The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-13 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTII, APRIL 10.—The British Soiweign
freight ship, with stores and troops, for the Cape of
Good Hope, arrived on Sunday from the river, and
embarked upwards of 120 soldiers from Pasishurst
barracks, Isle of Wight, being detachments to. join
regiments serving in the east. She 'sailed this day'
fur the Cape of GoOd Hope, Mauritius, and Ceylon
The Admiralty yacht Black Eiticle'"Mr:S. B. Cook,
Master commanding, arrived from Cork. on-Tuesday
evening, came into harbour, where Stie_iril)ooait fur-.
ther orders.

It is reported here that the Malabar, 72
ClPtiktit
Sir G. Sartorius, has arrived at Plymouth from th
Mediterranean, but instead of coming to this port
he paid off, as was expected, has been ordered to Cadet
having, like the Vernon, taken in :a-reinforeement dF
Marines, to join the squadron of Rear-admiral Bowles. -
A detachment of Marines is also ordered from Chat*
ham, for the same destination. •
NAVAL BOAT PRACTICE.--This afternoon, the
weather being delightfully fine, and the water smooth
the inhabitants of this famed port were gratified by
the exhibition of a mimic engagement at the mouth'
of the harbour. Seven boats, well manned and armed,
belonging to the flag-ship St. Vincent, came out of
the harbour about '2 r.m., and when abreast of the
Platform battery, opened a sharp and vigorous fire
upon each other. The launch and the pumice, -the
former commanded by the flag-captain of the port-(.
F. Rowley), mounted large guns in the -hew and
stern, apparently 12-pounders, which, torther with
the musketry, gave the practice the Apliginftce of
reality. The large. guns are adapted to these boatel
upon a new principle. They arecmade to ship and un-
ship in a way heretofore, we are informed, unpractised,
Thus they are fitted with the improved slides, by which
with the use of an inclined plane, the guns can, in
few moments and with less trouble and labour than
in any way before experienced, be converted into
ballast ey removal into the bottom of the boat, and
van be as quickly remounted. Such au unusual sight
drew some hundreds of persons to the ramparts of the
town, who were highly gratified spectators of the mock
gallantry of our modern tars. This kind of practice
is admirably adapted to bring seamen forward in this
mode of naval warfare, and infinitely preferable and
better calculated' to inspire an ambition to enter
the service than the dull monotony of the daily avo-
cations in a guard-ship. The tars themselves seemed
much invigorated by their exercise. The squadron
having tacked about for upwards of half an hour,
much to the delight of the assembled multitude, pulled
into harbour, and returned to their ship. The exercise
I will be frequently repeated.

WORKMEN ABROAD.
The following is an extract from the evidence
given before the Factory Commissioners, by Mr. E.
Rose, a millwright and engineer, who bad worked at
several places on the Continent; he was called :
" Is a man with thirty-five sous a day in France
better off than a man with is. 6d. in England ?—Ac-
cording to their way of life, certainly he .s. They
had generally little plots of ground which their wires
cultivated, and his wages seemed to be for other
things than necessaries. A man there is satisfied
with a deal coarser clothing than those here, and the
climate was so warm that very little did in summer.
They seemed to be more contented to their work than
men are here. They were mostly Protestants at
Mulhausen, and after going to the church of a morn-
ing, where they were regular enough, they could fro
out into the country to dancing, or skittling, or dif-
ferent games and pastimes, and so they seemed to go
more content to their work again ; for here a mate
must break a day if he wants to get a little diversion.
Should you say the Frenck were a sober set ?
Yes, they appeared a very comfortable set of people.
1 am very well pleased with them for my own part.
I did not see them get beastly drunk as working-
men are inclined to do here.

What amusements or innocent recreations has s
working-man here on a Sunday ?—None at all that I
know, but taking a walk in the country, which is not
forbidden that I know of.

Did you go to church at Muihausen ?—Yee ; but
from not so well understanding the language, it made
it very awkward. Igo to the old church here pretty
regularly, but having the care of Mr. Roberts ma-
chinery, and living on the premises, I cannot al-
ways go.
Judgingfrom what you saw in France and Switzer-
land, do you think it conducive to the morality and
good conduct of the working class that they should
spend a portion of Sunday in such recreations as you
have described ?—Judging from what I saw there, I
should say that it was much better than the way in
which people are forced to spend Sunday in England,
It is a thing I have thought of ever since I was
there. Here a man can do nothing but go to the
public-house on a Sunday, and he goes with the in-
tention to get drunk, as it were ; and sit drinking
glass after glass ; there, people going out to dances and
Ilifferent games, and having different recreations
at :the places where they go, such as cards and
dominoes, can cheerfully enjoy themselves, drinking
but little. But here a man can do nothing at a
public-house, if he goes there, but drink, and lie can
go nowhere else on a Sunday. It seemed to me that
they went easier and happier to their work again
there than they do here. Everybody has a right to
his own opinion ; but, after what I saw I there, am
confident that nothing would be more conducive to
the good behaviour of the working class here than for
them to have such innocent recreations on a Sunday
as they have there. I was left fatherless myself here
at seven years of age, and I went to a Methodist
Sunday school in Lever-street, where I was taught
hymns and prayers, but nothing of reading and writing,
when a young fellow with whom I was acquainted
took me to a Sunday-school in Mosley-street, belong-
ing to the Unitarians, where they taught reading and
writing on a Sunday. This I found of great service.
lam not a Unitarian. I know that children do not
get any good by being taught prayers and hymns, so
I was at a Methodist school. They sing and say,
but don't understand them. Something useful should
he got into their heads. There are thousands of
children that go to Methodist schools : they are never
taught anything but to read the Bible, and not to
write. - lam sure they should be taught something
else. Judging from myself as a child, and from
others that I have seen, I consider the manner the
Methodists treat their children in Sunday schools a
complete loss of time; it keeps them out of the streets,
and that is all.

