The Sun. — London, England, 1848-03-20 00:00:00

ood condition. The demand for each description was heavy, at drooping prices. The supply of home-fed Beasts, fresh up this morning by " drift" and railway, was moderately extensive, and of excellent quality. As the attendance of buyers was small, and the weather 'very unfavourable for slaughtering, the Beef trade was ;in a very inactive state, at a decline in the quotations Paid on Monday last of 2d per Bibs. Although a few of the primest Scots produced 4s 6d, the more general top price of Beef did not exceed 4s 4d per Sibs. The ar lrivala of Beasts from the eastern, northern, and midland districts consisted of 1,600 Scots, Devons, Runts, Here fords, Shorthorns, and Irish beasts; from other parts of England. about 1,200 of various breeds; and from Scot- Lind 230 horned and polled Scots. The remainder of the supply was derived from abroad and the neighbour• hood of the metropolis. We were again scantily sup plied with Sheep, nearly the _whole of which were of ex. cellent quality. The Mutton trade was heavy, at a fail in the currencies of 2d per 8 lbs. The highest figure for the best old Downs in the wool was 5s 4d per 81bs. About 600 shorn Sheep were on offer, at 4s 8d to 4s 10,1 per 8 lbs for Down qualities. There were a few Lambs in the market, but they sold at very irregular prices. Prime small Calves were in moderate request, at late rates. In other kinds of Veal very little was doing. The Pork trade was in a very inactive state, at Unaltered figures. Per albs. to sink the offal. s. d. to s. 4. s. d. s. d. ltaserfor Beasts-- 3 2 3 4 Second onality ditto 4 O 4 4 Second quality ••• • 3 6 3 a Coarse-woolledditto 4 6 ti 0 Prime large Oxen.. 310 4 0 Southdown Wether 5 2 5 4 Prime Scots •• • 4 2 4 4 Ditto enter the wool Large coarse Calves 4 • 4 6 Large liege •••• • • 4 0 4 6 Prime small ditto .. 4 C 5 2 Small Porkers ••. • 4 8 5 0 Buckling Calves • •20 0 25, • Quarter old Pigs • •18 • 24 0 latollor Sheep •• • a 8 310 Lambs •••••• • • • • 0 0 0 0 SUPPLY AT MARKET. * Reties. Sheep. Calves. I Plus I 3,229 16,770 129 290 NEWG.A.TE AND MEADENDAMI. The arrivals of country killed meat for these markets, airce Monday last, have consisted of about ninety car gasses of Meat, 200 ditto of Mutton, 120 ditto of Veal, and 320 ditto of Pork. The supplies brought forward, slaughtered in the metropolis. have been but moderate, though of full average quality. Prime Beef, Mutton, and Veal have sold readily at very full prices. Other wine the demand has been in a sluggish state. About 160 cacasses of feieign meat have been on show, and a few baskets have come to hand from Hamburgh. At per stone by the Carcase. s. d. to s. d. s. 41. to s. d. heeLinferior • • •.• • 3 0 3 2 Mutton, inferior •• 3 6 310 middling .... 3 2 3 4 middling.. 4 0 4 4 — 7 prime large 3 6 3 R prime .... 4 6 4 8 prime small 3 8 311 Pork, large.. •... 3 8 4 4 4 0 small .• •• •• 4 6 5 Lamb. Os Od to Os 04. 21011,OUGli AND SPITAIMIELDS. Although the supplies of Potatoes offering in these markets are not to say extensive, they are more than equal to the wants of the dealers. All kinds are heavy, itt drooping prices. The imports in the past week have consisted of about 60 tons from Hamburgh, 23 ditto from Rotterdam, 200 ditto from Louvain, and 196 ditto from Antwerp. BOROUGH HOP MARILET.. Exceedingly little business is doing in this market, and several rather largo parcels have been withdraw n for the present. Even the finest qualities are a very slow sale, and last week's prices are with difficulty supported. MONEY and COMMERCIAL NEWS. CITY, QUARTER TO THREE. The sales of Cotton at Liverpool on Saturday were 3,000 bales, at stt ady prices. Railway Shares were ex ceedingly dull. Some time may elapse ere the fiscal position of this country will attract such attention as it did last year, but should the revenue exhibit a falling off, owing to the prevailing political excitement, and especially the stag nation of business abroad, the Chancellor of the Ex chequer will have the subject of retrenchment in the expenditure pressed more forcibly than ever upon his attention. As far as we can judge by the non-official returns of stocks, imports, exports, and deliveries up to the present time, we should say that the consumption of most articles has declined, the want of employ ment for the labouring classes being the imme diate cause. It is, however, to be hoped, that next quarter will show better results, for by that period, the effect of the recent political changes, it favourable, will be more appreciated, and there will at least be less uncertainty and apprehension than now exists in some quarters. The position of the shipping interest being under in vestigation in Parliament, and the extent of the mer cantile marine a matter of importance to us in the event of a Continental war, even though we may happily remain uninvolved, it will be useful to glance at some returns concerning the tonnage of vessels belonging to Great Britain and her colonies. In the year 1821 the tonnage of the United Kingdom was 2,355,853 tons•, colonies, 204,350 tons. In 1841 the former was only 2,224,356 tons, and the latter 357,608 tons. From that time it has steadily increased, the total tonnage of 1846 being 3,817,112 tons. Ship-building seems to have been at 41 lowest point in 1822, and at its highest in 1840; and in 1846 a fair average amount of tonnage was built and registered. The tonnage which entered into and cleared from British ports was in 1814, 3,764,428 tons, of which 2,562,200 tons were British, and 1,202,228 tons foreign. In 1846, the total was 12,415,586 t0n5,8,688,148 tons, being British, and 3,727,438 tons foreign. The increase, therefore, from 1814 to 1846 was 239-08 per cent. on British, and 210.04 per cent. on foreign shipping. To deny the progress of the shipping interest, there fore, is futile, in opposition to such facts and figures as these. The packet ship Victoria, Captain Harvey, from Now York, does not bring any later intelligence, but she has some specie on board, and a good general cargo. The letters from the Continent add nothing of im portance to the accounts in another column, but describe trude generally as being exceedingly dull. We understand that a very influential meeting of merchants has been held at Bristol in support of the Provident Clerks' Association, for which a liberal sub scription was made. The English Stock Market has been exceedingly quiet this morning, and indeed there is scarcely a fea ture to be noted, except a de2line in Exchequer-bills, which appears to bear out the statements made as to money being rather dearer. The premium on Exche quer-bills has receded to 28s. and 255. East India Bonds are 11 s. premium. Bank Stock for account has been 190 to 191. Consols are heavy at 801 to 81. In the Foreign Securities there has been a fair business doing, but prices, generally, are not higher. Venezuela Bonds are nominally better, viz., 18 to 22. Mexican have been 141 to I. Grenada are 131; and Brazilian Small 69. Spanish Five per Cents. have been marked 111 4; the Three per Cents., 214 j; and Portuguese Four per Cents. 141 to 4. Russian Stock has been 85 to 88; and Dutch Two-and-a-llalf per Cents. 41 to 42. The Railway Share Market is very dull, and prices are in soma cases lower. BRITISH FUNDS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK. (From the Official List.) 3 per Cent. Consols Anna BO% i 1 Long Annuities, Exp. Jan. sth, 1860 — Do. 30 Years, Expire Jan. 5, MO 8 5-16 India Bonds under ....... II p Bank Stock for Account 191 190 Consols for Account Exchequer Bills. Bd. June. 1,000/. 5001 25 p Small PRICE OF FOREIGN FUNDS AT ONE O'CLOCK. Brazilian Bonds, 5 per Cent Ditto Small March. 22 26 p Ditto New Bonds, 1829 and 1839 Ditto Small Grenada, 1 per Cent. • ..... ...... Ditto Deferred Mexican Bongs, 1840, 5 per Cent 14 % 1A Portuguese Bonds, 5 per Cent — Ditto 4 per Cent. Russian Bonds. 1822, 5 per Cent B7 85 88 Spanish Bonds, 5 per Cent, 1840 Ditto for the Account ll% Ditto Passive Bonds 3 Spanish Bonds, 3 per Cent. .. Ditto for the A6count .... 22 Venezuela Bonds ... Do. Deferred Dividends or. the above payable in London. Dutch 2% per Cent., 12 Guild 4l 42 BUSINESS' DONE IN RAILWAY SHARES; AT ONE O'CLOCK RAILWAYS. PAID. Pin Slum. Aberdeen Amber., Notting., Boston , &c 31,3/4 —....— to --- Ayrshire and Galloway 2% to Belfast and County Down .. 11% .. .. Birmingham & Oxford June... 20 Birmingham, \Vol., & Dudley 10 ... . 