The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-13 00:00:00

DISTRESS IN SPITALFIELDS.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE RELIEF.—Since SAturday
last the Committee (in whose hands the hinds received
by the Lord Mayor, for the relief of the distressed
Spitalfields weavers, were placed) have been most ac-
tively engaged in the distribution of bread, potatos, and
coals. Up to Tuesday night more than 2,000 families
had been relieved ; the regulations of the Committee
being, that in each case half a hundred weight of coals,
twenty-eight pounds of potatoes, and a loaf, to every
one should be given. Some few private individuals have
come forward upon this occasion who have shown the
most active philanthrophy. Mr. De la Rue, paper
manufacturer, Bunhill-row, has afforded relief to 200
families, in coals, bread, and potatoes ; and many have
received donations of matresses, blankets, sheets, &c.,
&c. On Tuesday night a very numerous meeting of
the weavers was held at the Crown and Anchor,
Waterloo-town, at which an account of the different
localities which' have not been relieved was taken down
by the Secretary, Mr. Claisse, who stated that he would
communicate with Mr. Miller, Secretary to the Relief
Fund of the Spitalfields Weavers' Committee,
.upon the
subject.

I r. Fox said that these complaints should be made
known. He was convinced that Mr. Hanbury would
suffer .no unkindly feeling towards them, and he could
speak of the Clergy as having acted with true Chris.
tian charity. He had accompanied the Rev. Bryan
Kiog to the houses of several weavers, and he assured
them that the conduct of that gentleman was most libe-
ral. The same, however, could be said of all the
Clergy, and, as far as he was informed, the relief had
given satisfaction.—(Applause.) He believed that the
relief was from 4s. 6d. to .ss. each family. (Some ob-
served that the funds subscribed were insufficient for
the relief required.) He had spoken to Mr. Miller on
that subject, and he stated that as soon as the Lord
Mayor had sent the names of the subscribers to the
funds in his hands, an advertisement would bo issued in
the public journals of the names, when an appeal would
be made for more money.
The meeting broke up at a late hour.

FREDERICK THE GREAT'S
YOUTHFUL FROLICS.

Frederick, during his residence at Ruppin, appears
to have been solicitous to ingratiate himself with his
father, whose cars, it is to be presumed, many of his
youthful frolics there never reached. The memory of
some of these has been preserved by tradition ; and,
though I cannot guarantee the authenticity of the anec-
dotes which it relates of him, I subjoin two or three of
them. The uniform of the officers of his regiment had
been laced with gold ; Frederick obtained his father's
permission to substitute silver in its stead. On the day
fixed for assuming the new uniform, the officers were
ordered to assemble in a meadow near Ruppin, where
they used frequently to meet to amuse themselves.
Here they found a large bonfine kindled. The Prince
invited them to sit down round the fire, and had re-
freshments handed to them. This done," Gentlemen,"
said he, " as we are all here together, I think it would
be well to pay the last honours to our old uniform."
With these words, he took off coat, waistcoat, and hat,
and flung them on the fire ; the others followed his ex-
ample, whether willingly or unwillingly. With a pen-
knife he then ripped his breeches from the lining, and
threw them into the flames. The embarrassment of
many of the officers, whose linings were not in the best
condition, and who could not help following the -Prince's
example, was great ; but the hilarity communicated by
him conquered shame. The new uniform was brought;
they put it on, and he returned in it at their head, in
the most jovial humour, to the town. It is likely, too,
that the King never beard of his misunderstandings
with the chaplain to the garrison, and of the tricks
played him and other clergymen, which Frederick used
to relate with much glee, even is the later years of his
life. This poor fellow had been excluded by the Prince
from his table, and annoyed in various ways. Tbis con-
duct he had the boldness to censure in one of his ser-
mons. " Herod (the Prince) made Herodias (the
corps of officers) dance before him, and ordered the
head of John (the chaplain) to be presented to them."
The Prince and the young officers, in return, broke his
windows at night, drove him out of his bed-chamber,
and finally out of his house, with squibs, and pursued
him into the Court. Busching says that, " when the
King, in his old age, related this adventure, as lie fre-
quently did at table in a humorous manner, he was
pleased when the guests, and even the pages and ser-
vants in attendance on him, laughed heartily at it."
In the town there lived the widow of a gla-
zier, who had a handsome daughter. Frederick pre-
tended to be in love with her, and in an evening he
would make believe to climb in at her window. With
maternal solicitude for her daughter's character, the
widow would, with blows, drive away the Prince and
his laughter-loving associates, who was highly amused
with the scene. immediately after the seven yearie war,
the old woman repaired to Berlin to have the satisfac-
tion of seeing once more floc renowned hero whom she
bad known a wild and frolicsome youth. As' soon as
Frederick saw her name in the report, he recollected
his old acquaintance, and ordered her to be brought to
him ; but, without waiting for this order, she had already
proceeded to the palace. Here the servants inquired if
she had any petition to present. " Nu," she replied, " I
only want to see my most gracious King." On bciag
usl.eresi into his presence, Well, mother," said Frede-
rick, " are you as cross as you, used to be ?"—" Ah,
your Majesty, you did teaze me sadly, to be sure."—
"So ! there is something for the present ; you shall
have more by and by." His visitor absolutely refused
to take what he offered. " Now I have seen my King,"
said she exultingly, "after he has suffered so much and
done such great things !" and hastened back to her.inn.
Here she was sumptuously entertained by command of
his Majesty, who, as she would not accept anything for
herself, settled upon her son a pension for life of ten
dollars per month.—Campbell's Frederick the Great
and his Times.

We find the following in the Constitutionnel,
on the demonstration of Friday last, by some students
and workmen in favour of M. de Lamennais —" Our
rumors publiques are not those of England. With or
without reason, alarm is felt in France at every noisy
demonstration, and even the temporary anxiety of
peaceable citizens is taken advantage of by those in the
Government who hate liberty, and avail themselves of
everything for its destruction. A conviction of this
fact makes us regret deeply what passed on Friday on the
occasion of the release of M. de Lamennais from prison.
We arc far from being admirers of the doctrines of this
writer, and we have reason to think that the young men
who got up an ovation in honour of him on Friday, will
be of our way of thinking when they shall have had the
experience of age and of the realities of life. But if
the pupils of the schools wished to give to this Radical
writer a public proof of their sympathy, they would,
we think, have done better if they had abstained.frons
those outward demonstrations which created alarm in
the public, and led to a great display of the police force.
The persons who went to compliment M. de Lamennais
certainly do not wish to promote the views of the Mi-
nistry which retained him in prison, and yet they have
unconsciously done so by giving to it as auxiliaries all
those interests which take alarm at everythipg ap-
proaching to street tumult.