The Sun. — London, England, 1866-10-29 00:00:00

HEATRE ROYAL DRITRY-LANE tiole Lessee and Manager, Mr. F. B. Chatterton. TIT'S EVENING, FAI:T. Mr. Phelps ; Messrs. Ed mund Phelps, W. Harrison, and Johnstone; Mrs. Hermann Vczin, Mi , s Poole, and Mrs. II Vandenhoff. To conclude with ::"hakspere's COMEDY OF ERRORS. Et others Dromio by the Brothers Webb. Commence at Seven. rIikIEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET, Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr. Bucks Lone, THIS I , IVENING, l HE OVERLAND ROUTE. Messrs. Charles Ma, hews, Buckstone, Comt.ton, Chippendale, Rogers, Clark, Braid. Gordon, White, So. ; Mesdames Mathews, Chip pendale, Hill, 0 right, &c. After which, th 9 BALLET DIVERTISSEMENT. The 3lisses Healy. To be followed by THE CRITIC. Me: ars. C. Mathews. Compton, Rogers; Mrs. Fi:zwilliam, Sze. To conclude with MY H ce USBAN Se D'S G HOST. Commen at ven. ROYAL LYCEI.SI\I TREAT 11, E._ Sole Lersmee and M a nager, Mr. Fechter. T HIS EVENING, BILL; EIJS AN L.) CaESAR. Miss llenrade. At a Quarter before 8, the new Drama, in Four Ac's, T HE LONG S'l" HIKE, written by Dion Boucicau!t. The New Suene , yby Mr. 'l'. Greive.vt.d tiSSlitants. Messts. S Emery, 11. Wid.Acomb, Fitzpatrick', Datton, D. Evans, Anderson, ewbound. Stanley, Lomas, Moreland, Andrews, Reynolds, and J. C. Cowper. To conclude Mr. with T Wid dic WEED omb; and M LETON'S TAI iss I L atton AT. Toby T weed lcton, 11. Acting Manager, Mr. 1.1. Barnett. Stage Manager, Mr. W. West. Box-office open daily from Ten till Five. THE LONG STRIKE.-ROYAL LYCEUM THEAPltlC,—Johnnylly (an Irish Sailor), Mr. D. Boucicault ; Jane Learoyd (a Factory Girl), Mrs. D. Bouci cault. At 7 o'clock. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE. Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr. Geo. Vining. Last Ten Nights of the present Performances. THIS EVENING, a Comedy, in Three Acts, by John Oxenford, Esq, entitled TIIE TRIPLE ALLIANCE. Mr. Vining, Mr. J. G. Shore; Miss K. Rogers, Miss Neilson, and Buckingham White. Atter which, at 9 o'clock, TIIE lIIIGUENOT CAPTAIN, by Watts Phillips. Esq. Mrs. Stirling, Miss Neilson, Miss A. Thomson; Mr. Forrester, Mr. G. Honey, and Mr. J. G. Shore. Grand Ballet of Bohemians, in which MM. Flageolet, Clo doche, Comete, and Normande, will appear. Scenery by Mr. F. Lloyds. THEATRE ROYAL ADELPIII. Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. B. Webster. THIS EVENING, at 7 precisely (141 h time), E PIIEL ; or, ONLY A LIFE. Miss Rafe Terry, Mrs. Alired Mellon, Miss Furtado, Miss Emily Pitt ; Messrs. Billington, Stephen son, Ashley, Romor, C. J. Smith, &c. To conclude with HELEN; or, TAKEN FROII THE GREEK. Mrs. A. Mellon, Miss Furtado, Miss Emily rut ; Messrs. Paul Bedford, R. Phillips, F. A. Shaw, Ashley, Eburne. THEATRE ROYAL, ASTLEY'S. tinder the Sole Management of Mr. W. H. C.Nation. RE-OF:EN FOR THE WINTER SEASON. THIS EVENING (Monday), Oct. 29, and during the week, the performances will commence with the Original Dramatic Adaptation ct Charles Dickens's latest Work, "Our Mutual Friend," as productd by Mr. W H. C. Nation at the Sadler's Wells Theatre June 16th, 1868, entitled THE GOLDEN L USTMAN. To conclude with Frank Talfourd's sparkling Burlesque of ATALANTA. HOLBORN THEATRE, It OYAI. Sole rroprietor and Manager, Mr. Sefton I" , trry. THIS EVENING, L ARKINS' LOVE LETTERS. Mr. Balmore ; Miss C. Saunders. After which, Boucicault'S drama of FLYING SCUD. Messrs. Neville, Belmore, make, Garden,Vol s lai l e ; Mesdames F. Josephs, C. Saunders, B. Foote, J. FiddE. ROYAL STRAND TIIEATRE. Sole Lessee and Manageress, Mrs. Swanborough. THIS EVENING, TII E MARRIED BACHELOR. Messrs. Thorne and Price; Misses Johnstone and Hubhes. fo be followed by IN THE WRONG BOX. After which, will be produced a Grand Burlesque of DER. FREISCHUTZ ; or, A Good Cast for a ?wee. Messrs. Thorne, James, and Robson; Mesdames Swan borough, Raynham, Johnstone, and ;hes. To conclude with WAITING FOR THE LINDER- O ROUND. Commence at Seven. T" "SUN" NEWSPAPER.- G. R. GLENIE, Sporting Library, 4, Connaught• terrace, Edgware-road, is specially appointed AGENT to deliver the LATE EDITION of "THE SUN" at the earliest possible moment after leaving the press. Ile is able to deliver copies in Town, the Suburbs, and in many parts of the Country at a comparatively early hour the same evening, say 40 miles by 9 o'clock. Orders by Post punctually attended to. THE "SUN" NEWSPAPER.- G. R. GLENIE delivers the LATE EDITION al Chelsea, 7.40 ; Kilburn, 8; Starch-green, 8; Woolwich, 7.30 Uxbridge, 9.20; Watford, 8.45. THE LATEST EDITION of "THE SUN." J. HOLMES begs to inform his friends, and the pubic generally, that he supplies the LATEST EDITioN of " cIIII SUN" as soon as published —No. 16, Hampstead- N.W. THE LAST EDITION of " TIIE SUN " supplied as soon as Published, containing all the LATEST NEWS and S2ORTING IN by 11. W. 11AltIttS, Newspaper Agent, 4, Illaelrdriara-road, London, S. QPORTING.—JOIIN ROBERTS supplies the L . 77 LATEST EDITION of " FILE SUN" as soon as pub ished.--1, Bath-street, City-road, E.C. THE LATEST EDITION of "THE SUET" supplied, as soon as published every Evening, by AT. ALEXANDER (late llitOOI(S), Newspaper Agent, 21, Old Cavendisti-atreet, Oxford-street. Folt THE LATEST POLITICAL and SPORTING INTELLIGENCE see the Late Edition of "The Sue" at Mr. Blake's, Queen's Head, Windsor - s treet, Uxbridge. LATEST INTELLIGENCE.- Mr. CHAP3IA.N, of the White Hart, Acton, Middle sex, begs to inform Lis friends and neighbours that the Latest Edition of "The Sun" can be seen at his house as above. J 01 - IN GOSNELL and CO.'S CHERRY TOO I:11 PASTE is greatly superior to any tooth powder; gives the teeth a pearl whiteness, protects the enamel from decay, and imparts a pleasant fragrance to the breath. Price is. Bull Wharf, u 3, Upper If:Dames-street London. NOTHING IMP OSSIBLE.—The greatest and ruost useful invention of the da 3', AGUA AMA it KLL A. Messrs. JOHN GO e SNK V II and 1 ., — O , Red Bull Wharf, 93, Upper Thames-strebt 0 1 7 men, to her Majesty , respect fully offer to the pu li h s truly marvellous flui , i, which gradually restores tno human hair to its pristine hue— to T theon contrary, is beneficial to the properties of dyes ; system, and when Leint hair i f s , once restored one application p . er Loto our, Priceone guinea per per month will keep bottle, or in half bottles, Os. Cl. Testimonials from artistes ot the highest order, and from In ividuals of undoubted re spectability, may be seen on Itplication. Messrs. John Gosmell and Co. have been appointed Perfumers to Royal IlLghness the Princess of Wales. ---.........--,—..-- HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. THIS DAY.—Morning, sh. 32m.—Afternoon, 6h. 003. To-MORRow.-Morning, 6h. 26m.