The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-19 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Shifting Scenes in Theatrical Life. By Eliza Win-
stanley, comedian. Boutledge.
The authoress of this tale, who has already se'
uired credit and popularity as a comedian, has,
been tempted to appear upon another stage and
She has
face the difficulties of another profession.
Luce
wisely selected theatrical life as her subject, e 1
has
is a peculiar attraction to the readers of light
literature in the records of a dramatic career, and
her own acquaintance lv-ith the members of the a
.
theatrical profession enables her to give a vivid
onde
an
life-like representation of the dranuitiB pers
In her .
behind the curtain and in the green-room.
preface she tells us that her story is founded on
facts, although of course they are gathered from
various quarters and did not occur in the sone
sequence as the events of the narrative. The char
racters are also real, although disguised. There is
something very pleasing in the favourable des
which an actress of experience and standings akes
of her profession, in the high moral tone sh hal
preserved throughout, scarcely introducing anY °
those intrigues and moral defalcations which are
too commonly made the principal staple of mane
tale relating to the stage. She has introduced raany
excellent characters who would do honour to any
profession, and she has not restricted her illustra-
tions to the managers of first-rate theatres and the
" stars" of the dramatic hemisphere.
a gentle womanly character, is the wife of a stro/
ling player, and though their daughters subdse-
quently obtain distinction on the London boa.s,
yet a great part of the tale runs through t.e.et
poorer wanderers of the profession, who think 1
a high honour to obtain a temporary engag
ment at a country theatre, and look to London as an
Her heroine.,
unattainable El Dorado. In this class Mrs. Wiir
stanley introduces many eccentric individuals. 1 I
have Mr. and Mrs. Gyngell, the rough and W!
taskmasters ; Joseph Jessam, otherwise known as
Joyful Jessy, the liberal, genyerous manager' Mrt,
Godfrey, in her old poke bonnet, always fearful that
people were going to impose on her, and begruurt
ing every sixpence for necessary expenses' yet
withal possessing some good qualities. These are
the managers in the various country places. A
town ones, if we mistake not, are drawn from i*
The actors are more numerous, but all clever Is
sketched, and possessing individuality.
•Juliud.
' Cave, the husband of Emma, the heroine, 5 a 1111!,_
hearted, selfish, cruel man, who embitters then lls'..
ence of his devoted wife. Emma herself is that
is gentle and admirable in woman, never i°ll murmur;
ing at incessant toil and tyranny, and only and
for the weltare of her children. The story on;
tinues the narrative of the struggles of Julius an
°
his family until Zarina and Clotilda attain WOTTe;
hood arid appear in London. We leave the. real
s.
to develope the remainder of the story n
.1 elk rill
Winstanley's pleasant pages, assuring "lira -1-Aver d-
find no lack of exciting romance and animate°. a„,_
venture. The tale shows talent, and possesses c9°,
sideraole interest, being altogether very creditabie
to a debutante on the literary stage. The followinge
passage from the preface shows the elevated '14..w
which the authoress takes of her profession and 1'
members :
The writer's aim, indeed, has been rather to upholdthfal:
to depreciate the character or "say aught in malice in
profession to which she thinks it no discredit tone Work,. ~,
the delineation of Emma—the true heroine of he
has endeavoured to show how the vicissitudes,_ the t 9.1:
privations, and sufferings attendant upon the life
strolling player may serve to develope some ef, ....:.„,,se
qualities that do honour to human nature ; that a Digo 0„..
of moral duty, patience under disappointment and the Pr'r.-,t
practice of the good Samaritan's spirit,
sure of hopeless difficulties, together with the const_art
~
may be Perf,deuth
je
compatible with a calling whose busin3ss it is " te 11°1
mirror up to nature."
We congratulate Mrs. Winstanley on her succebst
in her new part as authoress, and have ne d". 11
her friends, the public, to whom she is already ice':
known, will greet her appearance on this new star
with encouragement and approval.

