The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-04 00:00:00

ST. JAMES'S

Mademoiselle Rachel re-appeared here last evening, for the
first time since her recent indisposition, as Roxane, in
Rapine's tragedy of Bajazet. This character has always
struck ns as the most revolting and unnatural that Rapine
ever drew. The superb acting of Rachel, however, over-
comes all difficulties, and every other feeling is lost in that
of intense admiration of her genius. The house was crowded
•

ROYAL VISIT TO VAUXHALL.
The royal property was last evening honoured with the
presence of her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge,
his Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge, her Royal
Highness Princess Mary of Cambridge, the Hereditary
Grand Duke and Duchess of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, attended
by Baron Knesebeck, Baroness A lilefeldt, Baron Hugel, Lady
A. Cadogan, Miss Milford, Miss Fane, &c. The royal party
arrived in three carriages shortly after ten o'clock, and were
received by the proprietors of the gardens, the band playing
the national anthem. The august visitors were immediately
conducted to the Rotunda Theatre, the stage of which was
fitted up as a royal box, with fluted columns in pink and
white drapery. After witnessing the equestrianism by
Tourniaire's troupe, the royal party promenaded the gardens,
admiring the brilliancy of the illuminations and the new and
appropriate devices displayed on the occasion. They after-
wards retired to the Waterloo-ground, where a magnificent
display of fireworks were exhibited by the celebrated Darby,
artiste to the gardens, the pice de resistance being an em-
blematical design, in the centre of which was the motto,
" God bless the Royal Family of England," in brilliant co-
loured fires. The royal visitors, after expressing their
admiration of the entire arrangements (prepared at a few
hours' notice), retired from the gardens at about half-past
twelve o'clock.

BENEFIT OF MADEMOISELLE ERNESTA GRIsI.—
This accomplished artiste takes her benefit at the St. James's
Theatre this evening, and the performances advertised are of
the most varied character. We have the comedy of " tine
Femme a Quarante Ans' " then Carlotta Grisi in two of her
most celebrated pas, her last appearance for the season ; then
the Ethiopian Serenaders, and then a Grand Concert, in
which the fair beneficiare herself will appear, supported by
many of the artistes of her Majesty's Theatre and by Ma-
demoiselle Issaurat Leroux. Such varied attractions cannot
fail to draw a crowded house.
HAYMARKET THEATRE.—MR. J. M. STEPHENS'S
BENEFIT —The superintendent of the free-list, Mr. J. M.
Stephens, takes his benefit at the Haymarket on Wednesday
evening. The bill of fare is a good one, but even were it less
excellent the friends of Mr. Stephens (and every one who
knows him is his friend) would rally round him on this occa-
sion. If a strict attention to duty, combined with uniform
civility and kind-heartedness, are worthy of the public pa-
tronage, then will Mr. Stephens have a bumper house.visited
ROYAL SURREY ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.--We
thethese
st gardensorm
had last
d odone
ee vseon t gtl, e
improved by the cleansing, and we never saw tuthe Eruption
to greater advantage. ainnjdurwye;rethe p
has been
delightedicre itsopfiosnidtiN_ thatel
y
Mr. Rice, the celebrated
o`!..leirnlimCbrsr b,y"
a stroke of
deprived of speech and the use f
paralysis.--Devonport Te/egrsajpohitn.
—On Saturday after-
noon,THE LATE TuuN
iptrentice, was employed on a barge in
panoacsk,puotherhithe. He was walking along
during the violenDtfh-under-storm, a lad named Mus-
quantity of steel bars on his shoulders,
kt
heet tc, gehrot eiraml
the gunwale with
electric fluid first struck the warehouse opposite
then the lad, who was forced into the hold of the barge,
whenan thhe
while the steel bars fell into the dock. Immediate assistance
was rendered, but the lad was quite dead. The warehouse
sustained considerable damage by the lightning.
SERIOUS ACCIDENT.—As Charles Maxfield, Esq., re-
siding in Park-street, Regent's Park, was passing through
Munster-street, yesterday afternoon, he trod on a cellar trap
that had not been properly secured. Being a heavy man,
he was thrown to the ground, and suffered a compound frac-
ture of the right thigh.
During the season the gamekeeper at Duff House has
shot upwards of 2,900 rabbits, which, by order of the Right
Hon. the Earl of Fife, were distributed among the poor and
working classes in Banff and its neighbourhood.
THE ELIZABETH FRY REFUGE.—The subscription
towards this asylum for affording temporary food and shelter
to destitute females on their discharge from the metropo-
litan gaols, now amounts to near 5,0001. Amongst the sub-
scriptions within the last few days are their Majesties the
King and Queen of Denmark 501., and an anonymous dona-
tion of 2001.
How TO DO BUSINESS.—In the Bankruptcy Court at
Hull, last week, J. M. Suger, a bankrupt, who had been a
corn merchant, underwent his final examination. It appears
that, having previously failed to the tune of 20,0001., he re-
commenced business, having no capital, except 50/. worth of
household furniture; he bought corn in Lincolnshz,lafnodr
sent it to Wakefield, to Messrs. Scott and Co.,
what it would fetch, and settled accounts at Grimsby
fortnight and Brio once a month; he lven ton
last, they
his transactions, until in the endingyear May itc r onceasin increasing
were to the extent of 54,6741. 17s. 6(.i. His debts are 6,500/,
hearing was
adjournedan
Ad IprissL E y assets_lr untilo ul
theeseEs I_9thantTh hAlesu.ginustth_epto_oucnadip_aTphere.
considerable damage to the
h
Karl-storm
splendidgarle gallery, Saturday
at
al
ye
last
did
well as same of the valuable paintings,
destruc-
tion of the glass of the roof. e wallsahnadverictietelrnaspeerriioeus,slasy
damaged by the rain.

