Star.
London, England, 1822-10-22 00:00:00

THEATRICAL MISHAP.

STOCLNILT, Ocr. 20.—Our Theatre opened on Tuesday evening,
under the direction of Mr. I low en, Manager of the Theatre Royal,
Lancaster, &c. dr.c. on which occasion the magnet of attraction,
was our old favourite, Miss S. Docrrtr. On the rising of the
curtain Mr. Smemrstos came forward to announce a calamitous
event which had happened to the Manager and the whole of his
Performers, in the general wreck of their property, whilst cros-
sing the sands from Ulverston to Lancaster, during a gale, in
which they were suddenly overtaken by the tide. All their
chests containing their wardrobe, with a portion of the scenery,
were set adrift, a valuable horse drowned, and themselves and
children narrowly escaptd with their lives. The appeal was
very favourably received, and under every circumstance, the
pieces went off much better than could have been expected. We
are happy to hear that the greater part of the trunks, &c. have
been recovered, and have arrived here, although very seriously
injured. It may not be generally known, that between Ulver-
ston and Lancaster there is an extent of nearly 15 miles at low
water, which abounds with channels and moving sands, on
which guides are regularly paid by Government, and stationed
at the time of crossing, for the protection of the passengers. The
violence of the gale had driven the guide from his post, and the
party having gone toe far to recede, were obliged, at the peril
of their lives, to cross the last channel without any proper di-
rection.

Dramrtmi Stein Its.--The earliest recorded in-
stance of a Debating Society existing hi- this metro-
polis or its environs, appears to have been in the year
1619, when Sir Balthazar Gerbicr, who styled him.
self a painter and an architect, but whose real charac-
ter appears to have been that ota fanciful projector,
instituted at his own residence, on Bethnal-green, an
academy, in imitation of the Museum: blinerve,
Here 1 delivered weekly public lectures, U at which
any. person might' 'peals or read on any subject,, so
that it was on ssuqnestionable principles; consonant
with gOdlinoss, and-with all' dme reipect tethe Staie."
This early instance of a Debating Society appears to
have- met with the opposition of the esistineSowern-
Mem, and the whole inedtution **at speedily, nun*
quished by the paniettly;

:gL_
H. Walter, Dean of the College, who had the su
perintendance of the Establishment, laid some fresh
imposition or restriction upon some of the boys for
refractory conduct, or neglect of collegiate disci-
pline ; at least this is the ostensible origin assigned
by some to the late disturbance. This was so little
relished by the youth, that they beset Mr. Walter ;
his person was threatened, his windows were broken;
and the students in large bodies combined for ere.'
c ming a more extended project of destruction, the
precise nature of which has not yet been accuratelg.
ascertained.
• The first_direct act of insubordination manifested'
on the late occasion was in consequence bf the shui-
this of one of the College gates .at what' the bow
deemecriotrearly an hour in the evening ; varies ii!
attempts were made to pick this lock', which was as
one of the back gates, but which, from its strength
and construction, effectually resisted their efforts:—
the students, though battled in the first attempt, and
though additional bar's opposed fresh obstacles, were
yet not defeated, and they adopted a new'contriv-
anc to accomplish their purpose ; .they procured
some gunpowder, which they made up in the man,
ner best calculated for success, and which &hey inge-
niously inserted through an aperture in some of the
chambers of the lock, and then appli.-d to it a match
formed of combustible paper of slow communication,
so as to admit of some lapse of time between its being
set and the explosion. When the powder became
ignited the lock was shattered by the shock ;—this
took place late in the evening, and necessarily occa-
sioned some alarm.
The insubordination of the students was not, how-
ever, confined to this act of violence, for they con-
trived to insert a blacking bottle, filled with powder,
into one of the pipes which act as a drain in the Col-
lege•square ; this was also exploded, by means of a
match or train, near midnight ; the noise necessa-
rily caused much elarm, but no mischief was ac-
complished. Besides those secret machinations,
there were open acts of aggression ; bodies of the
-students distribtred themselves in given positions,
from which they sallied forth, broke the College
lamps, and then shattered several panes of glass in
the houses of the Learned Professor Le Bas and the
Very Rev. the Dean, Mr. Waiter.
Only one of the rioters was caught in the act, and
he has been merely sent from the College for two
Terms. The Professors, upon inquiry, were unable
to bring the charges home to others, though, from
the extent of the plan of annoyance, suspicion fell
upon numbers; they, however, adopted a course
more comprellbnsive, though not so effective as de-
cimation, yet equally capricious. There are between
seventy and eighty students at the College, and of
these, about twenty, upon whom suspicion fell, have
been sent home. There the matter rests at present ;
and perhaps the difficulty of making a selection,.
where such numbers appear to have been engaged,
will secure impunity to the. parties. Expulsion is
here attended with disqualification horn ever serving
the East India Company in any capacity.

