The Sun. — London, England, 1842-01-01 00:00:00

is iker, ) St. er a here 11 in ;nee, with and a nd Iged sday ries. 91, •otea wag yes ceed bject ntry con- lion, Ldds, 'no- en a rves, upon 'eta most ly to ste; the will tho I his late ;mat sta traia Aare reet, care 191 ;hips bbed was cap both 5, at rocs ' the trgh d to hall, her th a e of the , are )ing. Ales, N'es' of Fre" ifll ll ‘ I to 11 to :e of [ling ray- Li of 'ark, litre the 3 Up, Tll O hief ,pod ear. a nt rich ,uncl watt yea •ney T ed iced 1, it -usl de ace• 6d. o ne and A yid J. t. lers Lees ) ce EVENING SUN MA.RYLF,BON E VESTRY. (THIS 1) AY.) meeting of the Vestry was appointed' for to-day, as it was expected that the subject of the paring of t he Whole of Oxford-street with wood, would be- again t7ought under discussion, we, anxious to give our readers acconat of what took place, sent our own Reporter, o h ffieo utu r pon his requesting.admission, he was told by the 00 duty that the order of the Vestry was, that no Reporter should be admitted unless he produced the earl of the Editor of the paper he represented. What are the motives for such areo . ' ulation we will not pretend t , ° ,:guess, but the absurdity o f it must be palpable to all 4 "° are anxious that their . proceedings should be made as public as possible. LLOyAys suippiN' G—( 'HIS DAY.) LoNnoN, JAN. I.—Wind this day at noon, S. E. • OFF MARGATE, JAN. I.—Black Nymph, Singapore. IiAIIISGATE, JAN. I.—Shl. Christian, Rio. LIVERPOOL, DEC. •31.—Wind S.S.E.—Sld.Bengalee, Canto n ; British Merchant, Bombay ; Chilian and Secret, - Lima; :Mary, Demerara; Capricorn, Barbadoes; Coquette, Jamaica ; Ann Mondell, Trinidad ; Woodman, Sterne, iravannah ; Richmond, Antigua ; Invoice, Hayti ; Wood st(", New Orleans ; Princess Victoria, Mobile ; Hark.. away, Virginia ; Lyna, Baltimore - Dauntless, Charles ton ; Mersey, James Lemon, and ' Rhode Island, New l urk Canton, Sierra Leone; William IV. and Ashbur ton, Azores ; Firefly, Constantinople. Off port, Hope, leaky Orle ans . Th e Be l v id ere, J o b, B om b a y, h as p u t b ac k ' ea kY, having been aground on Burbo Bank, and must diiehar,e. COWES, DEc. 31.—Arrd. Swan, Bingston, Rio. P Alztou'ru, 'DEC. 30.—Wind W.—Sld. Duke of Cam- Lridge steamer, London, with 100,000 dollars on freight. OFF HASTINGS, DEC. 21.—Atalanta, Rotterdam, Batavia. SOITTRAMPTON, DEC. 31.—S1d. Tay, st., Barbadoes. StitiEttLAND DEc. 30.—Sld. I. 0., Constantinople. TEIGNISIOUTII, DEC. 29.—The Sophia, Rommel], of ~Guernsey, ~, which was stranded on Sidmouth Beach the ~ nit., was towed in here 23d instant, to repair. C HRISTIAN CHARTIST CHURCH. "it Tuesday evening, when the proceedings of the meeting, held at the Town-hall in Birmingham, were terminated, several prizes were awarded to different mem bers of the Society for various essays, and which prizes consisted of interesting books, combining wholesome in struction with amusement. The competitors for the prizes were all working men, who were, comparatively speaki ng, uneducated before the formation of the above Qe i"Y• The essays were read to the meeting, and many of th em displayed considerable talent, and elicited much applause. The principal successful aspirant for academic honours was George Sumner, for an essay upon the principle of the Chartist Church, from which it appeared that the Society comprises all sects and deno minations, having one object in common—the well-being budangood of a ll, T here i s no part i cu l ar f orm o f wors hi p, each approaches his Creator after his own fashion and heart ; and thus the Unitarian and the Catholic, the Protestant and Dissenter, under the same roof "are s een assembl e d at once to wors hi p hi s G o d and benefit . fellow man. The end and aim of this sect is to ob l:in univer sa l lib erty as contained i n the People ' s Char ,wk. making the b as i s o f i t t h a t Ch r i s ti an p r i nc ipl e , leh teaches to do good to all. Prizes were also deli vered to Caleb Lee and John Taylor, for essays upon the sante subject ; also a prize to William Redford and Ed ward Newton, for an essay upon the Mediterranean re• William Crumraodge, Thomas Eyre, Thomas a g l eY, and James Birken, also received prizes for an ~!say upon th e c h aracter of Chr i stop h er C o l um b us. The several productions were listened to with marked at ntion, and seemed to give general satisfaction and pleasure, but to none so much as the honest and hard working authors. CO URT CICULAR. WINDSOR, FRIDThe Q R ueen and Prince Albert walked out this morning on the Castle Terrace, and in the new grounds of the Home Park. Her Royal High ness the Duchess of Kent also took walking exererise In the forenoon. Colonel.Wemyss and the Hon. C. A. Murray joined the Royal hunt this morning, at New Lodge. Viscount Melbourne is expected at the Castle on a visit to her Majesty. The Hon. Sarah Mary Cavendish arrived on a visit to her Majesty in the Castle. The Royal dinner party at the Castle this afternoon is expected to include Mr. George Edward and the Hon. Mrs. Anson, Mr. and Mrs. Harcourt (St. Leonard's Hill), Hon. Mrs. Arbuthnot, and Colonel Bouverie, of the Royal Horse Guards. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, attended by Colonel Jones, arrived in town yesterday afternoon from Copt-hall, near Epping. His Royal Highness visited her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester at Gloucester House, and in the evening left Cambridge House for his residence at Kew. A Quarterly Meeting of the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt was held yesterday at the . Treasury. The Commissioners present were the Right Hon. H. Gonlburn, Chancellor of the Exchequer ; Sir John Pelly, Governor of the Bank of England, and Mr. Cotton, Deputy Governor of the Bank ; Mr. Ingham, Secretary to the Commission was in attendance. Mr. Mayers, agent for Barbadoes, Lieut. -General Sir Robert Wilson, and Mr. Ellis, late M.P. for Newry, had interviews with Lord Stanley yesterday at the Colo nial-office. o . (2o Unt St. Aulaire, the French Amb assa d or , v i s it e d -Earl o f Au t . r d een y es t er d ay at t h e Foreign-office. c. James Graham arrived in town yesterday morn 'ut, from Dorchester. we -Despatche. s for Si r C. C amp b ell, Governor of Ceylon, re s en t off yesterday evenin g from the Colonial-office. Despatch es f rom the Governor- of New Brunswick and Nonz:. Scotia were re ce i ved yesterday at the Colonial- RAILWAY RETURNS. We extract from the Railway Magazine the sums received on the principal Railways of Great Britain for the week ending on the day .f the month prefixed to each. The return includes the money received for Passengers, parcels, carriages, horses, chandiz e mails, and mer- Week ended Nam e o f R ailway. Miles Totil.opened. £. s. Dec.2s Birmingham & Derby Junct. 