The Sun.
London, England, 1850-12-19 00:00:00

SURREY THEATRE

We have great promise here of a pantomime
worthy the reputation of the theatre. The opening is
Shaksperian, of the burlesque order, its title The
Merry Wives of Windsor ; or, Harlequin and Sir
John Falstaff, and the Demon Hunter of the En-
chanted Dell, and interspersed with airs selected
from Shakspere's melodies. The scenery is most
g•orgeous, taken from views in Windsor-park and its
ieighbourhood, which will form an ensemble of great
interest in the present day. In the first scene of the
opening is a splendid view of a fairy dell, by moon-
light, in Windsor-park, with enchanted lake a
'airy ballet—while Titania (Miss H. Coveney) an-
iounces to them the loves of Fenton, afterwards
Harlequin (Mons. Lupino), and Sweet Anne Page,
,fterwards Columbine (Mdlle. Beaufort), her Hench-
man Puck (Miss Jane Coveney) arrives with news of
r,hem and of Falstaff and his friends, at the same time,
.ssis!ed by Peasbloom (Miss Laporte), Titania's at-
endant, he gives his opinion of the doings of the day.
ill things are arranged for the ,protection of the
lovers. We have a magnificent change to Winthor-
orest, and grand chase with huntsmen and Fer,toli—
ne meeting of Fenton and Anne—pursuit of them by
,Id Page and Ford—the lovers escape—the fathers
ofet in c mcus.,ion—they resolve to invoke the power
,f the Demon Hunter Herne (Mr. J. Parr)), whose
appearance with bis attendant Sprite (Herr Deani)
o terrifies them that they fly. Now, as demons
always love pretty girls, so of course Herne loves
.meat Anne, and with the assistance of his fa-
'niliar departs in search of her. We then
have the merry Wight, Sir John Falstaff
(Mr. J. W. Collier), and Mrs. Ford (Mr.
Anderson, afterwards Clown). But Ford and his
friends arrive, the buck-basket is called for, and the
unfortunate knight is sent off, while the husbands,
Ford and Page, carry off their wives. Poor Jack
Falstaff is then borne to Datchet-mead, and has a dip
in the Thames water, which of course is made a ve-
hicle for a hint of what a man swallows in imbibing
that temperance beverage. We leave Jack Falstaff,
and meet Ann Page in Herne's power, who, left in
the care of his sprite, is rescued by Fenton, and he in
turn by Puck and the fairies. Falstaff is then found
at Herne's Oak, ready horned for the Windsor wives,
but wofully annoyed at the lack of gas in that neigh-
bore-hood ; by the means of Puck he is hunted by
supposed fairies, when the wives arrive—Ford and
Page, the Demons—having pursued and seized upon
Anne, Titania appears, and the transformation takes
place from Herne's Oak to the gorgeous Pavilion of
Butterflies, illuminated by the prismatic radiance of
variegated fires, and emblazoned with the coloured
crests of fairy heraldry. The comic scenes then corn-
meace, with humorous hits at the varied matters of
past and present, amongst which the building of the
coming Exposition forms a great feature.

ST. MARTIN'S HALL.
HULLAITS MONTHLY CONCERTS.

