The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-26 00:00:00

THE rtYN, LON'DON, MONDAY ETENTNer, APRIL g 6, JUL

LITERATURE.

THE WESTMINSTER AND FOREIGN
QUARTERLY REVIEW. Nos. XCII. and

LxxVIL
In a cursory criticism upon Sir Bulwer Lytton's
" Word to the Pubic," the Westminster pronounces
many opinions which we cannot characterise as other-
wise than untenable and fallacious. Crime it acknow-
ledges to be the legitimate teeme of tragic composition,
whether that composition be either dramatic or narra-
tive: and yet it cavils at the .employment of et ime as a
means of inculcating morality either by the novel-writer
or the dramatist! It illustrates this position by enveigh-
ing against the custom of " copying the dark back-
ground of Rembrandt's portraits." What we should
like to know are the masterpieces of ancient and modern
dramatists, and of ancient and modern novelists (for we
look upon Tacitus and Herodotus as among the antique
romance writers—the predecessors of the feuilletonistes
Dumas and Sue), what we ask are the masterpieces of
these dramatists and novelists ancient and modern but
dark backgrounds such as may be compared to the
Blooms of Rembrandt? If we look to the giant
tragedies of /Eschylus and Sophocles, we shall find there
parricedes, and adulterers, and murderers, and inces-
tuous monsters, the habitual dramatis personas; we shall
find there rapine and midnight deeds of bloodshed and
violation. In more recent works of what must be
termed classic excellence, we see the regicide in Mac •
beth, the adulterous assassin in Hamlet, the cruelties of
unfilial fiends in Lear, the infamy of bawds anti liber-
tines in Measure for Measure, the sins that man has no
words to express, and that would have shamed the habi-
tants of Gomorrahl in the Cenci. From first to last, from
the tales related by the romancing historians of Greece and
Rome, in relation to the concubines of Alexander and
Darius, to those recounted in the torturing suspence of
"Caleb Williams," and the diabolical anguish of " Frank-
enstein," the arch-actors are criminals, the arch-act is
crime—the hue of the compositions is darker than the
darkest background of Rembrandt. And yet a prurient
morality—a morality bred in mawkishness and effemi-
nacy would depreciate these majestic originals, because
in holding up crime and criminals to abhorrence—be-
cause in delineating the woes and tribulations conse-
quent upon sin—because pourtraying the deformities of
iniquity and the agonies of remorse, they are suffused
with colours of an appropriate darkness—they should be
expunged or repudiated! Nay, the Westminster goes so
far as to say " how much:wonld have been softened by
Shakspere, even in the best of his tragedies, had they
been addressed to an educated audience of the nine-
teenth century!" We can only ejaculate with Dominic
Sampson, " Pro-digiousl—Pro-digiousl—Pro-digious!"
Of a verity this is, indeed, the self-sufficiency of the
nineteenth century! How much would Shakspere have
softened, say you? Had he softened one sentiment,
abated one iota of passion, refrained from the utterance
of one syllable, rejected the portraiture of one character
—be that character Parolles or Pompey Bum—it were
in truth an ineffable blessing that he lived in the barba-
rous days of Elizabeth, instead of the enlightened times of
Victoria. We like not this arrogance of generations. But
the Westminster can appreciate" Dombey and Son" to the
uttermost, if it fails in the admiration of " Lucretia." The
Reviewer arrives at the same conclusion which we have
repeatedly expressed during the last three or four
months, that " if we may judge of the work as a whole,
from the early numbers, Dombey and Son' is the best
of the productions of Dickens." In testimony of the
felicitous expression of sentiment by which this inirni
table genius is characterised, the writer transcribes the
entire scene of the death of Little Paul Dombey. Cu.
riously enough, however, he objects to the two last pas-
sages in that memorable chapter; in which two passages,
to our thinking, are contained the very quintessence of
its pathos. A dissertation upon metaphysicians follows
this introductory article, with especial reference to the
works of Hobbes, Locke, Law, Tucker, Butler, Hartley,
Paley, Priestley, Bentham, Mill, Hutcheson, Adam
smith, Reid, Beattie, Ferguson, Stewart, Brown, Leib-
nitz, Wolf, Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Jacobi. Many
acute and sensible remarks are uttered in the paper.
After a sort of preliminary lamentation upon the mourn-
ful multiplicity of guide-book, the Westminster rambles
pleasantly through " North Wales and the Lakes." Al-
luding to the poets generally associated with the latter
regions of Cumberland, the Reviewer makes the following
truthful observations:—
'"

OS. •••,
W••.... . •
" e firmly b(lieve that no set of men were ever " written
up " like the late poets. A very popular magazine—Black-
wood's—for a series of years, seemed to devote all its ener-
gies to this cause; its politics, decided as they were in sup
porting that faction whose every tenet has proved an error,
were held comparatively in abeyance before the engrossing
object of laker-laudation; in those, the palmy days of Black-
wood—the days of the Noctes Ambrosiatice"—every one
read, and every writer imitated and echoed, the Black-
woodian dicta, on matters of taste, so that laker-inudation
became a fashion. Wilson, himself a laker, and one of the
great prose-poets of the age, set the example, which crowds
were too glad to follow; so that, prolific were the pens of the
lakers, especially poor Southey's, their laudators were fifty-
fold more voluminous; and, if praise will ensure fame,
Southey may smile serene from the throne of state in the
temple of that goddess, surrounded by Wordsworth, Wilson,
and Coleridge, while Miltons, Shakperes, Byrons, and Cow-
pers are lingering about the portals, or losing their way in
some over-crowded corridor. But after all that has been or
shall be hereafter written in their praise or dispraise, there
is a test from which none can escape, and that is, fitness for
quotation. "As saith the poet," or words to that effect, are
perpetually recurring; and this, "saith the poet" is accom-
panied by a clear description from Cowper, a burning line
from Byron, a majestic thought from Milton, a nervous
couplet from Pope, a sweet allegory from Spenser, or a soul-
searching thought from Shakspere : it does not mean a
passage from Wilson or from Southey.
We never can comprehend how any true lover of poetry
can—br
breath
teuh utter theitphu tthiaenn
namesawmi
teh ootf
hi. We
mi
ll ti oan
Titans—themsCnoawk sphpe
homely
rmei
e,nlaynt hdweißt
hsyartmoh
nee
sublime. For we more than suspect Byron to have been
cpoorertercyt i saying
nn
his
life—al
h a Cowper
wt
ay
ssaving
nnge
andver wrote
exceptingtw twohislines
ex-
quisite verses on his mother's portrait. The next con-
tribution is an elaborate inquiry into the authorship of
the " Two Noble Kinsmen "—an inquiry as to how
much of that beautiful drama was Shakspere's, or how
much Fletcher's, or whether Shakspere in fact had (to
use a vulgar phrase) any finger in the pie. We have
always considered this question as tolerably well settled
by that significant sentence of Augustus William
Schlegel (see his " Lectures on Dramatic Literature,"
lee: xiii.)—" Amidst so many grounds for doubting, if I
might be allowed to hazard an opinion, I should say,
that I think I can perceive the mind of Shakspere in a
ceartain ideal purity, which distinguishes this piece
above all the other pieces of Fletcher." Coupling this
peculiarity with a variety of collateral circumstances,
the great German critic declares that he sees no reason