34 1'307 1 2 4 Birmingham _and Gloucester 55 5 1,764f.9 17 10 7 OIR 25 Chester and Birkenh ea d .. ••• 15 -1 26 Dund ee and Arbroath 16 198 10 10 26 Eastern Counties 26 Glasgo w , P aisle l7k 799 0 6 y, & Gre 22i 66 27 Great N ort h of Englandenot.k g 5 1,20 0 14 :9 0 9 26 Great Western .i 25 Hull and Selby .... . . ** . .... ****** '' 12,428 13 5 ▪ 118 2 5 Lan caster & • 31 810 5 10 Pres;on ** *********** * 2O 514 7 11 24 Liverpool and Manchester 3l 4,457 10 7 25 Lo n d on and Biriningham ll2l 16,907 1 8 30 London and Blackwell 4 25- London an d B r i ghton 3 633 3 2 40 i 1,707 12 4 102 1 10 25 Ditto Shoreham Branch ....•• 5 i 28 London and Croydon ** , ***** 10i 418 17 7 30 London and Greenwich **** 31 895 19 6 25 London and South Western ... 93 4,449 15i 559 8 of 23 Manchester, Bolton, and Bury 10 400 17 7 27 Manchester & Birmingham ... 5 ` 27 Manchester and Leeds ... 25 27 1,039 16 2 26 North ern arid Eastern 2 5 No rt h Midland North U n i on 25 No returns ..• 19i 196 3 25 Pr eston and Wyre 27 Sh e ff ie ld and Manchester 7 246 17 1 0 26 Ulster .... .. ... 27 Yo r k and North Midland 23 1,577 14 8 THE WOOLLEN TRADE. (From the Leeds Mercury) P 6 REIG N WOOL TRADE, LEEDS, l)Ec. 31.—This being the last week of the year, as might be expected, business h as been done on a very limited scale, but it is expected considerable re-action will take place at the commence flent of the new year. ENGLISH WOOL MARKET, LEEDS, DEC. 31.—Christ lllas Week is generally a dull one for trade, and the pre- Sent has not been an exception to this general rule. The nperations.in Engli s h w oo l h ave b een very limited:; and We cannot notice any alteration in the general character nf this market as reported for the last few weeks. TRADE or LEEns.--43usiness continues in the same cheerless state at our Cloth Halls this week as for the last-fortnight ; and although the stocks generally are much lower than usual at this season, yet, from the very dull state of the demand, prices are nominal. The same dull state of trade continues in the warehouses ; the pur chases or orders for • goods for the home demand are given with the greatest caution, and only for present use. Indeed, a t no f ormer period has there been so little speculation at this season of the year as at the present time,no one daring to purchase until it is known what the G overnment intend to do for the relief of the cora- Mercial and manufacturing interest. BRADFORD MARKET, THURSDAY.—The demand for pieceS to-day is quite an average of what we have wit btossed on the last market day of other years, and the opinion that an improvement is not far distant appears t i P u b e gener a lly ga i n i ng groun d ; and we hope it will be fully •realized, and place our ope ra ti ves aga i n i n act i ve employment in lieu of parading th e s t reets . Th e con ent to sumption of yarn continues limit e d, an d o ff ers no theinduce spinners to bring their idle machinery into working any or • extend the hours of those already only an , ki ng daylight; prices are firm. We do not observe w 6 l „,alterati on either in the demand, or the prices of tha u n i The lower qualities continue in greater request with „the finer sorts, and the market is fully supplied .the various descriptions of combing wool. Mr. j • John Locke, who is mentioned as a Can ut° for th e Commo n Pleadership, i n th e event o f a was a candidate eight years -ago, when no va t-ti ,-„eY,oocurred, and was supported by Sir Peter Laurie, 44) rd, Mayor, and a very large proportion of the r e ra tion. Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Sydney Taylor were 'O. candidates on that occasion. a EA T T , "ety ti , 11 2 -4QUA E IN ROSS -SHIRE.-011 Mon "!`q 20th instant, exactly at four o'clock, raml., atiVre.shock of an earthquake- was felt at Kintail, P, se% eral of the neighbouring, parishes to the of the i n h a bi tants. Th ere was not h ing it 1 tl ic ,1" 1 1 the st a t e o f t h e weather, or the appearance :tir ! 1 1.1;-„uaY, unless it might be a stillness and calmness ata los , here which althourrh remarked at the u o n P . comilion at i%en thisseason of the year. c anal ,:.' l recurrence of the . sho c k. .. The . noise whcli v ir cli w ate r ' 4 eeompanies such visitations, like the rushing „"; e have ,the rattling of a carriage, was very distinct.. 1/111; c, vith - "'re noticed the extreme prevalence of light ] na .°,casional thunder, in the west and north karthadi, `,"is winter, but the above is the only case of 4t iowl' e - d a , 4e Ili the same districts, which has come to our I,e----- Ineerness Courier. YOar°fnelid9r l ooking -glass w ill t e ll y ou w h a t none o f a NY in. MAGAZINE DAY. BLACKW OOD 7 S MAGAZINE The consideration of the " Philosophy of Hero dotus" is here 'resumed, and the question is dis cussed with a subtleness and sagacity that induce us to attribute the authorship of the essay to Mr. De Quincey, one of the most accomplished clas sical scholars, and shrewdest reasoners of his day. We think, however, that he rather over-rates the intellectual character of Herodotus, who in his history exhibits much of the gossip and the twaddler, strongly mixed up with materiel of surpassing value. In the course of his essay the author takes the opportunity of sneering. at Beloe's well-known translation of the " Father of History," as the old Greek was called, which is certainly a work that has long enjoyed a