The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-17 00:00:00

COURT CIRCULAR.

The Qum' and Prince Albert, the ladies and gentle.
men of the Court, and the domestic household, attended
divine service yesterday morning in the Chapel Royal,
Buckingham Palace. The Honourable and Rev. Charles
Leslie Courtenay officiated.
Her Majesty and Prince Albert walked iki the royal
gardens of Buckingham Palace on Saturday.
Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal was taken an
airing on Saturday in the royal gardens.
The Queen and Prince Albert, attended by the Vis-
countess Canning, the Honourable Miss Stanley, the
Honourable Miss Hamilton, the Earl of Hardwick, the
Marquis cf Granby, Colonel the Hon. Charles Grey, and
Major-General Sir Edward Bowater, honoured the
Italian Opera with their presence on Saturday evening.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert, attended by the
Marquis of Granby and Sir Edward Bowater, also
honoured the Marquis of Northampton with his corn.
pany on Saturday evening at his residence in Piccadilly.
The Duke of Cambridge attended divine service yes-
terday afternoon in Grosvenor Chapel, South Audley-
street.

Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, ac-
companied by the Princess Mary and the Hereditary
Grand Duke and Duchess of Mecklenburgh Strelita,
attended divine service, yesterday, in the Foundling
Hospital.
The Duke of Cambridge visited the Duchess of Glou-
cester on Saturday. His Royal Highness honoured Lord
and Lady Stanley with his company at their residence,
in St. James's-square ; and also honoured Viscount and
Viscountess Palmerston with his company, at their re-
sidei.ce in Carlton-terrace.

Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Cambridge,
and the Hereditary Grand Duke and Duchess of Meek-
lenburgh Strelits, honoured the Italian Opera with their
presence, on Saturday evening. Baron Knesebeck and
Mr. Edmond Mildmay were in waiting on their Royal
Highnesses.
The Duke of Cambridge and the Hereditary Grand
Duke of Mecklenburgh Strelitz attended the service
in the Russian Chapel, in Welbeck-street, on Saturday.
Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess Stephanie of
Baden, attended by the Baroness de Strumfeder and
Baron Roth de Schreckenstein, honoured the Italian
Opera with her presence on Saturday evening. Yes-
terday the Grand Duchess dined with their Royal High-
nesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and the
Hereditary Grand Duke and Duchess of Mecklenburgh
Strelitz, at Cambridge House.
- The Marchioness of Douglas is going on very favour-
ably, and the infant is quite well.
Sir Robert Peel had a dinner party on Saturday, at
his residence in Whitehall Gardens. The Right Hun.
Baronet received a select circle at dinner yesterday.
The Duke of Wellington attended the early service
yesterday in the Chapel Royal, St. James's. The Rev.
Dr. Wesley officiated and preached the Sermon. The
Earls of Devon and Sheffield, Lady Wharncliffe, Lords
Clive, Cantalupe, and Ingestre attended the daily service.
The Prayers were read by the Rev. J. C. Haden; the
Lessons by the Rev. J. Povah; and the Communion
service by the Bishop of London, assisted by the Rev.
Dr. Sleath. The Sermon was preached by the Bishop of
London.

A deputation respecting the improvements in West-
minster, consisting of Captain the Hon. H. J. Rous,
M.P., Mr. Hawes, M.P., Mr. Hindley, M.P., Dr. Bow-
ring, M.P., Mr. J. C. Wood, Mr. W. Freeman, Mr.
Miller, Mr. Stafford, Mr. Yates, Mr. Bent, Mr. Wilson,
Mr. Taylor, Mr. Parkes, Mr. Bridges, and Mr. Abra-
ham, had an interview with Sir Robert Peel, on Satur-
day, at his official residence in Downing-street. •
A deputation, consisting of Mr. Vivian, M.P., Mr.
Hawes, M.P., Mr. John Ball, Mr. Hussey Vivian, Mr.
B. Yedding, jun., and Mr. W. Ball, had an interview
with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Saturday, at
his official residence in D,wning-street.

A meeting of the Commissioners for the Government
of Pentonville Prison was held at the Council-office on
Saturday. The Commissioners present were the Duke
of Richmond, the Earl of Devon, Lord John Russell, the
Speaker of the House of Commons, Dr. Fergussan,
Major Jebb, Mr. Crawford, and Mr. Russell.
A deputation of gentlemen of_ the Jewish persuasion,
consisting of Sir Isaac L. Goldsmid, Mr. J. G. Hen-
riques, Mr. David Mocatta, and Mr. Francis Henry
Goldsmid, had an interview with Sir Robert Peel on
Saturday.
Mr. Dean, Chairman of the Customs, and Captain
Boldero, had interviews on Saturday with the Chancel-
lor of the Exchequer.
Dispatches from the Governor of Ceylon, and also
from the Governor of Malta, were received on Saturday
at the Colonial- office. Dispatches were sent off on
Saturday evening from the Colonial-office for the Gover-
nor of Jamaica, and also for the Governors of the other
West India Colonies.
The Earl of Falmouth and Sir Charles Lemon had
an interview on Saturday with Sir Robert Peel.

