The Sun.
London, England, 1833-10-17 00:00:00

VICTORIA THEATRE.

The novelty of Tuesday was the first appearance at this
house of SHERIDAN KNOWLES, in his own popular play
of the Hunchback. His reception in the part of Master
Walter was highly flattering. The audience, sensible of
what is due to genius, gave him a hearty welcome, and
did not withhold the applause he deserved in his per.
formance of the character lie has so ably drawn. Master
Walter was well played a few nights since by WARDE,
who gave original and spirited touches to the Hunchback,
which drew forth reiterated applause. To compare the
merits of the two actors would be invidious, therefore we
have only to add that KNOWLES was in high favour with
the audience. In the last scene his display of delicacy,
tenderness, and dignity, was rewarded by a general ex•
pression of public approbation. The respective merits of
the performers in this comedy have been frequently criti-
cised ; still we must compliment Miss JARBIAN upon her
discrimination, and the admirable acting she exhibits in
the character of Julia. This lady possesses talents and
manners which support the dignity of the stage. Miss
P. HoRTON is a very interesting _Helen. KNOWLES, who
was loudly called at the fall of the curtain, came forward
and announced the play for the ensuing night. The new
romantic drama, called Margaret's Ghost, or the Liber-
tine Ship, was the concluding entertainment. Margaret
is in keeping with the poet's fancy, but the William in
this drama is a departure from the ballad, inasmuch as
he is a lord, the owner of a castle, and a full-dressed
commander of the ship Fury. FORRESTER, who plays
this gay deceiver, is just such another seaman as the first
Lord of the Admiralty. Madeline, the distressed and
frenzied mother of Margaret, who has fallen a victim to
the Lord William, is given to Mrs. EGERTON, who de-
lights the audience by her pathetic and admirable sketches
of maternal affection : she was deservedly applauded.
The merit of this drama is increased by the rich well
executed scenery. A rocky beach, the terrace of a castle
by moonlight, and the ruins of a chapel, are fine speci-
mens of painting for the stage.

DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS OF A HURRI-
CANE ON THE CHAIN PIER.

(From the Brighton Gazette.)

This elegant and beautiful structure, which has
for ten years been the principal ornament of the
town, and has called forth the admiration of hun-
dreds of thousands of strangers, which has stood
the shocks of wind and wave, with a stability that
from its fairy-like and fragile appearance could
hardly have been expected, has at length received
such injury as to impair its beauty and utility to a
most serious extent. Its restoration will be a
work of great labour and difficulty, and must be
attended with great expense; but we hope the
public of Brighton will come forward and liberally
assist in re-establishing a structure, unequalled in
beauty, and of vast benefit to the town.
At about half-past seven o'clock on Tuesday
evening, a most tremendous gale from the west
came on, attended with heavy rain and flashes of
exceedingly vivid lightning. A very short time
previously the pier-master, Mr. Matthews, had
returned from the pier head. The pier at that time
was in every respect in its usual state. The wind
then began to blow with the greatest fury, so that,
though Mr. Matthews lives within a few yards of
the entrance of the pier, he heard no crash what-
ever. Few persons of course were on the cliff
during so violent a storm ; but report says that
some heard the crash, and saw the lightning play
along the chains, and that at one moment there was
a blaze of light at a particular spot.
We give these reports as we have heard them,
without in the least degree vouching for their accu-
racy. Although the wind howled and the waves
roared, it is possible that a crash might have been
heard; and this is all we can say upon that subject.
In respect to the lightning, we ourselves remarked
its vividness ; and when the situation of the Pier is
considered, composed chiefly, at least in the upper
works, of iron, it is not improbable that the electric
fluid may have been attracted by the metal; but this
is no more than an opinion; there is no proof or
collateral fact to lead to such conclusion. The Pier
head is lighted by a gas lamp. To supply this a
pipe is conveyed along the west side of the Pier.
In the concussion the pipe was snapped in two, and
the light extinguished of course; but we do not
imagine that the gas in the pipe which runs by the
side of the Pier could by any possibility have
ignited, so that a flame or blaze could hardly have
arisen from this cause. The violence of the con-
cussion doubtless caused so great a friction among
the rods, caps, chains, railings. &c., as to produce a
rapid emission of sparks, which, in the darkness of
the night, might easily be mistaken for the effects of
lightning. It is known that such were the effects
produced when the Antheum fell in; eye-witnesses
describe that event as having been attended with a
blaze of sparkling fire.
Before we give any opinion as to the cause of the
accident, we will first give an outline of the damage
done.

