The Sun. — London, England, 1849-12-14 00:00:00

CHRISTMAS BOOKS. EPISODES OF INSECT LIFE. Second Series. By Acheta Domestica. The great success which attended the first literary attempt of the Cricket (Acheta Domestica) last year has, we are happy to find, encouraged Lim to continue his revelations. This second series of episodes is even more delightful than its predecessor. Never have entomological lessons been given in a hsppier strain, rarely has the happy doctrine of finding 1 ' sermons in stones and good in everything" met with so excellent an expositor. The book is through out a labour of love, and as such we love to read it. Persuaded by the reasoning, and induced by the infec tious example of the narrator, we love the insect world of which he tells us,:we love the kindly Cricket who admonishes so wisely and reproves so gently, we love, better than ever, our Mother Nature, whose innume• rable marvels are thus further revealed to us, and finally looking " from Nature up to Natare's God," v. e recognise our own insignificance. Are we not right, then, in denominating these episodes " a Christmas Book ?"—animated as they are by the spirit of loving kindness, and suggesting as they do pure and elevated thoughts. Having said thus much of the general tone, let us examine the lesser peculiarities of the work. In the first place the cover is singularly attractive —its colour being a violet blue, almost hidden by a wreath of golden flowers, about which gulden insects are disporting, and above which are interlaced the golden meshes of a golden spider's web, while in the midst sits the golden cricket, deliver ing his entomological harangue. The "Epi sodes" are divided into chapters, and the beginning of every chapter is adorned with some most beautiful coloured drawings of various insects. Here we notice the crimson lady-bird crawling up a leaf covered with the blight insects (Aphides), which form her favourite food—a circumstance that renders the lady bird of peculiar service to the gardener. In another place we mark the "coming out" of' the insect world—beautiful winged insects issuing from the caterpillar's slough. Again, on turning over a leaf, we come to a grasshopper, depicted with such marvellous exactitude that we almost expect to see him spring from the book. Tne gorgeous colouring of the moths, and the exquisite gracefulness of the slender dragon-flies require to les seen in order to be appreciated. The artist who has illustrated this volume has displayed no mean abilities. While we are speaking of illustrations let us not forget to notice the facetious vignettes at the close of every chapter. Many of these, in co iceptien and execution, are worthy of Punch--the prince of cari caturists. An extract is here an impossi'iility, or we would gladly give our readers a glimpse of a spider's retribution. A spider of extraordinary dimensions is ruthlessly entangling a victim in his web—" that victim no Pile fly," but a housemaid of fairy -like dimensions. The destroying broom and dust-pan fall from the hands of the hapless prisoner, and the great foe of spiders' webs feels the weight of a spider'sven geance. Another vignette, equally good, is at the con clusion of a chapter, in which the following marvel. lous anecdote is related. Mr. Beddome, a respectable chemist of Tooley-street, London, stated some years ago that after emptying some beehives of their honey, he boiled them for a considerable time in water to obtain honey from between the interstices. A number of bees, mixed with the honey, floated on the surface of the water ; these he skimmed off, and placed on the flagstones outside his laboratory, which was at the top of the house, exposed to a July meridian sun. " You may imagine my astonishment," writes Mr. Beddome, " when, in half-an-hour, I saw scores of these bees that had been for months in a state of Suffocation, and then well boiled, gradually come to life and fly away 1" This surprising incident is celebrated in the vignette—swarms of healthy, active bees are seen issuing from a steaming Cauldron, while the grisly skeleton, Death, holding op his hands in amazement, exclaims " They set me at defiance 1" Mingled with the entomological disser tations, which are alternately so playful or so interest ing as never to be wearisome, are many delightful tales, artfully connected with the episodes of insect life. One of the happiest is a lesson for wives. At the head of this chapter the artist displays to us a curi ous incident in insect life—a peculiar class of ants disrobing themselves of their wings, preparatory to entering on a new stage of existence. " These summer wings Have borne me in my idle days of pleasure, I do discard them." A very delightful and not a very improbable tale is appended to this picture. A young bride, rather wilful, and rather too fond of dissipation, had almost wrecked the early happiness of her married life by persisting in going to a masked ball against her husband's wishes, when the very evening before the important day, after her dress that of Titania, wings and all —was prepared, she happened to take a stroll with her friend and guest, the kindly Cricket. By chance they stopped to watch the proceedings at an ant-bill, and witnessed, to the lady, the astonishing incident of winged ants disrobing themselves of their wings; their life of idle gaiety at an end, they, following the behests of nature, were preparing them selves for a life of quiet and industry. How the Cricket, seemingly sane intention, taught the lesson, or how the giddy bride put it to happy profit, We shall not say. This, however, is only one instance of the charming facility with which our Cricket turns the simplest incident to good account. Very cordially do we commend this volume to our readers. Young and old, wise and simple, grave and gay, can not fail to turn over its pages without deriving there from pleasure and information—pleasure and informa tion so cunningly intermingled that it would be difficult to say which predominates. THE NILE BOAT; or, Glimpses of the Land of Egypt.. By W. H. Bartlett, author of " Forty Days in the Desert." All who followed Mr. Bartlett in his forty days' " track of the Israelites" will, we doubt not, gladly accept of his invitation to embark in the Nile boat and take a glimpse of the far famed land of Egypt. ,We, having done so, will willingly describe what we nave met with, for the benefit of those persons who may be tempted to take a similar cruise. Before we set out Mr. Bartlett laid before us a brief history of Egypt, by Samuel Sharpe. Thus prepared to take new interest in a land so famous from its ancient glory and its marvellous monuments, we em barked on the " Nile boat" with anxious and pleasurable expectations. Those expectations were in nowise disappointed. While we gazed on the ter rible and solemn grandeur of the spbynx, as pour trayed by the graphic pencil, or followed the intricate mazes of the pyramids, as described by the felicitous Pen of Mr. Bartlett, we could easily imagine that oar fanciful supposition was realised, and that the Nile boat had in reality transported us to the shores of the ancient land. There is an actuality about the descriptions and a gloomy beady about the illustra tions that renders this glimpse of Egypt peculiarly charming. We could easily Si upon many descrip tive passages to corroborate this assertion, but we prefer quoting the following interesting enumeration of the perplexities to which the unaccountable pyra mids have given rise : , " Some have supposed them to be antediluvian, others tnat they were built by the children of Noah to escape fro m a second flood—by Nimrod, by the Pali of Iltn dostan, and even the ancient Irish. It was a favourite theory, until very lately, that they were the work cf th e captive Israelites. The Arabians attributed them to the Jins, or Genii ; others to a race of Titans. Some Lave supposed them to have been the granaries built by Joseph ; others, intended for his tomb, or those of the rharaoh drowned in the Red Sea, or of the bull Apia. Yeates thinks they soon followed the Tower of Babel, and both had the same common design; while, according to others, they were bult with the spoils of Solomon's Temple and the riches of the Queen of Sheba. They hive been regarded as temples of Venus, as reservoirs for purifying the waters of the Nile, as erected for astro nomical or mathematical purposes, or intended to protect the valley of the Nile from the encroachments of the sands 01 the desert (this notable theory, too, is quite recent) —in 'Alert, for every conceivable and inconceivable purpose that could be imagined by superstitious awe, 13 37 erudition groping without data in the 'ark, or reasoning upon the scanty and suspicious evidence of Grecian writers. At length, after a silence of thousands of years, the discoveries of ehampollion have enabled the monuments to tell their • ow n tale; their mystery has been in a great measure unravelled, and the names of their founders ascertained. The explorations of Colonel Vyse, Perring, and re cently of Lepel" have brought to light the remains of no. leas than sixt•nine pyramids, extending in a lice from Abowroash to Dashoor. These, by the discovery of th e names of their founders, are proved to have been a succession of royal mausolea, forming the most sublime 3ecropolis in the world. The size of each different pyramid 1 $ supposed to bear relation to the length of the reign of . builder, being commenced with the delving of a t; nab in the roek for him at his accession, over which a Fresh layer of stones was added (very year until his I . ,eecas e , when the monument was finished and closed up. 4 king the number of these Memphite sovereigns, and , a aversge length of their reigns, the gradual construe. "On of the i yramids would tterefore, it is presumed, x.tand OTer a period, in round numbers, of some sixteen ~"'Hired y e , irs • • • • . • • • is the latest theory, we believe, of the construction 7 :2( 1 import o f . th e pyr a mids. At th e ri s k, h o w e ve-, irreverence towards the learned authorities by Juoin it is propounded, we would remark, of the it appears inconsistent with the co istruotion great pyramid of Cheops, since the existence of a aeriesl. of interior pa s sa g e s an d c h a mbers, and e v en o f 'irr passages communicating with the exterior, seems t a L . l e a regular de s i gn for the con s truction of th e ene_ w ire monument. W e are utter ly at a l oss to conce i ve 1,4:e these interior pass ages a nd c h a mb e rs could have av .formed gradually, as u p on thi s th eo ry they must _ have neen, during the accumulation of a mass o f masonry, t h 2 ultimate extent of which depended on the contin atccY of the m onarc h' s lif e . A n d if t hi s o bj ect i on b e to the theory what becomes of the very pretty 7Pt:nl of ch rono l ogy erecte d upon i t ?" )pg the tainJus spots iliustrated by the skilful rYell of (iive presume) Mr. Bartlett, is the grand e arnali (the frontispiece of the volume), DAY.) -HA lICHA of 131. 