The Sun. — London, England, 1858-11-22 00:00:00

THEATRE -ROYAL, DRURY-LANE. — Und er the Management of Miss Louisa Pyne and Mr. W Harrison. Mias THIS EVENING, THE BOHEMIAN GIRL : Louisa Pyne, Miss Susan Pyne, Miss M. Prescott, Mr. Ferdi nand Glover,. Mr. H. A. St. Albyn, Mr. Bartleman, and Mr. W. Harrison Conductor—Mr. Alfred Mellon. To conclude with a new Ballet Divertissement, LA FLEUR D' AMOUR : Mesdlles. L. Michelet, Morlacchi, and Pasquale. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE. Under the Manaaement of Mr. Charles Kean. MACBETH. Macbeth, Mr. C. Kean ; Lady Macbeth, Mrs. C. Kean. Preceded by a new Farce, in one act, entitled THIRTY-THREE NEXT BIRTHDAY. TH.EATRE-ROYAL, HAYMARKET. Lessee, Mr. J. B. Buckstone. THIS EVENING, LONDON ASSURANCE : Mr. and Mrs. C. Mathews, and Mr. Buckstone. After which, THE DAUGHTER OF THE GUADATA QUIVER. Perea Nena. MY MOTHER'S MAID. And ANY PORT IN A STORM. Commence at 7. ROYAL STRAND THEATRE, Lessee and Directress, Miss Swanborough. THIS EVENING, THE LITTLE SAVAGE. ♦fter which THE MAID AND THE MAGPIE. WOOING IN JEST AND. LOVING IN EARNEST Miss Swanborough. And THE BONNIE FISH WIFE. Commence at 7 o'clock. • ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE, Westminster-road. Sole Lessee, Mr. William Cooke. Stage Manager, Mr. R. Phillips. Engagement of John Townsend, Esq., M.P. for Greenw ich, for Six Nights only. THIS EVENING, and during the week, will be p resented Shakspere's Tragedy of KING R ICHARD THE THIRD ; or, The Death of 'White Surrey, reproduced with all its origi nal splendid effects. The Duke of Gloster, Mr. John Towns end, 31. P. Followed by the inimitable SCENES IN THE ARENA, in which Mr. W. Cooke, Mr. Runnels, Miss Kate Cooke, and Madlle. Blanche will appear. To conclude with the popular farce of SHOOTING THE MOON. No fees to box-keepers. The art of riding taught. Carriages at eleven. CANTERBURY HALL, Westminster-road. — Proprietor—C. MORTON. The public is most respectfully informed that the FINE ARTS GALLERY, in connection with the above Hall, IS NOW OPEN DAT AND NIGHT, from 11 o'clock a.m. until 12 o'clock p.m. The New Gallery contains an extensive Collec tion of - Pictures, by Ancient and Modern Masters and is also deoted to Art productions generally. The Proprietor feels he r may confidently, assert that, viewed altogether, the exist ing Music Hall, the New Fine Arts Gallery, and the recently added Ante-Hall, will present an attraction which, whether as regards the architectural beauty of the structures them selves, or the varied and hitherto unattempted combinations within, will be found to be wholly without parallel is the Kingdom. The MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT commences as usual at Seven o'cloek. THE WEATHER.—SUN OFFICE, Nov. 21. THERMIIIIETER, IN THE SHADE. 57—highest since noon yesterday. 44—lowest this morning and during the night. o—this day at noon. - - BAROMETER—.3 O . IB . WIND, North -Easterly ; light , with foggy w eather and occasional sunshine. Afternoon—fine sunshiny weather. Nov. 22. 43—highest since noon yesterday. 37Z—lowest this morning and during the night. 42—this day at noon. BA.ROMETER- 30 . 28 . WIND,South-Easterly; light and fine. Foggy and frosty in the night. A very interesting paper was read by Mr TEFFTS at the Liverpool meeting of the Institute for the Promotion of Social Science. It suggested a plan for obtaining a common decimal currency for England, France, and America, which would preserve all the principal types of coins, and would eventually come into general use by all the com mercial nations of the earth. It is needless to ex patiate on the advantages that must inevitably follow the introduction of such a system. They must be sufficiently obvious not only to every one engaged in business, but also to all who have traded on any part of the Continent, and who have therefore fallen into the hands of the money changers. Great annoyance, delay, and expense would be avoided, and the intercourse of different nations promoted when so fertile a source of vexa tion was removed. But the task of obtaining the concurrence of dif ferent peoples on such a point is one of no ordinary difficulty. Each is prejudiced in favour of the system to which they are accustomed and with which they are familiar, and while making no con cession themselves, they would expect others to yield to their wishes and convenience. The sove *reign, the napoleon, and the eagle are now accept able in all parts of the world, but what is required is to obtain a common Mint that would permit these types of coins and the smaller ones in gene ral use to remain undisturbed ; although their values might be expressed in different terms. Mr. TEFFT proposes, as the standard monetary units, what he terms " the metrical dollar," its value to be 1.6 grammes of gold 94 Oths fine. This would be about Iti per cent less than the present five franc piece, or a little over six centimes on the coin, the present standard of five francs, 9-10ths fine, being 1.6129 grammes. It would be nearly as close to the American dollar, or two florins or four shillings. And it certainly pos sesses many advantages over the plan proposed, of making the 1 the unit, and having but ten copper coins to the shilling ; the effect whereof, as we have repeatedly pointed out, would be to deprive the labouring classes of a very appreciable portion of their earnings. The new dollar then would be taken as the re presentative of the American dollar, the five franc piece, or four shillings. As we have shown, there 'would be some little difference, but that would speedily be arranged. The comparison of the present standards with the one proposed, are given by Mr. TEM in the following table, viz. : In Fine Gold. Troy grains, 5 dollars present American standard 1 pound „ English „ French 25 francs 9) 9) 11"'112 5 dollars proposed universal „ In Fine Silver. 2 i francs present French standard .... 3.71' i dollar ~ American ~ . 2 . 8 2 shillings „ English ~ 01.4 i dollar proposed universal ~ 56'i In Copper. 1 cent. present American standard i penny ~ English ~ 45.833 173 . 713 172 . 8 161.453 156 . 253 5 centimes„ French " 1 cent. proposed un i versa l " The ratio betwe en go ld and silver varies ma. terially in the three nations. The proposed plan, so far as silver is concerned, would be something lower than that in use in France and America, but higher than that in England. Indeed, in this country, the actual is much below the nominal value of the silver coinage. The present propor tions between the metals are as follows In France o A me rica .... ........................ 11-884 r„ E ng land ............................ 14 . 0265 .......... 14.287 Proposed .................... The standard fineness also differs in England from the other countries. This is shown by thofol lowing table : Present fineness of gold coin in England 71 s il v er „ „ .... gold and silver in France 11-12 37-40 and America ........................ 9-10 Proposed fineness of all gold and silver ...... 9-10 We find that at present the French standard in grammes is -5 francs in gold, 9-10ths fine, present standard 1.6129 1 'dollar „ ~ proposed „ 1.6 5 francs in silver „ p resent „ 25. 1 dollar ~ ), proposed „ 22 . 5 The change in gold would be comparatively '----------------_ ''''' . r., , , • • .. . ''''•-s" , •• • `.. ~.a. IC ‘,,, - u , . i•m• 1•1 -- V' , .., . k ..:''' - '•• • --:( •it''\\'' ' ' 88 8 , ...- ..,..I k ,, r_ _ • tc,,,, -4 ......,,mb • ~.,,,,•,.; • ' it: , ' , ' '''' , "",,,, 4, i. , ••••;• i ;4 - --"'• \ ,;$ .„. . . ~„..., 7 f •••: 4 ,- ~,I , ', .'fii , : ,R., :.-- Ari" ...,..... t o. „ .. rot, ~,,, ~,k , et , . m 0 s ,y. „,a6„ ',.• •, A f jp.\ - .. • •••••• • / ' .:;,AP!! As,rzki,,::l::'''" '''' ! ,, r5, • _..- ..