On the entrance of the first bridge from the
esplanade, the first suspension rod and cap on the
east side have evidently been moved by some great
violence : the cap is partially unshipped, and all the
caps on the bridge appear, judging from the state of
the paint, to have been moved, but not in a great
degree. This bridge on the east side is also sunk
below the level line several inches. The 17th cap
and rod on the east were more violently affected
than any other on this bridge, so much so that some
of the iron ornament on the railing was knocked off.
The whole of the bridge, independently of the sink-
ing on the east side, is considerably sunk below the
level line, owing to the counteraction of the farther
bridges being reduced.
The main chains are here nearly as perfect as
ever in appearance, nor are the two first towers in
any way affected, so far as the judgment of the eye
can be relied on : the sinking of the bridge is pro-
bably owing, therefore, to some circumstances not
connected with the chains.

The second bridge is, indeed, a sad ruin. All
the suspension rods on the east side, from the 10th,
reckoning from the first towers to within 12 rods of
the second towers, are broken and gone, so that the
east side of this bridge dips down to within a few
feet of the water. The flooring remains, but it forms
so steep an inclination to the eastward, that no per-
son can walk along it :—one might as well attempt
to walk on the roof of a sharp-roofed house. On
the west side of this (the second) bridge the damage
is less. Many of the suspension rods from the 19th,
counting from the first towers, to the 18th from the
second towers, are gone ; but a few are left, so that

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.„.„,...„._ ..„,
the west side of this bridge is ‘'-'4> -irted
level line. None of the suspen4 Oitruiy-
a)n this bridge are bent; they.-ke4s ' serval* j
asunder, but some of the rods that/fafilliise-
their former position are considerably bent, and the
caps on the top of them are, some partially and
others very considerably, removed. This is im-
portant, since it will throw some light on the nature
of the occurrence, as we shall presently attempt to
show.

We now come to the second towers; and here
the work of destruction commences. That on the
east has been so violently forced towards the north
as to tear up the planking at its base; and it is now
very considerably out of the perpendicular line.
After it was thus forced up, a se-action of course
took place; and it must have been ponderous in-
deed. Much of the wooden frame work below gave
way ; and this part is now a wreck. The opposite
tower suffered less; but here also the wood work is
torn to splinters. The saddles on the top of both
towers were evidently lifted up, and removed from
their position; the wood work round the top of the
towers, and about the saddles, is in splinters; and
even the wooden arch between the towers is rent;
this shows how violent the concussion must have
been. The sheet lead on the towers is partially
rolled up; but there is no appearance of any fusion,
although some persons are of opinion that it was
here that the lightning first struck, then ran along
the main chains, and descended the suspension rods,
till it came to that part of them which is not
painted (being covered with the wood of the plat-
form); and here finding no conductor to the earth
or water, the shock took place. We confess that
this explanation of the matter is by no means satis-
factory to our minds.
We now proceed to describe the havock on the
third bridge. The whole of the centre of this
bridge is gone—not a vestige remains. There is
no communication whatever left, except by climb-
ing along the main chains. The whole of the wood
work, the platform,the iron railings, the suspension
rods, caps and all, in the centre, for a distance of
thirty or forty feet, has totally disappeared; forty-
four suspension rods, in a distance of about two
hundred feet, are lost on the east side; and thirty
suspension rods on the west. The platform drops
down, a complete wreck, on each side of the chasm
in the centre—the planks nearly up to the towers
being stripped up. Some of the remaining suspen-
sion rods are bent like willows over the side of that
portion of the bridge which is still standing; others
are broken asunder, and the caps of most are gone;
but it is singular that one or two rods still retain
their caps, as they hang over the sea or he across
the planking.
We now come to the most extraordinary pheno-
menon of the whole. Those who have seen the
pier will remember that there are four main chains
on each side. We now wish to direct the attention
of our readers to those on the east. One pair of
these chains were suspended about twelve inches
over the other pair, which hung exactly beneath
the former. When the concussion took place, the
upper pair of chains were by some means sepa-
rated ; and, wonderful as it may appear, one of them
was twisted beneath the lower pair, passed over
' them again, and now remains stretched by the side,
but in the centre considerably higher, of its com-
panion.
This, however, in order to be clearly understood.
must be seen; and it is certainly one of the most
extraordinary things connected with this most la-
mentable accident.