THE NEW PLANET.
When Galileo had laid down the free prbielphs of iff‘•
chanics, and traced, by his admirable labours, the metho the
of observation that ought to be pursued in physics, e.
application of analysis to the investigation of natural
causes became possible, and a new path was opened to
the human et nd. Huygens and Newton engaged them-
selves in it, and the developments which mechanics re-
ceived, in the discovery of the laws of universal attrac-
Sloe, still bear testimony to the power of their genius'
Then the world learned how the boundaries Of ob-
servation and experience may be overleaped"
how, without their aid, the certain knowledge
of several series of (yet) unperceived Oen();
mena may be acquired. The example of Huygens and
Newton did not remain unfruitful, and on every side less
importance wes attached to the seeking out of new Ole'
noinena, than the laws of the phenomena formerly
known. Scientific men no loner waited for chance to
throw discoveries in their way; they were led to them
by rigorous analogies. Involuntarily, and as it were'
in spite of ourselves, the mare we meditate M. Lever- /
rier's work on the motions of Uranus (Herschel), the
snore our mind reverts to that celebrated period in the
annals of science and civilisation. Now, as then, analysis
transports us to the regions of the unknown ; and (a
certain guide) brings us back laden with the most
splendid discoveries. On the 13th of May, 1781 i
Herschel was examining the little stars in the vicinity of
(11) Gemini ; one of these stars appeared to him to have
an unaccustomed diameter ; he made it out a COa3et.
Scarcely was the discovery of Mr. Herschel made knoealt
when the savans hastened to compare the position of the
new star with that of the fixed stars surrounding '"
They sought, thus, to determine the curve according
which its displacement was effected. Vain efforts
Useless trouble ! Although the star moved
they never succeeded in representing the ensemble of its
positions. The observations of one month upset 0,1
top to bottom those of the preceding month. '7d
length it was perceived that a circular orbit Wl'.
sufficiently satisfy all the observations recorded. 'l':
most difficult step was then passed, and Uranus became
a planet. But the miscalculations expected by the
astronomers were not to stop here ; and, in spite 0„,
the persevering researches of M. Bouvard, Uranus ell?,
day strays more and more from the route traced out
him in the ephemerides. Instead of stopping, on
proaching this problem, at the hypotheses, more or les
ingenious, which have hitherto been suggested to exPlf:l,
these singular anomalies, M. Leverrier perceived ths'
there was no chance of attaining a satisfactory solution
except by resuming the theory of the planet in all “4
elements; he therefore determined anew the pertertll,:,
tions exercised upon it by Jupiter and Saturn, carryon;
the approximations as far as the square and the pro
ducts of the masses, and reduced nearly 300 meridian
observations of Uranus. It was only after this labotirt
as repulsive from the length of the calculations as it °LI
difficult from the invention of the methods, trripa,
M. Leverrier was able to tell the Academy, -Ler,
irregularities of Uranus are due to the action Cu.ii
planet as yet unknown, which, in January 1, 1847, In,
pass by the 325th degree of heliocentric longitude:o
No one will, we fancy, entertain the idea of wishing
reduce our solar system to narrow limits, and thence
to
•
draw a conclusion against the existence of the new sle.g
"In this case, however," adds M. Leverrier, I Ilia
reply, that the same reasons might have been allegL
for affirming in 1781 that Saturn was the last of
planets, safe to be contradicted the next day by the a!st
covery of Uranus." The hypothesis that there eta
planets more remote from the sun than those we sires!
know, is not new. In 1758, the illustrious geometru,
Clairaut, declared, at the public sitting of the AcadLyeey
of Sciences, on the subject of the perturbations of."Ve
ley's comet, "that a body which traverses such real° h
regions might be subject to forces totally unknown, such
as the action of planets too distant to be ever perceive 11
Let us hope that the stars of which Clairaut speaks t
not all remain invisible, and that if chance discovecor`;
Uranus, we shall soon succeed in seeing the planet v/11.
position has been ascertained by M. Leverrier.
--01—
' tationnel.