-- THE SUN. MONDAY. NOVEMBER 22, 1855. THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, NO 22, 1858. the Legislature and Westminster, are many of the principal offices of the Government. There are the Admiralty and the Horse Guards—there the chief official haunts of the Executive, home, foreign, and colonial, nestling in that little, dingy, brick and-mortar cul-de-sac, called Downing-street, the back entrance to which abuts upon St. James's park. Yet the entrances to that central pleasaunce of all London, what are they ? The most casual, left-handed, seemingly accidental. The oddest, the most angular, at once the most in-the-way, and the most out-of-the-way. There is Bucking ham-gate, hard-by the palace of the QUEEN ; but Buckingham-gate looks for all the world as though it were' constructed for the express purpose, not of being passed through, but of being passed by—on our route from Pimlico, along Bird. Cage-walk, to wards Westminster. There is the roadway turn ing up Constitution-hill, round the opposite corner of the royal residence—the ill-omened causeway where Oxford shot at her_ MAJESTY, and where Sir ROBERT PEEL was thrown from his horse. But the park entrance to Constitution-hill is a dreary enough wilderness of palings, and roads of gravel, and ironmongery. Then there is the side gate out of the Mall, conducting us through Palace-yard between Clarence House and Staf ford House, and so round by Cleveland-row into the west end of Pall-mall. Further on is the bran new road opened up between Marlborough House and St. James's Palace under the shadow of the German Chapel. Advancing still along the Mall, you may turn, if you list, up that broader opening from the park at the base of the Duke of York's Column—that is, of course, supposing you are afoot. Supposing you are in the saddle or seated in hackney cab or cushioned brougham, you must pass on by the broad sweep of the carriage drive round that part of the enclosure—clattering under the sombre archway of the Horse Guards, and so emerging between the mounted sentries in little stone horse-boxes to the right and left into Parliament-street turning then at your own whim and pleasure either towards Trafalgar-square or towards Westminster, between Whitehall and the Treasury. Scarcely anything in reason can be made out of the little postern wickets hid away in the intermediate space skirting the park between the Duke of York's steps and the Horse Guards' archway. Applewomen and small boys, tag, rag, and gli either, ro aobtail,elbow and jostle you as you pass th and so wind your way into Spring gardens, and through Spring-gardens get somehow or another into Trafalgar-square, by Drummond's Banking-house or by Farrance the confectioner's. One noble entrance might at length connect St. James's -park and Trafalgar-square--continui ng the line of the Mall right on from the Palace to Nel son's Column. Arrangements are made, are all but purchase of old Berkeley House. I co 'r m an p s l f e o t r e m d, for its the site into a fitting entrance at the very point once thought of as the destination of the Marble Arch—and how obvious, how noble,*l how superb the improvement. But no! Berkeley House is only purchased to be carefully built up again as the house and haunt of—the name seems to us really farcical in the presence of such illustrations of obtuseness—as the home and haunt of:the Board of Metropolitan Improvements. Her Majesty and the Prince Consort are expected to make a stay of between a fortnight and three weeks after their arrival at Osborne next week. The Court will then return to Windsor Castle. The Prince of Wales will have returned from Berlin, and all the Royal Family will be assemblid at the castle for Christmas. This festival will be kept strictly en famille, and it is only on the commencement of the now year that the hospitalities of the Court will be extended through a numerous circle of the nobility.—Court Journal. The 18th anniversary of the birthday of the Princess Frederick William of Prussia was observed at Windsor early this morning by a joyous peal from the bells of the Chapel Royal of St. George and St. John's Church. The birthday falling on Sunday, the other customary honours paid to the members of the Royal Family will take place to-day. The Marquis and Marchioness of Breadalbane are passing the season at Rome. The Earl and Countess of Clarendon and Lady Constance Villiers arrived at their residence in Grosvenor crescent on Saturday evening from visiting the Emperor and Empress of the French, and left town last evening for the Grove, near Waftord. The Earl and Countess Stanhope have returned to Chevening, Park from a tour on the Continent. The Countess de Stackelberg and the Baroness de Cazos have left Claxidge's Hotel for Paris. Lord and Lady Foley and family leave town to day for Paris en 7 oute to Italy, where the noble lord and her ladyship intend to pass the winter months. Lord and Lady Arthur Hay are expected in town in a few days from visiting the Marqis and Marchioness of Tweedale at Yester House, Haddingtonshire. Last Wednesday, at Auriol (Bouches du Rhone), the wife of a peasant, gave birth to four children. All died, but not until after they were baptised. EA company has been formed at St. Petersburg for improving the dwellings of the working-classes of tha capital. The Prince of Mecklenburgh-Strelitz is at its head, and it has the patronage of the Emperor. M. Lain, professor of chemistry at the College of Bcsangon, has proved the presence, in considerable quantity, of arsenic in the wire from which pins are usually made, ,hree or four serving to give a perceptible quantity in the common form. The Journal de Bruges states that an episcopa. congress was held last week at Malines, and that the Pope's nuncio and Cardinal Wiseman, who is at present visiting Belgium, were present. FOREIGN MAILS.—The Alhambra, with the Pen insular mails, is due at Southampton, and the Armenian, with the African mails, is due at Liverpool on Wednesday. The Ripon, with the Bombay snails, and the Fulton, with the United States mails, are due at Southampton on Thurs day ; and the Calcutta mail, rice Marseilles, is due in Lon don on Saturday. The Vigo, with the United States mail, will leave Liverpool next Wednesday. The India mail, via Marseilles, will leave London on Thursday, and the Malta, with the Bombay mail, will leave Southampton, and the Persia, with the United States mail, will _leave Liver pool next Saturday. THE EAST INDIA AND CHINA MAlLS.—South funpton, Nov. 20.—A large mail for India and China ",vas despatched by the Peninsular and Oriental Company's screw steamer Pera, Captain T. Jamieson, which sailed hence to-day for Gibraltar, Malta, and Alexandria. She has a full cargo and 575 boxes of specie, jewellery, &c., value £159,393 14s. 7d., viz.:—Madras —gold, £630; jewellery, £1,426 ls. ld. Calcutta—silver, £104,285 ; jewellery, £1,670155. Singapore jewellery, £235. Hongkong—silver, £29,600; jewellery, £ 224 . Shanghai—silver, b £11,041 ; jewellery, £2Bl 18s. 6d. Manilla—gold, £lO,OOO. Total, silver, £144,926 ; gold, £10,630 ; jewellery, £3,837 14s. 7d. Among the Pera's passengers (120 first-class and 35 second) are Captain the Hon. and Mrs. Liddell, for Malta ; Ensign Baldwin, Rev. J. and Mrs. Wise, for Ceylon; Gen. J. Williams, Capt. Holland, Lieut. T. E. Powell, for Madras ; Col. and Mrs. Swinley, Rev. S. Beamish, Col. Troup, Lieut. F. E. Lang, Capt. C. Thomas, Capt. J. B. Palmer, Rev. W. Tarleton, for Calcutta; Capt. M‘Pherson, for Singapore ; Lieut. Tweeddale, for Suez, &c. LETTERS TO AMERICA.—The royal mail steamer Europa left Liverpool on Saturday last for Halifax and Boston with the American mails, and a full complement of passengers and cargo. On Saturday next the Persia sails for New York with the United States mails and passengers. DEPARTURE OF THE GREAT BRITAIN.—On Sa turday last the screw steamer Great Britain, having a ship's cargo on board, left the Mersey for Melbourne, with a full cargo, and a large number of passengers. TIIE CEYLON.—Some surprise has been felt that the Indian packet Ceylon should leave been put into Fal mouth last week short of coal, having been only out five days from Gibraltar. The truth was, however, that owing to the severe weather she could not coal at Gibraltar, and it v a intended she should go into Lisbon to take ix coals. l When she came off the coast of Portugal it con tinued to blow so hard that she was unable to go in, and she then came to England and touched at the first port. THE WEST INDIA PACKET.