The Sun.
London, England, 1850-08-19 00:00:00

THE RETURN OF THE ROBINS.

" WEDNESDAY, AlAttcH 22.—A thunder-shower last
night,, by way of keeping the equinox, and this morning,
to the joy of the whole community, the arrival of the
robins is proclaimed. It is one of the great events of the
year for us is the return of the robins; we hive
been on the watch for them these ten days, as they
generally come between the 15. h and 21st or the mewl);
and now me,st pr rs,ns you meet, old and young, great
ind small, have something to say about them. No
sooner is one of these first-comers seen by wine member
~f a family than the fact is pr:)claitned through thi.,
howie; chtldren run in to tell their par-nts the robins
have corn, 1' grandfathers and grandmothers put on the it
spectucles, and step t.o the windows to look at th 9 robins.
and you hear neighbours gravely inviring of each other,
Have.) you seen the robins?—Have you heard the
robins?'
Again, as an instance of the manner in which
Miss Cooper combines information with amusement,
here is an c xtract front her elaborate account of the
manufacture of

MAPLE SUGAR.
"A large amount of this sugLtr is still made in our
neighbourh,:cd, chiefly for home consumption on the
farms. In' the vill:ges where foreign groceries are
easily procured it is eaten more at a dainty ;ban in any
other way. Some farin-rs have a n-gular sugar-
bush,' where none but maples are suffered to grow; and
on the older farms you occasionally pass a beautiful
grove of this kind, entirely clear of uederwood, the
trees standing on a smooth green turf. More frequently,
hewever, a convenient spot is chosen in the woods
where maples are plytty. The younger trees are not
r,pped, as they are injured by the process ; it is only
alter they have reached a good size, ten er twelve inches
in diameter, that they are turned to account in this way"
twenty years at least must be their age, ai they rarely
attain to saie-i a growth earlier; from which period they
continue to yield their sap feeely until they decay. It Is
really surprising that any me should atli,rd to lose so
much of its natural nourishment without injury; but
maples thit' have been tapped for fifty years or more are
just as luxuriant in their foliage and flowers ac those that
are untouched. From two to rive pounds ef sugar are made
treni each tree, and four or five gallons of sap ere re-
quired to every pound. The fluid begins to run with the
first mild weather in March; i:s course, however,
checked by a hard frost, until a thaw again sets it in aro-
tMn. Seme years itcontinues to flow at intertvals until the
last of April, so that a regular early spring gives less
time ror !he vs,,rk than a backward season, wnee the ssp
runs later; the uvuT peried, however, for ss:gar-mak-
ieg is about two vve:-ks, one year more, another less. A
st ,ry is told iu the village of a Sootch stockivg,weaver,
who stms, years since bought a farm near the lake, and
the first spring after his arrival in the country was so
'succs•ssful with his maple-trees that in the midst of his
ialbours he c...rus, into the vidage and gave large orders
'or caps buckets, pLns, furnaces, &c. The gt osi folk were
somewhat surprised at the ext-nt of these prei.arations,
and inquiries were made about this grand sugar-
bush. They were told by their new neighbour
;bat as yet he had tapped only a small
number of trce3, but he intended soon to go to work in
earnest among the niaph s, and, fade, d, had quite made
up his mind canny Scat,' as he Wai, to give up farmin'g
dtovdher, and to keep to sugar-makkg all the year
round, a plan which, it may be im igilied, tickled the
Fancy of Jonathan not a little, knowing the ways of
maples as ho did." •
American " names" form also tin, subject of a very
interesting and useful chspter. The readers of this
work,
,while they are indebted to Miss Cooper for
some agreeable hours and touch profitable pleasure,
will, we doubt not, join with us in congratulating
her on her very successful Mitt as an authoress.

