The Sun.
London, England, 1848-12-28 00:00:00

THE SUN, LON DON, TTIURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 28, 1848:

so minded, few experienced readers can avoid
perceiving, from the ensuing pages, how abun-
dantly easy it would have been to effectuate such an
intention. Ie the second place, I solemnly disclaim
an obj;-ct which a great organ of public opinion, the
Times newspaper, suggested as likely to have been
contemplated by the writer of this work, viz., to con-
tribute towards the abolition of capital punishments,
even in cases of murder. I am, on the contrary,
quite agreed in opinion on that subject with my
able reviewer in the Times. I had, in truth, given
the subject great consideration, long before writing
this work, and fear that the Legislature has, in
recent. times, gone unwisely, though with praiseworthy
intentions, too far in abolishing capital punishments.
Entertaining these views, I feel it rather hard that
the author of this work should be represented—as has
been the case, not only in this country, but on the
continent, and in America—as favouring and endea-
vouring to advance doctrines which he utterly re-
pudiates. I acknowledge that as a subsidiary object,
I have endeavoured to illustrate the awful liability to
error, to which even ,the highest and best human in-
tellects and institutions are liable, in judging of, and
dealing with, especially judicially, the events which
happen around us, in the mysterious scene of action in
which God has placed mankind—where he has or-
dained that we should know in part only, and see
through a glass darkly. These are topics suggesting
many solemnising and salutary reflections. On the
particular subject under consideration, which has been
repeatedly mentioned to tee, as the author of this
work, I express my entire concurrence with the critic
in question, who says that " if we are to suspend a
punishment essential to public example, and justified
by the laws of God, as well as by the oldest sanctions
of man, until human institutions are rendered abso-
lutely perfect and unerring, we must, on the same
grounds, stop short also of inflicting smaller penalties
for secondary crimes, and finally resolve to inflict
upon our fellow-creatures no punishment whatever."
I feel constrained to say, that the almost unanimous
approbation of this work, expressed by the public
press—overlooking, in a noble spirit, defects of detail.,
while recognising good intentions—has deeply, in-
delibly impressed my heart. I have also received a
surprising number of private communications, of a
similar kind, from persons in all ranks of society, and
even in far distant lands. I humbly hope that the
feelings and intentions with which " Now and Then"
was written will, as some of those communications
have suggested, bear that terrible test—deathbed
reflection. I regarded the publishing of this work as
a very hold experiment; and it is impossible to ex-
press the anxiety with which I awaited the issue,
which was destined greatly to surpass my most san-
guine expectations.
The tide* of the work has been variously remarked
on. It was deemed by myself to be peculiarly signi-
ficant and suggestive; but I intended that, while it
should awaken curiositye the propriety of the words
should become fully apparent, only on finishing the
perusal of the work : when "Now and Then" might
present themselves under several aspects, to one who
might have taken the trouble to reflect on the course
of the narrative.
The scheme of the story is purposely simple and
slight; but it appeared to afford opportunities for
exhibiting human nature under circumstances of
exquisite interest, difficulty, and perplexity, such as
are calculated to call into action its strongest passions
and highest faculties. The aim of the writer was to
deduce, from such a display, lessons of sterling value.
And finally, this work was, with all its imperfections,
composed under a strong sense of the serious moral
responsibility attaching to him who ventures to write
for the public ; especially if he believes that what he
writes has the faintest chance of being read by
many, or influencing the feelings, opinions, or conduct
of one.
December, 1848.

* "For Now we see through a glass, darkly; bill
THEN face to face: Now I know in part; but THEN shal
I know even as also lam known."-1 Cor. xiii. 12.

COURT CIRCULAR.
WINDSOR, EDNESDAY.
The Queen and Prince Albert took an early walk
this morning in the Home Park and Slopes.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, the
Princess Royal, and the younger branches of the
Royal Family took their accustomed exercise in the
Home Park.
The royal dinner party this day will include, in
addition to the royal household, her Royal Highness
the Duchess of Kent, Lady Fanny Howard, Baroness
de Speth, the Marquis of Breadalbane, the Earl and
Countess Grey, the Earl of Liverpool, and Viscount
Canning.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert, attended by
the Marquis of Breadalbane, the Earl Grey, Viscount
Canning, the Hon. Colonel Phipps, and Colonel Bou-
verie, went out shooting in Windsor Park.
Mr. Faija has had the honour of completing his
sittings for a miniature of her Royal Highness the
Princess Helena by command of her Majesty.
The band of the Coldstream Guards attended
yesterday evening in the Castle, and performed the
following pieces:—
Overture, " The Legend of Montrose " Sir ll.R.Bishop.
Duetto, "'Thou art the support"
(Joseph)
Selections from " Haydee " (arranged
by C. Godfrey) .. Auber.
The Drum P01ka......
Valse, "Fleur de Marie" .. Barret.
The Queen's private band was in attendance in the
Castle last evening, and performed the following
pi€ ces :
Overture, " Die Najaden " (first time) W.S.Bennett.
Quartetto—solo, violin, M. Sainton ; -
violin, viola, and violoncello : Messrs.
Cusins, Hill, and H. Chirp. Mayseder.
I-lochzeits Marsch
Herbstbtumen Walzer (first time)

Lord Ashley returned to town yesterday, and
presided at a meeting of the General Board of Health,
at Gwydyr House, Whitehall.
The Right Hon. the Secretary at War and the
Hon. Mrs. Fox Maule left town yesterday for
Scotland.
Lord and Lady John RuEsell arrived in town yes.
terday, from Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire.

MORTALITY in the METROPOLIS.
NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES REGISTERED EN
THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, DEC. 2g, 1848.
Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious Diseases
Diseases of Uncertain Seat ...

...*331
... 46

Turbercular Diseases... ... 163
Diseases of the Brain, Nerves, and Senses—. 113
Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels ... 29
Diseases of the Lungs, and other Organt of
Respiration ... 177
Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs
of Digestion... ... •••
Diseases of the Kidneys, &c. •••
Childbirth, Diseases of the Uterus, &c.
Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Muscles
Diseases of the Skin, &c.
Malformations... ... •••
Premature Birth ... ..
Atrophy ••• ••• ••• •••
Old Age ••• ••• ••• •••
Sudden ...
Violence, Privation, Cold, or Intemperance
Causes not specified ...