for 'Calling this copartnership in the production of the
" Two Noble Kinsmen "in question. About the " Sites
of Public Monuments " the review has a few pet va-
garies of its own. There has latterly been so much
parade about the erection of the colossal statue of " the
Duke," and there are so many effigies of the same
personage erected in the most incongruous and
preposterous localities, that his admirers really seem to
dread the realisation (in his regard) of the old adage,
" Out of sight out of mind." Shakspere has no na-
tional statue—but he wants none; Byron has not even
a bust in Westminster Abbey— but he wants none. They
may be so far "out of site," but happily they can never
be " out of mind." An essay on " Population," a summary
of the " Report on Lighthouses," and a very dangerous
and almost blasphemous review of the theological writ-
ings of "Straus and Parker," conclude the IVestminster.
In the department of the Foreign Quarterly we must ob-
serve that there is a comprehensive survey of foreign
literature during the last three months. The reviewers
congratulate the public of France on the evident decline
in the "quotidian fever of the Roman feuilleton." A
swarm of minor and miscellaneous criticisms are ap-
pended.

SELECTIONS IN PROSE AND POETRY.
Edited by John Bleaden.
Those who have ever, like ourselves, delighted in the
exquisite fragments from popular literature collected
by Mr. M'Diarmid, will welcome every successive pro-
duction of a similar character. The volume just pub-
lished by Mr. Bleaden is precisely of the description
which rendered the work of his predecessor so agreeable
—though we conceive the former might more correctly
have entitled his book " Selections in Poetry and Prose,"
seeing that the metrical quotations immeasurably exceed
the prose both in number and excellence. The editor
disclaims in his introductory preface any intention to
render the volume merely a vehicle for his own com-
positions ; yet those compositions are numerous, and
occasionally meritorious. Sometimes we observe that
the pieces are unaccompanied by the names of the
authors, possibly from a forgetfulness as to their pater-
nity : for example, at page 50, there is a charming little
sketch called " The Bride's-maid," which Mr. Bleaden
might as well have subscribed with the initials if not with
the full signature of Thomas Haines Bailey—the verses
having come from the pen of that clever lyrist. Instead,
again, of giving stanzas so hackneyed as the famous
" Burial of Sir John Moore," by Woolfe, or Shakspere's
apostrophe to " Mercy," or Moore's " She is far from
the land," or Scott's " Lines on a Tear," or Mrs.
Elemans's " Voice of Spring"—gems that are already
enshrined in the memory of almost everybody, and that,
consequently are superfluously repeated—we think it
would have been preferable and judicious to have intro-
duced others less familiar to the generality, taken for
example from partially forgotten poets, such as Cowley,
or Christopher Marlow, or George Herbert. Indeed,
we question whether it might not have been advisable to
have transcribed more largely from the productions of
living writers than from classics like Shakspere and
Moore, and Coleridge and Akenside, who are already
ranged upon the bookshelves. Of these latter poetical
authors there is assuredly no dearth. Alaric Watts,
the Brownings, husband and wife, Tennyson, Mother-
well, and Ebenezer Elliot. It is ungracious, however, to
make even these exceptions to the delightful volume
presented to the public by Air. Bleaden, affording us, as
it does, such a delectable banquet of dainties. As a re-
past of literary sweetmeats and poetical confections, the
book is both palateable and nutritious.

MURRAY'S HOME AND COLONIAL LI-
BRARY. Nos. XLIII. and XLIV. OMOO Parts
I. and 11, By Herman Melville.
So much were we charmed by the previous work of
this admirable American author, that we fear the liveli-
ness of our expectations of the present chapters has mi-
litated considerably against the impression which might
otherwise have been conveyed to our minds by " Ompo ;
or, Adventures in the South Seas." " Typee" certainly
took us by surprise ; it was a brilliant and fascinating
book from a previously unknown hand. It came upon
us with the freshness of a treasure discovered where one
was least expected. It has rendered the name of the
American sailor—" a sailor before the mast," be it ob-
served—Herman Melville, henceforth and for ever plea-
sant to our ears—a nacre associated with recollec-
tions such as tho genius of Defoe and the enter-
prise of Anson could have evoked. But " Omoo," like
many another sequal that could be mentioned, is nothing
in comparison with " Typee." " Typee" is as pure gold

