FROM A LONDON LOUNGER.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1020, 6 February 1869, Page 3

FROM A LONDON LOUNGER.

The hurry and bustle of a general election have knocked off all general news. "We have suddenly turned politicians, and far too busy to gossip. For weeks past the newspapers have teemed with stump speeches of rival candidates and rival anticipations of the success or failure of the Liberal or Conservative cause. But I daresay you will not care to hear much about that. Now that the elections are over, you will no doubt be not overanxious to learn that notwithstanding the Eeform Bill, which was to turn us all into Radicals, and fill the House of Commons with working men, the Conservatives have gained victories in all the large towns, and the working men candidates have in every instance been rejected by a large majority. Still, the Liberal majority has been increased in the House of Commons. The great and anxious fight now is between Mr. Disraeli, the favourite at Court, and Mr. Gladstone, who is known as " The People's William." Today, I hear that Mr. Disraeli is likely to resign the Premiership before Parliament meets. This plan will prevent the ignominy of being turned out by Mr. Gladstone, and enable her Majesty to send for a moderate Liberal, in preference to such an advanced thinker as Gladstone, who is leading the crusade against the Irish Church. Her Majesty is not likely to be particularly partial to a statesman who would deprive her of so much valuable patronage. But only last week, the Queen showed signally what a strong line she takes on this politicalvq^estion^ - Mr, is. too'raqftibin the'tfiouse of Commons to be spdred jiist now. To'send him to the Upper JHquse would be to lose a valuable servant. ? *But Mrs. Disraeli has been created*"' Viscountess Beaconsfield. She is now a peeress in her' own right. The peerage of Beaconsfield was to have been given to the great orator and statesman Burke. The Liberal papers have taken great umbrage at this mark of the royal favour, and hold that it is an unconstitutional act for a Sovereign to be placed in the dubious position of showing preference to one particular side in a great party question. However, the thing is done, and no grumblings from the opposite camp can revoke the title of Viscountess of Beaconsfield. The good old Archbishop of Canterbury is dead. Dr. Langley won all hearts from his affability of manner, sincere religious feeling, and extreme tact. He offended no one, and did an immensity of good. He was a scholar, a divine, and a eentleman, and is sincerely and universally regretted. The Bishop of London, Dr. Tait, has been made Archbishop, and the promotion has not found favour with oldfashioned churchmen, who look upon Dr. Tait as following the footsteps of Bishop Colenso. Dr. Jackson, from Lincoln, has come to London, and Canon Wordsworth, of Westminster, is now Bishop of Lincoln. Schoolmasters who have been made bishops seem to find favour with the powers that be. Dr. Tait was formerly head master of Rugby ; Dr. Wordsworth was head master of Harrow ; Dr. Jackson was head master of a large proprietary school in Islington. I have another death of some importance to record. The Marquis of Hastings is no more. You must have heard much of the wild career of this unfortunate young man, who in a few years has ruined a princely fortune. The turf has never before seen such a reckless gambler. He died at the age of twenty- six, and had therefore in five short years beggared a marquisate which dates as far back as the Conquest. I daresay you may have heard the story of his running away with Lady Florence Paget, who was engaged at the time to a rich county gentleman (Mr. Chaplin), and the subsequent rivalry of these two young men on the turf. They gave fabulous prices for horses, merely to run against each other, and introduced a terrible system of undisciplined betting which ruined thousands besides the Marquis of Hastings. The English turf is not what it was, and the younger members of the aristocracy have not done much to improve it. Only the other day two sons of the Late Duke of Newcastle (Lords Arthur and Albert Clinton) figured in the Bankruptcy Court, with debts attached to their names amounting to over £50,000. The Prince and Princess of Wales have gone away on a long winter trip. They first visited Paris and the Emperor of the French, and then proceeded to Denmark to pay their respects to the relations of the Princess; afterwards, they proceed to j Egypt to see the Nile and the Pyramids. Happy people! to be able to get away from a detestable English winter. Of course, French papers insist that there is a motive for all this, the most laughable one being that their departure is due to their disgust at Mr. Gladstone's Irish Church policy. The same paper gravely assures us that, for the same reason, Her Majesty intends to abdicate. The Prince of Wales met with a slight accident whilestag-hunting with the French Imperial party in the woods of Compiegne. Afierce stag charged his horse and knocked over horse and rider ; but he was soon up on his second mount, no more damage being done than a bruised knee. The Frenchmen must have chuckled at the discomfiture of our English Nimrod, who wore " pink," and was always to the fore : rather too much so, in fact, in this instance, as the accident proves. The Duke of Edinburgh has started away again on a lengthy cruise in the I have another fearful colliery accident i to record.. An explosion has taken place j at Hirdley Green, near Wigan, which has resulted in the death of sixty-one young men. It has perpetually been pointed out that these explosions may be foretold by a sudden fall of the barometer ; but we hear of no barometrical reading having been taken at Hirdley Green. Before the explosion took place, repeated warnings were given in the daily newspapers. The first of a series of new theatres in course of erection in London, was opened last week. It is called " The Globe," in memory of Shakesperian days, and is erected on the site of Lyon's inn, New-castle-street, Strand. It is a charming little house, a little larger than the Olympic, but smaller than the Lyceum. A most successful comedy called " Cyril's Success," written by Mr. H. J. Byron, the famous writer of burlesque, was produced, and altogether the inauguration of the Globe was a very happy affair. The manager is Mr. Sefton Parry, who was manager of a theatre at the Cape of Good Hope for many years, and ha 3 already distinguished himself by building no less than three theatres— one at Greenwich, one in Holborn, and now a third in the Strand. So you see we have benefited by the enterprise of an old colonist. A new morning paper has been started in London, called the Morning Summary, in which all news is epitomized for the benefit of railway and omnibus travellers. It is a pretty paper, about the size, of the Pall Mall Gazette, the price a penny, and the. politics outrageously tory. At present the venture is but moderately successful. Messrs. Cassell, Petter, and Galpin, the well-known publishers on Ludgate Hill, are about to bring out a new evening paper for. a half-penny. It is to be called the Echo, and several thousand pounds

