The Sun.
London, England, 1856-10-21 00:00:00

THE FATAL ACCIDENT AT THE ,SURREY

LITERARY GOSSIP.

OCTOBER, 1856.

Very welcome indeed is an announcement which
has recently made its appearance, to the of that
the admirers of the late Miss Mary Russell Mit-
ford may look forward to the speedy publication
of a selection from her Correspondence. A selec-
tion to be edited, so the rumour states, by her
intimate friend and literary executor, the Rev.
Mr. Harness. Charming, we may be sure, were
all those light sparkling letters, flung off in the
abandon of familiar intercourse with her intimates,
by the ever-delightful and animated authoress of
"Atherton" and other Tales, of "Belford Regis"
and its suburbs, of various dramatic writings,
poetical and picturesque, but, above all, of those
exquisite and classic sketches of rural life and
manners, " Our Village." A village as famous in
its way (what though the description of it was in
" humblest prose"—a garb of simple russet, so to
speak, as modest and unassuming as that of the
brown-feathered nightingale)—a village as famous
in its way as though it had been Goldsmith's
Auburn, and Crabbe's Through, and Mason's
Garden, and Somerville's Chase, all rolled into
one—sparkling in its style as any wayside runnel
bubbling under the hedgerows, grateful to the eye
of memory as any verdant meadow or leafy cop-
pice, beautiful and fragrant in its associations as
any bank of greensward flowered over with the
wood anemone, the violet, and the primrose. We
shall await with eager pleasure the coming-forth—
probably in the course of next spring—of this pro-
wised Correspondence of Mary Midord, the Eng-
lish Hobbima in pen-and-ink.
It must be confessed that with all his short-
comings elsewhere, Lord Palmerston has done well
as yet in regard to the distribution of the miserable
little 1,2001. a year placed at the disposal of the
Prime Minister for the encouragement, or rather
for the solace, of the most necessitous among the
meritorious cultivators of Art and Literature. An
earnest of good in this direction, at any rate, has
been vouchsafed very recently by the awarding
(it is said at the suggestion of the veteran Lord
Brougham) of 100/. per annum to the widow of
the late lamented Gilbert Abbot A'Beckett, so well
known, so long and so widely, as an able magistrate
and a delightful wit. Together with this acceptable
intimation of the moderate pension thus wisely and
generously awarded to the relict of one who was
at once a laborious man of letters and a meritorious
public servant—comes to us the mention of another
1001. per annum set aside (happily during his life-
time) to another and a younger humorist, Angus
B. Reach, the author (among other things) of that
very startling romance illustrative of the Corsican
Vendetta, "The Bo )k with the Iron Clasps," a
tale of glamour, appropriately illustrated by the
wierd pencil of George Cruikshank.
Gariously enough there are two popular His-
tories of England now appearing in monthly parts,
penned each by a veteran and accomplished litera-
' teur—one (Bradbury and Evans's) by Charles
Knight, the other (Cassell's) by William Hewitt—
this, remember, in spite of the great national
theme having already been treated in a popular
form by men of genius as remarkable in their rare
way as Charles Dickens and Oliver Goldsmith
Bo it said, however, In simple justice to Mr.
Hewitt and to Mr. Knight, that there was ample
" room and verge enough' left both by Boz and
Noll—the annals by the latter being strangely bald
and meagre, those by the former being yet more
strangely tinctured with all sorts of perverse pre-
judices. Success then, say we, to each of these
new popular national historic enterprises—pro-
ductions, both of them, profusely illustrated.
There are two theatrical " facts" just now the
talk (and no wonder) of the metropolitan lovers of
the histrionic. First and foremost, the liveliest
expectation is awakened by the circumstance of a
new play being underlined in the bills of the
Lyceum—a new play by Westland Marston, the
poet-play-wright, well-known as the author of
" Anne Blake," but better known still as the
author of the " Patrician's Daughter." An an-
nouncement this, which gives promise of Mr. Chas.
Dillon's enterprise as a manager keeping pace in
some measure with his fame as an actor, a fame
won and nightly increased by his remarkable im-
personation of Bolphegor. Secondly, a very easily
comprehensible interest is felt in the fortunes of
the five-act drama called "Bianca," recently in
preparation at Drury-lane—an interest none the
less vivid and comprehensible now that the dra-
matist, William James Robson, late clerk in the
Transfer-office of the Crystal Palace at Sydenhain,
stands committed to take his trial at the Old Bailey
for forgery or embezzlement to the tune of some
20,000/. or 30,000/.