5W'. ndant. ow whict years carr Honfleur, mst quenct vas a Capt , also resi( 46 and 18. ,e in End( 3outhampt , livery of I I, for he e( rrance, wl rere sold 1 recovered )fendarit T of legal ix d he tad irect the j DAY.) URN.) of Mani inkrupt am which I , ditors 6s Denn . the assigt taken by His Hon. as the leg re entitles had recei vhst class? is to whe' Dspeetivel certificate. t his Hurl would not le otd for DAY.) .ged under le F9s at reet, Adel which r it inside was all 8 trying to and he ed uo ans , at the inst Dd by a ti and foro Ju.st as window othtr of len disco's,. )1e pieces to let fall boardin, second p ►, and saiC iature. mit commi :eks. [S DA' Vorman, a wick, char, ►f a coal•a seven o'cl( fendant er Mrs. John t know stu use when er in a big pith him ir her sev. tick which ie attentioi ind who et ery drunk !ction of s' wer bad in 51., or rection. iv Exa )in Woolf( t of the D ip on the f been given ass the Het ['own. Int* üblic den luding, anr bed to del , and that .he passag' , the burg himself 0 moo's Bay guard-ship east night ,plendid ea ouch crux Aid ays. the Chau) the crush Re. Mad , , will Ml' 3proaching. !en popui deared to of waster , • eet things t luxuriea g corner If —A corner FOU may W.' the Temple immortal D o'clock trbood of , WAS 1 Isegnence a pit th e Brymbo ' men were ars that so me old we e a flood here by 501 immediat. e shaft, 0 them v ,ht. By t l of the I ows' Cola rnt ; twe they b e tow lies patted to tt prosence. adjoining • The eet above 0 lace. Wet' been stop! , ire contio COMMON' bree o'elo c i was po: that I `. oonfeetio l3° rere 00 l ir ' consisting te he consta bi 6 10 morel. rogressed to Full li ri j Ito the O P - be Burned to t A ► o degtrOS; : burned. 0)60 distrese, ty ha d so ~0 h e diverswof D TiCini t l i a ,erred to ,t in the s ot week * 1 0 , h pbesei j is ewenil4 all, , t he tting jo 3dneods,Y, jo caatieg• be s, might llll: Mack () ', 4 • r— th°j ° of Recor m y og wit" — ury Lal, in ^ tb ß Lod., for ia t apPe ll boa no oneoco, 13 d of efo , newsPP 76, wb er Act • ed fr - e d boned . is reP egi vith C °s"• ablisbe d or G"Y • c rec fop 0 0 work P • to „ w ri t, to 04'P „---- "”" THE SUN, which has been exquisitely engraved by Willinore ; the delicate tracery of the architectural embellishment*, and the softness with which the whole ruin is suffused, are worthy of high commendation. The gigantic sphynx, the stately pyramids, the panorama of Alexandria, the solemn valley of the tombs of the kings, a revolting spectacle of a slave-boat, a lively scene at the ferry of old Cairo, the magnificent tomb of Sultan Kaitbay, a glimpse of " a street in Cairo," with camels and veiled women passing along, and houses decorated with multiform architectural embellishments, and the graceful papyrus overhanging from the roof—one of the most b,Jtutiful pictures in the hock—these and many other similar sketches, besides the descriptive maps, render the views witnessed in the Nile boat beautiful reali ties. The style of the descriptive narrath eis pleas ing and interesting, it glides along smoothly and flowingly, as the river of which it tells, and (to carry out the simile) leaves behind it fruitful memories and pleasant scenes. If our readers will take our advice, they will in the intervals of wearisome business or monotonous pleasure recruit their intellectual strength, and refresh their imaginative faculties by a mental voyage in the inviting "Nilo Boat." LANCASHIRE PUBLIC SCHOOL ASSOCIATION. GREAT MEETING AT MANCHESTER. (FROM OUR OWN REPORTER.) Last night, in the Free•trade 11 , 111 at Manchester, a large meeting was held of the friends of the above asso ciation. The hall was crowded to excess. In the morning a conference of deputies from all parts had been held at the Mechanics' Institute; A. Henry, Esq., M.P., in tte chair. Mr. Berry, also took the chair at Ihe meeting in the Free-trade Hall, at half-past seven. Oa the platform were the Right Hon. M. 'l'. Gibson, M.P.; W. J. Fox, Esq., M.P.; T. Williams Er 4, M.P.; G. Wilson, Esq.; T. Bayley, Esq.; T. Sampson, Esq., of Edinburgh; Dr. Beard, and other influential gentle men. _ _ _ The CHAIRMAN opened the proceedings by informing the assembly that a conference of the friends of the Putlic Schoel Association had been held that morning, at the Mechanics' Institute, to consider the best means of promoting this object, which had been attended by many genth men of great talents and influence from all parts of the kingdom. He alluded to the importance of the objects aimed at, and tho many obstacles which lay in their way, from the antipathy of the bishops and clergy, who were opposed to any scheme by which their sup: ems authority i❑ these matters would be interfered with, and also from the religious scruples of various de noeiinations. He concluded by recommending the pre sent scheme to the meeting, as that most likely to be efficacious. _ . . The Rev. Mr. ITKERROW, one of the secretaries of the association, came forward to announce to the meeting that he had received leite: s approving of the present association from Arch bishop Whately, Lord Goderich, Mark Phillips, Esq., M.P., Richard Cobden, Esq., M P., G. A. Roe buck, Esq., M.P., Joseph Ifunae, Esq., M.P., Sharman Crawford, Esq., M.P., W. Ewart, Esq., M.P., Thomas Carlyle, Miss Martineau, William and Robert Chambers, of Edinburgh. The CHAIRMAN then called on The Right lion. MILNER. Willcox, who came forward amid much cheering, and said that he had been invited to give to the meeting the opinions which he entertained up"n this question, and he approached the subject with very great diffidence in the presence of men who had given so much attention to the details of the plan, and he should only come before them upon the present occasion to give his hearty and public approbation of the main f, nearest of the scheme. He thought it was a scheme which could not be called a voluntary scheme, nor a State scheme, but it was one which might be called a national system of education, because it was one which could be participated in by men of all religious deno minations, and it, was a national, because it was one over the funds of which those who furnished the funds would have supreme control. With all deference to those great men who had been the first to break down the harriers of ignorance in this country by the esta blishment and carrying out of Sunday-schools, he mu _.t say that the means of education and the apparatus were wofully defective for the task. They were told that the amount of ignorance was greatly decreasing, but they could not deny, that if ignorance decreased in the pre sent ratio it would take centuries to educate the whole population of England.—(Hear, hear.) But had crime diminished ? No; since the commencement of the pre sent century, the amount of crime had increased five fold, though the population had not doubled. Great efforts had been made to repress crime, but, in his opinion, they had always begun at the wrong end. What expenditure had taken place in improving pri , ey s —what lengthened disquisitions had they heard of the best means of getting rid of their convict population, but how little hsd been dune towards beginning at the right end, and to elevate the moral condition by education, The voluntary system, he thought, was not fitted for the dis trict in which he stood, for was there not an express interference of the Legislature which prohibited any child fr , m earning a living in the manufactures of cot ton, wool, &c., without first producing a certificate that they had attended a school during so many days in the week? Sir J. Graham felt strongly the incumbency which the Legislature was under, after the passing of the Factory Act, to provide schools for the factory chil- dren, and he brought in a Bill for that purpose, which Sir Robert Inglis opposed on the ground that the Church possessed the supreme right of education in the country, an opinion which was put aside by a majority of the House. Sir J. Graham did not yield to the opinion of Sir R. Inglis, but he took an in termediate course, that of giving a certain power to the Church and a certain power to the Dissenters, which was repudiated by the Church and the Dissenters equally. Mr. Roebuck's plan came next, which was much the same in principle as that at present under discussion. Among the supporters of Mr. Roebuck, who numbered sixty, were men of high talext and religious feeling, who felt that the religious part of education