The Sun. — London, England, 1841-01-02 00:00:00

MORNING _EDIT t()N MAGAZINE DAY. BLACKWOOD T S MAGAZINE. id. Christoph er N ort h seems to h ave b een no: in, of late, for we have missed for several months those op?rtive sallies of humour, and light sparkling cri ticisms w hi c h used to illuminate the pages of Maga. We trust " the old man eloquent" will soon shake off his torpor; rise like a giant re freshed ; and come forth in all his wonted power. Meantime, we have no great cause to complain, for the Number of Maga now lying on our table is de cidedly among the best that the last year has pro duced. " Ten Thousand a-Year" commences it, and forms a worthy commencement, for the tedious ' net and frequent languor that we have more than once complained of, are no longer visible in the tale, which dashes forward, page after page, with the rapidity of a steam-engine on a rail-road. The character of gam mon , too—that most astute and of of attorneys—is brought out with a tact and quietness of manner that will recal the recollection of the admirable legal sketches in Fielding's " Amelia." " A Fourth Chapter of Turkish - History" gives an ac count of the origin and progress of the Mamelukes remarkable military corps, not very dissimilar to the Praetorian Guard of Imperial Rome, who, until they were annihilated by the present ruler of Egypt, had kept that country in subjection for cen turies. " Lyrics" is a review of the poems of the late Capt. Morris, once the most fashionable bard of his day. Often has this celebrated bon vivant aft the Carlton House circle in a roar ; but the boon .. companions whom he enlivened with his wit, nay, the very Palace wherein they used to meet, have alike passed away ; and he himself but the other day dropped into the grave with the snows of ninety W inters on hi s h ea d . Th e C apta i n was Moore 's immediate predecessor in the festive lyric, in which he has sometimes equalled, if not surpassed, him. 'We quote the introductory passage of the criticism on his poems :--- Those who were in the habit, some forty years ago, of wandering at the West-end of London, must have re marked an i nd i vidual frequently seen in St. James s street, about the hour when, the Morning Papers having been looked over, the Clubs pour out their members into St. James's-street and Pall-mall. There and then grottps wore to be met with in all directions, composed of the most celebrated men of the day—when England Possessed celebrated men—busily conversing on the pro teedings of Parliament the night before, or which were to take place before another night had passed away. Prom the close of the American war, these groups were chiefly compo se d o f the Opposition ; for the unrivalled a scendancy o f t h e grea t es t m i n i ster th a t E ng l an d h a d e ver seen, gave t h e Whi gs t h e l e i sure f or these confer ences which the occupations of public life generally de nied to the Tories, or their reliance on their great leader reach red unnecessary. There were to be met, from the hour s of two to four, the elite of the Foxites, mingled "nttsionally with a few of the leading Peers and country gent!emen who formed the small neutrality of Parlia ment ; there stood Fox, with his ponderous figure, good humoured sunk, and heavy step ; Grey, grim from his eCradle, Perpendicular, and repulsive ; Sheridan, with a ce Purpled over w i t h c l aret—the stamp of his habitual e esses—a stooping form and neglected dress, but with a n eye amon g th e bl ac k est, largest, and most beaming that ever was set in the head of man ; Tierney, grave, sly' and with a look of inveterate subtlety, that might have establi s h e d him as the most crafty of men, even before he had uttered one of his cunning syllables ; Whitbread, short, strong, and broad-shouldered, the complete model of the brewer that he was, even to his pepper-and-salt coat, but with a countenance of singular taanliness, and indicative of the John Bullism of his am teeter ; Wyndham, with the graceful figure, airy step, and handsome countenance that seemed made for Courts "left th e oddi ty, f antasy, and ill-fortune of his career had end' in a state of oscillation between the Whigs . Tories and, lik e other pendulums, left him to swing W mov e ; h ile the hands: in front were gaining ground at every word D undas, who feared no one , and had a lively fur all, sometimes mingling with the circle ; for a mom ent th row i ng in his easy jest, and easily bearing its retu rn , doubtl ess amused by the sense that he was the possessor of power while they were but nibblers at the h ook. There to%) was Jenkinson, with the pro nonund brow that seemed surcharged with the secrets of lutae:Ppire ; silent, if not sullen, and returning their sa- Thermos s cautiously as if a bow were a betrayal. F tgo on his two huge legs, folk,was the Duke of Nor ,in his ' grey coat and black cape. Fluttering round atnd among these groups, was to be seen the individual o ve who m we have alluded—a man of remarkably expres f•atures, with a determined and even a stern air, "hid), however, frequently relaxed into . a smile of the liveliest hilarity —his dress rather ttegligc, yet always that o . f . a gentretnan ; his step ali,rt, and evidently formed b the drill ; and the Thole man bearing evi ji`L"ress e o f one who had acquired the art of using his ri the parade of the Horse Guards. This was 'iCit_hrnerles Morris, the Whig Apollo, the volunteer h : ate of the Opposition, of whomsoever it might le _ ,eet"Posed ; th e b ead of the Beefsteak Club, and the 'r of pleasantry wherever he appeared. While Speaki 7 114 of Captain Morris's Whig prin vlp.les, Whi c h he deserted in order that he might still conti nue to bask in the sunshine of Court fav our, the R ev i ewer asserts that the charge of in teniperance was a mere scandal brought against P "` by his political enemies. Such is not the case. -rut was notoriously a hd driker, and numerous zerrthe anecdot es to this ar effect n recorded of him by and other contemporary memoir-writers. intlints to A ut h ors ' is a very felicitous quiz on sm. ern writ ers of fiction, wh ose l ove o f the impas toned and the intense—in other words, of the non ae.nskal--is cl ever l y hit off in a mock-romance, Where °f th e 'la th e chi e f personages, in pursuance of the taste such y, arc t hi eves, cut-throats, swindlers, and thou Mohammed attractive creatures. Mohammed Ali," gh the dish be somewhat of the stalest, is served upi w ith piq uant sauces, so as to render it perfectly ateahle. One historical error, however, in it, N Ae must correct. "A t t h e commencement of , a ,P ° le° l l's Egyptian c ampa i gn ," says t h e author, ` tl e Masneluke s were a vigorous enemy, but they wanted numbers. Not amounting to more than thr ee thousa n d cavalry g , and having neith er i n f antry nor solid gulls, they were unable to sn a k e an i mpress i on on the columns of the French ; and at the battle of the Pyramids they were almost totally destroyed by the musket ry and the cannon. " Now, it happens that at this famous battle the Mameluke cavalry were, not three thousand, but ten thousand strong, for Mourad Hey, their commder, ad gathered then i f rom all quarters of Egypt an ; and h their charge, as they came thundering on in a body, is described by the French historians as having been one of the most impressive military spect ac l es ever w i tnesse d . " Th e Ch ew Tragedy is a spirited and diverting poem, in the Colman style of humour. " Wit and 'Wisdom is an ironical alleg ory, setting f ort h, i n terms of so l emn i ty worthy of the inspiring theme, 'Mhow Christopher North sprang full-fledged, like inerva, from the brain of Jupiter. In the essay on the " Foreign Policy of France," the lash is applied to M. Thiers' back with as much vigour and dexterity, as if it were laid on by a six-foot drummer at the triangles. We are not sorry to see the little man thus flagellated, for he is a busy, restless, mischievous personage, who mistakes the promptings of vanity for the impulses of ambition ; and is constantly vaunting his regard for the honour of France, when he is merely consulting his own self-interest. M. Thiers is a greater man at the Bourse, which is the barometer by which he regu lates his patriotism, than in the Senate, where lie is a mere pert, shallow, though entertaining, de claimer. " It The And BENTLEY'S MISCELLAVY. Toni Ingoldsby, the prince of wags, who com bines broad practical humour with a pl ay o f f ancy to be found in Wilson alone, of all the writers of the day, opens the new y ear w i t h a com i c l egend calculated to put us all in the best possible spirits, notwithstanding the dish ear t en i ng f act t h at w i t h t h e adv ent of 1841, we are all of us a year older, and but few of us a year wiser. The theme that Tom has selected for his