--The West India Packet was telegraphed off Hurst Castle at two o'clock on Friday afternoon, and she ought to have arrived in South ampton Dock at four o'clock. A dense fog, however, came on about three o'clock, and the Phconix steamer was sent out in search of the Magdalena. The fog horns were blow ing from all vessels in Southampton Water, and collisions were apprehended. The Phoenix nearly ran into the Ar r o gent frigate, and wasnearly ran into by an Isle.,of Wight steamer. Several boats went out in search of the Magda lena, and returned without finding her, amongst which was the Customhouse boat, with Dr. Wiblin, the quarantine officer, and Mr. Obree, the superintending tide surveyor. After three hours' traversing up and down Southampton Water, the Phoenix found the Magdalena off Humble Creek, not four miles from the docks. THE NEW BOURSE AT ANTWERP.—The com munal council of Antwerp has decided that the new Bourse shall be built on the same site as that occupied by the old one, and as nearly as possible on the plan of the former building. ANOTHER ACCIDENT BY FIRE.—On Saturday Sarah Jane Mallins, a child six years of age, residing with her parents in King's Bench-walk, Borough-road, nearly met her death by fire. In the absence of her mother ' she was reaching something from the mantel - shelf , and her clothes because ignited. On the mother's return home she found her daughter in a shocking state from the injuries inflicted by the fire. The child was removed to the hospital in a dangerous state. HER MAJESTY'S DOCKYARDS.—It is understood, on good authority, that the officers, clerks, and men of 70, as well as those of 65 years and upwards, are to retire on the 31st of March next, the end of the financial year, although the order or circular has not yet been officially promulgated; and that provisions are being made in the Navy Estimates," now in course of preparation, for carry outthese arrangements, which will be the means of relieving our dockyards of the old and incapable, and recruiting them with the young and vigorous. This would also account for the circular of the Ist of September last, not taking effect on the Ist inst., as at first intended.—Civil Service Gazette. The speeches delivered in Westminster Hall by prosecutors and the counsel for the defence, on the occasion of the impeachment of Warren Hastings for high crimes and misdemeanours in his government of India, had a world-wide fame, from the impression they made at the time. No full report, however,..has ever been printed of these elaborate harangues of our greatest orators, Burke, Fox, and Sheridan, and of their antagonists , suc h men as Law, Plumer, and Dallas. " This want,' says the Athe turvm, "is in course of being supplied by the publication, under Government, proposed and sanctioned by Sir G. C. Lewis, when Chancellor of the Exchequer, of the whole of theso speeches. They will be printed from the Gurney manuscript reports, copies of which are extant; and the first volume of the work will, we believe, be shortly an nounced." A letter from Compiegne, of the 18th, says : " The representation given last evening at the palace by the performers of the Theatre Franeaise was a most brilliant one. The pieces given were "La Jeunesse de Henri IV." and "Les Deux Menages," both of which were admirably played. Their Majesties frequently gave the signal for applause, and at the close of the perform ance the artistes were recalled amidst loud plaudits. Among the personages present were the Princess Mathilde, Lord and Lady Claren don, Lord and Lady Palmerston, the Marquis of Hertford, Lord and Lady Cowley, Lord and Lady Alfred Paget, Mar shal Valiant, Count and Countess Walewski, Baron de Rothschild, M. FOuld, M. and Mme. Rouher, the Duke and Duchess de Bassano, the Marquis and Marquise de Cadore, Baron de Talleyrand, General Bougenel, the Coun tess de la Bedoyere, the Baroness de Pierres, Baron d'Offre mont, &c. Several of the principal functionaries of the de partment were also invited. A. grand stag hunt was to have taken place on Tuesday, but the wetness of the weather prevented it; still their Majesties went to the place of ren dezvous, in spite of the rain, but it was considered injudi cious to let the dogs loose. The next day their Majesties and some of the guests went to visit the barrack of the Lancers of the Guard, and spent some time in the riding school. The Emperor displayed great skill in striking, at full speed, objects with a l a nce, and Lord Palmerston, in spite of his years, proved himself a first-rate horseman. It is said that the Court will remain here until the 2d of December." COLONIAL TIMBER FOR THE NAVY.—So many gentlemen from Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Lower Provinces being now officially in London, there may be a good opportunity for calling the attention of the Admiralty to the fitness of their elm, pine, tamarac, walnut, birch and oak fo r naval purposes. The country would also save as the wood is cheaper t han foreign. We can form no estimate as to the quantity of timber annually used in the dockyards ; but as it appeared in evidence before the Weedon Committee that the Ordnance at W ool wich took near £50,000 worth a year, the amount for naval purposes cannot be under £1,000,000 or £1,200,000. A deputation of the gentlemen now here on colonial interests to the Admiralty, accompanied by some of the goodmerchan ts in the trade, might be of use. If wo get the wood as from our colonies and at ,as low a price as from Russia, Prussia, the United States, or other foreign countries, we would rather see the money spent among our lumberers and shipowners, who take in return so much of our manu factures, than sending it to stranger s. THE CELEBRATED CHRISTY'S MINSTRELS. —These clever and original artistes are drawing their visit to a close. The varied programme is nightly produced, with a bril liancy of change which elicits the liveliest applause. The peculiarities of our black brethren are well 'brought out, and convulse the house with laughter. In the second part, Mr. Anthony Nish, a young artiste who belongs to New castle, figures in a violin solo, and figures, too, in a manner which stamps him as a thorough musician, and a wonderful master of Ins instrument. His solo, "Coming through the Rye," on one string, was so tenderly played that the audience could scarcely restrain their feelings during the performance ; and when the piece was finished, a burst of cheering was the well-merited reward . the imitation of the bagpipes was so like the tones of that instrument that the house wee taken by surprise,—Newcastle paper. LATEST NEWS. AUSTRALIA. ARRIVAL OF THE AGINCOURT. The Agincourt, from Melbourne, has arrived at Queenstown, short of provisions. She brings £283,180 in gold. The following telegram was received at Mr. Reuter's office, November 22 : MADRID, Nov. 21. The Gazetta contains the official nomination of Concha as President of the Senate. The Correspondancia Autograplia contradicts the statement of a circular of the foreign powers con cerning Morocco. A telegraphic despatch from Nice, announces that two Russian vessels of war yesterday took possession of the establishment at Villafranca, ceded by the Sardinian Government. Russian sentinels immediately replaced those of Sardinia. It has been already announced that the Russian Government being desirous of closing the Sea of Azoff to foreign vessels of war was actively engaged in fortifying the Strait of Kertch. Formidable fortresses have been built on both sides at the same time. It appears that those which are to protect the promontory of Paulowski are in so advanced a state that the Grand Dukes Nicholas and Michael thought it desirable to visit the works on their way back from the journey which they lately made in Transcaucasia. FRANCE. PARIS, SUNDAY M. Berryer who was expected to return to Paris this day, will not be here before to-morrow or the day after, to prepare his defence of M. de Monta lembert, whose trial will come on, as already an nounced, next Wednesday. Few tickets have been issued, though, as might be supposed, numerous applications have been made. The press will, I suppose, continue to be rigorously excluded. The chamber (the sixth) where the trial will take place is not very large, and a considerable space will no doubt be occupied by officials. - _ BOURSE, Nov. 20.