ought to be com mitted to the different religious ministers. lie utterly repudiated the idea that the present scheme was an ir religious scheme. Was it irreligious to teach arithmetic by itself ? In his opinion an instructed man was by far a better subject for any minister. With regard to the question of mixing religious with secular educa tion upon all occasions, he did not think that those men who opposed the scheme because of its unmixed character were not sincere in their advocacy of mixed instruction. If they looked at the, seminaries where the youth of the higher classes of society were educated, take the univer sities, for instance—and he had had the honour of passing through one of the universities—he did not remember that there was any actual necessitated religious educa tion there, apart from the inclination of each pupil—all those who were intended for the Church were obliged to attend " Divinity Lectures," and even those might be attended by proxy, perhaps at the expense of a small gratuity. As for the form of attending chapel, for form it was, he remembered that if any one misbehaved him self, he was sentenced' to attend more than the usual number of times as a punishment. Now, with all doe deference, he did not call that religious education. For his part he did not think the Bible was needed in secular education—he objected entirely to the Bible being made into a task-book—he thought that that part of education should be left entirely to the ministers of each denomi nation. In conclusion he called upon the people of Man chester to support this movement, which was one of all others most calculated to meet the requirements of the present age; and ho called upon them to be the first in this as in all the other great 41 uestions of the day. Mr. Fox, M.P., then came forward, amid much cheering, and said he could not find himself again upon that platform, before one of the magnificent Manchestt r gatherings, without giving rise to reminiscences which it would not be pertinent further to allude to, but which they would forgive him for mentioning. lie bad met them before to claim food for famishing bodies, he met them now to claim food for starving minds; then it was to endeavour to avert crime and to — alleviate misery, now it was for averting crime, not arising merely from phy sical suffering, but from a demoralised nature. He hoped that the same energy which distinguished Manchester then might be put forward now—it was an object which bad as great a claim upon them. The plan was one which at once recommended itself to his mind and secured his approbation—ha liked it because it was a plan, and not a chaos—a plan which, being intended for their own county, ought to be extended over the length and breadth of the nation, because it kept in view all the means and appliances of education. Ile approved it because it wis comprehensive, Mended alike for rich and poor, and for all ranks and all sects. It aimed at making neither slaves to political power nor bigots to religious opinions, but men capable of using their natural powers to the good of their common country. Ho approved of the plan, because it was at once local and national. It was a practical plan, wrought out as to its costs, and that too to a result which could not fail to recommend it; and he thought that the example set by one county would be followed by other counties until legislation, however sluggish, should be eimpelled to listen to the voice crying for education and obey it. The condition of society seemed but one great cry for light; " Give us light" is the prayer of many a wretched man who sought his home at a gin-shop, while his wife and family were famishing at home—all seemed to cry " Give us light"—an echo of that voice which while ch .os yet was said " Let there be light, and there was light."—(Great applause.) In the want of educa• tion there were two great divisions—that of a want of quantity and quality. As to quantity, there were 750,000 children between five years and twelve years of age who attended no school whatever, not:even,a Sunday school. On the Continent there was a greater ameliora tion on this point. In the United States the average of education was much higher. The British people were a sympathiaing people, and if this mass of ignorance had I been presented in any other form, what a sympathy would bo expressed towards it. But he felt more strongly as to the quality of education. They had been , too apt to make children parrots instead of reasoning creatures. Education must be raised before it could he the blessing to the country which they were desirous it should be. One of the great points was to raise the character of the educator; there were no prigo in his race except the consciousness of virtue. This was no opinion of his own, but the testimony of the British and Foreign School Association, which spoke very strongly on this point. Dr. Vaughan also pointed this out; he said that it was not to bo expected that they should find martyrs h ready lower ;lasses. dytosacr Why sacrifice themselves to the educa tion of should a great nation like this antler such a crying evil? A school master must ho like a poet—born (such. The qualities were Heaven-given, and they ; ought to make much of such men when they could find them. It was not the learned men who always made the best teachers, far from it. In all other professions tests were required from the professors; wby not have teats from the school masters? They ought to be sure of the right men, and then make much of them when they got them. They should place him in the first rank of society—equal with the clergyman, and far above the rewards ‘)hich are demanded from them by false glory.—(Ap plause.) Let it not be forgot that education was not merely a thing of childhood. It was only then that we began a thing which must be carried on throughout life. But how did they act in this respect ? They were much inclined to shut up their libraries and museums. All Mr. Ewart's endeavours'had as yet been unable to ob sin the opening of the library of the British Museum to the young men of London in the evening, when alone they could avail themselves of it.— (Hear, hear.) In struction, as now administered in many of the schools of England, was not sufficient to bar the advance of crime. The increase of crime showed on the returns, was in the class between the " well taught" and the " utterly un taught"—viz., the imperfectly educated. At a late temper ance meeting in the metropolis, some important statements were made, which showed that a vast amount of juvenile criminals were Sunday scholars. It was not a statement which he made with a view to depreciate Sunday-schools, but to show that the sacred part of instruction could not grow to its full power without the exercise of the facul ties which a secular instruction could give ; and to religiol, is an igi.orant man was but the sun in a fog, deprived of half its giory.—(fiear, hear.) The excellent labours of voluntary teachers in Sunday- LITERATURE. LIVES OF THE PRINCESSES OF ENG LAND. By Mrs. .Everttt Green. Vols. I and 11. This work is a worthy co rpanion .to Miss Strickland's admirable "Queens of England," and in saying so much we are pronouncing no mean com mendation. In one respect the subject-matter of these volumes is more interesting, because it is more diver sified, than that of the " Queens of England." That celebrated work, altht.ugh its heroiees were, for the most part, foreign Princesses, related.almost entirely to the history of this country. The Princesses of England, on the contrary, are themselves English, but their lives are nearly all connected with foreign nations. Their biographies, consequently, afford us a glimpse of the manners and customs of the chief Euro pean kingdoms, a circumstance which not only gives to the work the charm of variety, but which is likely to render it peculiarly useful to the general reader, as it links together by association the contemporaneous history of various nations. Thus, for instance, of the three daughters of King Henry 11., Matilda, the eldest, became the wife of Henry the Lion, the great Duke of Saxony; her sister Eleanora espoused Alphonso of. Spain, and their histories make us acquainted with the simultaneous vicissitudes of two very dissimilar Courts and coun tries ; while the life of Joanna, the youngest sister of the Duchess of Saxony, and the Queen of Spain, is throughout a fragment of romance. Married to the King of Sicily, after his death imprisoned by the usurper Tancred, liberated by her brother Richard Coeur de Lion, and accompanying him and his Queen in the crusade to the Holy Lund, and ultimately re married to the famous Raiti,ond of Toulouse, Joanna is continually a heroine of romance. The readers of Madame Cottin's enthralling tale " Mathilch"—one of the most interesting romances ever penned—will find in the history of Joanno while in the Holy Land the origin of that celebrated story--Joanna (not Ma thilde), the sister of King Richard, having been be loved by Alelcch A ett'us (the Malak Adel of the French tale), the chivalrous brother of the chivalrous Saladin. From this enumeration it will be seen of what very various characters are the biographies contained in this work. Dissimilar in their lives, and divided in their deaths, as the occupants of Mrs. Hemans's " Gravc s of a Household"— " Parted thus, they rest who played Beneath the same green tree, Whose voices mingled as they prayed Around one mother's knee are the daughters of royal houses, but the dissimilarity adds to the history of their various careers. Cecilia, the eldest child of William the Conqueror, lived and died the peaceful Abbess of the convent of the Holy Trinity, while Adele, the youngest of the