The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-20 00:00:00

TEE FETE AT THE TIOUSE OF DIOMED

The fete at the house of Diomed is the subject of
every conversatien, and the dresses and appoint-
ments in preparation for the occasion the great
occupation of the moment. Stncti the invitations '
were first distributed various novel elements
have been added to the attractions of the festi-
val, the most important of which is the new
play by Emile Augier, called " Ie Toueur de
Flute," which is to be performed in the antique
style, by, three actors, upon a platform, raised
simply upon tressels, in the banquet-hall, during
the repast. The platform is placed upon wheels,
and is to be drawn in at a given moment, with the
actors in full costume, ready to commence their
performance. The prologue is written by Tbeophile
Gautier, and was read last night at the literary
soiree of one of our celebrities with immense effect.
Authors and actors are vying with each other to
render this representation one of the memorable
events of the season—and so it certainly will be.
Of course, being the subject which occupies us all,
the chronicle is filled with anecdotes concerning it,
and many a joke is afloat respecting the difficulties
encountered by Prince Napoleon in the getting up
of this very novel affair in such antique fashion.
The adventure of the bath, which occupies the
centre of the building, or atrium, which, in modern
dwellings, is replaced by a court-yard, is delight-
ing the hearts of all the professional mockers and
jeerers who fill the club-rooms to overflowing every
afternoon along the Boulevards. One or two speci-
mens will suffice. It seems that this admirable
convenience for bathing is supplied from the Seine,
and, by some contrivance, of evidently more recent
invention than any which Diomed could have
known, can be filled, in the course of a few mo-
ments, with a current both of hot and cold water.
As the bath had not yet been filled the Prince
was anxious to behold the effect it would
produce with the light of the torches
glittering on the water from the windows of the
banqueting-hall, and a slave or two, according to
ancient custom, swimming and rolling in the bath,
while throwing up jets of water to cool the air and
make a pleasant music, refreshing to the ear, and
suggestive of coolness and solitude, which induce
forgetfulness of the heated atmosphere and the
odour of the viands.
The Prince stood at the window of the hall, ac-
companied by M. de —, who is pleasantly deno-
minated "the aide-de-camp of all work," and, the
order being given for the filling of the tank, which,
when empty, looks like a stone-flagged court—so
ingeniously is the whole building contrived—the
water gushed at once from all parts, by hundreds
of small conductors, and . . . a black and
turgid liquid, such as that we read of in the French
l papers as filling the Thames at London, and cau-
sing pestilence and death throughout the city,
bubbled and rushed, with a roaring noise, into the
. tank, and drew forth from the Prince not the ex-

arose as to who should sacrifice himself for the
satisfaction of the rest of the company. The com-
petition was not particularly brisk, and all eyes
were, of course, turned towards the aide-de-camp of
all work, who shivered as he looked at the placid
mass of water which'shone now too clearly beneath
the hard square of blue let in from the roof.
The Prince, as was expected, turned towards
him, and asked him, in the most courteous
manner, to try the experiment, in which they
would all join by turns. There could be no pos-
sible objection—the water was warm, and could
be, in a moment, mounted to any temperature—
the pretence of a cold, which most of the other
gentlemen had urged, was not admissible in this
case—there could, therefore, be no obstacle to the
plunge of a few minutes, which was all that was
required of the aide-de-camp ; and he retired, with
no great alacrity, to reappear in another moment,
as was supposed, in the bath below.
While they were engaged in the amiable occupa-
tion of quizzing the absent one, a sudden plunge
from the steps of the bath, ingeniously covered over
and hidden from sight, announced that the bather
had accepted his misfortune, and was about to
become visible. But another deception awaited
the Prince—a far worse one than the first. Above
the shining surface of the water, reflected double
skull and shadow, instead of the youthful head of
the aide-de-samp, with its ambrosial curls and
waxed moustache, appeared the bald and bronzed
pate of the old porter, who had been chosen, for his
very age and wrinkles, as being more fit to repre-
sent the ancient domestic who sat in the hall-gate
mentioned so often by the Latin poets.. A shout of
laughter burst from the bystanders, and another
expression of disgust and displeasure, equally
strong as the last, rst at the same time, from the
Prince's lips. But the story did not end so jocosely
this time, for presently a howling cry burst ,
from the victim, who, for a consideration on

the part of the aide-de-camp, had consented
to take his place ; and soon he began to plunge,
and toss and throw his lean and skinny arms
above, as if in the greatest agony, while he leaped
and sounded with almost supernatural strength,
for such an old man, towards the steps by which
he had descended. At first the whole scene pro-
voked the most uproarious laughter on the part of
the lookers-on, but presently it became evident that
something serious had occurred, and, by one good-
natured impetus, they all rushed to the entrance of
the stairs, to ascertain what was the matter.
The poor old Cerberus was found to be in a state
of the greatest pain and terror—one half of his per-
son parboiled, the other frozen ! Nothing is per-
fect in this world. By some unaccountable over-
sight, the engineer_ had made the currents of hot

and cold water entirely distinct, so that a certain
length of time should have been suffered to elapse
before any one had ventured to enter the bath; and