The mysterious demise of the late Charles Row-
croft, ex-Consul at Cincinnati, has naturally enough
awakened the sympathy of all those who remember
the humours and preasantries crowded togother in
the pages of his delightful "Tales of the Colonies."
Having received his exequatur from the United
States with Mr. (now Sir John) Crampton, the
unfortunate ex-Consul at Cincinnati dies rather
abruptly, certainly very prematurely, under some-
what suspicious circumstances on board the Ame-
rican ship Cherubim—the rapid decomposition of
his body necessitating a hasty burial in the deep
sea, whence no Mr. Hera path or Professor Taylor
can be afforded opportunities for experimenting in
quest of strychnine or antimony. Is it not a rather
curious and interesting coincidence to be remarked
—now that wo have Charles Dickens's " Little
Dorrit" (the milliner that was !) before us, so
well advanced—that Charles Rowcroft's "Fanny,
the Little Milliner," was issued some few years
ago as an illustrated monthly serial story—divided
into two parts, or books, or divisions, one " Po-
verty," the other " Riches 1' It is at least, we
say, a coincidence.
Mrs. Harriet Becher Stowe (by means ofilitun-
dreds of thousands of half-crown volumes, 'and
very much smaller editions of the larger issue of
the same book at six shillings) continues to win
" golden" opinions in England as well as in
America, as a reward for her thrilling tale of
the Great Dismal Swamp, Dred. This same
" Dred" being (after another fashion than that of
Mr. Burke's very taciturn colleague) " Ditto to
Uncle Tom's Cabin !' " As the Times' critic very
well said of these celebrated anti-slavery romances
—two hits right in the Bull's eye (query John
Bull's) running ! Honour, and glory, and fame,
and profit—such as this—to the Clarkson among
female novelists, the Buxton of the pen, the Wil-
berforce of literature !

THE POLITICAL CHARACTER OF NARYALZ.

( From the Union of yesterday.)

•
In a moral and elevated point of view, the successive
downfall of the heroes of the late insurrection offers a
most instructive example. O'Donnell overthrows the
San Luis administration by means of a sanguinary in-
surrection ; he is then overwhelmed by the revolt, and
compelled to accept the omnipotence of Espartero ; the
Duke of Victoria, invested with the most absolute
dictatorship ever exercised by a man of the sword, is
attacked, undermined, and driven away by his for
tunate rival ; O'Donnell, for a moment triumphant,
believes his triumph to be definitive, but of a sud-
den, without a struggle, without public emotion,
and on leaving a ball, he finds himself replaced by
Marshal Narvaez, his personal adversary, and the
founder of the system which fell before the pronuncia-
, mento of Vicalvaro. In truth, we may recognise the
practical justice which the revolution exercises on its
most devoted adherent. What are we now to expect
from the ministry constituted under the presidency of
Marshal Narvaez ? At least the names of which it is
composed are not unknown ; and we are not compelled,
as has been the case since two years, to search the
chronicles of journalism, or the gossip of the parliamen-
tary back-stairs, in order to discuss the antecedents or
to divine the politics of the individuals called to power.
Marshal Narvaez) notwithstanding the cunning
which he possesses in common with all these sol-
diers armed as statesmen, and who are often more
cunning than diplomatists, has a fixed plan, which
he has twice followed whilst at the head of affairs. But
will he be more successful in 1856 than in 1845 and
1350 ? The difficulties are now even greater ; and will
the tactics of the past, which will be the policy of the
present, succeed in overcoming them ? Of this we are
not confident. There exists in the system of Marshal
Narvaez a double and conflicting tendency which para-
lyses its success. He possesses at heart conservative
and monarchical instincts ; he is attached to authority,
particularly when he exercises it, and to such a degree
that he is given to exaggerate its rights. But at
the same time Ice is intimately connected with the
revolution ; he was the instrument of that disastrous
policy which shattered the fundamental law of the
Spanish monarchy; the Marshal seeks to realise an
impossible alliance, that of the revolution and of
authority. In any country not profoundly shaken,
under a monarchy faithful to hereditary principles, he
ciderab le perseverance
st r
e noh. would have
the en n
might have rendered useful servicee, whil t his energy
ando s
eandowed
shtiaste of min i
Spain,stry w with
n as
a minister holding power on conditions such as those
imposed by Isabella, he will oscillate perpetually between
dictatorship and revo!ution. He will not be deaf to
ideas cf order, to the legitimate instincts of the Spani-h
nation, and to certain representations ; but at the same
time he will irritate hostile passions, and will fortify the
elements of discontent which aro R.) rsady totransform
themes:lees into insurrections. He will succumb to the
same yoke which has twice dominat, d and overthrown
him ; and in the end ho will have done nothing more
than perhaps have delayed, but also have strengthened,
a reaction even more serious than the one which exploded
in 1854.