very unmerited popularity, being exceedingly loose and inaccurate—in fact, mote of a paraphrase than a translation. Beloe was a small-minded man, but wondrously great in his own self-con ceit, as he has abundantly testified in his " Sexa genarian," _ - a work which we remember to have read some few years ago. The " World of Lon don," of which the present is the Eighth Part, is chiefly confined to a description of the various classes of foreigners resident in the great Baby lon. Of these, the French republican is hit off with the greatest nicety and exactitude; and the specimens adduced of his disjointed coffee-house conversation are highly" characteristic. The re marks, too, on the J ewish portion of the London population are good; and there is strict truth in the following :—" You see many poor Jews, but never a Jewish beggar. Their hospitals, asylums, and benevolent societies embrace every variety of distress to which their unfortunate brethren may be exposed. Instead of hunting, as we do, for paupers and vagabonds over the face of the earth whereon to bestow their benevolence, their laudable selfishness takes care of its own in the first instance, and their overplus only finds its way to general purposes of charity. The sooner we begin to imitate our Hebrew fellow-citizens in this particular the better." The " Heiress and his Friends" is a story told in a very simple,' pleasing manner, without any attempt to " creatd" a sensation" by undue means—the usual fault' of periodical fictions. The " Copyright Ques-. tion " is ably canvassed ; we quote an instructive passage : —" The booksellers, since Gibbon's death, are. said to have made 200,000/. of his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; and hardly a year passes that a new edition of his immortal work, or of Hume's History of England, does not issue from the press. The sums realized by the bookselling trade from the different editions of the Wealth of Nations, would have constituted a large fortune for the heirs of Adam Smith. What a princely fortune would Milton or Shak speare have left to their descendants, if any there be, if they could have bequeathed to them the exclusive right of publishing their own works, even for half a century after their own death !" As may be surmised from its title, " Ten Years of the• Whigs," is a political diatribe im bued with a strong party spitit. Its good sense does not compensate for its rancour, and we could have dispensed with the account of the debate on the discussion of the Reform Bill in 1832, inasmuch as, however accurate, it is just ten years too late. The " Legend of St. Rosalie " is a carefully versified poem by Delta. " Paris— Chronicles of the Cite" gives some curious par ticulars respecting the betrothal of Henrietta Maria to Charles the First of England. The writer, however, should have contented himself with describing the ceremonial observances of this act; and not have attempted to draw cha racter; for he shows a deplorable ignorance of that of Henrietta. He tells us, for instance, that " she was not appreciated by her consort," when every one who is at all familiar with the nature of Charles knows that he was one •of the fondest and most uxorious of husbands. We are assured also that she "was misrepresented and calum niated in England," where the truth is, her pri vateas well as her public character were both so notoriously bad, that it was impossible for even the subtlest calumny to make them worse. From Mr. Simmons's poem ' entitled " The Prisoner of Ghent," we quote a few passages. The subject is the long imprisonment of a convict for having murdered a young girl in his early youth : Say thou, who preachest man was sent Into this God-created world With high benificent intent Why nky unripen'd soul was hurl'd, Just as if started in the race— Ere Reason's cup had cool'd my lips— Ere I could sunder guilt from grace— Down, down where demons have their place In Death's unsouaded deeps ? • One hour was mine of lovely things, Flowers, waters, forests, glancing wings, Then sudden night !—and slimy stone, Shut me ano Madness up alone ! They said 'twas Mercy saved me so— The slaves !—I could but briefly feel Their bursting mace's ponderous blow, Stretch'd on the limb-dividing wheel. I should not then have died the death Which takes a century to slay, When whelm'd, enchain'd, and choked beneath One marble mass, the charnel's breath Its victim rots away. I should not then have felt my mind, From lonely horror scared and blind Whirl into savage frenzy's rage, Like captive tiger round cage. Who that had heard me strive to break With shouts that ceaseless solitude, Till my faint gasp refused to shriek, And mine became the Idiot's mood ; When strength of youth and manhood's might To moping, soundless torpor grew, And the sick undiscerning sight One blank interminable night, Of burial only knew ; Who then had deem'd the driveller there— Plough'd by the Avenger's fiery share— Of love, life, light, once drank his fill, As the lithe roe-deer drinks the rill ? Yes !—give me back one year of bloom, And though remorseless was my fall, And fiercely dire my monstrous doom, Yet I will face it all ! So once again I may but rove With HER the fair and evening-eyed— That thing of radiance and of love— Sweet Maude, who in the chestnut grove So prized and perjured died. , Oh ! but to watch her on this breast, Sink like a folded flower to rest Once—only once—as in that time — She free from falsehood—l from crime I The bow of heaven had less of grace In valley-waters glass'd and bent — The very glory of her face Fresh lustre to creation lent. This heart with fire was all too full ; By winding brook and mossy stone, And thunderous wave and woodland lull, I loved with her the Beautiful, And lived for her alone. I sought one eve our trysting-tree, The linden bough was budding free, But wild December stript it bare, Before again she met me there. She came at last. I drank the start, The blush her treacherous cheek betray'd. Enough—the life-tide of her heart Was crimson on my blade. I had a right—who taught her first Earth's