Then your opinion is, that religion among the
working class would not be injured by spending the
Sunday in England as they do in France and Switzer-
land ?—I do really consider it would be improved;
for even now, if a young fellow wants a little
recreation on a Sunday, he gets up early and takes e
stroll into the country, and comes home in the middle
of the day tired, and then he thinks of a public-house.
But if he knew that, after the middle of the day, he
could go out into the country to cheerful society arid
lively meetings, I do really believe he would be more
apt to go to church of a morning. I. was struck with
theadvantages that the working class seamed tome
to have in }ranee and Switzerland over us here is
spending their Sundays. It does produce there what
I never see in England.

THE LATE FATAL FIRE IN OXFORD-STREET.
Ft-NERAL or THE SuFFEßEEs.—Testerday afternoon the
mortal remains of Mrs. Williams and her two children were
removed from the house of herbrother, Mr. Abbott, a licensed
victualler, in High-street, St. Giles's, te.tbeir last resting-
place, at Kensal-green cemetery. The funeral was an-
nounced to take place at two o'clock, and long before that
time crowds of persons were collected round the house
anxious to catch a glimpse of the mournful procession. It must
lady to hear of the respect whichwas paid to her upon this
be a source of gratification e friends of the doceasei
shops around the neighbourhood wheremelancholy the fire took plate
occasion. With one or two exceptions, all the,
were closed.
_The bodies of the servants had, from the time
they were dug out ef the ruins, been lying at the undertakers',
oohfnacKtinogrutbhlee
eithiga,
Lr
tEa
ilnNe
dFtAbL be
intentionTA I' . J
and they were yesterday conveyed to, and met the pr0e.443i011
at the cemetery.
°ltlinsowinEemntne
meter of Falstaff ; indeed, unless we ors much mistaken
welt
his appearance in the part was actually announced.
From this undertaking, how ever' he was dissuaded by his
see nothing friends, who could of the humorous fat
knight in the grave
and
dignified representatives of the
heroes of old Rome. lo ut far other than the conven-
tional stage-Falstaff the model followed more or lets
closely by the generalit }of • actors,
was Kemble's notices
of that extraordinary Shaksperian character, the Falstaff
of Peery the Fourth, not he of The Merry Wives air
Windsor, for between them there are wide differences in
many essential respects. Dr. tiaginn, is his " Skit-
speare Papers," says—" we must observe that he (Fal-
staff) never laughs. Others laugh with him, or at him,
but no laughter from him who occasions or permits it.
He jests with a sad brow. The wit which he profusely
spatters about is from the head, not the heart. Its go-
itre-, is slight, and never malignant or affronting ; but
still it is satirical, and seldom ,joyous. It is anything
but fun. ..,---, .!•thLiear-that this conception of the chit-
reeler could never be rendered popular on the stage; but
I have heard in private the part of Falstaff read with a
perfectly grave, solemn, slow, deer, and sonorous voice,
touched occasionally somewhat with the broken tone of
age, from beginning to end, with admirable effect.
Hens
I can imagine him painted according to my idea.
always caricatured., and so be is in the actingZ Did
Kemble's conception of the character bear any aftity to
this of Dr. Maginn's (which not unlikely it did), his
, performance, though it might not at once have sup.
planted the popular ides of Sir John, would at least hare
taught the public that he was something superior to the
mere fat buffoon to which they had thereto been aecus

•
toured
EFFECTS OF GRIEF.—A few days ego one of the
men belonging to the detaclunent of the aSth Foot, about to
proceed to New South Wales as a convict guard, was =p-
ia& affected by parting with his parents at Chatham. Hie
father and mother had stayed with him during the night,
and he bade them farewell before going on parade, where he
seemed rather low-spirited. As the detachment, however.
was marrhing_along the military .road, the poorfellow re.
cognised hie.mother, who was weeping at a little clistamo
=lithe sight 30 engted him that it appeared to lel% 44 ti:Z
gt:tr.gth, =I he was at last p:acid 04=1'111:4 43 b,e‘iev
vaibie to watt= in tte mu*