The Sun.
London, England, 1828-03-03 00:00:00

LITERARY MAGNET.

By
tphautff a size, shape, and complexion, we
lea
eve
periodical has reverted to its original
proprietor, Mr. W. Charlton Wright, whose perse-
verance may perhaps contribute to a desirable in-
crease of circulation. If, however, the present
number be put forward as a specimen of its futone
excellence, the thing will decidedly fail ; for snond-
hand sentiment upon such silly subjects, as thin
thisof
young poets dying of " broken hearts," "

hopes,", &e. is not merely trite, but downright un-
periineWt'. Besides, it has a took of greenness
(thoUkh not of freshness) aboUt it, that even the
most shallow redder cannot fail, to observe. The
portrait, however, of, we belieie, the Duchess of
St. Alban's in. her youthful days (a period long since
lost in the remoteness of antiquity), is, in itself well
worth the price of the•.whole number, and on this
must it exclusively depend for support. We have
, space foe-extracts. '

FALL' OF THE BRUNSWICK TII,EATB.E.

puRTHE.firFARTIft44IS,. SATURDAY, MARCH 1.
.
The gas-fitter. states!that he was in the pit, and dis-.
covered no person in the•orchestra. •. It is not a fact
that the • reheirsarhatt- been commenced when the.
roof fell, but was to have begun, immediately sub-
sequent 'to tbeac.cident. A- labouring man named
Ryan (whoseconduct Was rtiost. heroic and ought to
be mentioned) saved three females from death; he
was by-the pit door when-the crash took place, and
a female was inside,- o Whorti he ran and brought her
out; . two other feinales 'Clung to'lan't, whd'had come
from 'other parts Of 'the house, ' and he succeeded in
.
rescuing them from-death. , •
~• . .
According to the plan lattl,down for clearing away
the ruins
,Of the theatre, the, workmen ceased from
labour at a little after 1?-o'clock on 'Saturday night.
Mr. Mallard, 'the magistrate, whose-exertions have
been unremitting, expressed his regret that a news-
paper of very great circulation Thad imputed to the
MagiStrates of. the district a•'degree of ‘‘ apathy"
upon: this melancholy occasion. It had been, he
added; mentioned, thathuf little had been as yet
. done amongst the ruins. •The incorrectness of
this accusation might be proved by the fact that every
brick in the rubbish -across the street, had been
turned, to say nothing abdut the enormous quantity
of rubbish removed from the body of the theatre.
Mr:: Hardwick, the magistrate, also expressed some.
surprise at. the charge of apathy which he heard
from one of the city magistrates had been publicly
made. He declared that more could not have been
accomplished .within -the 'time which had elapsed,
than the labourerS had effected. T'ere were,: he
observed, very great difficulties to ene tinter in pro-
smiting the' labours, 'mt.-account of the iron roof,
which' /ay over an immense'' qnarti. of rubbish.--
He .expressed his belief that' tere were no more
bodies in "the ruins;—ft Thelfef4erhaps, foimded ra-
ther .1(Pon- the circumstance that no late inquiries
have been made after any persOns,who maybe mis-
sing, than tip.On the view lie,has heen able to obtain'
.0f the condition of the ruins.. -We have learned
that many or the performers were strangers to' each
other,..and that most of them, had come from the
country, where they- had .been playing under en-
gagements which they gave up bq the expectation
of metropolitan succesß.. This fact may account Tor
the ,omplete cessation of inquiry, and as the.greatest
destruction was committed near the spot on 'which
a large quantity of -OP iron had reSod hitherto im-
!movable,- some Other thelanebbly discovery may bestill•
made. At 11 o'clock on Saturday morning a wennanof
respectable apitearanCi, hiparent/y labouring under the
heaviest afflictions requested that Mr. Edwards, the
high4;onstalilef: -would conduct to the ruins,
from which she said ale had. Most miraenlOusly
escaped, and where her sister, lay a corp Se. Upon
going on the ruins,sypointed out a place close to
the orchestra, alt,pre,..she_ said, with tears in her
her sister- must have breathed her' last, and
she seemed, to the high constable, '.to be On the
point of fainting. The workinen dug for some time,
but withmit succeLlitig,in their object, while the
Lady, who, as-soon as she recovered,,expressed a wish
to whether, her own, and her. sister's_ boxes *elle
safe, 'was condncted to a public-house in which the
property of
,the performers, which. had been-taken
out of thegreenroom, was deposited for safety.' It
was soon discovered that this woman was a most
daring impostor. The moment .she entered the.
public-house, she said that two boxes, which were.
amongst several, were• what she had a claim to on
her own and her ;:.•ter's.accotint, and she requested.
.to be allowed to take thettraway. Several of the
performers, known to be 'engaged, .were imine-
diately sent for, but-thertleclared one and all that
they had never seen -her before. 'Mr. Edwards at
once took her - before .the magistrates at-Lambeth-
street, where, 'after having madergoieian examina-
tion, she -Was remanded. ' •
SoMe friends of Mr. Whitwell, the architect, were
on 6aturday upon. the ruins, and they
.declitred that
they had known that gentleman frequently to assure
the proprietors of the danger of suspending from the
roof a weight, which it was never intended that
.it should bear; and that, besides the heavy scenery
among the flies, there were a carpenter's shop, ex-
tending frojn the back of.the stage 'to - the gallery,
with all its weighty apparatus; a -painting room filled
with scenery, and a reservoir of water on the roof,
in Which were 80 'hogsheads 'of water. It is extra-
ordinary that the architect, who apprehended danger.
from the suspension 'of a great weight to the roof,
did not, when his remonstrances had no effect
,with
'the proprietors, apprise the public and the per-
formers of their danger !