drollery, is the tradition of Nell the cook-maid, who having found favour in the eyes of a f at o l d monk in the monastery to which Belonged, was afterwards supplanted in his good graces by a handsome young lady who repre sented herself as his niece, and was in consequence furnished by him with board and lodging in a vil lage within a comfortable walking distance of the monastery. Here the monk often visited her at ilightfall---no doubt for purposes of spiritual cdifi eatino ; but Nell thinking that she had quite as nnich right to be edified as her rival, took umbrage 4 t the ghostly man's n eg l ec t o f h er sou l ; an d one fine day, in a fit of ragi ng j ea l ous y, p o i sone d b ot h un and hi s n i ece, as is duly related in these stanzas :---- ;he Can on ' s h ouse is lofty and spacious to the view ; Tie Cano n ' s ce l l is order'd well—yet Nelly looks askew ; e a Ladyd— 's bower i s i n the tower,—yet Nelly shakes her „he he V,ides the poker and the tongs in that gay Lady's bed 1 weeks were gone and over, full six weeks and a day, in that b ed the poker and the tongs unheeded lay ! lioSa n 1 which, I f ear , i t ' s pretty clear that Lady rest had e• Or, if she slept ist any becl..it WU not in her own. /--7 i " But where that Lady pass'd her nights I may not well Perhaps in pious oraisons at good St. Thomas' Shrine, And for her father far away breathed tender vows and true— It may be so—l cannot say—but Nelly look'd askew. " And still at night, by fair moonlight, -salmi all arc lock'd in sleep, She'd listen at the Canon's door,—she'd through the key hole peep— I know not what she heard er saw, but fury fill'd her eye -She bought some n ►sty Ductor's-stuff, and she put it in a pie ! was a glorious summer's ere—with beams of rosy red Sun went down—all Nature smiled—but Nclly shook her head I Full softly to the balmy breeze rang out the Vesper boll -Upon the Canon's startled car it sounded like a ksiell " Now here's to thee, mina Uncle! a health I drink to thee Now pledge me back in Shcrris sack, or a cup of Mal voisie The Canon sigh'd—but rousing, cried, • I answer to thy call, And a Warden-pie's a dainty dish to mortify withni 'Tis early dawn—the matin chime rings out for morning And Prior and Friar is in his stall—the Canon is not there Nor in the small licfeet'ry hall, nor cloister'd walk is he— All wonder—and the Sacristan says . Lauk-a-daisey-me I' They're searched the aisles and Baptistry—they're searched abore—around— The Sermon House—the ' Audit Room'—the Canon is not found. They only find the pretty cook concocting a ragout ; They ask here whare her master is—but Nelly looks Nkers They call for crow-bars—' jemmies' is the modern name they bear— They burst through lock, and holt, and bar—but what a sight is there!— The Canon's head lies on the bed—his Niece lies on the floor I —They arc dead as any nail that is in any door " The livid spot is on his breast, the spot is on his back! Ills portly form, no longer warm with life, is sw•oln and black I The livid spot is on her cheek--it's on her neck of snots-, And the Prior sighs and sadly cries, Well I here's a pretty Go r " All at the silent hour of night a bell is heard to toll, A knell is rung, a requiem's sung as for a sinful soul, And there's a grave within the Nave, it's dark, and deep, and wide, And they bury there a Lady fair, and a Ginon by her side ! " An Uncle I—so 'tis whisper'd now throughout the sacred fane,— a Niece—whose father's far away upon the Spiniih D 1 ~in— . . . The Sacristan he says no word to indicate a doubt, But be put his thumb unto his nose, and he spreads his fingers out 1" " Guy Fawkes" proceeds pretty much in its usual style—that is to say, with a full flow of incident, but with an utter disregard to anything like individu ality of character. The scene wherein Viviana, the heroine, is represented as being put to the torture, is meant to be impressive, instead of which it is simply repulsive. We hate to read of pretty young girls having their taper fingers crushed by thumb-screws, which of course involves the ne cessity of a poultice, and God knows how many other unsentimental applications I But Mr. Ains worth is always prodigal of his horrors, and whe ther we like the feast or not, compels us, like Macbeth, to sup full of them. " Merrie England in the Olden Time," abounds in quaint conceits and characteristic anecdotes. " Opinions of the Times" is horrid stuff. The "Village Blacksmith" is a spirited poem, some of whose descriptive touches are as literally true to life as Crabbe's. Charles Lamb and his jokes are again brought on the tapis in an amusing paper, headed, the " Old Ledger," the writer of which eulogizes Elia in far too ex travagant terms. He was a discriminating critic, but his sphere was a circumscribed one, and his powers of humour and fancy were equally limited. He wrote many quaint essays, through which trickled a small stream of thought, but he • achieved nothing really great in literature. As for his poems, they have quite a cast-iron stiffness about them, and, in point of melody, resemble no thing so much as the drone of the bag-pipes. The " Biographical Memoir of the late Thomas Hill" is penned in a friendly, cordial spirit. This lite rary veteran, who knew everything and everybody, and who was already in the autumn of his life when half the present generation were in their cradles, confessed in his last illness to the patriarchal age of eighty-two, but we learn on good authority that in the agitation of the moment, he had omitted a century in his confession. It is conjectured, and not without reason, that he assisted Gay in his Beggar's Opera, and some years afterwards lent Goldsmith the money with which he purchased his famous peach-blossom coat. Poor Tommy Hal! He had set death:at defiance so long,that most people thought that, like Godwin's St. Leon, he was proof against mor tality ; but the old archer brought him down at last. " My Grand Tour" is a rough sketch hastily dashed off in oils. In " Cohn Clink," the closing scenes of the murderer, Dr. Rowel's, life are pourtrayed with vigour, yet without any visible straining after effect. The power is that of robust health, not of convulsion. We here lay down our pen, for just at this moment, the clock on our mantel-piece warns us that the old year is cad ! It was " launched into eternity" scarce half a minute since, so that our sentence about " Colin Clink" which wos commenced in 1840, was actually not concluded till 1841 ! We might indulge in divers grave and sage reflections on this subject ; but shall content ourselves —in lieu of solitary meditation which is apt to make one too thirsty—with just drinking a temperate bumper of port to the memory of the departed year, and another in honour of its successor, whom we earnestly conjure to load us with no war taxes, but to keep us in peace and good fellowship with all the world. NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. In the present chapters of Mr. Hook's " Fathers and Sons," we find Mrs. Smylar—what an apt na.ne for a sly, intriguing housekeeper to an elderly widower l—manoeuvering with a tact and ingenuity that might become the most wily diplomatist. Phis character is clearly a favourite with the author, and accordingly he lavishes all his strength on her, drawing out her peculiarities through that best pos sible medium, dialogue. " Sketches of Modern Character" are by Mrs. Gore ; and the present subjects of her analysis, "Plausible People"—a nu merous race, and always well to do in the world. How true is this remark, " your plausible folks are the fatted kine of this world. They insinuate themselves like the weasel into the meal-tub ; and like reynard, their stealthy steps make an unexpected way into the hen-roost. While your cars are still fascinated by their gentle protestations, you find they have been picking your locks or your pocket. You hear a patriot praising himself for more than Spartan virtue, watching your eye all the time for a favourable opportunity to escape up the back stairs, and sneak into the presence of royalty. The next time you see him, he will be on the Treasury bench !" It is by an assumption of sanctity, however, that plausible people achieve their greatest triumphs. By cultivating a long, solemn phis, and chaunting psalms through the nose at a conventicle, they win the ear of some rich, pious old maid, whose sole remaining com forts arc prayers ;.nd the brandy-bottle in the corner-cupboard, marry her, spend all her fortune, and then take ship for America, where plausibility is sine to make a livelihood. There are various classes of plausible people, some of a lesser, some of a deeper (lie, in point of hypocrisy ; but the worst form they can assume, is when they graft the Saint upon time attorney. This last is a character which makes as close an approximation