The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-18 00:00:00

PRINCESS'S THEATRE.

A Curious Case, is the title of a cleverly written two-act
comedietta, which was produced at this theatre last evening,
with Mrs. Stirling as the heroine. She enacts the part of Mrs.
Aubrey, a high-minded, high spirited woman, who, to save her
sister from destruction, has raised money by pawning her jewels,
and who patiently submits to be the victim of her husband's
jealousy and suspicions, rather than betray her sister. The
jealousy of the husband is aroused by the conduct and re-
marks of Twiggleton (Charles Mathews), a rollicking, gossip-,
ing, scandal-loving, intriguing roue, who at length get a
lesson, which effectually cures him of scandal-mongering
while Mr. Aubrey has his doubts, jealousies, and fears ef-
fectually dispelled, and is convinced of the high honour of
his wife. The dialogue is very smartly written. Charles
Mathews chatters and bustles through the part of Twiggleton
in most diverting style—in fact, he is the play. It was
completely successful, and was announced for repetition
amidst much applause.

VAUXHALL GARDENS.—The annual fête and fancy
fair for the benefit of the Licensed Victuallers' School was celebrated
here yesterday, and will be again repeated this evening. In the
early part of the proceedings, the children supported in this excel.
lent establishment were introduced into the gardens, and allowed
the license and the pleasures of a holiday. One of the boys spoke
the address of thanks and congratulation from the orchestra. To
amuse the children, old as well as young, there was the performance
of Mr. Benedict Tournalre, an athlete of no mean pretensions ; there
were miniature races by ponies, a ballet by the Armenian brothers,
fireworks, a concert, and an inexhaustible succession of strange
sights. The ball-room, in the old Italian walk, a surface of 300 feet
in length, and proportionably broad, was thrown open, and here
dancing to the music of numerous musicians formed the entertain-
meat. In addition to the bands] under the direction of Mr. A. Lee,
the bands of the Grenadier Guards and of the Artillery were en-
gaged, and played alternately. The crowd of Teeple was very great,
and the whole of the arrangements satisfactory.
CREMORNE GARDENS.—The attactions of this now
popular place of amusement drew together within the inclosure, yes-
terday, upwards of 8,000 persons. In the banquetting•room 300 of
the fraternity of Oddfellows sat down to an excellent dinner, pro-
vided by Mr. Ellis, the proprietor, over which large party Mr. T.
Duncombe, M.P., presided. There was an effective band of instru-
mental performers, and a strong muster of professional singers.
The usual loyal and national toasts were drunk with the honours,
and the chairman spoke at some length on the merits of the society
and the benefits conferred by it on the members, At seven o'clock
the ascent of the great Nassau balloon took place, under the direc-
tion of Mr. Green, who was accompanied by two ladies and
nine gentlemen ; the ascent was magnificent, the balloon tower-
ing immediately on being loosed from the earth, and making
its way over the north-western part of the metropolis. It was
in sight for a considerable time. An experiment was tried on
the occasion of the inflation of the balloon, to ascertain the precise
number of cubic feet of gas requisite for the ascent ; this consisted in
the introduction of a gas-metre, invented by Mr. Defries, of St. Mar-
tin's-lane, called "the dry gas-metre," by which the gas supplied by
the Imperial Gas Company can be accurately computed, and, of
course, the fair charge for the supply calculated without injustice
either to those who supply the gas or to those by whom it is con-
sumed. The gas-metre employed was a very ingenious contrivance,
and acted with great accuracy. There were many scientific persons
present, by wham it was examined and approved. This is the first
effort attended with success of the employment of such an instru-
ment on such an occasion. After the ascent of the balloon the
theatrical representations, the concert, the dancing, &c., followed,
and diversified the amusements till 11. o'clock, the whole being con-
cluded by a display of fireworks by Mr. Mortram ; after which the
company retired. _ _ _

THE HALIFAX AND BOSTON MAILS.—The following
is the report of the Select Committee of the House cf Commons upon
this subject :—" The Select Committee appointed to inquire into the
circumstances connected with the granting of the present contract
for the conveyance of the mails from England to Halifax and Bos
ton, and also into the circumstances connected with the granting of
any new or the extension of the existing contract for the same pur-
pose, have considered the several matters to them referred, and have
agreed to the following report:—' That your Committee have in-
quired into the circumstances connected with the granting of the
present contract for the conveyance of mails from England to Ha-
lifax and Boston, as well as other matters referred to them, and are
of opinion that the arrangement has been concluded on terms advan-
tageous to the public service, and have been most efficiently per-
formed by Mr. Cunard. But your Commfttee do not wish to ex-
press any opinion whether a mare advantageous one might not have
been entered into had the tender been thrown open to public com-
petition. Your Committee, however, cannot but regret that the
above arrangements involve consequences injurious to the Great
Western Steam-ship Company ; and, considering the meritorious
character of the services rendered by the latter company, and its
priority of establishment on the New York line, will be glad if, on
any future extension of the Royal Mail service, it receives the fa-
vourable consideration of the Government."

