The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-01 00:00:00

TERRIBLE CALAMI7Y ATA MUSIC BALL

TWENTY ox
Friday KILLED.
(Midnight).
A calamity of a very terrible character has oc-
cllviEEs PERRS,
I -
ANF TE
oc-
curred here to-night. A music hall in Victoria-
street, frequented by the lower classes, and known
throughout Lancashire as " Ben Lang's," was the
scene of the sad event.
A benefit performance was announced to come
off there to-night, and the attendance was very
large. Whilst the performance was proceeding, a
number of boys who were in the pit stood up on
the benches, and to save themselves from falling
they laid hold of a gas pendant. The weight
upon the pendant moved it from its place and
led to an escape of gas. So soon as the smell of the
gas spread, the cry of " Fire" was raised. In an
instant the whole audience was in a most dreadful
state of alarm ; the screams of the women and the
younger men and boys were frightful. A simul-
taneous rush was made to the staircase, and every
one pressed with mad eagerness to escape from the
fate which they thought was threatening them. But
the fact was that they rushed from safety into
danger. The crowding of the stairs, and the
struggling of those who could reach them, was
such that they gave way, and a large number of
human beings were precipitated to the stone
floor at the bottom. As soon as possible men
were at work removing those on the top of the
living mass eager to get at men and women
who lay underneath shrieking piteously for
help. No fewer than twenty-five were taken up
dead. They were mostly young men, apparently
factory operatives. A number more were injured
considerably, and thirteen of them were carried to
the Royal Infirmary. Eleven of these injured per-
sons were males and two females. The dead were
also carried to the infirmary. A body of police
were in attendance soon after the accident, and
besides keeping order outside, where an immense
crowd had of course assembled, they gave great
assistance to the injured, and to those who had fallen
with the stairs, but managed to escape without
being much hurt.
When the dreadful occurrence became known in
Manchester thousands flocked to Victoria-street,
anxious to ascertain the fate of relatives and friends
who were known to be present in the Music Hall
on the occasion of the benefit. The excitement up
to the present hour has not abated.

THEODORE GURENSTONE.—There are now on view
at the Messrs. Wills and Sotheran's, the booksellers, of
42, Charing-cross, two life-size crayon portraits, deli-
cately tinted, and, as portraits, drawings :of a really
remarkable character, by Mr. Theodore Gurenstone, an
artist new, we blieve, to Lon lon, but well known
in the Western counties, and certainly one very rarely
gifted in his capacity as a portrait painter. To see this, it
is only necessary to glance at the two crayon drawings
above referred to -one of them the life-like portraiture of
a venerable lady, the mother of ono of our most famous
travellers, politicians, and archseologists. That nameless
something, that je nesois quoi, which constitutes the subtle
and indefinable, yet instantly recognisable charm of a
genuinely successful likeness, Mr. Gurenstone'e pencil
sketches with the most facile precision ; his portraits at
the same time being admirable, purely and simply regarded
as works of art.
Musfc.u. ITEMS.—The Committee of the Royal Acade-
my has been reconstituted. Subscriptions are to be raised
for a Mendelssohn monument in Leipsic. It is said that
Verdi is composing a new opera entitled " Falstaff." The
construction of the new opera house at Vienna is almost
finished. A new English Opera Company is threatened—
we can hardly believe seriously.--;lusicca Standard.

cOBILESPODENCE,FROM PARISI

- - -
t , OWN CORRESPONDENT.).
PARIS, FRIDAY; July 31:

The iession—of the Senate closed yesterday, after
.4the,
voting of the loan of 429 millions (£17,160,000), and thci
transaction of other financial business.

There is great agitation in all the departments in :yin,
of the coming elections. Organisation goes on every-
where in the anticipation of a severe struggle. General
Cluseret publishes a notable letter, in which he ener-
getically protests against all union between the Repub-
licans and the Orleanists. Nobody, however, seems to
know when the elections will take place. If the time
generally accepted be correct, these preparations are, to
say the least, not a little premature. It is currently
believed that the polling will not begin before next March.
An election contest which lasts eight months would be
more intolerably tedious, and far less exciting, than your
lively struggles in England.
I see the Inclependance Beige puts forth a denial of the
various accounts which have been published respecting the
condition of the Empress Charlotte. These statements
are, it says, entitled to no consideration whatever. It
moreover thinks that the magnitude of her misfortune, and
the profound grief of her family, ought to secure the silence
which is the token of respect, and that the tender solici-
tude with which she is watched ought not to be disturbed
by fictitious- revelations. All this is not only very true,
but quite unnecessary. The misfortune of the Empress,
nay, of her whole family, has caused the profoundest
sympathy throughout the civilised world. There is here
no distinction of nation or religion, much less of politics.
It is unanimously accepted as the darkest and most
gloomy tragedy of our time. But is it altogether unna-
tural that the public of Europe should feel an interest in
learning the state of the malady with which the Empress
is afflicted, her progress, if any, towards recovery, and the
chance of her restoration to intellectual life? As to the
accounts which have appeared, their authenticity has not
been established, and the public is not responsible for them.
But can the Indepenciance Beige rely upon the veracity of
its own statement ? It says the condition of the Princess
has varied little since she returned to Belgium.

