The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-22 00:00:00

:NTELLIGENCE.—(This Day.)

S' + P TEMBE IV, 22, 1857

SPO

CREMORNE GARDENS.

The termination of the Cremorne season with the
present week may be regarded as a sort of official
declaration ou the part of the more lively portion
of the London public that summer is fairly over.
People pass down to Cremorne by multitudes as
long as the state of the weather renders the migra-
tion possible ; the heat that makes theatres insuffer-
able invites to the out-door enjoyments of the gar-
dens, and from Whitsuntide to the end of Septem-
ber there is no place of amusement more popular.
Circumstances have given the proprietor all the
advantages of a monopoly.. Vauxhall, after several
spasmodic flickerings, has entirely faded out, nor
even if it were reopened by an enterprising specu-
lator would it prove a competitor equal to Oreinorne.
The older gardens, planted with dark avenues, that
shut out the light of day, are arranged for night
amusements only, and derive their sole brightness
from artificial means of illumination ; whereas
Cremorne, with its broad lawns, its picturesque
points of view, its fountains and its statues, affords
a most agreeable lounge in the afternoon, without
sacrificing any of its qualifications for becoming a
land of lamps after nightfall. • The Surrey Gardens,
notwithstanding the excellence of the new Music-
hall, and the advantages of a lake that afforded an
opportunity for the
_display of a peculiar descrip-
tion of fireworks not to be found elsewhere,
have not met 'patronage enough to become
a permanent establishment ; possibly because a
situation " over the water" couterbalances all the
good that can be effected by any amount of taste
and enterprise. Moreover, the Surrey Gardens
from the first beginning, when they made their
appearance as a zoological institution, were
addressed to a graver class than Cremorne, and
even if theyhad flourished they could scarcely have
rivalled it in the estimation of the most numerous
patrons of out-door amusements. There are, in-
deed, various public gardens in the different out-
skirts of the metropolis, and, if report may be
trusted, many of them are ably and respectably
conducted ; but these enjoy a local rather than a
general celebrity, and do not even attempt a com-
petition with the large gardens of Chelsea. Cre-
morne is the only place of out-door gaiety that is
recognised all over London, and frequented alike
by high and humble. Gardens known to all Paris
are numerous—there is but one Cremorne.
Far from making an undue use of the monopoly
that circumstances have thrust upon him, Mr.
Sim?son has managed his property with as much
zeal for the amusement of the public as if a whole
legion of competitors were arrayed against him.
Every season the garden is embellished with some
new ornament, and enlivened with some now de-
scription of entertainment. There is an equestrian
circus ; there is a theatre for the performance of
ballets ; there is a marionette theatre ; there is a
cosmorama ; there are opportunities for the
practice of marksmanship in all its forms from
rifle-shooting and American bowls down to
rineing toe bull" and the slaughter of
tin stags with a pop-gun • and finally there
are refreshment rooms, Which, notwithstand-
ing the natural tendency of man to be sensitive as
to all that regards his palate, have never, we
believe, awakened a grumble. In short, it is hard
to say what Cremorne does not present in the
shape of open-air recreation.
The amusement-seekers of London will,'under
these circumstances, regret to learn that a cloud is
at present hanging over the fortunes of Cremorne.
To many of our more joyous readers the Chelsea
Elysium will appear such a veritable seat of delight
that they will be totally unable to understand that
a different view is taken of the matter by the
Chelsea vestry. Puzzling indeed to the multitude
that go r aetling down to Cremorne in brougham,
cab, and carriage will be the explanation that rents
are lowered by immediate vicinity to the gardens.
" Who would not pay double rent to live next
door to Cremorne, and compensate for the outlay
by the saving of coach hire l"—so will argue many
a wearer of a downy moustache ; buthis argu-
ment will not convince the small portion of the
Chelsea vestrymen who are now invading the
privileges of Cremorne. At present the assault
merely takes the form of an " early closing
movement," and the licensing magistrates are to be
requested -0 shut up Mr. Simpson by half-past 1.1
o'clock. " E trly to ben and early to rise" is, no
doubt, a wholesome motto for those who can adopt
it ; but its .cogency is slight in the eyes of police-
men; opera-dancers, West-end oyster-shop pro-
prietors, manufacturers of fireworks, and many
other persons of vii tuous professions, to whom we
may add in a body the amateurs, reputable and dis-
reputable, whocultivate the worship of Terpsichore.
We are not aware that there is any Greek myth
setting forth some mystic arrangement between
Kronos and the most popular of muses in order to
account for the connection between dancing and
late hours, but certain it is that from the days when
Horace could say—
" Jam Cytherea choros ducit Venus, imminence Luna,"
down to the present sober time dancers of every
class, whether they frequent the lax casino or ex-
hibit their predilectionsat the quiet little family ball
of a puritanical suburb, seem all to make their con-
duct a practical expression of that individual liberty
which is so often shouted forth in the chorus, "We
won't go home till morning." In all probability
the cloud will pass over ; but if it should break over.
Cremorne, and the monster platform and the sup-
per-room become solemn deserts at half-past eleven,
then will the new joyous multitude that flows
through the avenues of 'Chelsea wend sorrowfully
home at early
.midnight, asking why the mirth of
the metropolis is thus brought toan early close. In
what form did the angry gods manifest themselves
who dashed away the lamps from the Temple of the
Muses and the Graces ? Aud Clio, the muse of
history, will reply,—ln the form of 18 vestrymen.
Times.

MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

- - -
SIR, —Will you kindly permit me, through the
medium of your columns, to correct an impression which
is gain-Inv, ground, that the " Victoria Rifles," or Mid-
dlesex Volunteer Corps, is simply a club of gentlemen,
not sanctioned by Government.
Such an impression to a great extent frustrates the
exertions of those who are endeavouring to raise the
corps to its full complement.
I therefore wish to state in contradiction, that the
Victoria Rifle Corps is enrolled under the direct sanction
of her Majesty, with the approval also of Lord 'Pal-
merston.
The corps is governed by the Volunteer Act, is
entirely self-supporting, and is, [ believe, the only
volunteer rifle corps, with the exception of the " South
Devon," whose officers' names appear in the Army List.
Ten of its members have received commissions in
various militia regiments ; one was gazetted direct from
its ranks as Paymaster to the German Legion, and two
are now fighting in India as officers of her Majesty's
60th Rifles.—l am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
FREDK ABBOTT,
Serjeaut, Victoria Rifles.
Orderly Room, Kilburn, N.W. Sept. 21, 1857.