The Sun.
London, England, 1848-10-31 00:00:00

STRAND THEATRE.

This little theatre was opened last night under the
auspices of Mr. Hooper' who has collected a tolerable
working company for the performance of pieces of a
similar stamp to those produced under the present
Olympic management. The opening piece, which
was rather an ambitious selection, considering the
resources of the company, was the revived musical
romance of llenri Quatre ; or Paris in the Olden
Time. The old playgoers will remember how suc-
cessful in its day was this production, in which the
celebrated duet "My pretty page" occurs, which
Miss Stephens and N aster Broadhurst, as Florence
St. Leon and the Page, made so popular. The pieces
which followed were Haynes Bayly's interlude,
The British Legion, rind Deaf as a Post, in which
Mr. Henry Webb, the low comedian of the company,
and an actor of considerable humour, contributed the
main share of amusement. The performances west
off pretty well for a first night, and were favourably
received by a tolerably full house. It is to be
hoped that Mr. Hooper will succeed in his under-
taking.

Music.—Mr. George Barker, of the Theatre Royal
Covent-garden, gave his new ballad entertainment un
Friday last, at the Town-hall, Wimborne, in Dorset-
shire, to a large and fashionable audience. He was
encored in his new songs of " Reuben Rayne,"
" Llewellyn's Bride," and " The Lament for the Irish
Chieftain." The evening's entertainment passod off with
great eclat. Mr. Barker. intends giving it, in a few days,
at Reading, Southampton, and Winchester, where he has
been invited for the purpose.
WINTER SESSION OF THE UNIVERSITY.—It 15
said that in some quarters it has been rumoured that the
commencement of the winter session of the University
of Edinburgh is to be postponed. There is not the
slightest foundation for such a report, but the session, as
formerly announced, will be opened to-morrow, the 31st,
at two o'clock, in the usual form. This absurd surmise
may, perhaps, have en iginated from exaggerated accounts
of the prevalence of cholera- It is very well known
here ant this disease has been confined almost entirely
to a few unhealthy localities, and that it hus attacked
scarcely any but persons previously debilitated by other
disorders, or by impru lent habits, and it has not been
nearly so fatal as typhus and influenza have been for
some years past.— Ca/etionirrn Mercury,

WATERSI;OOTS IN TIIN- BRISTOL- CixANNEL.---Our
Milford correspondent writes, "We have derived the
peticulars of the following 'interesting meteorological
phenomenon from Mr. Johnson, commander of her Ma-
jesty's revenue cruiser. Skylark, who, together with his
crew, were eye-witnesses of if. The occurrence took
place on Thursday morning week, the position of the
cutter being thirty-five miles to the westward of the
Lundy. The morning had been fine, with a light varia-
ble wind, principally from the southward. Between the
hours of ten and eleven, dark clouds were perceived
gathering in the N.W., and assuming the form of an
arch, the rest of the heavens being beautifully clear. In
a very short time two waterspouts began to form, and, in
the course of ten minutes one of them dropped, and
began to suck up the water, and in another ten minutes
the second spout did so likewise. By this time two-
thirds of the sky were darkened, and in half an hour
afterwards no less than nine other perfect spouts de-
scended. Three or four were playing around the cutter
at about the distance of half a mile; the remainder ap-
peared to be some two miles off. The water was first
drawn in a heap and became greatly agitated, like a boil.
ing pot, or a cloud of spray of a whitish grey colour. It
was then distinctly seen to ascend in a column, present-
ing the appearance of light smoke passing up through a
glass tube. They continued their operations for two
hours, when they vanished, and the wind fell suddenly
calm, which continued until six,P.M., when a breeze
sprung up from the north-east. During the phenomenon,
which was must grand and imposing, the cutter was
taken aback, the wind light and veering all round the
compass."—Carebrian
WOOLWICH, OCT. 30.—Three new cases of cholera
have been reported on board the Unite hospital ship
from twelve o'clock yesterday to twelve o'clock to-day,
and two have been reported as discharged. There have
been no deaths, and the new cases are now stated to have
assumed a milder form than hitherto prevailed. Almost
all the cases of deaths, and even attacks amongst the
convicts, have occurred amongst those who have been
subjected to punishments or confinements in the black
le le, or whose constitutions have been greatly injui‘ed
by their previous course of life.
ExPeosioN: or GAS.—On Thursday morning, an
accident from explosion of gas, which might have
been attended with serious consequences, took place in
a house at the corner of Walnut street and Chatham-
street. It appears that the workmen in the employ of
the gas companies, wishing to detect an escape of gas,
placed a match to one of the pipes, when an explosion
took place which displaced several of the flegs on the
footwalk, shattered the area wall of the adjoining house
occupie. d by Mr. Forbes, and shook the house itself to
its foundation. Fortunately no one was injured. See-
ing the injur ions, and, perhsps, fatal consequences that
might have resulted from the occurrence, it seems de-
sirable that, in future, some safer method of detecting
gas escapements should be adopted.—Liverpcol Mercury.