The Sun.
London, England, 1846-07-30 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

+an
ot
Until
,otttl a-ndi sBl7 "liethine• more is sought than to have
certainly dressed dandies or no e
f bl I s' ball-rooms.
techthink that the people of England are very_
r Indeb•ed to the Rev. Mr. Trimmer, vicar of Hounslow,
It is ag a coroner's inquest on the late melancludy
her, 40 use having men of education or gentlemanly man
air, in the ranks if they are to be treated as poor
.443 te Was.
If the black cats were not used this tove,
b,:_rt the execution was so very severe, for what pur-
t—' does Colonel Whyt kee them ? Or what sight
as he to keep any hart T • thane one sort—the. regulation
lajeThis is evidently a connivance with his farrier-
r, 'who brings them in his bag, and gives to farrier
wivi!lns the one he is to use. One man is flogged with
White
eats, and goes next day to his duty in good health.
wiwtiol others are ill and one dies, because they are beaten
ini„„black cats, which are heavier and create internal
4')And Dr. Warren says, "11 is unnecessary in
this j_rili the sit
only way el
to ato feel th
trtaine victim
the state of he su's pulse ;" and yet-
t
y t taker'
r, for
convulsions " (as Dr. Warren says) do not
lilv'ace ; on the contrary, the patient sinks gradu-.
tnY until he
."nt)t, and is thenceforward insensible of
4? pain or suffering until recalled to life: that is to
felt: t" wan may die under the lash if his pulse is not
But it should be. And other Colonels ask the
otr re
teente epeatedly how the man is, and if the punish •
boner " be continued? Yes, every time the exectt-
ipk_. or the cat are changed should it be ascertained in
efgtKt en atata the victim is ; a good surgeon will do so as
ask f he thinks necessrry, especially if the patients
tip/4r. ater. All woranded men ask for water, prin-
tint ewrrileenidtidhe wounds are internal. But no doubt
not think it at all necessary to avcer-
-100;11 what state this man was, because he, the sur-
ease ~;a4 have known beforehand that a weak-bodied
lege' '-',l;ett to drink, was a weak-chested man, and con-
. .44nuY not a fit subject for corporal punishment.
resr,'3'humble opinion, the assertions of the "Eighteen
t
the 1.8 ,1‘1411,” in the Times, are without foundation ; bu
le -ea' state of the case is as I have had the honour to
Oaf° re the editor of The Sun.
441( our cavalry officers knew anything of out-post
itt Sir Hardinge would not have been surprised
i
light odis
o
p„ h but have received timely notice from
/ar4leY officers, The fighting is beyond all praise
our.ll.a• But there, as elsewhere, in all other matters,
hue light cavalry officers have shown that they do not
Slate real duties of a light dragoon.
Zone -years'ee old boys are unfit for officers, and yet
°bud tthose
between that age and eighteen may
lowe,,t:"eaeaissions ! Twenty-one years should be the
laaiaße for admittance. A noble lord becomes an
‘l,,b. Ett sixteen in the foot guards, and at eighteen he
the aeptain
in the foot guards and lieutenant• colonel in
terrePY; and then his grace has his hopeful son trans-
yoti tO Hungarian imitation regiment, and there
of ~,tw,a a lieutenant-colonel commanding a regiment
43,e-.11"leY, who is not responsible in a court of ltawo,foar
belt e his numerous debts, and who for
'his must wear imitation mustachoes aptdwwaisnhiskers.
quite
be alaY seem extreme case, but
00-ribeljelinitt practice will often. occur after the Duke
gton's control is lost, as it did before the Duke
Yoe came.
bit
eY after day any one can see in her Majesty's House--
Ciavalry little fellows commanding six- feet cuiras-
ers-__h
. eavy cavalry officers unable to wear anything
Imitation armour, made of tin.
ii...trvilege on one side, and flogging on the other—that
ule real state of the case.—l am, tzar, &c., _

A CONSTANT READER.