The second of the current series of these concerts
was given last evening, i❑ the great room of St. Mar-
tin's Hall, before a crowded and fashionehle audience.
The work produced was Handel's oratorio, the
.Ifessiah, and it would be sufficient to say that, in
every particular, the performance was worthy of the
master, did not each of the vocalists upon whom de-
volved the task of giving expression to the rich and
passionate melodies of this noble composition deserve
some marked and especial notice for the rare com-
pleteness and truth of their execution. For, even
amidst the excellence which we recognise and admire
in most of the orchestral and choral presentations at
our public halls and concert-rooms of the present day,
we rarely find any whole work delivered with such
exact perfection i❑ every part as Mr. Hullah has suc-
ceeded in sustaining throughout all the details of the
great works brought forth on the first two evenings,
❑ow expired, of his series. His management and
training of his choir are beyond all praise, and the
results displayed by his pupils furnish a sufficient
answer to all the cavils and professional denunciations
which have been poured upon his system, himself,
and the noble member3of the Privy Council who have
had the courage and the taste to patronise and up-
hold him. On these present occasions his selection
of subjects evinces a confidence in his materiel, most
proudly justified by the faultless excellence with which
this oratorio was delivered—complete, unabated, en-
tire, in force, spirit, sentiment, dramatic energy, and
musical truth. It would be no damage or disparage-
ment to pass over the recitatives of lenry Phillips
with no more than the mere mention of them. Who-
ever may be his superior in the range of high opera,
it would indeed be difficult to find his equal for that
peculiar tone of dignity and feeling i❑ an especial
manner belongink to, and demanded by, the dis-
tinctive character of sacred compositions. Par-
ticular eulogy of his airs would be superfluous,
almost impertinent—it is enough to say that he
never sang better. Mr. Lockey, also, wes in
excellent voice, and in his recitative displayed very
great judgment, power, and a thorough feeling of the
text. The airs allotted to him were given with un-
common sweetness, and with the elaborate fidelity
characteristic of the true musician and the mister
artist. This admirable fidelity pervades every branch
of the corps, and is nowhere more conspicuous than
in the charming performance of Miss Birch, whose
powers and graces seem, on every successive
appearance, to improve, by wide degrees, upon
that excellence which was before supposed to
admit of no improvement. ,Nor must it be
supposed that here was any eclipse, or that this
lady's brilliancy caused Miss Williams to appear a
star of lesser magnitude. In truth nothing could sur-
pass the finished style, the deep feeling, the exquisite
tenderness, the melodic pathos, and fine judgment of
the latter accomplished artiste in the choice passages
which were, with skilful discrimination, committed to
her delivery. And, again, the masterly judgment of
the manager in the choosing of his instruments, and
the apportioning of their respective tasks, were
further and very remarkably illustrated, both
in bringing forward, this second time, the re-
cent debutante, Miss Kearns, and assigning to
her precisely those portions of the oratorio which
fitted with delightful exactness her powers, her taste,
and, if one may so say, her temperament. For we
may observe that a less careful distributor of the
vocal parts in this oratorio might have made a less
happy arrangement of the oratorio amongst his vo-
calists without any obvious disparagement of the
whole. Her voice is a soprano of the finest quality,
already educated to a high degree of perfection; of
which, however, her youth and earnestness would in-
duce us to anticipate her rapidly increasing excel-
lence. Her articulation is of that character, the want
of which is too generally a distinguishing vice in our
English singers, the experienced as well as the young
—hers is entirely faultless, clear, distinct, and flow-
ing. Her emphasis, judicious beyond her years, gives
force to an expression which a fine 'Musical feeling
dictates, and a voice of rare flexibility realises to the
fulness of the soul's intent. It may be hoped that
this great work will be reproduced before the close of
the season, and, in dramatic parlance, with the same
caste. We doubt if the oratorio has ever before re-
ceived so much justice—Mr. Hullah having restored
Handel's score in places where it has heretofore been
superseded, and having remodelled the harmonies in
passages where the original bass bad been lost, or
the counterpoint of the inspired composer presumptu-
ously corrupted.

Yesterday Mr. Payne, the City Coroner, received
information at his chambers, in the Temple, of the death of
Thomas Fagan, late in the employment of Mr. Johnson, the
builder, Seckforde-street,
,Clerkenwell, who was injured by
an infuriated bullock, on Monday last, near the House of
Detention (the particulars connected with which appeared in
The Sun of Tuesday), and who died in St. Bartholomew's
Hospital yesterday morning. He hid been some years in the
service of Mr. Johnson, and has left a widow. Mrs. Hughes,
the pew-opener of St. Phillip's Church, Granville-square,
still suffers internally from the serious injuries she has re-
ceived. When she was conveyed home on Monday night
her medical attendant had not much hopes of her ; she, how-
ever rallied the following day. She had just recovered from
an attack of illness, and in consequence, the shock and fright
she has sustained have rendered her state precarious. The
bullock is now in the possession of the superintendent of the
N division, at Islington, and should no one come for it it will
be sold, when the proceeds will be appropriated to reimburse
those who have suffered by its violence ; among these being
the man and woman opposite the John of Jerusalem, who
had some money on their stalls when they Were upset by
the beast.