LITERATURE.

A FE TV OBSER NATIONS on, and a few Fact 3

illm,tratire of, the Etils attending the Syaem cf
DETAINING SINGLE LUNATICS in PRI-
VATE DWELLINGS, without Responsible Su-
pervision.
Dr. Barry, of Richmond, the author of this
pamphlet, takes, as his text, the following passage
from the speech delivered by Sir James Graham, in
the House of Commons, on the 23d of July, last :

" Notwithstanding the detention of single lunatics
by their friends in private dwellings is open to abuse,
yet it does not appear that such prevails."—Sir James
Graham's Speech in the house of Commons, July 23,1844.
And he asserts that the system is not only open to
abuse, but that abuses of. the most horrible cha-
racter do actually prevail. Public asylums, and pri-
vate madhouses—that is, houses containing a plurality
of insane patients, are under the surveillance of the
commissioners of lunacy, but single lunatics, or
alleged lunatics, detained in private dwellings, are
under no surveillance whatever, and there is but
too much reason to fear, that not only are the ac-
tually insane under such circumstances wilfully
treated in a manner calculated to aggravate, and not
to cure their malady, but that many sane persons are
subjected to a system of slow torture, sufficient to
drive them mad. According to Dr. Barry's account,
atrocities the most inhuman, and immoralities the
most atrocious, are perpetrated in these private
dwellings for single lunatics. The doctor is evi-
dently an enthusiast, and may possibly have been in
some instances misled into the making of exag-
gerated statements, but the very fact that under the
existing system the perpetration of the atrocities
which he has denounced is possible, ought to lead to
its immediate reform; and if ge can substantiate
one-half of what he alleges, Parliament will incur
a heavy responsibility if it suffers the present session
to end, without passing some legislative enactment
for the remedy of so crying an evil.

7HE FRENCH LANGUAGE ACQUIRED IN
FOUR MONTHS; an Entiicly Original System of
Teaching the Language. By M. MARIO?' DE
BEAVVOISIiV.

M. Mariot de Beauvoisin is scarcely correct in
calling his an entirely original system of teaching
language. It is an improvement upon the system of
Hamilton, as the system of Hamilton is an improve-
ment upon that of Locke; but. to John Locke is due
the credit of having suggested the system of teaching
languages by means of literal translations ; and to
Jahn Clarke, author of " The Introduction to the
Making of Latin," that of Laving practically carried

`'o«r,

//-714//

it out. Clarke laboured for years in the cause ofd
teaching by means of literal translation; and althcnigh
the labourer himself is forgotten, kit labours are now
producing their fruit. John Clarke lived a century
too soon. With regard to the work now before us,
we have already stated that it is an improvement
upon the system of Hamilton. There is an inter.
linear translation, but the translation is printed
separately on a transparent leaf, through the
interstices between the lines of which the
French is seen when the leaf is turned down....
when the leaf is turned over the French alone
appears. This transparent leaf is certainly calculated
to facilitate the progress of the pupil. Then after
each reading lesson come questions for examination,
and also a parsing lesson, and these are so arranged
that at the end of the course the pupil finds that he
has not only acquired an immense number of words,
but that he has also obtained a perfect knowledge of
French grammar. M. Mariot de Beauvoisin's system
of teaching the genders of nouns is the most simple
and, at the same time, the most complete that has
ever been attempted. It is a carrying out of the
Hamiltonian princip!e in a perfectly novel manner,
and consists in invariably prefixing the article to the
noun. This is the only method in which the gender
of French nouns can be learned with an3.thing like
accuracy, for, as M. de B.:auvoisin justly observes—
" There is no rule by which a foreigner can determine
whether a substantive is masculine or feminine."

THE ABBOTSFORD EDITION Or TIM
WAVERLY NOVELS. 'Vol. 7.
The present volume of this =garment edition of
the works of the " .Ariosto of the North," contains
" The Fortunes of Nigel," and " Peveril of the Peak."
Both novels are profusely illustrated in a similar
superb style to the former volumes. The work,
when completed, will be a perfect triumph of British
art. The typography, too, is beautiful.