The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-12 00:00:00

COURT CIRCULAR.
WINDSOR,' SllNDAY.—Yesterday morning the Queen
and Prince Albert enjoyed their accustomed early walk.
Her Majesty and her Royal Consort again promenaded
in the afternoon.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, Prince
Alfred, the Princess Royal, and the Princess Alice, took
pony exercise yesterday forenoon in the grounds sur-
rounding the Castle.
His Excellency Count Dietrichstein, their Excellen-
cies Monsieur and Madame Van do Weyer, and Lord
and Lady John Russell, arrived at the Castle yesterday
on a visit to her Majesty.
Colonel Berkeley Drummond, Mr. G. E. Anson,
Colonel Seymour, and Colonel Bowles, enjoyed the sport
of shooting yesterday morning.
The royal dinner party at the Castle yesterday in-
cluded her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, the
Lady in Waiting on her Royal Highness, the Baroness
de Speth, his Excellency Count Dietrichstein, their Ex-
cellencies Monsieur and Madame Van de Weyer, Lord
and Lady John Russell, and Sir George Couper.
The band of the Ist Life Guards was in attendance
during dinner at the Castle. Her Majesty's private band
afterwards attended.
This morning the Queen and Prince Albert walked in
the precincts of the Castle.
The royal family took the usual pony exercise this
forenoon on the terraces and grounds around the Castle.
Her Majesty and his Royal Highness Prince Albert,
the ladies and gentlemen of the Court, and the domes-
tic household, attended Divine service this morning in
the private chapel of the Castle. The Hon. and Rev. C.
Leslie Courtenay officiated.

Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Cambridge,
the Princess Mary, and the Hereditary Grand Duke and
Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg Strelitz, and his Serene
Highness Prince Frederick of Hesse, arrived at Cashio-
bury Park, Herts, on Saturday, on a visit to her Ma-
esty the Queen Dowager, from Kew.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge arrived
at the residence of Viscount Barrington, near Farring-
don, on Friday, from Windsor Castle, to honour the
Noble Viscount with a visit. _ .

Mr. Wickham, Chairman of the Stamps and Taxes,
had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer
on Saturday at his official residence in Downing-street.
Mr. Hart Davis, Deputy Chairman of the Excise, had
also an interview with the Right Hon. Gentleman.
The Marquis of Lansdowne left town on Saturday
for his seat Bowood Park, Wilts. The Marchioness of
Lansdowne arrived at Lansdowne House, Berkeley-
square, on Saturday morning, from Broadstairs, and
accompanied the Noble Marquis to Bowood.
Mr. Rice had an interview, on Saturday, with the
Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Lord and Lady John Russell left Wimbledon on Satur-
day afternoon, on a visit to her Majesty, at Windsor
Castle.

Sir George Grey has left town for his seat, Fallodon
Alnwiek, Northumberland. •

The Chancellor of the Exchequer left town on Satur-
day evening, for Hickleton Hall, Doncaster.
At the Chapel Royal, St. James's, yesterday, the
prayers were read by the Reverend Dr. H. Eakins,
and the lessons by the Rev. Dr. Wesley. The sermon
was preached by the Rev. Dr. Wesley. The anthem was
" 0 clap your hands" (Greene). Sir George Smart pre-
sided at the organ. Lords Powis and De Mauley were
among the nobility present.

