The Sun. — London, England, 1848-06-15 00:00:00

of 251. each, to appear at the Central Criminal Court to take his trial, and the required sureties being immedi. ately provided, he was liberated. Another prisoner was then brought up on a charge of Wilfully damaging an ornament in the theatre, but as there was no one in attendance to prove the value of the Projoerty, the case was adjourned. James Crosby was charged with damaging a gilt iestoon forming part of the decorations of the theatre. - It appeared th a t the prisoner, in attempting to climb from the pit to the boxes, laid hold ( f the festoon and dragged it down. Mr. Symons intimated that he was prepared to show that the defendant was escaping from the v iolence ot Borne persons in the pit. Mr. HALL suggested that the matter should be sett led; and, acting on this suggestion, the defendant Paid the value of the ornament destroyed, and was dis charged. IVI(3I NEY and COMMERCIAL NEWS. CITY, QUARTER TO THREE. . The sales of Cotton at Liverpool yesterd a y were MO to 3,500 b a l es , a ll to the trade. Prices were rather easier, the market being heavy. Railway Shares ~ were quiet, with but little variation in prices. A moderate business was done. A statement of the Brussels banking establishments tree the circulation of notes at 32,168,100 francs from „ay26 to June 10, and the discount operations at 40 , , ,,.. 99 7,634 francs. We have been requested to state that the article which appeared in last night's Sun, respecting an alleged de claration of war a g ainst Spain, has given an inducement : merchants connected with that country to withdraw °their produce from the market. Thus some articles !▪ re held for fuller prices, which yesterday morning were freely offered. The Committee of Spanish American Bondholders B ove receiv e d a di s couraging communication from Peru , t he Gov ernmen t o f which has exhibited the greatest iilert uess, and has not even replied to t he communications fr om Messrs. Maclean, Rowe, and Co. The Minister It Limaind, Mr. Adams, will be requeste d to interfere, and, eed, L or d P a l mers t o n is stated to have given instruc ii to th a t effect some time back. Compla ints are made that the Committee did not publish t he communication some days back, when it came to hand. We take from the American advices, received per ,te • amer, the following information upon financial ,‘._" Nothing of interest has transpired in o ffi cial or corn 4.4ereini, affairs during the past week. Operations in Stoc ks have been to a limited extent, but prices for several , the large of the fancies have improved. Notwithstanding shipments of specie, the money market is fe rParatively easy, and no apprehension is at present t r elative to the drain. It is utterly impossible to ~r l7° any opinion as to the probable extent of th e ex -I;rttion of precious metals during the next mont h or • as a portion of the shipments already ch 4 'e has been on speculative account, for the pur chase of merchandise in European markets, before any improvement in the commercial affairs of the old world e - ,, u ' in ces prices for such articles as are adapted to the 1 - ,, i luipption of this country. Recent advises from Eng land state that large quantities of manufactures from the ",ntinent have been sent across the channel for sale, f or the proceeds carried back in specie. This accounts t° l ' the drain of specie from the Bank of England. ~,.'Peculators in this country have not waited for ship ments of European manufactures to this country, but ,re taken the specie and gone into the markets France and Germany and purchased largely. 80 long as we have the specie to spare, these ° Perations can be made very profitable, but if t he shipm en t s con tinue a panic will arise in this country, and depreciate prices so that t here will be no m argin left for profits. There is, however, very little danger of this, as the supply of specie here is much greater than is generally known. So far as the banks are concerned they have nothing to brag of; but there is pimmense amount of gold and specie in c irculation, eating around the country, which the banks have no control over, and which tends, very naturally , to im p rove the value of the currency." Stocks are very firm again, the increasing ease of the Money Market having the effect of supporting prices against every other influence. The Bank of England, it is fully expected, will make a formal reduction in its minimum rate of discount, and if the Parlour meeting break, up sufficiently early, we shall communicate the result. Consols for July have been marked 834 to 834 ea. dividend. There have been no bargains for special transfer. Bank Stock is firm at 1924. The New Three and-a_Quarter per Cents. realise 844 to 4. Exchequer bills have realized 425. premium. There has been rather more activity in Foreign Bonds, Spanish Three per Cents. have been at an ad vance to 22i and 23, and the Five per Cents. to 124, having fully recovered yesterday's depression. Portu guese Four per Cents. have b een marked lei to 17. Mexican Bonds have b een 151 to 4. Peruvian suffer fro m th e advices received yesterday, being . 30 to 304. Grenada are 124. Dutc h Two-and-a• Hal t per Cents bring 424. Railway Shares are looking better again, although the market is quiet. ONE CLOSING PRICES OF nitITISH FUNDS. O'l LOCK. PRICES. Bank Stock 19 2 1, /2 192 1 A 2 3 per Cent. Reduced Aims Now 3 1 4 per Cent. Anns.... . Lone Anne. to expire Jan. 1860 -16 8 9-16 Ditto, Oct. 10, 1859 ..... 8 1 4 814 India Stock — India Bonds, 1,0001. Consols for Opening 25 3 1 (i liixd 83 5 / B xd Exchequer Bills. 2d. 1,0001. 5001. &nail .. 42 p 391: oNE CLOSIN• I RICE! OF FOREIGN FUNDS. O'CLOCK. PRICES Brazilian Bonds - 66 1 4 Grenada Bonds, 1 per Cent. Mexican, 5 per Cent. 1846 1 5 34% 16 Peruvian Bowls, 6 per Cents 30% 30 30 Portuguese 5 per Cents. — Ditto, 4 per Cent 1 6 14 17 17 Spanish 5 per Cent. 1840. Ditto, Account 12% 12% Ditto, Passive 21 Ditto 3 Der Cent : 1 /1 23 22% 22% Dividends on the above payble iu London. Dutch 21A per Cent., 12 Guild 4214 42 1 4 PRICES OF I' B USINESS DONE CLOSING RAILWAY SHARES. PAID. AT ONE O'CLOCK. P RICES. Aberdeen Amber., Nott., Boston, ~ and Eastern Junction 3 1 4...... tiyrshire and Galloway.. 2%•••••• —'— Belfast & County Down 14%...... Birmingham and Ox ford J unc tion .... ... 20 00Tningha.m, Wolver b.hampton and Dudley 10 'irtning.,VVolverh'pton, h.and Stour Valley 1 21 . 4 s ... oir itenhea d, Lancashire, band Cheshire Junc.... 7,, i t — •••• • ...... ••• ,'o,ton, Stamtd & Birm. 5 Idri3tol and Exeter B5 55 Ditto, Thirds tuckin g hamshire... 14/. 4s. Caledonian Ditto, Half Shares .. 6% — Ditto,Clydesdale June 50 Chester and Holyhead... 42 %...... •• ••• Ditto, Preference l5 ...... Clarence .Do. Ist Class, 6 per Ct. 10 L'o. 2d Class, 5 per Ct. 10 ...... Do.. Government Loan, 4 per Cent. Direct London & Ports- mouth Dublin and Belfast June. 27% Dundalk & Enniskillen 17%.....• East A.uglia, 251., L. & E. and L. and D...... 25 6 3/ Do., 18/., E. & H.— 18 Do., 3/. 1.0. , 314 ..... Eastern Counties........ 20 ...... 14 1 / 8 % Do. New Guaranteed 6 per Cent. Ditto,Extension,s per Cent., No. 1......6/. 13s. 4d.... Ditto ditto, No. 2-61. 13 5 . 4d... Do. North. & Eastern 50 Do., 5 per cent. ... . ......... Do. Quarters . - /2 : ... . • ........ Do. New ............... 23 ............ .. Eastern Union, Class A (late E. U. Shares) 25 Ditto, Class A, ditto... 1 ............... Ditto. Class B (L & and B.) ........ . ...... 17% — .............. L'itto Class C, ditto... 17% — ............... Do. gcrip (6 percent.) 10 „..... ..... Ditto, ditto ... ......... 20 ..... ......... Ditto (C. & E.) guar. Easts per cent-- ...... 2 1 / 2 , —. Lancashire Ditto, I , i ew ............17 ..•••• ... Ditto, New Quarters 61,1...... East Li ...... 20% ..... 20% ......... Edinburgh aud Glasgow 50 •••••• . Ditto, Halt Shares ... 15 .. .. •-• ............ ••• Ditto, Quarter Shares 12%...... Edinburgh andN °Ahern 25 ...... Ditto, New...... ........ 614...... -- .............» Ditto, Newport l3 ...... •-• .... ........... Ditto, ditto, New 3 3 / 4-•••• --- EXeter,Yeovil, & Dorch 2% ..... ••••••••• G Ditto, N ew ulaegow Dumfries, and Carlisle - 6s. 8d.... -- Gl asgow,liiimar., & Ayr 50 Ditto, New ... . 40 Do. Preference Consol. 15 Great Northern D o., London and York 2%...... r i eat South. and West (Ireland) Great North of England 100 ......230 Ditto, New, 30/ ......... 30 401. ..... ... 15 Ditto, New, ,„ Ditto, Nowls/ tirneaitttWo,;ern 11%..... ......... ...... 90 ... .. 90 .. ...... „.... Shares 5O ...... ... Ditto, A Shares" 17% .. 15 1 4 ...... .... ..., Itto Fif . 0 ...... Diu 3 t 0 , , New 17/... .... . 2 9%..• .. 7 3 / 4 udd ersfield and Manch. 