The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-18 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

The Medea was repeWed here on Saturday even-
ing, and P.trodi produced even a more striking effect
by her ddineAtion (1 the character of the
Ale3ca, ni.d by her faultless execution of Meyer's
music, than she did on her first anyarance. She is,
par excellozce, the queen of lyric tragedy. The new
ballet of the illetarnorphovs, whh its splendid
scenery, magnificent costume::, and perfect (lancing
excited a pet feet furore. In addition to the delightful
espiegle versatile Carlotta Grisi as the sprite, we bad
on Saturday Marie Taglioni, who made her first ap-
pearance for the season, and who returns to us having
made great and decided progress in her a:-t since last
year. She looked exceedingly well, and danced with
the most perfect and exquisite finish, and was much
and deservedly applauded. We observe that Signer
Lorenzo, the new barytone, makes his first appearance
to-morrow in the character of Nino, and that Mr.
Sims Reeves makes his &but on Thursday as Ernani.
The house was crowded in every part.

ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA,
COVENT GARDEN.

The linpl Italian Opera opened for the season on
Saturday evening, on which occasion her Majesty,
Prince Albert, and their Royal llighnesses the Prince
of Waks and the Princess Royal honoured the
theatre with their presence. The principal members
of the company are the lessees of the theatre, and
they have appointed Mr. Frederick Gye as their
manager. The opera chosen for the opening was the,
Der Frischutz of, Weber, an opera admirably adapted
to the peculiar resources of this theatre, as it brings
into full play the orchestra and the magnificent
chorus. Costa, on taking his seat in the orchestra,
was loudly applauded, and the overture, which was
splendidly performed, was enthusiastically encored.
The followit,g was the cast :—Ugo (Ottcar), Signor
Luigi Mei ; Marzio (Kuno), Signor Rommi ;
Giulio (the Rodolph of the English version, the Max
of the original).Signor Enrico Maralti; Gasparo (Cas-
par), Herr Formes, Chiliano (Killian), M. A-652°1,
Samiele (Zuniel), M. Doering; the Hermit, Signor
Gregorio ; Agata (Agnes), Madame Castellan ;
Annetta (Ann), Mille. Vera. The opening chorus
was magnificently given, and followed as it was im-
mediately by the admirable acting and singing
of Massol as Killian, it excited an enthusiasm
which was increased by the magnificent man-
ner in which Formes gave the drinking song,
and the splendid finale to the first act. In the
incantation scene Formes was sublime, indeed

it may be said that his was the great part of the opera.
Never has the wild reckless character of ate doomed
Caspar been more powerfully delineated, never has
the music of Weber be more effectively sung. Signor
Enrico Msralti is a new candidate for public favour,
his voice is a tenor of much sweetness and consider-
able compass, and he sung the music of the part
with great care. His solo " Piu 130 chi oiu i prat"
("Through the forest, through the meadows"), was
beautifully given, and was much applauded. Madame
Castellan would have made an almost perfect Agnes
had she been content to sing 1. Veber's music as

Weber composed it, but she introduced sundry
ornaments of her own imagining into the grand
scene, which, ho wever beautiful in themselves, were not
altogether in keeping with Weber's music. Madlle.
Vera, who was the Ann, has made immense progress
since she was last amongst us. Her manner of
singing "Vien un giovern" ("If a youth sh:uld
meet a maiden"), was full of archness, while
at the same time the music was accurately
and most gracefully rendered. She was deservedly
rewarded with a unanimous encore. Madile. Cotti,
who was recently at the French Theatre, was the
first Bridesmaid, and she sang the solo verses cf the
Bridesmaid's chorus with exquisite taste and effect.
The choruss were all perfectly rendered, and full
justice WAS done bath by chorus and orchestra
to this the chef d'oeuvre of the most dramatic of mo-
dern composers. The Huntsman's chorus was, as a
matter cf course, encored. Tie scenery by Messrs.
Grieve and Teibin %vas Magoiticent ; the Wolf's glen
has lost none of its traditiennl horrors in their hands.