to the lacquer of " Omoo." Yet " Omoo" is lively,
sparkling, humourous, conversational, diversified with
little episodes of ocean life and vivid descriptions of
southern scenery. As an example of the latter charac-
teristic, we tender the following pen-and-ink delineation
of the aspect of Otaheite :
‘, Otaheite is by far the most famous island in the South
tianrdaei efde
a,
tau
rveas rai el
et ya
alone
df
iceat
asge sa ihe
ha s
itm fromade itthael me
aorsrte
ac laads
isni cg.
s. Two round and lofty promontories, whose moun-
tgiSatrefunspa;rise nine thousand feet above the level of the ocean, are
connected by a low, narrow isthmus; the whole being some
one hundred miles in circuit From the great central peaks
of the larger peninsula—Orohena, Aorai, and Pirohitee—the
land radiates on all sides to the sea in sloping green ridges.
Between these are broad and shadowy valleys—in aspect,
each a Tempe—watered with fine streams, and thickly
wooded. Unlike many of the other islands, there extends
nearly all round Otaheite a belt of low, alluvial soil. teem-
ing with the richest vegetation. Here, chiefly, the natives
dwell.
" Seen from the sea, the prospect is magnificent. It is one
mass of shaded tints of green, from beach to mountain top;
endlessly diversified with valleys, ridges, glens, mild cascades.
Over the ridges, here and there, the loftier peaks fling their
shadows, and far down the valleys. At the head of these,
the water-falls flash out into the sunlight as if pouring
through vertical bowers of verdure. Such enchantment, too,
breathes over the whole, that it seems a fairy world, all fresh
and blooming from the hand of the Creator.
" Upon a near approach, the picture loses not its attrac-
tion. It is no exaggeration to say, that to a European of
any sensibility, who for the first time wanders back into these
valleys—away from the haunts of the natives—the ineffable
repose and beauty of the landscape is such, that every object
strikes him like something seen in a dream ; and for a time
he almost refuses to believe that scenes like these should have
a commonplace existence. No wonder that the French be-
stowed upon the island the appellation of the New Cytherea.
Often,' says De Bourgainville, I thought I was walking
in the Garden of Eden.'
" Nor, when first discovered, did the inhabitants of this
charming country at all diminish the wonder and admiration
of the voyager. Their physical beauty and amiable disposi-
tions harmonized completely with the softness of their clime.
In truth, every thing about them was calculated to awaken
the liveliest interest. Glance at their civil and religious in-
stitutions. To their king, divine rites were paid; while, for
poetry, their mythology rivalled that of ancient Greece.
" Of Otaheite, earlier and more full accounts were given,
than of any other island in Polynesia; and this is the reason
why it still retains so strong a hold on the sympathies of all
readers of South Sea voyages. The journals of its first visi-
tors, containing, as they did, such romantic descriptions of a
country and people before unheard of, produced a marked
sensation throughout Europe ; and when the first Otaheitans
were carried thither, Omai in London, and Aotooroo in Paris,
were carressed by nobles, scholars, and ladies."
From the peculiar interest which has been latterly ex-
cited in regard to this magnificent island, it may be
sbotphtyulaearnadt
ctsigheaffsunien,atrkhre
enortrge. many of our readers to peruse, the account
given by an eye-witness, of the French interference in
narrators,
very much
t alluded r
tso, Melville
that
al
te speaks
have
out
nepnsuocrr
plainly,
peogoaereeeh.g
egregiously
s hnleyo
egbiaurret
incon-
siderable do
extent upon the narrative of our American
voyager :
"It seems, that for some time ;back the French had been
making repeated ineffectual attempts to plant a Roman Ca-
tholic mission here. But, invariably treated with contumely,
they sometimes met with open violence ; and, in every case,
those directly concerned in the enterprise were ultimately
forced to depart. In one instance, two priests, Laval and
Caset, after enduring a series of persecutions, were set upon
by the natives, maltreated, and finally carried aboard a small
trading schooner, which eventually put them ashore at Wal-
lis Island—a savage place—some two thousand miles to the
westward.
" Now, that the resident English missionaries authorised
the banishment of these priests, is a fact undenied by them-
selves. I was also repeatedly informed, that by their inflam-
matory harangues they instigated the riots which preceded
the sailing of the schooner. At all events, it is certain that
their unbounded influence with the natives would easily have
enabled them to prevent everything that took place on this
occasion, had they felt so inclined.
" Melancholy as such an example of intolerance on the part
of Protestant missionaries must appear, it is not the only one,
and by no means the most flagrant, which might be pre-
sented. But I forbear to mention any others; since they
have been more than hinted-at by recent voyagers, and their
repetition here would, perhaps, be attended with no good
effect. Besides, the conduct of the Sandwich Island mis-
sionaries, in particular, has latterly much amended in this
respect.
" The treatment of the two priests formed the principal
ground (and the only justifiable one) upon which Du Petit
Thouars demanded satisfaction; and which subsequently led
to his seizure of the island. In addition to other things, he
also charged, that the flag of Merenhout, the consul, had
been repeatedly insulted, and the property of a certain French
resident violently appropriated by the Government. In the
latter instance, the natives were perfectly in the right. At
that time, the law against the traffic in ardent spirits (every
force
; am
andthn
finding u s
pa e
largende d
quantity
trevived)e happened
premises
eft o be
Victor,in
a low, knavish adventurer from Marseilles, the Otaheitians
pronounced it forfeit.
es
" For these, and similar alleged outrages, a large pecuniary
restitution was demanded (10,000 dolls.), which there being
no exchequer to supply, the island was forthwith seized,
under cover of a mock treaty, dictated to the chiefs on the
gun-deck of Du Petit Thouar's frigate. But notwithstanding
this formality, there now seems little doubt that the downfall
of the Poivarees was decided upon at the Tuilleries.
" After establishing the Protectorate, so called, the rear-
admiral sailed; leaving M. Bruat, governor, assisted by
Reine and Carpegne, civilians, named Members of
the Council of Government, and Merenhout, the consul,
now Commissioner Royal. No soldiers, however, were
landed until several months afterwards. As men,
Reine and Carpegne ware not disliked by the
natives; but Bruat and Merenhout they bitterly detested.
In several interviews with the poor Queen, the unfeeling
governor sought to terrify her into compliance with his
demands; clapping his hand upon his sword, shaking his fist
in her face, and swearing violently. Oh, King of a great
nation,' said Pomare, in her letter to Louis Philippe,
fetch away this man ; I and my people cannot endure his
evil doings. He is a shameless man.'
" Although the excitement among the natives did not
wholly subside upon the rear-admiral's departure, no overt
act of immediately followed. The Queen had fled to
Imeeo ; and the dissensions among the chiefs, together with
oufetohnepe some
people, as common
as wellpal
the ill-advised conduct of the missionaries, prevented a union
greatsanthoefirrQesuiesteanr:cueo.nfißdountttlyheroliedupon
body
the speedy interposition of England—a nation bound to them
by many ties, and whidi, more than once, had solemnly
guaranteed their independence.
"As for the missionaries, they openly defied the French
governor, childishly predicting fleets and armies from Britain.
But what is the welfare of a spot like Otaheite, to the mighty
interests of France and England? There was a remonstrance
on one side, and a reply on the other; and there the matter
rested. For once in their brawling lives, St. George and St.
Denis were hand and glove; and they were not going to
cross sabres about Otaheite.
During my stay upon the island, so far as I could see, there
was little to denote that any change had taken place in the
Government. Such laws as they had were administered the
same as ever; the missionaries went about unmolested, and
comparative tranquillity everywhere prevailed. Neverthe-
less, I sometimes heard the natives inveighing against the
French (no favourites, by-the-by, throughout Polynesia), and
bitterly regretting that the Queen had not, at the outset,
made a stand.
" In the house of the chief Adea, frequent discussions took
place, concerning the ability of the island to cope with the
French : the number of fighting men and muskets among the
natives were talked of, as well as the propriety of fortifying
several heights overlooking Papeetee. Imputing these
symptoms to the mere resentment of a recent outrage, and
not to any determined spirit of resistance, I little anticipated
the gallant, though useless warfare, so soon to follow my de-
parture.
"At a period subsequent to my first visit, the island, which
before was divided into nineteen districts, with a native chief
over each, in capacity of governor and judge, was, by Bruat,
divided into four. dyer these he set as many recreant chiefs,
Kitoti, Tati, Utamai, and Paraita ; to whom he paid 1,000
dolls. each, to secure their assistance in carrying out his evil
designs.
" The first blood shed, in any regular conflict, was at
Mahanar, upon the peninsula of Taraiboo. The fight
originated in the seizure of a number of women from the
shore, by men belonging to one of the French vessels of war.
In this affair, the islanders fought desperately, killing about
fifty of the enemy, and losing ninety of their own number.
The French sailors and marines, who, at the time, were
reported to be infuriated with liquor, gave no quarter; and
the survivors only saved themselves by fleeing to the moun-
tains. Subsequently, the battles of Hararparpi and Fararar
were fought, in which the invaders met with indifferent
success.
" Shortly after the engagement at Hararparpi, three
Frenchmen were waylaid in a pass of the valleys, and mur-
dered by the incensed natives. One was Lefevre, a notorious
scoundrel, and a spy, whom Bruat had sent to conduct a
certain Major Fergus (said to be a Pole) to the hiding-place
of four chiefs, whom the governor wished to seize and execute.
This circumstance violently inflamed the hostility of both
parties.
"About this time, Kitoti, a depraved chief, and the pliant
tool of Bruat, was induced by him to give a great feast in
the Vale of Paree, to which all his countrymen were invited.
The governor's object was to gain over all he could to his
interests; he supplied an abundance of wine and brandy,
and a scene of bestial intoxication was the natural conse-
quence. Before it came to this, however, several speeches
were made by the islanders. One of these, delivered by an
aged warrior, who had formerly been at the head of the
celebrated Aeorai Society, was characteristic. This is a very
good feast,' said the reeling old man, and the wine is also
very good; but you evil-minded Wee-`'Nees (French) and
you false-hearted men of Otaheite, are all very bad.'
"By the latest accounts, most of the islanders still refuse
to submit to the French ; and what tarn events may here-
after take it is hard to predict. At any rate, these disorders
must accelerate the final extinction of their race.
" Along with the few officers left by Du Petit Thouars, were
several French priests, for whose unobstructed exertions in
the dissemination of their faith, the strongest guarantees
were provided by an article of the treaty. But no one was
bound to offer them facilities, much less a luncheon, the firs;
day they went ashore. True, they had plenty of gold; but
to the natives it was anathema—taboo—and, for several hours
and some odd minutes, they would not touch it. Emissaries
of the Pope and the devil, as the strangers were considered—
the smell of sulphur hardly yet shaken out of their canonicals
—what islander would venture to jeopardise his soul, and
call down a blight upon his bread-fruit, by holding any in-
tercourse with them ? That morning the priests actually
picknicked in a grove of cocoa-nut trees; but, before night,
Christian hospitality—in exchange for a commercial equi-
valent of hard dollars—was given them in an adjoining
house.
" Wanting in civility, as the conduct of the English mis-
sionaries may be thought, in withholding a decent reception
to these persons, the latter were certainly to blame in
needlessly placing themselves in so unpleasant a predicament.
Under far better auspices, they might have settled upon some
one of the thousand unconverted isles of the Pacific, rather
than have forced themselves thus upon a people already pro-
fessedly Christians."
Although this sequel to the " Adventures in the Mar-
quesas" is comparatively defficient in romance and inci-
dent, it is agreably penned, and evidently written with
the utmost truthfulness. Altogether it is a great im-
provement upon the recent contributions to the " Home
and Colonial Library," and sustains, if it does not en-
hance, the literary reputation of Herman Melville.