—Afternoon, 6h. 55m. 2,,t1 Argr)T e, LONDON, .1/ Y, CT. 29, 1866. We learn by the arrival of the Australasian mails that there have been some political changes of con siderable importance in New Zealand. The STAF FORD Ministry, which assumed office so lately as June last, has been obliged to resign on account of the strong opposition excited by its financial policy. This department of the Government is likely to be the most troublesome for some time to come, since the expenses of the war have been burdensome to the colony, besides damaging trade and commerce. Added to this matters are now in a transition state, since the colonists are determined to undertake the charge of self-defence. The new Colonial Treasurer was not successful in dealing with this question, and although we are not told what were the particular features of his budget which gave offence, it was manifestly extremely unpopular, since a motion of want of confidence was made in the House of Re presentatives, and was carried by 47 to 14. The Ministry at once vacated their seats ; but the ques tion was, who was to succeed them ? The changes have of late been rapid. Ten months ago Mr. STAFFORD was th • m eans of ejecting the WELD Ministry. Since then he had himself assumed office, and now the Budget had broken up his Ad ministration. An attempt was made to effect a coalition between Mr. STAFFORD andtldi l WELDe te s party, and although there were very great in the way, arising from the existence of a good deal of pen-4onal animosity, the negociations were at last Mr. STAFFORD iS Otte,: more p re _ acmnpanied by most of the prominent mem bers of the WELD party ; Mr. FITZIIERBER T has assumed the invidic.us office of Colonial Trea surer, corresponding to our Chancellorship of the Exchequer, and the result, it is popularly believed, is the formation of one of the strongest Ministries that New Zealand has seen for some time. The policy of the new Administration has been already indicated by the Premier and the Treasurer. They intend to carry out a colonial policy ; they are willing to dispense altogether with the imperial troops, though they would willingly retain one regiment if the Imperial Government agrees. They propose to provide for the defence of the colony by means of a constabulary fierce. They reduce the defence estimates by £39,000, and they impose stamp duties which are estimated at £50,000, but which many competent judges think will produce much more. £70,000 is the sum allowed for defences, but this is considered by some too low an estimate. We must hope, however, that if •.the expenses are greater so the returns will also exceed the estimate. The cost of maintaining tranquillity will be very different now from what it was a year or two back. The war is almost forgotten, and scarcely any allusion is made to the natives. They are said to be disappearing, but whether dying out or emigrating to other islands is not stated. At any rate, they are no longer formidable to the colonists, and WILLIAM TIIO3IPSON, the kingmaker, has been paying a visit to Wellington, petitioning for the restoration of his land. His petition was refused, but he himself was hospitably entertained, and, in fact, seems to have been " lionised." Two pieces of news are likely to exercise an important effect upon the future of the country. The one is the successful laying of a cable across Cook's Straits, so that telegraphic communi cation is now perfectly established between the two principal islands, and the towns of the Middle Island are put in easy and rapid communication with the seat of government. It is manifest that this will confer an immense advantage on the Executive and on the population. It will make the task of ad ministering the affairs of the colony much easier, while it will be likely to improve the internal organisation of the country. The other point of interest is the progress of the west coast gold-fields, which, it is anticipated, will soon bring across a rush of diggers from Mel bourne. The gold-fields have had a great deal to do with the rapid rise and progress of the sister colonies, and it is very probable they may be similarly beneficial to New Zealand. The islands have great natural advantages, they possess a fertile soil and a healthy climate, besides the blessings of free govern ment. All they require are internal tranquillity and an increase of population. Let us hope that both these favourable conditions may be secured to them, and that we shall soon see New Zealand wealthy and prosperous, like its neighbours. There are few things more interesting and instruc- tive than to dwell upon the careers of those who have risen to eminence by their own exertions. We commend the speech of Sir D. GoocH at the Swindon Institute to the attention of our readers, and we feel persuaded that they will not be disappointed at its perusal. Last Wednesday he presided at a meet ing to distribute the prizes to the members of the classes at the new Swindon Mechanics' Institute. This institution was intended for the benefit of the numerous persons employed at Swindon on the Great Western Company's locomotive works. In alluding to his own early connection with this insti tution the hon. baronet made some impressive re marks, and especially directed his observations to those young lads who were entering upon life, most appropriately disclosing some events of his own early days. He began life with prospects hardly better than those of his hearers ; and when he set out to work under ROBERT STEPHENSON his mother said to him, " Always keep in mind, my dear son, that you should look forward to being some day manager of that concern." This honest am bition evidently took possession of his mind, and incited him to struggles and exertions that he might not otherwise have undertaken. He acknow ledged that the words had remained with him through life, and he constantly dwelt upon becom ing equal in authority with those above him, and to consider that if he could earn their position he had as much title to it as anybody else. This feeling is the true impetus to English society ; it raises our lower middle classes, and elevates our upper lower ones until they end their lives very differently cir cumstanced to what they began them. Far better, safer, and wiser is this gradual infusion than the wholesale schemes which some are constantly advocating. Those who feel natural confidence in their own powers, and au honourable desire to rise higher in the social scale, will do well to ponder over the eloquent words of Sir D. Gooch where he advises them how to act. "I would earnestly ask these young lads, who are now rising and beginning their life, not to look at the present, not to think that their present position is a final one, but that they should feel it is within the power in this free coun try of any boy to rise to any position he will fix his mind upon." If they follow earnestly and energetic ally in this direction they will no doubt succeed, and even if they do not absolutely obtain them imme diately, they will, as Sir D. Goods remarked, gain something equally valuable, " the respect and esteem of all those about them." Another matter which bad aided him in his arduous undertakings was told by Sir D. Gooch to the young men before him_' Nil Dcsperandum ;" he found these words on the old Sunderland Bridge at a time when he ords was gettin g d epressed, and thought that the chances were against hi m. These significant meaning and etoheering quote again words encouraged and inspired him, and, fromes his own earnest and expressive language, ' 7 " The , ords have aided me th roug h lif e , Nil Despera n d um If you earnestly set your mind upon an object —an honest one—l don't believe that you will fall far short of its attainment. Stick to Surely l y in o n r no i b t e ve tt n e e ri r llustration of the truthsay odfiet.h"is, give it u 1 37 never forcible exponent of its merit, and no more splen did achievements of its success, can be found than that furnished by the hon. baronet's own career. He has risen by his own exertions through the might of his perseverance and the strength of hispurpose until he has taken part in a stupendous work, in fact, the marvel of our age, and we say it confidently, de stined to be the admiration of generations yet un born. No better lesson can be given to the young than to study the words and actions of those who have worked their own way to success and distinc tion. It must be one of the most cheering reflec tions of those thus circumstanced that they will leave landmarks for those who follow after them, and, that