have already been expended on advertising the new paper. Those learned in such matters, are doubtful of its success. § In a few days, I daresay it will make its appearance. A disastrous fire at the establishment of Messrs. Grieve and Selbin,the wellknown scene-painters, has deprived London, and provincial theatres of half their pantomime scenery. However, all hands are at work to repair the mishap,* so as not to disappoint the little ones at Christmas time. A new comedy, called " Tom Cats, by Mr. Edmund Yates, is announced at the Prince of Wales Theatre, where Mr. T. W. Robertson has been the reigning author. Mr. Mark Lemon, the editor olPmch, has hitherto been very successful with his Shakesperian readings in costume. Mr. Lemon is the very picture of Sir John Falstaff. He will now take a tour in the provinces. Talking of readings reminds me to tell you that the Eev. J. C. M. Bellew, whose fame may have reached New Zealand, has become a convert to the Church of Eome. He continues his readings, and I believe will eventually go on to the stage. He will visit America shortly. Mr. Charles Dickens has this year discontinued . his Christmas number, professedly because the notion has got stale, and he has frequent imitators, but really because he has come back from America with his pockets full of money, and wishes to take his ease and get free of thinking out a successor to "No Thoroughfare." Mr. Dickens has given up the editorship .of .All tlie Yecvr Bound, retiring in favour of his son. Nearly till the annuals and Christmas numbers are out. I decidedly give the palm to " Tpm Hood's Christmas Annual," written chiefly by the staff of Fun. Eoutledge's aniual, called "First Class," is terribly vulgar, as I think you will own when you see the cover. Messrs. Strahan have brought out a very successful serial, called Good Words for the Yov/ng. It is an admirable notion, and excellently carried out. By-the-by, there is a rumour that Alfred Tennyson intends to change his publisher. Messrs. Strahan are to obtain the laureate, vice Messrs. Moxon, deposed. A new magazine, called " Under the Crown," is to be started by members of the Civil Service. The notion is to get up a Limited Liability Company, and devote the proceeds, after paying expenses of working and contributions, to a fund for the benefit of distressed families of civil servants. I fear that at present we are over-stocked with magazines. I forgot to tell you just now that Mr. Byron the author has turned actor, and is playing very successfully in Manchester. A splendid new meat market has been built on the site of old Smithfield market, and the wretched place at Newgate has been abandoned. They talk of establishing markets all over London. The corporation societies have done some good after all. Clarence Capulet. Ist Dec, 1868.