only boon, true love, to know— When wrong'd in every dream I nurst, To snatch her from the last, the worst Of sorrows here below. Not sweeter went our early hours, Beneath the happy chesnut flowers, Than wore that first red night away, When I and Murder watch'd her clay ! BENTLEY'S MISCELLANY. The present Number of tiii;.llliseellany is a capital one, and opens with a spirited prose tale, entitled the " Razed House," which refers to a murder committed by an Italian brigand, under very aggravated circumstances, about twenty years ago. There is an earnestness and sim plicity in this tale, and a minuteness of descrip tion as respects localities, that satisfy us it is founded on fact, and is no mere transcript of the fancy. " Richard Savage" maintains its wonted ability, particularly in the scene wherein the death of Ludlow is narrated. "Welch Rabbits" is by Dr. Maginn. It is a clever story, and turns upon the circumstance of a lady having taken it into her head to make a hearty supper off Welch Rabbits, and having been subjected, in consequence, to a variety of horrid dreams. Among other visions, she imagined that the portly form of her butler stood before her at midnight with a black crape on his face, and after disembarrassing her of all her portable jewellery, presented a brace of pistols at her, in finitely to her disgust and astonishment. The moral which the Doctor deduces from his tale is this—Never eat more than you can digest, least of all at supper time sound doctrine, and worthy to be enforced by so eminent a writer. " Save Me From My Friends" is an agreeable incident, related in a gentlemanlike, unassuming style. A young man settles in London as a por trait-painter; he is gradually acquiring fame and fortune, when his prospects are suddenly clouded by the arrival of his two maiden aunts in the metropolis, who, by their utter want of tact and indiscreet gabble, contrive to get himinto a world of scrapes. Ultimately the clouds disperse, the aunts retire to their fitting home in some wild, imperfectly-civilised country town or other, and the young artist's fortunes are once again in the ascendant. " French Cookery" is an essay on a very interesting theme." I revere a man who gives good dinners," says the author; " it is vulgar-minded to attempt to despise what contributes to the pleasure of the many; and to how large a majority of mankind is the palate created to be an organ of enjoyment!" These are remarks that would have greatly pleased Dr. Johnson, with whom dinner was one of the most serious and important duties of the day, and who held it as an axiom that the man who pro fessed not to care for this meal, would soon end in caring about nothing. The " Philosophy of Smoking" is a smart, lively rhapsody, of which Ave may say with justice, ." ex fumo dat lucem." The accompanying illustrations are uncommonly spirited and whimsical. " Raising the Devil" is by a writer whose pen there can be no mistaking— Thomas Ingoldsby, whose broad humorous le gends are the gems of this Magazine. "My First Morning in Calcutta" contains some good descriptions, drawn evidently from the life„ As a specimen of the poetry of the Miscellany— which, by the bye, is generally very superior, especially when of a humourous turn—we quote the lively stanzas entitled " Cupid in London," which is from the pen of a gentleman who signs himself " R. More" : Young Cupid, grown tired of his wild single life, And the pranks he had long been pursuing, Determined to marry a sweet little wife, So in earnest he set out a-wooing. • But disdaining to win her by magic or art, Or aught save his beauty and merit, Away with contempt threw his bow and his dart, No longer their now'r to inherit. Then to London he came one fine morning in May, When the full tide of fashion was flowing, His purse was brim-f u ll, hi s h ear t li g ht and gay, And his cheeks with fresh roses were glowing. As a fine handsome youth he was soon known in town, — All the ladies his manners delighted; Not a ball or a rout with the world would go down • Unless Mr. Lore were invited. His cab was "perfection," his horse "quite a love," And his Tiger " the least of the little;" No one else ever wore such a hat or a glove, And his Stultz was a fit to a tittle. The bride that he sought for was easy to find In the midst of such dazzling attraction ; 'And soon a fair maiden he met to his mind, Whom he loved at first sir:ht to distraction. 'Twas at Almack's he met with the dear lovely girl, She was called " the prizeflower of the season ;" And her exquisite form in the waltz to entwirl Was enough to deprive him of reason. So he told her his love, and she whispered " Oh fie!" As she blushed and looked round for her mother ; And Cupid inquired, with a tremulous sigh, If her heart ever beat for another. But her mind was as pure as her beauty was bright ; And she told him no one e'er could win her Who in . frivolouspastime alone took delight— The beau of a ball or a dinner. Ashamed and dejected, poor Cupid retired, Resolving to cut—cutting capers, — And chambers next day in the Temple he hired, And filled them with law-books and papers. Then to study the Law, like a man he went down, No scholar could ever be 'apter, For he botnzht an arm-chair, with a wig and a gown, And in Blackstone he read a whole chapter. At the end of a fortnight he grew thin and pale, And he thought he should die without jesting; So he dressed all in black, which he thought must prevail, For it made him look quite interesting. Then he called on. his love, looking grave as a judge, And to plead his first suit was beginning ; But she laughed in his face, said the law was all fudge, And her heart would never be winning. Distracted he left her—transported with ire To think that his plan should miscarry; He tore up his gown—threw his wig in the fire— And kicked all his books to Old Harry. Next morning to Melton he rode like a dart, To adopt a new method to please her, For he vow'd that he'd conquer her obdurate heart, Or break his own neck—just to tease her. 4So he rode like a madman his wild steeple chase, And followed