—The market improved at the opening, but heavy sales were again made at '74f 75c., and Threes are now at 74f. 80c. ; Mobilier steady from 1,035 f. to 1,042 f. 50c. ; Austrian, offered at 652 f. 50c. ; Orleans, from 1,410 f. to 1,415 f. ; Lyons, 887 f. 50e. to 890 f. ; Southern, 595 f. to 593 f. 25c. ; and Northern, I,olof. to 1,012 f. 50e. The following are the last quotations:— 41 per Cents. .... 97 24 Credit Fonder.. • . 675 Do. end mouth .. 97 50 Belgian 4 . ...... 3 per Cents. 74 60 Piedmontese ( 5 ) .. 95 Do. end month.... 7 4 7 5 Roman .......... 95 50 Bank Shares. 3150 Austrian ........ 94 Credit Mobilior .. 1030 -- Spanish Threos . • 46 50 Do. Account 1037 50 Home Debt ...... 42a given proof of their lively and constant interest for a free and independent Danish monarchy. I re quest you, sir, to inform Monsieur of this despatch, and to leave him a copy of it." AMERICA. RAILWAYS. Cash. Account. Orleans Northern New ditto. 845 -- .. 847 50 Lyons and Mediterranean BB7 50 .. 885 New ditto Geneva _ - • _ ___. .• . 637 50 • • 590 • • 6 5 2 9 5 2 _ 59 Southern 6 7 2 1 , 0 5 West9rn 7lO Eastern — Grand Central Sardinian 462 50 ~ .kustrian Exchange on London, at sight, paper, • 25f. 7c. ; three months, paper, 24f. 95c. ; money, 2.1 f. 921 e. PRUSSIA. BERLIN, Nov. 20 The howling and yelling of the Fedudalist party has produced further effects. The following notice was issued from the Ministry of the Interior yes terday, and sent round as a circular to all the pro vincial Governments and Landrathe, and to the central police office in Berlin : " NOTICE. " It has not escaped my notice that the meetings of the electors preliminary to the election of Depu ties to the Chamber have given rise to the expres slon of wishes and hopes, the fulfilment of which it is the duty of the present Government distinctly to refuse, upon the ground of the trust confided to them by the Sovereign. " I find myself, therefore, under the necessity of calling your . . . . attention to the work of resist ing by all legal means such erroneous opiniOns, and all expectations which g o be y ond the just limits o f a fair appreciation of the relations and require ments of the time. Herein, you are to endeavour to bring about such a conception of the situation of public affairs as shall meet the advances of the Government, and support it in its rational and well- directed endeavours to satisfy the real wants of the country. " The ground taken up by the Government is, as your not to renounce all those traditions which are the foundation of the greatness and strength of Prus sia ; on the contrary, it is the resolve of the Go vernment to oppose all endeavours and suggestions t 3 that effect ; and it is not disposed to allow any deviation in any direction whatsoever. " Your . • • • . will take care that this notification is properly brought into general cir culation. " FLOTTWELL, Minister of the Interior." The 'New Gazette of Hanover, the official organ of the Government, lately published a series of sAicles in favour of the Austro-Turkish policy, inspired by a hostile spirit against the majority of the Powers represented at the Paris Conference. The character of these demonstrations attracted notice, from their appearing in the columns of the official journal of a Power whose position and antecedents seem to trace out a different course. The Government seems to have discovered it was on a wrong course, for the Tageblatt of Hanover now states that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Platen-Hallermund, has declared, in a circular note addressed to the various legations accredited at Hanover, that he was not responsible for any article in the New Gazette, unless it appeared in its official part. DENMARK. The Nord publishes a circular despatch of Nov 8, ;addressed by M. Hall (the Danish Minister of Poreign Affairs) to the Danish Ministers in Lon dan, Paris, St. Petersburg, and Stockholm. It states the causes which have led to the conces sions just made by Denmark. After a long reca pitulation of the various facts of the question, so long before the public, the circular says :—" The King, our august Sovereign, has thus decided od the important step which, according to the express tenour of the notes exchanged between the two:great Germanic:powers,:ought to set aside all object of execution. Out of deference to the federal bond which engages him for Holtsein and Lauen berg, and in conforming to the reiterated counsels of his non-German allies, he has now satisfied every demand in support of which the federal right was invoked. The King's Government hopes that the Germanic Confederation will properly ap preciate this line of conduct, and will also con tribute on its side to bring this difference, al ready too prolonged and so dangerous for their mutual interests, to an amicable solution. It in dulges the more in this hope, as it impossible for it to go any further in the way of concessions. If therefore contrary to expectations, the Confede ration should bring forward any new and more important demands, and if it should decide on proceedings injurious to the sovereign autho rity belonging to the King in his quality of member of the Confederation, and, still more, if it should attack his independence as sovereign of the Danish monarchy, it will be the imperious duty of any Danish Government to oppose such a violation of the right of the monarchy, and with so much the more resolution as it can rely on the de voted and energetic co-operation of the nation, and on the sympathies of those powers which. have trifling, but it would come very high in silver in France. There are, however, many satisfactory reasons why France should be induced to make the alteration. The gold coinage represents 7 per cent. of fine silver more in France than in England, and should that anomaly be continued the probable result will be a gradual loss of silver to France. The gold discoveries have materially changed the relative value of the metals, and no country can long persist in resisting that which may be re garded as a natural law. In England, in order to introduce the decimal system, there should be 25 cents. to the shilling. This would be the chief change in this country. It would give the poor man a small advantage of some 4 per cent., and would reduce postage receipts, and other small stamps, and all tolls, &c., expressed in terms of copper— that is to say, in pence or halfpence—in a similar ratio. This, however, would be far more equitable than the increase suggested in the report, which would make an addition of 20 per cent. to the charges. In gold the debtor would benefit to the extent of about 2d. in the pound sterling, but, surely, that trifling boon may be readily conceded, when it is considered how long and how steadily the balance has inclined to the other side, and to a far greater extent. Even this might be avoided by providing that 2d. should for one or two years be paid in addition to the £1 on all contracts entered into previously to the act coming into operation. The chief, indeed, the only, objection to the plan above referred to is, that it makes the unit too high, inasmuch as the smallest term would be the cent, equivalent to our present halfpenny. It is, however, far better than that advocated by the Decimal Association, which would require four places of figures, of different denominations—a great addition to the trouble of calculation. Mr. TEFFT, however, answers this point by asserting, that anything less than the halfpenny, or five cen times, is seldom if ever found in mercantile ac counts. He would provide for the necessities of the humbler classes, who lose in a great number of transactions from the want of sufficiently low deno minations of coins, such as those in use in France and other continental nations, by the use of half and quarter cents, " which," as he says, " would give coins small enough to buy a few pins or a few buttons at a time." It has also " decimal divisions, is founded on decimal weight, saves all the favourite coins now in use," and, as Mr. TEFFT declares, offers an unit far more suited than the franc to become the successor of the pound. It is not the least satisfactory portion of the contemplated arrangement that it would be made self-supporting, and that there would be but little if any expense to the nation in the progress of the changes. That some alteration will be effected is certain. The advantages of the decimal system are so thoroughly