The Sun.
London, England, 1826-10-13 00:00:00

FRIDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 13, 1826.

Professor Hansteen, of Christiana, celebrated for
his researches on Magnetism, has lately published the
results of further investigations of considerable interest.
He had formerly pointed out, that (distinct from the
variation in the direction of the needle) there exists a
considerable variation at different times and places in
the intensity of the earth's magnetic influence. His
recent observations tend to spew that the intensity is
more constant during the summer than during the
winter. Also, that at present the intensity is upon
the whole decreasing :—and that the decrease is greater
in the northerly and easterly parts of Europe, than
in the southern and western. He ascribes these phe•
nomena to a variation in the position of the magnetic
pole in Siberia, towards the east.

Dr. Brewster pointed out some time since the curi-
ous fact, that small distant luminous bodies, if viewed
obliquely, that is, with the eye directed straight to-
wards some neighbouring object, will alternately appear
and disappear ; and that sometimes, objeots which are
so faint as to be invisible by direct vision, become per-
ceptible when the eye is directed obliquely. This was
fully experienced by Messrs. Herschel and South, in
their observations on double stars : a very minute
star often becoming visible only by directing the eye to
a different part of the field ; the same effect has also
been verified by others.
Our object in alluding to this point at present is,
to mention, that upon this principle, an ingenious
writer in the lately published Number of the Edinburgh
Journal of Science, has attempted, and we think sa-
tisfactorily, to account for the fact sa well known to
every one who has at any time amused himself with
star-gazing, that the stars appear more numerous when
cursorily looked at, than when the eye is attentively
fixed on any particular point of the heavens. This
has been in all popular books ascribed to the confu-
sion produced on the eye by the glare of light, or some
such cause of deception. But, according to this ex-
planation, the number of stars seen, is actually re-
duced when the eye is attentively fixed on any one
point. " The stars seen," says this writer, "in a
hasty view of the heavens, are chiefly observed by
oblique vision, and the number visible to the naked
eye is actually increased." He directs the attention of
his readers to the beautiful group of the Pleiades ; in
looking at which, first obliquely, and then directly, an
irresistible conviction of the truth of what he advances
will be afforded.---(See Edinburgh Journal of Science,
No. x. p. 233.)

DREADFUL AVALANCHE.

(From the American Papers.)
trous avalanche at the White Mountains, .
The following is a more particular account of the disas-
in New Hamp-
shire than we have before seen. It is copied from the
Intelligeneer, published at Haverhill, New Hampshire :
NoTen OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS.—WE have been
informed, by a company of gentlemen from New York, on
their return to this town, from an excursion to the White
Mountains, last Monday (28th ult.), there was one of the
moat tremendous scenes presented that has ever occurred
in this country, connected with circumstances of calamity
beyond the power of description. One of our informants
says this scene beggars all description. In addition to all
the bridges in the vicinity of the mountains, being swept
away by the sudden rise of the streams, and which also
ruined most of the fine meadow hinds of Mr. Ethan Craw-
ford, who lives four miles west of the Notch, by burying
these meadows deep in sand and rocks, and trees ; there
was a tremendous slide of earth and rocks, &c. or, as it is
called in Switzerland, where these occurrences are not un-
frequent, avalanche, which has so filled, or rather buried
the Notch road, that it is doubted if it min ever be made
passable again. But what renders this occurrence the
more awful is, that Mr. Willey, his wife, five children, two
men and a girl residing with him, nine in number, are pro-
bably all buried beneath this mass. Mr. Willey's barn
was destroyed, but his house was not injured, although
within a few rods of the bars. The house, furniture, &c.
&c. all appeared in the same order as if the inmates of it
had suddenly left it, leaving in the house many articles of
clothing which they ordinarily wore. Mr. Willey kept a
comfortable little tavern, called the "Notch House," about
six miles from the younger Mr. Crawford, about half way
between that and the elder Mr. Crawford's. There was
a slide or avalanche of earth and rocks on the mountain
immediately south of Mr. Willey, about two months since,
which passed on to, and destroyed a piece of the road,
within fifteen or twenty rods of Mr. Willey's. This hap-
pened in the day time, and greatly alarmed Mr. Willey
and his family ; so much so, that he began to make pre-
parations for flight with his family ; but the terror of the
scene was of few minutes' duration, and all was still before
he was ready to depart. lie and his family remained till
that dark and awful night of the 28th of August, to meet
a fate that chills the blood of the living to contemplate.
The avalanche, two months since, covered about an acre
of ground, with rocks of many tons weight, with earth and
trees in a confused mass.
The late avalanche, of 28th August, is said to have co-
vered all the land Mr. Willey owned, fit for improvement,
which consisted of thirty or forty acres of meadow, its the
Saco river, that passed near his house.
These are a few of the facts we have had from gentle-
men lately returned from the mountains.