13 Birming., \Vol., & Stour Val. 101.148.... Birkenhead, Lancashire, and Cheshire Junction 7 3 /4 Boston, Stamf., & Birming... 5 Bristol and Exeter . BS Do., Thirds Buckinghamshire l2!. 4s — to —3/ Caledonian 50 2 8 3 /I to 27 3 / 4 Ditto, Half Shares Ditto. Clydesdale Junction 50 Chester and. Holyhead 37%..... Ditto, Preference l2 Clarence.. Do., let Class, 8 per Cent... 10 Do., 2LI Class, 5 per Cent... 10 Do., Gov. Loan, 4 per CAA. 10 — to Direct London & Portsmouth 3 3 / 4 to Dublin and Belfast Junction.. 25 Dundalk and Enniskillen ... 17% — to East Anglia, 26/. L. & E., and L. & D. ... Ditto, 181., E. & H Ditto, 31. 108., E. & H... 3% — to Eastern Counties Do.Perpet.,s per ct. No. 1,6/. 13s. 4d... Do., do. N 0.2,6/. 13s. 4d... Do., Northern & Eastern... 50 Do., Quarter .... .. ..... ...... 12%... .. Do., New Eastern Union Ditto, Quarter Shares ...... 12% — to _ _ JILL°, Ditto., Thirds l3s. 4d — to Ditto (guar. 6 per cent.) ... 10 ...... Ditto, ditto ...... ...... Last Lancashire Ditto, New Do., New Quarters - East Lincolnshire IGL AI IS:M to Edinburgh and Glasgow Ditto, Halt Shares Ditto, Quarter Shares 12% — to Edinburgh and Northern ... 25 ...... Ditto, New ..... ... ..... ...... 3% Ditto, New port l2 Ditto, ditto, New 2 14 — ...... to Exeter, Yeovil, & Dorchester 2% — Ditto, New Glasg., Dumfries, & Carlisle-8/. 65.8 d... .. to Glasgow, Kilmarnock, & Ayr 50 ...... Ditto, New Do. Preference Consolidated 15 Great Northern Do. London & York Eaten. 2%._ - to o. Lonuuu ..- - ---- _ , , ••• •.. __. Gt. South. & \Vest. (Ireland) 37% lB ...... to 17 1 ,i% Great North of England 101 — Ditto, New 40! Ditto, New 30/ ... 30 .. Ditto, New 15/...... ... ...... 0%...... . Great Western Ditto, Half Shares Ditto, Quarter Shares Ditto, Fifths Do. New 17/ ... 6 Huddersfield and Manchester 24 .. ... Ditte, Thirds 8 Hull and Selby Ditto, Half Shares Ditto, Quarter Shares - 12% — to Ipswich & Bury St. Edmunds 17% — ...... to Do. do. and Norwich Do., do., Extension Scrip (late (Camb. and Ely) 2% — Lancaster and Carlisle—. ....50 Do., Thirds lO ..... Lancashire and Yorkshire ... 93 Ditto, ditto Ditto Half Shares - 38 Ditto Quarters ...... 141%••••• ... .. to Ditto Fifths Ditto Sixteenths ... ..... ... VA-- .. ... to Ditto Thirds (Reg.) ... 101.45 — Do. Liverpool and Bury... 38 Do. (Mulder:. and Sheff.) 33 Do., Wakefield, Pontefract. and Goole 5O t, Do., West Riding Union ...41. 2a..... 3 1 -A 3 dis. to Do., Preston and Wyre ... 25 ~.... 32 Do., do., Half Shares (A) 9 _._. Leeds and Bradford 50 . ... 86 1 ,E to Leeds,Dewsbury,&Manches. 42 , ,,( 2 Do., llalf Shares Ditto, Blue (scrip) .. 2 1 ,4 — ... .. to Leeds andThirsk ....-... ...... 40 __ Ditto, New - 221,x. .... ..... to Do., do., Prefer., 6 per Cent. 3 1 / 2 ...„ ..,.. to _ Liverpool. Crosby, and South port. Liverpool, Manchester, and Newcastle Juncti0n.......... 2 1 , London & Blackwell ...13/. 6s. 8d 4%...... to Ditto New, No. 2 5l. 18s. 4d.... Do. Extension ...... 17 1 / 2 ...... to Lond., Bright., & South Coast 50 Do. Consolidated Eighths.- 40 ...... 19 Do. Guaranteed 5 per Cent. 9 . ..... Do. i'ref. Cony. 5 per Cent. 50 ...... •• ••• to Ditto, ditto 1852 50 ..... London and Greenwich... 121.155. 4d... Ditto Preference lBl 17s 2d... ...... to London & North Western.....100 Do. Quarters ( L. and B.) 22 - Do. New Do. Fifths Do. 40/. Shares.....L. & M. 20 ...... Do. 101. ... M. and B. (A.) 7 1 / 2 . .... Do. 101. .. M. and B. (B.) 7 1 / 2 Do. 101... M. and B. (C.) 1 London and S. Western.-- 50 Ditto, New 50/. ....... - ..... 37 1 / 2 .- .. 25 Ditto, New 40/..... ..... .. .. 30 Do. Tenths (Consolidated) 50 Do. Tenths (Consolidated) 40 - Ditto, Thirds 81. 6s. 8d ... 3 1 / 2 dis. to London, Salisbury, & Yeovil 1 1 / 2 — ...... to Londonderry and Coleraine... 27 1 / 2 — ; Londonderry , e - - - 1 F.7'n''''ll'r `'' ...... -- . LOWtSttill, (guar. q 1..,:i• etut.) ll) Ditto (guar. 6 per cent. ... 3 blanch, Dwiton, & Matlock 8 lYlanchr, Sheffield, and Linc.100 Ditto LA Shares (No. 1) ... 13 Ditto, ditto (No. 2) 25 Ditto, Vs Shares (No. 3)... 7%. ..... Do., New 101. Preference.. 7% — .....• to Ditto Grimsby 25 — to Ditto, ditto. Ditto, ditto ... Ditto, Sheffield, and Line. 7%...... Ditto, Grimsby Dock ...... 12% — to Ditto, Man. & Lin. Union 4i. 2e.... Manchoterand Southampton 2 1 4 — —.— to Midiand 100 Ditto, Consol. Preference...100 Ditto, 501. Shares..... ...... 15 Midland, Birm., and Derby...loo ... Midland, Consol. Bristol and Birmingham 6 per cent.... 100 116% to Midland, Bristol and Glouc. 36 ... .. , ..,....-. __ Ditto ditto 11/. 30.6 d. .. ...... to Midland, Leices. and Swan nington (8 per ct.gua.).... 100 .... . LI idld. Great Western (Irish) 35 Middlesbro' and Redcar, 6 per cent. guar. ......... ..... 50 - Newcastle and Carlisle lOO ...... Ditto Quarter Shares Newmarket and Chestertora 18./ 2 — Ditto Extension Newport Abergy., and Herd. 6 Norfolk Ditto New 20/. Ditto Extension Do. Guaranteed 5% per ct. 5 •• ••• Do. Seri p, ;847, N. of Nora 2 — to Do. do. Waveney Valley... 2 Newry and Enniskillen ...... 7 Newry, Warren point, and Rostrevor 124 ..... .._ Sorthern Counties Union ....14 North British Ditto Half Shares. ..... ..... 12 1 ,4 8 44 ... ... to 9 Do. Quarters 5 14• 3%i i 3/4 10 Ditto. Extension Ditto Thirds .... ........ North and South-Western... 2 ..... North Staffordshire... ••...... 10 North Wales 34 ..... ..... to North Western Oxford, Worcester, and Wol verhampton Reading, Guildfd. , & Reigate 7 % — te Royston and Hitchin Scottish Central Scottish Midland .... ....... .... 224 — to Ditto, New lO Sheffield, Rotherham, and Goole 5 ...... ......to— Shrewsbury to and Birmingham 7 Ditto, ditto, Class B. 4 ...... Shrewsbury and Chester (Nor. W. alin.) Ditto Halves, Ditto... 8 ... .. . Ditto, Oswestry Ditto (New) 1 Ditto 8 per Cent. Pref 6 - Shrewsbury and Hereford ... 2 . — Shropshire Union . 4 ...... South Devon ....... ......... 40 - Ditto, Preference 224...••• South Staffordshire 4 ...... South Eastern and Dover 33 4 ..... 234xd... to Ditto, New, No. 1 Ditto, N ew, No. 2 l7 ...... Ditto, New, No. 3 ... 20 , ..... 91,4...... t. Ditto New, No. 4. ...... .. 74 ...... 4IA % ... t 0 South Wales South Yorkshire, Doncaster, and Goole Swans. and Loughor and Ca meron's 5tm.C0a1.....—. .. 4 (lames Haven Dock and Railway..., 17% __ raw Vale EXtension Vale of Neath Waterford and Kilkenny 134...... Waterford and Limerick ... .. 40 ... .. Waterford, Wexford,Wicklw, and Dublin West Cornwall Whitehaven and Furness l2 ... .. ..... to ... Windsor, Staines, and South Western ... .. 925. Wilts, Somerset,&Weymouth 30 ...... 14 ... - to York, Newcastle, and Berwick 25 Do. Original New & Ber'ck 25 .. Do. Exton. No. I (T. & N.) 16 Do. do. No. 2, New & B. li Do. G. N. E. Pur. or Pref. it York and North Midland .. 50 ...... Ditto, rrefereace lO Ditto East and West Riding Extension ... .- ..... 25 FOREIGN RAILWAYS. Boulogne and Amiens 2O ...... Central of France ( Orleans and Vierzon) ... l6 Central of Spain Ceylon Demerara. .........- ........ ... 5 . .... -- Dendre Valley Direct Bombay and Madras 58. .... • Dutch Rhenish 7.. ... % to East Indian Great Indian Peninsular ss. ..... . ...... to Italian and Austrian Jamaica S. Midland Junction 1 Louvain Ala Sambre ..... -.. 6 Luxembourg Lyons and Avignon (Con stituted) Madrid and Valentia Namur and Liege l6 . ..... 2 3 4.- . to 3 Northern of France. ll ...... 2% to Orleans and Bordeaux ... .. 6 Over Yssel 4138 4d . ...... to Paris and Lyons Pans and Orleans 2O 244- to 25 1 4 Pans and Ronen .. Paris & Strasbourg ...... ..... 8 ...... Rouen and Havre ........ ...... 20 Sambre and Meuse Strasburg and Bale l4 Tours & Nantes ... . .. 8 rournay, Jurbise, Landon, and Hasselt West Flanders JOINT STOCK BANKS. to - - Australasia British North American .... 51 - Colonial .... - - .. 25 Commercial of Loadon - London Joint Stock ~... Loadon and Westminster... 21 - National Provincial of Eagld. 35 - Ditto, New - National of Ireland ... 2214 Provincial of Ireland - Ditto, New Union of Australia .-. ..... ... 25 - Ditto, New... 2% - Union of London ........ ..... 10 - Union of Madrid 4O ...... - MINES. • Anglo biexican lOO — Asturian Mining Company... 12 ...... Australian ... Blaenaryon Iron and Coal ... MI Bolatos Scrip British Iron Irazilian Imperial •••• •••r• • 24 ...... • .•••• to Galvanized Iron . . Ditto, Ne* Real del Motto, Unregistorei . 1%.. Do. Black Debentures — LLOYD'S SHIPPING—(THIS DAY LONDON, Mencti 20.—Wind S.W., light breezes. LIVERPOOL, MARCH 19.—Wind W .S.W.