KNIGHT'S MONTHLY VOLUME. Nos. IX. anci
X. The Philosophy of Health, Vol. 11. First and
Second Half. By Southwood Smith, M.D.
For the continuation of this masterly treatise upon the
physiological wonders of man, and for its publication in
so cheap and popular a form, we are indebted to the
originator of this admirable serial. The wood-engrav-
ings are sufficiently clear to illustrate the written deacrip-

tions. and sufficiently neat not to mar the appearance of
I the letterpress.

COURT CIRCULAR.
The Queen held a Priv,. Council at three o' clock on
Saturday afternoon, at Buckingham Palace. It was
attended by his Royal Highness Prince Albert, the
Marquis of Lansdowne, Lord President ; Lord Cotten-
ham, Lord Chancellor ; Lord John Russell, Fir,t Lord
of the Treasury ; Sir George Grey, Secretary of State
for the Home Department ; Viscount Palmerston,
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ; Earl Grey,
Secretary of State fo the Colonial Department ; Sir
Charles Wood, Chan Ilor of the Exchequer ; the Earl
of Auckland, First Lord of the Admiralty ; the Earl of
Clarendon, President of the Board of Trade ; the Mar-
quis of Clanricarde, Postmaster-General , Lord Camp-
, bell, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster ; Earl
Spencer, Lord Ch amberlain ; and the Duke of Norfolk,
Master of the Horse.
The Hon. William Bathurst was the Clerk of the
Council in Waiting.
The Queen gave audiences to Earl Spencer, the Mar-
quis of Lansdowne, and Lord John Russell.
The Court was attended by the Marquis of Anglesey,
Gold Stick in Waiting; the Earl of Morton, Lord in
Waiting; Lord Marcus Hill, Comptroller of the House-
hold, and Major the Hon. Robert Boyle, Groom in
Waiting.
Her Majesty and Prince Albert rode out on horse-
back on Saturday, attended by the Equeries in Waiting,
Major• General Wemyss and Captain the Hon. A. H.
Gordon.
Their Royal Ilighnesses Prince Alfred and the
Princess Alice, accompanied by the Dowager Lady Lyt-
telton took en airing on Saturday, in an open carriage
and four. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of
Wales and the Princess Royal took their accustomed
exercise in the Royal Gardens on Saturday.
The Royal children took their usual airings yesterday.
Her Majesty and Prince Albert, attended by the
Countess of Charlemont, Hon. Miss Kerr, Hon. Miss
Cavendish, Earl of Morton, and Major-General Wemyss,
honoured the performance of the Royal Italian Opera
with their presence ou Saturday evening.
Yesterday was the birthday of her Royal Highness
the Princess Alice.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent arrived
early at Buckingham Palace, to pay
a visit of congratu-
lation the Queen and Prince Albert.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge also paid
a congratulatory visit to her Majesty and her Royal
Consort.
The Queen and Prince Albert, the Ladies and Gen-
tlemen of the Court, and the domestic household, at-
tended Divine service yesterday in the private chapel
at Buckingham Palace. The Hon. and Rev. C. Leslie
Courtenay officiated.
Yesterday was the Birthday of Her Royal Highness
the Duchess of Gloucester. Her Majesty and Prince
Albert, accompanied by the Princess Alice, paid a visit
of congratulation to her Royal Highness at. Gloucester
House. The Royal Duchess also received visits of con-
gratulation from Her Majesty the Queen Dowager, her
Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, their Royal
Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and
his Serene Highness Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar.
During the day, many of the nobility and gentry
called at Gloucester House, and left their names for her
been fora
i fewvne daeysvi service
i
Royal Highness.
attendedaf Ds
The arrival of his Royal Highness the reigning Duke
of Saxe-Meiningen, who was expected yesterday at
HighnessMarlboroughthe House,
Duchess has
of
Ken tde
Her Majesty the Queen Dowager and her Royal
yesterday, in the Chapel Royal St. James's The
Prayers were read by the Rev. Dr. Wesley, and the
Lessons by the Rev. W. Hall. The Sermon was
preached by the Rev. Dr. Wesley. The anthem was
e
" The Lord is King " (Arnold).
Frances Lady Clinton and the Earl Howe were in
waiting on the Queen Dowager, and Lady Augusta
Bruce on the Duchess of Kent. The Duchesses of Beau-
fort and Sutherland, Ladies St. Germans and Palmer-
ston, the Duke of Beaufort, the Marquises of Anglesey,
Headfort, and Northampton, Lords Cawdor, St. Ger-
mans, Evelyn, Norreys, Palmerston, and Castlereagh,
were among the nobility present. _ _

The Duke of Wellington attended the early service in
the Chapel Royal, St. James's, yesterday. The Rev.
Dr. Wesley officiated, and preached the sermon.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent visited the
Queen Dowager yesterday, at Marlborough House.
Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge and the Princess Mary, attended by Baroness
Hammerstein, Baron Knesebeck, and Mr. Edmond Mild-
may, honoured her Majesty's Theatre with their pre-
sence on Saturday evening.
A Cabinet Council was held on Saturday afternoon
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, Earl of Auckland, Lord
Campbell, Sir John Hobhouse, Viscount Morpeth, the
Earl of Clarendon, the Right Hon. T. B. Macaulay, and
the Right Hon. H. Labouchere. The Council sat two
hours.