EFFECTS OE MASKING.—TWO CHILDREN TER-
RIFIED TO DEATH.—About three weeks since two children,
belonging to a man named Brown, formerly a waiter at the
Globe Hotel, Exmouth, the one four and the other a few
years older, were sent by the mother, who keeps a mangle,
after a basket of clothes, and were met on the way by some
boys, one of whom had on a most hideous looking mast. The
boy, seeing the children frightened, ran after them, repeating
some gibberish, which frightened them more, and having
followed them until they turned the corner of the street,
transferred the mask to another boy, who managed again to
come in contact with the poor children who returned home
instantly, when their parents, seeing them so pale and trem-
bling very much, inquired what the matter was, which they
explained as well as they could. The shock, however, was
so great that they never recovered it; their health declined
daily. The one died three weeks after, and the other died
on Wednesday last. Each of them in his illness often exclaim.
ing," Ile is coming," " I see him," " There he is," with
other like expressions. The father and mother have been
most unfortunate, having had one son, who was a great as-
sistance to themdrowned, and themselves so afflicted as lat-
terly :o be almost dependent on the parish fur support.—
Exeter Gazette.

PUSEYISM IN THE DIOCESE or RlPON.—Repre-
sentations having been made to the Bishop of Ripon that,
in many of the churches of his diocese, practices prevailed
which were more in accordance with the principles of the
Romish Church than with those of the Church of England,
his Lordship, in connexion with the Rev. Dr. Martineau,
immediately made an official inquiry into the method of
performing the services at Shadwell Church, near Leeds, the
incumbent of which is the Rev. F. Hathaway, who, at a
recent meeting, said ha had taken active measures for b. ing-
ing about a union between the Churches of England and
Rome. The Bishop has proved that the statements made to
him were correct, and has taken steps for putting a stop to
the practices complained of. His Lordship has also icsti-
tuted an inquiry into the manner of performing the service
at St. Saviour's Church, which has always been notorious for
its Puseyite ferras.—Advertiser.

111 R. COBDEN AND SIR T. HASTINGS.
TO TILE EDITOR 01' TUE TIMES.
Sir,—May I beg the favour of your inserting the
enclosed letter, being my reply to Sir Thomas Has-
tings's challenge ?
I received his combustible missive on Sunday
morning—not exactly the day for answering an in-
vitation to a duel. On Monday I was the whole day
engaged in running from libraries to newspaper-
offices, and thence to the houses of Members of Par-
liament, inquiring for the Blue-book containing the
evidence in question. On Tuesday I procured a
copy from my friend Mr. Henry, and had prepared
the enclosed letter of explanation, when Wednesday
morning's post brings me another detonating epistle
from Sir Lucius—no, Sir Thomas Hastings, conclud-
ing—" Yours, with supreme contempt," informing
me that he had anticipated me, by sending his letters
for publication.
The public has now an opportunity of forming an
opinion of the cool ju'iginent, the prudence, temper,
and ability of a man ho has been plscf d at the
head of a commission for giving us an improved gua-
rantee against a war with France, and upon whose re-
cotninendation, in a great degree, many millions of
public money has been expended upon our nationt:l
thfenccs.

I remain, Sir, your obe(lint servant,
RICHARD COBDEN.
Manchester, Wednesd of Morning, Dec. 18.

" Crumps ill .hou,e, near Manchester, Dec. 18.
Sir,—lf in my earlier days my admiration fur the
genius of Sheridan had not tempted me to witness
the mimic exploits of Sir Lucius O'Trigger, I might
have been at a loss to comprehend the meaning of
your letter. Aided, however, by my recollections of
that model duellist, I understand you to propose that
we should lay down our pans and have a personal in-
terview, not to talk over the matter in dispute, nor
even to approach within speaking distanc, but to
take our stand at twelve paces apart, with pistols in
hand, and endeavour to blow out each other's brains.
Now, I am satisfied, without any such experiment
upon my head, at least that half an ounce of lead pro-
pelled by less than a quarter of an ounce of powder
is quite sufficient to shatter the human skull to atoms,
and extinguish in a moment all powers of reason, all
sense of justice, and every religious sentiment. But
how such a process would satisfy me that I had acted
unjustly towards you, or convince you of the con-
trary, is, I confess, quite beyond my comprehension.
"So soon as I had recovered from the fit of
laughter into which I must confess your challenge
threw me, and after I had mastered the temptation I
felt to name for my second my much esteemed friend
Mr. Punch, I endeavoured to procure a copy of the
report of the Committee, which with considerable
difficulty, and after the lapse of a couple of days, I
succeeded in obtaining, and, having refreshed my
memory by a perusal of your evidence, I will endea-
vour to state the facts of the case, as between you
and myself, in such a way as shall admit of no further
misapprehension.

