The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-17 00:00:00

Gallery of Illustration. .

inst.

after me.

543 75

373 23

410 -

Desecration of the Remains of King George

the Second.

This morning the inhabitants of Leicester-square were
greatly astonished at beholding the mutilated statue of
King George 11., in the open space, in a strange guise,
and presenting a most ludicrous spectacle. It appears that
during the night some mischievous spirits had arrayed the
statue in the garb of a crossing sweeper, with
some still more absurd accessories. On his head was a
high conical cap such as that worn by a buffoon, linen or
calico coat and trousers adorned his one leg and muti-
lated body ; perched by his side, like the lance of a
warrior of old, was a long stick with a broom attached to
it. If the figure of the king was laughable that of the
horse was more so. Asses ears had suddenly grown forth
in the night, and it had changed from black into a piebald,
and its tail had assumed enormous proportions; the
pedestal on which it rested was gaily decorated with
hideous dabs of red-white ; the most absurd old English
letters had been inscribed. The perpetrators of this must
have used caution and celerity, for the constable on duty
bad no cognisance of the proceedings. Hundreds have
been to see the most elegant adornment of our metropolis
during the morning.

MARKETS.---This Day.

On Monday evening Mr. and Mrs. German Reed,
with Mr. John Parry, commenced their winter
season. Nothing new was produced, nor, as long
as Mr. Burnand's " Yachting Cruise" and Mr.
Parry's " Wedding Breakfast" continue to be as
attractive as they still are, after a very considerable
number of representations, need any novelty be
expected. The interior of the building, how-
ever, has been redecorated, and improvements
have been effected in the system of ventilation,
which, even in this by no means sultry weather,
are quite appreciable. In the performances
there has been no change at all. Mrs. German
Reed fills, as admirably as ever, the parts of the
stewardess on board the Nautilus, Mrs. Wyldbury,
the aspiring debutante charged with the part of
Opblia, and a few other characters ; while an
almostlqual amount of versatility is shown by Mr.
German Reed and Mr. John Parry. But it is, above
all, in the " Wedding Breakfast" that Mr. John
Parry appears in his glory. This genuine artist
would succeed everywhere either as an actor, as a
comic singer, or as a pianist, and his execution on
the piano is really of a high order. He prefers, how-
ever, to combine his talents, and in this threefold
character can never be seen or heard to greater ad-
vantage than in his own " Wedding Breakfast."

LAW INTELLIGENCE.—This Day.

SHERIFFS' COURT.
(Before Mr. Commissioner Kerr.)
BAKER V. WARLAND.

This was an action to recover wages, and wages in lieu
of notice, plaintiff being a carman.
Plaintiff stated that he had been summarily dismissed.
Defendant—l dismissed him in consequence of his gross
cruelty to one of my horses. When I went into the stable
upon ono occasion after the plaintiff had been cleaning the
horse, 1 found it bleeding from the leg and also the shoul-
der, and plaintiff admitted that he had kicked the horse. I
told him that if I had seen him acting so cruelly I should
have turned him off the premises, and that for two pins he
should nover clean the horse again. Plaintiff said he did
not care, as he could get work somewhere else, and then
left.

Plaintiff denied this, and deposed that the horse was
vicious and bit, him in the ribs, and he kicked it in self-
defence. The wound in the shoulder was caused by the
horse falling down while running after plaintiff.

Defendant--He told me it was caused by the stable-fork.
His Honour—Has the horse ever bitten you before ?
Plaintiff—Yes, and I have complained.
Defendant—The horse is only vicious when he is cleaned,
but he will not do any larm unless he is teased.
His Honour remarked that plaintiff had used the stable
fork.
Plaintiff—Yes ; I took it up when the horse was running

--
His Honour considered that plaintiff had been guilty of
cruelty to the horse, and therefore defendant was entitled
to discharge him. The verdict would therefore be for the
defendant.
Verdict for the defendant, with costs.

PRINCE OF WALES'S HARRIERS.—Yesterday, for
the first time this season, the harriers of his Royal High-
ness the Prince of Wales met at Mr. E. Aldridge's farm,
at Chippenham, near Slough. The weather was very
fine, and the attendance good. A number of hares were
found on the adjacent farms, the sport leading the field
to the vicinity of Mr. Coleman's seat at Stoke Park and
over the. land on the north side of the Great Western

Railway.
ACCIDENT TO LADY MARY FITZWILLIAM.—As
Earl Fitzwilliam and party were out hunting on
Saturday last, at a place called Slack's Grove, the day's
sport was put an end to by an accident to Lady Mary Fitz-
william. Her horse lay down with her, and rolled on her.
The horse then sprung up, and her ladyship's habit hung
to the saddle. She was dragged about a score yards before
she got at liberty, and was very much shaken. Mr. Walker,
surgeon, of Rotherham, was happily on the spot, and at the
request of Earl Fitzwilliam attended upon her ladyship.
A groom was despatched to Wickersley for a carriage, but
after a lapse of about a quarter of an hour her ladyship was
sufficiently recovered to mount her horse again, and to pro-

ceed to Wentworth.
It has been decided that the Governments of the
States of Northern Germany which take part in the Uni-
versal Exhibition of 1867, that is to say, Prussia, Bruns-
wick, Saxony, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Meinengen, Saxe-
Coburg, Schwartzburg, Waldeck, Anhalt, Oldenburg,
Bremen, and Mecklenburg-Schwerin, will appear under the
135 title of the Union of the North.