appreciated, that the boon caanot be much longer withheld; and surely it is far better, when entering on such a course, to produce a system which will be of permanent utility, and not require any changes, where other nations are inclined to enter on similar ameliora tions. It would, however, be very desirable that a commission should be appointed by the three great nations chiefly concerned ; that these com missioners should meet at an early period, and, if possible, agree on a report. If they could do so the matter would be speedily disposed of ; if not, each could enter on the course best calculated to promote their own interests, and such as would most closely approximate to that which had the most general support amongst the commissioners. The Metropolitan Board of Works, even when it does actually, upon some rare occasion, contrive to possess itself of an opportunity, cannot by any possibility, apparently, contrive at the same time to take advantage of it. Old Berkeley House, we all know, occupies a particular spot in Spring-gardens, such as constitutes it one of the most flagrant ob structions in the whole metropolis. And Spring gardens is not by any means an out-of-the-way locality. On the contrary, it is perhaps the most central point of all in the capital—midway between the East and the West, and the North and the South—between the City and Belgravia. The town palace of the Sovereign stands at the opposite extremity of the most urban of our parks—more of a garden than a park—St. James's. Along the skirts of that park, in the direction of the Palace of while the opening v erse of a poem, calle d " The Deathbed," aro suspiciously similar to some of Mrs. Hemans. Mrs. Hemans writes— " 'Twas early day and sunlight streamed Soft through a quiet room." Miss Trevanion writes— " 'Twas early morn, the sun's first rays Streamed through a dreary room." This is inexcusable, and the less to be pardoned as some of her verses show her to be capable of writing original verses of sweetness if not of power, and quite able to gratify, many readers. " The Pictures in the Stream, " is ingeniously designedand well carried out. "Verse," by C. Boner, is a volume of a higher character, possessing more vigour of thought and strength of ex p ression. Had. th author been more severe in his .selection and omitted many pieces -which are too trifling for pub lication, the volume would have been more accept able. Still there is much that shows thought and reflection, though not proving any high poetic ca pacity. 'When his subjects are good his lines are often fine, as those on "Columbus" and the " Death of the Emperor of Russia." A collection of translations from the German is added at the end of the volume. "An Hour Ago" presents a formi dable front to the adventurous reader. 538 pages of close print occupied by . one continuous poem chiefly in blank verse, requires very great ability in the writer, or very great patience in the reader. In the present instance, we fear, it is the latter quality which will be required. It would be un just to say that there is no talent in the work, itnd it is enlivened by historical illustrations and stir , ring passages, but the attempt is too ambitious for any ordinary writer. The chief faults apparent through most of these writings are too great ambi-. tion and too little originality. Each should devote himself; if he intends to pursue the poetical career, to that style of verse and subject to which his powers are best adapted, and should studiously avoid any resemblance to the works of other writers. We do not anticipate any great work of genius from any of these poets ; but they may, by a diligent and careful cultivation of their powers, please and refine the taste of those who love the wayside flowers of verse, as well as the amaran thine glories of our older poets. Phantastes. A Rerie Romance for Men and Women. By George M'Donald, author of " Within and Without." Smith and Elder. This is a peculiar production, which will never theless most likely prove agreeable to some. There is originality in its sketches, and a freshne; s in many passages that distinguish it from the mere everyday fairy anecdotes. The hero's adventures in Dream-land are interesting, and the reader's at tention is excited, alike by the solemn warnings he receives from the:strange company he meets with, and the dangers he encounters from his neglect of these prophecies. In this neglect of good advice it does not appear that the dwellers in fairy regions differ very considerably from the denizens of the working-day world. Those who wish to beguile a weary hour, or indulge a taste for the fanciful and. romantic, cannot do better than peruse this volume, in which lively imaginings and brilliant descrip tions have reproduced the land of the fays in glow ing lines and manifold attractions. WILLS AND BEQUESTS. The will and three codicils of Sir C. Des Vceux, Bart., of Belgrave-square and Leamington, who died on the 28th of September, 1858, at Silwood-house, Brighton, was proved in the London Court of Pro bate on the 16th of November. The personalty sworn under £300,000. The will and second codi cil are of great length, the bequests numerous. The will is dated 10th March, 1853, and the first codicil on the 6th of June following. The latter is in the t e stator's own handwriting, giving thereby many specific bequests, and concludes with an expression of an earnest hope that he might attain eternal life. Sir Charles has made a liberal provision for his family by both marriages. To his relict Lady Cecilia he has bequeathed a large annuity for life, in addition to her settlement, and the residence at Leamington ; bequeaths to his valet, Adkins, an: annuity of £5O, besides a legacy of £150; and legacies and annuities to others of his servants ; and £lOO to St. George's Hospital, Knightsbridge. The legacies to be paid out of the personalty. The plate is left to his eldest son, Sir Henry, who is appointed the residuary legatee. Special letters of administration with the will annexed of the Dow ager Marchioness Townshend, relict of the most lion. George Ferrars, Marquis Townshend, and wife of Mr. James Laidler, were granted by the London Court of Probate to the husband, the sole executor, to whom her ladyship has bequeathed her property under settlement, then £25,000 Navy 5 per Cent. Annuities ' • also the property under the wills of her father and mother, and all other pro perty she may have acquired. The will is dated 28th of February, 1856.—Illustrated London News. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE. Our readers may secure to themselves a comic treat of no or dinary excellence—and, what is more, of a highly intel lectual kind—if they will only take the pleasing trouble of visiting the Princess's Theatre on an evening when " Much Ado about Nothing" is performed. The comedy was revived on Saturday night with such decided success that its repetition twice a-week maybe judiciously continued for an indefinitely long period. Nevertheless, as this is Mr. Charles Kean's farewell season, and he intends to go through many characters before he gives up the reins of management, he may change his bills more rapidly than under ordinary circumstances, and hence every opportunity that offers for seeing him in a new part should be seized by the forelock without hesitation or delay. England is not the " merrie England" of the olden time, and it would be almost sinful to miss such an occasion as is presented by the revival of "Much Ado about Nothing." A few young men of the present day have imbibed the heretical notion that Shakespeare less agreeably fills up a leisure hour than the more frivolous productions of the French stage ; in other words, to use a vile modern expres sion, that the great national poet is rather " slow." One might fancy that it is for the sake of refuting this egregious fallacy that Mr. Charles Kean now revives "Much Ado about Nothing"; at all events he has repeated it most effectually. Save in the serious scenes, which aro the shortest, the play caused one uninterrupted flow of merriment from the beginning to the end I—lndeed those who had only seen our great tragedian absorbed in the melancholy of Hamlet' or wrapped in all the mys terious terrors of Macbeth, could not suppose