. The only encore of the evening was
the fine old song of Arne's, " here the bee sucks there lurk
I," which was given with great spirit by Miss Bassano.
Several weli-intentioned and judicious remarks were made
by the Chairman, Colonel Thomson, Mr. Dawson, and others,
as to the power of the middle classes to combine in such an
institution both for amusement and instruction, elegant en-
tertainment, and useful knowledge; but it struck us that
the speeches were wanting in enthusiasm. These, however,
were but preliminaries to the brisk and lively dance. This
commenced at ten, when a scene of life and vivacity, as well
as grace and elegance, presented itself, of which Almack's in
its best days might have been proud to boast. There will
be great benefits accruing from this institution, and its gene-
ral gatherings will amply compensate the trouble inciden-
tal on all such large assemblages, if they only present
opportunities where youth of both sexes can meet to pass a '
leisure hour, free from any of those baleful influences which
tend to debase and degrade our common humanity.
We have rarely seen a more cheerful company, or been in
so large an assemblage, where so few symptoms of weariness
appeared. There was a goodly sprinkling of perrssoonnssointhe
ma-
ture years, but the. most part were youths and.p;r
prime of life. Again we say, success to tahaeg hi t
friendst ingt obne
Club," may the anticipations of its mosstti,
adednine
speedily realised, and the metropoliosvidindg with societies
recrea-
-1 aving for their main object the
unison healthfuly social
tion and appropriate literary food, ;lir
and physical comfort.

---------=--"_
DETERMINEDSUICIDE OF A SPORTING MAN.—
1 Yesterday foren n
oinformation was received at the Coroner's
office, Westfomrienstoer,
of the distreFsing death of Illr. William
1 Kendrick,
lg
ageacti.e,,.l6,residing at No. 4, Upper Ranelagh.street,
Be
The deceased was a married man, and
welfrkanvoe-wsnqin the sporting circles, by the safeness of his
general moden of betting on all the principal races, but having
i lost largely at the Newmarket Spring Meeting, hich he had
been unable to settle, he had been in a very low and despond--
ing state for several days past, and on that morning (Wed-
nesday) after taking Lis breakfast, he went into his bed-room
v
to
dress, and very shortly afterwards, his wife bearing a
heavy fall in his room, went to ascertain the cause, and on
entering the room she discovered the deceased lying ex-
tended on the floor with his head nearly severed from his
body. A razor covered with blood was lying by his side.
A servant was dispatched for medical aid, and Mr. Griffiths,
surgeon of Lower Ebury-street, immediately attended, but on
his arrival the vital spark had fled, the windpipe and carotid
artery having been completely divided. An inquest will be
held on the body on Friday.
A mine of rock salt has just been discovered in the
environs of Lemberg (Gallicia), which is even richer than
that of Wieliczka, in the same province,litherto considered
the richest in Europe.— Galignani.
Accounts from Muhlberg, of the 3d, inform us that
the Elbe had overflowed its banks near that town, and
threatened, by inundating the country, to destroy the crops.
THE SCARCITY IN HANOVER.—The Hanover
Gazette states, that since the scarcity of provisions had been
felt so severely, it had been endeavoured to introduce the use
of horseflesh. Several horses had been killed and sold, and
the prejudice appeared to be wearing off.
GREENLAND FISHING, LERWICK, MAT 3.—The
William Ward, of Hull, Captain Granville, has just arrived
from Greenland, with about eighty tons of oil and eight thou
sand seals. She was stove in by the ice, and lost tour boats
before being extricated. She came in at Hillswick, on
Thursday, and is now getting some repairs before proceeding
to Hull. It is only six weeks since she left Lerwick, and if
she gets speedy repair, she will accomplish a second voyage
to Greenland. The William Ward conveys the intelligence
that several of the vessels had fished tolerably well, and that
some of them may be looked for soon.—Newcastle Advertiser.
FOOD RIOTS.—A riot, in consequence of the dear-
ness of provisions, took place a short time since at Lent-
meritz, during which the ears of a speculator in corn were
cut off by the mob.