The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-17 00:00:00

ST. JAMES'S THEATRE.
FRENCH PLAYS.
M. Laferriere, who made a most successful debit here last
evening, is perhaps the greatest, certainly the most versatile
actor of France. His fame is European, and in Belgium,
Germany, and Russia he is as great a favourite as he is
in Paris, and as he will be in London. He is a remarkably
handsome man, with features the most expressive, and an
eye that is as fine as the late Edmund 'Kean's ;
his voice is rich and sweet, and his elocution beautiful.
He first of all appeared as Sir Bernard Harleigh, in Melts-
ville's drama Elle est folle. This drama is founded on one of
the tales in the" Diary of a Physician," published in Black-
wood's Magazine, and Sir Bernard Harleigh is the fond but
jealous husband, who having met the, as he supposes, devoted
lover of his wife, hurls him into the sea. He becomes mad,
and his madness consists in the idea that it is his wife who
is mad. He endeavours to persuade the physician
that this is the case, and actually at first succeeds. The
wild look of exultation which Laferriere gave when he heard
the Doctor (carefully acted by Cartigny) declare that his
wife was mad, was terifically true to nature. The Doctor,
however, is speedily undeceived, gets from the madman his
secret, and determines to effect a cure. The nephew of Sir
Bernard, however, anxious to get possession of his property,
tries to circumvent the benevolent designs of the Doctor, and
by touching on his delusion, brings on a fit of delirium.
The acting .of Laferriere in this scene was harrowing.
Never has the ungovernable fury of delirium been
more truthfully, more awfully depicted. The nephew
goes to seek a magistrate, and the magistrate, who
appears with him is the very man who Sir Bernard fancied
he had murdered. He had been secretly married to the
niece of Sir Bernard's lady, and hence his frequent visits
which had excited the jealousy of Sir Bernard. ,Laferriere'a
conception of this scene was magnificent, and his acting
superb. He casts a look on the magistrate, recognizes him,
and reason and sense return. He looks at him, and at his wife,
the expression of his features, and the position of his body
betokening the most painful feelings of shame and humilia-
tion, until gradually bowed down to the dust at their feet,
he utters in the most thrilling tone of anguish the word
"pardon." The applause was rapturous, and from that
moment M. Laferriere took his position in England as
the greatest of tragedians. Scarcely had the au-
dience recovered from the emotions of his magnificent
delineation of Sir Bernard Harleigh, before, as the
Debutant in the farce of that name, he convulsed them
with laughter. The Debutant is a stage-struck youtlf, a
sort of French Sylvester Daggerwood, who imitates in the
most ludicrous, and vet most unmistakeable manner, all the
actors of the day—Lemaitre as the Gambler, in Trent. ans,
Mademoiselle Rachel in the high, stiff, classical tragedy; in
fact, all the great stage notabilities of France were admirably
hit off. His crowning effort, however, was his imitation of
Macready, as Hamlet, in the scene with the Ghost. It
was perfect, so like, and yet so ludicrous. His exclamation,
" Oh, papa," as he first sees the Ghost was superb. The
tomb scene in Romeo and Juliet was admirably burlesqued,
and the audience were perfectly satisfied that his comic
powers were as great as his tragic, and that they had before
them the French Garrick. The house was crowded, and
never was an actor more rapturously and more deservedly
applauded.

MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT.—NEWCASTLE-ON•Trme,
TILURSDAY.—A fatal and melancholy accident occurred last
night, or early this morning, at Gateshead Fell, about two
miles from this town, which terminated in the death of Mr.
Clark, of the highly respectable and old-established firm ?f
Messrs. Clark, Plummer, and Co., flax-dressers, of this
town. It appears the den eased had been diniag with Mr.
Matthew Plummer, the Chairman of the Directors of the
Newcastle and Carlisle Railway Company, whose son,
Ro-
bert Plummer, was the partner of Mr. Clark, and was re-
turning home to his residence, Ellison-place, in this town,
on horseback, the residence of Mr. Plummer being at Sheriff-
hill about three miles south of Newcastle. While proceeding
along the road, the horse was frightened by some persons
throwing water at each other from a water-trough placed
at the road side, suddenly became unmanageable, and started
off at full speed, when Mr. Clark was unfortunately unable to
retain his seat, and he came to the ground with great force,
falling on the lower part of his back. He was taken up in an
insensible state, and conveyed to the nearest house, when
medical aid was sent for ; but, on the arrival of Sir John Fife,
he pronounced the case hopeless. The unfortunate sufferer
rallied a little, and became so far sensible as to give an ac-
count of the accident, which was committed to writing. He
soon, however, sank again, and, after suffering much pain, ex-
pired in the course of the morning. It appears his bladder
had been burst by the fall, and one of the hip bones broken.