PRINTERS' PENSION SOCIETY.
The Second Amateur Dramatic Perforinance, for the
benefit of this deserving Society, took place at the Olympic
Theatre on Saturday evening.
The following address, written for the occasion by Mr.
Angus B. Reach—a gentleman already favourably known in
the lighter walks of literature—was delivered by Mr. Foster
previous to the comedy:—
' Last v ear we tried our fortune on the stage,
We played for woe-worn want and tottering age;
Our cause, and not our merits, made us bold,
We won your plaudits, and we gained your gold!
So now, once more, your favourite smile we claim,
Our drama different, but our end the same.
We're bolder, though, than when we tried our hand
In that dramatic band-box 'yclept ' The Strand.'*
Yet, in a cause like this, is it not well,
To pay an inch by asking for an ell ;
A growing webb demands a widened loon
Your spreading charity needs elbow room,
And changes so your natures, that e'en devils—
Printers', I mean—demand Olympic' revels.
Now_ to commence, then. (Looks at the play bill.) Here's

our bill of fare—
May all enjoy some savoury morsel there,
First comes the comedy ;—be its five acts,
To those who reap the produce, five great facts!
Bid our Poor Gentleman a loud " God speed,"
For, wanting your applause, he's poor indeed!
What's next? Our actors here will please I wot,
These failing—we can try those who are not.
You doubt ?—But in our play the mimic's art
Can even make the absent take a part.
Some moments more let joyous song and dance
Ring in the ear, and twinkle to the glance :
With Luke the Labourer to close the day,
A stirring, hearty, good old English play—
A play that cold indifference cannot brook,
One must be heated—not luke-warmed by "Luke 1"
I've done ! All ready ? (Looks off. Prompter nods.)
Of our venturous host,
Is every warrior fairly at his post? (Prompter nods again.)
'Tis well. (To wings.) Be bold, and think tho' but beginners,
Who on a night like this would be the sinners—
The hissed, or hissers? Why, of course, the latter:
What! Hiss the food from off a poor man's platter ?
Perish the thought Ring up at once! Begin 1
The course is clear ! My life upon't we win I"
After the address the evening's entertainment commenced
with Colman's Comedy of the Poor Gentleman, in which the
principal characters were well sustained by Messrs. Philp,
Hammond, German, Tompson, and Miss E. Lloyd and Mrs.
J. Furzman. It was followed by some excellent dancing by
pupils of Miss Gilbert, Messrs. Frampton and Flexmore ;
after which, Mr. Batter's delineations of Stage Passions and
imitation of London actors, met with deserving applause.
The evening concluded with Luke the Labourer. Great
praise is due to Mr. C. Hammond's Luke and to Mr. W.
Chitty's Philip. The part of Clara Wakefield, by Miss E.
Lloyd, was a clever piece of acting, and Jenny was admirably
personated by Miss Jane Coleman, a young lady of promis-
ing talent, who was deservedly encored in the duet with
Bobby Trott (Mr. T. Green). The house was crowded, and
therefore it is to be hoped that the Society's funds will be
largely benefited by the amateurs' generous exertions. His
Royal Highness Prince Albert (Patron of the Society) took
a private box on the occasion.
, • A performance, in aid of the funds of the same society,
took place last year at the Strand Theatre.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS.
(From the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Commons.)
FRIDAY, APRIL 23.
NOTICES GIVEN AT THE PRIVATE BILL-OFFICE.
RAIL.
The Committee of Selection have nominated the following
Select Committees on Railway Groups :
A Committee consisting of—Lord C. Wellesley (Chair-
man), Sir John Duckworth, Mr. Mainwaring, Colonel More,
and Lord E. Russell, to whom they have referred the Bills
comprised in Group No. 39, viz.:—
Hartlepool and Stockton Junction,
Wear Valley, Bishop Auckland and Weardale, Weardale
Extension, and Wear and Derwent Railways and Skildon

Tunnel Amalgamation,
Clarence Railway, and Leeds and Thirsk Amalgamation,
Leeds and Thirsk (Leeds, Durham, and Newcastle Exten-
sion, &c.)
Leeds and Thirsk (Eaglescliffe and Stillington Extension, &c.)
York and Newcastle (Pelaw Tyne Dock, &c., Branches),
York and Newcastle (Wearmouth Doak Enlargement),
York and Newcastle (Hartlepool Dock and Railway, &c.,
Purchase),
York and Newcastle (Main Line Improvement, &c.)
The Select Committee to meet on Tuesday, May 4, at half-
past twelve.
A Committee consisting of—Mr. Cripps (Chairman), Sir
John Trollope, Mr. Christie, Mr. Broadwood, and Mr. Muntz,
to whom they have referred the Bills comprised in Group
No. 49, viz.:—
Glasgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle, and Glasgow, Paisley, Kil-
marnock, and Ayr (No. 4),
Glasgow, Barrhead, and Neilston, and Glasgow Southern
Terminal Railways Amalgamation,
Caledonian and Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock Railways
Amalgamation,
Caledonian (Lease or Purchase of the Glasgow, Barrhead, and
Neilston Direct and Glasgow Southern Terminal Railways),
Caledonian (Purchase or Lease of Wishaw and Coltness),

Edinburgh and Glasgow,
Edinburgh and Glasgow (Monkland and Kirkintillock, Bal-
lockney and Slamannan Railways Amalgamation Sale or
Lease).
The Select Committee to meet on Tuesday, May 4, at one.

Select Committee on Group No. 48.

Mr. Stansield discharged ; Mr. Bond Cabbell selected, and
added to the Committee.

Select Committee on Group No. 22.
Mr. Bernal discharged; Mr. Drummond selected, and ap-
pointed Chairman of the Committee.
The Select Committees on Groups Nos. 15, 17, 19, 24, 26,
35, 44, and 52, will be selected from Panel No. 5, which will
be required to be in attendance during the week commencing
Monday, May 10.

PANEL No. V.

Mr. Alexander
Mr. H. J. Baillie

Mr. Balfour

Lord John Hallyburton
Mr. G. V. Harcourt

Captain H. Howard

Mr. Bernal Mr. B. Hughes
Mr. W. Beckett Mr. Hurst
Lord Henry Bentinck Mr. Hutt
Mr. I. Blackburne Hon. C. Lawless
Mr. S. Blackstone Major Layard
Captain Boldero Hon. J. P. Maxwell
Lord Ernest Bruce Mr. P. Miles
Mr. Buck Mr. Mitchell
Mr. Co!vile Sir C. Napier
Mr. Corbally Mr. Neville
Mr. S. Crawford Captain Pechell
Mr. B. Denison Sir R. Peel
Mr. Dennistoun Mr. Pinney
Mr. Dickinson Viscount Pollington
Sir H. Douglas Mr. Prime
Mr. Drax Lord Rendlesham
Mr. Du Pre Mr. H. Seymour
Sir J. B. East Mr. H. Stuart
Sir T. Esmonde Mr. M. Talbot
Mr. Finch Mr. Taylor
Hon. H. Fitzroy Hon. G. R. Trevor
Mr. Forbes Sir W. Verner
Mr. Forman Sir R. Vvvyan
Mr. M. Gore Mr. Waddington
Earl Grosvenor Marquis of Worcester.
Mr. Hale