26 _Ditto, Thirds 4 41111 and Selby .. ...... 50 ...... Ditto,, half Shares ... 25 ...... , -40.0 t La ne ' 4 S hares „, . aster and Carlisle... 50 ...... 51 Lance°'Ditt Thirds hire & Yorkshire 93 ............ -- Ditto, Ditto ditto 2,6 b , % Shares ...... 43 ••• •• n ° o : (-41infathrtser Shares... 17%...... I , FA I / 4 D o . o• • • ............ 9 ...... ,_() alateenths .. 61 5% I, T hir ,.,, e ... .. 4 ...... 1 1 1" i i ° , t . " t L o N i v e : v 2 r ‘ i . : ' ; u l l' a a a . t n 6 e c g l . I P)e. Bury r-e. t.. 14234 ..... :::: .. —: . . _ derstield and Sh d- Lk ( Wakelield.P eft: ) 38 fact, ___, • - Onto "I and Goole) ... 50 55 15 1 A 311 Do.(W. Riding Union) 6 .. , Do. (Preston & Wyre) 25 Do. % Shares (A).- 9 Leeds and Bradford 5O Leeds, Dewsbury, &c.... 47 1 / 2 Do., Half Shares 22%...... ... Do., (blue) Scrip...... 2%... .. Leeds and Thirsk ..... . 45 Ditto, New ..... ........ 2G Do., Prefer., 6 per Ct. 3% — Liverpool, Crosby and Southport . 31 ,2 _ Liverp., Manchester, and Newcastle Junction... 21 ,4 — London &Black wa11...131. 6s. 8d 4 3% Do. New, .No. 2 ...... 61.185.4 d.... Do. Extension ..... ... 22% 2 .......- •••• ••••• London, Brighton, and South C0a5t......... 50 Do. Consol. Eighths. 40 - ••••••• ....... Do. Guarant. 5 per ct.., 9 Do. I'ref. Con. 5 per ct. 50 .. Ditto, ditto.-- 1852 50 ...... London and Greenwich 12/15s 4d... • - Ditto, Preference... 18i 17s 2d... London and N. Western 100 124 123 Do. Quarters (L. & 11.) 22 Ditto, New Ditto, Fifths ..... .. .. 2 ... D0.40/.Shares(L.M.) 20 Do. 101. (M. & B.) A. 7% Do. 10/. (M. & B.) B. 7%..... Do. 10). iM. & B.) C. 1 .... Lon(t. & S. W. stern Do. New .501. ... ..... 42%.. Do. New 401 3l Do. Tenths (Consol.) 50 Ditto ditto ......... 40 Ditto. Thirds lO London, Salisbury, and Yeovil .. -.. .. 1 1 ,4 — LQndondorry&Colerainei 27%...... -.•- Londonderry and Ennis killen 25 ...... ... ..... ..... Lowestoft (4 per ct.) Ditto (6 per ct.) Manchester,Buxton,and Mat10ck...... 4 Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire...loo _ _ Do.(Waiieis (No. 1) 13 Ditto ditto (No. 2)... 25 Ditto ditto (No. 3) ... 7 1 ,4 — .........• ... Ditto, New 101. Pref... 7 1 ,E — Ditto, Gt. Grimsby ... 30 Ditto ditto . ........ 9 - ••• ••••• •••• Ditto ditto .. 5% — Ditto Sheffield and Lincolnshire lO . ... ... Do., Grimsby Dock l5 Do., Manchester and Lincoln Union..... 41.2 s — Manchest.Ec Southampt. 2 , A — blidlanAl ... 100 lOl l4 102 100% ..„ ..... Do. Consolidated Pref.loo Do., do., 50/. Shares... 15 ... 8% 9 Do. Birm., and Derbyloo Do.Consol. Bristol and Binning., 6 per ct.... 100 llB% 117% Ditto, l3rist. & Glocstr. 36 Ditto, ditto ......... 11/. 3s. 6d — Ditto,Leieest.& Swan nington, 8 per ct.guar.loo Midland Great Western Irish Middlesbro' and Redcar, 6 per cent. guar. Newcastle and Garlisle...loo Do. Quarters N t mmrket&Chestertord 18% Do. Extension .........21. 125.... Newport, Abergavenny, and Hereford 6 ...... -- ......_ _ Newry and Enniskillen 7 Newry, Warrenpoint, and Rostrevor l5 Norfolk .......... .100 Do. New 201. .. Do. Extension 5 p ct. 20 - r .-.. Do. Guaranteed 5c 2 pc. 5 Do. do. Waveney V al. 2 Northern Counties Union 4 ..m1 orth British ........ ... 25 Do. Half Shares •-• ..... Do. Quarters 6 ...... •••, Do. Extension Ditto Thirds North & South-Western 2 .... —..-.... .... North tatlordshire 10Ai....• .• North Wales . North Western. 7 l/i ...... Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton 45 ... 27 1 A Reading, Guildiord, and Reigate 7 IA ..... • lioyswo and Ilitchin Scottish Central Scottish Midland 25 ...... • Ditto,New ......... 12 1 A ...... ........ Rotherham, andGoole (Nor. Div.) 7 1 h — Do. do. (Sou. Div.) 4 ••••.• ••• Shrewsbury and Bin;-. 8 ...... ............•• Ditto ditto, Class B. 5 Shrewsbury and Herefd. 2 Shrewsbury & Chester ( Nor. W. Min.) Ditto Halves ..-. ditto 8 ..».• •• ••• ......... Ditto Oswestry ...... 16 Ditto New Do. 8 per Cent. I'ref. 8 Shropshire} Union south Devon... 45 Do. Preference South Staffordshire 5 l /2 — o An Easttru Do., No. 1 24 Do., N 0.2. Do., No. 3 .. ..... ...... 25 D0., No. 4 South Wa1e5...... ......... 23 zouth Yorkshire, Don caster, and Lioole Swans. & Loughor lic ea- _ meron's Stan. C0a1.... 6 ••• . ********* • Taw Vale Extension ... 6 ••••• ••• Thames Haven Dock and Railway 17 1 h ..... • Vale of .\eatt► ..... 4 Waterford and Kilkenny 15 1 / . 2 . atertord and Limerick 42 1 A — ••• Watertd,Wxtrd,Wicklw, and Dublin Wear Valley 6 per Cent. Guaranteed ...... 42 3 / 4 Do. do. do. ... 25 Do. do. do. ... Wr est Cornwall ...... 6 ... bitehaven & .Furness 11 Windsor, Staines, and South Western........ 9 1 / 2 . — Wilts, Somerset, 6i. Wey mouth ... 35 York, Newcastle, and Berwick. .... ........ 25 Originai New and Berwick ...... 25 Do. Extensiox No. 1. 15 Do. do. No. 2......... 10 Do. G.N.E.Preterence 8 ...... 9 York and North Midltnd 50 Ditto, Preference ...... 10 - ... Do. East and A est gid ing EXtenSiOn FOREIGN RAILWAYS. Boulogne and Amiens... 20 ...... 6 1 ,i Central of France (Or leans and Vierzon) ... 16 ...... Ceylon .................... ss. ...... Demerara ............... ... 10 - ••• Deudre Va11ey............ 4 Direct Bombay and Madras Dutch Rhenish ..... .... 7 1 / 2 ... .. i. ..... •••• ... , East Indian ..-.. Great Indian Peninsular 58. - ...... Italian and Austrian.... 4 Louvain ala Sambre ... 6 Luxembourg Madrid and Valentia... 2 Namur and Liege lB ... .. Northern of France 27 1 ,4 1 3 , ; ~ - 57t'i 30 11% 9.„4 - :rt 4% Orleans and Bordeaux 6 ...... ... ...... .. Over Yssel 413 s 4d...... Paris and Lyons n •• •60 - Paris and Orleans Paris and Rouen ........ 20 15•'% Paris and Strasbourg ... 8 .•• ••••• Rouen and Havre Sambre and Meuse 2O ..• .. ••••• 000000 ••- Strasbourg and Basle Tours ancl Nantes .. 8 Tournay, Jurbise, Lan den, and Hasselt ...... 16 West Flanders JOINT STOCK BANKS. Australasia British North American 50 Colonial Union of Australia 15 44 7 4 __ , 2 BANK of ENGLAND.—(THIS DAY.) CITY, THREE O'CLOCK. The rate of discount at the Bank of England has been reduced from 4 to 3i per cent. LLOYD'S SHIPPING—(THIS DAY.) LoNDoN, JUNE 15.—Wind E.N.E., light_breeze. and fine clear weather. PORTSMOUTH, JUNE 14.—S1d. Sir Robert Peel, New York. LIVERPOOL, JUNE 14.—The Larne, Nickels, New Orleans, which was on shore yesterday in the Victoria channel, d channel, came off on the flood very leaky, and w on the bank alongside the Albert dock, where she dis charging. A large ship was seen on shore near the Towsey Rocks, off Cape Florida, 22nd May, which ap parently had just gone on. Two ships were seen inside Florida Reef, nbar Indian Key, 15th ult., apparently at anchor, with wreckers near them. The British brig Brothers was wrecked on the bar at Tampico, previous to 21st May. A barque was run on shore on Apple Island previous to 23d ult. The Princess, Newton, from Dublin to St. John's, New Brunswick, struck on Cape Sable, 20th ult., and was totally wrecked; crew and materials saved. The Cranton, Cooper, from Lon don to St. John's, New Brunswick,was wrecked near Cape Negro, 21st ult. ; crew and materials saved. The John St. Barbe, Lyon, of Milford, from Porthcawl to Liver pool, with iron, s truck on the Nort h Bank y esterda y , and sank ; crew saved. LYTHAM, JUNE 14.—The sloop Alice, of Conway, was driven on the Horse Bank this morning, and will Probably become a wreck, as it is blowing hard, with a very heavy sea ; crew saved. ABERDOVEY, JUNE 13.—The sloop Catharine, Mor gan, and Lively, Hughes, discharged their cargoes (limestone) yesterday on Booth beach, and were driven on shore to-day, two miles south of the Dovey River. Nice p.m.—lt is blowing a gale from W.N.W. ILFRACOMBE. JUNE 13.—The Ann, James, from Bristol to Dartmouth, drove on the rocks at the en trance of this harbour to-day, but was hove off with assistance, and has sustained no damage. SCILLY, JUNE 12.—The cargo of the Familiens Nils, Rouge, from Christiana to Malaga, which was assisted into St. Mary's pier full of water, after having been on shore, has been discharged. - - •• ••• ....• THE SUN, LONDON, DUNGENESS, JUNE 12.—S1d. Eleanor, Barbadoes. DEAL, JUNE 14.—Wind S.E. to E.—Arrived from the River and sailed, John Bartlett, Woodward, Adelaide, South Australia; Tartar, Harvey, Hlong•Kong; Surge, Maurice, ditto ; Sir Robert Sale, Brown, Tatocoreen ; Hebrides, Melville, Bombay; President, Mellish, Aden; Cambria, Sim - Mick, Quebec. Sid. Agincourt, Sydney, New South Wales ; New Zealand, Ceylon ; Ethelred, Sierra Leone; Victoria, Valparaiso. Part of a wreck, apparently belonging to a ship of 400 tons, with lower masts standing, painted white with the top-rim black, yards painted black and white, was passed 29th ult., lat. 41 N, long. 11 W, by the Caroline, Deut, arrived in the Downs. MARKET NEWS.-(THIS DAY.) MEAT reartEßETs. Sou=ALL, JUNE 14.