he had such " fun" in him as he disylayed in his Benedick—certainly one of the most genial creations ever witnessed on any stage. Let it not be imagined that he merely elicited that calm mode of approval which has satirically been called a " legiti mate smile." The audience did not smile—they " roared," as Benedick's resolution to die a bachelor broke ignobly down, and he fell head over ears in love, without power of self-preservation. They roared at his woe-stricken coun tenance, they jumped with his resolation to woo boldly ; he was a "pet" with whose hearty delights and ludicrous woes every body took an interest, so very real did they look. And the Beatrice of Mrs. Charles Kean—how completely was she made for such a Benedick I how well did the arch ness on the one side correspond to the somewhat soldierly bluntness on the other. Truly that Benediek and that Beatrice were born for the express purpose of wearing in partnership the yoke of holy wedlock, and even if there had not been half-a-dozen conspirators, male and female, to entrap them into a belief of mutual affection, some fate or other would have brought them together. The tableaux which they formed in the end, when each held up the other's poem, was an admirable symbol of the relation in which they had stood throughout the entire play. Some artist should copy it accurately, and it should serve as the frontispiece to " Much Ado About Nothing" in the next illustrated edition of Shakespeare. But if our great artists, relieving themselves from the sublime horrors of "Macbeth," by an abandonment to the mirth that prevailed at Messina, when Don Pedro of Arra gonvisited Leonata, the governor, it should be observed that their mirth is always within the limits of the most polished refinement. The Benedick of Mr. Charles Kean is no vul gar ribald, but it is only when he himself chooses that he can be regarded a merely jocose subject. He can put aside the motley as easily as he can gracefully wear it ; and when he is inspired by a solemn sense of duty, he is not to be trifled with, even by the Prince. There is something grand in the change, when the man, who has made us laugh so heartily by his soliliquy in the second act, puts an the grave dignified demeanour that accompanies the chal lenge to Claudio. And so also with the Beatrice of Mrs. Charles Kean. Overflowing as she is with native gaiety, she is always the wit of the aristocratic drawing room. Our two great actors are now to be seen every evening, in the highest walk either of tragedy or comedy—" Mac beth," " King John," and "Much Ado About Nothing:' Such is the intellectual weekly fare offered to the Londe .1 public at the Princess's Theatre. THE ANAMULLY HILLS.—An important expedi tion has been carried out in the Coimbatoro collectorate by Mr. J. W. Cherry, the collector, and ten other gentlemen, who have explored .he hitherto unknown region of the Ana formedills on started,at expectations have been justly 'They from Coimbatore on the 1201 September, were absent ten days, and ascended to the height of six thousand or seven thousand feet. Their report is said to be in every way satisfactory, 8 ° they consider these hills, almost equal to the the Neil- ' gherries, and every way suitable for English settlement , with abundant of forest land, well adapted for coffee, whil e the upper ranges of these hills are entirely unoccupied bY the natives. The Government will be strongly urged to open up the district by roads, &c., so that we hope SOOll t° report another successful colony. It is to be hoped he home Government will stir up the Madras authorities, fir the establishment of these settlements is a matter of primer( importance,—Leader. .LITEBA TUBE. LIVERPOOL, SUNDAY. The Royal Mail steam ship Persia, Captain Jud kin, which sailed from New York on the 13th inst., has arrived at this port, bringing 148 passengers, and 79,792 dollars in specie on freight. She brings no intelligence of the overdue steamer Indian Empire. ' The steam ship Pacific sailed from New York for Galway on the Bth inst. with 174 passengers, in cluding Lola Montes. The steamer Vigo left New York on the 6th inst. for this port. The following steamers had arrived out :—The Glasgow, from Glasgow, at New York on the 6 th ; the Circassian, from Galway, at St. John's, New foundland, on the same day ; the New York, from Bremen, at New York, on the 7th; and the Kan garoo, hence, at New York, on the 9th inst. A Washington telegram to the New York Herald says : " There seems to be a sort of apprehension that some important but most secret movement is under way with reference to the Central American question. The greatest anxiety is manifested by , our own and foreign officials re gardin Nicaraguan affairs, and Lord Napier has been on the qua vive all dfty. " The movements of the European powers in the tropical waters of this continent are beginning to excite a marked degree of interest here. A large fleet of British and French vessels now exists in the Carribean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, part of which acted together in the recent opera tions against Venezuela, and another part is detailed ap parently as a fleet of observation on our movements in Nicaragua, and to help Mr. Ouseley and M. Belly. " The British, however, will not presume to interfere with Americans or American vessels on the high seas. They have had enough of that ; and as to interfering on the soil of Central America with Americans the Clayton- Bulwer treaty, if it has no other good quality, does not permit that. "It is believed, however, that the true object of these forces on the part of England and France is to protect Spain against the contingencies to which her intended expedition against Mexico might expose her at our hands. Spain will not enter upon a war in this hemisphere without a secret understanding with England and France to be protected in her possession of Cuba. Some arrangement to this purport is supposed to have been made as a recompense for her con tingent from Manilla to the expedition against Cochin China. In view of a possible complication of affairs in the Gulf of Mexico a new Cuban revolutionary junta has been formed at New Orleans, and is preparing its plans in con junction with parties in Cuba. They will commence the publication of a new paper at New Orleans devoted to the cause of Cuban independence." The New York Herald thus speaks of the late State elections : " In New York the Republicans have carried their State ticket by probably 20,000 majority, elected 27 of the 33 members of the next Congress, and have returned a large majority to the Assembly. Both branches of the next legis lature will thus be largely Republican. In the city, how ever, all the Democratic nominees for county offices have been: elected, together with four of the six Congress men, and lq of the 17inembers of Assembly. It is said that Mr. Willihmson will contest the election of Mr. Sickles to Con gress from the third district. " In New Jersey the Republicans have chosen a full delegation to the next Congress. " The Republicans have elected all their candidates for State officers and Congress in Massachusetts, and the same remark INC apply 4;0 Wisconsin. " Reports from various quarters render it highly probable that Judge Douglas has triumphed in Illinois. A despatch from Chicago states that the Republicans there concede a majority in each branch of the legislature favourable to Mr. Douglas. Five Democratic members of Congress have been ,chosen. "The returns from Michigan are meagre and unsatis factory, but, beyond doubt, the Republicans have main tamed their ascendancy." It is stated that private letters, received in New York from Central America, announce the arrival there of a Mr. Thomas Manning, who was publicly boasting that he had gone out for the special pur pose of meeting Mr. Gore Ouseley, who had in structions from his Government to take • possession of Nicaragua under the plea of a protectorate, and with a view to defend that republic from the aggressions of Fillibusters. " This Mr. Manning," says the New York Herald,.l" is the party who, conjointly with Mr. Glenton, has a claim of a quarter of a million of dollars against the Nicaraguan Government, and who endeavoured to get possession of the transit route as a security for his claim. Failing in that, he has succeeded in getting the English Government to back up his demands, and to enforce their liquidation in money by vessels of war." The steam yacht Petrel had burst her boilers in New Yoak harbour, instantly killing three persons. The ship Isaac Bell had arrived at New York, having on board the captain, mate, and four sea- I men, rescued from the British barque Claude, of Shoreham, which was wrecked at sea. Eight lives were lost on board the barque, including the cap- tain's wife. Yellow fever had ceased at New Orleans, but was prevailing with great virulence at Galveston, Texas. A " killing frost" is reported to have occurred at Mobile and other parts of the south. The grand jury of New York had found true bills against 61 members of the Common Council for misdemeanour in violating the city charter, and, as is alleged, conspiring to defraud the public trea sury. 