... 38
... 29

clearing in earnest. His wages, if not spent inildrink,
will provision him for some m-_,nths ; while he, with
the help of his neighbour, builds his log hut, clears
at least half an acre of ground, and gets it ready for
cropping the next spring. In the autumn, if he is
not prepared for the winter, he must take another
turn at lumbering, unless he is lucky enough to get
employment under some gentlerEan--settler, to chop
firewood, split fencing poles, &c., for \Nhich he will
get from Ss. to 3s. 6d. currency per day. Next
spring let him return to his farm es early as possible,
and harrow in his oats : he need never leave it again.
If, after the first trial, the lumberer's life should be
found to possess irresistible charms, I would advise
the emigrant to give up all ideas of farming on his
own account. The two occupations cannot be carried
on with any chance of success in the latter.—A Lum-
berer, in Sidney's Emigrants' Journal.

HON. and REV. BAPTIST W. NOEL'S

EXPLANATION.

This work has just issued from the press. The fol-
lowing is an extract:—
" As in the following work I have frankly attacked
the union between the Church and State, I feel con-
strained to bear my humble testimony to the piety and
worth of many who uphold it. I have stated, without
reserve, the influence of the system upon prelates; but
how many instances occur in which men, raised to the
most ensnaring honours, have successfully resisted their
temptations? Of those prelates with whom I have the
honour to be acquainted, some I admire for their sim-
plicity, benevolence, and liberality; and others still more
for eminent piety. Most wisely in many instances, and
most conscientiously I doubt not in all, have the present
Government administered their ecclesiastical patronage.
Still more anxious am I to do justice to my beloved and
honoured brethren, the Evangelical ministers of the
Establishment. Having acted with them for many years,
I can speak of their principles with confidence. Numbers
of them, whose names I should rejoice to mention here
with honour, are as sincere in adhering to the Establish-
ment as I wish to be in quitting it. Of many of them I
am convinc, d that they surpass me in devotedness to
Christ. Worthy successors of Romaine and John Venn,
of Newton, Cecil, and Thomas Scott, of Robinson end
Simeon, I hope that, remaining conscientiously in the
Establishment, they will have the respect and affection
of all good men. May they enjoy increasing comfort
and usefulness to the end of their ministry! While I
condemn a State prelacy, I honour each pious prelate:
while I mourn the relations of godly pastors to the State,
I no less rejoice in their godliness. The reasons for
separation appear to me clear ; but I do not expect
others to think as I do. In claiming my own liberty of
judgment, I learn to respect theirs. To remain in the
Establishment with my views would be criminal—with
theirs it is a duty. If by any of my expressions I have
unnecessarily wounded the feelings of my Christian
brother, I ask him to forgive me. If I have un-
consciously fallen into any exaggeration, I deeply
deplore it. Throughout the work I have made a clear
distinction between Evangelical and un- Evangelical
clergymen—between those who preach the Gospel and
those who do not preach it. No spurious liberality—no
fear of censure—should obliterate the distinction; yet
many, doubtless. who are not ranked among the Evan-
gelical party—who do not support their institutions,
and who do not usually act with them—may be con-
verted and faithful ministers of Christ. Lastly, I must ex-
press my regret that I have not done more for the welfare
of a friendly, considerate, and willing church, to which
I have been for twenty-two years a pastor, and with
whom I hoped to have spent the remainder of my days.
Sterner duties, which the study of the Word of God has
forced upon my attention, have to be fultiiled. But I
cannot quit them without an earnest prayer that my
successor may receive much grace to build them up in
piety, nor without my grateful thanks for their abun-
dant and unvarying kindness.—llornsey, Dec. 14."

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
We are happy to hear that the Admiral of the Fleet
was better yesterday, although, for that gallant ve-
teran's age (about 93), we cannot expect he will be re-
stored to a long enjoyment of health.
Royal Marines—The following Gentlemen Cadets in
her Majesty's training-ship, Excellent, at Portsmouth,
have passed examinations for commissions i❑ the corps:
—Messrs. Meheux, Graham. Savary, Gill, and Brydges(
And the following officers, studying at the Royal Naval
College, have qualified for joining the military compa-
nies of the corps:—Lieutenants 11. B. Roberts, E. R.
Horsey, N. Macnamara, and E. 11. Cox.
Court-martial.—The court for the trial of the officers
of the Sharpshooter steam-schooner, at Portsmouth,
were sitting up to six o'clock last night, at which time
there appeared no chance of the decisoa being come to
that evening.
PORTSMOUTH, WEDNESDAY.—Tho Constance, 50,
Captain Courtney, was at San Blas, collecting freight
for the Juno to bring home, on the 3d of October.
The Dotterel steam-packet, Lieutenant-Commander
E. Wylde, sailed last night after dark for Woolwich, to
be paid off.
The Driver steam-sloop, Commander C. R. Johnson,
arrived at noon to-day from her cruise in the Channel,
the wind having become westerly.
The Devastation steam-sloop was removed to-day
from the steam basin, and the Ajax, 56, steam guatd-
ship, taken in.
Wind, W. by N., light airs and hazy.

