The Sun.
London, England, 1850-06-27 00:00:00

THE FLUTE.

The
The flute, which was the most popular Musical instrr-
naent of the ancient Greeks, and hfts remsieed popular ,
up to the present.timd, has let'ly undergone a revolution
At the beginning of the last estatury it VV,R but e com-
mon whistle. sounded like the modern flageolet. tend
termed flute-a- bse. It had no keys, and (mild produce
only the diatonic scale. The Getman flute, which stir-
planted this feeble instrument. was equally limited in its
range of notes, but Fad a mere sonorous tone. The in-
creased cultivation of instrumental muele, and the de-
mands of the modern orchestra, whetted the invention of
the eminent performers upon the instrument. end pro-
duced ultimately all the notes of the chromatic sea'e.
The notes of the original diatonic scale, however, being
imperfect, these additional notes, weigh were obtained
by keys, were still inferior, and thus the flute, like all
the lingered wind instruments which were similarly cir-
cumstanced, remaiut d proverbially felse in intonation.
These defects, however, having proved too gross for mc-
dein ears, the last twenty years have produced a flute
tuned according to equal temperament, and with tones
of an equally resonant quality throughout the (teem re-
gister of the instrument. One of the most active
movers in this direction was Boehm, of Mimic!), whose
suggestions have been adopted, not only en the flate,
but the oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. Messrs. Ruda)! and
!lose, who introduced the improvemeLts of this gentle-
man to the English flute player, soon found two ciesses
of objectors to them—or e consisting of those who were
indisposed to make certain changes in the manipulation
which were required in playing upon the flute which
went by Boehtn's name, and another elms comprises!
great numbers who, having adopted the Boehm mode of
fingering, found it mere dtfficult of execution than their
old method. In this dilemma Messrs. Rudall and Ise
made numerous experimental flutes for different in-
ventors, having fer an of jset to remove these obstacle a
to the free progress of the amelioration of the instru-
ment. But it was not until they met are flute es planned
by Mr. Carte that they were fully satisfied. The ratebt
of Mr. Carte extends to two flute?, which are contrived
to meet the objections of the two classes of persons re-
torted to; one flute combining the principle of equally
distributed holes, with the exact fingering of the old
flute, and the other having the same perfection of tone
and intonation, with the fingering somewhat changed,
but aff)rding a facility of execution that is somethkg
extraordinary.

GRAND SWIMMING MATCHES.
Last evening the first swimming raltches ut the Hole
born Swimming Club came off at the National Baths,
High Holhorn. There could not have been less than
1,000 persons present to witness the race, one and all at
whom were delighted with the admirable arrangements
made by the spirited proprietor of the baths, James
Hedgman, for their accommodation. The place was
brilliantly lighted with gas for the occasion. At start-
ing the greatest excitement prevailed amongst the bet-
ters, 5 to 1 being effered against the favourite, Mr.
Thomas Young, coming in first, or even accent). The
number of competitors for the medals, which were of
massive silver, was seven. The distance in trial heats
was fur lengths ef the bath, and the grand heat six
lengths. Atter a most severely contested struggle, as
far as regarded the trial heat:, Mr. Thomas Young
and Mr. David Young, brothers, were announced
by Mr. H. Kenworthy,. amid loud plaudits, the
successful candidates for the prizes. By a strange feet
it was quite a matter of chance which of the two brothers
came in first, so equally were they matched. The six
lengths of the bath were swam in the incredible short
time of two minutes and ten seconds. The race being
ended, a sweepstakes was entered into—the first of
course reaching the goal being George Pewters, the
champion of England; Messrs. Robertson and Young
following close iu his wake. Alter a short interval
Messrs. Henson and Kenworthy entered the water, and
greatly delighted the company present by their extra-
urdinary feat:. Much having been said ebout a late
diver, at Bath, having pulled on a pair of boots while
underneath the water, Mr. George Pewters dived, clothes
and al!, into the bath, and before he went out he had
succeeded in bringing himtelf to that state in which
Dame Nature had introduced him to the world. We
were, at the termination of the evening's entertainment,
which seemed to have delighted all present, requested to
state that Mr. George Pewters is orea to swim any man
from five to tweety miles for any amount.

