THE

HE NEW ROYAL Ex1. CHANGE.-The merchants took possession of their new edifice on this, the first day of the new year, and the muster on Change was very considerable. In consequence of the intended occupation all the avenues were completely opened. The only arrangement which had any novelty about it was, that the advertisements and announcements of the sailing of ships, which used to be affixed generally to the walls of the old Exchange, are now pasted upon neat boards, which are hung up in recesses of the merchants' area. The merchants seemed generally to be perfectly satisfied with their new quarters, and quite ready to join in the general congratulations to Mr. Tite, the architect, on the very successful termination of his labours.

2. MURDER AT SALT HILL.A murder of a very shocking character, from the cool deliberation and the mercenary motives from which it was planned, and from the position and creed of the perpetrator, was committed at Salt Hill. It appears that a woman named Sarah Hart, with her two children, a boy and a girl, occuVOL. LXXXVII.

pied a cottage in a row of houses near Botham's Hotel. Her means of living were understood to be an allowance from a member of the Society of Friends, with whose son she had made a private marriage, but who after the death of her husband allowed her funds for the maintenance of herself and the issue of her marriage. In the evening of Wednesday, between six and seven o'clock, a Mrs. Ashlee heard a noise resembling stifled screams proceeding from the house of Mrs. Hart, and going towards the house saw a man in the dress of a Quaker come along the path; he seemed greatly confused, and trembled much. On being addressed he made no reply. On entering the room Mrs. Ashlee found Mrs. Hart lying on her back on the floor, her clothes nearly up to her knees, the stocking on her left leg nearly down and torn, and signs of much struggling; she was still making the same noise, and died in about ten minutes. There were on the table a bottle and a tumbler both containing beer, and a jug of water. The neighbours were speedily alarmed, and as the deceased had previously mentioned B

that she expected the father of her husband, a Quaker gentleman, to bring her her allowance, and as the person seen by Mrs. Ashlee tallied with this description, information was instantly forwarded to the Slough station of the Great Western Railway. The electric telegraph was put in action, and on the arrival of the train the police were in waiting; on the appearance of the suspected party an officer kept his eye upon his motions, until his habits were fully known, and he was arrested the instant the inquiries at Slough authorized such a step. The prisoner proved to be John Tawell, a member of the Society of Friends, resident at Berkhampstead, where he was held in the very highest respect, and reported to be a man of large property. The prisoner, though slightly flurried at first, soon regained his composure, and acted throughout the protracted inquiry with the utmost coolness and presence of mind. In the meanwhile the inquiries at Slough threw no light upon the circumstances of the murder. It was clear that death had been caused by some violent poison, but what or how administered could not be discovered. There were no symptoms by which any other cause of death, such as apoplexy or internal injury, could be conjectured; nor did the bottle or tumblers, or their contents, or any of the utensils about the house, present any traces of poison: but upon the contents of the stomach being submitted to Mr. Cooper and other analytical chemists in London, they were enabled to detect, by a very careful analysis, the presence of prussic acid. After a very protracted inquiry the Coroner's jury returned a verdict of "Wilful Murder"

against John Tawell, and he was committed to Aylesbury Gaol for trial. An abridgment of the trial will be found in our department of Law Cases, and an account of the execution of the murderer and some particulars of his life in a subsequent part of the "Chronicle." The case created the greatest interest and excitement.

COVENT GARDEN THEATRE.— THE ANTIGONE OF SOPHOCLES.The reproduction of a Greek tragedy, after an interval of 2,500 years, and that that revival should be eminently successful, is a very remarkable event in the history of the stage. Accordingly, the performance of the Antigone of Sophocles, with Mendelsohn's music, at the theatre of Berlin, caused the greatest sensation, not only in the musical and dramatic, but also in the classical world. The fact that it had succeeded so well, both at Berlin and at the Odeon in Paris, argued little for its success here. Berlin being a university town, there was a peculiarly learned public to support such a work, and in Paris, although the drama of Louis XIV. is less classical than the French would have us believe, it has nevertheless accustomed the people to a style of tragedy without visible action. The English, on the other hand, are notorious for their love of "business" on the stage. The general belief was that the tragedy would be a failure upon the English stage, unless indeed it was saved by Mendelsohn's music. Contrary to all expectation the music proved detrimental, whilst the tragedy itself was most triumphantly successful. Far from the chorus saving the tragedy, the tragedy has saved itself, in spite of the chorus.