THE CONSTITUENCY OF ENGLAND.--OH Monday
next (January the Ist) the new Act passed in the last
session (11th and 12th Victoria, chap. 90), to regulate
the time of payment of rates and tuxes by Parliament-
ary electors, will take effect. It is provided that after
the Ist day of January, 1;49, no person shall be re-
quired, in order to entitle him to have his name inserted
in any list of voters for any city; town, or borough in
England, to have paid any poor-rates or ivsessed taxes,
except such as shall have become payable from him pre-
viously to the sth day of January in the same year, and
that no person shall be entitled to be on such list of
voters unless the poor-rates and assessed taxes payable
from him previously to the sth day of January shall be
paid on or before the 20th day of July following.
THE CITY OF LONDON SEWERS ACT.—On Mon-
day next the new Act for the sanitary improvement of
the city of London, and for the better cleansing, paving,
and lighting the same, will come into operation. It
contains 266 clauses, and eight schedules of forms,
repealing fur two years several other Acts of Par-
liament, and conferring on the commissioners of
sewers additional powers for sanitary purposes.
New regulations already framed will be shortly en-
forced. The sole power of cleansing, lighting, and
paving the city of London, is vested in the commis-
sioners. There are various provisions with respect to the
preservation of health and the removal of nuisances of a
similar description to clauses in the Health of Towns
Act and the Removal of Nuisances Act passed in the
last session of Parliament. It is provided that no inter-
ment in any grave shall take place which shall not
leave five feet clear of soil above the coffin,
and by the eighty-ninth section it is declared that the
poor have great difficulty at all times in 'obtaining and
frequently are utterly unable to procure a fit and pro-
per place in which to deposit their dead before in-
terment, and for remedy whereof, it is enacted that
the commissioners of sewers, if they shall think
fit, provide a place in which the poor, under pro-
per rules and regulations, may bo permitted to
deposit the bodies of their dead previously to
interment, and to cause the bodies so deposited therein
to be decently tuken care of so long as the commis-
sioners shall allow the same to remain. New houses
are not to be built without drains, and notice of build-
ings is to be given to the commissioners. Full powers
are to be given to the couireLssioners with respect to
all sewers within the City and liberties thereof. Penal-
ties are to be enforced against persons neglecting or re-
fusing to comply with the provisions of the statute, and on
non-payment of fines, the offenders to be committed
to Giltspur-street prison for any period not exceeding
three months, unless the penalty or forfeiture be sooner
paid and satisfied. The Act is declared to be a public
Act, and to be judicially taken notice of as such, it is to
be called " The City of London Sewers Act, 1848," and.
to remain in force for two years from the Ist January,
1849. and thence to the and of tho then next ses.ion of
Parliament.

-----
FALL OF AN ANROLITE.—During a storm of rain,
hail, thunder, and lightning, which occurred about eight
o'clock on Friday, the Ist of December, a servant girl, in
the washhouse of Mr. Atkins, painter, plumber, and
glazier, Fisherton, was scared by a loud crash as of a
heavy body having fallen and broken on the pavement,
in the yard adjoining. Owing to the darkness of the
night shO,could not ascertain by what the crash had been
produced; but early on the following morning she found,
scattered about the yard, fragments as if of an iron
stone; the external surfaces rounded and polished, and
the internal radiating from many centres. Some of the
rounded prominences of the stone have a blistered ap-
pearance, not unlike some specimens of chalcedony.
None of these fragments (of which Mr. Atkins picked
up about one pound twelve ounces) had the slightest
influence on a magnetic needle. Numerous other frag-
ments, reduced to powder, were not collected, but un-
fortunately swept away.—SeUsitry Herald.
A young man, Collette, was condemned, in a recent
sitting of the Court of Assizes of Calvados, France, to
hard labour at the hulks for life, for assassinating a
fellow-workman named Le Soudain. On the 25th May,
after spending the day together, the prisoner and the
deceased were walking by the side of the river Orne,
near Heronville Saint Clair, when the former struck the
latter several blows on the head with a heavy club, and
threw him into the river. lie waited calmly looking at
his victim struggling in the water, and when he suc-
ceeded in reaching the bank rushed on him, beat him
again on the head, and pushed him into the river. Ile
then remained until quite sure that ho was dead. The
motive of this crime appeared to be only to steal a port-
manteau, containing money and effects, belonging to the
deceased. The jury having, in giving their verdict,
declared that there were extenuating circumstances, the
persons present in court gave expression to their feelings
by hissing.
LATTER-DAY SAINTS.—The Perth Advertiser says:
—" On the Sabbath night a number of the disciples of
Joe Smith were observed wending: their way through
the town, as if bent on some special purpose; the little
company, by the edlission of the wonder-seekers as they
went along, was soon augmented into a crowd that con-
tinued to enlarge till it reached the side of the river on
the North Inch, where it halted; when two men and a
woman, after being surrounded by their respective friends
began to strip in the moonlight, and were forthwith led
into the Tay in succession, and severally baptised in the
new faith by immersion.
Letters from Posen represent the number of Russian
troops now concentrated on the Polish frontier as
amounting to 200,000 men, presumed to be so formed in
anticipation of any movement by the French in favour
9f Ugly.

MEMORANDA OF A MUSICIAN.

BY GEORGE J. 0. ALLMANN.

"Notes, notes, forsooth, and noting!"
Sim IiSPERE.

No. V.
DONIZETTI.