to pure diabolism as the imperfect limits of human nature will allow. " Early English and German Dramas" is a heavy, prolix essay, stuffed full of matters which few or none care a straw about. " Ambition" is a readable article, but some of the instances which the writer adduces, are rather those of vanity, than ambition. There is a wide distinction between the two passions. Ambition is an all-engrossing prin ciple of action, which proposes to itself the achieve ment of some great, particular end ; which knows neither ebb nor flow ; but presses boldly forward, through a thousand difficulties, to the goal ; vanity is a shallow, inconsistent impulse, ever fluctuating, ever changing its direction, ever haunted by mis trust, and, as a necessary consequence, ever ending in bitterest disappointment. Sometimes, however, though but seldom, we see the two passions com bined in the same individual—as in Lord Chatham, for instance, who though among the ►cost au►bi tious, was also among the vainest of mankind. " Foreign Sporting " is by Nimrod. It is too strictly professional. The " Life and Adventures of Charles Chesterfield " will hardly raise the re putation of Mrs. Trollope, whose chief object in writing it seems to have been, to fill up space. The major►ty of her dialogues are very poor, constantly aiming at effect, and as constantly missing it. " Some account of the late Mr. Dodge " is lively, and not devoid of humour, though the humour ►s more that of words than of ideas. The closing portions are by far the best. Au " Evening with M. Thiers" is happily timed. We would quote the whole of this article, dill bpaCe 'and 'time permit, but must content ourselves for the present with the followilg extract : There is no such thing as keeping M. Thiers stationary for live minutes; we might say, perhaps, for five scoonds. Ile sits, he stands, he sits again, and all in half a minute. lie walks up and down the room, runs, jumps, tilts on his toes, shrugs his shoulders, raises them almost to the top of his head, puts on his spectacles, takes them off again, and all with the rapidity of a sleight-of-hand man on the Place de la Bourse. Oct the evening in question M. Thiers spoke to every one as fast as he could ; and perhaps in three hour 3 sai4 a greater number of words than any man who ever lived from the time of Adam downwards. " Que voulez vous, moo cher ?" said M. Thiers to a member of the ccatredroit, who had lODIC doubts as to the legality of a:resting and imprisoning a Prince's. without putting her upon trial. Quo voulez vous ?" and then he went on to say, " This state of things was impossible. We could not bit bearded by the Duchoss of Berry. God knows our revolution was moderate enough ; we merely sent them out of France, and told them not to come back again ; their property, their lives, their titles all preserved to them, and yet they persist in conning back. I could endure it no longer; I could not see the throne of the King continually disputed by this heroine, as they call her. It became in dispensable to terminate all these Chouan hopes and Vcn dean plundcrings and rapine—and now all is finished." Every sentence pronounced by M. Thiers during the evening 13-gan or closed with " Tout est fini ;" sometimes varying it by "Jl nintcnznt tout est fini." lie rang the double changes on these phrases fur three mortal hours. M. Odilon Barrot made his appearance. This was a sort of event. He was at that time the political anta gonist of M. Thiors ; for the latter was then a Conserva tive, and the former was, what he is still, the chief of the gauche._ M. Odilon Bsrrot was only a lawyer under the Resto. ration, but the revolution of 1830 made him one of the Commissioners charged to conduct Charles X , and the Duke and Duchess d'Angouleme, &c to Cherbourg. lie is a cold, calm, calculating man, enamoured of his own views of a Parliamentary Government, and believes ths every thing may he effected by the influence of the Ballot. On the night in - question he was more excited than he is wont to be, and appeared to regard M. 'niers as a sort of prodigy. " Eh hien I M. Barrot," said the host to him, as he entered the second saloon, " quo pcnzes vous maintc nant ?" M. Barrot replied, " C'cst fres habile, M. le Ministre," and M. Thicrs was delighted, lie shuffled his spectacles a little nearer his eyes, doubt less that he might examine with more attention the move ments of the f•ice of M. Barrot, and then continued, " Maintenant tout cat fini." M. Blrrott looked credulous, and simply said " Oui out cst fini dans la Vendee." This was not enough to satisfy M. Thiers. " All is finished every where, M. Barrot, not only in La Vendee, but every where. The hopes of the Le gitimists are finished ; the plots of the factions are finished; the opposition Ito our wise and moderate re volution is finished ; the attacks to our form of Govern ment are finished ; the secret enmities of foreign Powers are finished ; the reputation of the Bourbons is finished; the Henry V. party is finished ; the hope of recognising the throne d France is finished ; the Carlists arc finished ; they can exist no longer as a party ; all predictions so in jurious to a new throne and new institutions are finished ; in one word, tout est fini . This was uttered with a rapidity almost inconceivable, and in an air of triumph almost burlesque. M. Barrot smiled—not acquiescence, but a littlo good-humoured sa tire, and he seemed to say, " I am glad you have finished your harangue." M. Barrot was not convinced by the flourish of drums and trumpets which had just reached his ear; but, as is the case with all who listen to M. Thiers, he was at least amused. Few men can talk better, that is more fluently and " co zily" than M. Thiers. lie goes on and on, and on and on, never hunting for a word, never seeking for a phrase; but manceuvring with his tongue so ably that he adopts all its accents and words without your perceiving it, to the emotions depicted on :your faces, or on the auditory he is addressing. Coleridge was more eloquent than Thiers, but by no means so persuasive. Tl-1141 SUN, lON DON, SATCRDAY, ,JANUARY 2. 1811. TAI7'S MAGAZINE. Miss Martineau's late romance, " The Hour and the Man," wherein she has shadowed forth the destinies of that extraordinary neglo soldier and statesman, Toussaint L'Ouverture, forms the sub ject of one of those sensible critical notices for which Tait has always been celebrated. The Reviewer justly condemns Napoleon for his conduct towards this illustrious black chief,who achieved the independ ence of St. Domingo, in the face of a thousand diffi culties ; but the condemnation might have been more severe, and still not have been more so than the circumstances of the case warranted. Tous saint was secretly murdered in a remote Swiss pri son by the express orders of the First Consul, for no other reason than that he was an inflexible, dis interested, high-souled patriot, whose example might in time have become dangerous to the system of despotism which it was sought to establish in France. Dazzled by the splendour of his renown, we have long held the character of Napoleon in admiration ; and it is not without reluctance, therefore, that we have lately been brought to the conviction that it is one which will not bear too close an investigation, It shows to the greatest advantage at a distance. With many great and good qualities, the French Emperor combined abundant paltry ones ; he was jealous, heartless, and vindictive ; and when we desire to think as highly of him as we once did, truth stands between us and our admiration; and we scarcely acknowledge even the long dreary imprisonment of St. Helena, to be a sufficient retribution for the murders of the heroic Hofer, and the still more heroic deliverer of St. Domingo. " France, England, and the Pal merston Policy," takes the people to task for not being sufficiently alive to the rumours of impending war. Why should we be ? Surely the pompous vapourings of M. Thiers are not such as should throw us into convulsions We are content tran quilly to bide our time, prepared for war, should war take place, but by no means anxious to pro voke it. We consider the present calm attitude of England to be, not the result of indifference, but the repose of a giant conscious of his strength, and careless, therefore, of making a premature parade of it. The " Biographical Sketch of Beethoven" is an article which will give infinite delight to all readers of musical tastes. " Violet Hamilton" runs its course rejoicingly. We subjoin a specimen of our friend Tait's poetics : Old year, good by ! with bumpers glowing, Around the couch of death we stand ! Thy coming once, as now thy going, We chanted, joining hand in band ! In draughts of punch we welcomed thee, And, pledging, sang Crambambuli ! ;Crambimbambuli, &c. Faithfully through thy short life by thee, Warm-hearted Burschen, firm we stood ; Nor in thy hour of death will fly thee, Although thou wort not over-good. But still thou gav'st some moments bright, For which here's thanks in punch tonight ! True Crambimbambuli, &c. Sometimes our hearts did nearly fail us, You let such jilts upon them seize! Sometimes an empty purse did quail us, No cash to pay for our degrees ! But now 'tis ever, we'll forget, Nor for such fleeting sorrows fret! But drink Crambambuli, &c. Freely we grant thou host had troubles To bother the cabroad, at home ! British fl ire-ups and Yankee bubbles, The Kirk, too, in a froth and foam ! And monarchs at their ancient tricks, — Egyptians blowing up like bricks! Without Crambambuli, &e. But, go ! for here comes thy successor ! Shout out, ye Burschen ! shout out, Mail! For our Princess, new-born (Gad bless her !) Of candle see he brings a pail ! But ammunition for the kings, And grog for us he also brings! The true Crambambuli, &c, New year, come on !