ANOTHER ACCOUNT.--The whole Willey family, with
two hired men, making nine in number, perished by an
avalanche, which slid from the west aide of the Gap of the
White Mountains, on the night of the 28th ult.
The next day, several hundreds of people assembled, and
the bodies of Mr. and Mr. Willey and Mr. Allen were
found, about 50 rods from the house, in the meadow, amid
drift wood, naked, bruised, and disfigured. The body of
Mr. Willey was found about 30 feet from those of Mrs.
Willey and Mr. Allen. One of the hands of Allen was
clenched round a. small tree.

The Willey family had probably, after the rain had
ceased, retired to rest ; but awakened by the crash of the
ban) they rushed out of doors, and while flying for the
Camp (which Mr. Willey, after the elide of the 18th June
last, had built as a place of refuge), in the extreme dirk-
ness, they ran directly into one of the avalanches, and were
swept into the flood below, to instant destruction.

Theatres were introduced into ancient Rome from
Greece, and it appears, made " their first appearance"
about 400 years after the. building of the city. It is
said that they owe their introduction to the religious
devotion of the Romans, who in a time of public sick-
ness deemed it the best way of appeasing the'anger of
their Gods to invent some new games for their honour.
The plays performed by the Romans were called Pia-
nipedes, or pantomimes, because the players entered
pianis pedidus, barefooted ; Attellana, or Satires, from
a city called Attella, in Campania, where they were
often acted ; and Satires by the Greeks, for a reason in
the first instance not here explainable, and because in
these plays the vices of the age were censured ; that
kind of composition was called a Satire, Satira mordax
fait et salsum genus oarminis ; Prwtextatte, (and by the
Greeks Tragedin) because the actors for the most part
wore the Roman Robe so denominated. The word
Tragedy is a compound of 7ragos, a goat, and ode, ode,
because a goat was presented to the actors as a remu-
neration ; Tabernarite (and by the Greeks Conifedim)
because they were performed in barns and out-
houses. The word Coma-life is derived from

Kornai, villages, and ode, ode, because they
were acted by strolling players in villages.. The
word scene is from the Greek word Skia, a shadow,
because plays were first acted by shepherds in the
shady places, made by bending down, the boughs of
trees, and thus forming an arbour.