The pen of the Historian or of the Eulogist is, alas!
doomed, beyond that of all others, not only to spread
regret and gloom over all who peruse his labours, but to
self inflict a sadness when he, sifting and waking forth
the Things that are with the Past, is called upon to
record the untimely end of Genius—and when is the end
of genius not untimely? Is Man's life so long on the
earth that, did he not die till twice three score and ten
revolving years had sown their silver over his frame,
would he not be mourned, missed, and lamented by the
sorrowing friends he leaves behind? Would not the
death of Genius be far, far more so, even did it usurp the
honoured age of a Methusaleh—is not its existence all too
brief? But when it is snatched away from our tearful, our
adoring eyes, clothed in all the strong-limbed vigour of
maturity—the early manhood of its power, when we have
dreamed with delight as we watched over its young
promise, how great, how glorious would bo that maturity,
when we behold it suddenly withdrawn from our gaze,
and the once bright eye, whose flashirgs, so watched, so
prized, spoke or the Inner fire which in the Temple of
the Mind was ever burning, is closed and dim, when
the form of beauty that once breathed its divine images,
lies stricken by the unerring shaft of Death, pulseless,
inanimate, and cold—then, 0 then, do we not feel how
deplorable, how irremediable is our loss, when the bright
soul radiates in its orbit no longer, and the maturity of
Genius is gone—fled for ever.
Donizetti—with the exception of Rossini the best
composer whom Italy could boast of late years—is no
more! In many respects he was Rossini's equal—in
many his superior, for the gran maestro, as the latter is
wont to term himself, never possessed the solemn ten-
derness, the deep pathos, or was imbued with the pas-
sionate flow of sympathetic sadness which our dead
Composer exemplified. What might Donizetti have not
achieved had he taken time and thought twice upon his
works? As an orchestral writer his fancy was bound-
less and exuberant in forms and imagery, but it is to be
lamented that he seldom gave it free scope, so that
hurried on by a seemingly irresistible desire to produce
much, be fell rapidly in the estimation of those who
would have, by banding his works down to posterity—
generation succeeding generation vieing with each other
in doing so—rendered his name immortal if he had only
done little and " that little well!" But it was, alas! with
Donizetti in his early youth more a matter of necessity
than choice, for, to earn a wretched pittance scarcely
sufficient to ensure him from sheer starvation, he was
compelled to fulfil the wretched post of composer to a
theatre and under a penalty to its Impresario bound to
produce two serious and three comic operas annually !!!
A short sketch of his brilliant career will at the present
moment doubtless be interesting.
Donizetti was born at Bergamo, celebrated for being
the birthplace of musical genius, in the year 1793. After
several plans for his future vocation were considered
and rejected he eventually determined to enlist under the
banner of Euterpe, and accordingly embraced the
musical profession. He studied under Simone Mayer,
with whom he was a favourite pupil, and afterwards
under Pilotti and Mattel of Bologna. But from some
cause or another, which is not recorded, he joined the
army ; it is believed, however, that he was driven to
take this impulsive step by the difficulties that beset him
on his first outset in his profession. But he afterwards
forsook his cockade and recommenced with additional
vigour the study of his art. His first opera, Enrico di
Burgogna, was produced at the Fenico in 1818, but did
not prove successful; nor, out of thirteen successive works
which he brought out between that period and the year
1827, did any of them, unless I may except one, Zoraida,
obtain a full and entire success. The reason of this was
manifest to all. During all this time he had followed as
a model the style of Rossini, who was then in the zenith
of his fame—courted and admired by the great ones of
the earth. But ho at length abandoned it, and from that
period nothing but success is to be recorded of his
efforts. He commenced a series of brilliant triumphs
that were only brought to a close by the lamentable
prostration of intellect which took place little more than
two years agone. It would be utterly impossible to
furnish a complete list of his operas, for it is more than
probable, as he kept no diary, his own family would
find such an attempt abortive ; but I have every reason
to think the following will be found as correct an enu-
meration of them as it is possible for us in England to
obtain. He composed and produced—
In 1828—L'Esuk di Roma, La Regina di Golconda,
Gianni di Calais, andGiovedi Grasso.
1829 Kenilworth and Il Pa; ia.
1830-1 Pazzi per Progretto, Francesca di Foix,
Imelda di Lambertazzi, La 11omanziera, and
an Oratorio 11 Diluvio Universale.
1831—Anna Bolena and Fausta.
1832—Ugo, Conte di Parigi, d'Amore, and
Sancia di Castiglia.
1833—Parisina and Torquato Tasso.
1834 —Leer ezia Borgia, Rosamonda d'lnglielterra,
and Maria Stuart.
1835—Gcmma di Vergy, Marino Faliero, and Lucia
di Lammermoor.
1836—Belisario, Il Carnpanclli, and L'Assedio di
Calais.
1837—Pia di Tolomei and Roberto Devereux.
1838—Marice di Rudenz.
1839—Giunni di Paligi.
1840—La Fille du Regiment, Les Martyrs, and La
Favorite.
lB4l—Adelia.
1842—Maria Padilla and Linda di Charnoeni.
1843—Don Pasquale, Maria di Rohan, and Don
Sebastiano.
1844—Catarina Cornaro.
Being the almost incredible number of sixty three
operas produced during a period of twenty-six years.
Added to these, he composed an enormous quantity of
minor works, amongst them a miserere, which is reckoned
one of Donizetti's finest inspirations. The majority of
his later operas' were composed for the most renowned
singers of their eras. As a wonderful instance of his
truly miraculous facility I would exemplify that of the
Elisire d'Amore, which was composed and produced
under very singular circumstances. The season of 1834,
at Milan, had, from various causes, proved a most dis •
estrous and unfortunate one, end towards the close the
director of the Scala supplicated Donizetti to improviset
an opera. He entreated him to do it in order to save
him from utter ruin. Our composer at last consented,
and it was agreed upon between them that himself and
the poet of the establishment, who was to supply the
verses, were to be confined in a room, with all necessary
comforts, and that no one was to have access to them till
the entire opera was completed and it was in a fit state
to be drafted over to the musicians, actors, and copyists,
which was to be done piece by piece, so that it might be
learned, and thus cause no delay. It is an extraordinary
fact that the opera was written,composed, copied, learned,
and performed in twenty days, and all the world knows
with what success. As a convincing proof of Do-
nizetti's marvellous industry, it is said and accredited,
that he has been known to score a full opera in thirty
hours—a circumstance unprecedented in the annals of
music. But there was, of course, necessity for exertion,
and it abundantly proves that necessity is the tenth
muse. The same kind of occurrence happened to
Rossini with one of his best and most popular operas.
Donizetti was married once only ; his wife died at
Naples in 1835, during the time the cholera raged there
with so much virulence and devastation. He himself
departed from the field of bis past glories at his native
place, Bergamo, where he expired on the Bth of April,
1848, and whither he had repaired a short time before
with the vain hope of ameliorating his unhappy con-
dition—the mental prostration under which he had sunk
upwards of a twelvemonth previously; but it proved un-
availing, for, after a brief change towards amendment, a
relapse of his malady occurred, and on the day recorded
breathed his last sigh. During the six days prior to his
decease the sufferings of this child of genius were intense.
He has left several unfinished works amongst his papers.
He succeeded Zingarelli in the poit of director of the
Conservatoire at Naples, and was afterwards appointed
to the office of Maestro di Capella to the Imperial Court
of Vienna!
He has passed away from us at time when his loss will
be keenly felt, for ueeer was the number of continental
musicians no lamentably confined as at the present
moment. I cannot name one who is worthy to fill his
place meritoriously, or who possesses aught like the
amount of talent our poor Donizetti displayed during his
dazzling career.
" so perish all—the Bright! the:Fair!
The Great ! the True ! the Just I
Into a crumbling particle of—dust !
The Nothingness of—Air! "
MENDELSSOHN
Was the grandson of the great Philosopher Mendelssohn.
Placed between two names of such distinguished eminence,
his father is reported to have exclaimed, " And what am
I myself? When I was young I was only the son cf
Moses Mendelssohn, and now I am old I am only the
father of Felix Mendelssohn.
SHAKSPERE AND MUSIC.
How delicious and charming is the following sonnet
by our Bard of Aron, Immortal Will! What a pleasant
and delicate admixture of tenderness, yet quaint arch-
ness, breathes through every line.
" How oft, when thou, my Music, music play'st
Upon that blessed wood,* whose motion sounds
With thy sweet fingers—when thou gently sway'et:
The very concord that mine ear confounds,
Do I envy those jacks that nimble leap
To hiss the tender inward of thy hand,
Whilst my poor lips that should that harvest reap
At the wood's coldness by thee blushing stand:
To be so tickled, they would change their state
And situation with those dancing chips
O'er whom thy fingers walls with gentle gait
Since saucy jacks so happy are in this
Give them thy fingers—me thy ears to kiss!"
ANDEL •
Was, and with very just cause, much offended if a singer
expressed dislike of any song allotted to his character in
the drama. In his opera Alcina the beautifully simple
and well-known air " Verdi prati" was confided to
Carestini, who returned it to the composer, stating as
the reason for refusing to sing it, that it was too trivial
and easy for him to sing. Burning with his usual
irascibility, Handel hurried in a trementlous
inp iassaitestii to
he
the singer's lodgings none the whit mollified by the dis-
tance between there and Broole•street, which,
had well nigh ran. Almost out of breath, and with a
look and tone that no one but Handel would have
ventured to use to a,/first singer, he vociferated in his
customary broken English, " Ach ! you tog! tont I know
petter as yourself vast is pest for you to sing? Aha! if
you will not sing all de song vast I gif you, I will not pay
you ein steifer I"