The deceased gentleman was nearly 70 years of age, but en-
joyed good health, and had been of active business habits
through life. He was very generally respected, and his
melancholy death has cast a gloom over a wide circle of
friends.

COST OF FLOUR: IN MANUFACTURES.—A Lanca-
shire cotton-spinner and manufacturer, who uses (accord-
ing to the universal practice) wheaten flour in the dressing
of the warps, informs us that the rise in the price of wheat
between last year and this, has added no less than 5001. a
year to the cost of the flour consumed in his works ! Of
course either the spinner must lose this amount, or he must
add it to the price of his goods.—Somerset County Gazette.
REPRESENTATION OF WEST SOMERSET.— We un-
derstand that through the exertions which have been made
by the Qualification Committee during the short time it has
been in existence, a great accession will be made to the free-
trade ranks at the next registration ' • and should a general
election not take place previous to that occasion, the cha-
racter of the constituency will then be so entirely changed
that the return to Parliament of two free-traders will be
rendered a matter of certainty. Parties who desire to be-
come forty-shilling freeholders must complete their pur-
chases before the thirtieth of this month in order to obtain
votes at the ensuing registration.—Somerset County Gazette.
COLLIERY EXPLOSION AT RISCA, NEAR NEWPORT.
The Monmouthshire Merlin gives the following list of the
ill-fated beings who have lost their lives by this horrible
accident :—John Danks, wife and family ; Daniel Danks, bro-
ther to the first; John Danks, son of the last; John Watts,
wife; George Summers, wife and two children; Isaac Bryant,
wife and family in Somersetsbire ; William Bryant; Samuel
Bryant ; John Attwell ; William Harrison; Charles Collier;
John Bath ; James Gambel, wife and one child ; John
Powell, wife and two children ; Chas. Hearne, young man ;
John Evan, widower, five children, some of whom are mar-
ried; Elia;Jones, Geo. Williams, W. Thomas, Isaac Faidge,
Emmanuel Crook, James Crook, Samuel Silcox, young men;
James Pike, wife and family; Jesse Hodges, Thomas Wood-
ward, John Pool, young men; James Lane, wife and child,
body not found; George Curtis, young man, not found;
George Banfield, wife and family, not found ; George Ban-
field, jun., Thomas Banfield, young men, sons of the above,
not found ; Isaac Lovel, wife and five daughters, not found ;
James Gullock, wife and family, not found ; J. Crook, boy ;
We learn, from the same authority, that during the night of
Wednesday and on Thursday, efforts were untiringly made
to promote a current of atmospheric air through the impurely-
impregnated part of the workings. Water was continually
poured down the water-shaft, and every other available
means was employed to effect the desired object, but up to
the afternoon of Thursday the air at the inner part of the
heading continued so foul that the utmost caution
was required on the part of the men employed in
searching for the bodies of their deceased companions, in
order to prevent a second explosion. Indeed, it was consi-
dered a very hazardous task to approach the spot where the
six dead bodies remaining in the pit were supposed to be
lying, the air being strongly charged with sulphurous vapour,
and the heat being almost intolerable. As a proof of the de-
stroying effects of the gas, one of the dead horses brought
out on Thursday was burned to the skin, not a vestige of
hair being left on the body, and some parts of the skin, and
even some portions of the flesh, being burned to a cinder.
The coroner, William Brewer, Esq., and a jury, were occu-
pied during the afternoon of Thursday in visiting the different
houses where bodies of the unfortunate colliers were lying,
for a view previously to the inquest, which is being
held this day (Friday), at the Albert Inn. Several
men were employed on Thursday afternoon in digging
graves for the dead ; and the day when the afflicted relatives
of the deceased will have to follow, in sad array, their remains to
their last resting-place, will doubtless present scenes unparal-
leled in this locality. A coffin-maker in Newport has had an
order to provide thirty-five shells for the occasion. All
business was suspended in the neighbourhood of the acci-
dent, and a more melancholy scene than that presented by
Risca, since the sad occurrence, can scarcely be imagined,
even if we pictured to wiselves the precincts of a battle-field.