Although the house was not converted into an imitation of an ancient theatre, the stage was fitted up in a style sufficiently classical. The scena presented a proscenium, the entrances from the palace being from curtains hung in the centre with doors leading to the interior, and country abroad. The pulpitum or part of the stage in which the principal characters stand was elevated above the rest, which formed an orchestra, with a thymele for the chorus. The character of Antigone was sustained by Miss Vandenhoff with great power and much knowledge of the peculiar requirements of classical tragedy. "Declaiming,' says a dramatic criticism of the day, "with dignity in the early part of the play, where she sets Creon at defiance, completely preserving the stern simplicity of the character, she portrayed the concluding despair of Antigone, when she utters wild lyric effusions in her grief, with a mournfulness, and at the same time with a sculptural elegance of gesture, that produced an effect perfectly electrical, and totally unlike anything that we have seen. Waving her arms in despondency to the chorus, flinging the hair from her forehead, dropping her hands in the last dead calm of grief, and finally leaving the stage with eyes now cast to the ground, now raised to Heaven, as if in hopeless supplication,-she formed a series of really beautiful pictures-or, shall we say, statues? The dignity of Creon was well supported by Vandenhoff in the early part of the play, but his grief at the end, though passionately given, struck us as too conventional. It was more of the modern received tragic style, and did not seem dictated by that

classic spirit that animated the lady. There were some fine points in his performance. We may instance the dropping on the ground, when soul-stricken by the news that Eurydice has killed herself. The other performers, who had little to do but to declaim, declaimed as if they had been carefully trained, and delivered their language sensibly and with good judgment.

"In composing the music to the choruses of Antigone, Mendelsohn does not seem to have had any notion of attempting to imitate the music of the ancient Greeks. Perhaps he believed that every attempt of the kind must fail, and that it was useless to make one. Probably he would have acted more judiciously had he completely abandoned the old style, and thrown himself into the completely modern. His music partakes both of the ecclesiastical and the profane, of the severe and the free, without being decidedly one or the other. It is too modern, and at the same time not modern enough. Conceding, however, the point of view which Mendelsohn seems to have taken, it must be confessed that he has thrown all his distinguished genius into the composition of his choruses."

The performance of the music and chorus was as wretched as that of the dialogue was admirable, and prevented that entire satisfaction which would undoubtedly have been experienced had the two portions been equal in merit. The tragedy, however, succeeded most triumphantly in spite of the music, and though the choruses were hissed with great intensity of purpose, the impression left on the whole of the audience at the fall

of the curtain seemed to be that they had witnessed a great work, new to them from its extreme simplicity, and striking by its deep solemnity.

It was curious to watch the growth of interest in the audience as the play progressed. The audience at the descent of the curtain were most clamorous in their applause, and had the musical departments been more efficient, a more striking dramatic success would probably never have been recorded.

The English version of the choruses was translated from Böck's translation of the Greek into German; and, considering the difficulty of adapting the words to the music, yet preserving the spirit of the original, may be considered a respectable performance. The dialogue was Potter's translation, known to be very admirable.

9. DARING BURGLARY. A daring burglary was committed by five men in the dwelling-house of the Reverend G. Pochin, situate at the end of Glaston Lane, in Rutland, about a quarter of a mile from the village. The reverend gentleman, who is unmarried, and of retired and rather eccentric habits, resided alone, and himself performed all the domestic offices, with the occasional assistance of a charwoman. On the night in question he was awakened by a noise, as if the house was coming about his ears." The window and the frame of his apartment were demolished, the shutters flew open, and in an instant a man wearing a black mask jumped in and secured him in bed. Two tall fellows, also in masks, promptly followed; and with dreadful imprecations they