M. Vrpocg.—De morties nil nisi bonum is an arlage
which it would have been well for the gerant of the Demo-
cratic Pacifigue to have borne in mind, when on the occasion
of the rumoured death of Vidocq, who it was alleged had
died in poverty at Brussels, he thought proper to publish
as article on the subject. Our readers will remember the
raoetious letter in which M. Vidocq rssured us that he was
Xll
alive, and having read the article in question in the
chaeartratic Pacifigue, which he considered reflected on his
eter, he at once proceeded to France, and instituted pro-
Mtgs against the gerant. The cause came on for trial on
h July. The defendant suffered judgment to go by de-
-0,4'..t4 and M. Vidocq, having declared that he had no desire
14personal damages, the court sentenced the defendant to
_ fine of 50 francs, and to advertise the sentence in the
Ntt,,l-t journals. ra
eplaintiff, says the Constitutionnel,
iktiriN° superb die.tnondbreast pins, and appeared in the
1,11 gorous state of health.
artal)tdh ZeßPti.lllFamily of France are to set out on the
1, Proceed fhey will return by the 15th of next mon,th,
'sals „ to take up their residence at St. Cloud. Ihe
Misr
4-ttiine the r•-•Mposing the royal squadron at Treport are to
Amelie yacht, the Gomer steam frigate, the
Colombe steamer and Passe Partout cutter.
4bitn:En ,
ATE ATTEMPT AT HIGHWAY ROBBERY AND
k, 11.--As Jonathan Robinson, a post-boy in the employ
tern-I•onsW.aterhouse,of Burton,
.Westmoreland,. was on his
attr„i from Lancaster, alone in a gig, between eleven
rtrt oft,l'e o'clock on Saturday week, be observed on a lonely
irearalroad, known as Carnforth Level, four men, who
bpsellee,"' the garb of railway labourers, standing under
ityPosit,t, two on each side of the road. On coming.nearly
Xle's be them, one of the party made a rush to seize the
;,ed. -ead, but not succeeding, was thrown upon the
iiuthont . Another of them immediately fired a pistol, but
Zsetc,ll.4 taking effect. Robinson immediately lashed the
tlir„mobseP started off at full gallop, at the same time throw-
aitol or the bottom of the gig, and when he had gone
/10 ,4t ill.:11•Y yards another shot was fired, happily with
uotibr ‘4leet•as. It robbery was their object, they had,
betil Mistaken their man ; but it appears they must
044 ev;sVerY 'desperate and reckless characters, as it is
Vet i'ent they would not have hesitated at committing
144•041°Rttee()mplish their purpose.—Westmoreland Gazette.
kr4l still INSTITUTION.—This intellectual exhi-
-14141E, kcontinues to be crowded by eager inquirers after
Isflj"lanai ntewldge. During the past week, too, a more
tritioetn„ treat has been provided, in the eloquent lectures
tto p:rehheftner, on the application of the agent elec-
;teem" use iPh",.es connected with the economy of' every-day
dear; Nslsiehu,e Learned Doctor's own words, " That stranged
ron'.:°Ys in dances in the Aurora Borealis, and sears and
at*: aloaia ,‘"„a tonligting's flash, may be employed in
hs
pit the Qu form move machinery, to transfer throug
most rai •
ellt"Ne.e, old conversation, to explode masses of
tea11(1 pr"."%l eVen to print a lady's dress." In his excel-
tix each aotteal mode the Doctor then proceeded to ill.us-
out lecef these truths by practical experiments, givin.g
btiilltrtitttan epitome of all that has been done and said
'virtu subject during the last twenty years.
very tites,`VE FIRE AND NARROW ESCAPE OF SE-
-11;(1" '4ani,,,"l's•---This morning, between twelve and one, a
itt Nand ',,ug fire broke out in the premises belonging to Mr.
the 3.l.`"')n, grocer and tea dealer, carrying on business
)4,„jolice_ now's-fields, Bermondsey. It appears that whibse
414„":eived sconstable on the beat was going his rounds,
"ttere ~.1(e in dense bodies issuing through the windo.w
trotight Ytthout loss of time he raised an alarm which
latv.rgoant Gravestock and a strong muster of cond-
14e14,NIsiri,tsPot. After considerable trouble they suceecde
unT,l° four '.:Luj• Hodson from his sleep. At that time. there
lir Po °Ye children and the servants sleeping in the
th t...eu of the house, and it was with the greatest di.ffi-
ZY arltileY were made sensible of the danger to which
Teti! exPosed. Scarcely had the residents effected a
the Edioeat from the building. when the flames shot through
or souit:t7imloves and out of the different apertures, and
tlttaainr. Irne the moat disastrous consequences to
.the sur-f
car° Property were feared. Fortunately, intelligence o
%gin 4111ItY had been previously forwarded to the different
.itorNs-e-anslations of the tire brigade and West of England
b'Oguteer.7• The Tooley-street engine, with Hambleton, the
thder.' Trickly arrived, and was instantly set to work. Mr.
ed„,'On. and Mr. Counorton, the chief officers of the
