The Press. — London, England, 1854-06-24 00:00:00

I o w • ..- 594 young these people died (pointing to some epitaphs on young persons); we do not do that now-a•days, we live to a good old age." He then went down with him in a carriage to Pitt-place, where they dined with others. Lord L. went up to bed early. His serra►►t chine down stairs to fetch a spoon to 'nix some physic with. On his return he found his master dying, and coming down stairs again waked up Lord F. from a nap into which he had fallen, and sump mimed him up. He found Lord L. dead. Lord Fortescue never himself heard any thing of the ghost story until some days after Lord Lyttelton's death. Whatever the motive might be, the Lyttelton family, represented by Lord Westeote, took care to give currency to the ghost story, and to represent that Lord Lyttelton's death was in exact fulfilment of the prediction. No inquest was held on the body, nor does it appear that any examination of it took place. We have seen four MS. letters of Lord Lyttelton (undoubtedly genuine) which were until lately in the hands of Mr. Thorpe, the book seller. One of these, describing the eloquence of Chatham, is sufficiently interesting and characteristic to deserve publication : My worthy old Friend,—l return you my most sincere thanks for that cordial effusion of sentiment which afforded me the greatest pleasure. The applanse of an honest anti . independent country gentleman I prefer to volumes of flattery proceeding from smooth-tongued courtiers or hollow hearted statesmen. I have but one object, but one ambi tion. It is to use all my endeavours to serve the politick. To do this I can truly say I am biassed by no sordid in terest, neither hallood on by the yelpers of opposition, nor drawn off by the terrors of ministerial resentment. But am too well apprized, Quid Jerre recusant, Quid raleant Humeri, to look upon myself as the Marceline of the age. I have neither the gravity nor the importance of character necessary to govern in these wild and unruly times, and am seers that with the Earl of Chatham dyed the genius of England. The majesty of his mind overawed every thing. The world was silent before him. He alone inti midated the-house of Bourbon, and so great was the terror of his name that the very year he dyed, on a report prevail. ing in France that he was to be again Minister of England, the French immediately marched twenty battalions down to the coast, transported heavy cannon post to Brest, and seized all the nes.sants from the plough to assist in repairing the fortifications of the towns they imagined Lord Chatham Wou'd begin his administration by invading. When they found the rumor was false they desisted from their works, marched their troops back to their garrisons, and thought Brest strong enough to repel the fleet of England, the' too weak to resist the genius of William Pitt. This wonderful man was not less dreaded at. home. I remember when, after an absence of two years, he came down to the House of Commons without any man's knowing his inten tions, and knocked up by a single speech a whole adminis tration. His invectives were terrible denunciations of ven geance, and acoompauyed as they were with an eye that shot pernicious fire into tho heart of his opponents. They had a preternatural effect upon men. Hume Campbell, brother to Lord Mainlimont, a cold, steady, interested Sootchman (who disregarded words as much as any man), was so scared by him in the House of Commons that he was suddenly seized whilst Mr. Pitt was speaking with a violent shivering fit, went home in a high fever, and dyed in a week aftenrat ds. I will stop here, for lam in sensibly going on to something like memoirs of Lord Chatham. He sleeps now, bet the poet's lyre is awake. It is in your hand, my good friend. Sound then the strings, celebrate his praise, and contrast the magnitude of his mind to the poor pimillanintity of modern statesmen, to the corruption of modern Parliaments, and to the base Italian code of modern policy. Adieu, my dear friend; remember me kindly to Madame la Baronne, and believe me your sincere friend, LYTTELTON. Hill-street, ye 20th May, /770. From what we can collect, we think it un likely that any further evidence of import will ever be adduced on this Lyttelton theory. The Francis family, notwithstanding their anxiety to establish the claims of Sir Philip, are silent, though his papers have been long open to them. The identity of Junius is still matter of conjecture, and it seems now tolerably certain that the mystery will remain as long as the letters themselves. He wrote to Wilkes, " I speak from a recess " which no human curiosity can penetrate, " and," he continued, plainly referring to Burke's essay, " darkness we are toll' "is one source of the sublime." These words cannot now be read without a feeling approaching to awe ; and, vast as his genius unquestionably was, the inflexibility of his character, as firm and fixed as fate, and the lofty