The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-23 00:00:00

THE SUN,' LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 23, 1859

commercial gentlemen for gravy, struck, in the
grotesque exordium of this comic speech, the key-
note of all the after laughter: Grievously disturbed
at heart by his many ineffectual attempts to obtain
the materials for a speech, Mr. DICKENS
with an aspect of becoming gravity, recounted yes-
terday how—" He looked through the advertising
pages of Bradshaw—(loud laughter)—and asked
himself whether anything could be done with those
inviting advertisements of hotels, in which was
offered at fixed charges bed, breakfast, and attend•
ance, with the additional advantages of a perfect
solitude and an Italian atmosphere. (Laughter.)
He asked himself despondingly the question whether
anything apropos could be got out of the unfortu-
nate porter who sat up all night, and who never
sent to bed in the day time ?" (Great laughter.)
Whereupon he relates the incident of another
excursion to Leeds, besides the one we have
before mentioned as having been so ludicrously
particularised. Altogether, our great Humorist so
effectually and (as usual) beneficently, " set the
table in a roar," after the fashion of YORICK,
that he contrived to shake out of the pockets
of those assembled together around it a
a goodly sum of upwards of £l,OOO in subscriptions.
May the supporters of this noble charity laugh
thus (as TOM HOOD expressed it on the droll title
page) from year to year—while the children in the
Commercial Traveller's Schools grow fat under the
nfiuence of that kindly merriment.

ST 111.41.RTIN'S HALL.

On Wednesday evening " The Messiah" was per
formed at St. Martin's Hall, under the direction of
Mr. Hullah. It was in every way creditably exe-
cuted, and a decided improvement in many instances
on the same oratorio of last year at that institution.
Miss Martin has rectified some of the faults which
marred the effect of her fine voice on her first ap-
pearance before the public. Miss Banks was de-
servedly applauded on her rendering of the beauti-
ful air—" Come unto Him all ye that labour." Miss
Dolby had not so much assigned to her as formerly,
but she displayed her well-known fine taste in the ex-
pressive words assigned to her. Mr. Thomas dis-
tinguished himself in the grand airs—" Why do
the Nations so furiously rage together," and, also,
" The Trumpet shall Sound." The audience was
much gratified by the appearance of Mr. Sims
Reeves, who sang with his usual masterly expres-
sion in sacred airs. It is to be regretted, however,
that more justice, to say nothing of taste or good
feeling, cannot be displayed by those who have the
privilege of hearing such good music at so cheap a
cost. After the solo—" Thou shalt break them
with a rod of iron," there was a universal demand
for an encore, which Mr. Sims Reeves at once
intimated was impossible, by laying down his
music. The more respectable portion of the public,
of course, desisted in their demand, but the uproar
created by the uncultivated hearers was disgraceful,
especially when it is remembered that it was a
sacred performance they were assembled to hear.
It is an absurd thing for people to imagine that
singers can always encore the most elaborate pas-
sages that entail great exertion to suit their fancies,
and all lovers of fair play will condemn the custom,
and those who create such a disturbance as that on
Wednesday, which for some minutes drowned the
chorus, do not exhibit their love for music, but their
want of manners. The grand chorus in the oratorio
—" Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent
Reigneth" was very effective. " Lift up your
Heads" was also ably executed in its difficult ar-
rangement. Miss Martin was not equal to the task
of rendering " I know that my Redeemer liveth,"
but she exerted herself creditably. One of the
most striking passages in the arrangement of the
oratorio, which is sustained by the quartet and
chorus in the last part, " Since by ' Man came
Death," when the chorus take up " By Man came
also the Resurrection of the Dead," was very satisfac-
torily rendered. On the whole great credit is due
to the management of the director, and the general
impression of the performances of the evening was
evidently a favourable one throughout the numer-
ous audience.

gress.