Professor CHRISTIAN, Chief Justice of Ely, who
generally selects some silly occasior on which to.ap-
?ear before the Public, and who has the singular talent
of treating with gravity circumstances which no per-
son but himself would notice, has published a very
ridiculous letter, relative to a mob at Hertford. It
appears that the Professor recently dined with the
Corporation of that City—that the High Sheriff, who
presided, was heartily cheered, which affected him
deeply—that Mr. Dromm sang a very excellent
song (as everybody knows Mr. DIGNOM can do), the
chorus of which was " England expects every man to
do his duty." That this set the Professor a musing
(which he often is, very unconsciously) on " Lord
/41:Lsox's excellent and well-timed sentiment ;"—that
on his going out he found himself in the middle of a
mob, and " had very nearly been crushed by a horse,"
which reared itself higher than the Professor had ever
before seen a horse do, on purpose, no -doubt, to
frighten him. The Professor inquired, not why the
horse reared so unusually high, but why there was a
mob ? and was told that it was to insult Lord CRAN-
BOURNR, who, he tells us, " had procured a quantity
of red herrings for the poor—a proof of his good on-
del-standing and disposition. Men cannot live by
bread alone. Red herrings and potatoes are a uni-
versally favourite dish, both with the rich and the
poor." The mob, the first i'rofessor CHRISTIAN ever
saw, called out " Red Herrings," and—" that's all,"
as Mr. MATHEWS'S old Scotch Lady would say—that
is, it is the whole of the facts ; but not so of the Pro-
fessor's letter, for he enters into a long admonition to
the Mayor and Corporation of Hertford, to whom it
is addressed. He says—" Many of the ringleaders
must be immediately apprehended: rewards ought
tb be offered for the discovery of those who were. not
known from the darkness of the night, though it was
a bright moon-light night. This is a fit case for the
County, Magistrates to act in. This case proves the
wisdom of oar ancient Constitution : our ancestors
foresaw that there might be cases in which it would
be fit that the Magistrates of the.tonnty should pm.
feu "inferior jUrisdictions."—He then proceeds to tell
the Mayor, what as a Magistrate we proi,trair, be
knows, namely, that•the.offenders may be Committed.
either to the. House of Correction or to the.connty
Jail, abd.that,if convicted, they inaj bicondemned
to hard labour t and he. calls on the Mayor and Al.
dermen to apprehend and.commit• all they can, for
this ". atrocious outrage" of calling out " Redhet-
rings r,Vory, CAriahwlike stslvicAl indeeo. I 4!ild
quite worthy of` the.tkodiseriminating advocate of the
'Game Laws—the - worthy:4lft* the Bridge-
•l al coviissociatiosu• • ^ • •
_ .

,-

ANECDOTE OF tat LATE -MAJESTY.
. In MI. Mr. 11.-1, *young man of good family,
who was clerk in a Sianking-house at Leeds,-4eirs
tried at the York Assizes on a charge of forgeiyi aild
convicted; he was condemned'to die, andleft by die
Judge for execution. The family and friends of
were deeply affected by this traiksof mournful cio-
cumstances, among whom Mr. Fawcett, afterivards
Dr. Fawcett, a Baptist Minister, whry resided -near
Halifax, in Yorkshire, who had published " An Essay
on Anger," in the Year 1787.; and, by some means,
this book had been recommended to the notice of our
late pious and excellent Sovereign, George the Third. •
His Majesty was mt.h pleasednwith,it, and directed_
that Mr. Fawcett might be informed of the satisfac-
tion he had derived from perusing his Essay, and of
his desire to bestow some token of his Royal favour
upon him, when he should be informed .how this
could be done roost acceptably to Mr. Fawcett...This:
good than, after expressing humbly his sense of the
King's most gracious intentions towards himi,'de:,
rimed asking any favour.
The famiii of H--- were not only well known
to. Mr. Fawcett, but II himself had formerly
been an inmate, and probably a pupil in his house;
When Mr. Fawcett heard of the condemnation of the
criminal; he formed the noble and benevolent pur-
' pose of using the permission given to him by his
Sovereign, to ask the life of H— as the greatest
kindness which his Majesty could confer upon him.
Accordingly Mr. Fawcett prepared a supplicatory
address to the King, intreating, with much earnest-
ness and the most pathetic representations, that the
Royal mercy might be extended to the condemned
prisoner. He was well aware that this mercy had
been refused to the most urgent and powerful appli-
cations in the behalf of Dr. Dodd and other% and
that the King had expressed a determination of
leaving the perpetrdtors of forgery to suffer the full
rigour of the law. Under mitch anxiety, and scarcely
cheered by a single ray of hope, the petition was sent
to London and presented to his Majesty,when, to the
unspeakable.surpiise and joy of Mr. Fawcett, a letrer
soon arrived, addressed to him by a person in autho-
rity, conveying this welcome intelligence—" You may
rest assured that his life is safe r
ll was transported to New South Wales, where
his subsequent conduct has justified the good opinion
formed of him by the pious and judicious friends
who visited him during his imprisonment. .
Since his arrival there, the Governor and Chaplain
of the Colony have expressed their approbation of his
- behaviour; and H— gained so far the confidence of
the Governor, that he was employed by him in set.,
vices of trust and importance; and,*when many years •
had elapsed alter his transportation, the Rev. Samuel
Marsden continued to bear a favourable testimony to
his general deportment.