Her Majesty remained until the conclusion of the
opera, immediately after which the National Anthem
was sung. The theatre was crowded.

GREAT FIRE AT WESTMINSTER.
On Saturday night, at a few minutes before eight
o'clock, a fire broke out in the premises belonelne. to
Messrs. J. and C. Rigby, 23, ii.olywell-street, West-
minster. The first discovery was made by the private
watchman of the premises. An engine was taken to
the place and instantly set to work, but the contents
of the several buildings were of such an ignitable
nature that the flames spread furiously, enveloping
the steam-boiler house, the saw-mills, and about two-
thirds of the joiners' workshops, with the stores over,
and the drying-houses. In less than a quarter of an
hour from the time the fire was discovered the roof of
the joiners' shop fell in, and the flames rose high into
the air. The Abbey, the new Houses of Parliament,
and other buildings in the distance were brought out
in bold relief. The lurid glare of the atmosphere
caused the intelligence to be speedily carried to the
engine stations, and nine engines of the London
brigade, with those of the brewhouso belonging to
Messrs. Thorne, the parish, and West of England
Company, arrived at the scene. Fortunately there
was an abundant supply of water, but notwith-
standing the exertions of all present, the
devastation continued, and hour after hour
passed away before the flames could be subdued. The
following is the official report of the mischief done :
About two-thirds of premises, 130 feet long and 51
feet wide, used as joiners' workshops on first floor,
and store-houses on ground floor, burned down. The
engine-house adjoining, together with machinery,
severely injured by fire and water; the stock of deals
in open yard seriously damaged by fire. No. 10,
Earl-street, Mr. John Mann, blaeksmith—Contents
and buildings not insured; the skylights and roof of
workshops damaged by breakage;
furniture and
dwelling house injured by breakage, water, and re-
moval ; not insured. No. 36, Wilton-street, let out
in small tenements—Premises and contents damaged;
insurance unknown. No. 37, IVilton-street, occupied
by sundry persons—The contents broken by hasty
removal, and building much damaged. No. 38 in the
same street, belonging to Mr. William Johnson, of
Grosvenor- wharf—Roof of premises severely damaged
and furniture broken by removal ; contents not in-
sured. No. 39, ditto—Similar damage. No. 40, ditto
—Great damage to furniture by hasty removal, and
premises damaged. No. 41, ditto— Similar damage
to furniture and building. No. 42, ditto—Premises
damaged by breakage and furniture by hasty removal.
The occupants of the four latter houses were unin-
sured, and the owner of them was understood to be
also uninsured.

MET.