* The keys of the " virginal "—the instrument in Shak-
spere's time that answers to our modern pianoforte—were
made of wood. The virginal must, from all accounts, have
been a very wretched and tuneless instrument ; and:yet that
Spenser thought otherwise witness his line—
" Playivg alone careless Qi4 her heayealie yirsinalle."

THE ASSASSINATIONS AT STAN-

FIELD-HALL.
WYMONDIIAM, WEDNESDAY.—Mrs. Jenny and her
maid, Eliza Chestney, have prog7(,ssed so favourably
as to be deemed by their medical attendants to be
beyond danger. The gratifying fact has been the
source of the most lively satisfaction throughout the
county.

In -the course of Monday Mr. Cann, the magis-
trates' clerk, accompanied by Mr. Superintendent
Witherford, paid a visit to Rush's farm, at Felming-
ham, where the chief of the family are residing. Here
some papers were found, which it was deemed pru-
dent to secure, and they were accordingly taken pos-
session of by the police. Their purport has not yet

transpired. -
Potash Farm continues in the care of Mr. Super-
intendent Andrews and a number of the constabulary.
The search for the pistols or guns of the assassin pro-
ceeds with the greatest vigour, but not the least trace
of the weapons has been obtained. No expense is
spared with a view of effecting the desired discovery.
Gangs of labourers are daily engaged in searching all
the neighbouring preserves and plantations; every
hollow tree and stump is undergoing a careful exami-
nation, and in order that the search may be complete
the soil in the track leading from Stanfield-hall to the
farm is in course of being turned up. Rush's son,
Mr. James Rush, and his wife still occupy the
dwelling-house, subject to certain restrictions. The
boy Savory continues on the farm, under the sur-
veillance of the police.
The positive testimony of the wounded girl, Eliza
Chestney, as to the disguise of the murderer, appears
to have removed all impressions in reference to his
wearing a mask. It will be remembered that she
stated distinctly that the assassin neither wore a hat
or cap. She clearly saw the form of the head and
bushy hair over it, and on seeing 'Rush attired in the
peculiar long wig found in his bed-room, she imme-
diately stated that it was the form and description of
disguise the man wore. Before this additional state-
ment was made, Rush took a stand on the presump-
tion that the murderer had on a mask. He appeared
as if anxious to fix the impression tbat it was such a
disguise ; and then, with his usual tact, cross-
examined the witnesses as to how they could possibly
identify the man when his featuies were concealed.
Miss Emily Sandford (the widow James), the
prisoner's housekeeper, remains in safe keeping at the
Bridewell of this town;- and, from circumstances
which have transpired, it is very likely that she will
communicate other disclosures ere the prisoner's trial
takes place. Her several statements have excited
considerable attention, and it is asked which of them
will the jury credit. With the exception, however,
of her first testimony, they have not varied in the main
fact. She evinces no desire to leave the prison, in-
deed she seems grateful for the asylum afforded her,
and is constantly expressing her thanks toMrs.Bryant,
the matron, for her kindness. It is stated that she
will be unable, for obvious reasons, to give evidence at
the next assizes, should they fall in March. At the
next quarter-sessions 'for the county it is expected
that the magistrates will decide on the propriety of
soliciting a special commission of assize.
The prisoner Rush is daily employed in taking
copious extracts of the evidence and arranging his de-
fence, and it is generally believed that he will conduct
it himself.