TILE DISASTER IN CIL

(From te .
"The advanced state of the season remotes 1/1.1.
hope of being able to commence any serious ogle of
tions in the North of China before the
next spring. Pekin is situated in the same
as Naples, but during the summer the heat !a
as
great as in Egypt, and in the winter theircold
severe as in Sweden. Before carrying the sot
such a climate it will be necessary to make many
preparations which have not been yet though; to
Referring then to the amount of forces
be required, our contemporary says : had
" If the personal experience which we 1111/e •
of the Chinese gives us a right to have an opinlf,i
we should say that a corps of 25,000 men
1331adtitsud...0
Nf
NB
be amply sufficient to obtain the results whien.;_.
propose as the object of the new expediti
That would be about 12,000 furnished by each,
division with its details of artillery,
power, that is to say, for the French, an ordina)",
&c. It would perhaps be advisable to a_ra.a,
to them one or two squadrons of dragoons or Atl_
can Chasseurs. There are plenty of horses 113 Ur,
north of China, the Mongols last year brouga9
cavalry into the field against the allies, and by p oiY);
ing regularly for the animals which might
brought for sale, enough would be doubtless Pc,
cured for the artillery, and for mounting a sr"
engineer!,
corps of 200 or 300 tnen, who might render joy
portant services. If it should be considered irithr
tain
pensable to have immediately- at command a cer
number of horses, the most simple plan would e
to purchase them beforehand at Manilla, and h
to
have them conveyed by one of those transport"
which have been built expressly for the purP°se'
and which can carry from 300 to 400. In taking
e from
advantage of the south monsoon, the voyag
Manilla to the Peiho can be made in a week or ten
days. The horses of the Philippines are small
not very strong, but they are tractable and fill
of spirit. As to the artillery, there would
be no necessity to have a great nuraber
of guns, or any of large calibre. Rifled mountain
guns, such as were used in Kabylia, would
suffice for all the eventuality of the campaign, as
the Chinese never take artillery with them. For
the attack of fortified places, the old 12-pounders,
rifled, which throw shells of 241 b. weight to a dis-
tance of more than 4,000 metres, would find it only
child's play to destroy all the works of the Chinese.
The most delicate point will be to organise the
means of transport for the materiel of the army.
It must not be supposed that this organisation pre-
sents any very formidable difficulties, particularly
when they can be foreseen. Pekin, after all, is
only about 30 leagues (75 miles) from the sea, and.
is united to it by the River Peiho, of which advan-
tage could be taken. It is now known that beyond
Tien-tsin this river up to the capital has only
depth of three or four feet of water. It will con-
sequently be necessary to provide barges or flat-
bottomed boats for the conveyance of the stores
and the sick ; and in order to move those barges it
would be well to be pros ided with a certain amount
of steam apparatus which could be fitted up on the
spot, similar to the steam gunboats which were built
for navigating on the lakes and rivers of Italy.

