The Sun.
London, England, 1870-02-14 00:00:00

METROPOLITAN GOSSIP—Feb. 12.

Vary alarming rumours have prevailed during the lass
day or two respecting Mr. Bright. Ido not care to repeat
ill that is said, but I fear there is no doubt that he is
hors de combat, and that during the present session he will
'tot be able to give any assistance to his colleagues—a sore
disappointment to anyone so intensely interested as
he is in Irish legislation. He has been
ailing for some time, but refused to see any
medical man until the Queen herself besought him.to do
so. Absolute rest is now prescribed. He wished to go to
Scotland, but it was held that so long a journey would be
most prejudicial, especially in such weather as this. In
order to avoid the numerous inquiries which were being
made at his houso in Hanover-street, he was taken to.Nor-
wood, and will go thence to Brighton.
Everyone is noticing the extraordinary coincidence by

which so many of our public men are laid up at the same
time. In addition to Mr. Bright, there are Lord Granville,
Lord Clarendon, Mr. Disraeli and Sir Robert Collier, all
on the list of ill or wounded, and Sir John Coleridge has
had a narrow escape of being added to the list. Almost at
the very time that the Attorney-General was being shot
the Solicitor-General was nearly thrown out of a carriage.
Lord Cairns is leaving England for Mentone, where he
will remain until Easter. He came over merely to be pre-
sent at the opening of Parliament, and to shew himself as
leader. He is not likely to be wanted this side of Easter,
and he has some very heavy judicial work on hand, con-
nected, I believe, with the Judicial Commission, which he
is anxious to complete, free from the distractions of Lon-
don and political life.
There is a weekly paper published here called Latest
News, belonging, I believe, to Mr.Maddick, the advertising
agent, and edited by Mr. Tom Hood, the editor of Fan.
In its number of to-day it makes a very conspicuous
announcement, which after interpreting the involved peri-
phrasis which is thought proper on such occasions, amounts
to this, that the Queen is going to marry a certain Dane-
• German Duke who has been much over here lately.
Mr. Hood must bear the responsibility of the announce-
menoNo one else that I have seen knows anything about it.
The fashionable world is greatly interested by the an-
nouncement that the recently-widowed Marchioness of
Hastings is to be married to Sir George Chetwynd. The
Marchioness is about 25; her very youthful fiancé is not
yet of age. The Marchioness has made it a condition of
marriage that her future husband will pledge himself to
have nothing to do with the turf. This is not an unnatural
condition, considering her ladyship's past experience,
and it is the more prudent because Sir George has already
taken an active interest in matters equine, and, being a
youth of very considerable wealth, would be a very plump
pigeon for the pluckers.
Captain Batchelor, formerly proprietor of the now
defunct Glowworm newspaper, is going to be the lessee of
new theatre in Sloane Square, Chelsea. It is to
be hoped that this building will have a more fortunate
history than that in which the gallant captain's last enter-
prise was established. It had been a shop, then it was the
office of the paper whose title very aptly described it :
then, when that paper was transferred to Mr. Beeton, a
short time before its feeble light was extinguished, it was
opened as a sporting house, called after the ex-Conservative
leader and sport3man,theßentinek ; and then,when Mr. Bruce
made his raid upon the betting-houses, it was once more
closed. It is now being converted into a thCatre. Mr. Horace
'Wigan has taken the Holborn Theatre, which Mr. Barry
Sullivan found so unfortunate a speculation. It is to be
hoped that there will be no occasion for the former
gentleman to be grateful to the munificent lady who
paid the losses of the latter gentleman to the sum of five
figures.

