The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-05 00:00:00

SIFT,LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, ,SEPTEMBER 5, 1860.

A writer in a contemporary says :—The Passions-
Spiel originated in a vow made by the inhabitants
of Oberammergau in 1633—on their deliverance
from a plague which ravaged the whole of the dis-
trict, but fell with especial violence on their village
—to represent every ten years for ever the last
scenes of the life of the Saviour. At that time such
representations were not uncommon ; now this is
probably the only-one remaining,
Into the early history or process of the play I
need not enter here. Those who wish for informa-
tion of theta ature may consult Das Passions-Spiel
zu AmmerguvonL. Vlarus, a pamphlet lately pub-
lished at Munich, and containing a very clear and
apparently an accurate account of the whole sub-
ect up to 1850. The first representation took place
n the following year, 1634. The interval ori
gi-
nallyy fixed has been rigidly adhered to, with but
one exception, and since 1680 the representations
have taken place regularly every ten years. But
it appears that it is only during the three last that
it has assumed at all its present proportions.
Oberammergau, as its name implies, is the upper
one of the two villages which lie in the plain or
meadow of the Ammer, enclosed between some of
the hills in the lower northern part of the Tyrolese
Alps, 40 or 60 miles south-west of Munich. It
contains about 1,200 inhabitants, living in some
200 houses, and, with the exceptions of the parson
and his curate and the upper and under school-
master, there is probably not a single resident who
is above the grade of a simple artificer. In this
ous
resides one of the chief marvels of this marvell
performance, which is, in pursuance of the original
vow, confined, not to the inhabitants only, but to
the absolute natives of the village even Unteram-
mergauers are prohibited from sharing in the
labours or the honours of that which was vowed by
Oberammergau only
the
The theatre in which performances now take
place—formerly they were held in the churchyard
—is erected in a meadow just outside the village.
It is a temporary building, formed of rough deal
planks. The audience part is an enclosure
dually of about
100 feet wide by 140 long, sloping gra up-
wards from the stage. It is open to the sky, ex a
-
cept at the back, where it is partly covered by
raised gallery for reserved seats, and is capable of
accommodating, in all, between 4,000 and 5,000 per-
sons. The stage is very capacious. First, an ample
proscenium, about 80 feet wide by 30 in depth ;
then
a large centre hall, with two wings pierced by
arches, leading into a spacious street or courtyard
on each side. Between the hall and the arch on
either hand is a balcony, 10 or 12 feet from the
ground, to hold eight or nine persons. At the back
are extensive dressing-rooms, and stores for the
very numerous dresses and other articles used in
the play. The front of the hall and side screens is
decorated in a plain style with arches, columns,
pediments, &c., and the drop curtain represents the
perspective of a street not unlike Fleet-street, look-
ing to Temple-bar, The whole of this was designed
and executed by the village carpenter—a plain
though very.intelligent and pleasant person, with-
out any foreign aid whatever.
The text of,the drama is the production of a priest,
or rather, probably, of successive priests, of the
parish. In regard to this considerable mystery is
preserved, both as to its authorship and its contents,
The songs of the chorus are printed and sold as a
programme, but the parts of the solo performers are
not to be obtained. Of course, a large portion con-
sists of the actual words of the Gospels, but at least
an equally large part is invented. The performance
embraces the entire Sacred History, from the entry
of Christ to Jerusalem to His appearance to Mary
Magdalene in the garden after His Resurrection,
and every step in the narrative is preceded and il-
lustrated by a representation of the scene or scene
es
in the earlier history which typified, or are suppd
to have typified it. These are not, like the scenes
they typify, accompanied by either action or dia-
logue. They are, in fact, tableaux, silent and rigid,
and so far similar to poses plastiques—a term which
I several times heard applied to them. They take
place in the centre hall, and during the three or
four minutes of their exposure the chorus, drawn
up in line on the proscenium, sing verses, explain-
ing and enforcing the resemblance intended.
Some of these were quite new to me, and most
happily chosen. Thus, before the Last Supper, ap-
peared successively two tableaux-1. The manna
descending 'on the host of the Israelites. 2.
The two spies bearing into the camp the huge
bunch of the grapes of Eshcol. The agony in the
garden and the betrayal of Christ were in like man-
ner ushered in by-1, Adam gaining his bread by
the sweat of his brow; 2, Joab stabbing Amasa
under the rocks of Gibeon, while in the act of kiss-
ing him; and 3, by Samson betrayed by his wife
into the hands of the Philistines. The condemna-
tion of the Saviour by Caiaphas, on the evidence of
the false witnesses, was preceded by the similar