Conqueror's five or six daughters, the wife of the Count of Blois, and the mother of the English King Stephen, dis played, both as Queen-Consort and as Regent,iat mar vellous excellence in all the requirements of a good go vernor, and moreover she was said to equal her warlike father in courage, and, says Baldric of Anjou, would have borne arms herself " did not custom forbid her tender limbs to be weighed down with armour." The history of Matilda, daughter of Henry I. of England, widow of Henry V. of Germany, and mother of Henry IL, the first Plantagenet King, the acknow ledged Queen of England, and the unsuccessful rival of Stephen of Blois (son of the Adela above mentioned), is naturally full of interest and adventure. At one timewe find the Empress Queen, the daughter and mother of sovereigns, escaping from danger in a coffin, and at another passing undiscovered over the snow-covered :country in a robe; of similar whiteness. After perusing the histories of queens and duchesses, we pause with a mournful interest over the brief record of Katharine, the third daughter of King Henry child so beautiful that its mother, then Regent, shortly after its birth mentioned it in a State Mandate as " a certain beautiful daughter who is recently born." This little princess, beloved by her parents with a most tender affection, was born deaf and dumb; and, notwithstanding all the efforts of kingly power and paternal love, she only lived three years and a half. The King and Queen were inconsolable for her loss. This short history is here related with an exquisite pathos. The two volumes now before us contain the histories of the Prin cesses of England from the time of William the Conquerer to that of Edward I. The lives of the remaining Princesses will of course form the subjects of future volumes. Judging from the specimen already issued, we can entertain no doubt as to the entire success of the work. The summary we have given will give some idea of the interesting matter with which it is filled, and the style is fully equal to the subject. The various histories are related with an earnest simplicity and copious explicitness. The reader is informed without being wearied, and alternately enlivened by some spirited description or touched by some pathetic or tender episode. We cordially commend Mrs. Everett Green's production to general attention ; it is (necessarily) as useful as history and fully as entertaining as romance. COURT CIRCULAR. OSBORNE, THURSDAY. Her Majesty and the younger members of the Royal Family, walked this forenoon in the park an grounds of Osborne. His Royal Highness Prince Albert, attended by Colonel Bouverie, Equerry in Waiting, left Osborne at eight o'clock thi4 morning, and crossed to Gosport in the Fairy yacht, en route to Windsor Castle, to be present at the funeral of the late Queen - Dowager. his Royal Highness is expected to return to Os borne by seven o'clock this evening. There was no addition to the royal dinner party yesterday. The Lords of the Committee of her Maj?sty's Privy Council for Trade and Foreign Plantations, had a meeting yesterday, at the office of the Board of Trade. Earl Grey, Secretary of State for the Colonies; Lord Campbell, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; and Sir Edward Ryan wer* present. The Marquis of Lansdowne returned to town yes terday evening, after attending the funeral of her Majesty the Queen Dowager, in St. George's Chapel. Lord John Russell returned to his residence, Pem broke Lodge, Richmond Park, yesterday, after attending the funeral of the Queen Dowager. PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 28.—Some months since Dr. Coolidge, of Waterville, Maine, was condemned to death for murder, and to avoid an ignominious death on the scaffold he committed suicide in his cell. An inquest was held and he was buried. But, strange to tell, he has come to life again, and is now (private letters say) digging for gold in Celitornia I It is supposed that justice was cheeted by the substitution of a dead body for the living Coolidge. THE EAST LANCASHIRE RAILWAY' COMPANY. — We understand that the men who struck have resumed their duties on the line, the directors undertaking to yield to the demand for the dismissal of Mr. Royle, the inspector, to obtain tbia having been apparently the chief object of the men. — Manches ter Guardian. The Earl and Countess of Ga inaborou g h are, we understand, abut to leave Douglas's Hotel, where they have resided two months, to occupy a house in Char lotte-square, so that their stay in this city will be pro• longed for some time.—Edinburgh Witness. DEATH OF SIR ROBERT KEITH DICE, BART., OF PRFSTONFIELD.—This gentleman died at his seat in the vicinity of our city at the end of last week. Sir Robert was in the 77th year of his age. He returned to his na tive country a yt ar or two ego, after a lengthened resi dence on the Continent. —Edinburgh Witness. DEATH OF THE MAYOR OF LIMERICIE.—It is our melancholy duty „to announce the death of Alderman John Boyse, Esq., J.P., Mayor of Limerick. This sad event took place at his residence in Dublin, cn the u oreing of Saturday, Bth instant. In every relation of life this excellent man was esteemed and respected, and his death is a seu - ce of the cleepeA sorrow to his afflicted family, and of sincere regret to an extensive circle of friends and acquaintances. — Cork Examiner. Large quantities of herrings were caught last week in Irvine Bay, evidently en route from King-endue Sound, the Kylt s Bute, or Lechflne, for their usual spawning ground at BAllantrae. S. me boats procured twenty hundred at a take. They are making their appearance south earlier this season than formerly. They , are beautiful in appearance, but their contents clearly indi cate they are foul. The very great impropriety, in every respect, of citehing them in this condition, is now very generally admitted.— Greenock Advertiser. INDIGENT BLIND SCHOOL—A meeting of the patrons and friends of this institution was yesterday held ut the London Coffee-house, Ludgate-hill; Mr. R. Tubbs in the chair. The business transacted was of the ordinary routine character. It appears that there were at present 177 persons, male and female, in the asylum. The treasurer's account to the 30 th November, as audited, was laid before the court. and showed a balance 5181; 50`q. „: hnd borr , : , w(d from the Bank. Oa the motion of Mr. fiterry, Lord Viscount Cranbourne was elected a Vice-President of the Corporation, and the meeting adjourned, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 14, 1849 schools ought to be mentioned with respect, for he siished every Sunday-school to occupy its proper posi tion, and not to occupy the position of schools which were to teach men the duties of Christians and citizens. He would avail himself of all their advantages, in con nexion with other schools. He would also avail him self of the philanthropy of those who went about in the lanes and alleys to establish ragged schools. Education, whets it did come, should Dot come as the victory of a party—it was a work which (-tight to comhiee all, and obtain the sympathies nod the efforts of all alike. It was the same in mearrisl philosophy; vsrious irtflaesces were employed to the growth of a plant or tree, and so vari ous and diverse motives must litre combine to nourish the human product, and bring it to its lull growth.— (Hear, hear.) And although the best educated commu nities would have many evils, yet there were many things which a freaeral spread of knowledge among the m must seedily or destroy. The different classes would feel that they had common interest—they would feel as brethren under the influence of that intel lectual power of education. " Mau is the child of God,"—and that is a nobler title than the Son of a nohleman.—(Hear, hear.) He would, then, exhort the people of Matichester to persevere in the present scheme; he conjured them by the compassion which one man ought to feel for another, by their love of peace, by , their love of their country, famous above all for its in tellcctuel greatness, by a hope of making the next generation worthy of the land of Newton and Locke; he conjured them by a feeline of gratitude which ought to possess them fur the advantages which they had over others, by the feeling which they ought to have, that as they had by thus commexcing this movement placed Manchester in advance of England, so by the prosecu tion of it they might place England in advance of the world. (The Hon. Gentleman sat down amidst long and continued cheering.) Mr. JAMES SIMPSON, of Edinburgh, then proceeded to address the meeting. Ile said he had been for many years interested in the present movement, but the only merit which he could claim was a chronological merit merely. He congratulated Manchester upon the position which it had ta,k.n in advance in this great educational question a hint to Manchester had as usual been sufficient. Scarecrow's of " godless," " in fidsl," and other epithets had been raised against the movement. Dr. Chalmers held that secular educa tion, which fitted a man for life, was the best of all educations. The late Speaker of the House of Commons had prophesied that these views of education would ultimately triumph, but that they would have to fight against ten years of discussion. There was one point upon which he would wish to take the opinion of that auelience, and that was, that the clergy of all denomina tions were the natural and best educators of the country. Mr. CoI3QPER, the leader of the Chartists in this neigh bourhood, then rose and said, he wished his fellow working-men to know that he fully approved of the present movement, and hoped that they would work nand and heart in it. as he meant to do.