—Arrd. Co lumbus, Green, Pernambucco. Sid. Feb. 17, Defence, Benster, Charleston; France, Senegal; Conroe], Boston; Emma, Newfoundland; Brooke, Africa; Belle, Africa ; Mediterranean, Africa ; Eleanor Chapman, Africa ; Bathurst, Honduras; Concord, Barbadoes ; Rival, Bar badoes ; Carolus, New Orleans ; Wilkinson, Boston ; St. George, New York. A quantity of railway sleepers were seen floating to the westward, off the Bell Buoy, yesterday. DEAL, MARCH 18.—Wind S.S.W. to S.S.E. ; 19th, S. to S.W.—Arrd. Sarah Trotman, Brown, China; Blue Bell, Johnson, Rio Grande. Arrd. from the River, Mahomed Shah, Port Philip ; Allendale, Cape of Good hope ; Diadem, St. Helena ; Duke of Wellington, St. John's, New Brunswick. Arrd. front the River and sailed, Gazelle, Sydney, New South Wales ; Marion, Trinidad. PORTSMOUTH, MARCH 18.—Wind S.E. ; 19th ; S. to W.S.W.—SId. Northumberland, New York ; Feroze pore, China; Neijcosaki, Batavia; Dibden. Barbadoes. SHEERNESS, MARCH 17.—The Starling brig, of Dover, has received considerable damage by being in contact with the Liberty brig, of Sunderland, in Folkestone harbour. DUNDEE, MARCH 17.—The brigantine Zephyr, Welsh, from Newport to Perth (with railway iron), while taking the river last night, went on shot.* on the south side of the Abertaf sand and filled ; crow saved. The vessel is likely to be a total wreck, but if the weather mode rate, the cargo may be saved. D'UNBAR, MARCH 18.—The William, Thomson, of and from Goole to Port Dundas, struck on a reef of rocks, two miles west of North Berwick, 14th inst., but was warped off, and taken into North Berwick Harbour. FALMOUTH, MARCH 18.—Wind N.; 19th, W.—Sld. 18th, Chapman, Atkins, Rio Janeiro; Abbot Lord, Nason, Boston; 19th, Cawton, Dann, Sierra Leone; Jabez, Booth, Boston. NEWPORT, MARCH 18.—Wind N.E.—Sld. Casscopea, Cape of Good Hope; Plymouth, Bermuda; Quebec, Boston. PETERHEAD, MARCH 15.—Wind S.W.—Sld. Victor, Greenland. PWLHELLI, MARCH 17.—1 t blew a violent gale all last night and this morning, from N.E., and the wind still continues strong and squally. FISIIGUARD, MARCH 18.—A large number of water casks, full of water, with no mark on them ; several empty palm oil casks, made of very slight material, the head of one wa' marked—" STRIPS—L'POOL-18—a coronet-46; SOLDAN," in marking ink; a largo quan tity of tobacco, and some salt beef and pork, have been washed ashore here during the last few days. WHITBY, MARCH 17. —The Conopia, or Conova, of Sunderland, was on shore on a rock off Flamborough, on the 14th instant, but was towed off and proceeded. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. COVENT-GARDEN.—Her Majesty's box was occupied on Saturday evening by Lord and Lady John Russell, and Mr. William Ruseb. We also noticed his Royal Highness the Cosde de Nlontemolin and party, his Excellency the Greek Mi nister and Madame Ralli, the Duchess Dowager of Bedford, the Duchess of Montrose, Lord and Lady Ernest Bruce, Viscount Cantilupe, Lord Ossulton, the Marquis of Tichfield, the Marquis of Lusada, Viscount Neville, Lady Doraville, the Right Hr".. Edward Strutt, M.P., lion. F. Scarlet, Hon. John i Jrtescue, Hon. A. Willoughby D'Eresby, Hon. Mr. and Mrs. Upton, lion. Colonel and Mrs. Fizgibbon, lion. Captain Coke, Sir Henry Paulet, Sir William P. De Bathe, Sir Archibald MaOonsld, &c. Grassalkovitcli d Gyrach (née Princess Esterhazy) arrived at Mivart'a on Satur day, from her estates in Hungary. WOOL. During the past week, the imports of Wool into Lon don have bet•n on a very moderate scale, namely, 161 bales from Hamburgh, 67 ditto from the Cape; 64 ditto from Seville, 13 ditto from Ostend, and 60 bags from Callao. A slight improvement must be noticed in the demand for English Wools, at full prices, but all other kinds are a very slow inquiry, at barely late rates. TALLOW. This maket continu;;;;l3steaay, nt last week's im provement in the quotations. Our St. Petersburgh letter, test at hand, states that the demand there is less active. About 3.000 casks had been sold at 125 money, for May and June; and 126 with 10 down for August delivery. P.Y.C. on the spot is 50s 9d to 51s per ewt. Rough Fat is scarce, at 2a 10d per Sibs. BANKRUPTCY.—(THIS DAY.) (Before Mr. Commissioner SHEPHERD.) IMPORTANT DECISION AS REGARDS COUNTY COURTS. a case before his Honour a claim was made to prove a deft, admitted to have been due, but the objec tion to the proof was that the claimant had sued the bankrupt in the County Court of Hertfordshire, and obtained judgment for 201, and had therefore condoned all further claim. It was urged on the other side, that a plaintiff might sue for a portion of his account if that account was made up of different deliveries of goods, and yet sue at law or prove under bankruptcy for the balance. His HONOUR said that ,he entertained a very dif ferent opinion on that point—the object of the County Courts Act was to simplify the legal mode, and reduce the expense of obtaining debts, and to do that plaintiffs were at liberty to reduce their claim, but that must be taken to embrace the whole of the account then due. He, therefore, must decide against the proof. The solicitor hoped his Honour would not decide a point in bankruptcy when it was pending in the supe rior courts, and several cases were depending on the judgment. His HONOUR said, ho was bound to decide in equity, and he conceived he had put the just and equitable con struction of the Aqt of Parliament. INSOLVENT COURT-(THIS DAY. IN RE EDWARD FOWNES. In this case the insolvent had been connected with some proceeding in the Ecclesiastical Courts in relation to a disputed will. The proceedings had cost 9001. on one side, and about 7001. on the other. Mr. Commissioner LAW remarked that such a state of affairs was quite horrible. The Learned Commis sioner added, after a pause, " It is a stable that wants cleansing." Mr. DOWSE, who appeared in the case, said, "I sup pose it will be in time." The insolvent said the suit bad been in the Ecclesias tical Court for two years. The COURT said, although two years in litigation, the si might be done in a short time. The insolvent was discharged. SURREY SESSIONS.—(THIS DAY.) These sessions commenced this day, in the Newington Court-house, before J. P. Puckle, Esq. (chairman), and a full bench of magistrates: The calendar exhibits a list of 73 prisoners charged with various offences, a great proportion of these being petty felonies. Out of this number three were stated to have received a good education ; 39 were said to have been imperfectly educated; while 31 were unable to read or write. After the usual forms of swearing in juries had been gone through, and The CHAIBMAN had addressed the grand jury, and dismissed tht rn, the Court proceeded to take some cases of trivial interest. GUILDHALL.-(THIS DAY.). Charles Smith, aged 42, was charged with stealing a great coat, &c., from the Gresham Hotel. The waiter stated that on going upstairs he met the prism er coming stealthily down with a bundle and um brella under his arm. Witness knew the umbrella to be his own, and suspected therefore that the bundle con tained property belonging to the house. He was also clothed with his (witness's) greatcoat. On being it,ter rogated as to his business there, the prisoner said that he was looking out for a gentleman with whom he had an appointment at the Gresham. Ho was given into custody.—The prisoner was committed for trial. MARLBRO'-STREET—(THIS DAY) A gentleman, who gave the name of George Gould, bolding a commission in her Majesty's service, was brought before Mr. Bingham, charged with assaulting police-sergeant 4 C, while in the execution of his duty. At half-past three on Sunday morning complainant was on duty in Piccadilly, when he saw the defendant, who was intoxicated, creating a great disturbance. On being requested to go quietly home, defendant refused, and struck complainant a violent blow in the face, and cut his lip. Complainant then took him into cuttody. Defendant, who treated the matter very flippantly, was committed to the House of Correction for seven days. It gives us much pleasure to be able to state that Lord John Russell has almost entirely recovered from his recent indisposition. His Lordship attended a Ca binet Council at the Foreign-office yesterday (Saturday), and was present at the performance of the Italian Opera last night. The temporary illness of the Premier was confined to an attack of the prevailing epidemic of the season, and has yielded, as was expected, to change of air and to slight relaxation from public business. The rumours respecting any more serious or permanent ill ness were entirely destitute of foundation.