The third pair of towers are also in a dangerous
state, having been partially forced out of the perpen-
dicular; and the fourth bridge is greatly distressed,
and bellies down 18 inches, or perhaps more, to-
wards the sea; but the outer head, the stone work,
the piles, &c., are not affected at all.

We now come to the most difficult part of our
task. What has caused the accident ? If it were
caused by the wind, why has not such an accident
happened before ? There must surely have been
many gales in ten years equal to that of Tuesday
evening. If, then, the wind was the cause, why did
not the same cause operate sooner ? To these ques-
tions we can make no reply. Scientific men will of
course form their own opinion. But, with all de-
ference, we may observe that we think the accident
was owing to the wind solely.

The wind, we are assured, was west, not south
west, as is usually the case, when we have very
heavy gales on this coast. On each side of the
bridges there are broad boards to cover the iron
work. It appears, then, to us, that a tremendous
blast must have come suddenly under the bridge,
and lifted up the third bridge, in all probability se-
veral feet. This operation of the wind would have
been assisted by these side boards, which tended to
confine it. When the bridge was thus heaved
or lifted up, the suspension rods, the lower ends of
which are fitted to the bridge, would be easily driven
upwards between the chains, gliding between
the bolts, and carrying the caps on their (the sus-
pension rods') tops. Then came the fall, when,
instead of the caps falling in their places over the
bolts, they fell on one side; and hence nothing but a
crash could result. By the shock the lower or the
upper part, as the case might be, of the suspension
rods would be snapped in two, and the bridge
would give way. This violent concussion on the
third bridge would give a jerk to the second, as well
as to the first bridges; Bence we see the suspension
rods of the second bridge not bent, but snapped
asunder, and the caps on the first bridge, where the
shock would be less, partially removed.

It is probable when the third bridge was thus
forced upwards, that one of the chains on the east
side became displaced, because the caps on the sus-
pension rods being removed, there was nothing to
keep them together, and in the descentof the bridge
the chain was thrown over its companion. This
view is satisfactory to our minds; and we think we
shall be borne out by scientific men. We fear that
it will now he necessary to take down the whole of
the chains from one end of the pier to the other,
and to readjust the towers.
Crowds were on the cliff immediately after the
accident; and the greatest anxiety prevailed as to
the amount of the damage. At day break the extent
of the calamity was but too obvious. The whole of
yesterday the cliff and esplanade were crowded;
but very few persons were permitted to go on the
Pier.

Brighton will deeply sympathize with the spirited
projector of this structure; and we trust that our
townsmen will not be backward in rendering such
pecuniary assistance as may replace the Pier in its
pristine beauty and stability.

Since the above was written we are happy to
learn that a requisition is in course of signature, de-
siring the High Constable to convene a town meet-
ing for the purpose of aiding the restoration of this
beautiful structure. We cannot doubt that so praise-
worthy an appeal will be cordially responded to by
the public spirit of our townsmen.
The beams which rest upon the first clump of
piles are snapped asunder, and raised up six inches.
This strengthens the opinion that the damage has
been occasioned by wind, rather than lightning.
Information of this lamentable event was imme-
diately despatched to Captain Brown, who is, we
understand, in Scotland, so that several days will •
probably elapse before his arrival.

The congregation of the parish church of
Hackney were on Sunday last much surprised and asto-
nished on entering the place of worship to find printed
notices in all the pews, stating that,
func-
tionaries of the church,
of a meeting of some of the parishioners having re-
fused to vote a rate necessary fur the payment of the turn:-
compelled to suspend the organist, beadle, Ste. This
the Rev. Mr. Sands, retired to prepare fur the communion
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