" Xfter the committee had heard your evidence at
considerable length, as to the preparations which had
been made (partly under your directions) to repel an
imaginary invasion from France, I requested you to
state upon what authority you assumed that the
French nation were eager to go to war with this
country. Your answers were somewhat vague, which
induced me to press you more closely, when at last
you quoted, as a proof of the belligerent disposition
of the French, certain warlike sentiments which some
body had heard on board a steam-boat fall from the
lips of the French Bishop of Japan. The uplifted eyes
and hands of more than one member of the Committee
led to the interposition of the chairman. The room
was, if I recollect correctly, immediately ordered to
be cleared of strangers, and you were requested to
withdraw. I was then appealed to by some of the
members of the Committee to allow the above part of
your evidence to be expunged ; others, on the con-
trary, wished it to be retained, as exposing the trivial
grounds on which professional men are disposed to
advocate an augmentation of our armaments. At last
it was agreed that your evidence, when written out
by the shorthand writer, should be submitted for cor-
rection to Lord Seymour (the chairman) and myself.
Two or three days elapsed before the report was
placed in my hands by his Lordship, when I agreed
that the passage respecting the Bishop of Japan should
be expunged ; in the meantime I had mentioned the
incident to Mr. Bright and several other Members of
tile House.

" The above state ment of facts you will not call in
question. You do not deny having quoted the au-
thority of the Bishop of Japan ; you merely correct
Mr. Bright's error in
.calling him the Bishop of Ma-
dagascar. You do not presume to call in question
my right to mention to a Member of the House of
Commons, in his seat in the evening, anything or
everything which transpires in the morning in a pub-
lic Committee•room of that House. You do not even
complain of the evidence which was expunged having
been afterwards made public, for which I could have
expressed my regret. 'What, then, is your complaint?
Why, that Mr. Bright alleged that the authority of
the bishop was the only proof brought for ward by
you of the warlike disposition of the French nation.
In the perturbed state of, your feelings you seem to
be unable to perceive that this is a question to be de-
cided by reference to your published evidence, which
has been in the hands of every Member for two years.
I am not Mr. Bright's authority for the contents of
the Blue bock, I am responsible only for having com-
municated to him that part of your evidence which
was suppressed, the truth of which you do not deny.
Nor am I accountable for any criticisms or argu-
ments he may deduce from it.
" Your grievance is then confined to one word, the
word only.' Now, since the receipt of your last
letter I have felt it my duty to see Mr. Bright, who
says that in reply to your second letter to him he has
informed you that the report of his speech is not free
from verbal inaccuracies. Why did you not send me
a copy of that letter ? It appears to me that the
whole question at issue is involved in its contents ;
and had a further opportunity been afforded to Mr.
Bright he might possibly have removed the whole
ground of complaint. For myself, I have not another
syllable to say upon the subject. Yes, I must add a
word or two before I come to what I trust will be the
close of our correspondence.
" You are a public servant, filling a very responsi-
ble office, and in receipt of a liberal public stipend.
As chairman of the commission for increasing our
coast defences, you were largely instrumental in
promoting the expenditure of many millions of public
money for purposes and in a manner which, whether
right or wrong, are open to discussion. Your volu-
minous evidence before the Committee on the army,
navy, and ordnance, invites criticism ; and much of
it, in my humble opinion, is open to animadversion.
Such being your position you must, like all public
men, expect that your conduct will be freely can
vassed ; and your fate will be a luckier one than that
of most of us if you do not find yourself often misap-
prehended, and sometimes misrepresented.
" If, unable to restrain the ebullitions of an irascible

temper, you must needs challenge a member of the
Legislature to mortal combat, merely because another
member is reported to have made a mistake in a single
word in a speech of an hour's length, or because a re-
porter's pen may have slipped at a critical moment,
then you have mistaken your vocation, and you would
be consulting your own reputation and the interest of
the country by retiring from the public service, and
seeking security for your susceptible nerves within
the inviolable precincts of your own domestic circle.
"I remain, Sir, yours, &c.,
" RICHARD COBDEN.
" Sir Thomas Hastings, R.. N."