The circumstances attending the escape of several
of the performers were Singular enough. Mr.
Gilbert, who was killed, was but the moment
before in conversation 'with Mr. Dillon,' who so
narrowly' eFnaped• weie talking about the
cast of the characters in Guy _Mothering. Mr. Dil-
lon had just entered with his wife,Whose escape was
atsia Miraculous. He had been asked to play the
character of Gilbert Olossin, but he expressed his
fear of failing, in the drunken scene upon which the
unfortunate deceased,rallied him. Mr. Dillon gives
the following detail-Of' his escape and what came
under his observation :—" Scarcely had poor Gil,.
bert left me when I heard a crash, and somebody
cry out •" Thin, or you're a dead man." I turned
about and called but Eliza, to my wife; but she was
running down stairs, after four or five workmen. I.
ran' I knew-not which way, the confusion was so
tremendous, and the knowledge that the roof was
coming -down had filled me and every body else with
such frighten. apprehensions.'l Saw Ferris before me,
and in leaping from one Of the windows I saw him break
hieleo. I leaped too,htit theivall inist have fallen with
me, for befora knew where I Was, I found myself up to
the waist in bricks and Mortar : to stir, was impossible.
I implored a erowdof people tohelp ine,for.God's sake:
No,' said they, in dreadful 4 We can't come
near you, or we'll lose our own lives: make the best
use of your time, for you'll be dead in a minute:l
certainly expected that the wall, which was most
.awfnily.impendingovould tniuble-downsupou me at
ercjy moment, and I did make the best use of my
time, by 'Praying Most fervently. On fooling round
me, 1 beLeld the efforts of others to escape, but I did
licit* ray wife, and Iconcluded that she was no
more At this Moment, I, heard the voice Of some
Irish, labourers, who Swore..that' I should:not be left
to perish, and they came over, to the imminent dan-
ger-Of their own lives, and dog round me. After
so zr, e.
e hard pullin,-they succeeded: in extricating me
from my dreadful- sheation, I sustained no injury
lint the loss of my boots,
from My circum-
ctances was a very serious one linked, and I was ob-
liged to,-wear my stage shoes, for which, I fear, I shall
now have no further occasion,"
• Mrs. riuoil,- a 3 her hi band stated, followed the'l
labotirers and s fleaner of the theatre down stairs
.Which was quite dark. 44 Every
into 'a water-closet,
one of us," Said :qrs.. Dillon, Coexpected instant
,
death: ' We heard the groang of the dying around
and as the eraShine'
did nbt inamediately subside,
we thought' that hp tvoil(!• soon extend itself to us.
Providence, however, served ILL:. One of the work-.1
perCeiving,On the narrow staircase which we.,
had just passed a small window, took up, a plank
which lay in. the, passage, and .placing it near the
window, climbed up, and pulled me after him. Aft
o'cin recovered from the state • of insenability
into which I was thrown by the - dreadful occur-
rence, the first object I beheld was-'my husba'.nd,
who W 33 raving about under the Certainty that I was
killed :. and as I had the -same fears with respect to
him it is easier to conceive than to express our