Corn;" Establishment and West of England Insurance
skerilnY, followed soon afterwards, and by the strenuous
not b,f.12.s of the brigade the fire was extinguished, but
zestriotybinagd passe
itsd
course through
the whole every
ole of the room in
stockyte e
in
-
in
apniri4_fixtures, and other effects in the shop, as well as
of thg the furniture, &c., in the upper rooms. The cause
forth Outbreak could not be ascertained. Had it not been
Vie in °Ppo:tune discovery made by the police, several of
son i. Mates must have perished in the flames. Mr. Hod-
c‘,..msured to theamount of 3001. in the Sun Fire-office.
m
se, rtiotlS MISTAKE.—On Tuesday morning a gentle"
CCr,,as observed waiting by the new gates of St. Pancras
how f", Euston square, who inquired of a person passing,
It wOng it would be before the three o'clock train started.
4, /t :_aa told it was then half-past two, when he exclaimed,.
very odd they don't open the gates!" He had
it the portico of the church for the Birmingham Railway
as-
TrM.inua, and was there left waiting impatiently for admis-
2°•How long it was before he discovered his mistake we
44,e not informed.
MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT—THREEPERSONSDnoWNED.
"On Saturday evening last, St. Boswell's fair-day, a melan-
choly accident occurred, by which three persons lost their
st,..ves in the Tweed, at the Burnfoot, behind the village of
14eSsudden—viz., James Scott, blacksmith, Bemersyde, his
'wife, and daughter, about 14 years of age. It is supposed
that on returning from the fair they had attempted to wade
the river, which was running rather full at the time, and
bad been carried off their feet down the water.--Caledonian
Mercury.
SWIMMING FEAT.—On Wednesday morning, at four
o'clock, a large number of persons assembled on lalackfriars-
bridge, to witness an attempt to be made by one of the corn-
Positors of the Morning Advertiser to swim across the Thames,
from the steps of the bridge on the Surrey side to those on.
h
the opposite shore; the wager to be commenced an hour and
4,1141 f before high water, the tide running up strong at
the. The conditions of the undertaking were, that no rest
i",,ould be allowed, and, in the event of the current taking
1111 swimmer through the bridge, the stakes to be claimed by
°PPonents. Precisely at the hour appointed the task
eapt temnaenced, the sl‘immer at tint making his way
ast the tide towards Southwark-bridge, but having
kfriZ about half the distance towards it, an unexpecte.d,
!feortstY presented itself, which nearly proved fatal to his
Itorneol°2 arriving opposite the gas-works at Bankside, an
..11t1(1 ;;nodhe_ of gas-tar was discharged into the stream,
hZuhrage nly choked with the effluvia. However, his
is was B,ltainod him, and having got clear of this, he made
Coevii•lB.ll'o the opposite side, and in thirty-three minutes ac-
oongratert„his arduous undertaking, amidst the cheers and
deligh a‘lons of the spectators.
f Martineau has just finished the building of a
Pacaet. 41 residence in the lake district.—Cumberland
j
• 'r°olt
Ing a ver 8 GUARDIAN SOCIETY..—Yesterday even-
of so„„_ Y crowded and influential meeting of the inhabitants
itim.„`"-uwark, to promote the cause of and to torm an aux-
-I,:b.nighttoonl,Blle Poor Man's Guardian Society, was held at
teserie:,
takAi ssembly Rooms, Blackfriars• road. Stevens,
ng the chair and opening the business of the
tie "o g. called u on Mr. John Savage to detail the opera-
, os of the secietpv That gentleman (who was the society's
chairissioner to indover)cmiplied with the request of the
ceedi_nlan, and went into a len.zthened statement of his pro-
.stige.o,a_t A. edover, and at Marlborough-house, Peckham.
hoin °wall, Mr. Charles Allright, and other gentlemen
brokeg addressed the meeting at considerable length.
_it
to the ocPhash°rtlY before twelve o'clock, after voting thanks
fip cciENT man.
AT
THE BRITISH MUSElT3.l.—YeSterday
aceintugdent,ofetween the hours of seven and eight o'clock, an
a fearful description happened to a man named
Muse Bateman a bricklayer. He was engaged at the British
forty and having ascended a scaffold a distance of about
groun7s he missed his footing, and was precipitated to the
after the lon being picked up he appeared quite dead ; but
•apse of a few moments, animation becoming per-
Lie eePtihnilee
.e was removed with all possible speed, in a fright-
mi:tilated condition, to the King's College Hospital.
xl,s ins in a very precarious state.
khart, sister-in-law to the editor of the
lie Review, has been admitted into the Roman Catho-
Lo_ttetireb, the widow and family of the late John William
047,11, , to whom the second volume of Mr. Newman's Pero-
-14_4i errtions was inscribed, have entered the pale of the
Chatrch, ea:abridge Advetlitsr, Ally 29.