the path they once trod in doubt and weariness will be regarded in future times as the road to honour and the guide to success. It may not be uninteresting at the present tinaeto consider the impressions received by a French man on the subject of Mr. BRIGHT, and the part he is now playing with more zeal than discretion as a Reform agitator. A correspondent of the Patrie has just been describing with some considerable dexterity the style and manner of the great plat form orator, and his observations will be found well worthy of note. In the first place, he depicts him as a powerful orator, but never one more savage. his language is fierce, bitter, and provoking." The French critic gives it as his opinion that Mr. BRIGH T is " urged on, "' because his manner cha nges so much when he g e t s on the hustings. Perhaps these remarks are true, but if so, they cannot be very pleasant to him to whom they refer. "If he advances, and ad vances more and more, it is because he is driven ; it is true he marches as the head, but so far as 1 THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 29, 1866. have been able to judge, he is not so free and in dependent as one would suppose at first sight." Certainly it is rather a falling off from the position which Mr. BRIGHT assumes to himself of dictating to Parliament and influencing the million, to be told that he is virtually a demagogue, whose success depends mainly upon his exhibiting those violent passions and indulging in those vehement denunciations which excite those who have no more elevated pursuits to charm and interest them, and where class prejudices and love for excitement may be gratified at the expense of the reputation of their superiors in station. Some of the comments upon the Reform question we have met with are likewise very good, and we suspect that there is a great deal of sound sense in thein, although they may take the gilt off the ginger bread so far as the clap-trap of certain cliques are concerned. Then we read that Mr. GLADSTONE has long been associated with the question of Parlia mentary Reform, but "if it is believed that this eminent statesman adopted all that JOHN BRIGHT says in these great popular gatherings it would be a strange error." Very true also are the deductions which this able foreigner draws from the circum stances around him, and the prophecies he makes are likely enough to be speedily realised. The more Mr. BRIGHT advances, writes he, the more does he separate himself from those Commoners with whom he votes and speaks, and he " reaches what we used formerly to call in France Radicalism—the democratic aspirations of which take no account of constitutional forms and requirements, and he may not find himself separated, or nearly so, from his party." In point of fact, "we do not see how a clear and comprehensive politician like Mr. GLADSTONE could possibly coincide with a tenth part of Mr. BRIGHT'S extravagances, and so on with the rest of the party. Some of the remarks made upon the difference of the English and French temperaments are well done, and the following is an admirable illustration of a truth which Mr. BRIGHT is only too apt to forget, or to pretend to do so at any rate. " The Englishman studies politics and examines them largely, and with such liberty and independence are the problems presented to him that the solution is not far off. For him politics may have their Gordian knot, but he dreads, above all, to have recourse to the sword of ALEXANDER to get at the secret." There is much to attract attention in this admirable discourse upon a question that now occupies so much thought and notice, and we may feel convinced that there is truth in the satirical observations respecting Mr. BRIGHT. While professing to advocate principles which will guide and govern the community, he is reality doing his utmost to sap the foundations of the time-honoured Constitution of the country, and by sowing the seeds of dissension broadcoast over the land, he is exerting his most strenuous efforts in a cause both impolitic and imprudent—that of setting class against class, and creating discord everywhere. Matters are just now anything but satisfactory in the States. The Radicals have gained so great an advantage that they are confident of carrying all before them in the new Congress, and their writers and speakers assume a tone which leaves little hope of common justice to the South. One of the Re publican journals says on this subject, " The South insisted upon war, and has had enough of it ; it is now our turn to insist that the peace we have conquered shall be so settled as to make war impossible for the future." This is the mistake into which the members of the extreme sec tion are continually falling. They imagine because the South is now exhausted and subdued by the war that the North will be able to dictate its own terms for the future. But if they intend to withhold the right of representation from a large population, and an immense tract of country, while they attempt to enforce the most unpopular measures upon the people, they are contemplating an impossibility. Tyranny of such a character is growing out of date in Europe ; it would certainly never be tolerated in the free Republic of the New World. The Radicals of New England and Washington are gravely setting forth a programme which would scarcely be tolerable in Poland or Venetia, as it was before the resurrection of Italian nationality. They do not appear to see the inconsistency of their acte, and, unfortunately, events have so far declared them selves in their favour that we can hope but little from their moderation or from their fear of conse quences. Men who are pledged to neither party should exert themselves to stem as far as possible theviolence of faction, remembering that the tempo rary triumph of a party may often represent mis fortunes, and that a political victory may be too dearly bought if it exercise an adverse influence on the future of the nation. CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) PARIS, Sunday Evening. The Moniteur illustrates thus the position of affairs arising out of the conclusion of the treaties : --" The evacuation of Venetia is terminated, and the populations restored by France to themselves have been called upon to pronounce an opinion as to their own fate." The Moniteur then recapitu lates the points of the speeches made on the occasion of the surrender, of which I gave you a report. " The result of the vote was such as might have been expected, and the union of Venetia with the provinces has been consecrated by the imposing manifestation of her own wishes. The whole of Italy has now been made, and the diplomatic in tervention of France has aided in the happiest and most efficacious manner in terminating the work which her arms had so gloriously commenced. Public opinion in Austria, exclusively occupied with internal affairs, is anticipating with interest the fresh efforts which are to be made to effect the constitutional organisation of the different parts of the Empire. All the Diets have been summoned to meet except that of Pesth, the exception being on the ground of the unfavourable sanitary condi tion of the country. The treaty between Prussia i s placed abouton and Saxony was s i gne d on th e 21 s t , an d conse quently the armie s o f th e two countr i es are to b e p o e c a cu cefo i o t t s i e n li g. suc T c h es e si C v a el b y in w et ith of th ß e erlin a occupy to ap plication of the Prussian laws and institutions to the territories recently incorporated. It has adopted various measures destined to reorganise the civil administration of the ex-kingdom of Hanover, which