condemnation of Naboth at the command of Jezebel;
the ultimate sentence to crucifixion, by the release
of Joseph from durance, and his exaltation as Go-
vernor over Egypt, and so on. There were in all
25 of these tableaux, some of them containing more
than 150 figures, and they appeared to afford great
satisfaction to the spectators.
I have said that these tableaux preceded the scenes
in the sacred drama itself, typified by them. Of
those scenes there were in alll7. I shall enumerate
only the most remarkable, though it is difficult to
distinguish where all were so truthful and so for-
cible :-1. The Triumphal Entry of Christ to Jeru-
salem; the children and people shoutiu g "Hosanna?"
and strewing clothes and branches. This introduced
the Saviour and Apostles, and formed in itself an
admirable introduction to the whole. There were
certainly not less than 200 persons in the crowd,
includine. 70 or 80 children. 2. The long and ani-
mated debates in the Sanhedrin, including the furi-
ous evidence of the expelled money-changers, and
later the interview with Judas, when the contract
was ratified between him and the priests by the pay-
ment of the 30 pieces of silver. Nothing could be
more characteristic, real, and unaffected than these.
3. The Last Supper and the washing of the Apos-
tles' feet. Here the table was arranged on the
model of the well-known picture of Leonardo da
Vinci. 4. All the scenes in which Christ was
brought successively before Annas, Caiaphas,
Pilate, and Herod. The " Ecce Homo" (copied. it
struck me, from Van Dyck). The Scourging, &c.
In some of these as many as 250 persons were at
once on the scene,—infuriated mobs of priests,
money-changers, Roman soldiers, &c. ; and, vio-
lent as were the passions personified, there
was not the least approach to rant, nor the slightest
transgression into irreverence or improbability. In
the course of these scenes a striking occurrence was
the contrast of Barabbas—a brutal and squalid
figure—with the noble form and countenance of the
sacred sufferer—the latter formed more after the
model of those of Albert Darer than of any other
painter--;--at least such was my impression. Both
Pilate and Herod were admirably represented, but
especially the forraer. 5. The whole long proces-
sion, at the slowest pace, from Pilate's house to
Golgotha, our Lord and the thieves carrying their
crosses ; His interview with His mother and the
other women of Jerusalem. This contained the
only legendary or traditional incident in the whole
performance to which therefore the most rigid
Protestant, as such, could object—namely, the
wiping of Christ's face by St. Veronica ; but there
was no attempt to show the miraculous impression
of the sacred countenance on the handkerchief
• which forms the point of the legend, and the action
was in itself a most natural and becoming one. 6.
of the last dreadful scene—the uprearing of the
three crosses with their living burdens, and all the
cruel incidents of that most cruel and lingering
death—l know not how to speak. I only know
that irreverence or incongruity was a feeling which
never once entered my mind. It certainly was not
perceptible on any of the faces within my reach,
and the long-drawn sob or sigh which escaped
from the whole mass of spectators, as from one man,
when the sacred corpse was at last carried out of
view, was one of the mose genuine and remarkable
tributes to the reality of the whole representation
that can be imagined. The fierce blaze of the after-
noon sun, in the full heat of which the two last
scenes took place, gave additional vividness to the
representation of sufferings which derived half their
torture from the fever and thirst by which they were
accompanied. 7. Whether it was that the subsequent
scenes were really less forcibly presented or not I
do not know, but certainly they did not equal what
had preceded them. More artifice was necessary in
the management of the tomb and of the supernatural
incidents of the Resurrection. There was an unne-
eessarilT long scene between the priests and Pilate,
and the illustrative tableaux seemed neither so good
nor so appropriate as before. Perhaps the truth is
that after so tremendous a denouement even that
termination must have the effect of an anti-climax.
At any rate, one was now hot and exhausted, and
the termination of the 'whole at a few minutes be-
fore four was felt by every one as a relief. The per-
formance began at eight, and thus lasted nearly
eight hours, withou t any interval for refreshment,
The only character which calls for any remark,
as being, to a certain degree, different from the or-
'l'lB.l7 conception, was that of Judas. He was not
exhibited as the h Erdened villain which we com-
monly take him to be, steadily foreseeing and con-
t 'mplating through cut the tremendous consequences
of his treachery ;b. at rather as a narrow-minded,
impulsive, vindictiv e man, really puzzled and an-
noyed at what he onceived to be the " waste" of
the 300 Renee on th n precious
,ointment, and stung
to the quick by the reproof so publicly administered
to him by Christ: Under the influence of these
feelings he at last c :consents to the suggestions and
entreaties of the pr; bests and money-changers. But
• he never really bell ,eves that what does happen will