Your readers are aware that under Mr. Forster's En-
dowed Schools Act of last session, three commissioners,
Lord Lyttleton, Canon Robinson, and Mr Arthur Hob-
house, Q.C., were appointed to carry out the in-
tentions of the Act, and see that school endow-
in?nts are properly applied. An association
has now been formed, in order to obtain for
girls a larger share in the endowments than they
have hitherto enjoyed. The association feels that thero is
little chance of women obtaining any considerable portion
of the school endowments which have hitherto been appro-
priated to boys, however clearly it may be proved that the
original purpose was to give them to both sexes. The
association rather hopes to have some of the charitable
doles, marriage portions, and other mischievous kinds of
charity diverted from their at present noxious use, to the
high purposes of education. The committee consists
of Mrs. Bruce (wife of tho Home Secretary) Miss Clough,
Miss Bostock, Miss Davies (who has taken so active a part
in the establishment of the Ladies' College at Hitchin),
Miss Smedley, Miss Bonham Carter (the Secretary), Mr.
Bryce, and Mr. Fitch, late assistant commissioners to
the Royal Commissioners on Education, Mr. Herbert
(one of the authors of "Religious Republics")
Mr. Gorst, late M.P. for Cambridge, and Mr. Green.
It is probable that the subiect will be brought prominently
forward very shortly, amtliOt of alt to Y oricsniro, wnere
there are a number of useless and hurtful charities.
Mr. Crampton, late a partner in the well known and
unfortunate firm of Peto, Betts, and Crampton, has lately
made a very valuable discovery. He finds that he can make
use of the very smallest coal dust in the smelting of iron,
and he has constructed furnaces at Woolwich Arsenal,where
this process is being carried on most successfully. The
result is, that material which was looked upon as waste,
and was treated as such at all the pits, is now having a
commercial value, and at the same time Mr. Crampton is
doing something towards solving the problem with which
Professor Jevons startled us a little while ago—How are.
we to prevent the approaching exhaustion of our coal-
beds?

Mr. Jeafferson's "Book about the Clergy" is already
going into a second edition. The very favourabla review
of it in the Tiazds was, I believe, written by Dr. Dasent.
Mr. Tennyson had intended to call his new
book " Sir Perceval." It has been written for
some years. Mr. Horne, author of " Orion," has
returned to En;land after siiinteen years rambliing
in Australia, and is lecturing at St. George's Hall on
Sundays, and has brought out saiiiw editionof his tragedy.
" The Death of Marlowe." There are several additional
passages, but the whole of the original matter is retained.

We regret to announce another death from the
effects of the recent colliery accident at Pendleton. The
number of deaths now amount to mine.

Mr. Heron, who was defeated by O'Donovan
Rossa, has issued his address to the electors of Tipperary.
He advocates fixity of tenure, denominational education, and
an amnesty to the Fenian prisoners.

An Indiana newspaper asserts that an Indian is at
present officiating in that State as a Methodist minister,
and that after his sermon he regularly dismisses his congre-
gation by giving the war-whoop and executing a scalp-
dance.

Mr. George Hogarth, for many years well known
in connection with the London newspaper press, and as
the author of several popular works on music (Memoirs
of the Opera, Musical Biography and Criticism, &c.),
died on Saturday morning, having passed his 86th year.
In his early life Mr. Hogarth was a Writer to the Signet
at Edinburgh, where ho was much associated with the
literary celebrities of the day, including Sir Walter
Scott, Lockhart, ete., mention being made of him in Pro-
fessor Wilson's "Noctes Ambrosiane3." In 1830 be came
to London, and was engaged on the Morning Chronicle
as a writer both on political and musical subjects; and
was afterwards appointed musical critic to the Daily
News on the establishment of this paper in 1841;, under
the then editorship of his son-in-law, Mr. Charles
Dickens. This office Mr. Hogarth assiduously fulfilled
until his failing health led, iu 1866, to Lis resignation
and retirement from the active work of a daily paper.
He also held for many years a similar appointment on
the Illustrated London News, besides having contrilruted
to magazines and periodicals, and edited various works,
both musical and literary. For a few seasons Mr.
Hogarth was secretary to the Philharmonic Society. He
married a daughter of the late Mr. George Thomson, of
Edinburgh, whose name is associated with that of Beeth-
oven, by the commission which he gave to the composer
for arrangements of Scotch and other national airs with
'accompaniments. The kindly nature and genial tempera-
ruent of the late Mr. Hogarth rendered him universally
.iked and esteemed.