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swore they would murder him if he made the least alarm or resistance. The bedclothes were then pulled over his face, and the man who first entered held him down in the bed, whilst the other two ransacked the house. A fourth man stood outside the window, and repeatedly called out to know if all was right; and a fifth kept watch at the gate near the turnpike-road. The thieves lighted a candle from Mr. Pochin's rushlight, and proceeded to break open the various drawers. On finding a pocket-book, they expressed themselves dissatisfied with the small amount of cash in it (about 1151.). and demanded of the reverend gentleman where he had deposited a thousand pounds, which they said they knew he had received a few days before. He denied having any such money in the house, and begged to be allowed to get up to show them where the property was. He was answered

by the fellow who held him down,

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Lie still, sir, or I'll cut your throat, you old villain." In the same pocket-book were several notes of hand, which the robbers, on discovering that they were of no value to them, threw on the floor. They next entered the parlour, and there broke open the sideboard, and untied and examined several parcels containing deeds and securities, which they threw about in all directions; here, however, they discovered some gold, and also Mr. Pochin's plate, which they took away. They returned into Mr. Pochin's room, and asked for his gold watch and appendages; and on receiving an answer that he had only a silver watch, they exclaimed, "We won't have that." Having completed their work of plunder,

they helped themselves to some brandy, and then proceeded to tie the reverend gentleman's legs and wrists with two pieces of rope; and on taking their departure they swore that if he stirred hand or foot or gave the least alarm, they would return and murder him, and burn down the house. On Mr. Pochin finding himself alone, he commenced gnawing the cord which secured his wrists with his teeth, and, having succeeded in unfastening it, he set his feet at liberty, instantly got up and dressed, and arming himself with a brace of pistols, proceeded to Glaston to arouse his neighbours and give information of the outrage. LADY PEEL AND MISS FRANCES BROWN.-The following letter was sent by the Prime Minister to Miss Frances Brown, the blind poetess of Ulster, on Christmas Eve:

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"Whitehall, Dec. 24. Madam,-There is a fund applicable, as vacancies may occur, to the grant of annual pensions of very limited amount, which usage has placed at the disposal of the lady of the First Minister. On this fund there is a surplus of 201. per annum.

"Lady Peel has heard of your honourable and successful exertions to mitigate, by literary ac quirements, the effects of the misfortune by which you have been visited; and should the grant of this pension for your life be acceptable to you, Lady Peel will have great satisfaction in such an appropriation of it. I am, &c. "ROBERT PEEL."

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THE PEERAGE.-In the course of the year 1844 the following peers have died: -- one Duke— Grafton, aged 85. Two Marquises

Hastings, aged 36: and Donegal, 75. Six Earls-Bessborough, aged 86; Lonsdale, 86; Athlone, 64; Kintore, 50; Mountmorres, 74 (extinct); and Limerick, 87. Two Viscounts-Sidmouth, aged 87; and Powerscourt, aged 30. And eight Barons-Douglas, aged 71; Wallace (extinct); Abinger, 77; De Blaquiere, 67; Huntingfield, 66; Keane, 63; Western, 77 (extinct); and Save and Sele, 76.

Total 19. During the last year twenty-nine Baronets have also died-namely, Sirs G. H. Crewe, R. A. M. Douglas, F. Burdett, W. Johnston, J. Power, of Kilfane; J. W. Drummond, H. Halford, J. Gibbons, C. J. Goring, C. M. Wentworth (extinct), J. Shelley, J. Lowther, T. Turton, J. Brenton, G. Pigott, J. Srachan, J. Maxwell, N. Menzies, W. Heygate, C. Watson, T. Tancred, P. Maxwell, R. Eden, J. P. Beresford, J. M. Lloyd, T. Kirkpatrick, G. Ouseley, J. Seale, and J. Broun; only one of which baronetcies beand Sir Robert Eden's baronetcy came extinct-that of Wentworth; has been inherited by his cousin, Sir W. Eden, Bart.

11. A MINT CASE.-A miserable-looking Irishman, named Thomas Skane, was brought before Mr. Rushton, at the Liverpool Police Court, on a charge of having been found in the act of manufacturing counterfeit shillings and sixpences in a cellar in North Street.

Evidence having been given of the circumstances of his capture, the prisoner, in his defence, said he was a poor labouring man, and that he had just returned from Manchester. In coming over he met a young man of the name of William M'Donnell, who represented that, by taking a house, and joining in business together,