—we gladly hail thee, Our glasses lifted up on high ; Nor shall our cheers a moment fail thee, If with good luck our fates you ply : Be good to us, and we will be As kind, as fond, as true to thee ! With Crambimbambuli, &c. Bring out life's bowl to brew the measure, New Year! which thou for us bast planned ; Pour in the spirit strong of pleasure, With wisdom's water make it bland, — Love's lemon with joy's sugar link, The punch is made—we drink ! we drink ! This grand Crambambuli, &c. MONTHLY CHRONICLE. Often as we have read about Venice, we know not that we have ever met with a description that gave us a more vivid idea of this City of Pa laces " throned on a hundred isles," than is con tained in " Letters from the Continent," which form the principal attraction of this number of the Monthly Chronicle. The writer tells us, that " living at Venice, is like being at sea, without any of the drawbacks and discomforts of an actual voyage ;" and then proceeds to relate the impression it made on him, in language replete with impas sioned eloquence. " The First Love" is a talc, whose one leading defect is, that, though meant to be a direct transcript from life, it abounds in improbabilities. One or two of the incidents, however, are touching, and hit off with true femi- nine delicacy. " A Visit to the House of Co❑ - mins," is a passable kin d'csprit in rhyme. The present portion of " Sketches of Spanish Generals," furnishes us with a short memoir of Miiia, the first and most 'celebrated Guerilla Chief in Spain. " French and English Alliance" is misnotnercd. It should have been entitled "An Essay on the March of Mind during the Middle ilges." • MONTHLY MAGAZINE. There is much that is good in this periodical mixed up with much that is unquestionably bad ; but the tares and the wheat arc so blended together that it is almost impossible to separate them. The opening essay on " Foreign Aids to Self-Intelli gence is specially open to this objection. In one passage, we are struck with the writer s sound sense, and even depth of thought ; in another, with his extravagant absurdity. There appears to be a want of discipline----of proper training in his mind. He catches a bright glimpse of the truth at times, but some cloudy crotchet quickly interposes to shut out the view. The essay is in every respect a most provoking one, for one half of it—so far as we can judge—serv e s only to neutralize the other half. " The Departed Year" is a poetical Masque, for which we are indebted to Mr. Heraud. There are several passages in it which show no ordinary powers of imagination. The spirit, too, that per vades it, is uniformly excellent. " Illustrations of the Millenium" is pious, but prosy. .The " Eng lish Wits" is a biographical and critical notice of Sheridan, whose comedies, notwithstanding the sneers of certain small critics of the day, will always command admiration. In the subjoined re marks on this great dramatist we cordially concur : The varied abilities of Sheridan, his conversational fas cinations, his high-wrought eloquence, and his elaborate Hit, elevate him as the representative of man in his lighter, happier, and more dazzling attributes. But it must be ac knowledged that wit, and the artifices of style, are sweet meats that delight the palate more than they nourish the body. In vain do we look, in the roductions of Sheridan, for new principles, or new additions to man's stock of substantial knowledge. These are foreign to their nature. Yet it might almost be gathered from a few straggling sentences that penetrate into deeper considerations, that his rr.ind was also capable of severer investigations, if his youth had been passed in the study of sciences requiring reflection, But the youth of Sheridan was one of suc cessful love, fast ripening hopes, and expanding fame ; and when he should have been struggling through learn ing, perhaps to the united fame of a Congreve and a ituchefoucault, his eagerness prompted him to seize at ones a fame not more dazzling and far less substantial and respectable. However, that he created this reputation without an effort, proves that, with one, he might have attained to a much higher and more firmly based renown. But Sheridan in manhood had lost the power of making efforts, and habit soon reconciled him to a life in which hit first youthful triumphs had been made. His subsequent attention to rolitics proves his taste for the exercise of the reflective faculties; and that he never struck out any great truths in potical or moral science, is accounted for, per haps, more from his ignorance than from his inability. That these remarks do not over-estimate the dormant abilities of Sheridan, may be seen from some observations scattered through his works; but they arc so entangled in other matter, that they cannot easily be quoted. The proper method of becoming acquainted with an author's talent, is by deducing it in detail from his life and works. But it is plain that the extent of his knowledge must be taken into account. The author, perhaps, makes an inci dental remark of the greatest importance, embodying, per haps, the embryo principle of a great science. The blow is vigorous, but ignorance breaks its force or turns aside its aim. Hence the importance of education, without which the eye for discovery, and the hand for invention, exist almost in vain. UNITED SERVICE JOURNAL. The ‘lsiotWfor the New Year," afford a brief sketch of the state of the Army and Navy, mixed up with not a little grumbling. Indeed the writer of these notes beats all his Contemporaries in this respect, and though some of his complaints are well founded, there are others for which so much cannot be said ; and instead, therefore, of benefiting the service by constantly reiterating grievances, some great, some small, and soma imaginary, may not the effect on those at the head of the two Services be somewhat diminished ? It is gratify ing, therefore, to find exceptions to this ge neral rule, and if praise like the following were always given m hen due, we are confident the Journal would be a more efficient advo cate for the redress of wrongs. " The results of the Naval and Military Commission" says the writer, " which excited an interest so intense and ex pectations so overcharged during the last year, while disappointing many, have yet been productive of benefit. On the whole we must accept as a boon the instalments offered by this Commission, which, though it have not redressed all wrong, has undoubtedly effected some good present and pro spective." In the Editor's Portfolio, an interesting account is given of the brass gun found on the walls of Tinghai, in the island of Chusan, in which it is very satisfactorily made out, that it was sent as a present by Queen Elizabeth to the Emperor of China about the beginning of the 17th century. It ap pears that the Richard Phillips whose name the gun beats, was one of the Royal gun-founders during the reigns of James and Elizabeth, and it is remarkable that in the year in question, 1601, a brass gun, answering the description of that cap tured at Tinghai, was cast by this gun-founder, being the only one of the kind cast by him for one or two years before or after the year 1601, as the records preserved in the Tower show. The following is an extract from these records : "To Richard° Phillips another of her s. d. Mats. ffoyinders of Brasse Ord naunce for the castingeand making° of one cannon of braise of her Mrs. moan," ......... xxij. xiiij. vj. THE SPORTING REVIEW. Lord William Lennox, a; usual, has a very gra phic sketch in this number. It treats of turnpike men, cabs, coaches, omnibusses, and costerinon gers, and we have no d ou b t the " pikes" will agree w ith us in denouncin g it as too short by a half. This propensity to brevity, as well as to poetical quotations, are the s i ns th a t m ost easily beset his Lordship. " Fox-hunting in Canada," and two or three other articles, particularly " Chronicles of the British Chasei by Craven, are above mediocrity, but the most remarkable feature in the number that commences the series for the New Year is " a chart of the various meets o . f the Royal Hounds," on y e llow paper, with Wi n d sor C ast l e i n th e dis tance, and a herd of deer in the foreground, con taining all the principal places within a circuit of about 14 miles round Windsor. This is only the first of a series of maps of the chase, which is to be continued till it forms a complete atlas of the leading hunting counties of England. It will thus add another very useful and elegant ornament to this favourate Magazine of Sportsmen. TO TILE EDITOR OF THE SUN. you allow a Citizen to ask, through the medium of your respectable Journal, whether any funds are provided in the City for an unfortunate tradesman with a large family, who has carried on an extensive business fur the last twenty-seven years, having paid all rates and tixes, and served all the offices, including churchwarden, to the satisfaction of the Inhabitants of the Ward he re presented? CITIZEN. 