TH EA TR E ROYAL, LYCEUM.
--4.
The subject of the Christmas entertainment at
this theatre has been selected, by Mr. T. Talfourd
from the popular German tales of the Brothers
Grimm, and is entitled King Thrushbeard, the
Little Pet and the Great Passion; or, harlequin
Had*, and the Fairy Good Humour." The fol-
lowing is an outline *of the plot :—The Princess
Imperiosa, only daughter of King Pater-familial, is
as fair as the day, but as proud as Lucifer, and of
most ungovernable temper. Her extreme beauty
has tempted many Princes to ask her hand in mar-
riage, and her father, delighted at the chancy of
ridding himself of a child who makes his life a
misery, appoints a day for the suitors to attend
and urge their pretensions. The day arrives, and
the suitors arrive, but the princess indignantly re-
jects them all, and treats them so insultingly that
they leave the palace in disgust. The king, tired
of yielding to her caprices, and driven to despera-
tion by the thought of her remaining always on
his hands, at length " plucks up a spirit," and vows
that she shall marry the first beggar who presents
himself. A beggar minstrel passing at the moment,
the king insists upon Imperiosa marrying him, and
the ceremony is supposed to take place immedi-
ately. The beggar takes his wife on the "wedding
tour," and they arrive at length at his wretched
home. At first she indulges in her usual haughty
behaviour ; but charmed and subdued by her hus-
band's good humour and affection—treatment to
which she had hitherto been unaccustomed—she
begins to entertain towards him a respectful attach-
ment, which speedily ripens into love ; her cure is
complete, and the Shrew is tamed. The story of this
extraordinary marriage having reached the ears of
the king of the country where the supposed beggar
and his wife live, his curiosity iv, excited, and he
commands them to appear at court. We are now
introduced to the palace, where, the wife being
separated by accident from her husbrnd, is ushered
into the presence of the king, in whom she at once
recognises one of the princes whom she had so in-
sultingly rejected. The king feigns to believe that
the Princess Imperiosa appears before him seeking
a divorce, and grants her supposed suit, This elicits
from her a confession of the happy change which
has taken place in her disposition. Hafiz, delighted,
throws off the beard he has worn (which, from its
being shaped like a thrush's bill, had obtained for
him the soubriquet of Thrushbeard), and the princess
is rewarded by discovering that King Hafiz, the
Beggar Husband, and Thrushbeard are all one and
the same person. A general reconciliation takes
place, and Imperiosa is reinstatsd in the brilliant
position she is now fitted to adorn.
It is believed the accessories of the chief scene
(designed and painted by Mr. Wm. Calcott) possess
an originality of invention, with completeness and
costliness of execution, surpassing anything of this
description hitherto presented on the boards of a
theatre.
The harlequinade is the joint production of Mr.
George Ellis and Mr. Cormack ; the principal cha-
ra3ters in which will be represented by the Messrs.
J. and 11. Marshall, Mr. Naylor, and Miss Rosine.

THE FRENCH SQUADRON IN CIIINA.—The French
squadron at present in the Chinese waters is composed of
the following vessels .—The Nemesis, bearing the admiral's
flag, 52 gnus ; Dido, 40 ; Capricieuse, 32 ; Dordogne, 6 ;
Gironde, 6 ; Marne, 6 ; Meurthe, 6 ; Du, ance, 6 ; Saone, 6 ;
Duchayla, 32 ; Catinat, 12 ; Phlegethon, 8 ; Primaugret,
8 ; Laplace, 8; Marceau, 6 ; Regent, 4 ; Alarm°, 4 ; Dra-
gonne, 4 ; Fusee, 4 ; Mitraille, 4 ; Norzag,arity, 2 ; Lily, 2 ;
Rose, 2 ; Pehio, 2. The Forbin, now on its way to China,
carries 8 guns.
SINGULAR ACCIDENT FROM TIIE FROST.—During
the present week three of the cast iron columns which sup-
port a roadway, fronting warehouses, at the St. Katherine's
Docks, burst with a loud report, similar to a piece of ord-
nditc:(aiaifpns,dtn,tcabeiiaiare,:ocsacanon. 4 fragments of metal were found at a considerable
gisnfiii an,l
which
oltcei
eood nutwlli itit
with
.vas
nc‘a st
occurrence
utaf
caftr
roeefuretr
water,
which
cid: ee thatetahue setw,hi
supporthet
enteredohol :cee
aleoauxflt
amp
thernosee.
tango
order to allow egress for water. .

