Star.
London, England, 1824-05-20 00:00:00

BRITISH INS I I7'UTION.

Tuesday the Friends of the British Institution were
admitted to a private view of its Collection of Pictures,
before the opening of the Gallery for public inspection.
The collection is, this year, particularly splendid, and
contains some of the finest specimens of the Flemish
and Italian Schools. It is unusually rich in Spanish
pictures, and contains several exquisite Iklummt.o's :
among these, the Infant Saviour sleeping on the Cross,
the property of Bail HowE; and The Assumption of the
Virgin, belonging to Loid EARDLEY, are conspicuims.
In the North ft.oni is a 'magnificent Picture by TINTO.
11E170, of Esther before Ahasuerus, belonging to his
MAJESTY. In this loom there is also a Landscape with
Banditti, by SALVATOR ROSA, and several ails by
REMBRANDT. The North Rooms contain Portraits by
VANDYKE, among others, of the Duke and Duchess of
HAMILTON, the Duchess of RICHMOND, and the Coun-
tess CLANBRASSIL. The company was very select and
fashionable ; among them we noticed several of the
Noble Proprietors of the beautiful specimens of art
which adorn the Gallery.

KING'S THEATRE.—Maduine PASTA appeared on
Tuesday as the Tancredi of Henna% Opera so named ; and though
slightly suffering from cold, acquitted herself in a manner fully to
sustain her high reputation. Her forte is an insinuating softness
and delicacy of expression, which produce an effect not easily to be
conceived by those who have not heard this tielightful performer.
Her taste is remarkably pure, and enables her to throw an addi-
tional grace over the original composition, by the e'egant yet chaste
decorations she introduces. The general impression on the audience
was highly favourable, and produced a warm applause seldom wit-
nessed within the walls of this Theatre. Her acting was judicious and
graceful. Mad. Ronal in Min.'s supported the character of Arte-
mide, and imparted to the music all that passionate feeling and
powerful expression, in which she takes the lead of almost all the
singers of the present day Such was the general attraction of the
Opera of Tuncredi, on account of the appearance of Mad. ROSSI
u► 13senis and Madame PASTA in the two principal characters, that
the pit was filled, and nearly every box occupied, before the riz.ing
of the curtain.

THE LADIES MISSIONARY Socivrv.--Yesterday an
interesting Meeting of Ladies and Gentlemen took place
at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, in support of the
above Society. At an early hour the room was fitted
up in a neat style, with tables all round, which were
covered with millinery, pictures, and ornaments of every
description, and the whole formed the appearance of a
Bazaar, while the company proceeded round the apart-
ment and made purchases, for which they paid munifi-
cently in aid of the Institution, to which the whole of
the produce was contributed.
ComEns.—ln consequence of information received,
Mr. H. Aikins, the prison-keeper of Birmingham, ac-
companied by the constables, headborough, &c. of the
town, seized, last week, in the house of George Pitch-
ford, in Wayborough-lane, in the parish of Solihull,
Warwickshire, an iron press ready far working, having
dies for striking half-crowns; also a box containing be-
tween five and six hundred counterfeit half-crowns, ap-
parently just struck off. In other parts of the house
they discovered several pair of dies for sovereigns and
shillings. The man, his wife, and the whole of the
apparatus were conveyed to the prison in Birmingham,
for examination.

ROBBERY OF THE CHESTER MAIL.—A parcel con-
taining an immense quantity of stamps was stolen from
the Chester Mail on the 17th of last month. The par-
cel had been sent from the Stamp-office to Henry lies-
keth, Esq. Chester, who is the stamp distributor for
that district. It was not till some days after the delivery
of the parcel ought to have taken place that its loss was
discovered, when information of the circumstance was
transmitted to the Commissioners of Stamps. Bishop,
of Bow street, is employed in tracing the affair, but the
result of his inquiries remains as yet a secret.
13ERGLARY.—A burglary was committed early on
Monday morning, in the house of two maiden sisters,
named CLAPTON, at Dunmow. The house, it appears,
stands apart Irons other houses, surrounded by a pool
of water. The man servant, on the morning of Mon-
day, was alarmed by a noise at his window, and before
he could ascertain the cause, he was surrounded by three
men, threatening to dispatch him if he made the least
noise ; two of them in like manner secured the maid
servant ; and the sisters hearing her shrieks came down
stairs, and were obliged to discover to the villains
where their plate and money were deposited, with
which loading themselves they went away, having
threatened to murder them if they made the least noise.
Three men answering the description of the above,
were traced as far as Bossy, where all further clue was
lost. One of them had a great number of gold and
new silver coins about him, a great quantity of which
the Miss CLAPTONS were possessed of.
An articlein the Frankfork Papers states, that a gold
mine has been discovered in the Isle of Samos. Should
this prove true, it may be of great service to the Greeks.
From the long continuance of cold and wet weather,
the fall of lambs in the neighbourhood of Canterbury
is calculated as being 10,000 Less, from the same num-
ber of ewes, than it was last season,.
Saturday, while several valuable horses were shipping
on board the King George, at Dover, for Calais, one
of them became frightened, ran back, and fell over the
quay on the vessel's deck) about twenty feet, and died
immediately.
Mr. Serjeant GooLD, at opening the Sessions under
the Insurrection Act at Kilkenny, said " there hate been
no fewer than two and twenty murders committed
within the last two years in the baronies in the county
of Kilkenny, and not a single human being has been
brought to punishment for any one of these acts."