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. T. BAYLEY, Chairman of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, proposed the thanks of the meeting to the distinguished strangers who had been present, Mr. G. Wseseet seconded the motion, and bore testi mony to the_lung services of Mr. Simpson in this gri at cause of education. He remembered Mr. Simpson having delivered lectures on this very subject, in Manchester, some twelve years ago. Dr. WATTS, who moved a vote of thanks to the Chairman, said that from Mr. Simpson he had received his first impetus in this great cause. Mr. J. SMITEI seconded the motion, which was carried with loud applause, and the ineetiiie ;hen butte up. EPW ORTH MECHANICS' INSTI- TUTE. (From the Lincolnshire Times.) • On Thursday evening last, the 6th inst., a meeting was held in the Court-house, Epworth, for the par pose of advocating the advantages of mechanics' institutions, and their claims upon all members of society, for co-operation and support, in instructing the hitherto uneducated portion of the adult popula tion, within their limits. Mr. MERRIL, solicitor, president of the i ns tit u ti on , took the chair : he read letters from several gentle. men who had been invited to attend, but who were unavoidably prevented; amongst the rest was one from the Earl of Yarborough (a patron and life member of the institution), from Sir Charles Ander son, and the Rev. E. R. Larken, Button Rectory, near Lincoln ; they all urged the desirableness of such institutions, and expressed their regret that they could not attend. The Hon. and _Rev. C. Dundas, rector of Epworth, was prevented attending by the ill state of his health, but forwarded 1/. fur past subscriptions, and promised a contribution of books. Mr. Merrils then stated the reasons for holding the present meeting, and said the society had been established thirteen or fourteen years ; sometimes it had been in prosperous circumstances, and at other times not so; the principal cause of its decline being the want of a proper place to meet in, the use of the Court-house had now been obtained for the exchange of books and the delivery of periodical lectures, (through the kindness of T. Lightfoot, Esq., the Lord of the Manor), and he (Mr. Merrils) hoped the society would be placed on a better footing than before. He then gave a report of the past and present condition of the in stitution, and said if the funds would admit of it, it was the intention of the committee to re-establish the classes and employ a paid teacher; after some other observations, he called upon Mr. HEMINGBOROUCIII, from Crowle, who said he did not expect to be called upon to speak, but to be allowed to sit quietly as a hearer ; he was proud they had such talented individuals as the Rev. Gentleman on his right to advocate the claims of mechanics' in stitutions, which would prevent him occupying much of their time ; he then stated the reasons why he was favourable to such societies, and the claims they had upon all ; ignorance was the bane of all society— " from ignorance error springs our youth would be better employed in attending classes than loitering in the streets, or spending their time at the public-house. We have hitherto been deficient in proper places of resort, where our youth could assemble for improvement; it required the leading characters of a town to come forward and help their poorer fellow -creatures to obtain knowledge. He was sorry to hear and see the immorality daily presented to our view—it flows from ignorance ' • knowledge was the opponetst of vice, and was the chain which links society together. e then spoke at some length, showing the advantages such institu tions were calculated toconfer; in a pleasing manner he ridiculed the idea of supposing that education and mental culture would affect the labourer to his dis paragement, as a servant; he trusted the present meeting would be a nucleus around which to draw every town and village in the neighbourhood to have similar institutions and similar meetings. Epworth was considered to be the centre of the Isle of Axholme, and from that centre may such a thirst for knowledge and improvement spring as shall radiate to all around ; may Crowle catch the spark, and carry out the prin ciples of such benevolent institutions to their fullest extent. ^ T The Rev. T. SLIPITOBTII, Belton rectory, then addressed the meeting at considerable length. He said he rose willingly to advocate the interests of the society—it had his best wishes for his success; although when he received a letter of invitation he at first felt a little delicacy in attending or taking pal t in the proceedings; he had never attended any simi lar meeting; but from whit he had heard and seen, if another meeting was held he should attend as a neighbour, and render them all the assistance in his power. Clergymen should always be ready to assist heart and hand in every good work ; if he did not return from that meeting a wiser and a better man it would be his own fault. The society had been esta blished thirteen or fourteen years, and had been sub ject to many vicissitudes; it was not defunct. If it had been dreaming of happier times, he hoped the present meeting would be the harbinger of a sun that would shine on brighter and happier days. The Rev. Gentleman then stated his reasons for attending ; he said be felt, as a clergyman, in his place wherever good was to be done (where it was consistent to be present), where the mind was to be cultivated and enlarged ; mechanics' institutes were de cidedly on the side of religion. Look at the spirit in which this society was established. On looking over the rules he found that nothing of a controversial character was allowed—they opened no arena for political discussion—nothing of superstition, or the principle of might overcoming right ; here, all could come and quench their thirst at the fountain of knowledge, without being treated as paupers. He was favourable to them for another reason ; they were based upon the best principles of benevolence; they helped a man to help himself ; many of the labouring classes could with difficulty obtain education for their children ; but the great evil was, when they left home and wentinto situations in large towns, after business hours, having nothing to employ their leisure hours, they are frequently led into habits of vice and intemperance, and end their career in sin and wretchedness ; "For Satan finds some mischief still, for idle hands to do." If they joined a mechanics' institute they would have a chance of becoming good members of society, and of bringing forth the fruits of goodness and righteous ness. The institute sets its face like a flint against intemperance, and places its powers against the evil —that evil which is the bane of all society; when a man ceases to be a reasonable being be becomes:a brute. They likewise have a tendency: to make people happy. The Reverend Gentleman drew a beautiful contrast between an intelligent sober labourer, and an illiterate inebriate. He appealed to the ladies for their assistance, end said a woman's smile hail sometimes more influence than a long address from the pulpit or the bench. He then, in a kind and affectionate manner, invited all present to unite in carrying / out the good work, and gave some excellent advice as to how and in what manner study should be pursued, and entered at some length into the advantages of education, and concluded by ex pressing his best wishes for the success of the institu tion, that it might be a blessing to the inhabitants of Epworth. The Rev. JAMES ASI'INALL 7 rector of Althorpe, Lincolnshire, spoke as follows—Believing education to be the rich and wealthy joint-stock bank of issue whence proceeds the great and still increasing circu lating medium of common sense, for which the intel ligent masses of the people are becoming every day snore remarkable, I always consider it a matter of duty, as well as of pleasure, when it is in my power to achieve it, to attend a meeting of this kind, and to help on, according to my humble d:Jilities, the great cause of' man's improvement, which we are all so anxious to promote. I was reading a little time since of a labourer, who, when employed in re• moving an embankment, which almost blocked up his cottage window, was asked, " what he was doing?" " Oh I" he replied, " I want to let eut the dark ;" a quaint fashion of expressing himself, which drew upon him the laughter of the bystanders. But, nevertheless, I adopt it at once as the motto and the maxim ofour modern educationists. We also want to let out the dark, because we know that, on the prin ciple that nature abhor/ a vaccuum, when we let out the dark, we let in the light. And this work of let ting in the light is going on admirably at the pre sent time. We continually hear of new schools being opened in what were before considered to be dark holes and corners in remote villages, of branch me- chilies' institutes, in connexion — with those in the neighbouring towns, of libraries set up by the work ing men in such localities themselves, and many other signs and symptoms that the intel ectual leaven is working amongst every class of our population. and this march of improvement no longer meets with opposition. Oo the contrary, it is fostered and en couraged in all directions. Here and there, pro bably, some old-world admirer of the slew coach system trembles at the progress of popular education. And trembles, perhaps, the more because he feels that he is impotent to check it. It would, indeed, be as easy to turn back the rising sun into midnight, or to extinguish the luminary when at his mid-day glories, as to put out the light of education at its present point. Who dreams oft ? " Vain arc your efforts ! Stay your aims begun : Fools that you are! No arrow strikes the sun !" In short, as we gaze at our Nilometer, we see by it that the stream of intelligence is rising higher and higher, day by day, in this country, to the gratifica tion of all our own wishes, a nd the relief of all our anxiety on the subject. I have always one feeling of especial delight at a meeting of this kind. It arises from a contrast which will present itself to my mind, between the freedom of thought and speech which we . . enjoy, and the state of thing . ; on these points in some other countries. At Vienna, for instance, the news papers inform us that a decree has just been issued, prohibiting the publication of any work unless the manuscript has be en inspected by the military govern ment; while from Daly we hear that at Bologna, in brder to check political discussion, the barbers have been forbidden to have more than four customers at a time in; their shops. Here, on the contrary, we may meet in any numbers we please, the more the better, and the more the merrier, and may speak what we like, and our students read what they choose, and no man say " nay" to ua. Old England then is a country worth loving, and worth living for, and worth living in ; la who will deny it. Ido not know what are to the subjects of your lectures during the present season, but I trust that they are to be of a practical and useful character. At the late meeting of the British Asswciation, the Prince of Conin read ei paper on the - • difference between tie little blue Magpie of the Briizil and the little blue magpie of Siberia. And I have known a whole winter taken up wick lectures cn such and kindred subjects in some mechanics' institutes. Now, do not mistake me. I do not say a word against such topics being mixed with others, bat I think that a great portion, the greater indeed, of our own lectures should be of the useful and practical order. We want some of the necessaries as well 25 the luxuries of intellectual life—some of its roast beef, if I may so say, and solid pudding, and not all goodies and sweeties, and dessert and sugar plums. They should teach the people how to pursue their several handicraft trades with greater ease and facility. They should bring science to help the plough, and enable the farmer to grow two blades of grass and two ears of corn where he only grew one before. And on another point mark me. The establishment of a mechanics' institute in a town does not necessarily rn...ke every member of it—every man, boy, labourer, mechanic, and clerk in the place, a genius or a giant. What is a mechanics' institute ? What are the lectures given in it ? They are but guide posts and way marks set up by the friends of education, and nothing else. But on this head I must address you more at large. When I speak of the friends of education doing this or that, let me not be misunderstood. They can work no miracles. They can build insti tutes ; they can attend meetings ; they can point the way to fame and emimence, both by precept and example. But they can do no more. They cannot teach and improve men against their own will. No one was ever yet raised, except by his own genius, study, and industry, into that glorious race of thinkers whose magnificent inspirations are repeated in numberless echoes from every corner of the world, and felt in every breast in which beats a human heart. No one, indeed, must hope to become even moderately or usefully learned or well-informed, ex cept by his own exertions. Means and opportunities will all be lost unless a man himself has diligence and application. There is an old proverb which tells us, "No gains without pains," and it is only when this is felt that an internal desire can be stirred up within the student to lallraur for improvement, and to persevere until he arrives at a great future result in the fruit bearing of intellect. Where we give such advice, we sometimes hear strange excuses. Many, when told to keep good pace with the spirit of the age, and with the progress which is visible on every side of them, are ready to exclaim with the soldier who, when reproved by his sergeant for being always the last on parade, anwered with the most remarkable naivete," Be easy, Sergeant Sullivan, surely some one must be last I' Ido not mean to controvert this de. cided truism, but still as we often hear of a man running a good second, so I would have you run such a good last, that it shall be hard to say whether you are not coming in first in the intellectual race. Others, again, when appealed to and encouraged to approach the fountains of education, not only for self's sake, but for the sake of society at large, which is, of course, affected, for better or for worse, by the character of all who compose it, answer with humility or with that pride or indolence which would so often ape it, "It is of no consequence what we do say, or think; our voice, opinions, attainments, and so forth, cannot exert the smallest influence upon the state or destinies of an empire." But are you quite sure of that ? Did you never hear the sweet pretty lines— " What, if the little rain should say,— So small a drop as I Can ne'cr refresh the thirsty plain: I'll tarry in the sky? What if a shining beam of noon, Should in its fountain stay, Because its feeble light alone Cannot create a day ? Doth not each rain-drop help to form The cool, refreshing shower? And every ray of light to warm And beautify the flower?" And, even so, as the ocean is but an aggregate of drops, time made up of moments, and the sand of the sea-shore of grains, so is every human society com posed of individuals, and its character but the reflec tion of theirs when taken in the mass. But, after all, humility is not the peculiar feature of the 'present age. We have oftener to pull the curb than apply the spur. But let me, for a fear moments, speak more particularly of the Epworth Mechanics' Institute. I was de lighted to find, from my invitation to this meeting, that it was once more about to be up and doing in the world. I had begun to fear, from its long silence, either that it was sun-scorched or frost bitten, or moth eaten, or rust-consumed, or that, like the Royal George, it had foundered in a calm. I was, therefore, glad to learn that it had only been enjoying a little quiet and comfortable repose, and is now again about to enter, like a giant refreshed, upon its course of usefulness, improvement, and instruction. It is always, too, a great source of satisfaction to me o hear of the establishment of a mechanics' institute in the agricultural districts. Education is making such rapid strides among the people, in the manufac turing and trading parts of the country, that we must press and push forward a little, or rather, not a little, and run well in the race if we do not intend to be left behind in it. I was in Lancashire, last week, at a meeting of this kind, and, after seeing what I did see there, I hastened back in hot speed, doubly anxious to attend here this evening, in order to ring in your ears that golden precept, which ought to be written in letters as long as my arm, over every parlour, every kitchen, and every cottage fireplace in Lincoln shire,— "Let those now read who never read before, And those who always read, now read the more." I can assure you that the mechanics and working men there are all carrying heads upon their shoulders for use as well as ornament. And why should it not be the same here ? I will tell you at ance. We have not yet, in the matter of education, taken the same pains, either with ourselves or others, which they do in Lancashire. We have not tried to stir up the very depth of society with it; but that is what we must do if we wish to improve the people about us as they ought to lie improved. Subsoil ploughing is, educa tionally speaking, as necessary to produce a good hu man crop as it is, agriculturally speaking, to give a good crop of wheat. And the use of a mechanics' institute is to help us in working out such a consum mation. An institution in Liverpool has for its motto " to make the mechanic a better man, and the man a better mechanic." We might even shorten this, and adapt for ours—" to make a man a man indeed." This, in truth, is a glorious object. Hitherto millions of our fellow-beings, even in the boasted land of civi lization, have gone through life, mere machines in their work, mere animals in their enjoyments. 