SIR CHARLES WETHERELL.—We regret to state that
a decided change for the worse took place on Saturday night in Sir
Charles Wetherell's health. Throughout Sunday he continued in the
same precarious condition, without any improvement whatever ma-
nifesting itself. Yesterday (Monday) he was joined by his brother,
Archdeacon Wetherell, his cousin, Mr. Nathan Wetherell, &c., &c.,
but he was unable to recognise any of them ; indeed, since the day of
the accident he has spoken but twice. and then in a fbrced and
broken manner. We have to add that, according to the accounts re-
ceived by the last train which left Maidstone last night, Sir Charles
was not expected to survive many hours.
CAUTIONS TO PARENTS.—NARROW ESCAPE FROM
Daowurtro.--On Sunday afternoon, about four o'clock, on the Sybil
London and Woolwich steamer coming alongside the stone pier at
Greenwich, a lady and gentleman, accompanied by a little boy, between
two and three years of age, who were waiting to proceed to London,
on perceiving the overcrowded state of the boat, refused to go
aboari, preferring to await the arrival of the next boat. The lady
and gentleman having seated themselves on one of the benches on
the pier, allowed the child to run about the dummy, when, on at-
tempting to pass behind the bench on which his parents were seated,
he fell overboard, between the cofferdam (erected for the purpose of
repairing the pier) and the dummy. An instant alarm was raised,
when Edward Gillett, the mate of the Sybil, with great presence of
mind, and without waiting to pull off his clothes, plunged iu, and
fortunately succeeded in rescuing the child, as he rose for the third
time. The little sufferer was immediately conveyed to a tea-house
adjoining the Torbay Tavern, where the usual restoratives were ad-
ministered, and in less than an hour afterwan.'s he was so far reco-
vered as to accompany his parents home, who left a very handsome
doueeur for the gallant preserver of their infant.
CORONER'S INQUEST.—FATAL ACCIDENT, OCCASIONED
BY THE SWELL or STEAM-BOATS.—Yesterday, Mr. Baker entered into
and concluded an inquiry, at the Wheatsheaf, Wapping-wal, relative
to the death of Lewis Harris, eleven years of age, the son of Mr.
Joseph Harris, a broker, of the Jewish persuasion, living at 41, New-
road, St. George's. On Sunday afternoon, between five and six
o'clock, deceased was in a barge off King:James's-stairs, in the act of
stepping from it to another barge, when they parted from each other,
and in consequence deceased fell into the river. At the time of the
accident three steam-boats passed, which caused the swell of the
water and the barges to separate from: each other. Efforts were
made to save deceased for half an hour, and which, upon a reward
being offered for the discovery of the body, were continued till two
o'clock that morning, when it was found about three yards from the
spot where he sunk. Verdict, "Accidental death."
FIRE AT THE GREENWICH RAILWAY.—Last evening,
between the hours (if nine cnd ten, the stores belonging to Mr. Joseph
Horredine, occupying No. 113 arch of the Greenwich Railway, from
some cause unknown, took fire. The stock-in-trade consisted of a
large quantity of linen, woollen, and cotton rags, the general collec-
tion of a marine store dealer. The flames shot up high above the
railway, on either side, and for some time caused considerable alarm.
Owing to the great distance of the place from the main street, A con-
siderable time elapsed before a sufficient supply of water could be ob-
tained to work the engnes. At length, however, by uniting the hose,
the power of two engines was brought to bear upon the flames,
but owing to the strong hold they had previously obtained, the whole
length of the arch, nearly forty feet by twenty, was completely red
with heat. By great exertions the firemen got the mastery over the
names, but before that was accomplished, a very considerable quan-
tity of the stock-in-trade was totally destroyed. The trains were
running as usual at ten o'clock.
AUCTION SALE OF WEST INDIAN PINE-APPLES
Yesterday, Mr. Adams sold in Lower Thames-street, upwards of
5,000 pine-apples, recently imported from New Providence, and
which sold at from 3s. to ss. per pound.
A large flight of locusts passed over the town of
Sunderland on Monday evening last. They hovered over the neigh-
bourhood of Hendon, and numbers alighted on the hedges there,
till, on crowd beginning to collect, they took flight towards the
south. They appeared to conduct their migration in close company.
Seveml of them were caught.—Newcastle Journal.
George Hudson, Esq., M.P., arrived in this town on
Thursday afternoon, from York, and has since been actively engaged
in inspecting the works on the Newcastle and Berwick Railway, and
in making arrangements far the immediate construction pf the high-
level bridge germ the Tyne.—FeiMak Journal.;