31st December, 1840. We have much satisfaction in calling public at tention to the advertisement In this day'a paper, announc ing the intention of the Commercial Company to afford the public great end increased accommodation for mer chandise and passengers to a large portion of the went of England, the Channel islands, as well as the French ports. Wo know it is the determination of this spirited Company that a daily communication shall be made be tween Southampton and the Channel islands, as well as between that port and Havre, as soon as the season ad vances a little and the wants of the public require it—we observe that a communication is already announced twice a week, lamely, Wednesday and Saturday, from South ampton to Guernsey and Jersey, which must prove of vast importance to those islands, a 8 likewise a communi cation weekly to and fro m Ha vre de Grace, which will be increased, as we have befo r e noticed, to a daily one very earlyoinutthh-eapeisitjgc; The advanta ge to the proprietors of the S W n lisilway by th ese arrangements will bo have will lik ew i se reap the full be incalculable—the conve nienc e to Lila public as to the d l i ' e e i y ona a disp osa l of some rendered to t h e commun i ty merchant must be equally so ; a nd wo sincerely hope that tnh, generally fit Commercial ofthe b y servi ce s so it Company u of their finest steam-ships. Th e inhabit ants of Southampton ought likewise to remember that they are indebted to the same Company for bringing their town first to public notice by selecting its port for the Peninsular station during the whole period that they held it, and thus pointing out its great advantages, which were before the time they adopted it so little known or considered. —]horning Paper. "TRULY YOURS. —To illustrate the asser tion, of on what slight or erroneous grounds scandalous re ports may b e based, I know an Italian gentleman who having received a note of invitation from an English lady of irreproachable morals, concluding in the usual way. " Truly yours," took it to a friend, to whom he expreseed his regret and embarrassment at having unwillingly and unintentionally achieved the conquest of Lady ---'s heart. " Impossible," said the friend ; " why Lady is one of the most reserved and correct women in Eng land," Hero is, however, the proof of my assertion," replied the Italian, drawing forth a merely civil invitation to dinner, and exhibiting it with an air of triumph, " what say you now? you eannot surely doubt her hand ?"-Lady Blessington's Idler in Italy, Vol. • t• MOTHER SHIPTON'S POLITICAL I'ItOPEIECIES FOR 1841. Hearken, Gentles, to your wise Mother Shipton's Prophecits ! Drums shall beat and broad-swords gleam, Trumpets flourish, banners stream, And tiny Thiers shout forth " Advance I" Once again to bristling France ; Vowing by Napoleon's tomb, To put down—lic knows not whom! And panting with desire red-hot To achieve—he knows not what I But, despite his war-array, Peace shall still maintain her sway ; Vainly shall he ply his trade Of bombastic gasconade; He shall prove a. very so-so French Bombastes Furioso, And, tho' sore against his will, Meet the fate of Bobadill Rage combined with huge dismay, Shall prevail in far Cathay ; Mandarin with Mandarin Shall vie in cursing Viceroy Lin, And Emperor Fum to Premier Fo Shall mutter, '• here's a pretty go I" As England threats with many a scuff, To cut his precious pig-tail offl Napier's deeds by land and sea Shall fill the Porte with cxtacy, Set Ali groaning like a paviour, And put him on his best behas iuur I With France and England, Nick the Younger, D dly—hourly growing stronger, Shall strive to play a slippery trick, Worthy of his sire, Old Nick, But scared by Britain's wrathful mood, Shall swear he meant it for their good ! In the British House of Lords Fierce shall rise the war of words; Londonderry shall commence The conflict with his usual sense, Bursting forth in fire and fury, Like Tom Thumb the Great at Drury; And Protcus Philpotte, ever proudest To b.: heard among the loudest, Shall resume the hacknied story Of Dame Church's vanished glory; Tell how Whiggish sons of Mammon Have seduced her by their gammon, Torn her from her Cantuar's arms, Rifled all her golden charms, Encouraged in his devilish mood 11..3. fiend-like foe, John Thurogood, And—to crown their heinous sin— Coolly stripped her to the skin ; But tho', shocked at such a tale, Rosy Abinger turns pale, And, with knowing look, like Munden, Sly old Lyndhurst winks at London— Ghostly Philpotts nought shall take By his motion, meant to shako A realm, for Mother Church's sake, But crush'd by Brougham's sarcastic sense, And Demosthenic eloquence, Become a theme for laughs and jeers, Like Bottom with the Ass's cars! In St. Stephen's halls, crc yet The House but one short night has met, Oily Peel shall rise and praise His candour in superfluous phrase ; Stanley strive in desperate fashion, Russell's back to lay the lash on, Soon to feel, misguided elf, His blows recoil upon himself! Thrice shall Graham rise, and thrice Clear the benches in a trice, Just as Coates, long time ago, Clear'd the pit in Romeo Once a week the Tory faction Shall predict a sure reaction, And in sunny day.dreams sip Treasury sweets with eager lip ; But, alas I the Session's close Shall find them looking black as crows, And—desrite each fierce endeavour— Just as far from place as ever I As the year rolls onward, she Our Princess Royal, born to be In time to come a nation's stay, Shall like an infant flower in May, Lustier blossom day by day, Crushing thus, at Heaven's command, The last fond hope of Cumberland, And deepening every frown, I ssis, On that ugly mug of his Thus my weird Predictions run For the New Year, Forty One ! Quotli Mother Shipton. L. E. L. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Sia—ln all the London papers of the 25th instant there I appeared a report of some proceedings at the Lambeth street police-office the day before, in the course of which Mrs. Bailey (erroneously called by the reporter Moroner) made some extraordinary statements respecting the con duct of individuals said to have called upon her for the pur pose of extracting information respecting the death of the late Mrs. L. E. Maclean, and of obtaining from her cer tain important documents which Mrs. Bailey hinted she hail in her pbrisession. I had previously heard the same tale from Mrs. Bailey , herself, and, as the only friend of Mr. Maclean at the mo ment in town, I was engaged when the above report ap peared in the papers in examining the statement with the care required by the woman's position and past conduct. I was aware that she had been closely questioned on her re turn home thirteen months ago as to her knowledge of the circumstances attending Mrs. Maclean's death, by the rela tives of both Mr. and Mrs. Maclean, and that she had been also rather eagerly canvassed by some other parties who have wished, I will not venture to conjectuse from what motives, to misrepresent the causes of that lamented event. I also knew that nothing had been elicited from her by the friends or enemies of either party to give the slightest colour to the calumnies put forth on the subject. I felt surprised, therefore, on being told by Mrs. Bailey that re newed inquiries had been made of her, under circumstances so extraordinary, by persons refusing to give their naracs, and still more surprised at some of the improbable details of her story. Finding, however, that she bad brought the matter under the notice of the police, I determined on hay. ing the statement thoroughly investigated, and for that