SIR ROBERT PEEL AND THE
GERMAN PROTECTIONISTS.
It appears from the German papers, that when Dr,
List, the most prominent advocate of protection in
favour of the products of Germany, was in this coun-
try, during the last autumn, he addressed communica-
tions to Lord Palmerston and Sir Robert Peel, for the
purpose of procuring their concurrence in the views of
Dr. List in favour of protection. The answers by them
are stated to have been published in the German papers.
The following is that sent by Sir Robert Peel:—
" Drayton Manor, Aug. 22, 1846.
" Sir,—l beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of the letter
which you have addressed to me, and of the memorandum
which accompanied it.
" I thank you for this communication, and have given it
an attentive perusal.
" The sentiments which it expresses in favour of the policy
and reciprocal advantage of an intimate union between this
country and Germany have my cordial concurrence; a con-
currence as complete and unqualified as is my dissent from
your views as to the mode by which that intimate union can
be most effectually promoted.
" You are of opinion that England ought cheerfully to
acquiesce in the maintenance of high duties on the import
into Germany of the products of English industry, for the
purpose of benefiting the people of Germany, of conciliating
their good-will towards England, and of thus encouraging
amicable relations between the two countries.
I, on the contrary, ant of opinion that the people of
Germany will be benefited by freer access to the produce of
English industry in exchange for their own, that the good-
will to be purchased by denying that access will be the good-
will not of the people of Germany, but of comparatively a
very small portion of that people, either interested in the
manufactures with which English industry would compete,
or, labouring under erroneous impressions as to the prin-
ciples which ought to govern the commercial relations of
two great countries ; and that we shall be laying the best
foundation for reciprocal amity and for an intimate union be-
tween Great Britain,andtGermany by relaxing the restraints
on our commercial intercourse, and by the diminution, and
not the increase or the maintenance, of the present protec-
tive duties.
" You observe that views in favour of protection are at
present uppermost in the mind of the German public—that
it does not matter, with regard to the object of your memoir,
whether, such views are true or not; it matters only whether
they do exist or not.
" I must be permitted, with all due respect for your autho-
rity, to doubt the allegation that such views are uppermost
in the mind of the people of Germany; but if they are, I
totally dissent from your position, that it matters not whether
such views are or are not correct.
" If they prevail, and if they are not correct, they ought to
be combated by those who, as statesmen, conduct the public
councils in Germany, and, let me add, by those also who, as
writers on political economy and the commercial policy of
nations, undertake to enlighten the public mind, and to form
and direct the public opinion of their fellow-countrymen.
" I for one believe those views to be completely erroneous,
to be injurious to Germany, injurious to England, and im-
pediments to that intimate union which I wish to see estab-
lished and confirmed between two powerful nations whose
political interests are so nearly identical. lam bound, there-
fore, frankly to inform you that I cannot advise that acqui-
escerce in them on the part of the ruling authorities in this
country which it is the object of your memorandum to in-
culcate.—I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant,
" M. List, &C. " ROBERT PEEL."

SACRED HARMONIC SOCIETY.—Eiiiah is to be per-
formed at Exeter Hall, on Friday next, under Mendelssohn's
direction, being the last time it can be performed before he
leaves England. Staudigl will, on the occasion, support his
original character of Elijah.
MR. MACREADY'S RE-APPEARANCE AT THE
PRINCESS'S.—It is said that Mr. Maddox, the lessee of the
Princess's Theatre, has offered Mr. Macready an engagement
for twenty weeks of the next season, at 100 guineas per
week. His performance to be three times a week at stipu-
lated intervals.—Obserrer.
EXTRAORDINARY CASE.—A long investigation took
place before W. Carter, Esq., the coroner for Surrey, at the
Guildford Barge, Belvidere-road, Westminster-bridge, as to the
death of John Peterbridge, aged 58, who was alleged by his
Wil3 to have been seriously injured by mesmeric influence
under most extraordinary and novel circumstances. It
tuurrnreeyd, out, p however,
Dispensary,
thatf rotmh e the
deceasedevidence
d ie
died from
D r .
theAldei so n
of
in the
Surrey
I effects of dropsy and consumption. Verdict, " Natural
death."

•
THE “EDINBURGH REVIEW" AND
SIR FRANCIS HEAD.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Sru,—As the conduct or misconduct of a public servant
has always been considered by the British press as a subject-
worthy of fair investigation, I request that you will do me
the justice to insert the following brief exposure of some ac-
cusations which have lately appeared against me in a public
journal.
In the number of the Edinburgh Review which has just
been published, it is stated, that on Sir F. Head's retiring
from the administration of the Government of Upper Canada,
he " determined on traversing the United States in disguise ;"
and " that having reached the town of Waterton, in the cha-
racter of servant to Judge Jones, he chose to overact his
humble part so grossly as to excite suspicion, and conse-
quently provoke recognition."
In reply to the above, I deliberately declare that, on my
arrival at Waterton, as well as thioughout the whole of the
journey alluded to, my face was uncovered, that I Was
dressed in the blue cloak I had always worn at Toronto, un-
derneath which I wore my usual travelling dress.
During this journey Judge Jones openly and undisguisedly
treated me with the attention he had invariably shown me
at Toronto; and I pledge myself that, if appealed to, Judge
Jones, who is now at Toronto, will certify that the asserting
in the Edinburgh Review, that I travelled in disguise, and as
his servant, are, in every particular, untrue.
Having refuted an allegation which I.trust every man of
honour will feel it was due to my character to contradict,
I will now briefly expose a few other misstatements of minor
importance, which I certainly should not otherwise have
noticed.

I. It is stated in the Edinburgh Review, page 373. that
" Sir F.
F. Head now took a step which subjected him, and
we think justly, to the loudest censure from the citizens of
Toronto. He sent his own family on board a steamer in the
Lake. Now, though no one will be very hard on him for
showing such affection for his family, it must be recollected
that the other families in Toronto had no such means of
refuge."
The truth of the story is as follows :—On leaving Govern-
ment House, on the night of the rebellion, to take up my
position in the market-place, I conducted my family to the
house of her Majesty's Solicitor-General, where they re-
mained the whole night.
On the afternoon of the next day, the present Bishop of
Toronto recommended several families to go on board two
steamers, which were not in the Lake, but lying moored in
the harbour. They did so; and Lady Head and my daughter
sharing equally with them the accommodation, remained on
board one of these two crowded vessels until the Mayor of
Toronto, accompanied by several of the principal citizens,
far from entertaining the feelings described, came alongside
to congratulate them " loudly" on the defeat of the rebels.
The Bishop of Toronto, and the principal families residing in
that city, if appealed to, will, I am sure, certify that the above
statement is correct ; and that the assertion in the Edinburgh
Review, that " the other families in Toronto had no such
means of refuge" as I procured for my own, is perfectly
untrue.
Besides which, independent of my own personal feelings, I
surely need hardly observe what political importance would
have been attached by the rebels to the capture by them of
any member of my family.
2. It is stated in the Edinburgh Review, page 363, and sub-
sequently reiterated, that Sir Robert Peel " repelled all Sir
Francis Head's attempts at intimacy," " nor would he take
any step in the way of giving Sir Francis that reward
for his services which the latter most urgently pressed on
him."