'the steamer Quaker City had arrived at New Orleans from Minattlan, and reported the Tehuan tepec route across the Isthmus as - clear of all ob struceions. California advices to the 11th of :October had been received by the overland route. The news was unimportant. The rainy season had just com menced, and its usual effects upon business were experienced. The first overland mail to San Fran cisco had arrived there in 24 days. The emigration to the Fraser River gold fields had almost entirely ceased. A fire at Jamestown, California, had destroyed 27 buildings, involving a loss of a quarter of a mil lion dollars. The dates from Havannah are to the 30th of Oc tober. The Spanish frigate Benguela had returned to Havannah from Tampico, to which port she had been dispatched, to interfere for the protection Spanish merchants, who had been pillaged by the Mexican commander Garzo, but nothing respect ing the result of her visit had been made publiie. The Havannah sugar market was rather more active, at a slight decline in prices, holders desiring to realise. The weekly money circular of Messrs. De Coppet and Co., of New York, remarks : " Our stock market has been quite active since the Ist inst., but the general tendency of prices has been downward . Quotations for State Stocks, however,:have but little varied, and the decline, on the whole, had been quite insignificant, except on the shares of some of the western railroads, the receipts of which have decreased more than was expected. In State Stocks, Missouri Sixes have advanced f, with large sales; Tennessee Sixes have declined and California Sevens, per cent. Sales of Indiana Fiv es at 92 ; Indiana Two-and-a-Half per Cent. Bonds at 61, and Ohio Sixes of 1875 at 106. The new Government Loan is not as firmly held as it was last week. In City and Countyßonds trans actions have been unimportant. We note sales of Louisville Railroad Sixes at an advance, of ChicagoWaterLoan Sixes at 841 and interest, .and of Brooklyn Sixes, San Francisco Tens, and St. Louis County Sevens without change in price. Some . Milwaukee City Sevens, issued for railroad purposes, have been sold at 50, past-due coupons included." COTTON.—The report of T. B. Sands and Co., dated New York, Nov. 9, says : The unfavourable advicesfromLivser pool, and heavy receipts at the south, continue to exercise a depressing influence upon ourmarket, which closes very ir regular at a decline of fully Ic. during the week, with a downward tendency. The sales of the week amount to 7500 bales on the spot, nominally at our quotations, and 5000' bales in transitu, on the basis of llic. for middling Or leans with id. freight. Our stock is 20,000 bales. Freight to Liverpool, 3-46 d. ; to Havre, Ic. per pound. " Southern Markets—Receipts are again heavy, and prices have given way in all the markets. In New Orleans the sales for the week ending sth instant, add up 40,000 bales, the market closing in favour of buyers at 141 c. to llc. for middling. In Mobile the sales for the week are 16,500 bales, at for middling. The Charleston and Savannah markets have been depressed , and prices con tinue to have a downward tendency. Freight—New Or leans to Liverpool, 15-32 d. ; to Havre, 19. " By mail the receipts o f the week amount to 119,000 bales, against 43,000 same time last year, making a total since Ist September, to latest dates of 675,000 bales, against 291,000 last year, showing an increase in receipts this year of 384,000 bales. By telegraph, the receipts at New Or leans for the week ending sth instant reach 66,000 bales, and at Mobile 23,000. "The exports for the week amount to 61,000 bales, of which 33,000 are to Great Britain, and 20,500 to France. Total exports to Great Britain since Sept. 1, 133,000 bales, against 98,000 bales last yeer, , and to France, .76000 bales, against 25,000 last year. " The weather at the south, and throughout the cotton districts, continues fine and open. General o p inion a pp ears to have fixed upon 3,000,000 bales as the probable extent of the present crop, and at the moment we see no reason to think it will be less. . " The following are to hand by telegraph : " NEw ORLEANS, Nov. s.—The America's advices have caused a decline in the prices of cotton of kio ; sales to-day, 9,500 bales, at llac. for middling. The sales of the week add up 40,000 bales ; the receipts 66,000 and the ex r,- po, 44,000. Receipts at this p ort ;ahead of last yea r t s 149,000 bales ; ditto, at the Southern p orts, 387,500 bales ; stock, 213,500 bales, against 141,500 last year. " MOBILE, Nov. s . — The sales of cotton the eek foot up to 16,500 bales, and the receipts of the week 23,000 bales, against 4,700 in the sa me week of last year. The re ceipts at this port are 7 9 , 000 bales a-head of the same time last year. Stock in port, 86,500 bales. " OBILE, Nov. 6.—Cotton —Sales to-day 2 500 bales at M to lac. for middling —the turn in favour,of buyers. 4 4 11IoniLE, Nov. B.—Cotton —Sales to-day 2,000 bales, at llic. to 1 lic. for middling. cotton to day - " CHARLESTON, NOV. 5 —The of ard te d were 3,800 bales , at prices showing a dow es nw n ency. " CHARLESTON, Nov. 6.-- Cotton unchanged. Sales te day 700 bales. 44 EXCHANGE dull and irregular, sterling Id. to Id. per We quote 60 days on London, bankers' bills, cent. lower. 1091 to 1091; a nd p roduce, 1071 to 108 t. LIVERPOOL, SUNDAY NIGHT. The Vigo has arrived. She left New York on the 7th inst., and brings 185 passengers and a smal amount of specie. Her news has been anticipated. Henry the Third, King of France, his Court and Times. By Martha Walker Freer, author of " The Life of Marguerite D'Angoulcme," &c. 3 vols. Hurst and Blackett. Miss Freer has before now honourably distin guished herself in that department of litera ture which feminine writers seem of late to have especially appropriated. Miss Strickland's labours have obtained for her a lasting reputa tion, while her example has been worthily fol lowed by Miss Pardoe, Mrs. Everett Green, and other fair writers of historical biography. Miss Freer has devoted herself to the royal histories of our continental neighbours, and has selected the eventful sixteenth century for the time chronicled. She commenced her series some time back, with the life of Marguerite D'Angouleme, Queen of Navarre, the beautiful and virtuous sister of the chivalrous Francis I. Her affection for her brother, her cultivated tastes, and the encourage ment she secretly afforded to the:reformed doctrines, were described by Miss Freer with great success. The memoir of her heroic daughter, Jeanne D'Albret, also Queen of Navarre, followed, and told of more troubled times and sterner characters. The authoress then stepped aside from the direct course of French history to give us the memoirs of Elizabeth de Valois, eldest daughter of Henry 11., who was the third wife of the cruel and bigoted Philip 11. of Spain. All historians agree in de scribing her as a fair and gentle princess, but she does not appear to have possessed much character. It was at the tournament held in honour of her marriage that Henry 11. received his death-blow. Miss Freer has now returned to French soil, and in this, her longest and most ambitious work, she has given us a history of the life and times of Henry the Third, the earlier part of whose career includes that of his brother, Charles IX. The reign of