The clergy of St. George's-ic-Lhe-East have adopted
the plan of preaching from the steps of th parish
church, and large congregations have been collected,
consisting of persons who, it Is supposed, would not
enter the building itself.

GARDENS.

ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

, 1 A visit made yesterday to the Surrey Gardens
and inquiries instituted on the spot enable us to
, throw some additional light upon the deplorable
calamity which on the preceding evening resulted
in the death of seven unfortunate persons, and in
injuries of different degrees of severity to a greater
number of others, as already related in this journal.
It would seem now beyond the range of probability
to ascertain by whom the false alarm of danger was
raised, with what object, or from what cells°. The
subject at present is one entirely of speculation,
and it is likely to remain so. The prevalent
opinion, especially on the part of the police autho-
rities an,l the office-bearers in Mr. Spurgeon's con-
gregation, is that it was a preconeerted movement.
One circumstance goes to support this hypothesis.
it is stated by Mr. Superintendent Lund, who was
present from the commencement of the service,
and occupied a seat on the basement of the build-
ing immediately in front of the preacher, that ho
sew three men who sat together on the same floor
rise up simultaneously and cry "Fire !" and that
this was the signal for the furious rush that was
instantaneously made towards the places of outlet
from the hall. He has since identified the exact
scot from which they rose, and it happens to be
right in the very centre of the ground-floor, there
being a back to the seat which distinguishes it
front all the rest, and marks its exactly central po-
sition. The inference from this statement is that
the three persons in question were acting in con-
cert, and that they bad gone early, and deliberately
chosen that particular place in the ball as the most
eligible for carrying their diabolical machination
into effect. But for what purpose was the alarm
given, unless by thieves? It was said yesterday, on
aprarently competent authority, that the highly-
skilled metropolitan pickpockets would never think
of originating a rush of the kind which ensued, to
afford an opportunity for the exercise of their craft,
inasmuch as they would know it would preclude
their acting in concert, which they hold is essential
to success. This statement is given hero for what
it is worth, but one would think that this was just
the state of things in which they might expect to
operate with effect. It is worthy of remark, that
though Superintendent Lund had a number of de-
tectives scattered among the audience, not one of
them was able to recognise a single pickpocket, but
the police authorities have since heard of some
cases of robbery committed during the confusion.
Besides the detectives, who were there in plain
clothes, there were eight policemen in uniform in
different parts of the building, and about 60 office-
bearers attached to Mr. Spurgeon's congregation
were stationed at various points to assist people in
getting seats and to maintain order. There was a
rumour abroad yesterday that just before the
alarm of fire was given a person in the congrega-
tion stepped out of his place to call the notice of an
attendant to an attempt made in the upper gallery
to ignite some gunpowder ; but at present this
story rests on testimony not altogether satisfactory.
As to an alarm from fire, it so happens that there
is not a single fireplace or flue in the whole build-
ing, nor within 100 yards of it. But the hall is
lighted with gas, and therefore the occurrence of
fire
The
whole
would
fb et beyondhe
calamitous the range
con
cof
nsequences
possibility.nences that
ensued from the rush are supposed to have taken
place in the first 5 or 10 minutes after the alarm
was sounded, and during the deplorable panic with
which it was immediately followed. Three persons,
one of whom, a woman, was dead, were taken off
the roof of a refreshment-room which runs along
the northern side of the edifice, and on which it is
probable they had leaped from the windows of the
gallery above, a distance of between 20 and 30 feet.
In the lower part of a window at the east end of
the second gallery the glass was entirely broken,
and there at least two persons were found with their
heath protruding through the panes into the open
air. Tice window is a great distancefrom the greyed,
and the suggestion is that, having broken the glass
with the view of jumping out, they found the leap
so fraught with danger that they gave up the
thought, but could not altogether retreat to their
original position owing to the pressure of the crowd
behind. The little boy who was killed, and whose
name has not since been ascertained, he having
been carried away by his father to his own resi-
dence, was seen to leap over the balustrade of the
circular stair-case at the north-eastern tower, lead-
ing from the galleries, a distance of upwards of 20
feet, and fell with great violence on the stone floor
beneath. Several of the women who were killed
were found in positions which indicated that, un-
able
to bear the enormous pressure of the crowd,
they had sunk down, or fainted away, and then
been trodden to death. Though the greater part
of the balustrade of the stairs in the north-west
tower gave way in the fearful struggle to escape
which was waged there, it is asserted-that not more
than two persons fell through the breach, and that
no loss of life occurred from that cause. Two per-
sons, howeVer, were-said to be trodden down on
the stairs. It is, still a mystery how Samuel Heard
was killed, the only man in the crowd who appears
to have lost his life. He was an extraordinarily
powerful man, 24 years of age, and about six feet
high. From his body being found on the roof of
the refreshment-room, and from a severe wound
on the back of his head, the inference is that he
had leaped out of a window of one of the galleries
above, and been killed iu the fall. A man was
seen to jump right through the thick plate glass
panel of the door at the south-east entrance to the
building. By some it is thought remarkable that
ho should have performed this perilous feat, seeing
that the door through which he leaped was unlocked
all the night ; but it seems the door opened in-
wards, instead of outwards, and the probability is
that the pressure of the crowd from the interior
prevented its being opened, which may account for
the circumstance. The fact would seem now to be es-
tablished by the testimony of many persons present
that not only did Mr. Spurgeon attempt to continue
the service after this deplorable accident, but that
several of his office-bearers went round among such
of the congregation as remained, or had not es-
caped, to make the ordinary money collection. It
would be perhaps but charitable to suppose that at
that time they were unaware of the fatal results of
the calamity.
The whole of the persons killed have been now
identified.

