The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-05 00:00:00

BETWEEN CALAIS AND DOVER.

DOVER,
The
c wiret asunder
nsuccessfully
among
submerged last week
WEDNEAhIra7 b
the rocks at Cape Grisnez, where the physical con-
figuration of the French coast has been found unfa-
vourableplace of holdfast or fixture. All
communication
foratiin
n coast and coast has oo
conse-
quently been ot
suspended for the present. The precise
point where the breakage took place is 200 yards out
ass
twee
a- t sea, and just where the twenty miles of electric line
that had been streamed out from Dover joins on to a
leaden tube, designed to protect it from the surge
beating against the beach, and which serves the pur-
pose of conveying it up the front of the cliff to the
telegraph station on the top.-,This leaden conductor, it
would appear, was of too soft a texture to resist the
oscillation of the sea, and thereby became detached from
the coil of gutta percha wire that was thought to have
been safely encased in it. The occurrence was, of
course, quickly detected by the sudden cessation of
the series of communications that have been sustained
since the first sinking of the electric cable between
here and the Cape, though it was at first a perplexing
point to discover at what precise spot the wire was
broken or at fault. This, however, was done by haul-
ing up the line at intervals, a process which disclosed
the gratifying fact that since its first sinking it had
remained in situ at the bottom of the sea, in conse-
quence of the leaden weights or clumps that were
strung to it at every 16th of a mile. The operation
was accomplished by Messrs. Brett, Reid, Wollaston,
and Edwards, who have been attending to the ma-
nagement of the telegraph without intermission, and
who are now, with their staff, removing the wire
to a point nearer Calais, where from soundings it
has been ascertained that there are no rocks, and
where the contour of the coast is favourable. It
is thought that for the present leaden tube a
tube of iron must be substituted, the present
apparatus being considered too fragile to be
permanently answerable. The experiment, as far as
it has gone, proves the possibility of the gutta percha
wire resisting the action of the salt water, of the fact
of its being a perfect waterproof insulator, and that
the weights on the wire are sufficient to prevent its
being drifted away by the currents, and of sinking it
in the sands. During the period that the wire WBB
perfect messages were daily printed by Brett's Print-
ing Telegraph, in legible Roman type, on long strips
of paper, in the presence of 8 numerous French and

_ "41
- e
2
\., Tik" j. •
English audience ; but it is not intended' to'
of the wire for commercial and newspaper IStitglir
until the connexion of it with the telegraplia of .fla? ' smgv
South-Eas,ern and that now c:inrileted on the Other
side from Calais to Parii is effected.- Should the one..
wire answer, it is intended eventually' to run out 20,., • =
or 30 more, so' as to have a constant- reserve in tilie:-
event of accident in readiness., This' huge reticula-1
tion of electric line will represent 400 mileqief tele'
graph submerged in the sea, 'and as $O4ll-bei,a
considerable distance apart, 'a total 'Water"width of
six or eight miles in extent.

.1 I 4

SADLER'S WELLS THEATR4.
We are rejoiced to find that the praiseworthy ef-
forts of Messrs,•Greenwood and Phelps, in the cause
of the legitimate drama, continue to be erowntd,
with success. During the past week Hamlet has been
alternated with Leigh Hunt's Legend. of Florence,
and the house has been exceedingly well attended
every night. Tali(-.n as a whole, the Hamlet of Mr.
Phelps is, perhaps, the best on the stage; the Claudius
of Mr. George Bennett is a thoroughly Shaksperiqn
performance,, while the Laertes of Mr. Wailer is all
that can be desired. An actor of the power and ca-'
pabilities of Mr. •'Waller has long been wanting on
the London boards. Since the days of Charles
Kemble we have had no good juvenile tragedian ; An- •
derson was thu best, hut he wanted polish, and was
too heavy ; but in Mr. IValler we have combined -
thei power of an artist with the polishof a finished
gentleman. ' We admire his I.4ertes much, and should ',
i*e to see him_ .in some of the juvenile heroes of our
.old4ragedies, cr in some of our legitimate comedies,
many of the best of.which have been laid on the shelf,
because we .have had no actor, of late years, capable
of acting genteel comedy of the highest order.
, Last evening Sheridan Knowles play,. William Tell,
was presented-with a powerful cast, • and all the ad-
vautages of appropriate scenery and costume. Wil-
liam Tell is a part in which the prominent attributes
of Mr. PhelpVs' acting have full scope, and in which
be turns them to the greatest advantage. His per-
formance on this occasion was one .of the most effec-
tive efforte,in which he illustrated the gallant bearing
of the patriot and the tenderness of the parent, with
great force and felicity of expression. .I.t produced a
corresponding effect upon the auditory, who received
it throughout with the most emphatic marks of tip.
,probation. George Bennett, •filled; the part of
~Gfsier. It would be an injusticete his merits not to
,notice the admirable manner in which fie pourtrayed -
the despotic-and cruel dispositions of the- tyrant.
Miss E. Travers enacted -the part of Agnes in a style
to warrant an opinion that she will be a most deair-
'ahle acquisition to the corps dramatique in the charac-
ters which it is understood she will have to sustain in
the course of the season. The play was completely
successful, and was received throughout with the-most
decided approbation. When the curtain dropped Mr.
Phelps had, to make his acknowledgments to the audi-
ence for the applause with which they greeted his
performance. The amusing farce, Uncle 'Mark, ,fol-
lowed, which continues to elicit the mirth of the
frequenters of the theatre. We were happy to see the
spirited management so well supported by public
patronage. The entertainments of last night were
witnessed by a crowded and highly respectable
audience.