—Oieserver. THE FUNDS OF TIM BRITISH MUSEUIII.-Sir R. Peel, a few evenings since, presented a petition to the House of '.Commons from the trustees of the British Museum, in which it is stated " That the only funds belonging to the petitioners for the support of the British Museum consist of 30,000/. Three per Cent. Reduced Bank Annuities, the annual dividend whereof amounts to 900/.; of a bequest of the late Earl of Bridgwater, the annual proceeds of which amount to 4161. ; and also a bequest of the late Lord Farnborough, the annual proceeds of which amount to 861. 3s. 4d." They then go on to say that the establishment is attends d with an expense far beyond the annual produce of the above-mentioned sums, and as the trust cannot, with benefit to the public, be carried on without the aid of Parliament, they pray for the grant of further support towards enabling them to carry on the execution of the trust reposed in them for the general benefit of learning and useful knowledge. _ _ _ TERRIIME CATASTROPIIE.—On Saturday infor mation was received at Lloyd's of the following extra ordinary and fatal occurrence, which took place on board the barque Neptune, belonging to Jersey, but lying in the Welsh Pool. It appears that on Wednesday last the vessel was loaded with coal, and was lying, for the night, at Cardiff. The hatchways were all fastened down, and, from what subsequently occurred, it is quite clear that a considerable quantity of gas was evolved from the coal, for on the chief mate, a young man named John Grovey, striking a match to light his pipe on the hatchway, a terrible explosion took place, resembling the discharge of cannon. The cabins and main hatchways were blown to atoms, the deck was forced as high as the main rigging, and the unfortunate deceased was killed on the spot and frightfully mangled. Several others of the crew were likewise much injured, bt t. !it is believed, not fatally. The damage done to e vessel will exceed 4001. An inquest has been held en the body, and a verdict of " ACcidental death" was ret irned. •=i , • W:";:m Mciesworti) paired off in favour of SI, Bt 3.lwin Caution for extending the income-tax to Ir land, with General Morrison. .n .1~ .}~ T il_E SUN, LONDON, MONDAY LITERATURE. KING ARTHUR. Part I. By the Author of" The Neu) Timon:' While Paris was convulsed from the heights of Montmartre to the suburban roads leading towards Versailles, during the three glorious days of February, • we can imagine to ourselves the form of the venerable • Beranger, throned like a prophet on his tripod in the Acadjmie. We can imagine even his enthusiastic and republican spirit withdrawing itself from the fascina ting din of the hour for the indulgence of a poetic reverie as to the Hereafter. For the power of ab straction is one of the most beautiful prerogatives of the Poet. It enables him to brood serenely over the Ideal amidst the convulsions of en empire. His dreamings, as Addison has finely expressed it, of the soul, survive " the wreck of matter and the crush of orlds." Of this we are eo satisfied, that we antici pate not only a song in celebration of the recent movement from the Bard of Napoleon, but one which shall be a Hymn of Prediction as eloquent as a psalm, and as exultant as a canticle. Age does not prevent this expectation ; for we remember that Voltaire penned a tragedy at eighty. What we would par ticularly observe, however, in reference to the poetic faculty of abstraction—apart from the new illustra tion of that faculty which we are predicting in the instance of Beranger—is, that a brilliant evidence of its existence has, to our thinking, been afforded by the author of the present remarkable publication. Never, perhaps, was the whole heart of Christendom moved so profoundly to its very core, to the inner most core of its core, as it is at this day by events, by men, and by principles. Hitherto Ambition has been a sort of royal attribute, the attribute of impe rial conquerors. At last, it would seem, that the Nations have their Ambition, and that the People of the civilised earth arc themselves aspiring to great ness and sovereignty. For the realisation of this hope a grand and majestic movement has been com menced—it has vibrated throughout Europe—it has developed and confirmed the cantonal liberty of Switzerland—it has given a constitutional King , to the Athenians, and planted a banner of freedom on the Acropolis, and established a nationality in the golden city of Attica—it has evoked the genius of patriotism in Italy, and proclaimed the liberation of that heroic peninsula from the palace of the Quirinal and the ruins of Rome—it has startled the despots of the North in the very bosom of Germany, in the Council Chambers of Munich, and the Whitehall of Berlin—it has agitated even the Danes on the Baltic, and the Dutchmen on the Zuyder-Zee ;it has awakened not only a novel ardour in Neufchatel and the Netherlands, but has burst like a thunder-clap over Paris, and permanently established a Republic in the empire of the modern Sesostris. At this su blime and unparalleled epoch--when the pulse of man kind is beating high with the mighty things they are accomplishing—a man appears in Englard who has the power of abstraction and the intellectual daring to emulate the glory of Asiosto and Spenser. Honour to that man, say we, for his supreme and ad mirable audacity--the more so because, as we shall very speedily explain, his soul can thrill in sym pathy with the glorious march of Freedom and Christianity. His book is a living fulfil ment of the noble apophthegm of Dr. John son—" Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses, whatever makes the past, the dis tant, or the future predominate over the pre sent, advances us in the dignity of thinking beings." In the Romantic and Chivalrous Poem, of which the present volume contains the four opening books, who shall say that the Past does not predominate over the Present? KING ARTHUR ! The very name is a poem—calling up before us the lustrous legends asso ciated with that most legendary monarch—the awful form of Merlin, the Great Magician—the knights of the round table—Sir Lancelot of the Lake—the dragon-banner of the Cymry—the gorgeous halls of Carduel—the mobile and courtly aspect of Gawaine —the sword of the mere—the shield of Thor—the destrier, the bassinet, the guardian dove, every one of the thousand graceful phantasies connected with the Hero and the heroic age of Wales. The subject itself is a superb one !—patriotic !—worthy of im parting inspiration to a Briton ! Dryden looked with loving eyes upon it, and dreamed of becoming ' the panegyrist of King Arthur. Tennyson has sung the sorrows of his doom in his exquisite but fragmentary Merle d'Artluir. But until this singular and (we may venture to call it) memorable volume appeared no great poem on the adventures of the Cymrian Sovereign had ever been attempted. The poem is strictly narrative in manner, and several of the colloquial passages are remarkable for their dramatic energy. In the opening sentence it is im possible for the scholar not to recognise an ambitious, if not a somewhat affected, tone—a tone equivalent in its sonorousness to a flourish of trumpets. It breathes a reminiscence of the Virgilian induction— " Arms and the man I sing, who, forced by Fate, And haughty Juno's unrelenting hate," &c. of the Homeric prelude— " Achilles' wrath to Greece the direful spring Of woes unnuniber'd Heavenly Goddess sing!" and of the preliminary words of Milton— ,. Of man's first disobedience and the fruit Of that forbidden tree," &c. Listen to the introductory verses of " King Arthur," and say if there be not much of the music, of the , solemnity, and of the auspicious grandeur which is observable in the writers of those heroic and celestial epics— " Our land's first legends, love, and knightly deeds, And wondrous Merlin, and his wandering king, The triple labour and the glorious meeds WOR from tho world of Fable-land I sing." In those four lines there is, to our thinking, larger promise than in the first twenty pages of " The New Titnon," and we are sanguine (from the impression produced on our mind from the present instalment) that that promise will be fulfilled in an equal propor tion. Book I. opens with a description of king Arthur keeping holiday in the Tale of Carduel. It is spring time, the exquisite month of May in sooth— " When, after sparkling showers, Her starry wreaths the virgin jasmine weaves When lure