—Our market was well supplied with each kind of stock to day. Generally speaking, the demand was heavy, at drooping; prices Beef, from 3; to 4s; Mutton, 4s to 4s 10d; Lamb, 4s Sd to 53 Sd; Veal, 4s to 4s Ed; and Pork, 4s to 4s 6d per Slbs to sink the offal. Romronu, JUNE 14.—We had a very inactive demand for each kind of stuck, the prices of which had a down • ward tendency. Beef, from 3s to 4s; Mutton, 4s to ss; Lamb, 5s to 5s 10d; Veal, 4s to 4s ed; and Pork, 4s 2d to 4s 6d per 81bs. Suckling Calves, 18s to 24s ; Quarter old store Pigs, 18s to 225; and Milch Cows, with their small Calf', 141 lOs to 171 each. LEWIS, JUNE 13.—Beef, from 3s to 4s; Mutton, 4s to ss; Lamb, 53 to 5s 6d; Veal, 4s to 4s 6d; and Pork, 4s '2d to 4s 6d per 81bs. A fair average supply and a heavy demand. ArmvzG.e.TE awn X.EI3.DENHALM. We had a very inactive demand to-day. and prices were with difficulty supported. Beef, from 2s 10d to 3s 6fl; Mutton, 3s 4d to 4s 8d; Lamb, 4s 10d to 5s 10d; Veal, 3s 4d to 4s 4d; and Pork, 3s 8d to 4a 8d per 81bs, by the carcase. EIAY MARKETS. SNICHFIELD.—Meadow Hay, 3/ to 31 10s ; Clover ditto, 3/ ISs to 41125; and Straw, 115 s to 11 lOs per load. A moderate supply, and a sluggish demand. CUMBERLAND.—Meadow Hay, 31 to 31 12s; Clover ditto, 4/ to 4/ 10s; and Straw, 1/ 6s to 1/ lOs per load. Trade dull at the above quotations. WIIITECHAPEL.—Meadow Hay, 31 to 31 10s; Clover ditto, 41 to 41 12s 6d; and Straw, 1/ 6s to 11 lOs per load. Supply but moderate, and trade dull. COAL MARK E' Bate's West Hartley 15s Od' huddle's W. Hartley 15s Od Carr's Hartley Chester Main l3s 9d Davison'sWestHartley 15s Od Dean's Primrose •12s Od, East Adairs Main..• Hasting's Hartley lss Od Holywell Main ..... 14s 6u Ord's Redheugh South Peered' Walker's Primrose West Wylam Wall's End, &c Bewicke and Co. Gosforth Hedley Hilda l4s Od Killingworth l3s 9d Walker Wharncliffe Eden Main • lss Belmont lss Oa Braddyll's Het ton lss Gd .-YESTERDAY. Bell Haswell 163 9d Hetton Keepier Lambton Morrison l4s Od Stewart's Caradoe 15s 3d Cassop. ... Hunwick Kelloe l4s 9d South Ilartlepool Cowndon Tees Denison Tees ...... . ........ . . 16s West Cornforth West Tees l3s 6d West Hetton l4s 6d Derwentwater Hartley 14s 9d Howard's W. H. Neth 153 Od Hartley Powell's Duffryn Stm l9s 6d Sidney's llartley Ships at market 151. CORN AVERAGES. GENERAL AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN For the Week ended June 15,1848, made up from the Returns of the Inspectors in the different Cities and Towns in England and Wales per Imperial Quarter. WHEAT. I BARLEY. OATS. I RYE. I BEAM PEAS. PRICE .. 47s 8d 31 s 7d ' 20s Od 28s Od 38s 4d 37s Od DUTIES ON FOREIGN CORN. WZIZAT. I BARLEY. I OATS. I RTE. , I BEANS. TEAS. 9s Od 2s Od 23 6d 2s Od 2s Od Is Od SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. HAMPTON RACES.-WEDNESDAY. There was nothing particularly inviting in the card for the first day; indeed, in that essential to small meetings, quantity, it was sadly deficient, and so little pains had been taken to make the public acquainted with its merits, that the attendance, fine as the weather turned out, was very thin. If, however, we cannot congratulate lessees upon their exertions to promote apart, we must give them credit for two or three decided improvements on the course. In the first place, they have, with much judg ment, placed the weighing-booth immediately above and on the same side as the betting-stand; it is consi derably enlarged, and being enclosed offers every facility for the transaction of business. The betting-stand is now one of the most convenient we have seen at a minor meet ing; the steps are carried down to the ground, and it has the long wished-for accomodation of an enclosure, not a very extensive one, but quite large enough for the pur pose. We hail these, and some other improvements of less consequence, as evidences of a better spirit than has been shown of late years in this quarter, and shall be glad to have tin opportunity of announcing the inten tions of the powers that be to place the meeting in other respects on a better footing; there is much room for amendment. We subjoin A n outline of the racing, which it will scarcely be credited, was over before five o'clock. The bill of tare for this day comprises the Queen'sYlate and two other races in heats, the Claremont Stakes fur two year olds, and the Scurry Stakes, gentleman riders; there will be enough and to spare, and in order to get through it by daylight the first start will be at one o'clock precisely. The Railway Plate of 20/., added to a Sweepstakes of 5 sous. each; three yrs old, ist 71b; four, Bst 101 b; five, 9st 31b; six and aged, 9st 71b; mares and geldings , .. . . allowed 31b. The winner to be sold for 2001. Beats, once round and a dis. (6 Subs.) Mr. Death's Lady Frances, 3 yrs (Wakefield) 2 1 1 Lord Strathmore 's Titbit, 5 yrs ... ... 1 2 2 Mr. Smith's br gby Carew, 3 yrs ... ... 3 0 0 Mr. Drewitt's Blind Hookey, aged ... ... 0 0 0 Mr. Nice ll's Moscow, 5 yrs 0 0 0 The first heat was won by half a length, the second by two lengths, and the third in a canter. The Surrey and Middlesex Stakes of 20 sovs. each; 10 ft, and 5 ft only if declared, with 50 added; the second to save his stake. Two miles. (27 Subs., 20 of whom declared.) Mr. Ewbaides Louisa Newell, 4 yrs, 7st (Longstaff) 1 Mr. E. R. -'s Self-Defence, 3 yrs, sst 101 b ... 2 Mr. Shelley's Tarella, 4 yrs, ist 6lb ... 3 Count Bathyany's Master Stepney, 6 yrs, 7st 7lb ... 0 Sir H. Fleetwood's Forest Flower, 6 yrs, 7st 71b 0 5 to 2 agst Self-Defence, 3 to 1 agst Louisa Newell, 3 to 1 agst Forest Flower, and 4 to 1 agst any other. Louisa Newell made all the running, followed alternately by Forest Flower, Tarclla, and Master Stepney, till near the distance. Self-Defence then went up to her, and they raced home together, the mare winning by a head; Tarella a bad third. Run in 3 min. 56 sec. _ _ _ The Corinthian Stakes of 10 sovs. each; 5 ft, and 25 added. Once round and a distance. The winner to be sold for 2001., &c. (11 Subs.) Mr. Elwes's Mountain Dew, 4 yrs, lOst 101 b (Owner) 1 Mr. Clifton's Valiant, 5 yrs, llst 81b... ... 2 The following also started, but were not placed: — Mr. Iliville's Kimblesworth, 4 yrs, 10st 71b 0 Mr. Ricardo as Holloa, 3 yrs, 9st ... 0 Lord Suffii-ld na Guaracha, 5 yrs, list 31b 0 Mr. Hobson's Ipecaeuanha, 5 yrs, 11st 21b 0 Mr. R. Lawley 3 Alkali, 6 yrs, list 91b 0 3 to 1 each agst Kimblesworth, Guaracha, and Holloa, 4to 1 agst Mountain Dew, and sto 1 agst Valiant. A very close race between Mountain Dew, Valiant, and Kimblesworth; Mountain Dew, who made all the running winning by a head, Guaracha a bad fourth. Lord Strath more, who rode Valiant, thought he had won, and many in the stand were of the s ame o p inion ; those, however, who were stationed immediately behind or opposite the chair spoke to the correctness of the decision, and we have no doubt it was right. Run in 2 min. 17 secs. BETTING ON THE COURSE. GOODWOOD STAKES. Even on the field agst 20 15 to 1 agst Chat-20 Lob t 15 to 1 agst Diplomatist—t 15 to 1 agst Crozier- 20 to 20 to 1 1 taken DERBY. 30 to I agst c out of Alice 40 to 1 agst Montague Hawthorn's dam 50 to 1 agst Pel o ham 30 to 1 agst Uriel NORTIIUDIBERLAND PLATE. Queen of the May is declared not to start. MANCHESTER RACES.—WEDNESDAY. The Wilton Stakes of 10 sovs. each, h ft, and 40 added. One mile and a half. (6 Subs.) Mr. Meeson's Dart, 6 yrs ... ...(W hitehouse) 1 Mr. Lillie's Great Western , 3 y rs ..• ••• ... 2 Mr. Meiklam's The Spaniard, 3 yrs ... ••• ... 3 Betting-6 to 4 agst Great Western, sto 2 agst The Spaniard, and 3to 1 agst Dart. Wo n cleverl y . Run in 2 min. 52 secs. Sweepstakes of 10 soya. each, h ft, and 50 added; for two yrs old colts, Bst 51b; and fillies, Bst 21b. T.Y.C. (18 Subs.) Mr. Green's Cigarette ... Mr. Hesseltine's Quiver Sir J. Gerard's Mars ... Mr. Dawson's Priestess Mr. Copeland's Clothworker sto 4 not Quiver, and sto 2 agst Cigarette. Won in a canter, Time, 1 min. 21 secs. The Manchester Tradesmen's Cup of 300 soya., added to a Handicap of 20 soya. each, h ft, and 5 It only if declared;, the second to receive 501. Two miles and a dis. (a 6, Subs., 26 of whom declared.) Mr. Green's Swiss Boy, 3 yrs, sst 51b(Winteringbam) 1 Mr. Harriscla's Peep o'llay Boy, 4 yrs, 7st 81b 2 .11 , Ir. Arrow sm i t h' s L a dy Ilylda, 4 yrs Sir G. Art nytage's Best of Three, aged, 7st, bolted. 3to I ,on Peep o'llay Boy. Won by two lengths. Plate of , 80/.; for horses that never won 501. Heats, Mr. C .F 0 a fie ie s r t , esr Josephine, hl's tw A o lp u h i s e l i e a sa 3 yrs (G. Oates) yrs nda... dis. Lord sf ... . 1 1 .. 3 2 Mr. J. tioinpson's br cby Morning Star, 3 yrs.. 5 3 Mr. lie. f's Reliance, 6 yrs ... . . •.