contempt with which ho looked down upon the vain or ambitious motives which influence ordinary men, invest the groat ' with a kind of fascination hardly care to have broken oth% secret. ' " ' influence °Mina: " nominis umbra' which one would by the discovers THEr ;PRESS. The Rights of British a, 'Neutral Commerce, as affected by recent Royal Declarations and Orders in Council. By John Hosack, of the Inner Temple, Ilarrister-at-Law. London: Sweet. Tins little treatise is the best of several which have lately come under our notice on the same subject. It is divided into three chapters. The first is histori cal, and refers to the past state of the laws affecting commerce in time of war; the second treats of the recent declarations and orders in council ; and the third contains much practical information on the subject of contracts, freights, and insurances. In an appendix the official documents ale set forth in ex tenso. The work is enriched, but not ostentatiously and unnecessarily crowded, with notes and references. As the index is copious and the chapters are divided into sections, any subject can be easily found--a point of importance in a treatise of this nature. The language is clear and concise, and the little book, though sufficiently learned to be of use to the law yer, is yet quite comprehensible by anon-professional reader. The third chapter, especially, should be read by all engaged in trade and commerce. The Sultan of Turkey, Abdul MedjidAn. A Bnef Memoir of his Life and Reign. By the Rev. Henry Christmas, M.A. London: J. F. Shaw. Ma. Caanincts is resolved to be the Plutarch of the present European crisis; his "Life of Nicholas " appeared a short time since, we have the Sultan now before us, whilst the career of the French Emperor is promised "in due course." The view Mr. Christmas takes of the character of the Sultan is high, and he considers him to be the " most intereNt• " ing prince in Europe." From Mr. Aubrey de Vere's " Picturesque Sketches in Greece and Turkey," an anecdote is cited showing how this young prince was disturbed at his devotions. Accord ing to custom, be prays at his father's tomb, and at the commencement of his reign an audible yet stifled voice issuing thence was heard ejaculating " I burn ! " Many heard the awful words, and, of course, the inference of the Ulemas was that Mahmoud was tortured in the world beyond the grave for his reforms in this, but one day the Sultan " announced his intention of going in state to his father's tomb, and was attended thither by a splendid retinue, in• eluding the chief doctors of the Mohammedan law. Again during his devotions were heard the words, ' I burn,' and all except the Sultan trembled. Rising from his prayer-carpet, he called in his guards, and commanded them to dig up the pavement and remove the tomb. It was in vain that the muftis interposed, reprobating so great a profanation, and uttering dreadful warnings as to its consequences. The Sultan persisted; the foundations of the tomb were laid bare, and in a cavity skilfully left among them was found—not a burning Sultan, hut a dervise. The young monarch regarded him for a time fixedly and with great silence, and then said, without any further remark or the slightest expression of anger, You burn ? We must cool you in the Bosphorus.' In a few minutes more the dervise was in a hag, and the bag imme diately after was in the Bosphorus; while the Sultan rode back to his palace accompanied by his household and ministers, who ceased not all the way to ejaculate, Mashallah ! Allah is great; there is no God but God, and Mahomet is his prophet. '" According to certain canons of historical criticism there would be little difficulty in proving this to be a myth founded on the old riddle about Bagdad. Mr. Christmas can make a very good book if he chooses : we therefore hope that he will devote more time, and, therefore, do more justice, to the Emperor Napoleon than Abdul bletijid bas received at his bands. ~ Stratford Shakspere. Edited by Charles Knight. Vols. V. and VI. London : Hodgson. EACH volume contains two plays. Mr. Knight has bestowed great care on the text, and at the conclu sion of each drama, under head of " Various Read ings," he notices the latest corrections which have been suggested, and gives his reasons for receiving or rejecting them. Sometimes he strains sense to support old readings, as when he prefers fast to feast in Biron's speech (Loves Labour Lost, act i., se. 1), but his judgment is always entitled to respect from his diligent study of the text. To each play there is also an useful glossary, and some critical remarks on the plot and characters. The edition is cheap, neat, and convenient. Gatherings from Many Authors, Living and Dead. By Philip Smith Sparling. London : Hope. A sums. volume containing selections in prose and verse, rarely exceeding a page in length, from our standard authors, and occasionally from lighter sources—periodicals and newspapers. The