is placed under the orders of a Governor- General." There was another Cabinet Council yesterday at St. Cloud, at which the Emperor presided. For some days a report has prevailed in Paris that the Government has the intention of resorting to a loan of no less an amount than a milliard, and that i t was to he called a Peace Loan—Emprunt de la p a il. The great financial authority, the Sentaine Financiere, seemed to think last week that events had rendered such a proceeding probable, if not now, at least at no distant period. Some well-informed papers do not believe in the idea of a proposed loan, and a sort of official contradiction is now given to the report. My information, however, leads me to think that a loan will be resorted to, but that the amount will be much less than above stated. A French geographical writer, in explaining the recent aggrandisement of Prussia, states that in 1865 the Prussian monarchy, composed of the eight provinces of Posen, Brandenbourg, Pomerania, Silesia, Saxony, Westphalia, and countries of the Rhine, Jade, La,uenbourg, Schleswig-Holstein, and the domains comprised iu Luxembourg, at Mayence, Rutadt, Frankfort, &c., had an extent of 5,087 square German miles (one German mile contains 7,420 metres and a fraction), with a total popula- tion, according to the census of 1864, of 19,305,000 persons. The recent annexations give to Prussia a total augmentation of 1,309 square miles of terri tory, and an increase of population of 4,285,700 persons. The election of the jury who are to decide upon the admission of works destined for the Fine Art Exhibition of 1867, which was fixed for the 2d of November, is postponed to that date from the loth to the 16th of that mouth. Few persons are aware of the volumes of contro versy which have been printed for and against the use of tobacco. A sale is about to take place in Paris, however, which throws a light upon the point. It will consist of the complete collection of writings and printel books produced in the entire world during the three centuries for and against smoking and snuff-taking. The collection forms a library of from 6,000 to 7,000 volumes and pamphlets. Among the works and documents is a firman of an Emperor of Turkey, a Russian Emperor's ukase, a law of a King of Persia, and a large volume written by King James the Second of England. It is only within about thirty years or so that horse-racing has assumed auy importance in France, but the chief progress has been made during the last ten or twelve years. The Jockey Club, founded in 1833, soon afterwards established steeple-chases. The first steeple-chase took place on the Ist of April, 1834, at Croix de Berny. In 1848 La Marche was selected for the purpose. La Marche is a corrup tion of the English word, a marsh. The locality was an immense marshy meadow belonging to the rich and powerful Abbey of St. Germain des Pres. In the 13th century the Abbe Jean de Vernon con structed a village, and a parish church was built under the invocation of St. Len and St. Gilles. The neighbouring marshes, however, engendered fever and the inhabitants emigrated. In one geographical work La Marche is thus designated " Farm and beauti ful house near Vaucresson." On the sth of April, 11852, there were splendid races at La Marche. Viscount de Tournou, who rode Pilot, was thrown against a hedge ; and Eugene Sue, ridden by an English jockey, called in the French papers Harry, rolled over him. The Viscount broke his arm, and Eugene Sue was killed. Neither Pilot nor Harry were hurt. The Carlsruhe Gazette states that a commutation has been obtained of the sentence of 20 years' im prisonment passed upon Oscar Becker, the young man condemned by a tribunal of the Grand Duchy of Baden, for au attempt to assassinate the King of Prussia. This commutation, it is said, was ob tained at the intercession of the King of Prussia himself, who was moved by the representations of the uncle of the prince, M. Weber, an evangelical minister at Hostenwitz. Becker is now released. The only condition is that be must not stay in Germany. After two or three days of beautiful weather it changed to rain this morning, and it has rained almost all day. A strange conflict has arisen which has led to unusual excitement in the dramatic and literary world of Paris. I mentioned that M. Victorien Sardou had written a piece for the Vaudeville, which, after much consideration, was to be called "La Mai son Neuve." The piece was placed in rehearsal. Indeed publicity had been given to the whole or the greater portion of it. Seve ral papers elaborately reviewed it, described the plot, and commented upon the " situations." M. Sardou was much displeased at these anticipatory disclosures. He says the critics have culled the best parts of his drama and exposed them prema turely to the public view. This being the case, and the public being by anticipation initiated into all the mysteries of his play, it has been deprived of its chart7s and lost its interest, and he will not allow it to be represented. The dramatic critics argue in support of the right of anticipatory criti cism. Another difficulty arises. Although M. Sardou has withdrawn his piece, M. Harmant, director of the Vaudeville, says he will produce it in spite of him, as it is now his property. The tribunals may have to decide upon these knotty points, but it is a mighty pretty guar rel as it stands. THE REV. MORLEY PUNSHON, a graceful writer and an eloquent preacher, of whom the Wosleyans are naturally proud, is so seriously ill as to preclude any hope, though he may yet live many years, of his being able ever to write or preach again. LAND RECLADIED FROM THE OCEAN.—A project has been set on foot for desiccating the Zuyder Zee, by which it is estimated 380,000 acres will be gained for agricultural purposes. The calculated cost is £10,500,000. MUNIFICENT GIFT.—Mr. Richard Thornton West and Mrs. West have presented to the National Lifeboat Institution £620, to defray the entire cost of a lifeboat station to be formed at West Wittoring, at the mouth of Chichester harbour, on the coast of Sussex. INSECT DEVASTATIONS OF BEETROOT.—M. A. de Norguet, of Lille, an entomologist, has presented to the Central Society of Agriculture of the Pas de Calais a treatise on the insects that ravage the beetroot fields; these creatures, at least the most destructive amongst them, are seven in number, some of them bearing rather curious names—the opaque shield, the beetroot flower eater, the little striped mole, the common cockchafer, the nocturnal Y, the harvest night fly, and the nocturnal mark of exclit matical ! M. de Norguet treats the matter scientifically and practically, traces each insect from the egg to matu rity, and points out the seasons and the methods for their destruction.—Grocer and Oil Trade Review. INAUGURATION OF THE SYKES MEMORIAL—OH Friday at noon the magnificent monument reared by the East Riding of Yorkshire in memory of the late Sir Tatton Sykes was formally inaugurated in presence of a gathering such as rarely assembles—the nobility, the gentry, the peasant, the clergy, the farmer, and the sportsmen of the county. No sooner was it determined to raise a memorial ix honour of the deceased baronet than everyone, from the peer to the peasant, were desirous to co-operate for the ob ject was to honour the memory of one who was in reality "a fine old English gentleman" — a thoroughly English land lord devoted to home and tenantry, attending personally to his estates, his stock, stud, and hounds, but ever mind ful of the poor, and no niggard in the work of church erec tion and endowment, and the building of schools—whose portrait, in short, is to be met with in every cottage. The history of the undertaking shows how much the work has been that of a labour of love. The idea of a memorial was conceived early in 1864, and a committee of gentlemen and farmers of the Riding was formed, under the presidency of Lieut.