the bee wild thyme and sunny bowers; And light wings rustle thro' the glinting leaves." The whole description partakes of the freshness of that delicious season, and the dusty antiquity of the Welsh legend revives under the breathings of a con- genial poetry. " On poet times the month of poets shone — May decled the world, and Arthur fill') the throne." Pastimes of all times are resorted to by the courtiers of Arthur Pendragon (i. e. Arthur, the head of the Dragon race) ; some are fishing in the rivulets; some are dancing on the greensward • sonic are " dis here and there reclines a c oursing gentle things " Teuhewr," or harper, " waking the sweet tempest of melodious strings." In the midst of these royal pleasures the King is reclining ,in a sort of indolent rapture, when a weir apparition suddenly starts forth " in the centre of the silken ring," and summons the monarch to follow it into the adjoining forest. The mandate of the spectre excites the wrath of the courtiers- - " Feet found the earth, and ready hands the sword, And angry knighthood bristled round its lord." Arthur, however, follows the Image into the wood ' lands, to the dismay of his attendants. The war-cry, "the shrill Bon-lef-her," is raised, and the welkin in au instant " gleams with starry swords." Even the brave " beauties" of the court are panio-stricken— they cluster together, trembling if a bird " Flutter a bough, or if, without a sound, Some leaf fall breezeless, eddying to the ground." An hour elapses before Arthur again emerges from the forest; and as evening closes in the regal con course is dispersed homewards. From the emotion evinced by the sovereign immediately upon his re turn, it is manifest that he had received some august and even terrible revelation from his visitant. The light-hearted spectators themselves had been im pressed with the conviction for a moment, although Arthur conquered his ag itation by a great effort, " And, masking trouble with a noble gu il e , Soon the proud heart restored the kingly smile." When, in the seclusion of the palace, th e ag it a ti on of the monarch returns with double energy. To calm his spirits by an unobserved communion with Nature, he ascends to the batt lements of his palace, and "bares his hot forehead to the freshening air." Then, while Arthur is gazing into the Night, the poet ex• claims in a couplet of superb enthusiasm_ 4, H ow Silence, like a god's tranquillity, Fill'd with delighted peace the conscious sky rendragon surveys the landscape in a moo d o f un utterable dejection, glancing from the roof-tops that shone in the moonlight to the waters that sparkled as they hurried seawards, from the vale in which his courtiers had recently held their carousals to the " pastures virgin of the lust of !var." Hi s e y e i s abruptly arrested by a light—a light g li mmer i ng i n a lonely turret —the mi▪ dnight lamp o f M e rlin. Arthur resolves to visit the magician, and to obtain from his wisdom a consolation for his own miseries. He reaches the turret —passes the thr es h o ld o f th e chamber—and finds himself in the p resence o f th e wizard. Here is the pi▪ cture of the prophet and necromancer : MERLIN. --- "Vast was the front which o 'er as vast a breast, Hung as if heavy with the load sublime Of the piled hoards which Thought, the heavenly. guest, Had wrung from Nature or dispoil'd from Time; And the unutterable calmness shows The toil's great victory by the soul's repose. A hundred years press'd o'er that awful head, As o'er their Alp a diadem of snow; And, as an Alp, a hundred years had fled, And left as firm the giant form below ; So sate, ere yet discrown'd, in Ida's grove, The grey hair'd father of Pelasgian Jove." Arthur is welcomed with paternal affecti©n by the magician, and at the desire of the sage recounts his i - hawk i‘leW with the giia6t.i.) aepaiiii,toil of midday. The phantom had conduct ed him in t o the forest, a nd when he paused— EVENINIC), MARCH 20, pB4B. " A sunless pool was near As ebon black, and yet as chrystal clear." In the pool were revealed the dread shadows of the Future—shadows which displayed to the anointed eyes of the monarch the subjugation of his realms, the slavery of his people, and the ultimate triumph of the Saxons. " Then spoke the hell-born shadow by my side— ' 0 King, who dreamiest, amid sweets and bloom, Life, like one summer holiday, can glide, Blind to the storm cloud of the coming doom; Arthur Pendragon, to the Saxon's sway The kingdom and thy crown shall pass away.' "' And who art thou, that heaven's august decrees Usurpest thus ?' I cried, and lo the space Was void ?—Amidrt the horror of the trees, And by the pool, which mirrored back the face Of Darh in chsystal darkness—there I stood, And the Sole Spectre was the Solitude !" After this thrilling and austere description, King Arthur utters a sublime adjuration to the great God —an adjuration worthy both of his royalty and his knighthood. " Grant this—a freeman's, if a monarch's prayer ! LIFE, while my life one man from chains can save; While earth one refuge, or the cave one lair, Yields to the cloying struggle of the brave ! Mine the last desperate but avenging hand, If re:ft the sceptre, net rc.sign'd brand." Merlin embraces the young king in a burst of admiration, and then invokes the power of light and darkness to solve the riddle of the apparition. The invocation is scarcely completed when the dragon. keep is shaken to its foundations, as by an earth quake, and Arthur swoons. On returning to con sciousness he finds that a beautiful morning has dawned over Carduel, and that the magician is watch ing beside his couch. Then follows the revelation of Merlin, which is the key-note of the poem : " Prince," said the prophet, " with this morn awake From pomp, from pleasure, to high toils and brave; From yonder wall the arms of knighthood take, But leave the crown the knightly arms may save; O'er mount and vale, go, pilgrim, forth alone, And win the gifts which shall defend a throne. " So speak the fates—till in the heavens the sun Rounds his revolving course, 0 King, return To man's first, noblest birthright, toil :—so won In Grecian fable, to the ambrosial urn Of joyous Liebe, and the Olympian grove, The labouring son Alcmena bore to Jove. " By the stout heart to peril's sight enured, By the wise brain which toil has stored and skill'd, Valour is school'd and glory is secured, And the large ends of fame and fate fulfilled: But hear the gifts thy year of proof must gain, One left unwon, and all the quest is vain. " The Falchion, welded from a diamond gem, Guarded by Genii in the sparry caves Where springs a forest from a single stem, Shadowing a temple built beneath the waves; Where bitter charms grant gifted eyes to mark The lake's weird lady in her noiseless bark. " The silver shield in which the infant sleep Of Thor was cradled,—now the jealous care Of the fierce dwarf whose home is on the deep, Where drifting icerocks clash in lifeless air; And IN ar's pale sisters smile to see the shock Stir the still curtains round the couch of Lok. " And last of all—before the iron gate Which opes its entrance at the faintest breath, But hath no egress; where remorseless fate Sits, weaving life, within the porch of death; There with meek fearless eyes, and locks of gold, Back to warm earth thy childlike guide behold. " The sword, the shield, and that young playmate guide Win; and the fiend, predicting wrath, shall lie; Be danger braved, and be delight defied, Front death with dauntless, but with solemn eye; And tho' dark wings hang o'er these threatened halls, Tho' war's red surge break thundering round thy walls, " Tho', in the rear of time, these prophet eyes See to thy sons, thy Cymrians, many a woe; Yet from thy loins a race of kings shall rise, Whose tbrone shall shadow all the seas that flow; Whose empire, broader than the Ciesar won, Shall clasp a realm where never sets the sun. " And thou, thyself, shalt live from age to age, A thought of beauty and a type of fame ; Not the taint memory of some mouldering page, But by the hearths of men a household name! Theme to all song, and marvel to all youth— Beloved as fable, yet believed as truth." Thereupon the sovereign bounds from his couch of dalliance, and girding himself in his armour, and mounting his war-horse, issues forth upon his adven tures. At this instant the poet paints his hero in befitting colours—colcurs worthy of " the pomp of spring," through which the ideal monarch is pro ceeding KING ARTHUR. " Of