" Her physical strength is entirely restored, and her in-
tellect is generally lucid ; but she is subject occasionally
to caprices and inexplicable whims, which shew that her
mental condition is not entirely satisfactory." This, after
all, does not differ very materially from the accounts com-
plained of, which represented the same danger, though in
more alarming colours. I am inclined to fear, even
against hope, that the case is very unpromising ; but,
whatever may be the truth, I see no reason for withhold-
ing it from a really anxious public.
The terrible storms,- of which I spoke some days ago,
have prevailed more or less throughout the whole of
France. A very large number of accidents from lightning
are reported, some of them of the most extraordinary
kind. Three days ago the electric fluid struck a house at
Courpignac, Charente-Inf4:ieure, and injured six persons.
A girl had her clothes burnt, and received a severe shock.
The lightning fired off a double-barrelled gun, broke the
glass of a clock, and melted the weights. Another
case is much more deplorable. A young man of the
age of 22, and a girl aged 13, who were on the point of
marriage, were found leaning against a tree, both quite
dead. A man had his watch broken in pieces without
suffering injury himself, so it is reported. Many other
stories are related bearing upon the present domination
of thunderstorms ; but there is an obvious need of confir-

mation in some cases. There is no doubt that the fatality
has been very great. The electric current has also
interfered with the transmission of telegraphic messag, s.
When shall we hear the last of the Mexican affair ?
It turns up in every possible form ; it is dragged before
the public by indignant sufferers ; and is constant'y reap-
pearing in the shape of some disagreeable or discreditable
incident. Augustin Iturbide, brother of the Prince
Iturbide, who was adopted by the Emperor Maximilian
as his heir, has been found keeping a cabaret in
a Parisian suburb. It has been suggested here that,
as a bondholder, he should have a proportion of the
four millions of Rente assigned to him. He ought, at least,
to be allowed a pension out of the spoils brought over by
Marshal Bazaine and other officers.

The bullion in the bank is still going upwards.

THE WEATHER TABLE.-THIS DAY.

METEOROLOGICAL DEPORTS.

Extreme Sea
Saturday, 1.04 I 1
August 1, B. T. 0 W. Ito F. D. WR. Ito
8 a.m
—. 12 9
Nairn
Aberdeen
Le:th
Shields 30'26r. 63 58 N.IV. 2 2 N.W. c.b. 2
Scarborough 30“19r. 68 58 W. 2 3 N.N.E. c.bo 2
Yarmouth 3o'32r. 63 58 W.N.W. 2 4 N.N.E. c.b. 2
Helder
Cuxhaven
Skudesmes
Ardrossan 30'27r. 61 ,57 S.W. 3 2N. N.W. o. 2
Greencastle 3,23 r. 64 60 W.S.W. 1 3 W.N.W. c.
Holyhead -
Liverpool
Yalu] ti a
Cape Clear 3o'26r. 64 63 W. 2 2 W. c. 2
Roche's Pt. 30-30 s. 63 60 E.S.E. 1 3 S.S.W. h.
Penzance
Plymouth
Weymouth 30'33r. 64 58 E. 6 3 N.W. b. 3
Portsmouth 30'32r. 64 58 E. 1 5 N.N.W c.m 1
London 30'35r. 61 56 '.N.W. 1 3 N.W. m—
C•peGrisNez 30'29r. 66 59 N.N.E. 1 b. -- 1
Brest - b. ? 2
L'Orient
Rochefurt
Biarritz - b. 3
Corunna....
Brussels
Paris
Strasbourg —
Lyons —
Toulon : 30'04r. 66 61 E. 1 h. 2
Heart's Con-1
tent (6 a.m.,
local time) 130'28x. 69 63 S.W. 3 3 S. o. 3
=PLANATION.

Barometer corrected and reduced to 22 deg. a rea level. Theletter
r., rising; f„ falling ; a., steady—indicate direction of motion of the
mercury within last 14 hairs. Thermometer exposed in shade
Extreme Force with its Direction during last 24 hours. Z.—calm
Weather : b.—blue sky ; c.—clouds, detached ; f.—fog ; h.—hail
I.—lightning ; m,—misty, hazy ; o.—overcast, dull; r.—rain ; a.— snow
t.—thunder. Rain-fall, snow or hail (melted) during last 24 hours,
Sea disturbance.