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.—Amongst the noble
and distinguished individuals honouring her Majesty's
Theatre with their rresence on Saturday evening were the
following His Grace the Duke of Wellington and the Mar-
chioness of Douro, his Excellency the Russian Minister, the
Bareness Brunnew and Mlle. Olga de Lechner, the Duke and
Duchess of Norfolk, the Duke and Duchess of Leinster, his
Excellency the Swedish Minister, the Marquis of Chinni-
carde, the alarquie of Donegal, the Marquis of Stafford, the
Earl of Aboyne, the Earl ot Lonsdale, the Earl Granville, the
Earl of Belfast, the Viscount effete), Lord and Lady Foley,
Lord Sandys, Lord Geral, I Fir zge,-ald, Lord and Lady Francis
Gordon, Lsdy Ross, Lord Ashburton, Lady Shelley, Mr. and
Lady Caroline Sanford, Lieutenant• General Sir Alexander
Woodford, Bart., Lady and Miss Woodford, Sir John Low-
ther, Bart., Sir Ralph Howard. Bart, M.P., Lady and Miss
Howerd, Sir Thomas Parrett Lennard, Bart., and Lady
Barrett Lennard, General the Hon. A. Upton, the Hon. Mr.
St. John, the Hon, Spencer Cowper, Sir Anthony and Lady
de Rothschild, Mr. C. Barry Baldwin, M.P., Mr. Storer, Mr.
Wigram, Mr. Crampton, Captain Phibbs, Mr. C. F. Harris,
Mr. Fitzherbert, Mr. Crombie, Mr. H. Broadley, Mss
C. Belles, Mr. Rickards, Captain Chichester, Mr. and Mrs.
R. Arabin, Mr. Campbell, M r. Longdon.
THE ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA.—Among the distin-
guished company attending the performances at the Royal
Italian Opera on Saturday night, we observed the Marquis
and Marchioness of Westminster, the Marquis of Statiera,
the Marchioness of Westmeath, the Marchioness Branca-
lcone and Madlle. Brancaleone, the Earl Granville, the Earl
and Countess Talbot and ady Vieeoria Talbot, the Earl
Grosvenor, the Earl of Belfast, the Countess (Dowager) of
Essex, Miss Johnstone, Viscount Clifden, Viscount, ss Dillon
and Hon. T. Dillon, Lord and Lady Wharncliffe and Hon.
Miss S!uart Wortley, Lord and Lady Carrington. and Hun.
Miss Carrington, Lady Monson, Lady W. Bentinck, Hon.
air. and Lady Elizabeth Lawley, Hon. F. liyeg, Captain
the Hon. Strange Jocelyn, Hem O. F. Toler, lion. Mr.
Stuart Wortley, Hon. Mr. Uptrn and Lady Upton, Sir
George and Lsely Arraytage, Sir Charles Marshall, Colonel
Blanc Captain Steele, Captain Pakenhaen' Captain Pugh,
Captain Johnson, the Solicitor-General, Mr. H. Greville, Mr.
Montague Gore, M. Agelli, Miss Burdett Coutts, Miss Bur-
dett, Mr. Martineau, Mr. E. Bligh. eir. J. Smith, Mr. and
:eiss Cavan, Mr. Denisteun, Mr. H. Barnard, Mr. J. But-
ted, kc.
Vet' BECK OF THE SHIP ARAB AT THE CAPEI.
During a severe north-west gale, which commenced en
Friday evening last, several vessels dragg: d their anchors,
and on Saturday morning tile barque Arab, Captain Baker,
which arrived from the Mauritius bound to London, on the
previous day, par ed from her anchor, and drifted on the
sunken ridge nearly opposite the lilies, where site has be-
c;erne a total wreck. The crew and passengers were landed
by the life-boat, port, boat, and the ship's boats. Her cargo
consists ot 6,624 ! ags sugar, 106 casks of rum, 18 bales of
jute; three cases of brandy, and other articles.—South Afri-
can, June 3.
FATAL OCCURRENCE ON THE EASTERN COUNTIES
RAILWAY.—Au occurrence, unfertunately attended with the
loss of human life, took place on the Eastern Counties Rail-
way, on Saturday last. The down t rein, proceeding towards
Tottenham, had not passed the Lea-bridge station more than
a minute, when it was discovered that the traie had passed
over the body of a men on tee line. The engine was stopped
with all practicable speed, the officers and several of the pas-
sengers running back to render all possible assistance. They
fennel the body of the unfortunate man (who was most
respectably dressed) lying across the rails, his head being
almost severed from his body. He was conveyed to the
Lea-bridge station; but as lice was completely extinct, the
body was removed to a neighbouring public-house to await
a coroner's inquest.
OMNIBUS CoLLI,D,N IN THE STRAND, AND PRO-
BABLE Loss OF Lux —Last night, at a late hour, a most
serious collision took pace in the Strand Let wren a Rich-
mond and a Blackwell omnibus, by which the lives of the
passengers were placed in the greatest danger. The coach •
Irma of the former vehicle, Erasmus Lawrence, was removed
to Charing-cross Hospital, with a severe concussion ot the
brain and other injuries, so much so that this morning, at
two o'clock, no hope was entertained of It s recovery. The
passengers escaped with but slight injuries. The police
made the most active inquiliee with regard to the origin of
the catastrophe, but all twitter ieforniatien remains the
police court. One of the omnibuses presented a most dilapi-
dated spectacle.
FaiuuTrun ACCIDENTS.—On Thursday afternoon,
about tour o'clock, a lime and chaise belonging to Mr.
Neweham Hall, of Kensington, was left standing outside
the Hercules Pillars Tavern, Greek-street, ;nob°, whilst the
hearties in charge partook of refreshment ; something
alarmed the animal, and he suddenly starter., taking the
direction of Newport-maket. At the corner of Compton-
street, Mr. Elicitor, of Wardour-street, was knocked down,
end susteined injuries that preclude ell hopes, of recovery.
The animal new approached Heyes% court, a narrow tho-
roughfere crowded with foot passengers, and havit g dashed
in the shop front of Mr. Jones,. at. the core er, swept down
the court at a terrific pace. Upwards ot 30 persons were
knocked down, and more or less injured; and a Mrs. Doerr-
van, re siding in Rose-street, Loeg-sore, and two chdarea,
) were removed to Charing-cross hospital, where they lie with-
out hopes of recovery. The horse was at length stopped in
Newport-market.