•1m•••••1akMM1G...Y11M11111N11................d111MM....,
actually come to pass, and his violent self-murder is
the sudden result of his discovery of the certainty
of the dreadful catastrophe in which he has been a
chief actor. Whether this is the right view of his
character Ido not pretend to say but if I rerc em-
ber rightly, it has the authority of not
less a person
than the Archbishop of Dublin ; thait was also
adopted some years ago in a dramatic poem on the
subject by Mr. Horne, the author of " Orion." I
should say that this character was the only instance
in the whole play of any approachto exaggera
but it interested the audience exceedingly, and the
indication of the death—for it was most judiciously
kept out of view—was received with the only mur-
murs of applause that I recollect to have occurred
throughout. This was, no doubt, partly due to
satisfaction at the traitor having met his reward.
, The minor details of the play were no less excel-
by the village schoolmaster, Dadler Rochus by
name, for' the performance in 1810, and was
throughout melodious and grave, and in perfect
keeping with the piece. Much of it reminded me
of Mozart, though I failed to detect an'y appropria-
lwenast thantruly tandemmiroarbeleim.
IT important tcmomapttoesresa. 0
rTchoemmpuilseide
tions of importance. The long accomvanied red-
' tatives in which the chorus explained th,e tableaux
were quite in the manner of Sebastian BaTh. No
use, however, was made of the chorales
'German school, of which the latter great m'
aster
has made frequent use in his oratorios of ,the Passion. of the
In the forms and colours of the dresses the paint-
ings of the German school seem to have been
mainly followed. The priests and their adherents
appear in caps, turbans, and robes of the most
curious forms, which have a wild Eastern kind of
I look, but do not appear to me to be accurate. At
' any rate, they were not the dresses of modern
Orientals. The Roman soldiers, though ex
ingly. picturesque, were more like mediaeval than
classical figures.
I have now given a most meagre sketch of what '
was to me one of the most interesting days of my '
life. I could not have believed, and I am quite
sure that no one who has not seen it can conceive,
how thoroughly real and impressive it all was—
how unconscious one became of its being acting at
all. It is the nature of things that, with advanc-
ing civilisation and additional publicity, this gra•
plicity and reality will wear off; it can hardly fail
to do so, to a certain extent, before the next repre-
sentation arrives. I therefore strongly advise all
those who can do so to be present at one of the two
remaining performances, which are fixed
he for the
9th and 16th of September. If, however, num-
bers are too great for the accommodation, the play
is repeated on the following day. Those who in-
tend to come should write beforehand—and the
sooner the better—to Mrs. Lang, Posthaus,
' ramnsergau, asking her to secure beds in her own
house, and tickets for the reserved seats. Tac -
he
latter are 2 gulden, and 1 gulden 48 kreutzers,
cording to situation ; the first is the best, but
there is little difference. The traveller should at
the same time write to the postmaster at Sees-
haupt, the lower end of the Lake of Starnberg,
to provide a carriage and two horses to meet
the first boat which arrives there from Starn-
berg, in correspondence with the train leaving
Munich at 5.30 a.m. With these precautions
ladies may easily contrive to see the performance.
But if rooms and places are not secured beforehand,
the traveller should leave Munich not later than
5.30 on Friday morning, as he will find numbers
going, and the delays which will occur on the road
between Seeshaupt and Oberammergau may pre-
vent his reaching the latter before Saturday morn-
ing. In the latter case, some portable food, tea, and
soup should be taken.