The Roman Theatres consisted of the Proscenium,
which appears to have been the dressing-rooms of the
performers, although sometimes the stage itself, is un-
derstood by that term, but Pulpit= is the most pro-
per Latin expression for the stage. The Pu/piturn,
and the &ewe. These scenes were of two kinds,
Versatilem and Ductilem. The first were scenes that
presented two sides, and were made to turn upon a
pivot, fixed into the floor of the stage, so that a change
of scene was effected by simply turning them round.
The second were scenes that slid backward and for-
ward, and produced a change in that way. Now,
because the shepherds who were the first who invented
dialogues, never gave more than one dialogue at a time,
it seems not improbable, that the division of the acts
of a play into scenes, took its origin from this cir-
cumstance. Moreover, these scenes were adapted to
the nature of the representation about to be given.
Thus, if a tragedy was to be performed, the . scenes
represented a stately palace, or a noble street, the
portico of a temple, or such like. On these occasions,
the appearance of columns appears to have been in-
dispensable. At the acting of a Comedy, on the con-
trary, the scene was laid in the country, and of
course, therefore, the scenes themselves were paint-
ed to iepresent cottages and private dwellings,
gardens, and other ruralities ; hut when the at-
tellanz were performed, the stage gave the appear-
ance of woods, foi mains, and rivulets, moun-
tains, cataracts, or shady groves. Each species of
scenery was designated by a particular title, descriptive
of its use. The first was called Tragicum, the second
Comicum, and the third Sallfricunt. The theatre
itself ai contradistinguished from the stage, was in the
first instance, and for long after, formed without seats,
as is even now practised in sonic parts of the French
Theatres ; and the senators, gentlemen, and com-
monalty, were mixed in one mass together. It is,
however, to be observed, that attending stage plays
was on their first introduction, deemed vulgar and
gentlemanly, but as that feeling wore off, seats were
placed for the accommodation of the audience, and
divided off into three parts, according to the grade of
society, to which they were assigned. In order to pre-
vent the seats set apart for the Roman gentleman,
being occupied by the common people, the Roscian
law awarded a punishment (but of what kind does
not appear), against intruders, and moreover, declared
him to be a Roman gentleman, who was worth a
sum equal to about 3,1251. English.
The seats the most remote front the stage were called
popularia, and the nearest the orchestra, the middle
space was named equestria. The common people of
Rome occupied the first, the Senators the second,
and the third was devoted to the Roman knights and
gentlemen. The orchestra, where the Senators sat,
was also allotted as the station of the chorus of
ancient plays, and whose duties were in fact some-,
What like those of our musical bands that occupy
that portion of our modern theatres which retain
this name, viz. to amuse the audience between the'
acts. In order to chew that there was nothing parti-
cularly anomalous in the uses to which the orchestra.
was so applied, it is only necessary to say, that the pits
of the French Theatres are divided into two parts,
viz, the parquet and parterre, the latter having no
seats, and the former having these accommodations
for the musicians, and such persons as are willing to
pay the same price as is demanded for admission
to the boxes ; and if space allowed, the deriva-
tion of the word parterre might here be given.
The whole building was in shape like a wedge, with
the sharper point taken off, and hence was cuneus, a
termhave
twwlifiocrlei
csi‘essisignsaotiendetxim, epsopglitsiaerniato that portion we .
All the Roman Tragedies and Comedies were formed
on certain strict rules, and it would seem, from, the si-
milarity observable in modern Comedies and Tragedies
with those of ancient Rome, that these rules have
lad three parts, called
The
trades
wa com-
positions.ysbeer),
R,
flayspomeriniiiittedto gad
draniatical
priniarier, OCCeSSOriW, and circions tallies, or
parts }principal,, accessary, and circumstanees, die two
latter being used more for beautifying and adorning than
for any absolute necessity. The parts principal are four
viz. Protasis; Epitasis, Catastasa, and Catastrophe, anc
although it was by no means necessary that they should
appear in any given act of the play, yet they must
:)nandsuaecocercs
accessary
andy
arse alsouccessfioou7
butone three of them
part or other.
1' he e
peculiar to Comedy, viz, Prologus,
A
rgunten-
a
turn, Mimus, and Chorus, the rut only being
applicable to Tragedy. It is hardly possible
to enter into an explanation of all these, The chorus
and mimus, however, deserve a few words. The minus
was the clown or fool of the play, and whoseduty was
to provoke laughter much in the same way as our
modern clowns now do, excepting, indeed, that they,
did not scruple to quiz the manners of the court and
imitate the peculiarities of the higher classes. Of