author diaplass good taste in his extracts, but not much knowledge of Looks. The well-known anecdote of the meeting between Charles I. and Mr., after wards Sir, Richard Shuckburgh is in Clarendon. Mr. Spa ding states Notes and Queries as the authority. SATURDAY, The Statistical Companion for 1453. By T. C. Bonfield, Bsq. London : Longman and Co. IN this well-compiled volume the globe itself is first described, including the height of its mountains and the length of its rivers ; and afterwards the statistics of commerce, agnculture, population, and of all that exists or is administered on its surface, are given. The work, though small in size, contains an im mense quantity of matter. The Life and Adventures of Dick Diming. By C. J. Collins. London : Collins and Tonsford. THE author has given us a low comic novel written with no little talent., and exhibiting some knowledge of the external phases of "turf" society. The story is well constructed, but wanting in refinement. There is too much of vicious life described ; and, although the writer's object be a good one, we cannot commend his having introduced us to such "a queer lot" of " dark" characters. Oakileld ; or Fellowship in the East. By W. D. Arnold. London : Longmans. THE second edition of a work which, on its first ap pearance anonymously, attracted considerable atten: tion, and was the occasion of some controversy. It was said to be an unjust attack on the Indian army, to which Mr. Arnold belongs, and for this reason the second edition now appears, under his name, with some prefatory remarks in which, whilst disclaiming any attack on the Indian service, be justifies his censure on that part of those " who regard our noble " profession not as furnishing a pledge and security " for the honour of its members, but rather as afford "ing a justification and excuse for licence ; who " denounce uprightness as folly, gentlemanly principle " as cant, and common decency as methodism." Mr. Arnold is a lieutenant In the 58th Regiment 8.N.1. Conscious of what belongs to the name he bears, he deliberately republishes these startling revelations, on which recent intelligence from India furnishes a fearful commentary. Thoughts on the Vocation and Progression of the Teacher. By Miss Sarah Jolly. London : Samp son Low and Co. A TREATISE, in which Miss Jolly discourses rather solemnly about teachers and teaching, and mingles metaphysics with practical rules. Amongst the latter is one which juven►les will heartily applaud. "When " the attention is wearied, recreate rather than e'er " else it : time will be gained, not lost, thereby." Sir E. Bulwer Lytton lately said it was by observing this rule that he has been able to accomplish so much. THE ROYAL FIOTEL GUIDE AND ADVERTISING HAND noox.—Messrs. W. H. Smith and Sons, of No. 13F, Strand, have just published a first edition of 10,000 copies of their [novel guide and handbook. It con tains a list of more than 8,000 hotels in every part of the United Kingdom, arranged in a tabular form under their respective localities, with, in a small pro portion of instances, the particulars of their charges. The innkeepers, from some cause or other, have with the exception of three per cent., withheld their co-operation from this useful enterprise. Another edition will he published on the lst of August. The book has been widely circulated in all public institu tions in England and in the principal cities of the Continent, the colonies, and America, and the public at large is invited to send hotel bills to ➢lessrs. Smith, that prices from these documents may be in serted in future editions of the book, which would then, of course, be greatly increased in utility. PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. Boors. The Life of Marguerite Angosileme. M. W. Freer. Hurst and Blacked. The Byzantine and Greek Empires. G. Finley. Blackwood and Sons Trephely. A Poem. By J. Longland. Saunders and Otley. The Bachelor of the Albany. Chapman and Hall. The Life of Cardinal Richelieu. W. Robson. Itoutledge. We're all Low People There, and other 2'alrs. Ditto. Master's Ready Reckoner. Ditto. The Coves of the C'sgotal Palace. Ditto. The Mysterious Marriage. C. Sinclair. Clarke, Keeton, and Co. Anecdotes of .4nimal Life. J. C. Wood. Loutledge. Wilson's Tables for Seamen's Wages. Neely. Jerningham. Chapman and Hall. Tilbury Nogo. Ditto • Clara Morison. Parker and Co• Syria and Palestine in 1851.52. C. W. M. Vande Velde. Blackwood and Son. The Last of the Old Squires. Longman and Co. Poems. Second Edition. M. Arnold. Ditto. Gibbon's Roman Empire. Vol. 111. Monty. England and Russia. 1)r. J. Hamel. Bentley. PAMPHLETS. The Poor of the Metropolis. A Sermon. Rev. H. Makenzie , Warrington and Co The Religious Restoration in England. The E'pieroptil Sermon. C. Wordsworth, D.D. Rivingtons The Religious Restoration in England. Census of Religious Worship. C. Wordsworth. Rivingtoni Letter to Lord John Russell. Right Hon. T. 1%. Kennedy. rßidgol'ay