the hounds like a Tartar; And he galloped like wildfire at each hurdle-race, To win it or die like a martyr! Then his fame got abroad as a sportsman of note, And he thought he was now quite a hero, So he went to the maid in his bright scarlet coat, But his ardour soon tumbled to zero. For she told him his deeds were unworthy of fame, (Her remarks were all true to the letter,) That a fox or a hare were but pitiful game, And the riding his groom could do better. Puor Love now indulged in a grief without bounds, . . For a week or two - '' sans intermission;" Then he sold off his hunters, and gave up the hounds, And purchased a cornet's commission. In a cavalry reg'ment to battle he went, • And he said not a word of his going ; But resolved that in action his life should be spent, Or at least that his blood should be flowing. And soon in a charge which he gallantly led At the enemy's troops in platoon, He got a sad cut (while defending his head) In the arm from a heavy dragoon. Disabled from duty, he homeward returned, The news of a victory bringing ; And now with affection his loved maiden burned, And the town with his praises was ringing. One morning he called with his arm in a sling, And attired as a dashing young lancer ; To refuse him this time was a difficult thing, For she loved him, indeed,—when a dancer. When he talked of his passion, she listened with pride, And her heart by assault was soon carried ; And she shortly appeared as the young soldier's bride, For in less than a month they were married. THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 1, 1842. FRASER'S MAGAZINE. The advent of the new year gives Oliver Yorke an opportunity of casting a retrospective glance on that which has just terminated. Of course, his remarks assume a strong political hue ; and vehement abuse of the Whigs, mixed up, by way of piquant contrast, with complimentary allu sions to the Tories, enable him to get through three or four pages with tolerable animation. But what does he mean by speaking of Mr. O'Connell as the "moribund Mayor of Dublin?" In an official sense, the great Repealer has only just entered upon his civic career, and as for being "moribund" in any other sense, we be lieve he has no intention of dying for many years to come. "My Life and Times" is an autobio graphical sketch, from the pen of Mr. Apperley —the Nimrod of the sporting world. It is agree ably and unassumingly written, though we must enter our protest against the heading, as being too pompous for the subject-matter. Mr. Ap perley, clever as he confessedly is, sometimes instructive, always entertaining, has not yet ac quired sufficient standing as an author, to be justified in mixing up his personal reminiscences with the age in which he lives, as if he were one of the influencing spirits of that age. Having hinted this objection, we have said all that we have to say against Nimrod's autobiography. One of his eariest recollections is of Bishop Percy—the well-known collector of those fine old English ballads which have immortalized his name. Yet late in life, when he had been pro moted to the Bench, the Bishop actually pro fessed to be ashamed of his " Relics !" He con sidered the pursuit of poetry beneath the dignity of a Prelate—just as if posterity cares two straws, fur him in any other capacity than that of a poet! Congreve, it may be remembered, had the same puerile vanity, and preferred being. considered as a gentleman rather than as a dra matist. Mr. Apperley furnishes us with sonic amusing anecdotical souvenirs of his llither, whio, he says, " was called in bis time an out-and-out Church and King man, alias a bigoted Tory." He was specially tbnd of Bishops,whom he seemed to regard as occupying a station midway between man and Deity, and was never so happy or so proud as when he could fill his house with lawn sleeves and shovel-hats. This is a species of biped nearly, if not quite, extinct. A few quaint samples of the breed may now and then be dis covered among the Ely fens, dressed out in rusty black, wearing cauliflower wigs, creaking shoes, set off with large brass buckles, and coats with capacious pockets, from which a Number or two of the Quarterly Review may be seen peeping out; but nowhere else, do we believe, are these blind idolaters of Episcopacy to be met with. As well may you hunt for the fossil remains of the Mammoth. We heartily sympathise with the elder Mr. Apperley's distrust and apprehension of attornies. Such distrust argues a healthy moral sense. Who can like a shark, or fall in love with an aligator ? "A Chapter on the Dogs of several of my Acquaintances," contain some characteristic skethes of these faithful animals. We quote an account of a battle with a spotted hyaena, the scene of which is laid in South A frica : The previous night some wild animal, conjectured to have been the spotted hymns, had killed three calves in the kraal of Mr. Rennie, about eight miles distant from the location of Liddesdale. As this was an aggression that the high-spirited Scotch gentleman could not afford to have repeated often, he summoned his neighbours, the M‘Leods to his assistance ; and with rifles, cutlasses, and pistols, and all the dogs they could muster, they beat the covers around, killing fonii kesides dislodg ing several others, who escaped. A wiety of game was destroyed ; consisting of the gemsbok and the hartebeest, with other specimens of the antelope tribe, forming a fine day's sport. But the dislodged hyaenas fled down the banks of the river, and at night ventured on the f a rm of Liddesdale, gaunt and hungry; The first brute that IPSde its way, cropipg stg4lol4 towards the inclosure, came upon the sleeping Hottentot; and instantly placing its ponderous jaws over the poor herdsman's throat, snapped his destructive teeth, and tore out the sufferer's windpipe. The African could utter but. °xi° yen: 11 , r1411 started up, barked violently, awakening Liddesdale, who, Pimping Avila his his bed, seized his rifle, stepped forth, followed by the stag-hound, to discover what had happened. The dog rushed forward, baying