BURGLARY AND ROBBERY OF
JEWELLERY, &c., AT KENSINGTON.
Yesterday information was circulated throughout
the metropolitan police districts of a most daring and,
extensive robbery of Bank of England notes, jewel-
lery, ancient and foreign coins, &c., to the value of
upwards of 500/., having been committed on the pre-
vious night, at the residence of Count Carlo Pepello,
No. 11, St. George's-terrace, Gloucester-road, Ken-
sington. Amongst the property stolen were eighteen
Bank of England note's, numbered from 90,117 to
90,134, both inclusive, and dated October 2, 1848 ; a
pair of diamond ear-rings, with stone drops ; a dia-
mond brooch, two gold chains, a cameo bracelet set
in gold, two gold bracelets set in Geneva work, with
miniatures of the members of the Bonaparte family ;
a large gold cross set with pearls and garnets : a
French gold watch set with a miniature of the Holy
Virgin and Child, two gold watches, makers' names
and numbers at present unknown; a gold brooch set
with turquoise and emeralds; gold ditto, having
ears of corn upon it, and one with small pearls;
three gold rings, one set with rubies and diamonds
one with amethysts, and one bearing the motto,
"Forget me not';" a gold enamelled snuff-box,
a tortoiseshell ditto encircled with gold, a small
plain gold ditto, and a boxwood ditto; a small ring
set with rose diamonds, a large heavy gold chain,
very antique ; a large oval opal mounted in gold ; a
pair of gold and turquoise spectacles; a gold ring set
with garnets ; a ditto set in nikel, having on it two
hands joined in faith ; a massive gold ring set with a
Medusa's head; a gold ring with a representation of
"Milo holding an axe ;" a gold ring set with jasper,
and representing a man's head ; three other gold
rings, two set with turquoise, and one with emeralds ;
an amber necklace, set in gold, with gold medal
suspended ; an agate ditto, with a silver
medal ; two ten-pound Bank of England notes, a
quantity of French and Italian coins (gold and silver),
consisting of Napoleons, smell of Pius IX.' Charles
X, Gregory XVI., Louis XVI., and one of gold of
Domitian ; also a great many copper medals of the first
French Republic ; with some given in hone to the
workpeople; and a med it of Louis Philippe and Queen
Victoria, struck on the occasion of the King
and Queen's visit to England ; and a turquoise and
diamond brooch, one diamond wanting. The robbery
is supposed to have been committed between seven and
nine o'clock, while the Count, &c., were dining in the
drawing-room on the first floor, and the thieves
effected an entrance by opening the door of an empty
house, No. 19, St. George's-terrace, by means of a
skeleton key, and carefully re-locking it to avoid sus-
picion by its being found open, made their way up to
the roof, and, passing over the roofs of the intervening
eight houses, removed a square of glass of one of the
attic windows of the Count's residence, and opening
it, obtained access to the bed-rooms on the third and
fourth floors, in which all the drawers and desks were
broken open and ransacked. The robbery was not
discovered until nearly midnight, when, on some of
the servants going to turn down the beds, they dis-
covered the rooms it a state of great disorder, and
gave the alarm.

THREEPENNY PIECES.—The current coin of the
realm will doubtless be universally admitted to be a sub-
ject which materially engrosses as it necessarily excites,
the attention of every class of her Mejesty's subjects,
and therefore, for the convenience and comfort of all,
we beg to recommend that a speedy and plentiful
issue of threepenny pieces in silver coin do take place.
It is now some time since the silver fourpenny pieces
were first issued, and they have been found to be a
great convenience to the community in the various
transactions of life. We need hardly mention the fact
that, with scarcely a single exception, the public vehi-
cles which have now become the main source of com-
munication throughout and in the most public streets
of every portion of this vast metropolis, have
divided their fares so that passengers travelling by
omnibuses may, if they are going but half the distance,
be conveyed for a moiety of the fare, which is almost
universally threepence. No doubt this arrangement, at
the same time that it has been found to be good policy
on the part of the proprietors of these vehicles, as
meeting the wants and wishes of a large portion of the
public, and producing an equally, if not indeed a much
larger return, has been most acceptable to the entire
community; but the time which is wasted on the road
by the receipt of the half fares, and the production of
coppers in change by the conductors of these vehicles,
is so great as to cause the journey throughout the town,
in all directions, to be considerably lengthened in dura-
.

tion of time, and to cause very great inconvenience.
The issue of a largo supply of threepenny pieces would
completely remedy this difficulty, and we feel certain
that we shall receive the thanks of the public for draw-
ing attention to the matter.
OBTUSENESS EXTRAORDINARY.-4B the course of
the mining case, tried by Mr. Justice Erie, a number of
old and not very brilliant witnesses were examined to
prove the extent and mode of working the mine. The
following dialogue took place between one of them and
Mr. James, the barrister engaged for the prisoner :
Mr. James: " Now you say you worked at the mine ?"
—Witness : " Ees, sir." Mr. James : " How did you
work ?"—Witness : " Why, it wos woorked oop and
down, you 'no—this way, that way, t'other way, foot-
ridden way—dang it every way."—(Loud laughter.)
Mr. James : "I must confess I don't understand you."
—Witness : "I think I spoke plain enuf."—(Loud
laughter.) Mr. James : "No doubt you did, but the
stupidity is on my aide, not on yours."—Witness :
" That's it. You are quoit stupid. —(Roars of laugh-
ter.) You canna onderstand Englisb."—(Continued
laughter.) The Judge : "If we had been in the habit
of working in mines, doubtless your language would be
perfectly intelligible, but as it is we cannot understand
you."—Witness : " Well, I conna' spake ony plainer.
Dsiag ice if ever I seed such stupid people since I left
pit." Some further attempts were made by the learned
counsel to obtain a more defirito answer to the question,
but it was " no go," and the witness was at length told
to leave the box, which he did apparel! tly with a still
stronger conviction than before of the natural and irre-
mediable obtuseness of judge, jury, counsel, and auditory.
—Liverpool 7 lutes.
TiE CAVERNS AT KEPSIIEAD.—We understand
that the excavation of these interesting caverns will
shortly take place. The investigation cannot fail to be
most important to the science of geology.—Durizani
Chronicle.
MARRIAGE IN lIIG/I LIFE.—Tile marriage of the
Duke do Guiche and Miss Emma Mackinnon, only
daughter of Mr. William Alexander Mackinnon' M.P.,
was solemnized yesterday at St. Mary's Church, Bryan-
, stone-square, having been previously performed, accord-
ing to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church, at the
chapel of the Spanish Embassy. A numerous and dis-
tinguished circle of the relatives of both parties assem-
bled at the nuptial solemnity, the ceremony being per-
' formed by the Rev. Dr. Molesworth, vicar of Rochdale.
The American trotting horse, Trustee, trotted
' lately twenty miles in 59 minutes and 39 s.i.conds for a
1
wage of 1,500 dollars.