brightest steel (but not emboss'd with gold, As when in tournies rode the royal knight), Ills arms flash sunshine back; the azure fold Of the broad mantle, like a wave of light, Floats tremulous, and leaves the sword-arm free. Fair was that darling of all poetry! " Thro' the raised vizor beamed the fearless eye, The limped mirror of a stately soul; Bright with young hope, but grave with purpose high Sweet to encourage, steadfast to control; An eye from which subjected hosts might draw, As from a double fountain, love and awe. " Tho careless curl, that from the helm escaped, Gleaned in the sunlight, lending gold to gold. The features, clear as by a chisel shaped, Made manhood godlike as a Greek's of old; Save that, in hardier, bolder lines, looked forth The soul that nerves the warchild of the North. " O'er the light limb, and o'er the shoulders broad, The steel lowed pliaut as a silken vest; Strength was so supple that like grace it showed, And force was only by its ease confect; Ev'n as the sterms in gentlest waters sleep, And in the ripple flows the mighty deep." At the outset of his romantic pilgrimage, the King encounters his special favourite and friend, Lancelot the True—Lancelot of the Lake ; his other two friends being Gawaine the Frank, and Caradoc the Mild. The first book closes with the farewell of Lancelot. So far we have tracked the thread of the narrative with elaborate minuteness, because the introductory book develops, in a peculiar manner, the motives of the story, and simplifies the otherwise inexplicable complexity of the inci dents. In recounting the subsequent adventures we shall be intentionally and necessarily more con cise. Book 11. opens with the mourning of the three: friends, Caradoc, Gawaine, and Lancelot, for the departure of Arthur. Merlin declares that one of the three is permitted to follow the King, bidding them separately to the forest, where an omen is to decide the selection. During their absence the magician pronounces an exquisite soliloquy to a fountain, for which see B. 11., st. 18-9.4. Lancelot proves the fortunate recipient of the omen, and ob tains from Merlin a magic ring, in the chrystal of which a fairy hand points perpetually in the direction of the wanderer. Arthur meanwhile has proceeded on his travels, guided by a milk-white dove as his guardian. lle crosses the channel and arrives at the court of the Vandal King Ludovick. This Ludovick is manifestly a portraiture of Louis Philippe, the ex- King of the French—a portraiture happily conceived except in one particular. The poet speaks of him (page 70) as not having " sowed the seeds of fame in youth," forgetful of the heroic conduct of the young Due de Chartres at the battle of Jemappes, where his gallantry elicited the approbation of Dumouriez. The sketch of Guizot, in the character of Astutio, is more felicitous, because more scrupu lously exact ; witness that bitter couplet, where it is written that Astutio " Took souls for wares and conscience for a till, And damned his fame to serve his master's will." Finding that the Cymrian monarch cannot be cajolled by specious propositions, Ludovick resolves to act towards him with consummate perfidy, but' while the Vandal is plotting with his minister, Arthur, warned by the dove, escapes. The Earl Harold sud denly reaches the court of Ludovick, as an ambassa dor from Mercia, proposing that the Vandals shall combine with the Saxons in a war of devastation and conquest against the Cyinry. Hearing that King Arthur had just departed from the palace, the Thane, attended by his retinue of Saxons, pursues him with bloodhounds. Arthur, on the other hand, having arrived at the seashore, finds his passage intercepted by an extraordinary labyrinth of caverns, and pene trating these inland, he .passes an idol shrine, before which one of the savage Alemani is crouching, in ex pectation of a human sacrifice—a bloody sacrifice of propitiation to his sanguinary goddess. The bar barian tracks the footsteps of the unconscious monarch, and in another direction a famished wolf follows Arthur with a stealthy tread among the brambles. Although the incident is already familiar to many from the story-books perused in childhood, it will Ise here re-perused with more than a passing interest, for it is invested with an air inimitably poetic. It is, perhaps, in the infinite art with which the writer has emblazoned his narrative with this trite anecdote —emblazoned his narrative, we say, with it, as with a cluster of precious stones—that his powers of com position are the ,most vividly displayed. 'The passage is altogether exquiaite,:and gives rise to the noblest verses in the volume—verses which absolutely seem to be inspired by the divine and beneficent he Ge met nius and of Christianity. King A rthur hangs up his l hauberk on the trunk of a beech-tree, and reposes himself for the night under its branches. While he is slumbering his dread enemies are approaching— " And now on either hand the dreaming king, Death halts to s trike ; the crouching wild beast, here, From the close crag prepares tho rushing spring ;. There, from the thicket creeping, near and near, Steals the wild man, and listen for a sound— Lifts the pale steel, and gather's for the bound. But what befel ? 0 thou, whose gentle heart Lists, scornful not, this undiurnal rhyme ; If, as thy steps to busier life depart, Still in thine ear rings low the haunting chime, When leisure suits, once more forsake the throng, L a u childhood back, and redemand the song." So terminates the second book—a terminate of consummate adroitness, for while the "haunting chime" still reverberates upon the senses, the peril of the hero acts as an irresistible fascination. Book 111. resumes the same thrilling delineation : on the one side the fierce fangs of the wolf are glittering through the shadows of the twilight, and on the other in the stern band of " iNlurther gleamed the blade." [Throughout this passage, be it observed, the frequent mention of the assassin as the incarna tion of the crime, and that too spelt after the ancient fashion " Murther" has an indescribable effect.] Sud denly a tumult leaps out of the profound silence. The wild beast and the wild man, bounding together upon their prey, grapple with each other. Arthur starts up from his couch and distinguishes "through the dim and haggard air" the two forms interlaced and struggling ferociously. He saves his intended destroyer thus— " Clasp'd round the wolf, swift arms of iron draw From their fierce hold the buried fangs ; on high Upborne, the baffled terrors of its jetty Gnash vain ;—one yell howls, hollow, thro' the sky; And dies abruptly, stifled to a gasp, As the grim heart pants crushing in the grasp." Thrice the Alemani attempts to consummate his sacrifice by plunging his dagger into the bosom of his preserver. Arthur tends upon the wounded wretch with the gentleness of a woman, and ultimately the idolator discloses his pitiless project. " Serv'st thou a goddess,' said the wondering king, Whose rites ask innocent blcod? 0 brother, learn In heaven, in earth, in each created thing, One God, whom all call FATHER, to discern!' Can thy God sutler thy God's foes to live?' God once had foes, and said to man, Forion - e!'" As those sublime words are falling, " dream-like," on the ear of the savage he swoons to sleep ; and towards morning the Cymrian monarch proceeds on his travels. Earl Harold, stopped overnight in his pur suit by the advancing tides, resumes his chase at dawn with his ban-dogs and soldiery. Very soon afterwards he comes upon the Alemani and questions him whether he has seen a solitary horseman— " Track'st thou his steps in love or hate?' Why, so As hawk its quarry, or as man his foe?'" " Thou dost not serve his God," is the only response of the barbarian. Towards noon Harold beholds King Arthur upon the summit of a mound, seated like a goodly knight upon his barb. There is no need of either ermine or diadem as his insignia— " Nature herself has crown'd that lion mien, And in the man the king of man is seen." They meet in single combat—Arthur bearing down from the acclivity like a thunder cloud, and cleaving his way through the serried ranks of the Saxons. The latter wheel round, and the monarch again dares them to effect his destruction—at bay. In the midst of these occurrences on the ground, Earl Harold's falcon has slipped its hood, and is swooping round the dove of Arthur. At this instant an arrow whistles through the boughs of an adjacent forest, and