,he first victim had thus been made to serve as

warning and example not to be followed by any
future imitator. Fortunately, no great harm was
done ; and, after a little while, the patient being
recovered from his fright, which was much greater
than the hurt, the party left the house of Diomed
as full of glee as good-natured friends generally are
at failure or discomfiture of one of themselves. The

Prince has since given up the idea of the disporting
slave, and indeed aocs not intend to fill the bath

but Misfortune seems to have marked him for his

own, for, the day of the rehearsal of the play, ano-
ther disaster, of far more importance, occurred,
which nearly put an end to the performance alto-

gether.—Court .Teurnal.

THE BENICIA BOY.

" Argus," of the Post, says :—The excitement
relative to the great international contest in April
between the Benicia Boy and Mr. Sayers continues
unabated, and the latter is almost as great a hero
in the United States as Washington himself. In-
deed an offer has been made to him for a tour in
that country after the trial of strength has come off
of so lucrative a character that it is only second to
that of Jenny Lind's. Here be is the cynosure of
all eyes, and divides with public feeling the great
question of the budget. Publicans " bid" for him
as Lady Morgan used to do for a "Thaddeus of
Warsaw ;" and Mr. Dickens is not more sought
after at a literary institution or athenreum than is
our champion by the licensed victuallers at both
ends of the metropolis. Such ar exhibition of
feeling will, no doubt, be looked upon with regret
by Mr. Spooner and his followers; but in these
invasion panic days (in which I am no believer
however) it cannot, with any degree of decency, be
discouraged. Heenan's proceedings, on the con-
trary, have been conducted with greater mystery ;
and wisely shunning the temptations of London,
he betook himself to the Far West, to prepare
for the serious task cut out for him, and in the
execution of which I do not for a moment envy
him: Not having had the honour of being pre-
sented to him—for his sejour in the " village
was so brief—l can give you no account of him
personally ; but my regret on that score is
diminished as the narrative of an interview with
him, which appears in the Field of yesterday,
under the head of an "Evening with Heenan," is
written in such an agreeable style, and is so
entirely free from slang of any description, I feel cer-
tain your readers will be obliged by my extracting
it. The writer, evidently the author, of these ex-
cellent articles in the same newspaper, entitled
" The Studs of England," and which have created
such sensation in all parts of the country, begins as
follows :—" My theme is ' Man.' In my late wan-
derings I have met with a remarkably fine speci-
men of the genus. He is a stranger among us ' • all
England knows that he is here, but all England
has not seen him. His name has for the last month
been in everybody's mouth. The gentlemen of
England are, with few exceptions, anxious to see
him; the so-called sporting men are raving for a
peep at him, and even they who care not to mingle
with their fellows in sport or pastime are on the
qui vice to ascertain what manner of creature he
must be who has crossed three thousand miles
of ocean to beard the British champion on his
own arena. His name is Heenan, and he comes
in shape much bigger than an agate-stone.' He
stands six feet and an inch, weighs 13st., and is as
finely built a young fellow as e'er sun shone upon.
I found him on the Downs of Wiltshire, and am
bound to echo the words of Mr. Grantley Berkeley
in pronouncing him a magnificent specimen of a
man.' Having read of him iu all the morning and
several weekly papers, I was prejudiced against
him. One word was enough to convince me he
was not the ruffian he had been painted. We
met at covertside. I guessed who he was, and
opened a conversation by advising him to be careful
of the highbred bull-dog he was leading by a
pocket-handkerchief. The Benicia Boy'—that, gen-
tle reader, is his Corinthian' title—thanked me with
a smile, and said, ' If I do not hold him, I guess
the hounds will eat him and the hunters will eat
me.' At once, methought, this man is more of a
gentleman than a pugilist. I took a liking to him,
and did my utmost to get him a view of the fox, for
which he was most eager • unfortunately we drew
several coverts before finding, which we did after
id
' The Boy' had gone home to his early dinner. His
dog, he said, should never again accomplaineytehlidmmine
his walks when hounds were ea
he did not approve of dog-fighting, but he kept this
guardian of his home to protect him from the in-
trusion of inquisitive meddlers. Perceiving that I
very nearly knew where to drdaiwd
so
neatforhi dm,e lyie,
ainna-
vited me to visit his castle.' I
found it to correspond exactly with his description,
namely, a fortified farm, within a high wall of
flint and clay, like the squares on a chess-board,'
No bell was on the gate, nor was it needful to
blow a horn as did Jack the Giant Killer to gain
admission once upon a time.' My giant's gate
was not fastened. I pushed it aside, and en walk-
ing across what was once a lawn, the house-door
was thrown open to me by one of his friends, a
well-educated and well-spoken New-Yorker. The
party consisted of three, the gentleman aforesaid,
the Boy (abJut four feet round the chest !), and his