"VIRGINIE. Tragedie. en dug actes, par M. Latour
(de Saint Wars). Representeepour la premiere fois a Paris,
sur le Theatre Francais, par lee comediens ordinaires du
Poi, le 5 Avril, 1845, it au Theatre Francais de Londres
(St. James's Theatre), le 24 Juillet, 1846.

The story of Virginia has been a favourite subject
with the dramatists of England and France from the
earliest times. The earliest extant English dramatic pro-
duction publicly represented (" Ferrex and Porrex" was
only represented at Court), the plot of which is derived
from history, is entitled "Appius and Virginia," and it was
publicly acted in all probability as early as the year 1563.
This curious production, which holds a middle station
between the old moralities and the historical plays, and
in which the vice of the old morality is introduced under
the name of Haphazard, was printed in 1575. We know
not whether the story was as early dramatised by the
French dramatic authors, but certain it is that every
century since that time has seen its Virginius or its
Virginia in both countries; and that, with the exception
of the Virginius of Mr. Sheridan Knowles in England,
and the Virginie of M. Latour in France, all these pro-
ductions have fallen into deserved oblivion. It might at
first sight appear that the present was an excellent
opportunity for instituting a comparison between the
works of the English and of the French dramatists, but
nothing can well be more different than the manner in
which they have treated the subject. We have none of
those large-hearted (we know no word that will so well
express our meaning), exquisitely beautiful domestic
scenes, which form the charm of Sheridan Knowles's
play, in the Virginie of M. Latour, but on the other hand
Sheridan Knowles gives us nothing like the in-
tensely impassioned scenes between Appius and
Virginia by which the work of M. Latour
is distinguished. Virginius is the great character of the
play of Sheridan Knowles, and Virginia interests us
passively rather than actively. We pity and love the
young, innocent, simple-minded girl of fifteen, exposed,
in the absence of her natural protectors, to diabolical
machinations, the object of which she comprehends but
indistinctly—we pity, we feel for her ; we love her as the
innocent victim rather than as the heroine. Not so with
the Virginie of M. Latour. She perfectly understands
the nature and the object of the pursuit of Appius
Claudius. She spurns him from her presence with a
withering sarcasm, mingled with a warmth of indignation,
which savours rather of the woman of five-and-twenty
than of the girl of fifteen—rather of the Lucretia than
of the Virginia. In this respect the Virginie of M.
Latour, although more dramatic than the Virginia
of Sheridan Knowles, is not so true to history, but we
could readily, nay, thankfully, pardon a graver anachro-
nism for the sake of the exquisite poetry of M. Latour
and the sublime acting of Mrille. Rachel, for whom the
character was written. The first act is rather heavy; it is
devoted to the preparations for the marriage of Virginia
with Icilius, and concludes with the departure of Vir-
ginius to the array, after a long conversation with Fa-
bius on state affairs, fur the introduction of which M.
Latour may plead the authority of Corneille and the
custom cf the French stage, albeit it is a custom which,
in our opinion,