purpose applied to the Commissioners for their assistance in the matter. Colonel Rowan very promptly and po litely appointed Inspector Hughes, of the A division, to conduct the inquiry, a full report of which is in the hands of the Commissioners. I merely enclose the result—an admission on the part of Airs. Bailey of the entire false hood of her statement : " I hereby declare that the statement which I made to Mr. Norton at the Lambeth-street Police-office, on Thursday last, to the effect that I bad been visited by different persons, some of them apparently of distinction, coming in their carriage, and requiring me to give up do cuments which I alleged to have in my possession in re ference to the death of Mrs. Maclean, is entirely un founded ; that I have r.o such documents or papers of im portance, but merely the statements of that took place when I arrived. I very sincerely regret having been led by the public excitement on this subject to invent these stories. It is true that I embarked with Mrs. Maclean as her personal servant at Portsmouth, and attended her in that capacity up to the time of her death at Cape Coast Castle 1 but I hereby solemnly declare that I never saw or beard of anything to justify the calumnies which have been circulated against her husband on the subject of her death. I neither saw ncr beard of any ill treatment, nor do I believe Mr. Maclean capable of any of those things which I have heard laid to his charge by public rumour. Ellen Emily Bailey's mark, E. B. " Witnessed the above initials signed by Mrs. Bailey, (Signed) " SAMUEL HUOISES, " Inspector A division. " December 31, 18-10.'1 It is singular that the first of the calumnious fables founded on the death of Mrs. Maclean susceptible of ac curate examination should have terminated in so speedy and complete an exposure of the author. Would that the cowardly insinuators who have so deeply wounded the feel ings of the unfortunate husband had reduced their stories, even in any one instance, to a form sufficiently tangible to admit of similar analysis and refutation 1 I am sorry to add that I have reason to believe that the extraordinary fabrications of Mrs. Bailey arc not the 18E4 links Which remain to be broken of the chain of falsehood by vihich it has been sought to enthral the character of my friend, for the sake of pandering to the public appe tite for scandal. But his absence from this country, added to the indefinite nature of the charges against him, have hitherto afforded impunity to his libellers, which it may not be safe for them always to rely upon. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, M. FORSTER. New City Chambers, December 31. BYRON AND SIIANsPEARE.---Byron has created for his memory eH enviable fellowship with that of Shakspcare in the minds of at least all the compatriots of both, who wander through Venice ; for the attention is continually drawn from the historical recollections of the place, to the associations awakened by both these poe's One feels as if Venice could net be strange ground to us, who from infancy have learned to know its whereabouts from the immortal bard, who with, as it were, an intuitive knowledge of the place, its manners and customs, has im• bued•our minds with them, and rendered this City of the Sea familiar as our household names to us. I could no more pass the Rialto without thinking of Sbakspeare, than 1 could see the Bridge of Sighs without remembering Byron.—Lady Blessinglon's Idler in Italy, Vol. 111. FRANCE. (From the Paris Papers of Wednesday.) On Monday evening their Majesties received the Tus can Minister, Count Mollien, M. Vigier, General Count de Latour d'Auvergne, and several ladies. The Spanish Minister, M. Olozaga, bad an interview yesterday with the Mi n i ster o f Foreign Affairs. The Committee on the Fortification of Paris Bill sat yesterday morning. At one o'clock the Minister of War, Marshal Soult, entered, and remained tll four. The sit ting did not break up till half -past five. After the King had reviewed the crews of the Belle Poule and Favorite at the Tuillcrics, on Saturday, his Maj sty gave to the commander of the Favorite 3,0001. to be distributed ameng the mLn of the two ships. E ac h ajilor will have 71. 50c. for his sharp. The Prince de Joinville, after the rt etption, informed the men that each of them, without distinction, would receive a go!cl medal, to be struck in commerr oration of the transfer of the remains of the Emperor from St. Helena. It is stated in the Constilueionnel that numerous travel lers to Russia have this winter perished with cold, and that considerable quantities of game are picked up there frozen to death. The budget for 1842 (says the Dcbats) will comprise a complete plan of finances, and an exact expose in detail of all our resources. It will contain a particular chapter for extraordinary expenses, in which the Minister will de mand, in order to cover them, the faculty of creating Rentes. There will, therefore, be no special Bill for a loan, as has been announced. The Constitutioonnl mentions a rumour of Count de Flahault being sent to St. Petersburgh to replace M. do Baraate, who is to go to Vienna as Ambassador, instead of M. de St. Aulairc ; while this latter diplomatist will take the post lately occupied by M. Guizot at London. " We understand," says the Presse, " that the French Government has selected Baron Billing as a fifth commis sioner, to act, in case of a disagreement, as arbiter between the two British and the two Neapolitan Commissioners who arc to discuss the settlement of the su'phur question. Baron Billing isthe senior of French Secretaries of Legation, and by a fortunate coincidence, has filled that office both at London and Naples. The British and SieilianGovernarients have hastened to notify, that no choice could be made wtiich could be more agreeable to them, nor one which could inspire them with greater corifidecce. Baron Billing, to all the guarantees which his character and for tune give him, joins the advantage of being well informed in matters of litigation, having to occupy himself with them every day as a member of the Commission of Indem nity fur the colonists of St. Domingo. A better choice could not have been made." Advices f-em Algiers of the 15th instant state that Abd el- Rader has given a conje of three months to hit re gular infantry, in order to save the expense of keeping them during the winter months. The Bishop of Algiers had written to Abd-el-Kader to propose the exchange of somo Arab pr:soncrs against M. Massot, military sub-in tendant, who was captured near Voucra, ire the early part of the campaign . The Emir had replied with great po liteness that he was ready to give M. Massot up without any conditions, provided two French horsemen would come and fetch him from Razza, and to whom he would give a safe conduct. At the same he demanded a safe conduct fur a horseman of his own as far as Algiers. The Havre 'Journal quotes advice@ from Buenos Ayres of the 21st October, and from Monte Video of the 29th. At the former place a considerable quantity of merchan dise had been introduced, notwithstanding the blockade. Most of the French residents, who had been protected by the British Consul, were preparing to depart. Admiral Mackau's division had arrived at Monte Video on the 25th, in 31 days from Goree. Preparations were making first for a landing at Martin Garcia, and then for going up to Buenos Ayres. It was said that a Lieutenant of the French navy had been put to death by Rosas, but no par ticulars were known. The total number of French vessels of war, gun boats, &c., in the Fiats, were forty-four. At Venice letters mentions the arrival of the Duke de Bordeaux in that city on the 17th inst. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES.--SITTING OF Dec. 29. The President read to the Chamber a letter from the Minister of the Interior, announcing that his Majesty will receive, on the Ist of January, at noon, on the occasion of the New Year's-day, the grand deputation of the Cham ber of Deputies, and all those Deputies of the Chamber who may choose to join it. The order of the day was the adjourned discussion on the factory child-lalsour bill. M. Renouard, the Reporter of the Committee, an nounced, that conformably with the instructions of the Chamber, the Committee had re-considered Article 10, and had coma to a resolution to propose the following mo difications on Articles 10 and 11 : " Art. 10. The Government shall establish inspections to watch over and secure the execution of the present law. The inspectors are to have the power of compelling the production of all registers, regulations, &c., connected with the execution of the law, and of examining the cer tificates of the children and the children themselves ; they arc to have the power to adjuin to them a physician, to be chosen by the Prefect. " Art. 11. The right of preparing and recording a Re port to prove the cases of contravention shall only belong to inspectors, prefects, and sub-prefects, without preju dice to the direct action of the law officers of the Crown. These Reports shall be considered evidence until proof to the contrary be offered." Art. 10 was put to the vote and adopted. A discussion now ensued on Art. 11. Several Members spoke shortly for, and others against, it. The Minister of Justice said, he preferred the article as it stood originally, for it came more within the limits of the common law than the present draught. M. Renouard supported the article as modified by the Committee. The original article was then read ; it was as foliows:— " Art. 11.