could never tire. I was curi,
offensively so ! asked many q
answered most courteously. They fou 1.,
place by accident, and cicse it for . lonesorre-
ness. The house itself is worth seeing ; the old
porch, with a massive stoneseatoneachside, t 1 e four
steps to the keeping-room, and the various descents
to its enormous cellars, bespoke it of ancient date,
manyonks
ofa funnyold. It story
within
and accustomed to good cheer. lt was built before
the day of strikes and documents, for the walls are
ofia a lace
peal of
m
of immense thickness, and have doubtless lie ird
of cathedral bells, and is supposed to be coeval with
the sacred edifice. The archaeologists have found
amusement in the neighbourhood, and many au
standsfrom
e herring glorious
Oldbuck has raised antiquities almost within gun-
shot of Heenan's isolated home. Coffins and spears
tryal eekiagellsi 1 thedairy-farm
rieoagrloyloiinsotei.,i ont
hrgi,tssh
.sewv
tajli:?!k_l
el. yo o
Fromdino is:iea:let
tzshieuodofiialttiheo
oilier
river, wherefrom the speckled trout were taken to
e met
h(ite hillstehye eg cc' itui \le :I
fit'
reach,6ic"lilli:
deck the tables of the refectory. On either side of
stretched meadows, on which many a herd of trine,
aye, and perhaps the abbot's mule has grazed. All
these the open-hearted fellow seemed fond of dwel-
ling on ; and he finished his lecture by saying—
' Yours is a fine country; but do you have any fine
weather ?' He next initiated me in a few of tie
arts and sciences connected with athletic exercise.
'Now,' quoth he, ' you have seen the playground,
allow me to show you the school.' Not learned in.
pugilistic lore, the sight of his gymnasium wan to me
an interesting novelty. A large barn, ' replete
with every luxury,' appropriated to the art of self-
defence—that is the term used by its professors: to
soften down the more rough word boxing—was the
school to which he endue! ei me. The articles of
furniture bore but slight resemblance to anything
I had seen at Gillow's or Dowbiggin'e, but they
were such as, by being constantly used, would
strengthen the frame, expand the lungs, give
liberty to the shoulders, develop the muscles—in
short, render a man so active and I e Llthy that he
could endure excessive exertion without showing
fatigue. One bay of the barn was full of agri-
cultural implements, the other wrs ' The Boy's'
play-room on a wet day. There had been
weights and pulleys to get him into wind ; ho
had no boat to pull to get him into water,
although he sat at his work as do the gentlemen
who start from Putney ; there he had a swinging
sack to practice at, and fancy he was engaging the
renowned Tom Sayers ; there he had some very
pretty clubs, which he called his dumb-bells, of
about the some size as one imagines that of Her-
cules to have been when he tamed the Nemten
lion. !With these toys he played as would a small
boy with a battledore. I yielded to his kind invi-
tation to handle his playthings, but after a very
few circumvolutions my feeble arm ' did not seem
to care about it.' I plead non-guiltiness to a know-
ledge of the ways and means of training a human
being; but I should imagine that a few weeks'
practice with the sort of tools I have attempted to
delineate would give a man such a preparation that
' Observer' would describe him as being ' fit to run
for a man's lice.' My afternoon's lounge did not
terminate with the lesson on the dumb-bells ;
for I was invited to take a second peep at his
parlour, and test the quality of his bohea. From
my 3 outh up I have loved bohea. A fair white
cloth bedecked his massive oaken table—even that
iteni bore no trace of Laing town-made ; and, in the
absence of bison, a grass-fed ox supplied a dish
palatable to a man with an appetite. The meal
was soon discussed, and we had a chat about things
over the water, or what he called ' home.' fhis
aspirant to fistic honours is no illiterate visitor ;
and, if I may be allowed to venture an opinion after
seeing his quiet and decent demeanour, I must
yield to the notion that if he be not too much of a
gentleman for the work he has set himself, he will
achieve it. His age is 25; he therefore has a
decided advantage in point of youth. He has also
length of arm to serve him, and only requires that
most necessary ingredient in the manufacture of
pugilist—science, to render him a most foluddahle
opponent. If he be a better player at hitting-in-
the-face than the English champion, lie will set a
good example to his countrymen by taking back to
the great West the champion's belt of old England.
That trophy, if carried to America. will truly cause
Brother Jonathan to ' blow'—for the benefit of
country gentlemen, hundreds of whom will, I know
attend the fight, I may as well define the meaning
of the word. It is ' boast.' But it. will also tenets
Americans that a man may defend himself without
pistol-ball or bowie knife—that an affront (I speak
of the lower ranks in life) may be resented by chas-
thing an insolent puppy without taking away his
life. It is a rather curious coincidence that, accord-
ing to present arrangements, the d ty fixed for mak-
ing the next deposit of stakes is the anniversary of
Washingtc.n's birthday. John Ilcenan walks and
runs at least 20 miles a day, and his finishing
touch up the sides of the downs ought indeed to
open his lungs. In the course of conversation the
trio told me they constantly changed their trades-
men, and al-vays saw the servant start off with
their purchases before they left the shop. Their
reason for this caution is, that they had heard
dreadful accounts of the adulteration of food in
England, and—l blush to write it—they feared
that a trick m;ght be played with the food to pre-
vent the American winning the belt. I did not
ask Heenan to' put his hands up,' for I never was
brave in my life. I hope, however, to see him and
his rival do so when the eventful day arrives."