pierces the falcon, while a host of barbarians, armed with clubs, and clothed in skins, rush from their conceal ment Then " On Arthur's crest the dove refolds its wing; On Arthur's ear a voice comes murmering: Man, have I served thy God ?' and Arthur saw The priest beside him, leaning on his bow; Not till, in all, thou hast fulfill'd the law— Thou hest saved the friend —now, aid to shield the foe;' And as a ship, cleaving the severed tides, Right through the sea of spears the hero rides. " The wilclitroop part submissive as he goes; Where, like an islet in that stormy main, Gleam'd Mercia's steel; and like a rock arose, Breasting the breakers, the undaunted Thane; He doff'd his helmet, look'd majestic round; And dropp'd the murderous weapon on the ground; " And with a meek and brotherly embrace Twined round the Saxon's neck the peaceful arm, Strife stood arrested—the mild kingly face, The loving gesture, like a holy charm, Thrill'd thro' the ranks : you might have heard a breath So did soft silence seem to bury death. " On the fair locks, and on the noble brow, Fell the full splendour of the heavenly ray; The dove, dislodged, flew up—and rested now, Poised in the tranquil and translucent day. The calm wings seem'd to canopy the head; And from each plume a parting glory spread." That is a picture not unworthy of the pen o Camoens, or of the pencil of Urbino. Scarcely is the last hue touched when the scene changes with a rapidity of itself magically beautiful. The poet depicts a Happy Valley, situated among the Alpine regions, and entirely shut out from the world by impenetrable and insurmountable acclivities of granite. The inhabitants are described as being the descend ants of a colony of certain Etrurians from Fiesole, who had migrated thither from a dread of the ulterior growth of the Roman dominion. The valley itself, its seclusion and its loveliness, are painted with all the dainty suavity of Boccaccio. Of the ruling family (the Lartian) only a single daughter (Egle) sur vives ; and, as the Etrurian law had forbidden the females of that clan to wed out of any other, the Augur is compelled to resort to an ingenious device for the perpetuation of the line. The device, moreover, is " sanctioned by two former precedents." Two splen did temples are situated at opposite extremities of the valley, affording the only ingress to and egress from its retirement. Through the former (a temple dedicated to Tina, the Etrurian Jove) a stranger is to be decoyed by the high priest ; he is to be married to the surviving daughter, and immediately upon the birth cf a prince is to be made away with in the latter temple, dedicated to Mantu the god of the shades—the simple-hearted po pulation all the while believing this stranger to he a celestial visitant. On the occasion of .(Egle attain ing the hey-day of her virginity, King Arthur is lured into the Happy Valley, and the book draws to a conclusion with his arrival in the presence of his destined bride. Book IV. begins with a delicious apostrophe to Lore, in which the poet exclaims— " Hail, Love ! the death-defyer ! age to age Linking, with flowers, in the still heart of man ! Dream to the bard, and marvel to the sage, Glory and mystery since the world began." Arthur is enabled to converse with Egle in the Phoenician language, and his impassioned tones— " Stir the quick blush—as when the south wind heaves Into sweet storm the hush of rosy leaves." In the midst of these love passages, however, there is interpolated an episode, descriptive of the adventures of Lancelot in quest of his sovereign. After encoun tering theAlemani priest and receiving fromtbim tidings of Arthur, Lancelot passes into Brettannie, and ulti mately discovers the destrier of his lord before the rock-gate of the Happy Valley. Then the principal narrative is resumed. King Arthur has almost be come reconciled to his tranquil life among the Etruscans, by the immeasurable beauties of the spot, and the indescribable graces of /Egle. Absorbed in this lethargy of delight, he is startled one day by a message from Merlin, conveyed to him by the carrier-raven of the magician:— " Hoarse croaks the bird, and, with its round bright eye, Fixes the gaze of the recoiling king ; Slowly the hand that trembles, cuts the tie, That binds the white scroll gleaming from the wing, And these the words,—' Weak loiterer from thy toil, The Saxon's march is on thy father's soil.' " Bounded the Prince !—As wizen the sudden sun Loosens the ice-chains on the halted rill, Smiles the dumb snow-mass, and the cataracts run In molten thunder down the clanging hill, So from his heart the fetters burst; and strong In its rough course, the great soul rush'd along." The ensuing interview between Egle and her royal husband is drawn in a spirit of un utterable pathos, and is unquestionably , the masterpiece of the first portion of this superb and ambitious poem. Although the Queen of the Etru rians reconciles herself to the departure of Arthur from her reliance on his knightly truth, she faints in his embraces : " O'er her hush'd breath his listening ear he how'd, And the awed children round him wept aloud." Then follows this noble and majestic stanza a fragment sufficient of itself to attest the poetic genius of the author. "But when the soul broke faint from its eclipse, And his own name came, shaping life's first sigh, His very heart seent'd breaking in the lips, Press'd to those faithful o nes;—then, tremblingly, He rose;—lie moved;—he paused;—Div NERVELESS HIND, VEIL'D THE DREAD AGONY OF MAN UNMANN'D." The narrative breaks off when the heroic monarch is being conducted by the Augur towards the fane of the funereal Mantu. Such is the character, such are the incidents, such is the eloquent and propitious commencement of " King Arthur," the new poem by the author of the " New Timon" In the mere selec tion of his theme, that author has displayed a consciousness of his own vigorous and inventive faculties ; he has attempted a loftier flight in a loftier field of poetry, and in so doing he has revealed new powers, powers greater than we had anticipated even from the many admirable excellences of his "New Timon," powers which may, if properly directed, make his name a shining light in our literature, and link his memory with immortal song. While we are ready to pronounce these cordial words of commenda tion, we cannot but acknowledge that the work is by no means faultless—were it so, it would be more than human, it would be a divine inspiration. In some passages, for example, the diction is execrably in • volved and tortuous, as where ...Egle is made to re- mark— " For something bright and high thyself without, Thou mekest thy heart an offering; so my heart Could sacrifice to thee! Then wherefore doubt There are to thy soul what to mine thou art?", Before the meaning of this sentence can be accurately comprehended it becomes necessary to read it again and again—dissevering .the words—unbuilding the construction—and reducing to simple prose the very clumsy involutions of the rhythm. Again : although it is impossible to deny the right of a poet to change the tenses from past to present, or from present to past, abruptly and repeatedly within the compass of a single paragraph—although, we repeat it, it is impossible to deny the right possessed by a poet in this particular, especially after the many formidable precedents adduced in Note 6, Book I (precedents including such authorities as Dryden, Milton, and Pope), it is inexcusable to find the writer of " King Arthur" violating the rules of grammar and of melody merely for the sake of a rhyme, as he has done in this awkward couplet— " Fair sir and king, from Mel Ynys I came, Gwent-land my birthplace, Arthur is my name." Albeit, the manner of the announcement forces upon us an unpleasant recollection of the jingle scrawled in the " Album" of Miss Tagrag by the burlesque hero of " Ten Thousand a Year"— " Tittlebat Titmouse is my name, England is my nation," &c. As to the authorship of " King Arthur" we feel ourselves compelled to utter certain conjectures which have been forced upon our mind irresistibly during its perusal. Upon the original publication of the " New Timon" we declared our conviction that the writer was none other—could be none other, than Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton. That conjecture re ceived almost immediately afterwards a very positive contradiction. Yet Low—now that we have conned the second composition of this anonymous poet—we arc again compelled to assert that if the author of "King Arthur" is not Bulwer, he is certainly " The Gentleman in Black." More than one coincidence of thought and manner has driven us to this conclusion. And, first, of the coincidences of manner :—The poem is filled with mannerisms, and all these man nerisms are Bulwerian, or Lyttonian, if you will. The very habit of writing his adjectives with a capital letter, whenever those adjectives are employed as substantives, or of writing his substantives in the same way when they are used as personifications of things (a habit which is cleverly defended in an elaborate and entertaining note) —is one peculiar to Sir Bulwer Lytton, as every one acquainted with the metaphysical portions of his prose or poetry already knows. 