THE EXPEcTES
GREAT CO
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—Your astronomical readers will be aware that
the great comet which astonished the world in 1264,
and is supposed to have returned in 1556, has been
expected to re-appear about 1848, the period of revo-
lution round the sun averaging 292 years, or there-
abouts. It is highly improbable that two successive
revolutions of a comet with so long a period should
be accomplished in exactly the same time ; and
though the addition of 2914 years--the interval be-
tween July, 1264,
and April, 1556—to the latter
epoch would bring us to February, 1848, as the time
of the comet's return, we are tolerably sure the
effects cf planetary perturbations must either expe-
dite or retard it, perhaps several tears; S 9 that- the
comet may not yet have arrived in these parts of
space. Several astronomers, provided with powerful
telescopes, have, to my knowledge, kept a close
look-out upon its track for the last two years or
more, and it is not likely it can have passed its
perihelion, and escaped detection altogether. This,
in fact, could only happen when it arrives at its least
distance from the sun, between December and Feb-
ruary, far, under all other conditions, it must ap-
proach pretty near the earth, and become, doubtless,
a very conspicuous object in the heavens. The exact
calculation of the perturbations produced by the great
planets Jupiter and Saturn, between 1264 and the
present time is hardly practicable with our present
limited knot; ledge ; it would involve an almost incon-
ceivable mass of computations such as no one person
could be expected to perform. Any rough approxi-
mation, therefore, to the effects of these planets may
prove acceptable to the astronomical public, who have
much interested in this comet's expected re-
turn ; and my object in writing this is to announce
one important conclusion, which has just been ob-
tained by Mr. J. Barber, of Elwell, near Uttoxe-
ter, relative to the disturbances due chiefly to Jupiter's
attraction during the last revolution.
At the expense( fan amount of time and labour which.
those only who are conversent v,ith these intricate
matters can properly appreciate, Mr. Barber finds
that between the years 1556 and 1592 the united at-
traction of Jupiter and Saturn would dirnini4l the
period 263 days, but that between 1592 and 1806 it
would be increased by the action of Jupiter alone no,
less than 751 days, so that a retardation of 488 days:
take place. flow much longer Saturn, Uranus,
and Neptune may detain it beyond this time we do
not at present know, but the perturbations prcaucedi
by the former planet up to 1806 are now in course
of calculation by Mr. Barber, and, on their comple-
tion, we shall probably he further enlightened in re-
spect to the delay which has occurred in the cornet's
return. In these computations the elements which I
deduced from the observations of Fabricius in 1556
have
if the ujor axis of the
orbit
year—on (vwhich n
the period depends--
been
inthat enpl oy d . N"
exactly corresponded to the interval between 1264
and 1556, the addition of 488 days to that interval
would give the Ist of July, 1849, for the next arrival
at perihelion ; but as this is not likely to have been
the cete, and since, in our present ignorance of the
exact length cf the major axis in 1556, we may as
fairly suppose it to have been longer as shorter than
that deduced as above, it appears very possible that

the comet may yet be sEveral months, if not one or
two years, befire it makes its appearance, particularly
if the effects of- S turn, Uranus, and N,ptune, in the
aphelion partion cf the orbit, tend to retard it, as I
believe they must dr. Those of your readers, there-
fore, who are provided with suitable telescopes, would
render great service by immediately commencing a
systematic search fur the comet, continuing it at con-
venient intervals at least until the close of 1851. If
no comet have then appeared we shall, perhaps, have
good reason to doubt the identity of the
famous bodies of 1264 and 1556; but it is a matter
of. great importance in this department of astronomy
that the cornet should be recognised, if really periodi-
cal ; and I still adhere to the opinion I have Ex-
pressed in various English and continental publica-
tions, that it will appear shortly. It is more impor-
tant that it should not be missed, because we have
not yet re-observed any one of these bodies certainly
known to be revolving in a longer orbit than Halley's
comet, the average period of which is about seventy-
six years. The revolution assigned to the grand
comet of 1680 by Halley (575 years), and copied
into nearly all our popular works on astronomy, can
hardly be correct., as the testimony of many his-
torians, unknown to that astronomer, has more re-
cently shown. In fact, after a strict search through
the history of comets in past times, there does not ap-
pear to be any one which affords decisive indications
of identity with that rendered celebrated by our
countrymen Newton and Halley. It is tolerably
certain, that had Halley been acquainted with the
particulars brought to light within the last century,
he would not have supposed the cornet,of 1680 to re-
volve round the sun in 575 years.

The expected comet is dis-tant from the sun, at its
aphelion, more than 8,500,000,000 miles, or upwards
cf three times the mean distance of the newly-disco-
vered planet Neptune, while in perihelion it ap-
proaches that luminary within the orbit of Venus.
The region of the heavens about the constellation
Hydra, where it should now be sought, on the sup-
position of its being four or five months from peri-
helion, is very well placed for examination in March
and April. To give some idea of the enormous mag-
nitude of this body, it may be stated that in 1264
both European and Chinese authorities assure us,
when the head, or bright nucleus, was just seen above
the eastern horiz)n the tail stretched past the zenith
towards the west, or covered an arc of the heavens of
more than 90 degrees. The great comet of March,
1843, which excited so much attention, was pro-
bably very far inferior in splendour to that of 1264.
I remain, Sir, your most obedient servant,
March 7. J. R. HIND.