-Col. Pease, of Hull, and the joint hon. secretaryships of Mr. F. C. Matthews, of Driffield, and Mr. W. 'Popham, of Eastborno. Subscriptions flowed in so rapidly that in July of the same year an exhibition of designs for the me morial, comprising 157 competitive contributions, was held and the present design was selected, and on May 17, 18G5, the preliminaries had so far advanced that the foundation stone was laid by Lord Hotham, M.P. for the Riding, who also undertook the ceremony of inauguration on Friday. Except, indeed, for the sculpture, the monument might have been inaugurated six months ago. Tho site selected for the monument may be regarded as classic ground. The erection occupies tho summit of Garton-hill, and stands upon the southern rampart of the British earthworks which cross the high welds from Wartre to the Danes' Graves, a range of 15 miles. The burial mounds of the Britons—the abori ginal occupiers of the welds —are scattered profusely around. Traces of Roman occupation are there too, and after that of the Anglo-Saxon rule—the mound on which the monu ment stands being one vast Anglo-Saxon Christian ceme tery. Through the mediaaval period the wolds wore an open waste, and their cultivation and enclosure was mainly owing to the Sykes family, and to none was their improve ment more due than to him whose memorial now occupies the loftiest position—for not only to the weld country and to Holderness, but to Lincolnshire, the pile is visible. The memorial consists of a tower and spire, surmounted by a cross, the design being a fine conception of the early decorated period by Mr. John Gibbs, of Oxford. Tho design is admitted to be of bold conception, picturesque arrangement, and beautiful proportion. The monument has a base of 28ft. square with a total height of 120 ft. The base, or pedestal, has four panels, in ono of which is the entrance door, and over it the bas-relief of the late baronet on his favourite hunter—a copy, in fact, of the idea of Grant's famous picture of Sir Tatton. The opposite panel is filled with the emblematic representations of agricultural life, and the two others are blank. The sculpture is from the chisel of Mr. Forsyth, of Worcester, and is extremely bold and effective. The ornamental portion is limited, so as to give effect to the sculptured caps, string=, entabla tures, &:c. A stair leads to the observatory, a room at the base of the spire, lighted by four ovate windows, from which there is a lookout over most of the county, and a glimpse of Sledmere itself. The monument was estimated to cost upwards of £1,500, but the full outlay will be nearly £l,BOO, solely from the contributions of the East Riding people, among whom the veteran baronet spent his long and useful life. It is requisite to state that the work has been most admirably executed by Messrs. Simpson and Malone, of Hull, and the stone used is in alternating strings of white Yorkshire and Mansfield red, producing a very fine effect. LATEST INTELLIGENCE. (REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.) FRANCE. PARIS, October 29. The Liberte has received a first warning from the Minister of the Interior on account of an article signed by M. Duvernois, published on the 27th inst. The article in question is declared to have dis paraged the policy of the Government, and vio lently attacked the constitutional institutions of the country, thus inciting disobedience to the laws. BOURSE, Oct. 27, Two o'clock.—A limited amount of business is being transacted, but with a rirm market. Quotations were, for the most part, higher at the opening, but have somewhat retrograded. Threes opened at 69f. 10c., and are now worth 68f. 971 c., a fractional decline. Italian Fives are quoted at 56f. 40c., an advance of sc. Credit Mobilier Shares lose 2f. 50c., at 631 f. 25c., whereas Credit Foncier gain a similar amount, at 1,377 f. 50c. Comptoir d'Escompte are at about the same as yes terday. Railway Shares are firm, with, in some cases, a slight advance. Three o'clock.—The last quotations are as fol lows : 4} per Cents 96 70 Do. end month Bank Shares 3600 Italian Loan 56 40 Do. end mouth 56 30 Mexican Loan — Do. Bonds — Spanish Threes Home Debt 3 per Cents. 69 Do. end mouth 69 Credit Mobilier ... 627 50 Do. end month ... 628 75 Credit Foncier Do. end month 1377 50 Terre , 'AYE,. For Account. Orleans Northern 1175 _ _ Lyons and Mediterranean 926 25 Southern 583 75 Western 557 50 Eastern MB 75 Sardinian Austrian Lombard 421 25 North of Spain lO7 50 Saragossa 137 50 Ditto to Barcelona 62 50 Overend, Gurney, and Co. (Limited.) VICE-CHANCELLOR KINDERSLEY'S CHAMBERS. (THIS DAY.) • In consequence of its being known that an application was to be mado to the Chief Clerk this morning with re spect to some of the matters in connection with Overend, Gurney, and Co. (limited) the room was densely crowded with shareholders in the concern. Mr. Denton, on the part of the liquidator, said he had to apply that day for the usual four day order to enforce the payment of certain calls that had been made on the shareholders. It appeared that two gen tlemen, holding shares in the company, iu order to test their liability, had taken out summonses which were to be heard before his Honour, Vice-Chancellor Kindersley, on the 3d of November; but, notwithstanding that, a summons was taken out against those who opposed the call, which summons was heard before Mr. Peek, who decided that the call ought to be enforced, and he, there fore, overruled the usual order to go. With a view to give an opportunity to those dissatisfied with the decision, the order was not to be signed for a week, and before the expiration of that time, without any notice to the liquidators, another application was made by Mr. Lewis on the part of certain shareholders, but. his Honour directed that the matter should stand adjourned The next step on the part of the liquidators was to take out 12 summonses against those who still refused to pay their calls, one of which was heard before Mr. Hall, who made an order that the call should be enforced. To show the effect of this proceeding it had originally been thought that they (the liquidators) would have to deal with no less than from 1,400 to 1,500 shareholders, but in conse quence of the decision of Mr. Hall, the liquidators had re ceived a very large amount of money in payment of the calls, and the number of dissentients at the present moment did not amount to more than 950. Up to the present moment the calls had come in well, and he had no doubt but that before long the number of those who still objected to pay would be reduced to about 100, and what he had to ask for that day was that the order should go against those who had not yet paid. Mr.Rawligns (who appeared on the par tof the 629 share holders) asked that the present application might stand over for a week, when the matter would bo resumed before the Vice-Chancellor in opon court. It was then proposed to take a representative case, which could then be decided, the Jesuit of course to be held binding on the others. It would be a much better course to pursue than to put such a vast number of persons to the expense of defending them selves singly. He contended that many were on the liqui dators' list but who ought not to be there. Mr. Buckley asked whether a summons to vary the list had been taken out ? Mr. Rawlings replied in the negative. Mr. Buckley said he had no authority