and menacing; and Liddesdale could only see by the glimmering light of the stars, something receding from him. It was the body of the Hottentot being dragged along by a fierce and strong hyaena, that never once let loose the hold at the throat. Brian had rushed into a thicket, and made an attack on the brute. Liddesdale hesitated to fire, being apprehen sive that he should shoot the man or his own dog. On a sudden all rolled - down the edge of a steep bank together. Liddesdale followed, the hyaena fled before Brian, and Liddesdale examining the poor herdsman's wound, found it to be mortal, for he had been suffocated with his own blood. Brian returned; it seemed like an extraordinary instinct, and an intervention of Providence, for at the same moment the cattle in the inclosure were lowing dis mally, and the heart-piercing shrieks of Mrs. Liddesdale floated in the night air. The dog flew to the inclosure. The bold heart of Liddesdale quailed. He sprang over the fence, and there beheld an appalling sight indeed. A large spotted hyaena, had dragged the boy Aliek from his bed,- and was inflicting grievous wounds on his flesh; but at the next moment the 14 rena uttered a dismal howl, and Liddesdale saw Brian snap upon the beast and drag it backwards from the poor child, giving the fero cious brute a powerful gripe, which made the stag hounds teeth meet at the vertebrae of the neck, and there he held his antagonist fast. The first effort of Liddes dale was to raise-his shrieking boy, and gently again to place him on his bed. lie then rushed with a sabre on the hyaena, who was struggling with mighty efforts, and rolling over and over with Brian, who, however, never relinquished his hold, notwithstanding being torn every moment with the sharp claws of the hyaena. Liddesdale observing this, disabled the murderous beast by a cut across each joint of the leg-bone, and at length succeed ed in plunging the sabre:into the heart of the hyena, when the crimson blood rushed, along the floor of the cabin. In the third Part of the "Summer Holiday" —the two former bavCalready appeared—there are several interesting varticulars respecting celebrated English oaks. Strange to say, how ever, the author makes no mention of four of the most celebrated ones—viz. „14 - ke one in Windsor Park, for ever associated With Jack Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor; . the huge Fairlop oak which was cut down a few years since, and was considered, we believe, the largest and oldest in the country ; the .ohe in which Charles the Second took shelter on his flight from Wor cester, and the famous one, still shown to the inquisitive traveller, beneath whose ample shade Sir Phillip Sidney is said to have been born. In quoting the line " Time bath moulded into beauty many a tower," the author is guilty of two inaccuracies. In the first place, he attri butes it to Mason, whereas it was written by Sir Walter Scott ; and secondly, he substitutes " moulded" . for " mouldered," thereby destroy ing all the poetical beauty of the idea.. Of-the few remaining articles, the cleverest, or, at any rate the most humourous, is the " Letter from Barney Brallaghan to Oliver Yorke, Esq." METROPOLITAN MAGAZINE. . _ . The pen of the " Irish Barrister" this month strikes off in a brilliant sketch the character and distinguishing. powers of Mr. Blackburne, the Attorney-General for Ireland. Tracing his career from the time of his school-fellowship in 1801 with Moore, the poet, to 1803, when he ob tained the classical gold college-medal for his distinguished answering, and to his subsequent preparation for the bar, when, like Lord Hale, " he loved to toil terribly," :the writer pounces with full spirit upon the period, when, after.a few day's call to the bar, he astonished the lawyers of half a century's standing by his work ing out of tough motions and cases of complexity, with a-n adroitness that led Sergeant Ball to in quire, " Who is that surprising boy ?" The first occasion on which he signalized himself was when Curran was " pitchforked" into the Rolls, and the bar split itself into two divisions on the propriety of presenting him with an address; Blackburne was among the fifty-six dissidents, and the bold eloquence of so young a man, lay ing down imperiously the law of bar-etiquette, aggravated many, but gained him eminence from all. This was the first act of the drama, and thereafter his rise was rapid, to the foremost rank at the Chancery bar. He realised money and reputation, and by speedy and ascendant steps obtained the Attorney- Generalship. His excel lency as a lawyer cannot but be admitted; but to the " unswerving firmness" of his political creed, tergiversation altogether supplants uni- Pirmity.. An Emancipationist under the Wel lesley Government, he ran into the reverse under the Liverpool : a sterling Reformer under Lord Grey, he fluctuated with astonishing facility to the opposition host, and attached himself - , though in the garb of a renegade, to the Peel and Stanleyite faction. Comment there need be none on this ; honour succumbed to pelt' and place, and each inconsistency fastened a blot upon his scutcheon. His contrariety of opinion has put the " sweet wine - of Reform into the vinegar-bottles of Toryism," and thereby dete• rioratively broken up the Otherwise healthy esti mation of his character. Three more chapters fr6m Mrs. Trollope, conelude " The Blue Belles" of England, whereby those cerulean vestals are laid to rest. It terminates in the happy union of Constance—who, throughout the tale, is an amiable personation of a young fine-minded Englishwoman—with Mr. Fitzosborne. The eccentricities and emotions of "A Bachelor of Fifty" are amusingly developed, and a dark military intrigue with a bright beauty is helped on by the instrumentality of " Othello," in the " Tales of the Pump-room." MONTHLY MAGAZINE. After the chances and mutations attendant upon a long literary existence, this oldest of the living Magazines commences its forty-fifth year under the editorship of Mr. Benson Hill. Com pared with its late counterpart, it could not