" Is more honoured in the breach than in the observance."
In the second act we have the first interview between
Claudius and Virginia, and this is one of the most
powerfully-written scenes in the drama. During the
absence of Virginius and Icilius the Decemvir has sent
presents to Virginia, which she has rejected. He then,
in an interview, personally urges his suit, and the scene
thus proceeds :

CLAUDIUS.
Virginie !...Et ces dons, et ces vceux empresses
Qu'on a du vows uffrir

VIRGINIE.
Je les ai repousE6s.
CLAUDIITS.
Repousser les preients d'un hommo qui vows aime !...
Est-co me2ris pour moi ?

VIIIGINIE.
C'est respect pour moi-meme.
Et d'ailleurs, qu'on me dise oit je dois deposer
Le prix du deihopineur qu'on me vient proposer.
Irai-je le suspendre avec cette couronne,
Qui rapproche des Dieux ceux auxquels on la donne ?
Pourrai-je le placer sans crime sur !'autel
Des penates gardiens du foyer paternel ?
Faut it le renfermer dans la chambre oil ma mare
A cache les tresors d'une conduite austere ?
Dites, dites-le-moi ?...Le culte des aieux
Deja depuis long-temps a consacre ces lieux ;
Leur ame y vit toujours, et leur puissant exemple
A deja transforms cette demeure en temple ;
Its sont ici presents, et tout ce qae j'y vois,
Pour m'inspirer l'honneur, semble prendre une voix.
Adieu !

The conclusion of this speech is poetry of the very
highest order. Sublime is the idea that a succession of
virtuous ancestors consecrates the family abode, consti-
tuting it a temple to virtue, into which it is a sacrilege
to let any impure thing enter. Worked up to a pitch
of desperation by her repeated refusals of his suit,
Appius Claudius at length offers to make her his wife:—

CLAUDIUS.
Pardorme, apaise-toi...Quelle est done ta puissance,
Et quel charme supreme est dans ton innocence ?
Exptique-moi comment tes dedmins, ta fierte,
Sans exciter ma haine, augmentent ta beaute ?
Dispose demon sort : je t'aime, je t'6pouse.
VIRGINIE. _ _

Vous, seigneur !...De ses droits la noblesse est jalouse ;
II vous est derendu de volts unir a moi
Je suis fille du peuple.

CLAUDIUS.
On peut changer la loi.
VIRGINIE.
Qui pent changer la loi ne peut changer mon amen
Et j'aime Icilius, et je serai sa femme.
Thus refused he informs her of the death of Icilius, bUt
breaks his intelligence to her in such a way as to probe
her heart to the core:—

CLAUDIUS.
Je recois de l'armee
Des nouvelles dont Rome est a peinb informee.
VIRGINIE.