but to grant the order applied for, as the time had expired for making the application. Mr. Rawlings said it was a very serious matter to have to proceed singly over 300 cases. Mr. Buckley said he did not apprehend the same alarm ; he thought the number would be very greatly reduced. A shareholder said he hoped the application of Mr. Denton would be refused until the whole matter was laid before the open Court. He should then be prepared to show such a mass of fraud had been committed that was without parallel in the City of London. (Cries of " Hear, hear.") Ho should also impeach the appointment of those persons now acting as liquidators. (Hear, hear.) Another Shareholder hoped that out of consideration for the widows and orphans who had been rendered desti tute, the present application would be refused. No harm could ensue to any one through the matter being allowed to rest until it was fully before the Vice-Chancellor. Mr. Buckley said he had no such power. The validity of the order he had to make could bo tested before the judge. Another Shareholder hero exclaimed, " The liquidators are not disinterested," and another called out, " They are creditors !" A gentleman standing at the back of the•room, said if the order was made to pay the money into court, he did not think there would be much objection to such a course. Mr. Buckley said that was the order already. The money paid on calls was sent to the Bank of England, and could not be touched without an order signed by him. Mr. Denton thought it but fair that it should be known what the fraud was. A Shareholder said he was prepared to show that two millions had been lost on steam alone. Mr. Rawlings said, if the application was postponed, two representative cases might be taken, and if the court should be of opinion that the call ought to bo stopped as for far as persons in tho position such as he should select, there, of course, would be an end of the matter. Mr. Buckley said he had no power but to make the order, but he would adjourn the motion for the opinion of the judge to be taken. The orders would not be signed until that opinion had been given. (Loud cries of "hoar, hear.") According to his view of the case, Mr. Rawlings had got all he required. Mr. Rawlings said the matter relied upon was, that the old firm was insolvent at the timo of the transfer to tho new company, and that the prospectus afterwards issued was consequently false. _ Mr. Buckley said that was matter of opinion ; the making of a bad bargain, or oven being cheated, did not, absolve any one from the payment of his debts. However, the matter was at an end for the present, because the order he now made would not be signed until the opinion of the judge had been taken upon it, therefore the case must stand adjourned in order that that might be done. The decision of Mr. Buckley elicited loud cries of " hear, heal" from the gentlemen who by this time had crowded the room to overflowing. A NEW WATCH KEY.—The Messrs. Carpenter, of Carshalton, have just patented a very useful key, which combines an improvement on the Brequet action, with a contrivance in the shape of a plug to prevent the accumu lation of dirt in the key, which so often proves destructive to the machinery of the watch. It is an ingenious and useful invention. BOTHWELL.—DISTINGUISHED VISITORS.—AIong with other distinguished visitors at present residing at the Clyde Hotel, Bothwell, are the widow and daughter of the late Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America. VISCOUNT NELSON, DUKE OF BreoNTE.—ln con nection with the disputed point as to whether an English man can legally bear a foreign title, or wear a foreign or der in England, without the sanction of the Crown, we (Atheucouf,i) may refer to a precedent in the case of Nelson. lle was informed that he could not appear at Court as Duke of Bronte and Knight of various foreign orders, until he had received the usual sanction. Nelson replied that thoso honours had been conferred on him by his Royal master's allies for services he had been deputed by his Royal master to render. lie would go to Court, he said, with all his titles and all his honours, and he did not suppose anybody would stop him. The supposition was correct; nobody ven tured to "stop Nelson." THE CHEVALIER DE CIIATELAIN, on the theme and under the title of In Deo Spec, has just written a heart-stirring copy of versos, which appeared in the last number of the Courrier de L'Europe. AUTHORSHIP OF THE ENIGMA ON THE LETTER H.- Mr. Beresford Hope asserts that the well-known enigma commencing, "'T was whispered in Heaven, 'twas muttered in Hell," on the letter H, universally ascribed to Byron, was written by Miss Catherine M. Fanshawo, a literary spinster of the past generation. LITE R, A T II R, E. Mr. Algernon Swinburne and His Critics. Under the title of "Notes on Poems and Re views," Mr. Algernon Charles Swinburne has just published, with Mr. Hotter), of Piccadilly, what he apparently designs to be a crushing reply to the whole body of his critics, and a triumphant vindi cation at the same time of the unsullied purity of his own poetic reputation. His reviewers, accord ing to him, are not only altogether in the wrong—he himself all the while being as completely in the right— but he undertakes to prove them (not himself) to be foul-mouthed and filthy-minded. Certainly this—if it could only have been effectually accomplished— would have been carrying the war into the enemy's camp with a vengeance. Only—very unluckily for Mr. Swinburne in this his new adventure—every succes sive shaft of ridicule he hurls against his assailants no sooner leaves his handS than it transforms itself into a boomerang. In effect, the task thus undertaken with so much audacity, was in itself too flagrantly outrageous to prove otherwise than an inevitable fiasco. Reverting to the " Poems " which imme diately preceded, and in fact thereby elicited, the " Reviews"—of both of which (that is, Poems and Reviews) the " Notes" now under consideration, are intended to be elucidatory—one cannot but feel that, here, in these Poems, it is no Virginal Muse who comes to us. Rather than that, it is some Stripling Satyr, with his horns scarce budding, and his hooves just beginning to harden, who creeps towards us through the arcadian coppice to whisper his foul imaginings in our ears from a lair of tangled vine and roses. Taking them for such as they are, these lyrics and ballads, born of a libidinous imagination, are not certainly, it must be admitted, of the literature of Grub-street. They arc, in an artistic sense, of course, immeasurably above and beyond all that. But they have the taint as of Ifoly well-street about them nevertheless, and that, moreover, as it appears to us, ineradicably. Insomuch so that it becomes almost a matter of question with us, in the abstract, with respect to these same libidinous word-pictures, as they have been pencilled by Mr. Swinburne, whether he has not by their production rendered himself amenable to the law, as defined but a very few years since in what is popularly known as Lord Campbell's Act—an act expressly designed with a view to the suppression of impure and demoralising publications. It has been somewhere wittily re marked by Lord Macaulay in reference to the sometime laureate Robert Southey, that his (Southey's) lovers are always in extremes, that either they love like Cattle, or they love like Seraphim. Mr. Swinburne's lovers invariably come under the former category—they love like cattle. As to his religion, his god or goddess, or however else it may be termed—his chosen idol, in other words, the recipient of his orisons, we are left to presume