• ••• 6 4 Mr. Bui 3kley's Harry, 5 yrs ... ••• • 2dr Mr. Da w.son's Sh)lock, 4 yrs ... •.• 4dr (Winteringham) GRAV 'SINN.—LEGAL EXAMINATION.—At a nu merous meeting of the bench, and members of the society, and of the other Inns of Court, assembled in Gray's-i an Hall, the following gentlemen were con sidered I .;o have highly distinguished themselves in the oral and written examinations for honcurs, in the law of real p'! , iperty and conveyancing, on the 7th Juno last, and w e re classed in the following order—viz:— Mr. I m. Augustus Clark, Middle Temple Mr. I :dw. Harrison, Middle Temple ... 1 £ q . Mr. J ohn Lucie Smith, Middle Temple ... 2 Mr. J ohn Brewer, Middle Temple ... Mr. S ainuel Scott, Lincoln's Inn ... 3 2 Eq. The Right Rev. Doctor Cantwell, Bishop of Meat' , t , has sent in his adhesion to the Irish League, 117% I• ••• ''' ......,... -A. - - 1••••• ... THURSDAY EVENIN'G, JUNE 15, 1848. SIR BULWER LYTTON'S NEW WORK. HAROLD, THE LAST OF THE SAXON ICINGS. 3 Vols. By Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton. Another work from the pen of a romancist so dis ' tinguished in our national literature as Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton is welcomed by us with all the cor diality awarded to an old favourite. We will not affect an indifference which we do not feel,—we will not disguise the sentiments with which we opened the first volume of " Harold,"—we will not conceal the fact that we were predisposed to be gratified when the work was first announced for publication. Criticism, we are perfectly aware, is altogether worth less unless guided by the most profound impartiality. To be entitled to any consideration whatever, to ren der his praise or his blame of any (even the smallest) importance, the critic must be uninfluenced by emo tions whether of partiality or prejudice ; he must be as unimpassioned as truth, as ruthless as death, as implacable, as impassable, and as pitiless as the Gre cian Nemesis. Conscious as we are of this neces sity, and solicitous as we are that our opinion should not be regarded as worthless, we, nevertheless, ac knowledge at once that before a syllable of the narra tion under consideration had been perused by ourselves, we were prepared to imbibe from its pages a new sensation of enthusiasm. We preface our criticism with that avowal, and we do so all the more readily because we are satisfied that a wor k of this character only passes through a severer ordeal in proportion to the loftier anticipations of the reviewer. Expecting much, the imagination is more alive to disappoint ment. Judging the composition from its very com mencement by a high standard the mind of the reader is rendered only the more exacting and the more fastidious. So f'ar, therefore, from considering our admiration for the genius of Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton as a circumstance calculated to depreciate the correctness of our estimate,: either as to his merits or his demerits as a novelist, we feel that that admira tion is the best guarantee we could afford of our most severe and perfect impartiality. So much for our anticipations; now for their non-fulfilment, or their realisation. Happily for those who cannot perceive that the skilful delineations of crime—crime, the basest or the grandest—are inculcative of the holiest principles and of the most sublime morality, the last fiction of Sir Bulwer Lytton is not a companion story to " Lucretia." In the hideous incidents which con stituted the chief attraction of that morbid but extra ordinary production—that production which, al though the atmosphere surrounding it was an atmosphere of murder, and treachery, and vice, although its heroine was the very incarnation of infamy, although her principle yearning was homi cide although the whole book, so to speak , was reeking with poison, and absolutely smelt of blood, was as much entitled to respect for its tendency towards good as the truthful history of Macbeth, or the fictitious history of Orestes—in the hideous incidents, we say, which formed the paramount fascination of " L u cretia" the author pourtrayed the deeds of the Children of Night. His tone was one of congenial horror, and was for the most part comme morative of two anonymous criminals spawned towards the conclusion of the eighteenth century, the one amidst the terrors of the First Revolution in France, time other amidst the domestic pomp of a country mansion in England. In the vicissitudes of " Harold " the author has selected a theme of a very opposite description, and most assuredly one better adapted to his capabilities as a writer, as well as to his predilections as a man. If the work bears any direct resemblance to one of his former productions the si militude is certainly traceable between " The Last of the Barons " and "The Last of the Saxon Kings." Nor does the resemblance consist merely in the simi larity of the titles, in the fact that both tales are illus trative of the same national annals, or in the kindred and peculiar pathos which pervades both, as the record of the extinction of a race and a dynasty. There is a more subtle affinity and a more intimate relationship between the two. They both relate to epochs in our national history of such supreme importance that any effort to familiarize the popular mind with the events which led to those epochs, and the motives which originated those events, any attempt to bring the more remarkable characters of those times more vividly before the imaginations of the multitude, and to reveal the virtues and blemishes of those characters with all the accuracy and with more than the minuteness of the historian, is eminently entitled to our commendation. The one intervenes between the downfal of the Houses of York and Lancaster, and the accession of the Tudors ; the other between the extinction of the Danish and Saxon dynasties and the subsequent elevation of the Norman line and the line of the Plantagenets. The latter epoch, the epoch of Harold the Dauntless and of William the Conqueror, is one of a very singular and august character ; it is one the mere remem brance of which after the lapse of nearly eight centuries is fraught with so much that is noble, grand, heroic, and unfortunate on the part of our Saxon ancestors, as well as with so much that is glorious, daring, and successful on the part of our Norman forefathers (for the present sons of the soil of England are the descendants of the two races in nearly equal proportions, from continual intermar riage), that it inflames the heart, ,and arouses the sympathies, and elevates the patriotism of the most phlegmatic. A loftier subject could scarcely have been selected by the distinguished author of " Rienzi" and the " Last of the Barons," and he has handled it with a reverent love, with a love not unworthy of the royal son of Godwin, the hero of the Saxon land, the champion of Saxon liberty, and the last wearer of the Saxon diadem. In the " Dedi catory Epistle" to the Right Hon. Charles Tennyson D'Eyncourt, Sir Bulwer Lytton gracefully ac knowledges the hospitality which placed at his disposal the treasures of an ancient and voluminous library in the residence of his host, the liberal representative of Lambeth. From that library—the library, we suppose, at Bayons Manor, Lincolnshire —he has culled the materials of his new historical romance, dipping not only into the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the " Chronicles" of Florence, of William of Malmesbury, of William of Poictiers, of Hoveden, &c., but likewise gathering corroboration from the Roman de Rou, from Snorro Sturleson, from the Bayeux Tapestry, and from the recent investigations of Thierry, Sismondi, Palgrave, and Sharon Turner. The result of this elaborate and laborious inquiry is manifest in the historical accuracy which is preserved in the midst of a fictitious u nderplot. One great distortion of the truth there is, but that Sir E. B. Lytton himself proclaims in the introduc tion, we mean the nature of the relationship subsisting between Harold the Dauntless and Edith the Fair. Instead of representing Ediva Fairs as the concubine of the Saxon monarch, he, for reasons enumerated in the " Dedicatory Epistle," describes them simply as betrothed to each other, although that is a direct con tradiction to the statements of the ancient chroniclers. We quarrel not with this delicate transmutation of history into romance, for the effect is exquisite and bewitching ; but there are one or two minor mis representations on the part of our author, which we will mention at the right opportunity. The narra tive of " Harold " is, on the whole, however, so strictly incidents n s ev e e i r n y g se t h h o a o t lb t o ; h in accordance with the narrative given b y our diffe rent annalists—by flume and Rapin; by Henry and Holinshed, by Lingard and Mackinto sh, by Palgrave and Sharon Turner—that we are comp elled to refrain tshavegiving an become epit familiarised epitome of the story t ' o , e in the ingenious catechisms o f Pinnock and the condensed chapters of Goldsm ith. It w ere as frivolous in us to recapitu late in a dr y cata logue the events which transpired in England from the visit of William Count of the Normans to the Court of Edward the Confessor down to the oS his i n g g c u o e u l ar courtiers. i , • r a s s . catastrophe which gave the victory f to that same the anecdote of Alfred toast e fieid it would be to detail reproving importance occurring be- Count of the Normoafnsc on the ing the cakes, or between the visit of William tween those two eve ios2, and the close of the ever to England, A.D. certain extent the ever-deplorable memorable and to a .. . p 1066, being an interval of Battle of Hastings , i l Every circurnstance n o t f s _ an y ears and a half, calculating from exactly fourteen y is woven into the imaginary under- May to October hand 0 deft and a touch so refined that plot with a s t of the book as a romance nor of ry , neither the sy kas a history • • h ' the vi or the faithfulness _ a lluded to, marre d] or muti few exceptions alre ad y fated. Without unnece ssarily tunnece ssarily wearying the a tt en ti on f those events, a recalaion with a recapitulation ou o a l re ady explained to be superfl pitu uous, t we which we ha ve rapid m anner give some noti on o f th e inayver; f the book as an historical romance, by construc4..on y o .ovving !particulars. " H aro ld" i s s t a ting the fll , Books —the moiety of a p ros e epic 1 divided into Tzcel .c ' , 'leis Norman Visitor, the Sa xon Ring Book I. entitled King and the Danish Prophetess," recounts the fes tivities at the Court of King Edward the Confessor, f the visit of William of Normandy, on the occasion 0 rs of the English • how the manners courtiers and shows were mimicked from the Norman courtiers at Rouen the gates of Westminster striking up minstrels at song of Norman ly " the battle g the household up Paladin of Charles '- Great," the Roland the hymn of I ur of the Count, and partially in partially roof ono t . nal the D a io minstrelsy. Book Jr., contempt the Scholar," brings the tale down headed " Lanfranc ,11. T 'll ' of ‘N i iam. ai efer, the renowned to the depart ure wa rrior minstrel ofwith f the Normans, is introduced admirable h umour, and chaunts a e,characteristicro meant, called Ballad of R " 'Thenu. The introduc tion of Lan franc, franc however, is still finer, in p ar ti cu l ar the description o f the close of th e h ' great sc olar s speech to the Count, when William " transported ed up and embra dth ' • ce e priest with from himself leap . he kissed his cheek, he kissed his fore his vast arms ; days king kissed king withthe kiss of as in those of peace:' When the Count prepares to leave Lon don, Sivvard the great Earl o f Northumbria, says to him—" If England needs defenders when I and God- win are in our shrouds, there is but one man worthy of the days of old, and his name is Harold the Outlaw." This inspires William with a profound jealousy to wards Harold, insomuch that when he approaches Dover, and sees the port swarming with _Norman counts, Norman:hosts, and Norrpan citizens, :he speaks thus to his companion Lanfranc : " Is not England part of Normandy already?" And the Lombard answered:— " The fruit is well nigh ripe, and the first breeze will shake it to thy feet. Put not out thy hand too soon. Let the wind do its work." And the Duke made reply, "As thou thinkest, so think I. And there is but one wind in the halls of heaven that can waft the fruit to the feet of another." " And that?" asked the Lombard. "Is the wind that blows from the shores of Ireland, when it fills the sails of Harold, son of Godwin." " Thou fearest that man, and why?" asked the Lom bard with interest. And the Duke answered:— " _Because in the breast of Harold beats the heart of England." Here it is that among other places we conceive the author to have distorted history. He represents William as yearning for the Crown of England, at the period of his visit to Westminster, when accord ing to Ingulf (Ing. 65) he did not then dream of his succession, and Ingulf was then in his retinue, and continued to act for many years as his confidential secretary. In corroboration of Ingulf, see also Flo rence (627), and Hemmingford (456). Book 111., entitled " The House of Godwin," depicts the power and the pomp of that famous Earl, " and elder king maker,"—describing also his family, Githa his wife, Editha his eldest daughter (wife to Edward the Con• fessor), his youngest daughter Thyra, and his six sons, Sweyn, Harold, Tostig, Gurth, Leofwine, and Wolnoth. Sweyn, the eldest born, is tried be fore the Witenagemote for divers high crimes, and the description of the trial is one of the noblest pas sages in this noble Saxon work. Here is the closing paragraph, after the outlawry of Sweyn, when he avers his guilt and his repentance before the 'sVitan, and announces his resolve to go bare-footed to the Holy Sepulchre : " fie gathered his robe of state over his breast as a monk his gown, and looking neither to right nor left, passed slowly down the hall, through the crowd, which made way for him in awe and silence ; and it seemed to the assembly as if a cloud had gone from the faco of day. And Godwin still stood with his face covered by his robe. " And Harold anxiously watched the faces of the as sembly, and saw no relenting! " And Gurth crept to Harold's side. " And the gay Leofwine looked sad. " And the young \Volnoth turned pale and trembled. " And the fierce Tostig played with his golden chain. " And one low sob was heard, and it came from the breast of Alred the meek accuser—God's true but gentle priest." is scarcely possible to imagine the effect of this passage—inexpressibly touching in its strange and beautiful simplicity—when perused with the context. Book IV., " The Heathen Altar and the Saxon Church," tells of the restoration of the family of Godwin to the favour of King Edward. Book V., "Death and Love," is descriptive of the death of Godwin, and the betrothal of Edith and llarold. In the account of Godwin's demise, the author assumes as authentic the doubtful fables of the chroniclers. Book VI., " Ambition," depicts the rise of Harold till " he was of that height in himself that he needed no pedestal to stand on," and when at last he was " deafened to all but the voice of a grand ambition, and the awakening joy of a noble heart." Book VII., " The Welch King," is a vivid description of the Great Earl's expedition into Wales, and his victory over Gryffyth, the son of Pendragon. Book VIII., "Fate," is full of the witcheries and incantations of Hilda, the Scan dinavian Vala. Book IX., "The Bones of the Dead," carries the story down to the journey of Harold to Normandy, and his oath of allegiance sworn upon the reliquary. Book X., " The Sacrifice on the Altar," explains the apparent faithlessness of Harold to Edith, when he marries Editha (or as Sir Bulwer Lytton calls her by way of distinction, Aldyth), the widow of Gryffyth, and daughter of Alfgar (Algar according to our author), the son of Leofric, better known as the husband of Godiva. Book XI. " The Norman Schemer and the Norwegian Sea King," is principally descriptive of the treasonous intrigues of Tostig and the buccaneering expedition of Harold Hardrada to the kingdom of Northumbria. Book XII., " The Field of Hastings," completes the romance with a splendid delineation of the great battle on the acclivity of Sanguelac. In a work so remarkable as a purely historical production, such as " Harold," perhaps the most interesting feature is the power displayed by the author in his portraiture of renowned characters. We will enable the reader to conjecture how far Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton has succeeded in this particular by transcribing nine of his most inimitable portraitures. They are as follows H A MOLD. " The countenance of Harold was, though sorrowful at that moment, and indeed habitually not without a certain melancholy, wonderfully imposing from its calm and sweetness. There, no devouring passions had left the cloud or ploughed the line ; but all the smooth love liness of youth took dignity from the conscious resolve of man. The long hair, of a fair brown, with a slight tinge of,gold, us the last sunbeams shot through its luxuriance, was parted from the temples, and fell in large waves half way to the shoulder. The eye-brows, darker in hue, arched and finely