HAYMARKET THEATRE.
An admirable dramatic version of the opera of Les
Mousquetaires de la Reinc (an opera with which n
doubt many of our readers are familiar, as it was per-
formed several times at Drury Lane last season by the
Belgian company) was product d here on Saturday with
great success. Sooth to say, we prefer the dramatic to
the operatic version of this plot. Hal6vy's music is
heavy and inexpressive, and in those situations in which
rapidity is the life and soul of the play, the opera hangs
fire; but Queen Mary's Bower, such is the title which
Mr. Plana& the adapter of the piece has chosen for his
version, is full of bustle, incident, and character; in which
latter the opera is sadly deficient. With that unerring
dramatic tact for which Mr. Planel6 is so eminently
distinguished, he has accomplished in this play all that
he purposed. In every instance he has hit exactly the
point at which he aimed. The scene is laid at Hampton
Court, in the year 1685, and the Mousquctaires de to
Leine of the original are transformed into the officers of
the Queen's Life Guards (the queen being Maria Bea-
trice, queen of James II.). These officers are Captain
Hector O'Donoghue (Mr. Hudson) Captain Norris (Mr.
' Brigid), Lieuttnant Henry Ormond (Mr. Howe), and
Lieutenant Wentworth (Mr. Brindal). There is, more-
over, an old Major of Scotch Dragoons, the Laird of
Killicrankie, admirably acted and most picturesquely
made up by Webster—a punctilious old soldier learned in
all that appertains to the duello, and willing at all times to
put his theory into practice—in a word—an honourable
and chivalrous Dugald Dalgetty, who is the friend of
Henry Ormond. These are the principal characters of
the piece. There is, of course, a heroine, the Lady
Arabella Mordaunt (Mrs. Seymour), Lady in Waiting
to the Queen, and her confidant, Miss Lucy Desborough
(Miss Fortescue), and albeit they had but little to do,
they: did that little excellently well. The Lady Ara- ,
Bella is in love with Ormond, and she confesses her love
to Miss Desborough, adding, at the same time, that that
officer is not aware of her attachment. O'Donoghue
partially overhearing this confession, takes it:for granted
that he is the only man with whom it is possible for auy
lady to fall in love, and immediately opens a corres-
pondence with the lady under a feigned name, who,
fancying her correspondent must be Ormond, consents,
without much hesitation, to meet him at night in Queen
Mary's bower, being thereunto advised by her confidante,
Lucy ; who would, no doubt, had she known the real
state of the case, have persuaded her friend to let her
keep the appointment for her, seeing that she (Miss Lucy
Desborough) was as much smitten by the charms of
Captain O'Donoghue as the Lady•h Arabella was
by
place,
those
ss
einter::iitehw
greattakes
e of Captain
and
O'Donoghue,pin Ormond.who l
behaves
in great anger, but still she believes that it is to Ormond
rudeness, is speedily dismissed by the lady
she has granted the interview. This is truly an event-
ful night, for, while this interview is going on in the
bower, Ormond, by the death of an uncle, inherits the
title of Marquis of Carabas, with an estate of 15,0001.
a-year to support it, which he determines to lay at the
feet of Lady Arabella, with whom he has long been
secretly in love, and gets by the punctilious absurdity of
old Killicrankie hitched into a duel which is to come oft
in the morning. His adversary is assassinated on his
way home, and Ormondo is arrested as the mur-
derer. To his great astonishment, however, the
Lady Arabella proves an alibi for him, and swears
distinctly that at the very time the murder was com-
mitted Ormonde and herself were enjoying a tete-a-tete
in the Queen's Bower. Her testimony being corrobo-
rated by that of Miss Desborough; Ormonde is set at
liberty, and of course is received as the affianced
husband of Lady Arabella. He is full of gratitude to
her for the manner in which she has sacrificed her repu-
tation to save his life, but when ho discovers that there
really has been a meeting with a supposed Ormonde in
the Bower, he vows vengeance against the intrudcss,
The first person to whom he flies for advice
is the culprit himself, O'Donoghue, who, if he. had
imagined that it was for his friend Ormond that the assig-
nation was intended, would have suffered himself to have
been hanged ere he had kept it. He dares not tell Or-
mond the truth, for he would not like to be forced to
fight him, but he writes him the truth, and having
dispatched the letter, proceeds to provoke old Killi-
crankie to a duel by abusing Ormond, in order that he
may get killed. The scene between Killicrankie and
O'Donoghue is admirable. The old Major has vowed to
St. Andrew never again to fight in a personal quarrel,
and his ebullitions of temper, goaded almost beyond en-
durance on the one hand by the taunts of O'Donoghue,
and restrained on the other by recollection of his vow,
were admirably delineated by Webster. At length he
reconciles fighting to his conscience in this way. His
vow was never to fight in a personal quarrel. Now
this with O'Donoghue is not a personal quarrel, because
personally he has nothing to do with it ; it is the quarr, '
of his friend Orrnonde, and, therefore, he me-
They fight accordingly, and Killieranl::-
O'Donoghtie, fistliog the 1-,
refuses to colitis -
laws ,

R
alter wolindipg
--Ler does nut dr,fehd 1i iaselt',
the combat, as bolog (contrary to the
_ tne thulio. The letter is deli Bred to ()monde-
-1 every thing is explained. Ormonete weds the Lady
Arabella, tend 01Donoghue and Mies 14pc.17 follow their