THE GREAT BELL QUESTION.

quality of the metal of the bell, and the magnitude
of the blows to which it has been subjected. Each
of these elements must be considered in relation to
the other, and when this is done the conclusion
appears to me unavoidable that the hammer and
the bell are not suited to each othght tenaciter. If the
y thee
ll
be of the propel composition and ri
blows of the hammer must have been too heavy ;
if, on the contrary, the blows have been no heavier
than they ought to have been, it necessarily follows
that the metal of the great bell of Westminster is
too brittle.
In the foregoing report I have confined myself to
the physical portion of the question. With the
chemical and metallurgical portion I have nothing
to do ; nevertheless I may be permitted to suggest,
as possible, that, owing to the imperfect mixture of
the constituents, or through a defect of cooling. the
external portions of the soundbow may vary in
composition, or tenacity, from the average composi-
tion, or tenacity, of the bell; thus forming a brittle
with proper care, be confined to the brittle enve-
lope, and thus the bell might be saved. The depth
pene-
trate the soundbow to only a small fraction of its
thickness. If they were sufficiently deep the grat-
ing of their surfaces would injure the tone of the
casing round a less brittle mass. The truth or
fallacy of this conjecture experiment alone can de-
cide ; but if it should prove true, the cracks might,
of the cracks is unknown ; but they appear to
bell, but as yet the tone appears to be unaffected.
It seems to me worthy of consideration whether the
cracks at present existing ought not to be cut out
of the soundbow, the striking permitted to proceed
as formerly, and the bell subjected to daily exami-
nation. The result might be, the metal, being par-
tially relieved from strain at the places now inter-
sected by the cracks, would yield no further. It
rasght also be desirable to shift the position of the
ha, miner, so as to produce a different system of
vibt-ating segments from that now existing. If,
under these circumstances, new cracks should ap-
the old ones show a tendency to deepen,
pear, o:'
the recasting of the bell would seem to be the only

derer must have deliberately shot her in. the back
as she was entering the coal-house in her attempt
to get away from him. The decease& on receiving
the shot, had fallen upon her face, her feet towards
the door, upon which her brutal murderer coolly
left her, and quietly returned the instrument of
death to the place whence he had obtained it.
Yesterday evening the prisoner was conveyed to
the lock-up at Pontefract, where he will undergo a
preliminary examination this day, with the view of
being remanded to a future day. On leaving the
farm he bade some of his companions, who were
assembled, a farewell, but he appeared, neverthe-
less, somewhat dejected. He has, since his appre-
hension, preserved a sullen silence, except when he
has uttered oaths and blasphemy. His father, a
respectable hard-working man, visited him yester-
day, and the poor old man appeared nearly heart-
broken: . .

The inquest on the body of the unfortunate girl
will be opened to-morrow (Wednesday), before Mr.
Marriott, of Doncaster, the coroner for the district

TERRIBLE RAILWAY COLLISION.

A little before 1 o'clock yesterday morning a ter-
rible collision occurred on the East Lancashire sec.
tion of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, near
llelmshore station, about 13 miles north of Man-
chester. On the previous day (Monday) a great
number of excursionists had gone to Manchester