LATEST _NEWS OF MR. LAYAED.—Letters have
been received from our enterprising countryman so late as the
10th of April, and dated from Arban, on the River Kbabour.
Our readers will remember that the last accounts from this
quarter in the Literary Gazette mentioned Mr. Layard's
purpose of penetrating into the Desert, which he has now
done, and explered for three weeks, meeting with numerous
traces of ancient population, though not so productive of an
tiquities as was hoped for. His present site, however, is
richer in archwological remains, and is important, as these
are undoubtedly Assyrian, and thus establish the fact of the
extent of that empire. Two winged bulls and other frag-
ments have been discovered among the ruins. The country
around is described as beautiful. The meadows rich in herb-
age, and the banks of the libabour literally gemmed with
flowers. Mr. Layard was desirous to examine this river to its
month; but the Arabs in that direction were hostile to those
whom he ranked among his friends, and amid whose drome-
daries, flocks, Ltd tents he was located. The sheikh and his
ladies and all the tribe were kind and hospitable; and we
trust arrangements may be made with the inimical parties
wherever they interpose between Mr. Layard and his inter-
esting discoveries. In his letter, that gentleman says that he
' thinks Major Rawlinson wroag in some of his topography,
and that the chronological deductions cannot as yet be con-
sidered settled.—Literary Gazette.

SINGULAR WILL.--LIVe are informtql that the late
Miss Margaret Creak, of St. Andrews, in this city, whose
&.‘atli was recorded in our paper of June 8, has left a very
singular will, and not so much property as is generally sup-
posed—not more than 20,00C1. in value. She has left Is.
each to such of her relations as choose to prove themselves
so; a legacy of 201. to one neighbour, and 101. to another,
and a few trifling legacies of 21. each. She has left 501. each
to emy houseless person in the country above sixty- eight
years of age; and all her real estate to found an hospital for
aged persons, the hospital to be built and the inmates to be
habited as directed. She then gives all her personal pro-
perty to a neighbour, who is appointed executor. It is evi-
dent the terms of the will cannot be carried out—the pro-
perty being insufficient —Norfolk Chronicle.
COD 'FlsulNG.—Great quantities of cod continue
to be brought ashore at Wick. In Shetland and Orkney
the take is also abundant. Last week, in Shetland, the
smacks did well. At Reawick the average was about 500—
the highest the sloop Nymph, Captain Watts. At Walls, the
average was 300; highest Ooop, 1,000. At Scalloway,
average, 250; highest, 600. We have heard nothing from
North Mavine. At Papa, the take for the week was more
than the average of farmer years. In Orkney, the fisher-
men aro paid at the rate of 4s. Bd. per cwt.—lnverness
courier.

GROTTO-PASSAGE RAGGED INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL...—.
The annual meeting of this institution was held yesterday,
at the Alarylehone Institution, Edwards-street, Portman-
square ; Lord Ashley in the chair. The chairman com-
menced the proceedings by stating that, however inefficient
their efforts might appear to be, yet still they had realised
in many cases greater results than could have been antici-
pated. When they looked upon the lawless cia.•s which they
had to dal with, and the depravity which they had to
contend against, they bad every cause to be grateful for the
benefits which many had derived from the institution of the
ragged schools. The report being then read, stated that
36 boys had been boarded, lodged, and clothed inthe Refuge
Institution; 180 children of each sex, and 49 adults, had
been under daily tuition; 70 boys had received instru'Aion
in various trades, and 25 o: each sex had been provided with
a daily dinner. A :Sunday-school, with an average attend-
ance of 43, had been in constant operation; and a library
and reading-room had been opened. Eight boys and three
men had been sent to the colonies. The report was adopted,
and a vote or thanks to the chairman concluded the business
of the meeting.