PRESENT STATE TV THE WESTMINSTER SzwEns.
—About seven years ago 160 feet of second size seer
were built in the New-road, by the trustees theof
D
Pa-
rochial Schools, communicating with the sewer into_
De-
vonshire-place.
ho
inrseh.
pirlea-opelacH in Devon-
shire-plane he
eo.nseM,
entered a complaint on the 28th iNovember last. Since
New-road,
Wd,hhiatevt house-drains,gouse-mdtse
stopped,
the complaint had been entered, out of the length of
about eighty feet, sixtyofsaid
five loads silt, to be mac-
adamised road-stuff, had been lifted up and carted away,
and then about three feet in depth of the looser soil was
washed down the Devonshire-place sewer the stuff ap•
peared like putty, it was so tenacious.— The Builder.
HIGHWAY ROBBERY.—On Saturday last, between
one and two o'clock, r.m., as Robert Warren, B •
rt stul Mercury
news-carrier, was on his way from M. idromer Norton to
Chilcompton, Somerset, he was stopped in a field by three
men, who assaulted and robbed him of between 9s. and
12s.
in cash, and two newspapers.—Sherburne Journal.
MR. ESCOTT AND THE ELECTORS OF WINCHESTER.
—A. paragraph having appeared in certain prints to the effect
that Mr Escott's constituents were displeased with the course
taken by that Hon. Member, we have taken pains to enquire
into the fact, and we are enabled to state that Mr. Escott
never stood so high in the opinion of the citizens of Win-
chester as at the present time, and in the event of a dissolu-
tion of Parliament he would receive the almost unanimous
support of the great body of highly respectable electors of
that city.—Somerset County Gazette.
BLEEDING TO DEATH.—SINGULAR FACTS.—On
Saturday a little boy, at Wolverhampton, fell and cut his
gum, but not severely. The bleeding, however, could not
be assuaged, though every
means was tried that surgical skill
could suggest. The child died on Tuesday morning, from loss
of blood. At the coroner's inquest, Hannah Phillips, grand-
mother to the deceased, stated that she had lost four children
from bleeding to death, and in the family twelve other persons
(making altogether sixteen) had bled to death; not one of
them having been seriously injured ; the injuries were slight
cuts or falls. Some of them had bled to death from teeth
having been drawn.—Wilts Independent.
DESTRUCTIVE FIRE NEAR HEMEL HEMPSTEAD.—
On Friday morning, between one and two o'clock, an exten-
sive fire was discovered to have broken out in the farm of
Thomas Younger, Esq., residing near Hemel Hempstead,
Hertfordshire, which broke out in the rick-yard. Immedi-
ately that the fire was discovered, the peasantry hurried to
the scene of conflagration, a good supply of water from the
adjacent ponds supplied the fire engines, and by the united
exertions of the men, they succeeded in extinguishing the
fire by five o'clock ; but not, however, before two large and
valuable ricks of hay, with one of corn, were entirely con-
sumed. Others were slightly damaged. The farni-hou%
stabling, and out-houses were saved. It is unknown
'chat manner the fire originated,
The last of the
THE LAST OF THE COACHEs.--
T
coaches running from this town to theb George Bird, than
metropolis, driven for
the last sixteen or seventeen yearseet coachman never sat
whom a more obliging
.and respected
to ed y
all potent steam.
" "
upon a box, has struck ft scolours
The railway, with butsingle exception—for one coach still
passes through to remind
a
oneof the days of "the stage," and
is too, apparently in vigorous existence—is now the great
f Chelmsford to
of the road from the emporium of
monopolist
d
d Stanar.
commerce.—Esser,
METROPOLITAN DRAPERS' Associniox.--A. public
meeting of f the friends of this Association WRS held last even-
ing at the Crosby Hall Literary Institution, for the purpose
of aiding the movement now in progress for raising a fund of
5,0001. Mr. S. C. Hall presided, and made an eloquent appeal
on behalf of the Association. Mr. Hall was followed by Kr.
D. W. Wire, and other gentlemen. The meeting was very
poorly attended, and the subscriptions appeared to come in
very slowly.
ANCIENT PIGEON-HOUSE.—Mr. M. A. Lower,
describing the priory at Lewes, says that the pigeon-hov se
which stood to the south-west of the existing ruins, and 'was
taken down about forty years since, was in the forte of
cross, and equalled in magnitude many a parish church;
pigeon-holes were 3,228 in number.-770 Builder.