from Colne, Burnley, Accrington, and other towns
on the East Lancashire Railway, most of whom had
no doubt been attracted by a fete at Bellevue Gar-
dens, near Manchester. We have not heard the
number of the excursionists, but it must have been
considerable, inasmuch as three heavy trains were
necessary to convey them back again. All three
trains had left Manchester before 11 o'clock at night,
and the first accomplished its journey in safety. The
second train, consisting of 18 carriages, reached
Helmshore station soon after midnight, where some
of the passengers alighted. Helmshore is situated
on a steep incline, rising in some places 1 yard in
52, which extends nearly from Ramsbottom to Has-
lingden, a distance of four to five miles. As the
train was again put in motion at Helmshore the
coupling chains between the third and fourth car-
riages broke, and left 15 carriages at the station.
Whether there was any break van to the latter
portion of the train has not yet been ascertained,
but if so, it is evident that the break power was in-
sufficient to hold the 15 carriages in their position
on so steep an incline. The consequence was, that
the detached carriages began to move backwards,
at first slowly,but with gradually accelerating force,
towards Manchester. About 300 yards from Helm-
shore they came into collision with the third train,
which was advancing at no very great speed, but
still the shock was terrific. Two of the detached
carriages, those first coming upon the engine of the
advancing train, were broken almost to atoms, and
several of the succeeding ones were much shattered.
The engine-driver and stoker, having done all they
could to stop the train, lay down upon the bed of the
engine, and some portion of the debris of the first
carriages they ran into passed over their heads, but
they escaped without injury. A terrible scene,
however, met the eye elsewhere. Human beings were
seen closely hived together in the carriages, ap-
parently inextricably mixed up together with the
broken wreck, and their cries of pain and alarmwere
heartrending. In a short time this scene was height-
ened by the passengers from the remainder of the
two trains coming in search of friends in a frenzy of
agitation and distress. Of course a considerable
number of passengers were able to lend assistance,
and aid the railway servants in extricating the suf-
ferers. This was a work of considerable time, but
when it had been accomplished it was found that 11
persons had been killed, besides a great number
badly injured. The latter are stated to be 19 or 20
in number, but the reports vary considerably. Al-
together it is believed that upward of 100 suffered!
injuries of a more or less serious character. A great
number of medical men were soon after in attend-
ance, and did all they could to aid the sufferers.
The servants of the company also rendered all the
assistance in their power.
The following particulars have been obtained from
an official source :—There were about 2,500 passen-
' gers in the three trains. The first consisted of about
14 carriages and arrived safe. The second train had
31 carriages, one of which was left at Ramsbottom.
This train arrived at the next station (Helmshore),
stopping at the usual platform. There were two
guards in charge of the train, and three carriages
supplied with breaks of the ordinary kind, two being
in the rear and one in front of the train. When
the guards released their breaks at Helmshore, the
carriages rebounded, as usual, causing the shackle
and coupling chains of a Birkenhead Company's
carriage (which had been lent to the Lancashire
and Yorkshire Company) to give way, and owing to
the fracture 14 of the carriages began to move back-
wards down the incline. An examination of the links
of the shackling showed the iron was bad. The
shackling and coupling chains were attached
throughout the train. Immediately the backward
movement was observed one of the guards jumped on
his carriage again and applied hisbreak, but the other
guard, being at the front of the train assisting the
passengers to alight, was of course unable to apply
the break under his charge. One break was insuffi•
cient to arrest the 14 detached carriages, which
had rolled back 400 yards, when they came into
collision with the third train. This had left Man-
chester 20 minutes after the second. Three of the
carriages of the second train were smashed to pieces,
and eight passengers were afterwards found dead
among the remains of them.
The driver of the third train, on rounding a curve
which is in a cutting at that point, saw the car-
riages approaching slowly towards him, reversed
his engine, and applied the breaks, but it was too
late. The gradient is about 1 in 78. The receding car 7
riages were not moving much faster than a walking
pace. Mr. Shaw, the passenger superintendent of
the line, was ridin gin thefirst portion of the second
train. Imrhediately the separation had taken place,
he had the engine detached, moved it to the other
line, and proceeded on it with a view to stop the
third train if possible, but it was already too near
cor a collision to be avoided.
The killed are four women and six men ; and
about 20 o'Llers are more or less injured, so fas
had been ascertained at 5 o'olo4. yesterday after-
noon. At least half of these are seriously wounded
or bruised.
Among the dead the only persons identified are
Richard Heap, mechanic, Burnley ; John Hartloy,
labourer, Accrington ; Isabella Hindle, wife of a
collier at Baxenden ; and Alice Tattersall, weaver,
Burnley. Among the injured are Richd. Dearden,
working spinner, Burnley; an operative named
Hartley, Butterfield (dangerous compound fracture
of the (trick), who was taken to the Manchester In-
firmary ; Margaret Fell, Barrowfield, weaver (frac-
tured toe) ; Abraham Pilkington, collier, Baxenden
(fractured wrist) ; John Duckworth, Haslingden
(fractured leg) ' • Mary Ann Bullock, Burnley (frac-
tured leg) ; Margaret Clegg, Burnley (fractured
leg) ; John Clegg. husband of the last named (frac-
tured leg) ; J. W. Duxbury, Symondstone, near
Whalley (fractured leg) ; S. Medley, Burnley (frac-
tured leg) ; J. Whittaker, Nelson, near Colne (frac-
tured leg) ; Catherine Doyle, Accrington (contused
knee).
About half-a-dozen surgeons of the neighbourhood
were promptly in attendance, and all the wounded
persons were carried to an hotel close to the scene
of the accident. All were taken to their homes by
special trains, except the one conveyed to the Man-
chester Infirmary.

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