1 was reading lately of some young man given to somnambu lism, who, having got out of his bed and walked about for two or three hours in his sleep, was utterly astonished, when suddenly awakened, to find himself in a strange place arid among strange races. And, as far as their intellects are concerned, are there not thousands about us who are nothing better than som mmbulists, w'-lo go on waikin,g• in their sleep from their cradle to their grave ? I want to see thim also awakened up, and what a glorious awakening it would be to make them acquainted with all the strange places, and strange faces, and strange things, and all the wonders in the "heavens above, the earth beneath, and the waters under the earth," which heretofore have been as if they were a sealed book, or as if they had no existence, to their neglected and benighted and slumbering minds. The very character of the times, moreover, requires that men should now be better instructed than they have been in days gone by. Shame itself should now prick and push every man on in the race of self-improvement. There is no longer any hiding place for ignorance ; it is certain to be found out. When the careless housemaid was scolded for her untidy work, she answered, "I'm sure the rooms would be clean enough, if it were not for the nasty light of education which is al ways showing my ignorance on every subject." And how great that light is we may judge from this one fact, and it is, to use a, passing phrase of the day, " a great fact," that whine about a century ego the amount spent in books, periodicals, and newspapers in this kingdom, did not exceed 100,0001. a year, it is calculated that the sum now so expended, and with printing, paper, &c., so much cheaper, is 2,100,0001 in the same space of time. Thecre ought to be some improvement to show for all this money. And let me give you another reason in behalf of both education and self-education. In these times, when steam has, as it were, bridged all the nations of the earth into one, men are not the fixtures they used to be, on the spot that gave them birth. They may be whirled by the vicissitudes of trade, or the search for employment at anv moment to the most distt lands, where they should uphold the character of their country, and be the missionaries of civilization at the same time. That you may not suppose that lam here riding the hobby of my imagination in sa)ing this, I will give you an example of this kind of transplanting from your own neighbourhood. Some rew jears since, before the late (roubles in Hungary, and English gentleman, travelling its that country, passed through its capital, Budik-Pesth, at that time more remarkable for the mixed elements of its population, both European and Oriental, than, p.r-rhaps any other city in the. world. As he walked along the streets he was joled by almost every specimen of mankind. Thole were sullen-looking Russians, fiery and restless Poles, glorious Magyars, proud and grave Turks., heavy Austrians, high-capped Tartars, with wild Cossacks galloping in all directions, amongst its heterogeneous multitudes. Even China had sent its contribution to 'swell the human medley. At last he c.ime upon a group whose honest Anglo-Saxon countenances he thought proclaimed the land of their nativity, a fact of which he was aura when he saw their honest Anglo-Saxon bands toiling away at their work, utterly regardless of the mctley and miscellaneous crowds who were curvetting, capering, and prancing around them. They were driving the piles of the far famed bridge of Btrla-Pesth. He approachcd, and at once adressed the foremost of them iu plain English. " Where do you come from, my man ?" The party spoken to looked up, delighted to hear his Nil ire tongue in a strange land, and answered, "From Althorpe, — in the Isle of Axboltne, in Lincoinahire." Now I am quite sure that when some of us were boys, we should just as soon have expected to have met the man in the moon as a man of Althorpe in the streets of the far off city which I have mentioned, and either expectation would have been as equally lunatic. But times are changed : and may not the case of the man of Althorpe be the case of the man of Epworth, or the man of Haxey, or the man of Belton, to-morrow ? Educate yourselves for it. But further, in this country of free institutions it is impossible to say how a man may rise, and how his social position may be changed in the course of a few short years. I heard a Noble Lord a very short time since, talking of a Member of the House of Commons, who has, by the strength of bis own energy and industry, worked himself up to what he is, from the ranks of the people. "He always (he said) speaks good sound sense ' but confound him for being so ungr amma ti ca l" This also, I think, proves our case. It should, at all events, convert into active friends of education all those whose polite and fastidious ears are shocked by transgressions against syntax, that henceforth good sound sense may always approach them, no longer arrayed in ungram matical calico, but in grammatical satin. But, with out taking any such changes of country or eleva tions in society into account, let us suppose that all here have to perform their usual mill-horse round of duty to the end of their existence. Still we want all the helps of light and education. To go back to what I said of your lectures, which I would recommend the members of your institute to pursue. Let it be the useful first and foremost, the useful before everything. Whether mechanics, or clerks, or farmers, they should, before they go on to any thing else, make them elves acquainted with those works which will be of most assistance to them in their several trades, callings, and employments ; good heads and good hands are both required in these times. But, although I have talked of the young, 1 mean, remember, to include the old also in these remarks. Mehemet Ali, the late ruler of Egypt, was 46 years of age before he began to learn either to read or write. A man can never be too old to enter upon a good work. But, of course, you will say that mental relaxation is as necessary as bodily, and that the intellectual bow will be strained if it is not sometimes unstrung. I agree with you. It was beautifully observed by Lord Mallen at the late meeting of the Leeds Mechanics' Institute, "If it be true, as we often hear it said, that knowledge is power, it certainly is not less true that knowledge is pleasure." In using it as such, then, I would recommend you parti cularly to the reading of history. It is delightful to be carried back from our own little present, and to be placed, as it were, front to front with men of all times, all countries, nations, and languages, and to be made acquainted, not only with the men themselves, but with their customs, their habits, and ways of thinking. History is, indeed, a most exquisite occu pation for our leisure hours, as it recalls from the tomb of their grandeur, and pasFes in review before us, empires and kingdoms, in their day as great as our own, rising and falling, like the waves of the sea, until, vanity of vanities I they have left behind them but, with their sculptured ruins, the name and fame of their dominion, and glories upon which the lapse of centuries has shed a halo of almost sancity, from the circle of which the mind can hardly escape. And biography, too, is a most interesting study. But, in pointing out this branch of reading, I would remind you, that I do not restrict you to the lives of those who, generally speaking, have been the objects of mistaken hero-worship in times past. I include the men of the pen as being more truly illustrious than the men of the sword, the authors of great inventions fur the good of mankind, the celebrated in the arts and sciences sculptors, painters, philosopher s , and Christian philanthropists. You should dwell upon the career of such giants as these to spur on imitation and emulation on your part; for truly it has been written, 4‘ Lives of great men all remind us, We can make our lives sublime; And, departing, leave behind us, Footsteps on the sands of time." And there is another branch of reading for your hours of ease, at once agreeable and instructive. I mean travels, voyages, and works on the colonies and emi gration. We have, many of us, probably, friends or relations in distant parts of the world, about whom, and their position as to locality, climate, and many other circumstances, we feel strongly interested and anxious. Besides, if most of us may continue, as old birds, to abide in the old nest, and roost on the old perch to the end of the chapter, still our children may be driven, by the increase of population and the pinch of com petition, to seek their fortunes in foreign lands. We should, therefore, for their sake, accumulate as much information as possible upon the subject to which I am referring. And one word morel must add, and Icrave your serious and solemn attention while I say it. You mutt make all earthly knowledge, be your stores of it ever so great, secondary and subordinate to that higher knowledge which is from above. The ray is but the light of a feeble taper to guide the worm of earth from the cradle to the grave. The other is the Sun of Heaven of Heavens to illnminate his path, as an immortal being, to the eternal " mansions beyond the skies." Whenever, there fore, the pride of human labour begins to turn the head and poison the heart, and to elevate the gift of intellect above the giver of it, from that moment, re collect, it becomes as worthless as the crumpled paper on which its words of ink are written. But enough. The eloquence which I see beaming from the eyes of so many gentlemen around me who are anxious to address you, reminds me that it is time for me to cut short my trespass upon your patience, and hasten to conclusion. I shall do so with another word of advice. You must not expect your young institution to start into miraculous maturity all at once. Success may be marred by the very recoil of feeling which often follows the disappointment that is not instantly achieved. You must be satisfied to begin with the beginning, and go on from little to more. The young eagle does not at once soar from the parent nest to meet the blazing sun in all its glories, but has to take many a wheeling and circling flight before it can ascend to revel and bathe itself in the fountains of light, which come dazzling forth from the meridian orb. Moreover, an, institute can only flourish as it depends upon itself. The pressure from without is good for the accomplishment of many things, but it is only by the pressure from within that a mechanics' in stitute can hope to achieve success; only by the energy, the perseverance, and resolute determination of its own members that it, can or shall succeed. An annual meeting like this is all very well in its way, to give a S little stimulus and impulse, iNfer4ii : 64 4 Ms, the year, in which you hav ..