Mon perc• ?...

CLAUDIUS, a part.
Elle n'a poiut tremble pour son amant.
VIRGINIE.
Dites...l'incertitude est uu allreux tourment.

CLAUDIUS.
CSIMez-vows, dissipez cette pieuse crainte ;
Vous n'avez pas encore un tel sujet de plainte
Votre pore est vivant. et dans tousles combats
Il marche le plus brave entre nos vieux soldats.
VIRGINIE.
C'est donc Icilius ?...

CLAUDIUS.
Mon amour vous destine
A terminer dans Rome une guerre intestine ;
Et par lui les Romains verront changer leur sort.
VIRGINIE.
kiliUS, VOUS dis je !...

CLAUDIUS.
Icilius est mort !
VIRGINIE.

II est mort !

CLAUDIUS.
L'ennemi triomphe dans l'Algide,
Minerve l'a couvert de sa puissante (Tide.
votre fiance, dans un combat de nuit,
A peri. Tont lien entre vous est detruit ;
Et vous pourrez bientot disposer de vous-mhie.

VIRGINIE.

Icilius est wort !...dieux cruels !..

(Elk tome our tils siege. )
CLAUDIUS.

Elle I'aime Z...

A cold-blooded, minute, but yet most accomplished,
anatomist of the human heart does Appius Claudius
situw himself to have been. Fausta, the sister of Icilius,
now enters, and denounces Appius Claudius as his as-
sassin, and Virginia, in words that burn, thus spurns
him from her presence:—

V IRGINIE.

Queue amine ! ..
Vous osez me parler, me regarder en face !
Au lieu de fuir d'ici, confus, pale, interdit,
Vous osez m'aborder apres ce qu'elle a dit !
Vous, notre ennemi; vous, i qui tout sert de proie ;
Vous, par qui j'ai perdu mon amour et ma joie !
Icilius est mort frappe par des Romains,
Vous avez mis le fer dans leurs cruelles mains,
Et vous venez ici, pros d'une autre victime,
Solliciter le prix de votre premier crime ;
Et vous venez ici, m'offrir presque a genoux,
Ves presents teints de sang ! du sang demon epoux !
Sort. z ! sortez !...Mail non ; ecoutez ma reponse :
Je vous crois criminel quand Fausta vous denonce.
Le sort d'lcilius ne me changera pas,
Et je hais votre amour autant qua son tr6pas.
N'employez avec moi ni detiur ni surprise ;
La Romaine vous bait, l'amante vous meprise ;
Et je sens dans mon cceur, par un transport soudain,
L'aversion grandir autant que le dedain.
Instruit des sentiments que mon ame vous porte,
Allez, ne touchez plus le seuil de cette porte,
Sans crime on ne saurait ici vous recevoir :
Sortez ! epargnez. nous le tourment de vous voir !
( Elk sort avec Fausta,
We feel sorely tempted to dilate upon the manner i
which the whole of this splendid scene is given by Ma'
demoiselle Rachel; but we abstain, as we wish at pre
sent to consider the tragedy of Virginie solely as a lite
rary production. The subject of the third act is the
claim of the retainer of Appius to Virginia as his slave
—Appius justifies his crime by saying it is his destiny.
The description of the God of Destiny by Appius is
very sublime; we know of nothing in Racine superior to
it, except it be, perchance, the appearance of the Spirit
of Jezebel to Athaliah ; and the answer of Virginia is
equally sublime and more philosophical.
" Le malheur croit aux Dieux le crime les accuse,"
is one of those lines which are destined to pass into a
proverb. Notwithstanding the defence of Fabius, the
patron of Virginius, Virginia is retained in the palace of
Appius until the return of Virginius. We must no,