can be no other than the unutterable object of adoration shamefully held in reverence by the Ansayrii. That evil race of " the assassins" of the Lebanon, of whom and of whose abhorred wor ship the Hon. Frederick Walpole has given, per haps, among all modern travellers, the most popular and accurate description. Born seemingly of precisely such a worship as that:indulged in by the Ansayrii, these hot-breathed poetic utterances of Mr. Alger non Swinburne's are definable no otherwise than as an outrage on our common humanity. They are a wanton violation of the sanctity and of the purity of all the domestic affections. So wanton a violation of them, in truth, that one marvels how this young writer could himself by possibility have come into existence—incredulous for the moment that he could ever have had a mother ! Or, that, having had a mother, and a sister possibly, as well as other near and dear relations of the gentler sex, he could so outrage, by the gloating profanations of his lascivious fancy, what had been enshrined (meaning the ideal of that sex) as in a sanctuary of reverential chastity by the whole genius of Christian Chivalry. His Muses, however, one and all of them, are Wantons. His Erato has no sense of decency or of reticense in her lyrical warblings. His Terpsichore is a Nautch Girl, but half clad and bedizened with coins, flushed less with wine-lees than with animal passion, shameless as the daughter of Herodias, meretricious of eye, breathless of lip, dishevelled ! And so on through the whole sisterhood. With regard to the running loose, hitherand thither, whithersoever they list, of his erratic erotic fancies, we are sometimes fain to wonder if ever, in his affected disdain for modern languages and in his pining by preference for some memorable utterance in a classic tongue, he could hearken for once—and lay well to heart on hearing them thus echoed in the recesses of his con science—to words articulated eighteen hundred years ago by holier lips than those of Catullus, by an elo quence more inspired than that of Sappho-7ropvcia U. Kai racra aKaOapo-ia µrlSe ovoilaCia-Oco ev viuv—or according to the Vulgate of St. Jerome, " Formcatio autem et omnis inznzunditia nee nominetur in vobis Instead of which holy abstinence from anything like a deliberate consideration of them—here, in Mr. Swinburne, is one who not merely selects those very themes to gloat over them and to expatiate upon them in the abandon of a voluptuous imagination, but one who, while thus gloating over them and ex patiating upon them, strives to render them more than ever insidiously alluring by tricking them out with all the depraving resources of his rhetoric. Love and Poetry, with Mr. Swinburne, are as the masses are to Mr. Gladstone—flesh and blood. And, when singing of the loves of his fellow mortals in his melodious verse, this young poet sings of them with an eye to them solely as flesh and blood. The art prefer redby him is that usually concealed by curtains in the inner salon of your epicurean voluptuary or fashion able sybarite—only, here, the curtains are torn asunder, and the painting revealed to view in the broadest light imaginable. According to one of our time-honoured proverbs, no doubt—" To the pure all things are pure" —except, par exenzple, the reve lations of a brothel ! Hardly such as those, at any rate, we may presume. And these poems of Mr. Swinburne are nothing more nor less than the out pourings of the hitherto unuttered fancies engen dered by the upboilings of sheer animal puberty. They are the carefully defined and minutely elabo rated celebrations of the bitings and rumblings and slobberings of a precocious pruriency, or even, we would say, of a wholly supposititious lasciviousness. It is related of some eccentric old lady, whose name, happily for her, has been forgotten, that shortly after the first appearance from the press of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary, she offered her congratula tions to that great lexicographer and moralist, for inasmuch as his stupendous and all but exhaustive catalogue of words made no mention whatever of some of the filthiest and foulest in the language. " So, madam," said the Doctor, "You have been looking after them, I find !" Now, precisely what the Old Lady attempted to do in regard to Dr. Johnson's Dictionary, Mr. Swinburne has done, with unhappily the fullest success, in his re searches among the stores of classic litera ture. He has sedulously hunted up whatever there was in it of impurity and salaciousness. His readings have been almost exclusively confined to those astoundingly inconsequent supplementary pages or appendices of the Expurgated Editions of the Greek and Latin authors, in which have been carefully set apart together—for readier reference at the hands of those who may chance to prefer them— all the loathlier passages previously and very care fully eliminated from the writer's text, as calculated to profane its beauty, yet afterwards, as carefully collected together in these astounding Supplements or Appendices as propitiary offerings to Cloacina— offerings of which the offence, like the arch-crime of the King in Hamlet," is rank and smells to heaven !" Among the accumulation of such later portions of those strangely Expurgated Editions of the classics, Mr. Swinburne has evidently wallowed with a sort of grovelling exultation, as of a seal sporting in its native element. If he has taken up Juvenal, he has turned, as by an instinct—we may be sure of that—to an examination of one abhorred book in particular—in preference to any of the others. Coming down again to our own times, how ever, from that far-off table - land of Anti quity, we are constrained (by himself) to believe that if he knows as yet anything at all about the world, it is with the demi-monde alone he is acquainted. To borrow a happy illustration of his own, from one of the few things he has written worthily (his prose in. troduction to the Selections from Lord Byron's Poetry) we would say, while for a moment con trasting his poetic violations of decency with those of Byron, that whereas it is with the impurities of " Don Juan" as it is with the impurities of the ocean—those impurities being, as they are , rendered utterly insignificant and wholly in nocuous by the overwhelming flood of the all-mas tering salt of poetry in the world of which they are afloat as mere worthless and inappreciable atoms-- with regard to the immeasurably grosser impurities of this latest and youngest of the Editors of Byron, it is quite otherwise. They constitute the bulk of the flood—whatever there may be of purity intermingled with them, must be re garded as the inappreciable atoms by com parison. And it is in vindication of productions such as the se —productions having about them the inerradica ble taint of decomposition—that this young Poet w ho has been singing to us as with the voice of an exhaus ted debauchce celebrations of animal passion such as might have called a blush of shame even into the face of Colonel Charteris—it is in vindication, for sooth, of productions such as these, that Mr. Swill burne has just now issued this feeble prose pamphlet with an air of ineffable pertness, and of almost sublime self-sufficiency ! So far as we are at all aware, there have been two only among our contemporaries who have had the hardihood to press forward conspi cuously and avowedly as the vindicators, or, as we should rather say, the apologists, of Mr. Swin burne—those two being the Reader and the Exa miner. According to their estimate of him_' salacious revellings in the delineation of sheer ani mal voluptuousness are chastening and purifying