The Sun.
London, England, 1842-07-25 00:00:00

TIE QUEEN'S-THEATRE.

We are happy to say that this very agreeable little
theatre improves daily in the character of its representa-
tions, and after a long absence we must express our sur-
prise and gratification at the performances .which we wit-
nessed there on Saturday. In addition to the usual com-
pany, with Mr. J. Parry at its head. Mrs. Honey, and
Mr. Collins, are engaged for a short time. '1 he lady is
too well known to need any comment front us, save that
she is dashing, gay, lively, and as hand.olue are, tr. Mr.
Collins is an importation from th, Ems ral Isle, and is
most admirable in Irish characters, in whi,-11 poor Power_
was so inimitable. We were very much pleased • 'Aid'
his impersonation of the character of Sir PIA rick OTle-
nipo in • the Irish Ambassador. In addition to the
Irish ambassador. the performances consisted of to o
pieces, called Kate Careless and Juan in Luce, in both of
which Mrs. Hone y appeared. We eann,it d time or
space to icier at length to the rest of the. company we
wish, however, to offer our mead of praise to Mr. J.
Parry. Mr. Moss, Mr. Matiders, Mis Rogers, and Miss
Wrighten, who were all exceedingly good ita tiieir respec-
tive parts. The house is a comlitrtable one, and a. great
deal of new and excellent set eery and Ovorations i-qtre
been added.

POOILL AWS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

!--ta,—llaving seen an obs rvatiou in v- ur pap..a. (at-
tribno.d to Mr. Ward, M.P.) to the following effect, that
the N•,-v Poor-la w ontletl to raise wit:v's, because "if he
farmer olf. red th-. labourer only 7s. a tveek, whlch was
iniuthci-nt to hi maintenatice, h 4, the labourer, ottld
ovt in.tee by threatening to throw himself on the pith.'
I bi-g leave v• inform Mr. 1-Vard that this is not pi:vs:-
tically the ea: e. in the first OAT, the labourer
that, if he does n•it accept of the low wages .ff.red (in
the present suporabundant supply of labour) there are
others wt-o will. But further, the far,t,er hit.ing offered
him work, though at the itni price of 7s. a the Guar-
dians and Overseers will oonsidt•r.hito as unwitting to
work, though able to ,ttstaiit it. and will refuse him rail
and if a farmer, or a host or farmers, a wh le rounty of
them, offer 1,000 labourers 7s. a week (though not -
lug wore than 800) the labouriTs intisr: accept it. It is
the interest of the farmer to give the 1,000 7s. a week,
rather than give the 800 he actually wants Ss. Gd , th ugh
each labourer should do only three quartei.s of a day's
work ; and the surplus 200 labour. rs Lave. not the
.option of going to the parish, that (Jo- 800 may ()lo ath%
the Bs. 6d. wages. because the parish will 71(d Tic ire them :
so than the New Poor law does not, in.etrect, enable the
labourer to obtain a fair, or in any way a better rate of
wages, tha he otherwise could.—Your constant reader,
Eulham, July 23, 1842. A. A.

DR. RFID ON THE ADAPTATION
oF BUILDINtiS TO SOUND.

The • intimate connexion between respiration in
the form of speech, ventilation, and the com-
munication of sound, as they relate to the archi-
tectural modifications of buildings, occupied Dr.
Reid's attention, on Wedneiday evening, at Exeter
Hall. He proceeded to show that, owing to the con-
struction of some rooms in which an aggregate of
one thousand persons might be present, the speaker's
respiration, instead of being overcome, was aided,
while in others, of large dimensions, he was compelled
to draw in so copious a volume of air, that his breath
was often gone by the utterance of a few syllables.
This was entirely dependent upon architecttal strut=
ture and organization, which was in some cases so de-
fective. and opposed to the laws of sound,'that public
men were sometimes entirely exhausted by speaking
in some of these buildings, and were only recovered
by wine. Nothing so reduced the strength of an in-
tellectual orator as the compulsory modulation of the
breath, from these circumstances. In a still atmos-
phere, remarked the lecturer, the voice could be heard
at a distance of two and three miles, sometimes even
ten. The latter fact had been proved in towns where
the watchmen have bees heard to call the hour. The
shrill call of the fisherman has travelled to the ear
over waters. distance of five miles, namely at Edin-
burgh, from the neighbouring island of Inchkeith,
which is situated at that distance from the city, and
the roll-call from thence has been heard at a distance
of twenty miles. On the authority of Admintl Stod-
hart, cannon were stated by Dr. Reid to convey their
sound one, two, and three hundred miles

" Music on the water," had long been remarked
upon by the poet and sentimentalist for the beautiful
sense with which it came upon the mind of the hearer,
but this pleasurable feeling arose, not from associa-
tion, but from a physical reason, which was this, that
the pure flow or vibration of sound was not broken
by any sinister expression or reverberation, as in the
case of an echo, which mars the sound. Purity and
beauty of sound was not to be found in the grand
crash of the orchestra, but in those specific kinds of
intonation, where the air was correct and the sound
precise. Purity of sound differed from mass of sound.
Dr. Reid next divided rooms, as the recipients of tone,
into the silent and sonorous. The former were those
which probably had trellis-work or other openings, by
which the sounds escaped or were diffused. In the
sonorous rooms, a sound developed very frequently
lasted for five seconds : this first sound would be
clearly defined, but the second would lack clearness,
being accompanied with the echo of the first, and the
third and succeeding, multiplying on themselves these
reverberative tones, finally caused the speaker's voice
to grow more and more unintelligible. These facts,
thus 'noticed, lead to the economy of constructing
rooms, as also the economy of ventilation. Various
diagrams of buildings, constructed on Dr. Reid's
principles, so as to allow of the amplest ventilation,
and at the same time to be preservative from their
configuration of the finest sounds, were finally exid-
j)ited
,imd qtisfactorily dilated on by the skilful
lecturer. . ~.• •