MARRIAGE WITH A DECEASED

WIFE'S SISTER.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—Having been for many years past your con-
stant reader and admirer on almost all subjects, I now
address you upon this much-agitated question. The
point I wish to direct your attention to is the ab
surdity of Mr. Shei?s speech, wherein he states
that should the Bill, which passed the Commons on
Wednesday week, become the law of the land, the
wife's sister will have a contingent, or rather vested, re-
mainder in the pillow in which her sister's cheek may
soon be coldly and lifelessly laid, if she shall be taught
to associate her wedding garment with her sister's
shroud. Mr. Shell adds, he is afraid the spirit of con-
jugal enterprise will be awakened. Now, Sir,' this may
or may not be true, but observe what this argu-
ment leads to. It will be the means
of preventing any married woman from not
merely having her sister with her during illness, or
indeed at any other time, but any other unmarried
woman who. might supply her place after death.
Pray, has Mr.. Shell never beard of married women
having other female friends with them besides their
own unmarried sister or sisters, as the case may be ?
We all know very well that many married women,
especially those women who are the wives of pro-
fessional mer, whose husbands are during the whole
day engaged in.their respective callings or vocations,
and consequently unable to give their attention to
their wives that a more idle man is well able to do,
have female friends continually with them upon
terms of close intimacy who are no relation to
them whatever. I think, indeed, society must
have come to a sad low ebb for the morality of the
land to be influenced by an Act of Parliament ;
whereas, if people are desirous of contracting the
marriages which, should the Bill which has
passed the second reading of the House of Com-
mons, pass the Upper House, it is hard that an
Act of Parliament should come in the way to prevent
them so doing. Mankind must indeed be bigamists
if they could form any attachment to other women,
whether those women be their wives sisters or not,
during the lifetime of their wives; and according
to the argument laid down by Mr. Shell, it is
a dangerous and hazardous thing for married women
to have (in intimacy at any rate) any young unmar-
ried female into their houses for fear their fancies
should be stained with images of sin, and in those
hours of ailment to which almost every woman is
condemned, they should be pursued and haunted by
many a dark and distracting surmise. I have not such
a low estimate of the morality of my countrymen
•as Mr.. Shell and other people on that side the
question appear to have. I do not believe that
any man who has really tasted the bliss of
married life, and who is united to a woman he is fond
o; would ever think or care of any other woman, in a
matrimonial point of view, until he found himself in
that position which would entitle him to do so ac-
cording to our ritual, " when death do them part ;"
as during his wife's last illness he would in all human
probability be in too great grief to think of any but
her whom he has promised " to love and cherish in
sickness, as well as in health, until death them do
part." But if mankind is so disposed to love their
wives' sisters during the lifetime of their own wives,
I am, Sir, well convinced that (which from the
• knowledge of life and human nature that I daily gain
in my profession) no Act of Parliament or other legal
enactment will ever be the means of preventing their
so doing.—l am, Sir, &c.,

A LAWYER.

ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA.—Her Majesty the Queen
and his Royal Highness Prince Albert honoured the per-
formance at the Royal Italian Opera with their presence
on Saturday. Her Majesty and the Prince were accom-
panied by their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales
and the Princess Royal. In attendaece upon the Ra) al
party were the Viscountess Jocelyn, Lord Alfred Paget,
Lord Dufferin, and Colonel Bouverie. There were also
present—His Serene Highness the Duke of Brunswick,
the Marquis of Salisbury, the Marquis of Douro, the
Marchese Brancaleoni, the Earl of Durham, the Earl
Grosvenor, the Earl of Longford, the Earl of Lanes-
borough, the Earl of Darnley, Viscount Exmouth, Vis-
count Glentworth, the Countess of Essex and Miss John-
store, Lord and Lady Foley and the Hon. Miss Foley,
Lady Wallscouit, Lard .Adolphus Vane, Lord Gerald
Fitzgerald, Lord Arthur Hay, the Right Hon. the Lord
Mayor and the Lady Mayoress, the Right lion. Sir R.
Peel, Bart., Lady Peel, and Miss Peel, Hon. Augustus
Vernon, Hon. G. Miles, Hon. A. Willoughby, Hon. J.
Fortescue, M.P., lion. G, Byng, Hon. Fitsget ald Foley,
Hon. Sir Edward Butler, Bart., and Lady Butler, Sir
William Bathe, Bart., and Lady De Bathe, Sir W. Ball,
Batt., Sir George Armytage, Bart., and Lady Armytage,
Sir John Campbell, K.C., La3y Campbell, and Miss
Campbell, Sir Charles Ibbetson, Bart., Sir Thomas Hare,
Mr. 11. Baring, M.P., Mr. Ewart, Don Manuel Legardi
and Madame Legardi, Madame Rallie, Mr. Hobhouse,
M.P., Colonel Brawnlow Knox, M.P, Mr. Montague
Gore, M.P., Major Monntjoy Martyn, Captain T 3 r-
whit, Captain Dudley Carleton, Captain Dalrymple,
Captain Clinton, Mr. Augustus Lumley, Mr. Etrutt,
Captain Durham, Captain De Bathe, Mr. Dash wood,
Mr. Bulteel, Mr. and Mrs. Roberts and Miss Roberts,
Captain Bailey, Mr. Lloyd Clayton, Mr. Greville and
Miss Greville, Mr. Bentinck, Mrs. Millman, Miss Ri-
chards, &e., &c.
ARTISTS' AMICABLE SOCIETY. The second
reunion of the Artists' Amicable Society took place on
Friday evening, at the George Hotel, Aldermanbury,
when about 60 gentlemen interested in the progress of
art sat down to an elegant though substantial repast.
Amongst the gentlemen present were the brothers
MI) hew, E. Lenclellee, Esq , T. Miller, Esq., P. Egan,
Esq., G. F. Sargent, Esq, and F. Skill. Esq. After
the usual loyal toasts had been disposed of, " The Uni,n
of Literature and Ail" was proposed by Mr. Wagstaff
in appropriate terms, and responded to by Mr: Henry
Mayhew, who, in an eloquent speech, descanted upon the
power of the beautiful as displayed in the sister arts of
painting and printing, and pointed out the beeeficial in-
flueace which art generally exercised in elevating the
mind, improving the morals, and promoting the happi-
ness of the people. " Success to the Great Art Exhi-
bition of 1851 " was proposed by Mr. G. F. Serge's', and
drunk with much enthusiasm. The proceedings of the
evening a ere not a little enlivened by the exertions of
one or two members of the musical profession.
Conscience is a sleeping giant; we may lull him
into a lorger or a shorter slumber; but his starts are
frightful, and terrible is the hour when he awakes.—
Eliza Cook's Journal.
The Commissioners of Inquiry into the Market of
Smithfield and the other markets for the sale of live and
dead meat in the metropolis will make their report im-
mediately after the Easter recess. The plans for the
enlargement of Smithfield-market, and for its better ma-
manegement under an improved system, Lave been laid
before the Commissioners by the authorities of the City.
The report, however, will embrace the whole question in
all its details.
MELANCUOLY SUICIDE.—About six months ago a
case was reported under the head of Greenwich 'Mice-

court, wherein it appeared that a publican residing at
Woolwich, in a large and respectable Ray of business,
together with his son, a promising young man, about
twenty-four years of age, were chargid with carting
and removing several cart-loads of bricks belonging to
the lailwsy company, and depositing them on the pr-
mites of the father; and after as examination bafire
the magistrate, they were sentenced—the father to uu
dergo an imprisonment, with hard labour, for eighteen
months, and the son to six months and hard labour.
The son's imprisonment expired on Friday last, %%here•
upon he immediately returned to the inn kept by his
father, and i esumed his avocation of wtiting on the cus-
tomers as usual, and whilst so doing on Tuesday last,