THE BUDGET.

PARLIAMENTARY NOTICES.

Mr. Lindsay—On going into committee on Cus-
toms Acts, to move—That, in the opinion of this
house, it is expedient, in s2nctioning the measures
requisite for executing the engagements entered
into by her Majesty in the treaty with France, that
provision be made for abolishing all differential
duties on the trade carried on in British or French
vessels between the ports of England and France,
and their respective colonies and dependencies, and
from port to polt within those limits.
Mr. Du Cane—On the motion that Mr. Speaker
do leave the chair for going into committee on Cus-
toms Acts, to move, by way of amendment, the fol-
lowing resolution :—That this house, recognising
the necessity of providing for the increased expen-
diture of the coming financial year, is of
opinion that it is not expedient to add to the
existing deficiency by diminishing the ordinary re
venue, and is not prepared to disappoint the just
expectations of the country by reimposing the
income-tax at an unnecessarily high rate.
Mr. Disraeli—Amendment to question, that Mr.
Speaker do leave the chair, to go into committee
on Customs Acts ; that this house does not think
fit to go into committee on the Customs Acts, with
a view to the reduction or repeal of the duties re-
ferred to in the treaty of commerce between her
Majesty and the Emperor of the French, until it
shall have considered, and assented to, the engage-
ments in that treaty.
Mr. Bristow—ln committee on Customs Acts—
on Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer moving the re-
peal of the clause in the Act or Parliament which
exempts the deed of building societies from stamp
duties, to move that the exemption be retained and
continued.

STRANDING OF THE SCREW

STEAM SHIT.

The Board of Trade have issued the report of the
Swansea magistrates who inquired into the strand-
ing of the Cossack steamer on Diagram Sands, near
Port Talbot, on the night of the 13th of January,
and the decision of the department. The Cossack,
which was of 1,100 tans register, and belonged to
Hull, sailed from Liverpool on the 12th January,
vessel at
for Cardiff, and the report, after noticing the
course of the ship, the stranding of the
10.34 p.m., the expectation of Captain Lewis
(master) of floating her off, and declining
aid of Mr. Talbot (the lord-lieutenant of the
of
Channel, th e c case,
the Re_
county and other parties, thus concludes :.-....,4
viewing therefore all the circumstances
the master's ignorance of the Bristol
evident want of knowledge of the set and velocity
of the tides, the improper courses he steered, and
his want of caution in going full speed when doubt-
ful of his position (without coming to any decision
on the very moot question as to the propriety or
otherwise of his conduct in not accepting the prof-
fered assistance
ofthe
steamer Donna tug), we beg to
for your reportlordships'erwas stranded,eonsidera consideration
sustainedthatth
Cossack screw .
consequent considerable damage,through the defile-I
of the master, Charles Lewis." We are glad •0
perceive that several testimonials spenk highly of
Captain Lewis's services as mast,r for more than
20 years. Captain Harris, the nautical assessor,
who assisted in the investigation, havinf; expressed
his concurrence in the report, the Lards of the
Committee of the Privy Council for Trade have
directed that Captain Lewis's certifiratte be sus-
pended for three months.

DEFALCATIONS OF A RAILWAY OFFI CIAL.—It
ramoured that one of the principal officers in a metropolitan
railway has absconded with cash to a large amount. His
de+leations are believed to exceed many ti) ousini pounds.
—Observer.