The Sun.
London, England, 1846-03-18 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

. .
Verdi's opera of Ernani, was represented last evening
for the purpose of introducing three new aspirants for
public favour to an English audience. They were
Madame Pasini, who took the part of Elvira ; Signor
Castigliano, who appeared as Ernani ; and Signor Ben-
chich, who was the Don Carlos. Madame Pasini is a
pure soprano, with a roice of somewhat high register,
and rather thin in quality. It has, however, been
well regulated, and her acting is impassioned. She is
moreover, a good musician; and in theconcerted piecesshe
was very good, her upper notes telling with great effect.
Signor Castigliano is a tenor, a pure tenor, a roce di
petto. Throughout the opera he never uttered a falsetto
note. Ile possesses considerable power ; and if he did
not occasionally sing in his throat, he might take the
highest rank in his profession. Tbis throaty-singing
however, is perhaps attributable to the nervousness in-
separable from a first appearance. It was moat con-
spicuous in the first act, but he gained con-
fidence as be went on ; and it was not
at all perceptible towards the conclusion of
the opera. The splendid concluding trio, " Ferns
crudele estinguere," was magnificenqy given by
Pasini, Signor Castiglione, and Fornasari, and was en-
thusiastically encored. Signor Benchich is a barytone
of great purity and power; his singing left nothing to
be desired, and if his action were a little less exuberant,
and his poses not quite so angular, he would be
as good an actor as he is a singer. As
it is, he is a great acquisition to the company.
Fornasari's Buy Gomez was superb ; that tremulousness
of voice, of which some' hypercritic& have (in our
opinion most unjustly) complained was in this character
a help towards perfection; it was the tremulousness of
a strongly-excited, madly-impassioned old man ; and
never has the union of old age with intense passion
been more brilliantly exhibited than it was by Fornasari
last evening. His Buy Gomez is a perfect triumph of
art—it is equal to , the Lear of John Kemble.
The fine chorusses were beautifully given, and full jus-
tice was done to the fine accompaniments by the or-
chestra, under the judicious superintendence of Bale,
who entered thoroughly into the spirit of the music, and
who supported the singers, and worked in the lights and
shadows (as it were) of the picture, by means of the in-
strumental accompaniments, as only one can do who has
himself been a dramatic singer, and, therefore, practically
understands where the accompaniment is to be subdued
and wererbrought out in full force, so as to produce the
greatest effect as a whole. Nothing could be more
musician-like than the manner in which Balfe conducted
this opera. Pasini, Castiglione, and Fornasari were
called for at the fall of the curtain, and received the
usual homage. The delightful ballet of Catarina, with
Lucile Grahn as the heroine, and Louise Taglioni as the
modele concluded the performances. The house was
crowded with the elite of the beau monde.

DEPARTURE of FOREIGN MAILS.

T'OST •OFFICE NOTICE.

On Tuesday the ioNwing notice relative to the departure
of the next foreign mails was posted at the chief office, St.
Martin's-le-Grand:—

Peninsular Mails.—The next mils for Vigo, Oporto, Cadiz,
Lisbon, Gibraltar, Spain, and Portugal, will be dispatched
on the morning of the 27th instant.
Mails for India and China.—The next mails for Gibraltar,
Malta, Greece, the lonian Islands, Egypt, India, and China,
rid Southampton, will be dispatched on the morning of the
20th instant.

The Achilles, for the Mediterranean, India, China, Sze.,
mails of the morning of the 20th instant.
Mails for India and China rid Marseilles.—The next mails
for the Mediterranean, Egypt, Ceylon, India, and China, will
be dispatched on the evening of the 24th instant.
West Indies, &c.—The next mails for the British and
foreign colonies in the West Indies (except Bermuda) Vene-
zuela and Madeira.
Sydney and New South Wales.—The next mails Fill be
dispatched on the evening of the 31st.
America.—The Caledonia for the mails of the evenieg of
the 3d of April.
Madeira, Brazil, and Buenos Ayres.—The next mails yeill
be dispatched vn the evening of the 7th of April; from,
August to January the packet touches at Pernambuco. wad
Bahia on her outward passage to Rio de Janeiro, and the
other six months on her homeward.
_ _ _

Valparaiso.—A mail will be made up for Valparaiso, to be
forwarded by her Majesty's ship Calypso ; all letters in-
tended to be forwarded must be addressed " By H.M.S. Ca-
lypso," and will be liable to the packet rate of postage of
not exceeding half an ounce; newspapers will be liable to
rate of 2d.