The facts of this case are as follow :—On ray return from
Canada I was living in Warwickshire, in my usual retire-
ment, when Sir Robert Peel did me the honour to call upon
me ; and, at his invitation, I twice spent a few days at Dray-
ton. This slight acquaintance, however, sickened and died
in consequence, I suppose, of my having opposed the Parlia-
mentary course which Sir Robert Peel telt it his duty to take
with respect to the Canada Union Bill.
After he had been Prime Minister upwards of a year, I,
one day, briefly mentioned to him that as, at the request of
the Government, I had given up a permanent appointment
to go to Canada, as I had received, during the present reign,
no acknowledgment whatever, pecuniary or honorary, for the
part I had taken in suppressing the rebellion in Canada, as
well as in repelling the invasion of the Americans, and as a
long list of officers who had served under me had been re-
warded, I conceived I had some claim upon the country. In
reply to which, Sir Robert Peel very courteously recom-
mended me to put my ease into writing and to address it to
her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies.
I never did so—never again troubled Sir Robert Peel with
any request for myself, and never, either before or after-
wards, asked anything from Lord Stanley. If these gentle-
men be appealed to, they will, I feel confident, declare that
the assertions of the Edinburgh Review, as above quoted, are
incorrect.
3. It is stated in the Edinburgh Review, page 369 :
" For the information of readers at home, it may be as well
that we should give a succinct narrative of the circumstances
that attended M'Kenzie's attack on Toronto. Our know-
ledge of such facts as are net taken from the official accounts
has been derived from written statements given to us by
Colonel F."
For about eight pages these " statements" are quoted at
tedious length, in order to blame me in every possible way
for not having attacked Mr. M'Kenzie, &c„ &c., &c., accord-
ing to the advice of this officer.
It is, therefore, necessary that I should disabuse the public
by reluctantly stating, what is perfectly well known
throughout Upper Canada, namely, that the gallant militia
Colonel in question, from excessive zeal and loyalty,
gradually became so excited that on the day after the defeat of
the rebels it was necessary to place him under medical
treatment ; that during his illness I in vain endeavoured,
by every possible act of personal kindness, to remove
from his mind a strange idea that I was his enemy ;
and that although he eventually recovered, this idea conti-
nued to haunt him so incessantly that when, a year after-
wards, on his visiting England, I was from feelings of regard
about to call upon him, I was earnestly warned by a Cana-
dian now at Toronto not to do so.
Now is it creditable that under such circumstances the
"written statements" and opinions of this brave and worthy
individual should have been selected as the foundation of an
elaborate attack upon me ?
4. It is stated in the Edinburgh Review, page 382, " That
having quarrelled with Colonel F. and every independent
person who had once acted under him—have disgusted the
old officers of the army and navy by ordering them to serve
as privates under the lawyers and merchants' clerks of
Toronto, Sir F. Head was entirely in the hands of the family
compact.' Commissions in the militia were given to every
relation and hanger-on of the principal members of the Go-
vernment. One regiment is said to have been entirely offi-
cered by persons of the same family name. Profitable con-
tracts enriched others of the favoured connexion."
Now, I never for a moment quarrelled with Colonel F. On
the contrary, on my arrival in Downing-street from Canada
I respectfully, but most earnestly, urged Lord Glenelg to
reward him ; and, as regards the rest of the charge, I feel
confident that if appealed to, the old officers of the army
and navy, as well as the Adjutant-General of the militia of
Upper Canada, who was officially cognisant of every appoint-
ment, will certify that the above assertions in the Edinburgh
Review, especially that relating to a regiment having been
entirely officered by persons of the same family name, are a
series of untruths.
Now, it will naturally be asked, " From what source has
the Edinburgh Review ventured to assail the character of a
retired public servant by a series of such unfounded asser-
tions?" The writer of these calumnies solves this mystery
himself.
After, in page 361, describing the ringleaders of the rebels
as " the popular leaders," and the gallant men who defeated
them as "the illiberal party," he says (see page 380), "the
American Sutherland, who was one of the leaders of the ex-
pedition to Navy Island, when subsequently a prisoner at
Quebec, gave the writer of this article the following account
of the affair of Navy Island, of which, as misrepresentation
could not in any way serve him, there is no reason to doubt
the correctness. In all its main points it was exactly corro-
borated by a statement which an informant of ours received
from Van Ransalaer, Sutherland, and about twenty-three
others."
New, Sutherland I committed to gaol at Toronto before
"the writer of this article" visited him when under sentence
of transportation ; " he was a prisoner at Quebec," and Van
Ransalaer for nearly a year had been lying in the gaol of
Albany, in the United States 1
How many of the " twenty-three other persons" whom
"the writer of this article" cites in evidence against me were
convicted traitors whose projects I had defeated and whose
prospects I had ruined, he has not deemed it advisable to
state. He only informs us that as they " exactly corrobo-
rated" the statements of Van Ransalaer and Sutherland,
"there is no reason to doubt the correctness."
In the strange admixture of impersonal testimony, of ano-
nymous witnesses, of evidence collected from gaols, of special
pleading, and of total disregard of truth and decency which
characterise the article before us, the British public will, no
doubt, at once recognise the old materials of that unfortu-
nate mass, or rather mess, of mis-statements, commonly
called "Lord Durham's Report."—l am, Sir, your obedient
servant, F. B. HEAD.
Athenaeum, April 24, 1847.