—In case of contravention, reports shall ba prepared by inspectors, which shall be considered valid until proof to the contrary be offered." M. Renouard then proposed a new article as No. 12. viz..— Art. 12 —Par. 1. In cases of contravention of the present law, or in the regulations:of the Government as re gards its execution, the managers of establishments shall be summoned before the Juge ac Pail of the district, and punished by a flue, which shall not exceed 15f." Paragraph 1 was then adopted. Paragraph 2 of Art. 12 was next read:— " The contraventions which may take place, either as to the admission of children under the prescribed age, or as to excess of labour, shall be punished with fine in every case ; but the total amount of the fine for the Fame offence, although in several cases, shall not exceed 200 f." —Adopted. Par. 3. " In the event of a second commission of the same offence, the offenders shall be tried before the Tri bunal of Correctional Police, and, if found guilty, be pu nished with a fine of from 16f. to 100 f. If there be several cases, the total fine shall not exceed 500f." Adopted. Par. 4.—" The fathers, mothers, guardians, and all persons who may, in sending children to factory labour, have been guilty of a contravention of the law, or the re gulations made for its execution, may be sentenced by a Jugs do Paix to a fine of sf. for a first offence, or any fine not exceeding IM. for a second offence." M. do Lgmartit.o objected to this paragraph, and de manded its rejection by the Chamber. M. Renouard supported the paragraph in the name of the Committee. The paragraph was then put to the vote and carried. Par. 5.—" When the same offence shall have been re peated isithin 12 rnetitli, it shall be considered a second offence, liable to the increased penalties."—Adopted. Art. 12 was then adopted in its ensemble. Art. 13. " The present law shall not be obligatory until six months after its promulgation."—Adopted. The Chamber then proceeded to the ballot on the en semble of the Bill. The numbers Isere— For the Bill lB5 Against it The Bill w•as then declared to be passcd, and the Cham ber adjourned to the following day. SPAIN. MADRID, DEC. 22. The Duke de la Vitoria continues to be slightly in disposed. The press has undergone some moiifications lately. El Pueblo Soverano has discontinued publishing; the journal El Constitucional, ‘illich is about to appear, will, it is said, espouse the principles of the Regency Ministry. It is not believed here that the difference between Spain and Portugal will be carried to extremities. British in fluence will no doubt find the means of settling that affair amicably. By a circular, dated yesterday, the Minister of the In terior, Senor Cortina, gives notice to all the competent authorities that, as all the provincial deputations are to be installed on the I st of January, it is necessary to proceed immediately to choose electors who are to name the De puties to the Cortes, and propose the new Senators that arc to be elected. In the principal towns very few elec tors of the Moderado party have shown themselves for the election of the provincial deputations and Ayuntamientos. On the 22d of December 48 bargains for 24,400,000 reels in the New Five per Cents. were done at 28k- for cash, and 29 at sixty days' date. In Vales non consoli• dated 130,000 piastres were negotiated in three operations, at 13, for cash and at thirty days' date. In the debt without interest one bargain was affected for 2,000,000 reals, at 6k, at sixty days' dates. Exchange on London at ninety days, 36g. It is generally thought that so great a rise in stock will not stand. A large failure had been announced on the Madrid Exchange. ( Frottl the Madrid Gazette.) CIRCULAR FROM THE MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR TO THE POLITICAL CHIEFS. The periodical press has often pointed out Abuse! and violent acts which it supposes have been committed in the elections of alcadcs for the next year. Although the rage may increase with bad intentions of facts of slight import ance—althoug,h slander may have invented sonic which have never existed, it is yet posdblo that sumo excease s may have been committed whic h the law must suppress. In every way it behoves the di g nity of the Government, and that of its agents in the p rovi n ces, to se ek out th e trut h of those allegations with a ll p ossible celerity. Therefore, the Provisional Regency of the kingdom has resol ve d t h at your Excellency shall make k no wn to it, by return of po st , without omitting the most trifling circumstance, all that has taken place during the period of th e e l ect i ons. Y our Excellency mos t likewise give an acconnt.ot th e measures nbich it L a s adopted for respecting the law and freedom o" voting enjoyed by citizens. MAI id, Dec. 18. MANOEL CORTINA. SECOND elm:wilt. The Provisional Regency of the kingdom has noticed your Excellency's several n ports and those of his pretle ces,:or, which i dorm it have excited the zeal of the Procu radores Reales, in order that they may indict several journals for divers articles which they arc of opinion come within the scope of the law as to being suppressed. The Regency has charged me to make known to y our Excel lency that its intention is no way to shackle the free exer cise of the faculty o f express i ng t h e i r o pinions, which is granted to all Spaniards by Article 2 of the Constitution. MORNING EDITION. H iwever severe may be the censure on the measures re sorted to be the Government, and however vi,derit and re peated may be the atti.eks of which the members of the Re gency are the object, your Excellency is to abstain hence forth from similar proceedings, by allowing the Procura_ dores Reales full liberty to act according to their own con viction. Madrid, Dec. IS. MANOEI, CORTINA. To the Political Chief of the Proyince of Madrid. LEVANT NEWS. The Scamandre steamer, bringing the Levant mail, ar rived at Marseilles on the morning of the 2tith ult. (Sa turday last) ; but, in consequence of the quantity. of water she shipped during an exceedingly stormy passage, there is reason to believe that a large portion of her :et - erg has been destroyed or rendered al!ogether illegib'e. The sub joined communication from a Cos respond,eat at Marsedles will be found to embody the substance cif the intelligence brought by the Scamandre Dxc. 26. The Scamandre steamer, from the Levant, wh,c'► was due on the 21st, did not arrive here until this morning,, the 26th. As far as Leghorn she had a very s'ormy pacrsage, 'end between that port and Toulon she was in such danger that all the passenger s were obliged to wor k rt the pumps. The letters were so completely swamped that they formed a sort of paste, so that it was almost imposs We to tilt cover the addresses. Several commercial documents have thus been lost, and one of the first Greek mercantile houses has received several envelopes without their content's. This vessel brings letteis from Alexandri a of the 7 h of Decernb,:e. Those received by the Pl:ae•ou Here dated the 12th, so that those just revived are of no interest, ex cepting that they bear witness to the deplorable position of M. Cochelot and the merchants, whose protector he is by a legal fiction. This functionary goes no more to the palace, and the mercht.nts are quite resolved to .have co further disputes with the natives, as in the present posi tion of our Government they mould be sure to b.t in the wrong. The Egyptians even go so far as to reproach our Consul for having caused all their misfortunes by having persuaded the Pacha not to allow the fleet to leave the port, as they say that it would have brought the English squadron to action, and have enabled Ibrahim to recover his lost ground. This . funfc.ronade cornea rather. badly from people who carried away the guns, in ord2r that they might not be obliged to fight, as soon as Commodore Na pier hove in sight. But the French Government has so conducted itself as to be treated with deserved contempt. Constantinople letters are dated Dec. 8. The Sultan's loan with the English bankers has been ratified at London, by the obligation to make the first payments very shortly. This money is exp.