'fake for example (page 25) that mention of ghostly apparitions, as— " The bloodless People of the Dark, In the pale shape of Dreams—when to the bed Of Murder glide the simulated deed." Beyond this there are individual words peculiar (in a particular sense) to Bulwer. Those who have wit nessed his drama of " The Sea Captain" know his partiality for a symbolism by the stars, and stars sparkle in a hundred verses of " King Arthur." Solemn is more than a favourite expression of his— it has become a diseased medium of emphasis in several of his productions. In page 13 we have " Reign the sad silence and the solemn star"—in page 16 " The solemn Merlin, from the midnight won"—in page 18 " His wand uplifted in his solemn hand"— in page 31 " Front death with dauntless, but with solemn eye"—in page 40 " Answeed the King, and at the solemn words"—all in the first book. Another word, or, strictly speaking, a mere abbreviation, is a yet greater favourite with Sir Bulwer Lytton—it is in a manner peculiar to his writtngs, as peculiar to them as the orthography of Sybil to Disraeli, or the adjective ornate to Smythe. We mean that sonorous monosyllable which recurs in the chorus to the famous war-song in " Rienzi :" " Blow, trumpets, blow, Blow, trumpets, blow, Gaily to glory we come, Like a King in his pomp To the blast of the tromp, And the roar of the mighty drum." In various passages of " King Arthur" the same pet abbreviation is repeatedly introduced, as at page 72, where it is said— " Heralds the tromp and harpers wake the string;" or, at page 86, in which the poet observes— " And thrice the tromp his blazoa'd herald woke;" or, once more, at page 112, "No need for herald there his tromp to sound." An equal significance may be attached to the dis sylable &vial, one of the pet epithets of our author. It is discernible in more than one stanza, as for in stance where Lancelot is depicted (page 173) as shaping his course, "by dcedal chasms," or where the Happy Valley is first perceived by a wandering Etrurian (page 127) beyond " a vista'd cavern, long drawn and hollow'd through the deedal stone." We have a vivid recollection of the extraordinary effect produced by this simple adjective in that renowned chapter in the " Last Days of Pompeii," in which the incantations of Arbaces are ar rested by the tumultuous heavings of an earthquake.—" A mightier spirit than that of the Egyptian was abroad !—a giant and crushing power, before which sunk into sudden impotence his passion and his arts. IT woke-1T stirred—that Dread Demon of the Earthquake—laughing to scorn alike the magic of human guile, and the malice of human wrath. As a Titan on whom the mountains are piled, it roused itself from the sleep of years—it moved on its dada couch—the caverns below trem bled and groaned beneath the motion of its limbs." That is the paragraph ; and it is a fragment not only of one of the finest passages in the " Last Days of Pom peii," but of one of the noblest inspirations of the novelist. We have transcribed the passage for a double reason, because it affords an example of the striking coincidences of thought between Bulwer and the author of " King Arthur.' In the opening book of this poem the incantations of Merlin are interrupted by an occurrence precisely similar to that which in terrupted the incantations of Arbaces : " Mute stood the King, when 10, the dragon-keep Shook to its rack'd foundations, as when all Corecia's caverns and the Delphic steep Shook to the foot-tread of Invading Gaul; Or as his path when flaming Etna trees, Shakes some proud city on Sicilian seas." Then, moreover, we ask any intelligent mind whether there is not a more than subtle coincidence of thought between this couplet (see " King Arthur," p.177): " Few find the path, 0 bliss! 0 woe to find! What bliss the blossom !—ah 1 what woe the wind !" and the canzonet of Nydia the blind girl, in the " Last Days of Pompeii"— "The wind and the beam loved the rose, And the rose loved one ; But who reeks the wind as it blows, Or loves not the sun ?" Is there not a coincidence of thought between the picture of the loves of Percy and Helen towards the conclusion of " Lucretia," and the sublime question asked by the poet in this volume, when pourtraying the loves of Arthur and lEgle— " Who ever gazed on perfect happiness, Nor felt it as the shadow cast from God ?" Above all, is there not a marvellous and most asto nishing coincidence of thought between the prin ciple advocated in the preface to that same "Lu cretia"—the principle that labour i s the happiness as well as the doom of man — an d the principle en forced in almost every pag e and inci d ent of " King Arthur ?" In page So, where TOIL is called " Man's first and noblest birthright," in page 181, where it is termed " the doom of strength," and even in the foot-note to page 167, where the glorious motto of Richard Cceur de Lion (Labor viris convenit— " Labour becomes men") is quoted in terms of admi ration. One more extract and we shall have com pleted our remarks upon these coincidences. In the " Student," and subsequently in " Zanoni," a conjec ture is started by Bulwer that we can scarcely imagine the vast and almost inconceivable distances of space between the stars to be void, when we find that nearly every grain of dust upon this globe is teeming with life, and that every drop of water swarms with animated existence. In " King Arthur" (page 61), occurs this stanza : " Can every leaf a teeming world contain ? Can every globule gird a countless race, Yet one death slumber, in its dreamless reign, Clasp all the illumed magnificence of apace ? Life crowd a grain, from air's vast realms effaced ? The leaf a world—the firmament a waste ?" After what we have here written, shall we not say again with redoubled emphasis-1f Sir Bulwer Lytton is not the author of " King Arthur," then is the poet of the "New Timon," the Gentleman in Black ? Whoever he be, he has already displayed a very remarkable poetic genius—a genius which can clothe its dreamings in language of masculine eloquence. EAST INDIA COMPANY.--RATES OF EXCHANGE."... The directors of the East In dia Company have given notice that, from the present date, until subsequent notice, the rates of exchange at which they will receive cash for bills on Bengal and Madras will be Is. 90. the company's rupee, and for bills on Bombay ls. 10d. the company's rupee. LOYAL DEMONSTRATION IN HONOUR OF HER MA JESTY'S ACCOUCIIEMENT AT THE NATIONAL THEATRES. —On Saturday night at the conclusion of the perform ances of each of the metropolitan theatres the National Anthem was sung by the entire strength of each com pany in celebration of the safe delivery of her Majesty. ho National Anthem was received everywhere with much enthusiasm.—Obscr . rer. CORPORATION or TILE SONS or THE CLERGY:. On Saturday afternoon a special g eneral court of go vernors was held at the society's house, Bloomsbury place, to elect a president in the room of the late la mented Primate. The nomination of the Most Rev. Dr. Sumner, the present Archbishop of Canterbury, as suc cessor to the office, was carried without a single dissen tient voice. ST. MARTIN'S-IN THE-FIELDS.--A meeting of the special constables for this parish was held in the vestry room on Saturday, for the purpose of appointing a general leader of the body. Mr. Churchwarden Daltoa having been voted into the chair, Mr. Churchwarden Palmer moved, and Captain Payne seconded, that the Earl of Arundel and Surrey should be appointed to that honourable post, which was carried unanimously. Mr. Churchwarden Dalton then called upon the meeting to give three cheers fur the Queen, who had that morn ing been safely delivered of a Princess, which was most loyally responded to. ! i