BRISTOL SUGAR MARKET, ArRIL 23.—We have
no new features to notice in our sugar-market, which con-
tinues extremely dull, and prices are again lower.—Bristol
Mercury.
THE SMITHFIELD NUISANCE.—MT. Ormsby Gore
gave notice on Friday that he would nominate on Tuesday
the following members on the Select Committee respecting
Smithfield Market. It will be seen that the city interests
have been particularly consulted in the selection of Mr. W.
B. Baring, Mr. Thomas Baring, Alderman Copeland, and
Mr. Masterman. The following is a list of the proposed
committee :—Mr. Ormsby Gore, the Right Hon. Viscount
Morpeth, Viscount Mahon, Lord Seymour, the Right Hon.
W. B. Baring, Right Hon. Sidney Herbert, Hon. Eliot T.
Yorke, Mr. Thomas Baring, Mr. Bratuston, Mr. Burroughes,
Alderman Copeland, Mr. Beckett Denison, Mr. Masterman,
Mr. W. Miles, and Mr. A. Stafford O'Brien.
SINGULAR AFFAIR IN HIGH LIFE. On Satur-
day information was received at the head station of the D or
Maryleboee division, in Marylebone-lane, and was from
thence circulated throughout the different divisions of both
the Metropolitan and City police, of the following singular
imposition and robbery having been committed upon a lady
of rank residing at the West-end :—The name of the lady or
her title has not been permitted publicly to transpire, but the
particulars circulated by the police state, that a day or two
before, between the hours of eleven and twelve o'clock in the
forenoon, a Frenchman, fashionably-dressed, drove up in a cab
to the door of a residence in Portman-square, during the tem-
porary absence from home of the owner, and by representing
to the servant that he came from a friend of the noble owner's
g
residing in Eaton-square, he succeeded in obtain' an in-
terview with the lady of the house. What was hisnalleged
object in doing so, or what took place at the interview, has
not been made publicly known, beyond the fact that he by
some means or other induced the lady to deliver to him two
gold watches, a gold guard-chain, with a gold watch-key
attached, and a shawl of the value of upwards of 501., with
also 151. in money, the lady receiving from him in exchange
an enamelled gold watch, warranted perfect, and a gold chain
and key, very inferior articles, and of trifling value ; after
which he politely bowed himself out of the house. The
Frenchman is described as being about five feet seven or eight
inches high, from 35 to 40 years of age, of florid complexion,
can speak several languages, and is of very 1 ausibl em manners.
He He gave the name of Manley to the servant who attended
him when he entered the house, but to the lady he signed it
F. Delan." The police are aware that an individual an-
swering the description recently obtained 201. from a Spanish
gentleman by a similar trick.
DEATH OF LADY ALICIA GORDON —We have to
announce the demise of the above lady, which took place on
Saturday morning, at her residence in Hertford-street, May-
fair. Her ladyship was born in 1788, and was only daughter
of the late, and sister of the present, Earl of Aberdeen. The
deceased lady was for many years Lady of the Bedchamber
to her late Royal Highness the Princess Sophia Matilda.
Mr. Greg, and a deputation, had an interview with Sir
George Grey, on Saturday. The Earl of Devon bad
also an interview with the Right Hon. Baronet.
A deputation from Rochdale, consisting of Mr. Shar-
man Crawford, Mr. Thomas Livesey (chairman of the
board of guardians), and Mr. William Roberts (clerk),
had an interview with Sir George Grey on Saturday at
the Home Office.

I SPORTING INTELL/ONC,E.
CHESTER RACES.
The following horst's, besides many others, were expected
to reach Chester by Sunday evening :
Alival, the Dart, T'Auld Squire, Jovial, Elemi, Lord George,
Gwalior, Lord Saltoun, Inheritress, Annandale, the Emerald
Isle, the Magnet, Blackie, Godfrey, Pinkeclkindess, Boynton,
Deloraine, St. Leon, Susannah, Tribute, Philip, Abdiel, Pre-
mier (3 yrs old), Sir Martin, Vanish, Kismet, the Stinger,
Burlesque, Claribal, the Cur, Sweetmeat, Miles's Boy,
Moonlight, Princess Alice, the Lamb, Beverlace, Miss Norton,
Restoration, Curb-Chain, St. Lawrence, So Nice, Farthing
Candle, Miss Burns, Mendicant, Bourton, Adminis-
trator, Chertsey, Lady Mary, Montpensier, Camera
Obscure, Winchester, Sagacity, Swallow, Nerissa, Plaudit,
Dulcet, Watchdog, Queen of the Tyne, Banana, Arthur,
Sylvanus, Emigrant, Maid of Lyme, Pal, Mermaid, Flahow..
lagh, Clermont, Mickey Free, Horn of Chase, Erin-go-bragh,
five or six of Lord Chesterfield's, &c.
The Assembly-room at the Royal Hotel will be opened es
a Subscription Betting Room during the races, and for this
purpose will be found one of the most convenient in the
kingdom. The course, which has been much improved since
last year, is represented to be in good order, and the meeting,
should the weather continue favourable, promises to be a
brilliant one
LATEST BETTING AT THE WEST END.

CHESTER Cup,
7 to 1 agst Dulcet 20 to 1 ago.. Clermont—taken
7 to 1 agst 111 endican kz
t ,:d aft. off.
12 to 1 agst The Lamb—takeni_o to 1 agst
StErhi-go- B
and aft. olf. 25 to 1 agst . Laurenceragh t
t 8 to 1 agst Newcourt—takvn;2s to 1 agst Mickey' Free
20 to 1 agst Camera Obscura ;25 to 1 agst InheritreAs
'25 to agst Annandale
THE CHESTER Cur DAY.—Some misconception having
arisen with regard to a proposed special train from the
Euston-square station to Chester on the Cup day, it will be
as well to mention that nothing has yet been determined;
should the directors resolve on starting on:, it will in
all
probability leave at six in the morning.
DURHAM RACES.—FRIDAY.
The Two Years Old Stakes of 10 guineas each, wit,
20 so's.
added ; colts, Bst 31b ; and fillies, Bst. Three qua:ters of a
mile. (4 Subs.)
Mr. B. Green's Miss Margrave ... (W. Oates) I
Sir. R. Hesseltine's Doll
Captain Boyd's Sybil 3
4
3 ••:...
Captain Pott's Jealous
_ _ _

Won by half a length.
The Cup Stakes oflo guineas each, 3 yrs old, Est I.olb ; 4 yrs,
Bst 31b; 5 yrs, Bst 10lb ; 6 yrs and aged, 9st; mares and
geldings allowed 31bs. Two miles. (5 Subs.)
Mr. Ewbank's Louisa Newall, 3 yrs. (Longataff) 0 1
Mr. W. Cranston's Comme it faut, 3 yrs 0 2
Mr. Bell's Quadruped, 4 yrs
Mr. Jaques's Nell Cook, 4 yrs
Mr. Johnstone's Calista, 4 yrs
6to 4 agst Louisa and 6to 4 agst Comme it Faut. A fate
race ended in a dead heat between the favourite.
Deciding heat.—Even betting. Won on the post by a
head.
The Selling Stakes of 3 soya. each, p p, with 25 added ; 3
yrs old, Bst; 4 yrs, 9st; 5 yrs, 9st 61b; &c. Heats, one
mile and a quarter.
Mr. Ewbank's The Helmsman, 5 yrs ...... (Bumby) 0 1 1
Mr. Jaques's Nell Cook, 4 yrs, Est 111 b..
Mr. Spearman nd bf, by Inheritor, 3 yrs, sst 111 b 3 2 3
Mr. Dawson's Pleasure Trip, 4 yrs, Est 111 b
Mr. Dawson's Tribute, 3 yrs, Est
Mr. Kitching's Lucy, 5 yrs, ist 101 b 0 dr
Three well contested heats.
(RECEIVED THIS DAY.)
CHESTER, SUNDAY EVENING.
Arrivals since our last :—Evenus, Jolly Beggar, Muter
Downes, Pantasa, Morocco, Dipthong, Mermaid, Glen Sad-
dell, Naworth, Buckstone, Patriot., Tom Tough, Rowland,
Bruce, Cheapside, Bannockburn, Lady Lurewell, Enchantress,
Sir Tatton Sykes, Regalia, Pam, Newcourt, Lady Wildair,
Woodpecker, Clumsy, Jenny Wren, Cherry, Headsman,
Agnes, Fair Rosamond, Pic The, Wolfdog, Infringe, Golden
Bee, Spithead, Elizabeth Sharston, Hooton, Osprey, Mar-
low, Foreclosure, Free Lance, Alliance, Trojan, June, Brown
Fly, Yellow Rose, Smuggler Bill, Hawkstone, Congress.
Arachne filly, Tommy Moore, c by Tory Boy out of Manuel
Otz.—No betting.