traced ; the straight features not less manly than the Norman, but less strongly marked ; the cheek, hardy with exercise and expo sure, but still retaining somewhat of youthful bloom under the pale bronze of its sunburnt surface ; the form tall, not gigantic, and vigorous rather from perfect pro portion and athletic habits than from breadth and bulk— were all singularly characteristic of the Saxon beauty in its highest and purest type. But what chiefly distin guished this personage, was that peculiar dignity, so simple, so sedate, which no pomp seems to dazzle, no danger to disturb ; and which, perhaps, arises from a strong sense of self• dependence, and is connected with self-respect—a dignity common to the Indian and the Arab, and rare except in that state of society in which each man is a power in himself. The Latin tragic poet touches close upon that sentiment in the fine lines— "' Rex est qui metuit nihil Iloc regnum quisque dat.'" WILLIAM TUE CONQUEROR. "llis vest, of a cramoisay so dark, that it seemed of a f s u fur, black beside the snowy garb of . the Confessor, was r m tn a flt and ,,ii 11 f e u ll edged by a deep band of embroidered gold; leaving jacketthro at throat—firm pendant from the shoulders, left developed in all its breadth a breast, that seemed meet to stay the march a g r r e an h i i t s e,— fi r a m s ' h f o u r l t l of an army; and on the left arm, curved to support the falcon, the vast muscles ll nevertheless, gvobeseuer but little hrl ioe r tipt o elo u sers n ta, d i bosono a ys ne, did dh fill eh g t ih n sst a eap r te l ou e yrr d eti c p a el l . a ft m T a tly ot h )f throughhis, many ainnr 3:h teo t hi h ige e thnh c t 0,0 l obshsei he was tp s wy l r e aeo e ssf v e h e nr . eit sa; that he seemed to toweri i. m .ey m to e u m a t s he u r, rably above the r es t. wasT s s t c il o l u i n a te th n e an p e r e imeo e h e seemed a remarkable t theth than fi nhis t g fo l r a ‘m nce younger, at the second older, than he was. At r m ith im ou it t at e in v the first glance younger; for his face was perfectly g ea the th N e shaven, courtier, o m rm ou a s a t , ae s h ti e ll w d h e i e e l h ine th d e t S e alo r n_ render; and the smooth visage and bare throat sufficed in themselves to give the air of youth to that dominant and imperious presence. His small skull-cap lett un concealed his forehead, shaded with short thick air, un curled, but black and glossy as the wings of a raven. It was on that forehead that time had set its trace; it was knit into a frown over the eyebrows; lines deep as fur rows crossed its broad, but not elevated expanse. That frown spoke of hasty ire and the habit of stern com mand; those furrows spoke of deep thought and plot ting scheme: the one b e t ra y e d b ut t emper an d circum stance; the other, more noble, spsko of the character and the intellect. The face was square, and the regard lion-like; the mouth—small, and even beautiful in out line—had a sinister expression in its exceeding firm ness; and the jaw —vast, solid, as if bound in iron — showed obstinate, ruthless, determined will; such a jaw as belongs to the tiger amongst beasts, and the con queror amongst men; such as i t i s seen i n t h e effigies of (2resar, of Cortes, of Napoleon." HILDA AND EDITH. " Near the window sat a woman advanced in years, and of a mien and aspect singularly majestic. Upon a small tripod before her was a Runic m anuscript, and an inkstand of elegant form, with a s ilver graphium, or pen. At her feet reclined a girl somewhat about the age of sixteen, her long fair hair parted across her fore head, and falling far down her shoulders. Her dress was a linen under tunic, with long sleeves, rising high to the throat, and, without one of the modern artificial restraints of the shape, the simple belt sufficed to show the slender proportions and delicate outline of t h e wearer. The colour of the dress was of the purest white, but its hems, or borders, were richly embroidered. This girl's beauty was something marvellou s . In 6; land proverbial for fair women, it had already obtained her the name of ' the fair.' In that beauty were blended, not as yet without a struggle for ma stery, the two expressions seldom united in one countenance, th e soft and the noble; indeed in the whole aspect there was the evidence of some internal struggle; the intelligence was not yet complete; the soul and heart were not yet united: and Edith the Christian maid dwelt in the home of llilda the heathen prophetess. The girl's blue ey es , rendered dark by the shade of their long lashe s , were fixed intently upon the stern and troubled countenan ce which was bent upon her own, but bent with that ab stract gaze which shows that the soul is absent from the sight. So sate Hilda, and so reclined her grandchild Edith." TAILLEFER ♦ND LANFRANC., " The face of the minstrel was open and sunny as the day ; and that of the priest, dark and close as night. Thick curls of deep auburn (the most common colour for the locks of the Norman) wreathed in careless disorder round Taillefer's massive unwrinkled brow. his eye, of light harel, was bold and joyous ; mirth, though sarcas tic and sly, mantled round his lips. His whole presence was at once engaging and heroic. " On the other hand, the priest's cheek was dark and sallow ; his features singularly delicate and refined ; his forehead high, but somewhat narrow, and crosssed with the lines of thought ; his mien composed, modest, but not without calm self-confidence. Amongst the assem bly of soldiers, noiseless, self-collected, and conscio us of his surpassirg power over swords and mail, moved the Scholar." EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. " Immediately behind the standard-bearers came two figurks—strangely dissimilar indeed in mien, in years, in bearing : each bore on his ieft wrist a hawk. The one was mounted on a milk-white palfrey, with housings inlaid with gold and uncut jewels. Though not really old—for he was much on this side of sixty—both his countenance and carriage evinced age. His complexion was extremely fair indeed, and his cheeks ruddy ; but the visage was long and deeply furrowed, and from be neath a bonnet not dissimilar.to those in use among the Scotch, streamed hair long and white as snow, mingling i with a large and forked beard. White seemed his chosen colour. White was the upper tunic clasped on his shoul der with a broad ouche or brooch ; white the woollen leggings fitted to somewhat emaciated limbs ; and white the mantle, though broidered with a broad hem of gold and purple. The fashion of his dress was that which well became a noble person, but it suited ill the somewhat frail and graceless figure of the rider." GRYFFYTII. " But in the centre of the space, leading on a fresh troop of shouting Welchmea who had forced their way from another part, was a form which seemed charmed against arrow and spear. For the defensive arms of this chief were as slight as if worn but for ornament : a small coralet of gold covered only the centre of his breast, a gold collar of twisted wires circled his throat, and a gold bracelet adorned his bare arm, dropping gore, not his own, from the wrist to the elbow. He was small and slight-shaped below the common standard of men—but he seemed as one made a giant by the sublime inspiration of war. He wore no helmet, merely a golden circlet; and his hair, of deep red (longer than was usual ' with the Welch), hung like the mane of a lion over his shoulders, tossing loose with each stride. His eyes glared like a tiger's at night, and he leaped on the spears with a bound. Lost a moment amidst hostile ranks, save by the swift glitter of his short sword, he made, amidst all, a path for himself and his followers, and emerged from the heart of the steel unscathed and loud-breathing ; while, round the line he had broken, wheeled and closed his wild men, striking, rushing, slaying, slain." 