A NOBLE TRADESMAN.—It is said that the Duke
and Duchess of Argyll have adopted the sensible resolution
of allowing their second son, Lord Archibald Campbell,
to enter as a partner in a large business establishment.—
Dundee Advertiser.

MR. BERNAL OSBORNE, M.P.—The Very Rev.
the Dean of Down has gone on a visit to Newtownanner,
County Tipperary, the seat of Mr. Bernal Osborne, M.P
We understand that during the dean's visit a very num°.

rous party will be assembled at Newtownanner, including
several members of Parliament.—Northern Whig.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.—At the fort-
nightly meeting of this society, held yesterday, the Rev-
G. Cheere in the chair, the fellowing candidates were duly
elected Fellows of the Society :—J. Brook, of Glenwood,
Huddersfield ; and Robt. Thos. Eyston, of Elvaston-place,
Kensington. The Erewash Valley Floral and Horticultural
Society was also admitted a society in union.
THE AMERICAN SQUADRON AT STOCKHOLM.—
Mr. Fox and the officers of the American squadron were
most cordially received by the Queen Mother of Sweden,
the ministers, and the officers of the navy, and reciprocal
expressions of friendship were exchanged. The King,
Prince Oscar, and some thousands of the inhabitants visited
the American vessels. The officers and crews appeared
delighted with so cordial a reception. The squadron has
left Stockholm for Kiel and Hamburgh.
MR. BUCKLE'S COLLECTED WORKS.—Mr. John
Stuart Mill, M.P., is busily employed at Avignon in edit-
ing the collected works of Mr. H. T. Buckle, the author of
" The History of Civilisation."—Pall-mall Gazette.
FATAL ACCIDENT IN PICCADILLY.—About 10 o'clock
last night a cabman, named Thomas Dixon, was killed in
Piccadilly. It appears that the cab the deceased was
driving, No. 12,551, came in collision with another cab,
12,290, and the deceased was thrown with great violence
on the ground, his head coming in contact with the stones.
He was immediately taken to St. George's Hospital, but
expired on the way.
FATAL GUN ACCIDENT.—On Monday J. Bairs-
tow, head keeper to Mr. Ferrand, of St. Ives, was
shooting driven grouse with a party on Haworth-moor. He
was joined by John Clayton, the keeper of Stanbury-moor,
who carried one of his guns. They were both seated in one
of the hiding places, when a flock of grouse flew past.
Bairstow fired both barrels, and then handed his gun to
Clayton, who gave him the other loaded gun, as other
grouse were flying past. Bairstow aimed at one and fired.
On taking his gun from his shoulder ho saw Clayton laid
on the ground, who had evidently risen from his seat to
watch the bird. The shot had entered the back of his

head, blown off the top of his skull, and killed him in-
stantly. His death was caused entirely by his own care-
lessness, for he had often been warned against raising his
head when any person was in the act of firing.— Yorkshire
Post.
THE OLD STAGE.—The patrons of the theatres
open to the people were contented with a stage void
of pictorial illustration, in which certain curtains, called
" traverses," were made clumsily to indicate the local posi-
tion of the actors. There was a pair of curtains in front of
the stage, answering the same purpose as the green baize
at the present day, but which, instead of rising as with us,
or sinking as with the ancients, when the performance was
about to begin, was drawn off on each side by means of a
rod. Besides this were the traverses, which could be drawn
backward and forward at pleasure, so as to represent an
inner, and outer apartment, or the exterior and interior of a
house. We can imagine an interior pair of curtains,
hung on a rod placed over the middle of the stage, par-
tially withdrawn so as to have an opening at any con-
venient point, and that by general consent the actors seen
through this opening were supposed to be in a more inte-
rior position than those who stood in front. In addition
to the traverses, there were contrivances to place the per-
formers on different levels when this was required for the
business of the play. Even in the absence of all historical
evidence, we might be perfectly sure that, in their famous
balcony scene, Romeo and Juliet did not both stand on the
floor, but that the lady was raised some feet above the gen-
tleman, if only by means of a table. Taking a general survey
of these contrivances, we find a stage that theatrically dis-
posed children would, of their accord, construct in a room,
if they acted a play for their own amusement. A couple
of clothes-horses would probably be employed for the
same purposes as the old traverses, the space between them
being supposed to represent, say, a door. A large arm-
chair, with its back turned towards the audience, would
stand for Juliet's balcony, or for those walls of Anglers
whence the citizen in "King John" addresses the con-
tending kings. Something of the sort is done in our modern
theatres during the earlier rehearsals of a play. The scenery
and properties not being ready, "substitutes" are employed,
that is to say, any old box or table is made to answer the
purpose of a splendid article of furniture, or portion of a
set scene, where the proper position of the actor on the
stage cannot be indicated without some tangible object.
If we adopted the modern technical word, and said that,
according to the received theory, plays were performed
throughout with "substitutes," the expression would be
strictly correct.—Dicken's "All the Year Round."
CRYSTAL PALACE.—ONE SHILLING :DAY, Mon-
day, Oct. 16.—Admissions on payment, 2,035; ditto by
scasou tiokQts, 1,160 total visitors, 3,196.