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—ln the correspondence between Sir Thomas
Hastings, Mr. Bright, and Mr. Cobden, published in
the Times of to-day, Mr. Bright, in his second letter
to the Gallant Admiral, in allusion to my condensed
report of his speech at the Birmingham Peace meet-
ing of the 27th of November, says—
" The extract you send me is not a correct report
of what I said, and I am not able to give you the
exact words. I instanced your evidence as a proof of
the exceedingly vague statements on which it was
sought to influence public opinion in favour of exten-
sive armaments."

Will you, as one whose veracity is in some mea-
sure impugned, allow me a few lines in reply ?
1. The report of Mr. Bright's speech in the Times
did not pretend to be literal, but was stated to be an
abstract.

2. The passage quoted by Sir Thomas Hastings as
reported is substantially and almost verbally " correct,"
as proved by contemporaneous reports in others of the
morning papers.
3. The substantial correctness of my report is fully
admitted in the correspondence of Mr. Cobden, and
the implied acquiescence of Mr. Bright in his first
lotter to Sir T. Hastings.

4. My notes are more likely to be accurate than
Mr. Bright's memory, when he innocently, but some-
what inconsistently, confesses his inability to recollect
his own words.

5. The aim of Mr. Bright was evidently to ridi-
cule Sir T. Hastings; in that he succeeded, and in
hip own words he was reported.
6. I could have no other object in view than
giving a fair epitome of Mr. Bright's opinions, and, if
any portions of his speech at the point r.lerred to
were omitted, it was not with the view of doing in-
justice to the speaker, but to make a consistent, but at
the same time impartial, condensation of his address.
Your obedient servant,
Dec. 18.
THE RETORTER.
1

Reading Gaol is so full that the visiting justices
have issued directions to the clerks of the several petty ses-
sional divisions throughout the county that all prisoners for
trial are to be committed to Abingdon Gaol.
THE ARMY IN IRELAND.—This month the forces
in Ireland consict of 9 regiments of cavalry infantry,
and 24 of
and 5 infantry depots, or 24,600 men.

GENIUS AND GENEROSITY.
(Frcm the Morning Pust.)
Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, as the public has been
informed, is again writing a play, but undercircumstanees
very different from those which attended any of his for
ruer dramatic productions.
It seems that, at the cicse of the very interestiag en-
tertainment recently given at Knebworth, in which Mr.
Charles Dickens and his company of amateurs performed
before the guests of Sir Edward, the latter proposed that
he himself should write a play, and that Mr. Dickens
and his company should perform it as often as might
conduce to profitable and beneficial results; and that the
proceeds should go to the formation of an endowment
fund for some establishment of the nature of a refuge Or
retreat fur destitute literary persons.
It is impossible to endow a property which does not
exist. Sir Edward, therefore, added that, if the propo-
sal were accepted, he would give certain land on his es-
tate, and enjoining his residence, to the objects of the
intended bounty, in fee for ever. This was ;he property
a hich he suggested might be amply endowed, or at least
clothed with the ample beginniag of an endowment, by
means of the dramatic work which the giier should
produce, and of the fame, popularity, and histrionic talents
of Mr. Dieke-ras and Lis " flee company." The public
synipatliy would accomplish the rest. The public edmi-
ratiou would have la en a truthful expression, thorgh
not graceful in the mouth of the persou who made the
remarkable proposal in question. We shonld add that
the manner in which it was received by the audiekse
entitles them to a share in the application of the remarks
which the whole scene is calculated to suggest.
There is no literature of modern times with which
that of England may not fearlessly be set in comparison.
And certainly, of all the various departments of Enlish
literature, the most teeming and the richest is our
drama. We have one dramatist who, if all the others
were removed, might singly be opposed to the whole
body of tragedians and comedians, we do not say of any
other modern country, but of all modern countries united,
and of all antiquity besides. And yet, on the other band,
were he, as being too great, taken out of the account, the
dramatists that remain to us might, in their turn, fur-
nish an array worthy of being opposed to any that :the
world can elsewhere point to. This splendid branch of
English literature, loaded with flower and fruit, has, for
many years back, been suffered to prove its intrinsic im-
mortality by not withering under baneful neglect and
more baneful attentions.