celebrations of the diviner essence of ; Abstract Purity and Idealised Chastity. According to the Critics of the Reader and the Examiner, those wh° turn aside from this Circean wash are disdaining a celestial compound of mingled nectar and ambro sia tendered to them by a Hebe and Ganyined e rolled into one in the form of a species of Poeti c Hermaphrodite. Our contemporary, the Examine r, we observe, goes so far as to talk of this extra ordinary pamphlet thus exultingly—" Mr. Swill burne," it says, " here speaks for himself without personality of any kind, but with much gener al expression of a scorn which the small critics [amongst them, by the way, the Saturday Review, the Athenaeum, and the Pall-Mall Gazette,], in whos e eyes he is filthy and a blasphemer, have fairly broug ht ,. down on themselves." In attempted vindication el himself from the charge of being a Blasphem er ' it should be here added that this Bard of Fornica tion only contrives to make bad worse by argil- ing as follows :—" After many alternate curses and denials of God, a great poet talks of Chris t ' veiling his horrible Godhead,' of his malignant soul,' his' godlike malice.' Shelley outlived all this and much more ; butShelleywrote all this and we e ' more. Will no Society for the Suppression of Cot a i mon Sense—no Committee for the Propagation Cant—see to it a little ?" Is it Common Sense, then/ in Mr. Swinburne's view of it, to speak in those hideous words of Shelley's about our Lord veiling his Godhead? Is it Cant, according to Mr. Swil l :, burne's notion of it, the repudiating these referen e ,e' to the Holy One's " malignant soul" and " God lio malice ?" Reasoning thus, no wonder he comes L te . d be mistaken for a Blasphemer! Altogether 01 ' most astounding persistence of Mr. Swinburne s 1 . 3 maintaining to the last what he apparently consi ders the inerent dignity and the intrinsic pur it i n of his abandoned Muse, appears to us to be aloe; comparable to that shameless spectacle which w! presentedto view in Paris towards the close of tile last century, when the robeless strumpet was ell ; throned upon the desecrated high-altar of N°tre Dame, and there worshipped as the Goddess e L Reason in the midst of a saturnalia of Godless Democrats. Shirley Brook's New Serial Story. Sooner or Later. By Shirley Brooks. No. I. Bradbury and Evans. The sparkling novelist of " The Silver Core and " Aspen Court" here commences in dashiel style a new serial story under the antithetical title 0. "Sooner or Later." But that George Du .I.laurier is with his pencil almost as clever and humorous a cow tributor to Punch as Shirley Brooks is with his P ell —that pen, by the way, which scratched off to th e life those delightfully cantankerous Naggletons ---we should have been disposed to regret very much th e disappearance, as Mr. Brooks's illustrator, of Joh li r Tenniel, ,the most gifted draughtsman, to 011 0 thinking, among all our comic illustrators. 1913 ,, peculiarity, however, about " Sooner or Lat er ' as a shilling monthly serial story, we cannot htl" direct attention to at once, and that regretfully" namely, the exceptional circumstance of its con taining only one embellishment. This one, how' ever, is clever enough, and not unworthY Du Maurier—" Is it a Fatal Case?" being the ti tle of it. As yet it is impossible of course to coni ce i ture in any way what will be the probable drift , the story. Magdalen Conway, the heroine, th ous t frequently mentioned already in the narrative, has li° once yet made her appearance. The hero, her avo : anted lover, Ernest Dormer, has appeared certaiwP but that is all—for, even now, though he has 313 : peared, and has also spoken a little, we are nev er ; scarcely acquainted with him. It is in vivacity of the give-and-take of the club-house t 3 at the dinner table of the Octagon, and afterw ards '. iu the smoking-room, that Shirley Brooks shines la this initial number of " Sooner or Later." h ere ► for example, is a fragment of one of these sa ill club-house conversations : vu "Going to ask us whether we are disengaged, as i r , want to give us another dinner, Samuel ?" said Wigram. fo 3 " Pas si bgte," was the editor's gracious reply, as 110 _ and lit a little meerschaum. " What did you do with the Reverend Grafton ?" "Mr. Grafton accompanied me to my apartraen t6 ; o e c t cepted my humble hospitality for the night, and delA r M , for his provincial residence on the following morel e t r replied Mr. Mangles, with affectation of a didactic 5 ,83111 1 should like to know what he said about th e club, remar " H ke Launcesn. e sa d to id it was very conveniently situated, and that the architecture, though unpretending, was effective." "Don' be a humbugLwas he scared?" b ot "Ho did not say so. He may have been scandaliseu, - 0 he did not say that either," replied Mr. Mangles. reason may have been that ho was indisposed to be el.O cal, at night, and that he went away beforo I was 11 ,, P f 1 1 the morning. Ring, Wigram. Some iced water, an - last edition of The Sun," he added, to the waiter. wish y °4 " There's no news," said Launceston. " I wis . '" wouldn't bring the newspapers up here." ‘ ,l "My dear Charles," replied Mr. Mangles, quietly, have tho greatest regard for you as an institution, litito have no confidence in your ability to say whether tiler s 0 or is not any news. You probably mean that the no telegram stating whether Preposterous or .flippoP° not .„ that' have has won the Witlers' Cup at Muckton. I a`- interested in that national event. I want to see what, al have been doing in the house at the morning " I wish the house was—well, I wish the hous e was 14. said Mr. Wigram. oa " Are you serious ?" said Mr. Mangles. " " , -t t At earth can the house bo to you ? I hardly supp ossu you knew of its existence. What do you think it allj ,pbe " It is keeping me from leaving England, that' s gov ernor has some notion that ho ought not to stir 1:1 the prorogation. You see," he added filially "it is h is g ot session, and ho may be excused for thinkin g , ra si3lal awfully important." oocl " And then these swells wonder that the misg over talk of a revolution," said the editor. " Swells yourself !" retorted Henry Wigrara , o 05' rising from his chair, and becoming oratorical on t " e ,hia' 1 think that a revolution would be a very good jOlll lam not in the least afraid of ono. I wish we h ad a strong Committee of Public Safety." " Catalina in shiny boots." f ea c° "Very well, and he begs leave to abuse your P r , - , ) ,Tou for a minute. I tell you I should like to see it. v01(1 believe that a strong Government of practical lue u ` v . t b ° ll3 l allow the present state of things to go on ? Du Y °l i o at e4 that I should have had to sit in a Hansom for 2° ,- .00 5 in a block at Temple-bar this morning, with inoustrigtierias gathering thick and close around me, everybody h i lt sc lial l everybody else, and all the traffic brought to a h a ' minutes are made of gold ?" 6, vio scoria " Wigram in earnest !" said Launceston. - - is at an end." " Wigram is in earnest," continued that elegant 1,711)1- gentleman, who had quite forgotten to be P ens tve ; Hove that such a committee would take London kick all the boards, and vestries, and bead les into in' re space, and would do no end of good. I would get volution myself, if I could." tole, And so on. The conversation at the dioner ,agolf especially, is sparkling with wit, repartee, 031;--;ai espieglerie, and all the cracker bon-bons cu ' ri f its mated table-talk--but to afford any notioo excellence in these respects would requ ire .l,:prae' moment and in this place, what is unluckily ticable, a, rather lengthy quotation.