•cted with great impatience, as one of the first principles of the Treaty is that the Turkish Government shall call in all its nommade paper, which is now at a discount of five or six for cash. A fearful tempest has lately- swept over the Black S. a and the Sea of Marmora, and incalculable damage has been done. The vessel belonging to the Danube Company, which was chartered by the Government to carry troops and money into Syria, has been wrecked in the Sea of Marmora. The soldiers completely pillaged tliC • vessel before leaving her, and three of them, who jumped over board, have perished. The Russian steamer from Odessa to Constantinople was wrecked on the coast of Khili ; the engine became in jured during the storm, and the vessel, no longer minding her helm, was thrown on the rocks, and nineteen men and passengers perished ; the captain, however, was saved. The Trebisonde steamer had 600 men on board, five of whom were swept away by a wave; three others have gone raving mad from fright and cold, and were obliged I to be lashed to the masts; twenty more, who were taken at Constantinople, have their limbs completely frozen. The changes which have been talked about in the Divan are confined to Mehemet Reschil Pacha, the Chief of the Artillery. This functionary, who must not be confounded with his namesake the Grand V:zier, was educated at Paris, but is, nevertheless, a bigoted Mussulman, and has numer ous enemies. The Circassians have lately reaped some more triumphs over the Russians. They have taken and razed to thou grounds the fortress of Ghelingik. This place was one of the firmest strongholds of the Russians, with a fine deep bay affording excellent anchorage for their flee t. As sooa as the Admiral saw that the Circassians had got into the fort he opened a tremendous fire from the fleet upon the place, without distinction of friends or foes; but although the carnage was fearful, all his efforts were unavailing and could not save the fortress. The only place they now pos sess is the stone fort of Tuapa, and the Circassians are now making preparations to attack it. EGYPT. The following iatereepted letter from Ibrahim Paella to Mehemet Ali, received from Constantinople, will be read with interest TRANSLATION. " Ejub Aga yesterday brought MC the letter of your Highness, which I read and understood fully. On the same day, the 3d Ramadan. Slim and limavl Paellas, with Goubran Effendi, arrived here. The hasna being low, I was unable to make the payments. 47,000 purses are indispensable, and you must send them to me.' Selim and Ismael report that neither the artillery nor the cavalry regiments havo any barley, and it is impossible to procure any, because the peasants conceal everything. They will neiiher contribute nor give anything ; the infidels of Saida have made them itv•-olent. •- are in want of many things; Syria will be no longer tenable, if the sea is not soon tree. Affairs stand thus :--Eleven days ago had your highness ordered me to withdraw hence, I should not have done so. At pre sent everything has changed. Our infantry would be good, but the Syrians arc worth nothing ; I had allowed them to leave me, after obliging them to render up their arms. The Arnauts being in league with some seducer, demand either their pay or discharge. I have allowed them to retire. The same with a part of . • • We are alone. The rains and cold are disagreeable. The bivouacks are worth nothing. I cannot hold my yo ( u s r yri H o Highness present p os iti on t ill t h e en d o f t h e R ama d an ; but in case should d de s ire siialt tnootabbaendoanbi able to Schan temporarily, hness take away the cannon. Our enemies receive assistance from Constantinople and Malta. Ship., soldiers, and ammunition arrive daily, and they overrun the coast of Sy ria in as many hours as I could do in days. It is there fore prudent not to come here with the fleet, for the Eng lish would take it before our eyes. The Consuls have given me to understand that Acre will be bombarded; bombarded perhaps, but taken not yet. Everything there is in excellent order. Mahmoud has requested matrosscs, and I have sent 340, for, to use in my position here, they would be useless. From the frontier there is nothing new. Maghium Hey is at Aleppo. Ahmed Bey will withdraw as soon as the Ottoman troops advance. The season is unfavourable to our enemies, who are not very numerinl. Nlaghium supposes that at Aleppo there are both spies and people to seduce our soldiery, and that the vulgar ate blind. The same may be said of. Damascus." * A purse is about fil. sterling in round numbers, cOn.e quently the sum required by Ibrahim would be 2:35,000/. NEWS FROM TURKEY. -- VIENNA, DEO 22.—The accounts from Constantinople of the Bth inst., which arrived here by express last night, and appear in the Austrian Observer to-day, stating the Porte had declared the conventions concluded by Commo dore Napior with Mehemet Ali to be null and void, had the effoct of greatly increasing the apprehensions of our Exchange, and depressed the funds, so that Bulk Shares were to be had to-day, 1540, and other stocks in the same proportion. It may, however, la- justly doubted whether these apprehensions arc well-founded, since news may be daily expected that Admiral Stopford has concluded a similar convention at Alexandria, which may, perhaps,'dif fer only in the form from that of Commodore Napier,. as it is known that the instructions sent to Admiral Stopfurd contain a clause that the unconditional submission of Mehemet Ali, and his own application for pardon, is to be considered as the final condition of his rcinstalment- It is highly probable that Mehemet Ali will not make any op position on this point, since he must he sensible that he bas no alternative but either to accept the hereditary Pachalie of Egypt on these terms, or to expose himself to total ruin• BELGIUM. Bitt7SSELS, DEC. 30.—According to custom the Minister account • of sentatives, at the beginning of the Se i ss t i t on o , _ of Finance laid on the table of the Chamber of Refire f October lost. the state of the Treasury on attheth.at time the excess of set.ting out . This document shows what w as i n other words, what the expenditure above the revenoe; Fhb the the details of Willett would year 1630. This document, on the Ist was the deficiency of the Treasu details of October, 18 . be uninteresting, amounted equal - 4 O, 4O, to 18,455,000 f., requiring .an . s um in Treasury bonds to be kept in circulation. To thi s amount of float ing debt must b e added the four millions f or t h e l oan ma d e . . to the Bank o f Belgium, and the eight millions necessary for restoring the e dministration of the national debt to a stat e But on the oth er h an d , as five millions:are regular to . be taken from the produc e o f t h e l oan to re d uce t h e floating debt, this debt will be only 23,500,000 f. It % T in be further reduced by the application of the overplus. of the c urrent year, which promises to be considerable. Baron Norman, Belgian Charge d'Affaires in America, returned to Brussels two days ago. nrll.ol AN ii. U Nl)s—tsaupppi.o, Prtc. 3 . ..), , Actual Dept, 2y,", per Cent. Rothschild's Loan, f‘ per c,nt ti6 Loan of Thirty Millions, 1 per Cent-- ----- (I 4 , 9 tlti . ---- 3 pet Cent. -----PTilitty-POVell Loan of Cal', 1K52, 4 per Ccot .......... ......... $0 Society ot Commerce, , I!..per Cent 1 ln Hank of Belgium, 5 per Cent..„„ ........... ..„ t -t; Nationa I Spcicty Exchange on Imiitimi (short) • —Brussels Papers, Dec. 30. ; AUSTRIAN FUNDS. — VIENNA, DEC..r.:l' 101 fire per Colts. Mctalliques •.. ...................... ...•.. nn , , Fear per Cents.... ............... .......... •• • 1. " -% Three tm - Cents. .................... ....., ..... •••• ........ 152 Bank Share; • .—Allgemeine Zeitung, Dec. 27. • - , PROFITABLE PIIIACY.—I scud your. Grape five or six letters more for the West India Governors,,.. : to my Luc! Ilellamont desires them. A clause is added that tLey should restrain pirates from going out, and inYiriro ofn;(Plitiadrda eibtesing yet named among t h em . Th e y who is assistan t in e q ui pp in g . This is done at the desire who have had fresh advices Company,eo committed in those seas; but I o fdr t , ' o, it n t e l t i e ll:. ,( 1: d :j : a s t i of hear that the Governor of New York is one that has given the m ost encouragement to these robbers; that he connives at their going out, and receives presents from them at their r eturn. sane company of them who divided share 7001. a man, besides other presents, gave Fletcher their 'ship which he sold for 1,000/. and it was afterwards fitted out again on the same design.—Jatmes's Court and Times of Ihlliam 111.