LATEST NEWS.

The following telegrams have been received at
Mr. Reuter's office :

PARIS, DEC. 23.

The French Cabinet has, by telegraph, informed
the Powers concerned that the opening of the Con-
gress will not take place before the 19th January
next.

Yesterday Prince Metternich paid his official
visit to her Imperial Highness Princess Mathilde.
The Constitutionnel publishes an article, signed
by its principal editor, M. Grandguillot, approving
in general the contents of the pamphlet " Le Pape
et la Congres," declaring, however, a resolve to
combat some of the propositions made by the
author.

DEC. 22.

Count Avigdor, representative of the Republic
of San Marina at the Court of Paris, has presented
a memorandum to Count Walcwski, addressed to
the future Congress, against the encroachments of
Piedmont.

The Emperor of the French has conferred the
Grand Cordon of the Legion d'Honneur on the
Prince d'Orange.

NAPLES, DEC. 22.

The Commander Carafa not being Minister of
State, but only ad interim Minister for Foreign
Affairs, the King has definitively appointed the
Marquis d'Antonini as his first, and the Chevalier
Canofari as his second, Plenipotentiary at the Con-

TURIN, DEC. 22.

Baron de Talleyrand, who has been appointed
Minister Plenipotentiary of France at this Court,
is expected here on Saturday.

FLORENCE, DEC. 21.
M. Buoncompagni arrived hero to-day.

ROME, DEC. 21.

The report that the Pope had claimed the Pre-
sidency of the Congress for his Plenipotentiary is
unfounded.

ST. PETERSBURG, DEC. 22.

Prince Gortschakoff has expressed a desire that
the opening of the Congress should not take place
until after the Russian new year (Jan. 13, 1860),
as he is detained at the Court on that day by the
duties of his office.

CONSTANTLNOPLE, DEC. 20.
Ahmed Wefik Effendi has been appointed Am
bassador to the Imperial Court of Paris,

MADRID, DEC. 21

Yesterday 8,000 Moors attacked the Spanish,
but were energetically repulsed, and compelled, by
grapeshot and grenades, to retreat in great dis-
order. The Spanish had 51 wounded.
Ten men-of-war, formerly stationed at Havannah,
have just arrived to reinforce the squadron at
Algesiras.
A great quantity of provisions has been despatched
to the army in Africa.

the hiw, which' cannot be abandoned without caus-
ing encfrnouS loss. Older States cannot proclaim
unrestrained free trade ; they can only go on gra-
dually diminishing the tariffs. All the remarks of
the Prince on the magistracy and the administra-
tion of justice are models of magnanimity and cor-
rect judgment. But the most remarkable part of
the message is certainly that which relates to agri-
culture. It is impossible to pass a fitter eulogy on
the labour which transforms the soil, and which, as
he says, is the most important of all. He does not
content himself with recommending good practical
agriculture; he desires that it should also be studied

theoretically and be regularly taught, and he ranks a
professor of agriculture with or even above a professor
of literature. The Prince insists that primary in-
struction should be universal, and that within a
certain time every Itoumain should be also able to
read and write. In dissolving the Assembly he has
no idea of making a coup d'etat, he merely dis-
misses it, because it has fulfilled the purpose for
which it was convoked; he dissolves it that the
nation may give the deputies a fresh commission
no longer bearing the same political character, but
having an authority to occupy themselves with in-
ternal improvements. The Prince desires that the
Roumains, whose self-government has been recog-
nised, should march on in a path of progress and
civilisation worthy of brave and intelligent people.
As for the press, he urges upon it to enlighten the
Government on all the great questions of organisa-
tion which will have to be settled, and to give up
all personal polemics, which often prevent the
realisation of great projects. To sum up, we can
affirm that we fully approve of the noble sentiments
which the Prince has nobly expressed."