be capable of wider dissimilarity. Papers replete with mysticism, and profound in the exploded doctrines of Boehmen, Fox, and Swedenborg, have disappeared with all their gravity and learning, and yield a place to the lightsome and jocose. If the old depth be wanting, smartness plays over the surface of the present, and the ser►es of papers read brisk and interesting. " Kindred Meads" lay the scene in a pretty part of Berkshire, deducing their name from the fa mily "Kindred," among whom the writer in troduces Shakspeare ; and either legendarily or truly, relates them to be the actual family whose members the poet has imortalised in his " Seven Ages." A literary curiosity appears in the shape of an original letter of Edmund Kean's, which in a psychological point of view must be con sidered either the production of insanity or a rhapsodical eccentricity. The following is the account given : The great tragic actor above-named had been:forisome time indebted to an innkeeper, near Hammersmith, who received the sum due to him, after many fruitless appli cations. The money was sent in a note, of which the following is an authentic and literal transcript : " Dear 11—s. Time, the Apex of the Universal wheel, will whirl away at last, and when the Chaos shall have overwhelmed this world, new states, new suns, new times will yet !trite, and with new names. I enclose you the amount of your bill, and thank you for your kind in dulgence. Sincerely, Edmund Kean." Mr. 11 s would neither part with this document nor allow any one to copy it, but another tragedian, hav ing, what the members of his profession call " a rapid Study," learnt it at two readings, repeated it once the same day, to a still after memory. It was set down, verbatim, at once. _ _ The ,"French fictions now most popular in England" are uncharitably reviewed ; the " Corinna" will always be admired for its ideal beauty, and " The Hunch-back of Notre-Dame" for its intrinsic loveliness, though a nice-:edged criticism may carp at their morality. An olla podrida of other brief but readable papers winds up the Number. - NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. Mr. Hood opens the present Number of this Magazine in a most appropriate fashion—that is to say, by a lively Anacreontic in honour of the New Year. Next follows a prose sketch, with the quaint title of the " Sch o ol for Horse-Play." which is the production of Mr. Poole, the dra.ma give s osed a quizzical account o f a c l u b t o meet weekly a t t h e s i gn of which lst, is andst supposed the" Hog and Hop-sack," in Chancerydane, and whose members consider it the height of humour to pass off insults on each other, in the shape of coarse jokes on each others real or imagined peculiarities. In pourtraying this club we have little doubt that the author had a real model in his eye, and intended to satirize the sayin gs an d doings of sundry of those lawyers' clerk s , w h om Boz has delineated with sucloruth and f orce i n the ccPick wick Papers." If so, th e sarcasm has been most justly applied. "Recollections of ig,ton" are ingeniously put together, and we can otirstives bear testimony re t m ot s lr enc t e i s i : ith F o o f r some ' .7 of the writer's ini instance, he mentions his having gone to Langley-Broom, which was a preparatory school to Eton,and speaks of the Master as having " wielded the birch with a most powerful arm, andhaving been termed the Prince of Flogwerti." He was, indeed, bifch and the cane with equal rare tiagailent, wielding the skill; and the smart of his vigorously-flourished ferula, as he forced us night after night through the very in different Greek of the New Testament, still tingles in our imagination. A " *grip pa - s.. sage in the Life ps chow w w or d, Esq .', i s a veV str.Knge tale indeed, the point or force of which we do not exactly understand. " Phi fleas Quiddy" contains one or two graphic scenes, and an amusing episode on the subject of a haunted house. We extract from Mr. Poole 4 i cc Sphopi fqr florse-pigYi w the rtillowing divert ing passage, Th e 'lmbers of the club, we should premise are all enjoying themselves at one of their hebdomadal meeting's, and cracking their offensive jokes on each other:— This ended, Dapper drew Roughshod away from the table, and offered to lay him a wager that he would make Addlepate repeat the words, "I wish you wouldn't move my glass," two-and-thirty times within the hour." The wager was accepted, and all of us (with the ex ception of the poor helpless victim and his Butt.col league) were quietly informed of it. Dapper resumed his seat, and drawing Addlepate's glass a little away from him, said--- " And how are you by this time, Wiseacre ?" " I wish you wouldn't move my glass," said the victim. " I don't," said the wit, again removing it. "But you do," said the other, drawing it back again ; " and I wish you wouldn't move my glass." After a short interval, the experiment was repeated by Dapper, and was met, in precisely the same manner and with preci.wly the same wordf?, by Addlepate. Suffice it to say that the wager was won easily in 49 minutes. This excellent jest was received with loud laughter and great applause. }'or my own part, having wit nessed ►ts performance on the four previous evenings of my attendance at the " 'School" (that is to say, on every evening' since I have had the honour of belonging to it), I must confess, that though it had not become posi tively tiresome, I was less charmed by it than upon the first two or three occasions ; and, unless it be one of the standing and chartered jests of the society, I shall pro pose that its performance be limited to every second meeting, unless a new member chance to be present for the first time, in which case it will be indispensable to his perfect knowledge of the merits of the " School for horse-play." After this there commenced a brief silence, which was occupied by Dapper and Roughshod in exchanging winks and glances with each other. It was sufficiently intelligible that an entertaining attack upon the new member was the object. _ " f beg your pardon, but