1 . _ HAROLD HARDRADA. " The host rose from his seat, and passed through the porch and stood on the bleak rock under the light of the moon; and so seen, he seemed scarcely human, but some war chief of the farthest time—yea, of a time ere the deluge had shivered those rocks, and left beds on the land for the realm of that icy sea. For Harold Har drada was in height above all the children of modern men. Five ells of Norway made the height of Harold Har drada. Nor was this stature accompanied by any of those imperfectio ns i n symmetry, nor by that heaviness of as pect, which generally render any remarkable excess above human stature and strength rather monstrous tha n TuTt:is .:nding- On the co n t rar y, his proportions were chronicler remarks in his sa h pe, w as ' that his Lhands and feet wer e l arge, but thesevierewell made.' " His face had all the fair his hair, parted in lock beauty of the Norsemen ; spoke the daring of th e a of gold over a brow that be warrior and the genius of the bard, fell in glitterinmg moustache to his shoulders ; a short beard and long •heof the same colour as the hair, carefully trimmed, added to the grand and masculine beauty of the counten ance , in which the only blemish was the peculiarity of o ne eyebrow being some siniste what h r ig tohehis f r than th run e oth something more arch t o hi s sm i le. , s For, quick of impulse, the Poet-Titan smiled and f rowned often.' Besides these there are pictures—painting in lan guage—of Siward, the Earl of Northumbriis immor talised by Shakspere in Macbeth; of W itz borne, the Lord of Breteuil ; of Haco ; of Odo, Bis h o p of Bayeux ; of Alred, Bishop of .Winchester ; of - Vebba the Kentman ; of Leofric, Earl of Mercia ; of Rolf, Earl of Hereford ; of Meredydd, the Welch chieftain ; and of Messire William Mallet de Gra ville, a Norman kLight—evidently a great favourite of Sir Bulwer Lytton. In the portraiture of Queen Edith there is a graceful plagiarism from Keats. " The purple light of a high narrow window, shaped in the Saxon arch, streamed rich and full over the Queen's bended head like a glory, and tinged her pale cheek, as with a maiden blush; and she might have furnished a sweet model for an early artist in his dreams of St. Mary the Mother, &.c." Who does not remember those two matchless stanzas in " The Eve of St. Agnes ?" " A casement high, and triple• arched there was, All garlanded with careen imageries Of fruits, and flowers, and branches of knot•grass, And diamonded with frames of quaint device, Innumerable of stains and splendid dyes, As on the tiger-moth's deep damask'd wings ; And in the midst, 'mong thousand heraldries, And twilight saints, and dim emblazonings, A shielded scutcheon blush'd with blood of ,queens and kings. " Full on the casement shone the wintry moon, And threw warm gules on Aladeline's fair breast, As down she knelt for heaven's great boon, Rose-bloom fell on her hands, together prest, And on her silver cross soft amethyst, And on her hair a glory like a saint: She seem'd a splendid angel newly drest, Save wings for heaven: Porphyro grew faint ; Shia knelt, so pure a thing, so tree trom mortal taint." Several of the sentences incidentally penned in the composition of " Harold" are worthy of separate re membrance—as the crystallization not of mere flies in amber, but of gems of thought. Er. gr. " Prudence, patience, labour, valour; these are the stars that rule the careers of mortals." " No man should grieve for what he can help—still less for what he cannot help." " The grateful have the power to bless." " The illiterate are ever children," &c. Sometimes, indeed, our author permits himself to mar his masculine and idiomatic composition by a casual commonplace, as a here he speaks of Harold " shaking the evil memories from his soul as a lion shakes the dews from his inane ;" but sometimes, again, he redeems a trivial fault of this kind by a sudden gleam of satire, as when writing of the Cha teau d'Eu he says of it, quite, as it were, in paren thesis, " this chateau, not famous in aftertim es f or th e good faith of its lords I" Hilda is perhaps the only actual creation in the book, and Hilda is worthy of the imagination which conceived Arbaces and Adam Warner, and Dallibard, and Zanoni. Of Hilda, the author speaks thus—solemnly and reverently of his own creation—" On the verge of the mighty Heathenesse sinking fast into the night of ages, she towered amidst the shades, a shade herself; and round her gathered the last demons of the Dire Belief, defying the march of their luminous foe, and concentering round their mortal priestess, the wrecks of their horrent empire overaworld redeemed." In spite of the awe which envtlopes the very idea of Hilda the Vala, there is nevertheless a loathsomeness about her sombre and dismal deeds— especially in reference to the hag by whose revela tions she is at last destroyed— that there is al ways a sense of relief when the narrative turns from the Druid stones, the cromleche (or as the author is fond of calling it, the crommel) elsewhere—to the bluff Vebba, or to the merry Leofwine, or even to the hand some and cruel Tostig. The fascination which sur rounds the priestess is the fascination of terror. Perhaps the principal blemish in the whole production is the delineation of the character of King Edward the Confessor that delineation approaching rather to a caricature than to an historical vraisemblance, and perhaps the most flagrant and yet the least noticeable blunder in the three volumes, is the mention of the Saxon Monarch's devotions at mass in the moonlight, on the eve of the terrible conflict at Sanguelac ; whereas, if we may credit the declara tions of the Romish ritual, that office is never, except on the vigil o f Christmas, performed until daybreak. With all these su b ord i nate blem i s h es, h owever, " Harold," if not the greatest, is assuredly 071 C of the greatest works yet written by Sir Bulwer Lytton. And already he has written with an eloquence, and a versatility, and an erudition, end an inspiration—the inspiration of a scholarly and cultivated genius—such as have placed his, name conspicuously in the fore most rank of modern English literature. Already he has enriched our dramatic library with Richelieu, and Mo ney , and the Sea Captain, and the Lady of llons• Alr ea d y he has assumed' a prominent place among our national essayists by; the pregnant and meditative papers contained in the " Stu dent." Already he has materially aided in popularizing politics through the medium of his ingenious and admirable book called " England and the English ;" and has successfully emulated the classical researches of Gibbon and Mit ford in his durable " History of the Rise and Fall of Athens." Already he has acquired a very distin guished celebrity by his poetical effusions—effusions worthy of companionship with the verses of Cowley and Dryden —we allude not merely to " Eva ; or the 111-omened Marriage," but to more pretentious and remarkable w or k s , which, for particular reasons, we abstain from enumerating. But especially, and above all, Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton has achieved great things as a novelist and as an historical, roman cist. His " Pelham" and " Godolphin" have revealed his capacity to appreciate the fictions of Dickens and F ielding ; his " Eugene Aram" and " Paul Clifford" have surpassed the wild and eccentric popularity of Ainsworth ; his " Rienzi," his " Zanoni, ' and his "Last Days of Pompeii" have opened new and gor geous fields in our fictitious literature; his "Night and Morning," his " Falkland," his " Disowned," his Devereux," his "Ernest Maltravers," his "Alice," his " Lucretia," and his ." Pilgrims of the Rhine,' have severally demonstrated the fecundity of his ima gination and the originality of his invention ; while in his " Last of the Barons" and in his present work, " Harold, the last of the Saxon Kings," he has dared to penetrate into that sanctuary which still resounded with the giant footsteps of the im mortal Scott. In this last venture our author has acted nevertheless with anything but an insane te merity. He has emerged from his researches among our ancient annals, not disgraced but victorious. On Closing the last volume of " Harold," the memory reverts with joy to the age of the thegn, and the ceorl, and the theowe, the franldi ng; wof the lithsmen, and the reeve, and e think of the bode, the nuncitu, and the procere ; we see th e m one in his stall, the diX• hcendman in the . pasture, and the burgher in the city; we hear the voice of the scoff in the hall, and the battle-song of the impassioned scald roaring ae the din of the axe and the shield; we behold' n 11 N the torque glittering with its zimmes upon t,rle , of Gryffyth, the gonna flowing round ths!Arric Vebba, and the ateghar blazing in thei.,graip.W zel , t : Gurth • we see before us once more theitWayetV•P•'•-• Harold, and the vavasoza-s of William; and abo . ie and beyond all, and through all, we look with a loving/J7r - - --- ,-.. 7 “;-... and reverential admiration upon the memory - of the last Saxon King—the beautiful and sublime memory •.; of Harold the Royal and the Dauntless. ebirb 9aition MANCHESTER RACES. (THIS DAY-BY EXPRESS.) The St. Leger Stakes; for three yrs old. Mile and three quarters. Swiss Boy Otterbun ... 1 The Welter Cup of 100 sons. Gentlemen riders. Mr. Merry's Chanticleer Sir J. Gerard's Blackie Mr. Boynton's Lucaria ... 2 ••• 1 ... 2 ... 