But, more recently still, there has been a happy reac-
tion, amounting to a partial revival. Among many
names, Sheridan Knowles, Westland Marston, and Bul-
wer Lytton may be mentioned as instances at once and
illustrations of what we mean. Nor is Mr. Dickens's
amateur company without its significance; nor is the fa-
vour with which its representations have been on so
many occasions greeted. Even the favour with which
royalty has, of late, treated dramatic productions must
acoelerate the return of the national taste towards one of
the greatest and least equivocal gloriefeof England. We
are glad of so commendable a tendency; and we are glad
that one such incident as that to which we allude should,
as it happens, be calculated to advance the cause of the
modern English drama. It is pleasant to see the finest
and noblest of the muses of England (the English
drama) associating itself spontaneously with a cause of
enduring beneficence, and walking hand-in-hand with
charity—charity in its truest form, in that form. in which
it ministers to the pains of the bruised and a :fated
spirit, as well as to the wants of the body.
For, in the plan of which we speak, we have, as far as
it goes, the necessities and miseries of the literary body
assuaged and relieved—by what? by some strange
hands, whose gifts are the bread of bitterness? No,
but by literature itself, and in that form in which, in
this country, it has achieved it principal successes and
brightest triumphs. Literature in full victory comes to
the rescue of defeated literary men.
It is impossible, in the limits of a newspaper article,
to give even a digest of the characteristics and the
history of that great department of the great calling
which is here playing ao beautiful an episode. We
must turn to the merits of the offer itself which was
made by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, received so warmly
by his invited coadjutors, and applauded so enthusiasti-
cally by his distinguished audience. It has not often,
we must confess, fallen to our lot to notice a more really
excellent proceeding. We see a flourishing author moved
by sympathy for his be ten rivals, his distanced compe-
titors, who bear their load of adversity with humbled
and wounded hearts. This sympathy, however limitedly
proved, would be a good thing. But we must acknow-
ledge, in the second place, that the sympathy is most
munificently evinced. And, in the third place, its mu-
nificence is far from being its only commendable charac-
teristic. Not only with his lands, but with his genius, Sir
Edward is anxious to come to the relief of the unfortunate
literary man who has done what in him lay to add a ray
to the glory of his country, and to contribute to the
useful information or intellectual entertainment of the
hublic. He may have failed iu his striving. He may
ave seen another do the good service, produce the bril-
liant work, and carry off the palm of fame, popularity,
and opulence. Other talents may have eclipsed his.
Well, those very talents shall help him. They have,
perhaps, mortified him. They shall now work to afford
him consolation. The public has preferred them. The
preference of the public for them shall now turn to his
advantage, and to the advantage of those similar to him,
fur generations to come. One successful and highly
gifted literary man shall minister to the comfort and
support of successive races of unfortunate authors. And
he shall do this by the use of his literary talents, as well
as by the gift of his hereditary lands. It is an idea worthy
of the glory which it will confer upon its generous pro-
poser. Sir Lytton Bulvver bee often written for fame, not
without success. But we doubt whether his most
brilliant production will be remembered longer than this
one noble act of charity, sympathy, and beneficence.
Often has he seen lurga sums of money gathered from
the fruits of his labours. His present production may
truly be said to be a labour of love ; but we trust tt
will far surpass, in its realised proceeds, the most lu-
crative work that he ever before executed or conceived.
The popular band of gentlemen who so readily under-
took to perform what Sir Edward should compose might
have been expected to do so, for acting in this gratuitous
fashion is, with them, a favourite vmusement and their
well-known delight. But they still deserve all praise for
the alacrity with which their kindly sympathies induced
them to pledge themselves to the support of a plan the
mere sketch of which drew forth a spontaneous round of
cheers from tbose who heard it.