ACCIDENT ON THE SOUTH-WESTERN RAILWAY.-
0 nlionday afternoon an accident occurred on this line, which might
have been attended with the most fatal results. It appears that the,
one o'clock down goods train left the station at Woking half an hour
before the three o'clock fast train was due. About three miles from;
Woking the goods train was unable to proceed, owing to the strong
wind that was blowing ; indeed the guards say it blew a perfect hur-
ricane which entirely impeded the progress of the train, vast as was.
its weight and bulk. The conductor of the engine of the fast train
tthrea
engine,i ran
observingintoit,
alalthough
sg ita
eras
e)
broadby thedaylight, conductoriid
many of whom, by the violence of the
qourittehdelsga°°bledds
ex-
cited amongst the passengers,
• from their seats, and received some severe in.-
rendering it unfit for farther service. Considerable alarm was
collision, were thrown
juries. Fortunately no lives were lost, which was rather wonderful,
considering the serious nature of the accident. The stokers acct
drivers of both engines escaped unhurt. A pilot engine was dis.,
patched from Woking to remove the disabled engine to that station,
and after a delay of upwards of an hour, the passenger train pro-
ceeded on its journey, all the passengers being very thankful for their
providential escape.
THE LATE MURDER IN ST. LURE'S.—On Tuesday
Mr. Bakt'r held an inquest at the Cumberland's Head, City-road,
on the body of Mary Murray, who died from the effects of injuries
received at the Lands of a labourer named Martin Jennings, new in
custody on the charge of murder. A great number of witnesses
were examined, but as their evidence applied only to facts which
have already appeared, it is unnecessary to repeat it. The following
additional facts were elicited at the inquest :—Sarah Angelina
Hewett, of George-yard, said that she heard on the morning in
Martin, don't murder me." That
question a loud cry of " Martin,
occurred whilst witness was in bed. She heard something like a fall
under her window. Some time after she heard a person say, " Tho
police are coming, the woman is dead." About fifteen minutes

elapsed from the commencement to the end of the airray,
John Waldron said that he saw Jennings take hold of de-
ceased by the hair of the head, and then strike her witb
his fist or hand on the face. Witness then laid hold of the cellar Of
Jennings, and pulled him from the deceased. Mr. John Courtney.,
surgeon, of 5, Finsbury-terrace, said that he had made a post moriena
examination of the body of deceased. On removing the covering of
the skull a small bruise presented itself ou the frontal bone, over the
vascular
ean of
otihdem.baryrain . -eit-asy
right eye. The vessels of the brain were gorged with blood. At
least two ounces of blood were effused into the base of the brain,
laineald tehj,e'elxdedeepdt°thanttihtevi,s-apsinralatherr more
d.The
N.
the Coronei—l believe that the deceased died from the effusion of
blood on the bra;e. The effusion was so general, that I could not
cot hues
ebellouwens
td etshcerireob end,
tboyg
etthh eerwt,i fint
he s stehse,
flair:
adr
t.e theil norta,teproof
trace it to any partlchLer vessel having been ruptured. By a juror—
-1 tb
dotedexcitementtnkthtahtiaeffusion. Mere excitement might have caused the samet•
miichlef ; but as there were blows administered, it is quite likely that
they pre aced it. The jury returned a verdict of "Manslaughter
against Martin. Jennings."
Sir Thomas, Lady, and Miss Lethbridge have arrived
at Myatt's Hotel from their seat, Sandhill-park, Semersetshire.
ROYAL MARlNES.—Lieutenant Arnold has been ga-
zetted out of that corps on half-pay, and appointed to an adjutantcy
in one of the Scotch regiments of militia. A great promotion, it is
expected, will shortly take place in the corps of Marines by the re-
pected that one or two of the commandants of divisisns will retire.
tikeibent of a number of old officers upon full pay. It is also es-
WOOLAYIOI.---CONVICTS FOR NEW SOUTH WALES.—
Theor
male convicts to New South Wales, is now 1 g
')3ol3ithoßflegiment of Foot,
Woolwich. A convict guard of her Majesty s
;111 embark from the
Lord Auckland; Government transport, for the
t7anAverysaannase
at
under the command of Lieutenant Gordon,
Royal Arsenal on board t
to do duty.
South Wales, where the regiment is ordered
THE CONVICT WWIES.—W hat appear to be the rea-
k 2 There is grouted to believe
eons for doubting the sanity
he same vessel, for a passage out to New
with great weakness of the optic
distortion ,21. the eyes, accompanied
atnded
him
from early childhood. More
ijiicirisonsly affected by disease. A
of the brain, which, even after
lately he suffered froal
a-cete effecte, exhibited permanent results in
y2litios
hbarNaveino:vlcaousfition
teeotety from its immedi..
Ever since his apprenticeship he
strange ementricity of conduct.
Inheavei:llisiufknanO:
tl e notion that his master had taken him
seems to hate cherished
timds premium paid when he was inden-
for the sake of the ten pe
e real ground existed ; and yet, so com-
pletely For this supposition nor
the
youth's imagination, that ill Sep-
tember, 1543, under its i
Frustrated in this design, he still brooded
swallowing laudanum.
over his imaginary
the deduction by
make up for an equal
which and, while he was in this state of Mind.
inarY wrongs,eleven shillings from his wages, to
the apprentice
em-
bezzled (as the othe
pitch amount of money belonging to the master
had either lost (as he himself alleged) or
ected) brought Wicks' resentment to that
r susp ,
under the Imp, _
nes hiation of his ta d
his master of
• ulse of which he devised and accomplished the
• ncie oppressor.
ass i that characterised the miserable
utter apat iy
trial.
the su Neither To all this may be added the
convict throughout the
the appearance of his mother in the witness-box, nor
summing up of the presiding judge,
nor the period of suspense
during the consultation of the jury,
nor the announcementpronouncingby of the it
adverse verdict, nor even the p the judge of the aw
sentence . .
in the least; but, from
of the law, moved him first to
he maintained the some ,stolid, and,
' c49?-2710-0314 .. _ al It WW inat4rcatt
ili
I