Henry, as Miss Freer observes, was " one of the most effete and inglorious in French history." Never theless the times were rife with great characters. and stirring events. It would afford scope to the powers of the ablest historian, the most skilful analyser of the motives and passions of mankind, to describe the gradual decline of the royal power , the rise of the Guises, the indolent and effeminate, yet vindictive, character of the king, the influence of the temporising policy of the queen•mother, the formation of the League, and its struggles with Henry of Navarre. All these varying elements of strife and discord, and their influence upon society and the masses of the people ; the country torn by faction and convulsed by civil war, with the fiercest religious intolerance raging on both sides, might afford ample opportunity to the philosopher or the moralist, to marvel at the shortsightedness and weakness of human nature, or to deplore the lengths to which it is carried by its ambition, its intolerance, and its evil passions. Miss Freer does not attempt to deduce a moral of this kind. She contents herself with narrating with straightfor ward simplicity the events of the time ; with paint ing the varying characters more by their actions than by words, though she shows some skill in tracing the effects of their different dispositions. Her volumes evidence the labour she has under gone in study and research. The notes are nume rous, and. the constant references to her authority testify the authenticity of her work. The history is compiled " from numerous unpublished sources, including MS. documents in the Bibliotheque Im periale and the archives of France and Italy." The pains which she has taken to trace the parentage and relationship of the chief characters also deserve commendation. She possesses, too, the chief re quisite of an historian, a; strict impartiality, and the fact of her indulging little in reflection or com ment helps her to preserve her freedom from bias. Her remarks,when they are incidentally introduced, are generally sensible and comprehensive in spirit. Her present work is more ambitious in its aim than any of her former ones, both from its greater length and the more troubled times it chro nicles, and also from the . subject of the biography being a king and not a queen, the prin ciples of his government, and the political aspects of his reign having to be discussed. The first volume is chiefly occupied with the narrative of the closin years of Charles the Ninth's reign a nd Henr y 's brief and inglorious rule in Poland. The second is full of the details of the intrigues and factions, the extravagant luxury of the court, and the strife and turmoil in the Southern provinces. The third volume narrates the increasing power of the Duke de Guise, the tyranny of the League, the barricades of Paris, the subsequent event the tragedy at Blois, and terminates with the knife of the assassin, who so soon avenged the murder of the Guises. It new remains to Miss Freer to trace the story of the troubled times that followed, and the career of that good and great Henri Quatre, who was also destined, like so many of the good and great of those days, to perish by the hand of a murderer. The picture of the frivolous and dissipated court, swayed by the cabals of favourites, and disturbed by their animo sities, is sketched with skill and vigour. We must not omit to mention that three fine portraits are affixed to the volumes, Henry the Third, Catherine de Medicis, and Louise of Lorraine, Henry's queen. The countenance of the king shows the compound of weakness and ferocity which formed his charac ter, while the calm smooth features of his mother have a treacherous and cunning look, which accords with the mind that could plan and execute the tragedy of St. - I Bartholomew. The portrait of Queen Louise is mild and, melancholy, but does not evidence much intellect or character. We con gratulate Miss Freer on having successfully accom plished a very arduous task. Her powers are well adapted to render good and efficient service to his , torical literature, by her faithful and searching in vestigation of those minor portions which great historians are apt to slight or hasten over ; as of old the pupils of the great painters would carefully finish the subordinate yet indispensable figuies, leaving the central groups to be sketched by the master's hand. of I • . Hktoric Notes on the Books of the Old and New Testaments. By Samuel Sharpe. Smith and Elder. This is the second edition of this work, which testifies the public approval. The author states in his preface that its object is neither theological nor devotional, but is an attempt to explain by means of the history, the circumstances under which the several books and portions of books were written, and the times when the writers lived. Such know ledge must always be useful and acceptable to readers of Scripture, enabling them to understand and appreciate much that would otherwise be diffi cult and obscure. NEW POEMS. Poems. By Henry Cecil. Smith and Elder. lonica. Smith and Elder. Poems. By . Ada Trey anion. Smith and Elder. Verse. By Charles Boner. Chapman and Hall. An Hour Ago—.A Mystery. By S. F. Cockran Longman. It is universally admitted, we believe, by the *rifles of the . present day, that the poets of our time are fair inferior to their predecessors. The volumes before us, whatever their recommendations, will not, we fear, reverse this decision. Some of them, however, show traces of poetic feeling, and we are glad to see less of that mysticism and in version of phrase which render many of the new school so formidable to read, much more to compre hend. "Poems," by Henry Cecil, have some pleas ing and flowing verses, and some graceful passages, but the resemblance to the writings of the laureate often strikes the reader. Subject and style so often correspond to some of Tennyson's earlier pieces that one is inclined to question whether Mr. Cecil would have written poems had he not read Tennyson. We occasionally meet also with a strong resem blance to the ballads of Professor Aytoun, which is the more to be regretted as the author can cer tainly write pleasing and flowing verses, if not capable of reaching any lofty altitude of the poetic art. He . should carefully avoid this similarity whether intentional or accidental, and concentrate his powers on simp le descriptive pieces, where he may attain great er success than in his present endeavour. " loniea" has more originality, and the verse runs smoothly and flowingly. The thoughts, how ever, are not so good as the expression of them, and there is neither sufficient depth of philosophical thought or sympathetic feeling to constitute the writer a poet. „ Poems ," by Ada Trevanion, are graceful and tender in feeling, and unexceptionable in moral fro a m pp M ar r e . n T t. enny r s e o h n i. a t n h d e p u rpose, but the copying Mrs. Hemans is painfully former especially, the unacknowledged borrowing must strike every reader of the Laureate. Indeed, it is only wonderful how the authoress herself could have passed it over. For instance, we have " Spring and its Return," two scenes from a young girl's deathbed, in which she says— " N C o o t m y e e t f Tol lad the tones of gr een, This merriment,rel, This May they'll give no thought to me, But choose another Queen." And again— " Not yet—al aged pastor kneels, And strives with holy words To rouse the light of faith and touch ' My wayward's spirits' chords." If the words are not identical, the idea is pre cisely the same as in Tennyson's popular " May Queen." In another part of the book the likeness to a few lines of the same poem is still stronger, OArE k 3. south She ( llstri2ts still ( alth ough in s( 114'11 :e re eneouraf k e llsts f or in c ° ll 1 trade, ho' 44 1 of the sti t 01 .3" state. A t° give the ad g e neral rule. there has bees °,lllers from 1 t vrtrious alte ration: Al ' A t the tow n at 't Ma nehestE clotk s haaimr t he tndia and 11 1)Nt's rd tend r alr inquiry 114 4. Th e iv the demand it'd iatts i: l rs t in. eee in O e hs u f s ta s i e titi s hi l:l s b e e t eE l °f Worsted Xl4 weathE 1/-11 ited vary we re s demand, Joint At aligl Joint S QAade and At tulle( Ditto Ditto E Xxchel ar, Turi Di Di Ven