NEW ZEALAND.

WAGES OF LABOUTI, AT WELLINGTON IN THE YEAS

1847.

Farm labourer, per week, 1/. ls., or 301. to 351.
per annum, with board and lodging, and 401. to GO/.
per annum for superior servants as shepherds, with
ditto; other labourers, per week, 11. 4s. ; domestic
servants, per annum ,12/.tc 75/. for girl's, 201. to 251.
for women, 151. 3o : 51. for boys, 251. to 351. for men,
with board and lodging---great scarcity ; artizans,
viz ,carpenters, per diem, ss. 6d. to Gs. 6d.; brick-
layers, per diem, ss. to Gs. ; masons, per diem, ss.
to Gs.; sawyers, per 100 feet, Bs., for labour only;
blacksmiths, per diem, 55.; cabinet-makers, per
diem, ss. to Gs.; shipwrights, Gs. to 75.; journeymen
to tradesmen, per diem, 4s. Hours of labour, from
eight to five, with one hour for dinner.

POPULATION-TRADES AND PROFESSIONS-AT WEL•

LINGTON IN THE YEAR 1847.

Capitalists and agriculturists farming their own
lands, 7 ; capitalists occupying grazing runs, 60;
capitalists employing labourers, 36 ;* agriculturists
and small farmers, 94 ; labourers, 325 ;-f. domestic
servants, male 18, female 64 ; lawyers of all grades,
9 ; medical practitioners, 10; clergymen and priests,
8 ; merchants, traders, and auctioneers, 32 ; store-
keepers and tradesmen, 29 ; Government officers, 22 ;
Company's ditto, 5 ; constables (armed police), 30 ;
surveyors, 10; gentlemen, 7 ; architect, 1 ; banker,
1 ; clerks, 24 ; shopmen, 10 ; settlers, 22 ; chemist,
1; distiller, 1 ; tallow chandler, 1; schoolmasters, 9;
schoolmistresses, 8 ; bakers, 23; butchers,l7 ; millers,
3 ; lodging-house keepers, male 1, female 1 ; brewers,
4 ; ginger-beer makers, 2 ; carpenters and joiners,
85 ; cabinetmakers, 8 ; turner, 1 ; millwright 1 ;
shipwrights, 13 ; boatbuilder, 1 ; boatmen, 10 ; sea-
men and whalers, 50 ; hotel-keepers and publicans,
18 ; brickmakers, 6 ; bricklayers, 16 ; plasterers, 5 ;
masons, 2 ; slaters, 2 ; painters and plumbers, 14;
wheelwrights and cartmakers, 9 ; carters, 18 ; horse-
breakers and grooms, 4; coopers, 9; sawyers, 59;
brushmaker, 1; sailmakers, 3 ; tanner, 1 ; currier, 1;
farrier, 1; shoemakers, 45 ; tailors, 15 ; blacksmiths,
18 ; engineers, 2 ; boilermaker, 1; gunsmith 1; cut-
ler, 1; tinmen, 2 ; watchmakers, 3 ; printers, 11;
saddlers, 2 ; bookbinder, 1 ; stationer, 1 ; dyers 2 ;
gardeners, 24 ; apprentices, 6 ; ropemakers, 4 ; sta-
tuary, 1 ; women employedin washing and needle-
work, 10 ; milliners and straw-bonnet makers, 9 ;
cowkeepers and dairymen, 13 ; professions not ascer-
tained, 44—total males 1,321; females 92.
* These are included in the other capitalists—graziers,
merchants, and others.

t The greater proportion of persons returned as la-
bourers cultivate small quantities of land, which they
lease on their own account. The number of labourers
who live entirely by weekly and daily labour does not
probably exceed the number of 150; the remainder only
work occasionally, when their affairs allow them a little
unemployed time.
A great proportion of the mechanics, artizans, &c., do
not follow their trades exclusively, but either as pur-
chasers or lessees of small parcels of ten to twenty acres
of land, employ their time in cultivating the same.—Anew
Zealand Journal, Dec. 16.

In consequence of the increase of traffic on the
State railways in Belgium, the production of coke has
become insufficient for the consumption, and it has been
necessary to enter into an arrangement with private
companies to make up the deficiency.
VISCOUNT HARDINGE.—This distinguished General
and statesman passed through Maidstone early on Wed-
nesday morning last, on his way to visit his old Penin-
sular friend, our respected neighbour, Sir John Croft,
Bart., at Milgate, to join a shooting party. We hear,
from an eye-witness, that throughout the day the gallant
veteran perfectly astonished, by his shooting with his
ono arm, those who never before had the honour of
bring cut with him, killing his bird the first ten shots.
Long may his Lordship continue to enjoy undiminished
his present health and strength, and v, ell-earned respect
and admiration of bis grateful country men.—Maidstone

Journal.
THE EARL or LEVEN.—We are glad to learn that
the Earl of Leven is now rapidly recovering from the
serious illness under which he laboured lately, and which

spread the greatest alarm amongst his family and friends,
assuming as it did for some days a very threatening ap-
pearance.—Tifeshire Journal.
COURT-MARTIAL AT CUATKAM, DEC. 26.—A
general court martial assembled at this garrison, of
which Lieutenant-Colonel 2PPherson, of the 17th Regi-
ment, was President, for the trial of Thomas Kelly, No.