feelings upon finding that we were both spared to
our children."
Several of the performers met
.at one of the pub-
lic-houses in the neighbourhood, for the purpose of
deliberating upon the best- 'mode of proceeding in
their destitute condition. They, however, came to
no resolution, some d the .Magistrates having sent
word ter them that those who wished immediately
for money should have it. We understand, that the
principal performers requested that whatever money
the Magistrates-had it in their power to = advance,
should be divided amongst those employed about
the theatre in the most humble capacity.
Tire workirien continued their labours yesterday,
and pulled down a greater part Of the wall. No-
thing particular occurred during theday.
THE DISTRESSED ACTORS AND TI MM FAMILIES.

. . ,
On Sattirday evening, Mr. Caries; a man of re-
spectable appearance, who had been connected for
above 25 yeara with the late itoyaltrrfheatre, and
bad been engaged at the Brunswick • Theatre, came
before Mr.. Hardwick and the other Magistrates on
the.bench, and stated. to them that, he had been corn.;:
pletely ruined. by the late accident, and he bad a large
family reduced to a state of starvation.

Tile Magistrates ;presented him with 15s. as a
temporary relief.
Another actor, named Edwards, received 10s.' and
about 20 of the work-people connected with the
theatre received ss. each.

Mr. Price, or Drury-lane, has evinced a warm
sympathy for the survivors, and is
,busy in the pro •
motion of a plan for their relief.
M. Laporte, the Manager of the King's Theatre,
has most generously offered the use of the house for a
benefit in their behalf on any disengaged night.
The.Duke.of •Glocester visited the scene of de-
vnttlitiols on Saturday.

The Duchess of At. Alban's has subscribed .100
guineas for the relief of the poor performers ,note
suffering by the late accident at the Brunswick
Theatre, and the Duke has given 50 guineas as his
subscription for the same laudable purpose. •
The meeting of the actors connected with the
Theatre took place at the Black Horse, in Well-
Street, about one o'clock on Saturday,. but 'no
business was gone into, nor 'any observations pub-
licly made as to the accident. It was understood that
another meeting would take place on MOnday, for
the purpose of endeaVoUring to obtain some place
where their performances might be continued. There
was Some converSation'as to the propriety of obtain-
ing the Pavillon, in the Whiteehapel-road, for that
purpose...
A report: has been circulated hi the vicinity of the
late calamitous event, that accidents were refused
adMisSion at the:London Hospital.
Jane Wall, aged IG, who was standing at the
door of her sister's house; in Well-street, and was
very severely injured by the wall of the theatre fall-
ing, and. conveyed to the London. Hospital, died
tlere on Saturday morning. Moses Miles, aged
00, a carpenter, died at the same place yesterday
mornini, from internal injuries. Blamire, the pro-
perty man, who lies in ,Mellish's ward with a frac-
tured spine, is alive. It is expected that Mr. -Un-
win, coroner. for that district, will hold an inquest
on the above this day ; also On a man from St. Ca-
tharine's dock, who died from injuries of the head.