EXTRAORDINARY INQUEST.
On Saturday afternoon• an exceedingly delicate
investigation was begun before Mr. Humphreys,
the coroner and a highly respectable jury at the
Neweaese
causes which
Tavern,
ied te Milethe
d-eeantdh- reofa
ad ,
maleto d ieshciolvde,
aged
r the
order
three weeks, whose body has been exhumed by
of the coroner, acting under instructions from the
Secretary of State. It appears that early in Angus!
last the Bishop of London received two letters signco.
by "A Parishioner," which alleged that the ltev•
J. Bonwell,a
ryeecutonrgolfveSint.aPn hiniliaph'saCphaurtrmche,hSttein eepP
the
had kept
lady
school-house adjoining the church, which young
was there delivered of a male child on the 11th ef
August last. It was also stated that the mother
and child had suddenly left the houses, giving rise to
suspicions of foul play as regarded the infant. The.
Bishop of London, on receipt of these letters, placeft
the matter before the authorities in Scotlanyard,
who immediately commissioned Inspector Whicher
to investigate the truth or falsehood of the lettere.
From the inquiries which he made Inspece!
Which ascertained that the rector was a married
man, and that when introduced to the young le di.
in question he represented himself to be a widower.
She subsequently left her home and lived with the
rector at Southend ; they were afterwards traced to
London, and had been seen to enter the school,:
house at Stepney on the night of the 11th of
August last. She was there delivered of the de"
ceased child by Dr. Godfrey, of Finsbury-square'
whose assistant procured a nurse for her. On the
15th ult. the mother and child removed to the Sus-
sex•hotel, Duke-street, Southwark, where the recto!
engaged apartments for her. On Saturday. the 34
of September, the child died, and the same duncee
Rev. Mr. Bonwell called on Mr. Ayres, an n,,;
taker, presented him with a certificate Of the child
death, and bade him bury the child as quickly a°
possible, paying him 18s. for his trouble. The child
was buried, not in a separate coffin, but was surreep:
titiously placed in the coffin of an adult, name a...
Elizabeth Haycock, whose funeral Mr. Ayers 1...
formed on the 4th of September, at the Tower flafd
lets cemetery. On these facts being cornmuni_auf.s
to the coroner the of Elizabeth acocic w"
fexhumed,euhdlyi e agn dt be
withe bodyitin
theof tsha em
e toff
examination of the secretary of e Cemeterydeuranued
one or two witnesses the inquest
untiln e
e es
snaerxyt
wlli'tchdenses ss ds
analysis of the intestines and stomach of aail etc:.
to Dr'
Lceeatsheedbychfielrd,thwahtipuchrpheasle-e. been forwarded
, await in orderthw eat_
ros
ecea;ililtte:etef the

rr

Lord LORD PALMERSTON KEEPS HOLIDAY.—
?ollti4o4.lraerston. is too inveterately. hardened into the
lutel official work ever to give it up, even for a short
traal• Re will die in harness. Ho is happiest in the
or 1-"A' At Broadlands, though no man tramps the stubbles
'Jest bet, the cover with keener zest, or carries a surer double-
the-e's-slid that too without spectacles, at 74—this is but
,„ rnorzin ,
g a amusement. By two or three o'clock Lord
.wanelerston. is in his room
, elbow deep in despatches, and
thinn.• about with office boxes. Visitors at the house see
-I.° of him till the late dinner at eight, and that des-
-us-though there may be an:adjournment tothe draw-
-110 °4l, and even the billiard-room, where the perennial
P
„.Bect t still handles his cue like a master, and again without
b files—Lord Palmerston is no more visible after 10,
la the lights;'vei,,,• are burning in his room till twelve or one,or
'abolir""'r• In the intervals of this severe and protracted
I'al'lo one can be gayer or more sprightly than.
..Lord
'lll ulerit°l3, or readier to take and pass the mot pow •trc.
et(),,,1g,..„4. Lord Palmerston declares ho has no time to read
retii'yeing but manuscripts," he seems au fait of the cur.-
for
hinerature.
isVeetrsdattlaiiit.l.lld perhaps Lady Palmerston eviscerates it
keeps him supplied with the essence for em-
it would only be ono of many similar services
ittonere' bY this most devoted of wives to her h.usban. Not
(144 the least important of these is the way in which. she
of the rges the duty of hostess at Broadlands, making. it one
dull ener,s,antest, most informal, and least, pretentious or
"evet' --`ditrY houses, despite its master s standing and
to re, lett to business.— Weekly Dispatch.
ttE GI
BRALTAR CABLE.—A contract has been
Goya with the Gutta Percha Company, on behalf of the
reftarnment, for a cable to be laid from Falmouth to Gib-
j; 1,200 miles, which is to be ready in June next. This
ark,. e succeeded by one from Gibraltar to Malta and
toa, thus
" tai 4_ g..i.ving an
Chin Tel
free from Conti-
-14 uities.--Chtna Telegraph.
-11;Tfit'LE CORPS.—We have to record an act of
repucenoe and public spirit of a kind not unfrequent in
tertle of the last great war, but which has seldom been
ls,torrld tho memory of this generation. Mr. Charles
oterj°llo, of the firm of Morrison, Dillon, and Co., has
for the equip a large body of young men in his employ
Own
,11-'°ndon Rifles of the Scottish Volunteer Corp, at his
houillarge, An act so worthy to serve as an example
not Pass without honourable mention.