The IPIIIGENIA sailed from the fiavannali on the
5J of September, landed specie at Sandy Hook, and
sailed thence on the 21st. Sbe has. brought gold dust
and ivory fr( m the coast of Africa, and •ochineal
from Jamaica, to the value of .10Q,000 dollars. She
would have gone into Portsmouth harbour on Satur-
day had she wind moderated, for the purpose of being
refitted for the Commodore to return to his interest-
ing and important command at the propvr.qason.—
The lett IGF.NIA lost, during her present cruize, Messrs.
MILLER, licamgv, and GOOD, Midshipmen t but, as
a remedy to the deleterious influence ot,that climate,
we arc not without hopes that a more salubrious sta-
tion will be fixed upon for the ships—at Fernando-P4
a most pleasant island, at a healthy distance from the
main land, and more contiguous to the scene of em-
bat kation cf the slaves.

During the stay of Sir ROBERT MENDS at the
Havannah, be frequently gave protection to the
Uritish trade there, and ordered the TYNE, 24., Cap-
tain Wateorr, to see the Jamaica ships safe through.
the Gulf of Florida, and, as the best means of decoy-
ing the piratical vessels"ivhich infest the neighbouring
seas, the Commodore sent parties of men on board the
different merchant ships to protect them, and with a
view of capturing these lawless robbers. Oa one occa-
sion a Colombian privateer, a very tine schooner, with
twelve guns and 70 men, was taken possession of by
Lieutenant Swims. first of the lenfoenta, who had
twenty men under him, by boarding. She was then
in the act of boarding an English schooner ; but as
the privateer's papers were regular (she-was under
the Independent Colombian flag), and she had not
molested our trade further, Lieutenant Sroeas .did
not think himself authorised to detain her longer than
until, there was no English vessel in sight. The. pri-
vateer was manned by Americans and English, who
said they were bound on a cruize off Cadiz— pro-
bably to blockade it. The pirates of the island -ofCnba
are chiefly Havannest, ssho push out of their har-
bours and creeks on the approach of every unpto.
tested merchantman, afid commit the most boundless
depredations, often attended with, acts of extreme
cruelty. The Royalist party (or the King of Spaini
Authorities) have neither equal means nor sufficient
*clergies to suppress the precut-a-Of these daring
1 marauder s*. Two Spanish corvettes, two brigs of
war, and a schooner of ten gulls and seventy men,
;miler the command of Admiral 'FRU:AN, werelying
[at the Havaunah; but such had bei-m the dastardly
'conduct of the Commander of the schooner, that be
had just ran away from a mall pirate vessel{
no carriage guns, and only twenty men in het
very mouth of Ilay.annali harbour, and almost
ihesens of the fort. So difficult had the navigal
become, that it was almost impossible Tor the Jama.
*merchants to trade with Cuba ; and; in cote.equertee.
the Spanish merchants were greatly distressed'
pirate vessels surrounded the island, and cpt.
MO with the neighbouring islands, and the
pendent privateers, and other vessels of din di
nation, intercept the 'communiCatii.ns
The importation of speCie front use. St
Mitin lia4l of We been. veff limited from this CAM,.

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