The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-11 00:00:00

ARRIVAL OF THE P.E.RA.

The Pera arrived at Southampton on Saturday
with the heavy portion of the Australian and Bom-
bay mails. Her dates were—Alexandria, March 29 ;
Malta, April 1 ; and Gibraltar 5. She made the
passage from Alexandria to Southampton, a dis-
tance of 3,000 miles, in ten days,l9 hours, including
stoppages at Malta and Gibraltar. Her voyage was
so quickly made from Malta that the postmaster and
his assistants on board had great difficulty in sort-
ing the mail before arriving at Southampton. The
Pera has brought home nearly 200 passengers,
among whom aro Indian officers and officials, Par-
sees, Australian nabobs, and a large number of
ladies and children. The Pera having to bring home
the first Australian mail under the new contract,
some fears were felt that she would not arrive at
Southampton in due course on account of the
complicated mail service that had to be performed.
Three ships had to leave three separate points, viz.,
New South Wales, Bombay, and Southampton, on
two given days, Feb. 12 and March 12. One ship
had to run 8,900 miles and the other two 3,000 miles
each, and all three of the ships had to arrive as
nearly as possible at the same spot at one time.
The Southampton steamer reached Alexandria, and
the Bombay and New South Wales steamers reached
Suez, within a few hours of one another. This
remarkable punctuality enabled the Pera to bring
home her mails within her contract time. The Pera
experienced on her homeward passage fine weather
in the Mediterranean ; strong south-west gales,
thick weather, and a heavy sea across the bay ; and
strong westerly gales with clear weather up the
Channel. Her Majesty's ships Marlborough, Con-
queror, Centurion, Princess Royal, Hibernia, Vul-
ture, Medina, Argus, Recruit, and Boxer, a Russian
three-decker, and a Turkish frigate with troops for
Tunis, were at Malta. The Victor Emanuel, Orion,
Leopard, and Gannet, a Russian screw three-decker,
and the French steam sloop Coligny, were at Gib-
raltar. From Egypt we learn that the Bedouin
Arabs had opposed the staking out of the Suez
Canal, and were giving much trouble to M. Lesseps,
the French engineer.

STEAM-SHIP COLLISION.—The particulars of a
disastrous collision between two steamers, which resulted in
the sinking of one of the vessels, were received on Saturday
at Lloyd's. The General Steam Navigation Company's
steamer Bruiser, with passengers and a general cargo, from
London, was proceeding up the Tyne on Thursday evening,
and when near a sharp angle in the river, some two miles
from Newcastle, the Britannia steamer, for Leith, was ob-
served coming down. Owing to the state of the tide, and
the position of a sand-bank which extends some distance into
the channel, the ships apparently were unable to clear each
other, and the Bruiser struck the bow of the Britannia with
considerable force, and such was thifrcharacter of the injury
that her fore compartment speedily began to fill with water,
and she gradually settled down. The passengers and crew,
however, had an ample opportunity to escape. The Bruiser
sustained but trifling damage, and proceeded to Newcastle
quay. Attempts are being made to raise the Britannia.
. HOSPITAL FOR CONSUMPTION AND DISEASES OF
THE CHEST, BRomr•roN.—The Rev. Dr. Goulbourn
preached yesterday morning, at Quebec Chapel, Portman-
square, in aid of the funds of this valuable institution. In
the course of his very able discourse, the rev, gentleman
eloquently described the nature of consumption, stating that
it produced not less than one-eighth of the mortality of the
metropolis • and observed that among the institutions esta-
blished in this country for the alleviation of human misery
the Brompton Hospital held a most distinguished position.
Many a poor seamstress, in whose home perhaps the seeds
of consumption had been sown by over-toil in a vitiated at-
mosphere, poor soldiers affected by ill-ventilated barracks,
n
or perhaps from bard service in the Crimean war, hadlfounroan
d
a home and relief in this hospital. The rev. gee
brought his address to a close by stating that no less t
than
171 patients were now waiting for admission. At the close
of the service the sum of Xll6 10s. 10d. was collected.
EXCITING SCENE AT THE ALHAMBRA PALACE.—
On Saturday, during the afternoon performances at the Al-
hambra Palace, an accident occurred which, by the pre-
sence of mind of one of the performers, was happily unat-
tended with injury to any person. Mr. Runnell and his
family of three children (boys, aged respectively fifteen,
eleven, and six) perform in a scene on horseback, entitled
" Sprites of the Silver Shower." During one of their
various dangerous poses, the youngest child, almost an in-
fant, was balancing himself on his father's head, the other
two were suspending from the loins, when, to the horror of
all present, one of the horses (tvo:are engaged) slipped, and
the whole party came to the ground amid the shrieks of
terror-stricken women and excited men. The youngest
child fell on its feet, but the second on his shoulder. Mr.
Runnell recovered his feet, and seized the children, who,
by their smiles, indicated that they were unhurt, and the
scene was finished amidst mingled applause and marks of
disapprobation that the horses were again mounted.