„," ,': 7 i, • :,.. fplOcst4l to its proper position of use *eft -497#qui z z- 1 -4 4 f (i t; what 1 say of your institute - *11,4=. ,-- member of it in particular. ' tAtr4 I - in-.' ~ f - , your advancement in knoxvle c yfitz,c'r6n exertions. Your own industr tW.liing cap of Fortunatus to you, and lour own zeal and efforts the seven leagued boots which are to carry you on to improvement. What may he your future position in life I know not, but be it what it may you will, if not wanting to yourselves, still have the pleasure of knowledge, the luxury of rational enjoy ment, the comfort of intellectual cultivation and mental refinement, for the solace of your hours of leisure, and, with them, the glorious recollection and feeling, that " Honour and shame from no condition rise: Act well your part, there all the honour lies." Mayyou individually be happy ! and may the Epworth Mechanics' Institute succeed and flourish, growing, day by day, more and mere, until it becomes a light and beacon, a guide and a rallying point to all the neighbourhood.—(Great applause.) Mr. T. PEARSON, the secretary, proposed a vote of thanks to the reverend gentlemen and Mr. Hemming borough for their kindness in attending, and for the excellent addresses they bad delivered, which was ably seconded by Mr. READ, of the Albion- house, Vice-President, and was handsomely acknowledged by the Rev. d. ASPINALL, who proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Merrils, the Chairman, which was seconded by the Rev. T. SKIPWORTII; Mr. M. briefly acknow ledged the compliment, and the meeting separated. The Court-house was crowded with an attentive audience. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. Tl.e following mates, having previously passed is seas anship, passed their college examination for lieutenants on Wednesday :—Messrs. W. T. C. Sul lirsn, Thomas B. Legh, C. A. Broadhead, H. H. Sainsbury, A. R. 0 wen. Messrs. Morgan and Phillips also passed, but their names are not on the mates' list, so we are not certain whether they have passed for seamanship. PORTSMOUTH, TUURSDAY.—The flag ship Excellent, Captain H. D. Chads, C. 8., commenced firing minute guns at half past eleven to-day, which were continued by the Blenhvim, Illustrious, and Victory in succe s sion, as give❑ in our programme yesterday. The garrison then took up the firing, and the platform battery saluted until sunset. To-morrow the port will re assume its wonted appearance. The Serpent, 16, Commander C. Barker, arrived at Madeira on the 26th ult., en route to Rio and the Cape, for which she sailed nfxt day. She was kept in qurantine on arrival. The United States corvette Portsmonth and the English packet Brlliant lay in the road 3, the former about to sail on the 27th for the coast of Africa. The Fairy yacht, Commander Crispin, embarked Prince Albert and suite at Cowes this morning, about half-past eight o'clock for this port, en route to Windsor. His Royal Highness did not hoist his flag, there were no guard of' honour, band, sal u ti ng , or such like usual honours conferred on this occasion in obedience to the Royal desire. His Highness re turned in the Fairy to Oe.borne in time for dinner. The Eurydice, 26, Captain Anton, was paid off into ordinary this day. Toe following gratuities were granted Gn the occasion :—Robert Shaw, boatswain's mate, 151. and a medal, fur good conduct ; John Friend, boatswain's mate, 71 , for good conduct ; Pennell, carpenter's mate, 71., for good conduct , William Shields, second-class petty officer, Si. for good conduct. Mr. James Purcell, mate, R.N., died on board his father's ship, Superb, 80, at Queenstown, on the 11th instant, after a painful illness contracted in the service whilst in the Pacific. He was a highly promising young officer. FUNERAL OF TILE LATE QUEEN DOWAGER. WOOLWICH, DEC. 13.—Sixty minute guns were fired from the mortar battery in the garriion to day, commencing at half-past 1 rat.; 60 minute guns were also fired from the Fisgard frigate in the harbour, commencing at 240 P.M. The royal standard con tinued raised half-mast high on the flagstaff of the dockyard, the garrison. the royal arsenal, and on the mainmast of the Fisgard during the day. Commodore Superintendent Henry Eden left yes terday on leave of absence for six weeks, and Captain Austin, C. 8., arrived in the afternoon from Ports mouth, and this morning commenced his duties as Acting Superintendent, which he will continue to perform during the absence of the gallant Commodore. Captain Collinson, C. 13., visited Woolwich dockyard yesterday afternoon, and it is understood he is to have the command of the Enterprise, now fitting, to proceed round Cape Horn towards Behring's Straits, in search of Captain Sir J. Franklin and the officers and crews of the Erebus and Terror. Accord ing to present arrangements, the plan to be adopted with the Enterprise and Investigator is, to dispatch these vessels from Woolwich with the least possible delay ; they are to proceed round Capa Horn, and take up a station at the Sandwich Islands until they receive further orders, which will be sent out by a steamer proceeding to the Pacific station. The steamer will not leave this country until it is ascer tained in the early part of next season if there be any intelligence of the missing navigators, and the in structions which she is to take out to the Sandwich Islands will depend on the news received up to the period of her departure. In the event of no intelli gence of the missing vessels being received by that time, the steamer will proceed with the least possible delay to the Sandwich Islands, and after coaling there will take one of the vessels in tow in the direction of Behring's Straits, and instructions will be sent to the Admiral on that station to allow one of the steamers under his command to tow the other, that they may arrive at the destination appointed for their next winter quarters before the season is too far advanced. The voyage now to be undertaken is termed the " forlorn hope," but we trust it will be a " successful Enterprise." It is gratifying to know that there are numerous officers of the royal navy volunteering their services in the hazardcus undertaking,' and some of them striving—if we may use the term—to proceed in search of their gallant absent countrymen; this desire is not confined to officers who have pre. viously served in the northern regions, as it extends to those who have served on the coast of Africa. The launch of the Enterprise, when she went down the river yesterday, made six runs nt the measured mile, three up and three down, and averaged a speed of 5i knots per hour. The trial was made in order to ascertain her speed exactly, as Captain Sir J. Ross has recommended that the launch engines should be placed in a larger boat. The engines were made by Mr. Beale, East Greenwich, and worked very well yesterday. When fitted to a larger boat they will be tried again at the measured mile, and the result given. The Samson steam-frigate arrived yesterday evening from Devonport, and her seamen riggers have been transferred to the Archer steam-sloop, under orders to proceed down the river to -morrow morning to have the new brass screw-propeller, recently turned by machinery at the factory, tested during two days runs between the Nore and Mouse lights. The Archer, after the trials, will proceed to De vonport, to remain there ready for commission. The Violet, Dover mail-steam-packet, arrived on Tuesday from Dover, and is now in the basin to haves her defects made good. DIAMOND DUST. (From Eliza Cook's Journal.) There are lives, the bloom of whose beauty would be spoiled by the trammels of description: too lovely, too delicate, too sacred for words, they should be only kuown through the sympathy of hearts. Boars are the 'mind incarnate—the immortality of the .fe that is. Virtue is made for difficulties, and grows stronger and brighter for such trials. A great deal of pride obscures or blemishes a thou. sand good qualities. Excellence is providentially placed beyond the reach of indolence, that success may be the reward of industry, and that idleness may be punished with obscurity and disgrace. As the sword of the best-tempered metal is mo s t flexible, so the truly generous are most pliant and mut% ;ems in their behaviour. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. TATTERSALL'S.—YESTERDAY. The Chester Cup transactions do not call for a word of observation; and of the Derby it is only necessary to state that at least 400/. was laid out on the Knight of Avenel, at 12 to 1, his backer offering to go on, and that 20 to 1, laid twice in hundreds, was afterwards offered. The betting, apart from these investments, was extremely dull. Closing prices:— _ CHESTER CUP. 50 to 1 eget Mr. St. George's Whim colt 50 to 1 eget Lord Chesterfield's Lady Evelyn 50 to 1 agst Capt. Hervey's Liemahago—taken and afterwards offered 1,000 to 15 agst Captain Haworth's The Baroness 2,000 to 25 agst Mr. J. Godwin's Hotspur—taken 2,000 to 25 agst Mr. Disney's Sir Richard—taken 1,000 to 10 agst Mr. Charlton's Kissavray—taken 1,000 to 10 agst Mr. HowHu's Shilmalier West—taken DERBY, 1850. 9 to 1 apt Mr. W. Edwards na Bolingbroke—takA and afterwards offered 11 to 1 agst Duke of Richmond's Ghillie Callum—t 12 to 1 agst Lord Eglinton's Knight of Avenel— taken freely 20 to 1 eget Mr. Gratwicke's The Nigger—taken tO 200/. and afterwards offered 25 to 1 agst Mr. Jaques's Mildew—taken 25 to 1 agst Lord Zealand's Voltigeur—take 30 to I 30 to 1 agst Duke of Bedford's John o' Groat—taken 35 to 1 apt Lord Eglinton's Mayors—taken 40 to 1 agst Lord Chesterfield's Garforth—taken and afterwards offered 2,000 to 30 agst Major Martyn's The Swede—taken 1,000 even between Mayors avd Blarney 2,000 even between Mayors and Pitaford DERBY, 1851. 10,000 to 180 eget Lord Eglintotea Hippolytus—takes ~