The damage done to the Music-hall at the Surrey
Gardens by the accident is not very considerable.
It consists principally of broken windows, and 501.
will cover it all. Tlie building was minutely in-
spected yesterday morning by Mr. Tyler, the
manager of the gardens ; Mr. T. K. Holmes, one
of the directors ; Mr. Horace Jones, the architect,
and Mr. Ellis, the secretary, all of whom expresged
themselves convinced that, beyond the broken
windows and balustrades, the structure had sus-
tained no injury, and that there was no cause for
the alarm which unhappily led to the lamentable
results that have brought sudden bereavement to
several families, and deeply wounded the public
mind.

All the sufferers at Guy's Hospital are likely to
recovar.

STATEMENT OF MR. MOORE, ONE OF

THE DEACONS.

At a meeting, held at the Chapel in Park-street
last night at eight o'clock, over which Mr. Spur-
geon usually presides, Mr. Moore, a deacon, made
the following statement with reference to the ac-
cident :
n
"Had it not been for an overwhelming sense of
duty I never could have come here to-nigh'. I
ammomroerii
beenfistertaoblea
in
been. With regard to the origin of the alarm last
night there is no doubt that it originated from
wicked, designing tiler.
ndbed.
distressing
e dray passed through
than this has
aI never
If ever Satan was permitted
to take human appearance and walk the earth, it
was on last night. Oh, that dreadful scene! But
I must now let you know what particulars I have
ascertained concerning the extent of the calamity,
as preaching to-night is quite itnpossible. At au
early hour this morning I was at the Gardens, and
found that seven persons had been killed, five of
whom are lying at the workhouse, and about 25 or
27 others more or less mutilated. Some of these
we fear will not recover, but we must hope for the
best. You are anxious to hear about our poor
pastor—he is very bad. Very bad I say, not from
any injuries or bruises he has received, but from
the extreme tension on his nerves, and his great
anxiety. So bad is he that we were fearful for his
mind this morning. Under these circumstances,
only one thing could be done, that is, to send him
into the country away from the scene. As we
knew that a great number of persons would call at
his house during the clay, we sent him early this
morning ; so that none of his egg t;;ements can be
entered into this week. From infornaation I have
just received, I am enabled to tell you that to-
nig,ht he is a little better, but still very prostrate.
Mr. Olney (another deacon) is ill in bed.
"Lot us be more merciful to our enemies of last
night than they were to us. That wicked wretch
—that than whom we are justified in calling a mis-
creant—who first gave the dreadful signal by which
so much life was lost. [Here Mr. Moore, with
many of his audience, burst into tear:,.] Lot us
even pray for him. Who knows but that he may
one day stand in this room and own his great
crime, and seek for repentance ?"
The chapel was not nearly so full as it usually
is on these occasions ; and the dejaeted counts-
nances, the sorrowful looks, and the tears of many
of the audience, would have been alone sufficient

to indicate to a stranger that some dreadful event
had taken place.
A few minutes before the conclusion of the meet•
ing, Mr. Moore stated that intelligence had just
reached him•of the death of another sufferer. The
name did not transpire. He also assured the
audience that he (Mr. Moore) was the first who pro-
posed to Mr. Spurgeon to preach iu the Surrey
Music Hall—against that gentleman's wishes from,
the first. The money 4311ected last night, amount-
ing to about Si., was intended to be devoted to the
families of the sufferers, and a further collection
was made after the service last evening. It was
announced that Mr. Spurgeon, as soon as he was
sufficiently recovered, would preach a sermon with
the same charitable object, and every means are to
be taken to alleviate, so far as it is now possible,
the distress of the surviving relatives of sufferers.