2,728, a private in the 50th Regiment of Foot, stationed
at Dover. The prisoner was arraigned fer absenting
himself without leave from the barracks, making away
with part of his regimental necessaries, being drunk and
striking a non-commissioned officer, and breaking away
from an escort. The prisoner pleaded guilty to the
three first charges, and denied that he struck the non-
commissioned officer. Several witnesses were examined.
The Court found the prisoner guilty of the tour charges.
The issue will not be known until confirmed by the
Horse Guards.
The highest temperature in the United States ia:
the eleven years ending 1847, was 98i degrees, on the
16th of July, 1845; the lowest temperature was six de-
grees Lelow zero on the sth of February, 1840. The
ex:reme range of the temperature in those eleven years
was 1041 degrees.
laisn PRODUCE.—The following is a compendium
of importations of provisions into the metropolis from
the tiger country during the period comprising from
the 11th to the 23d instant, viz., 4,612 boxes, casks, and
other packages of butter, 144 casks and bales of hams,
39 packages of feathers, 203 sacks of malt, 683 hampers,
boxes, and casks of bacon, 503 boxes and cases of eggs,
133 casks of whisky, 439 packages of pork. 205
packages of soups, 161 casks of lard, 659 bales of
paper, 273 packages of general provisions, 301 casks of
porter, 480 casks of beef, 21 packages of soap, 25 of
linen, 4 of seed, 18 of salmon, 500 sacks of oats, 86 head
of horned cattle, and a variety of other articles of food
and of general merchandise, of lesser interest and im-
portance, which need not be more particularly detailed.
A WOMAN KILLED BY A LAMB.—On Sunday last,
an old woman going across a field at Methley, York-
shire, was attacked by a tup lamb, and so much injured
that she died on Tuesday.

- _
PCST-OFFICE NOTICE.—A notice has just been
issaed from the General Post-office that on and after
the Ist January, 1849, the British rate of postage of 6d.
the half-ounce on letters from the United Kingdom,
addressed to Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and conveyed by
the direct Hamburgh packets, or by private ship, direct
from London, or Hull to Hamburgh, will be combined
with 4d., the rate due to Mecklenburg-Schwerin, which
includes the transit rate payable to Hamburgh. This
combined rate of 101. the half-ounce, &c.,,may either be
paid in advance or left unpaid, at the option of the
sender ; but the payment of the British rate only,
according to the existing practice, will not be permitted.
PosT-Orficr. NOTICE.—The Lords Commissioners
c, of her M2jesty's Treasury having authorised the remis-
sion of all charges for packet postage heretofore levied
in the United Kingdom, upon letters conveyed be-
tween the United Kingdcm and the United States of
America, by the contract packets of the United States,
no charge is hereafter to be made upon letters brought
into this country by such packets, or upon letters posted
in this country addressed to be forwarded to the United
States by such packets.
SAINT CLEMENT DANES RAGGED SCHOOLS. On
Monday last Mr. Jacquet, the churchwarden, and the
benevolent friends and supporters of these schools, pro-
vided the boys belonging to them with a very appropriate
Ciusstmas treat. After attending divine service at the
parisi: church in the morning, the boys assembled in the
hall of the vestry•house, where beef and bread, half a
pint of pox-ter, and a large slice of plum pudding, were
supplied to each. They were afterwards addressed by
the rector, the Rev. W. W. Ellis, Richard Twining,
Esq., and other gentlemen of the parish, and exhorted to
be punctual in their attendance at school.
RAILWAYS.—On an average of six of the leading
railways, they suffer to the extent of 100,000/. a year by
depredations and negligence. They also pay 200,000 k
a year for the Government tax of five per cent. on first
and second-class passengers ; 200,0001. a-year for parish
rates and taxes for laud which had before not paid
200,000 sixpences. This is in addition to stamps, which
make another 100,000/. a-year, and tithes, income-tax,
&c., all levied in the most capricious manner.—C.r Nash,
on Railway Management.
ST. MARTIN'S BATHS AND LAUNDRlES.—Yesterday
this, the first building established underthe 9th andh 10th
Baths
sulaendd anw Wash-houses
encourage
sesfo
of f esta-
blishment Victoria,
o frthe
t e
Labouring
Classes," and erected at a cost of about 5,000/., by the
rate-payers of St, Martin's-in-the-fields, in Orange-
street, Leicester-square, was opened for public inspection
till Saturday next. The structure covers about 14,000
square feet, having a frontage of 150 feet in Orange-
street, with five entrances, one to the laundry, and two
to each division of baths, one for exit, the other for en-
trance. The basement is occupied by the apparatus for
heating and pumping water. The ground floor contains
the baths—the east wing, for females, hold 5 first and 19
second class baths ; the west, for males, 9 first and 35
second class ; each bath room is six feet square, the bath
one side, and a row of pegs for hat and clothes
on the g
eYiontber ; at the head is a seat and swing looking-
glass; the first-class female baths being of a superior
kind. The total number of baths is 68. The laundries
are on the first floor; they are at present incomplete, but
will contain accommodation for 100 women, all washing
within distinct partitions. On Monday the baths open
for use. The charge will be :—Second-class, with use
of one towel, comb, brush, and cold water, id.; hot, 2d.
First-class, with two towels, &c., cold, 3d. ; hot, Gd.
" CHRInbIAS WAils."—On Saturday evening a
party of gentlemen havieg bargained with the railway to
tind them wings wherewith to fly to the merry homes of
Christmas, were snugly ensconced together in a carriage
at Brentwood, but alter indulging for a time in the warm
flew of the conversation of the season, they t)unci that
instead of speeding along gaily by the mail-train, the
happy root's they sought, were as distant as ever, and
they were left alone in the cold hoar frost. The train by
mistake had kit carriage and company bodily behind; it
was not till reaching Ingatestone that the loss was
trippeddis-
ould back
o on
hfonvre•i)ethene wmaiistss;a''
in many r. me:ry celebration of Christmas eve.—. Essex
cthore emr e 'uds'i cc' nodf tx,ism.(l'i oesneg ivnoic
Standard.
Letters from Zante, of the sth instant, mention
that dried fruits of the present year were declining in
value. The quantity remaining untold was estimated at
little less than three millions of pounds, against about
400,000 lbs. in former years. The export during the
present year is estimated to have been 6,600,000 lbs.
There was little doing in oils, owing to prices being high.
A decline was expected, when purchases would mat
likely be made. The grain market was firm.