Surely this is one of the prettiest and most graceful
passages in the modern history of literature, whether in
this country or in any other. We wish success to th•
future play, and to the honourable objects which it is
designed to subserve.

COURT CIRCULAR.
WINDSOR, Thic. 18.

The Queen walked this morning in the Slopes.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert went out
shooting this morning, accompanied by the Duke of
Bedford, the Marquis of Exeter, and the Earl Spencer.
Lieut.-Colonel Hon. C. B. Phipps and Colonel Bou-
verie were in attendance on his Royal Highness.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and
Prince Allred took an airing in a pony phaeton this
morning in Windsor Park, attended by Mr. Birch.
The younger members of the Royal Family took
their usual walking and pony exercises.
The Marquis of Granby, the Earl and Countess
Granville, Lord and Lady Seymour, and the Hou.
Miss Seymour, and Sir William Gibson Craig, Bart.,
are expected to arrive at the Castle to-day, on a visit
to the Queen and the Prince.
The Marchioness of Douro has relieved the Vis-
countess Canning in her duty as Lady in Waiting to
the Queen.

The Royal dinner party this evening will include
her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, the Duke
and Duchess of Bedford, the Marquis and Marchioness
of Westminster and Lady Octavia Grosvenor, the
Marquis and Marchioness of Exeter and Lady M.
Cecil, the Marquis of Granby, Lady Fanny Howard,
Baroness de Speth, the Earl and Countess Spencer
and Lady G. Spencer, the Earl and Countess Gran-
ville, Lord and Lady Seymour and the Hon. Miss
Seymour, Lord George Lennox, Sir William Gibson
Craig, and Lieut.-Colonel non. C. B. Phipps.
The band of the Royal Horse Guards will attend
during dinner. Her Majesty's private band will
afterwards attend in the Castle.
The band of the Coldstream Guards attended dur-
ing dinner in the Castle on Tuesday evening, and
performed the following selection :
Overture, "Maritana" Wallace.

Valse, " The Pearl of England" Jullien.
Selection, " Mountain Sylph" Barnett.
Coldstream Guards' " Quick March,"
composed expressly for the Coldstream
Guards
Chant National des Croates Blumenthall.
The Queen's private band afterwards attended
the Castle, and played the following pieces :
Overture, " Le Domino Noir" .. A.uber.
Selection, " Le Songe d'un Nuit d'Ete" Thomas.
Adagio and Polonaise, " Gras au das
Vaterland"

Lieutenant F. R. Stack (St. Helena Regiment) had
an interview with Earl Grey yesterday, at the Colo-
nial-office.

Mr. Alderman Hooper waited on Sir George Gray,
at the Home-office yesterday, to deliver the address
from the ward of Queenhithe, upon the Popish
eg-
gression.

- Lord John Russell returned to his residence, Pem-
broke Lodge, Richmond•park, yesterday, from Wind-
sor Castle.

Mr. Shepherd, Chairman of the Emit India Com-
priy, had an interview with the Chancellor of tha
Exchequer yesterday. Mr. Willcox, M.F., bad also
aninterview with the Right Hon. Baronet yesterday,
at his official resiience in Downing-street.
The Rector of Liverpool and Mr. Cardwell, KY.,
transacted business yesterday at the Board of Trade.

-------- -
THE METROPOLITAN SEWERS COMMISSION.-00
Tuesday evening an adjourned and influential meeting of
delegates and representatives of the various metropolitan
parishes took place at the Marylebone Court-house, for the
purpose of taking further steps for securing from the Co-
vernrnent or Parliament a measure for the abolition of the
present sewers commission, and to make it a representa-
tive body. J. A. Nicholay, Esq., of Marylebone, ag.ls
presided, and all the principal parishes were again repre-
sented by deputations. The result of the meeting was Ihe
appointment of a committee to draw up a Bill for the dep 'ci-
tation to present to Government, embracing the views ,
the meeting.
THE DUKE OF NEwcasTus.—The health. of hi i
Grace has considerably improved, so much so that his Graa a
is enabled to sit up and transact business.—Derby afertvrY.