3 Handicap of 10 sovi. each. One mile and a distance. Romance Gaffer Green Yardley ••• 1 ••• 2 ••• 3 COURT CIRCULAR. The Queen and Prince Albert, accompanied by the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the Princess Royal, the Princess Alice, the Princess Helena, and the Princess Louisa, and attended by the Countess of Desart, the Hon. Miss Macdonald, Major-General Bowles, Colonel the Hon. C. B. Phipps, Colonel Buckley, and Colonel Bou verie, left her Majesty's marine residence, Osborne, Isle of Wight, at tea minutes past ten o'cloca yesterday afternoon, crossed in her Majesty's steam-yacht Fairy, to Gosport, and travelled to town by a special train on the London and South-Western Railway. On arriving at the terminus at Nine-elms, the august party proceeded, in several of the royal carriages and four, escorted by a party of Light Dragoons, to Buck ingham Palace, where they arrived at five minutes past six o'clock. Her Majesty and Prince Albert were received at the Palace by the Dowager Lady Lyttelton, Hon. Miss Ca vendish, the Lord Chamberlain, the Master of the Horse, Lord Elphinstone, Lord George Lennox, Lieutenant- Colonel Boyle, and Colonel Wylde. Her Majesty the Queen Dowager took an airing yes., terday in an open carriage. Lord John Russell returned to his residence in Rich mond Park yesterday morning from Portsmouth. In th• afternoon the Noble Lord proceeded to town. DRURY-LANE THEATRE. A similar scene to that which took place on Monday was repeated last night, with increased in tensity. The English party seemed determined to carry out their intentions vigorously and consist ently, and, as we consider their cause a good one, it has our hearty wishes for its success. The pity is that, while contesting for victory, they are bringing money to the treasury, which otherwise would most assured!, never have reached it. But one of our national characterestics is not to regard outlay when a moral good is to be achieved. The system. adopted last night by the direction to force these per formances down the throats of the public is most re prehensible, the pit being packed before the doors were opened with a herd of Frenchmen, who, to judge f rom t h e i r appearances, seemed to be the vilest scum that ever congregated at the lowest cabaret of the French Republic. By a singular ac cident we were admitted amongst the "foreign affairs," and we are therefore enabled to state the matter as an eye-witness. When the doors were opened to the public, would it be believed that an , effort was made by the incumbents to prevent the legitimates from taking certain vacant seats; but this modest endeavour was properly resisted by a cry of "No places taken in the pit !" some of the most earnest shouted " Britons, be bricks I" and " Britons, support the British drama !" and vari ous o th er patri otic cries. Then came the National Anthem, sang capitally by a majority of the audience. All then was hushed in grim silence; but the lull was threat.. ening in its aspect, and foretold the coming storm ; and no sooner did the curtain rise, than one burst of indignation was yelled forth, sufficient to fright the isle from its propriety. Up stood the Gallic cocks, and crowed with might and main, and shook their dingy wings, but the roaring of the British lion and his determined front were not thus to be put down. The'euse of the French party was to call for the police, and then to rush in overwhelm ing numbers upon the offending parties. This, for a time, answered, but upon repetition failed. Now, as the question of tolerating a second French company at the Theatre Royal Drury-lane is entirely Eng. lish, the brutal interference of these Frenchmen should at once and for ever be stopped. Foreign ar tists of every nation have been received with libe rality and generosity by the people of England, and that the expression of their will should be inter fered with by a horde of hired foreigners, marshalled expressly for the purpose, should be resented in a manner that should convince them that if they are suffered to dwell here, and gain that subsistence which their native country refuses to them, they should be modest and peaceable, and not grossly thrust their feelings and their peculiar likings upon the people who willingly afford them a shelter and a home. The English public have no personal pre judices against the troupe of the Theatre Historique, but to the occupancy of our great national theatre by a second French company. No voice has been ever raised against Mr. Mitchell's admirably con ducted theatre—it has existed, we cannot say flourished, for some years, and has been honoured by the continued presence of the Queen and most of the leading families of our aristocracy, a portion of which countenance, had it been bestowed on English authors and actors, our national theatres would not have become the refuge of Italian singers and French speculators. They manage these things differently in France. Upon the last attempt made by Mr. Mitchell to establish for a brief period an English company in Paris, the theatre occupied by. the Italians was let to him for twelve nights. Be it understood the theatre was not devoted to French performances, and yet, upon his application for a renewal Of the term, not only was an op position raised by M. Verron, the director of the Academie Royale, upon the grounds that his theatre enjoyed a subvention from the Goveria ment, with the proviso that the " Italiens" were only empowered to perform three nights a week, and on the alternate Sabbaths, and that the letting of the theatre on the open nights was a viola tion of the Government monopoly, but an action for damages was commenced against M. Vattel and Mr. Mitchell, for losses said to have been incurred by the performances of the English troupe. But the English actors were permitted to perform for onenight at the Opera Comique, for the benefit of the distressed widows and orphans of French authors. When, some years since, Mr. Penley attempted to establish a small English troupe in Paris, the actors were pelted off the stage with sous and other missiles, and for these courtesies we owe them so much gratitude. The riots at Drury-lane should be stopped at once, and the most effectual method of accomplishing this desired end is for the Lord Chamberlain to withdraw his license. HAYMARKET THEATRE.—The comedy of Morey was revived last night at this theatre, in which Mr. and , Mrs. Charles Kean played with their accustomed ability. The house was well attended, and these populist' artists were loudly applauded. In other respects the comedy is very strongly cast. LYCEUM THEATRE.—Gay's Beggar's Opera for which Mr. W. Harrison has been engaged is announced for representation here this evening. From the very effective cast we have no doubt the admirers of old English opera will experience a rich treat, and that the opera itself will prove highly attractive. CHARTIST PROCEEDINGS AT LOUGHEOROUGH.A. visit having been promised by Mr. F. O'Connor to the Chartists of this town, to take place yesterday, the magistrates issued a notice, setting forth the illegality of large meetings being held in the open air, and took precautions to prevent the occurrence of a riot by calling out special constables, the police force, the Yeomanry Cavalry, and a division of the Royal Irish Dragoons. A carriage drawn by a pair of grays awaited the arrival of Mr. O'Connor from Sheffield by the train, and bun dreds of persons were on the spot to receive him. On seeing the dragoons, he expressed his surprise, and on being informed of the cause of their presence, he said, had be known it he should have gone direct on to Lon don. Mr. O'Connor then had an interview with the m agistrates in a private room. In a quarter of an hour he mounted an elevated spot in the railway yard, and addressed those assembled around, recommending peace able behaviour, and affirming the sufficiency of moral power to obtain for the working classes all they wanted. Mr. O'Connor then withdrew, and took the next train for London, and the people dispersed quietly. THE POISONING AT A PUBLIC DINNER AT NORTH AMPTON.— NORTHAMPTON, Wednesday.—The inquiry which had been opened before the County Coroner (Mr. Hicks) respecting the death of Mr. Wm. Cornfield, an accountant, who, with twenty others, was poisoned at a public dinner, given here on Wednesday last, was con cluded at a late hour last night, at the Guildhall. From the evidence it appeared deceased had partaken freely of some blanc-mange, coloured with emerald green— form of arsenic—a large quantity of which poison was found in his stomach after death. Verdict, " Man slaughter against Edward Franklin end Edward Ran dall," who bad prepared the blanc-manse. ..... 1214 4 33 3 1 I/4 123' /2 4 4 1 ,4 3314 7 lA 100% 83/4