LOiISTERFISHING.—The lobster fishing has been
preSecuted with great activity and moat successfully on the
chores of this county during the last two or three months.
At Dunnet and Scarfskerry stations, where there arc front
sixteen to eighteen boats employed, the takes have hitherto
averaged about 1,000 a week. Mr. Roberts, of London, fishes
the whole coast from Cape \Vrath to flume, as also the
Orkney Isles; and it is estimated, at a moderate calculation,
that he expends in this one branch of industry &one, iu this
part of the country, about 3,000/. dating the lobster fishing
season, which extends from the Ist of April to the Ist of
July. The fishing on the south coast, from Huma to
Lathcron, is carried on by our enterprising townsman, Mr.
Gunn, merchant, Bridge-street, and a partner. They
employ two boats, but they have not di iveu so profitable a
spec as Mr. Roberts has on the north coast. John 0' Groat
Journal.

SNOW IN JUNE.—On Saturday morning, between
the hours of nine and ten o'clock, there was a slight fall of
sleet and snow at Lincoln, sufficient to lie upon the flag
pavement. The mornings and evenings have been very
cold. Boston Herald.
SCOTTISH HOSPITAL.—A quarterly court of the
governors of this corporation was held yesterday efternoon, at
their offices in Crane-court, Fleet street, for the reception of
the accounts and for other business ; Di. Webster in the
chair. The statement of acv outs from St. Andrew's-day to
Midsummer was read and approved, from which it appeared
that the total receipts during; that time amounted to
1,912/. 12s. 9d., of which 60IL 16s. was received in dona-
tiona, and 384/.165. in annual subscriptions. The rest was
composed of a balance from the last return and the interest
On deposits, rents, &c. The expenditure during the same
ofp which upwards of
Iperiod,3Bt.
lavmasoudnelt.eodtedte
Air oses. A letter from
Pr lessor Donaldson, on the subject of the New Record-
offices,.tol,c6Bh4alritalbsle9.di"
in communication with the office
of Woods and
was read to the meeting, which stated that he had
been c
Forests on the subject, and it appeared that a plan had been
determined upon much less extensive than that originally
contemplated, and which would only occupy ground be-
tween Chancery amid Fetter-lane, without extending further
eastward, so that the premises of the Scottish Corporation
would not be required. A vote of thanks to the chairman
concluded the proceedings.
THE BANQUET TO THE EX-LORD MAYOR OF
LoNDoN.— We understand that the dinner to be given to Sir
James Duke, M.P., in return fur his hospitable entertain-
ment to the chief magistrates of English and Scottish towns
during his mayoralty, and which was agreed, at a recent
meeting of Mayors and Provosts at Derby, to take place in
Edinburgh, is fixed for Thursday, the 11th of July, nt six
o'clock. The banquet will take place in the Hopetoun
Rooms, and preparations are, we believe, to be made for a
company of from 150 to 200.—Edinburgh Advertiser.
THE ABODE OF LOVE—WARM RECEPTION OF
VIEITons. - Five young gentlemen of Biidgewater, anxious
fat a peep into the mysteries of the Agapeinone, proceeded
to that interesting establishment one day last week, and
finding "no admittance except on business," commenced an
attack on the outer gate with their walking-sticks, when, to
their dismay, instead of the respoheive expression of ." Who
is dat, knocking at the door?" naiad themselves surrounded
by five of the brethren armed with hockey sticks and hunt-
ing-whips. One of the gentlemen, famed for length of limb,
inane a ,apid departure; the others received a sound thrash-
ing, and were told, with peculiar Princite palittness, that the
same fate would await them on a similar annoyance.
ATMosPIIERIC HAYMAKING..!—A whirlwind visited
a bay-field on the farm of Lord Braybreoke, near Saffron
Walden, on Tuesday, and rather astonished the troop of hay-
makers by hurrying off part of the material upon which
they were labouring, carrying in it fantastic shapes over the
tops of the tall trees, and depositing some of it half a mile
oll;—.Essex Herald.