POSTSCRIPT.
SATURDAY NIGHT.
The news of the morning must be briefly despatched.
To the report of the meeting at the Manchester Athenseum, on Thurs- day, indeed, we wish that we had more space to devote ; for it is not only the most remarkable meeting of the week, but the most remark- able of its kind that has yet occurred. Luckily, its very importance gives it a more than transient interest; so that the details and the re- flections which they suggest may be postponed. The Manchester Athe- 111113111II was established in 1836, to furnish intellectual recreation for the youth of the middle classes. It sustained a precarious existence, but incurred a heavy debt : last year, a great struggle was made to free it from embarrassment; and a soirée, in October, at which Mr. Charles Dickens presided, was the crowning effort. On Thursday last, another soirée was held, to consolidate the prosperity of the institution ; which has now 1,700 subscribers, a handsome building, a numerous library, esta- blished lectures, and a gymnasium. The festival was really "brilliant" in all senses : about 3,200 ladies and gentlemen composed the assemblage, and a full military band was in attendance for the dancing, with which the evening finished. But the bevy of invited guests, and the speak- ing, were the most brilliant things. Mr. Disraeli presided, his lady also being of the party ; there were some of the most remarkable men in Parliament—Lord John Manners, Mr. Cobden, Mr. George Smythe, Mr. Milner Gibson, Lord Ranelagh, Mr. Joseph Brotherton ; the Mayors of Manchester and Salford, and several lay and reverend gentlemen of the place ; Mr. Rowland Hill, (specially complimented during the night for his Penny Postage,) Mr. Atherton, President of the Athenmum ; and many other men respected in the manufacturing metropolis. Mr. Disraeles speech was long and eloquent—the best he ever spoke—a real advance for his fame : he dwelt on the high mission of the youth who undertook to cultivate the intellectual world ; not sparing excellent strictures on past party-sectarianism, which had cramped the Athenieum ; and fraternizing with "his honourable frined " Mr. Cobden, on the strength of their having both wandered in "the fields that cool Ilyssus laves"; whence he invoked memories of early Grecian intellect, and of the immortal spirit of beauty, now wedded in Manchester to utility. Mr. Cobden responded, with thanks to Mr. Disraeli for elevating the estimation of the manufacturer in his novel, and with complimentary allusion to the supposed prototype of Coningsby (Mr. Smythe ?) In such spirit were all the speeches ; Mr. Milner Gibson and "Young England" playing an active part. The meeting appears to have been in an ecstacy of delight at the hearty good fellowship that beamed around. Some cheering for Mrs. Disraeli gave her an opportunity, through her husband, of inviting the company to clear the floor for dancing ; and she was obeyed with alacrity.
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