I really forget your name," said Roughshod, addressing ➢ir. Courtly. " Courtly, sir," replied the latter. " Courtly, Iv i,h an o ?" inquired the wit ; at the same time, by sundry nods and winks, preparing the initiated for one of his brilliant sallies. " Exactly so, sir," replied Courtly. " Why, then," continued the illustrious Mime-player, as we all in this society give nicknames to one another, we shall call you Squintly, with an eye. Do you take?" At this joke the applause was unbounded : even the poor Butts seemed to appreciate it, for they laughed louder than the rest of the company. " Pray, Gentlemen, am I a bone fide member of your School,' not having paid my admission-fee ?" inquired Courtly. _ _ Being answered in the negative, he asked what was the amount of the fee. " Only ten shillings," briskly replied the attorney's clerk ; " which is sixpence than all the profits you seem ikely ever to make by your profession—the fee for one half-guinea motion." Mr. Courtly rose, drew forth his purse, and threw ten shillings down upon the table ; observing with a grave look, that he considered the fee to be exorbitant— monstrous. " You are now regularly admitted, though merely as a Butt," said Roughshod ; " and, as you will remain so till you have proved yourself worthy of promotion by saying as good a thing as the worst you have heard to-night, you may as well go to sleep for the next twelve month at least." This, of course, was greatly applauded. THE DUBLIN MAGAZINE. This Magazine opens the New Year with great spirit. The "Curse of Kishoge " is one of the happiest imitations of the unrivalled Ingoldsby Legends that we have met with. The hero, a " Kerry boy," fond of love and whiskey, rides a race at Midnight with the Spectre Chieftain of the Lakes of Killarney, O'Donoghue, from whom he wins a steed; is subsequently charged with horse-stealing, condemned to be hanged, and only escapes the rope by the not uncommon miracle of his constant attachment to the bottle. For as his biographer writes :- -'Tis he that could lope With a parson or pope, Faith it frightened the whiskey to see his mouth ope ; By the powers of delf Fathew Mathew himself Among all his apostles ne'er met such a swiper ; Let him bring the worst rascal That e'er used a cask ill, And Pat would have drunk him as drunk as a piper. Oh ! 'twould gladden the heart of the veriest grumbler. To see how he swallowed down tumbler on tumbler ! Of "Frigid= sine" Or brandy or wine, he Would quaff as a fish does of sea-water briny. " Nuts and Nutcrackers" is a very clever pa- Per, of which, though not partial to continua tions, we are glad that we have not seen the last in this number. It will afford us a couple of amusing extracts, of which the " Polish Count ', shall be the first:— You cannot open a newspaper without meeting some narrative of what, in the phrase of the day, is denomi nated an attempted imposition. Count Skryznyzk, with black moustachues and a beard to match, who, after being the lion of Lord Dudley Stuart's parties, and the de light of a certain set of people in the west end, who, when they give a tea party, call it a soiree, and deem it necessary to have either a libido°, or a Hottentot,n Pole or a piano-player, to interest their guests, was lately brought up before Sir Peter Laurie, charged by 964 with obtaining money under false pretences, and sen tenced to three months' imprisonment and hard labour at the treadmill. The charge looks a grave one, good reader, and per haps already some notion is trotting through your head about forgery or embezzlement ; you think of widows rendered desolate, or orphans defrauded; you lament over the hard-earned pittance of persevering industry lost to its possessor ; and, in your heart, you acknow ledge that there may have been some cause for the par tition of Poland, and that the Emperor of the Russias, like another monarch, may not be half so black as he is painted. But spare your honest indignation; our un pronouncable friend did none of these. No; the head and front of his o&nding was simply exciting the sym pathies of a feeling world for his own deep wrongs; for the fate of his father, beheaded in the Grand Place at Warsaw; for his four brothers, doomed never to see the sun in the dark mines of Tobolsk ; for his beautiful sister, reared in the lap of luxury and wealth, wandering houseless and an outcast around the palaces of St. Peters burgh, wearying heaven itself with cries for mercy on her banished brethren; and last of all, for himself, he, who at the battle of Pultawa led heaven knows how many and how terrific charges of cavalry,—whose breast was a galaxy of orders only outnumbered by his wounds, that he should be an exile, without friends, and without home!—ln a word, by a beautiful and highly- wrought narrative, that drew tears from the lady and ten shillings from the gentleman of the house, he became amenable to our law as a swindler and an impostor, simply because his narrative was a fiction. In the name of all justice, in the name of truth, of honesty, and fair dealing, I ask you is this right? or if the treadmill be the fit reward for such powers as his, what shall we say, what shall we do, with all the popular writers of the day? How many of Bulwer's stories are facts? What truth is there in James? Is that beautiful creation of Dickens, "Poor Nell," a real or a fictitious character? And is the offence, after all, merely in the manner, and not the matter, of the transgression ? Is it that, instead of coming before the world printed, puffed, and hot-pressed by the gentlemen of the Row, he ven tured to edite himself, and; instead of the trade, make his tongue the medium of publication? And yet, if speech be the crime, what say you to Macready, and with what punishment are you prepared to visit him who made your heart-strings vibrate to the sorrows of Virginius, or thrills your very blood with the malignant vengeance of 'ago? Is what is permissible in Coveut Garden cri minal in the City? or, stronger still, is there a punish ment at one place and praise at the other? Or is it the costume, the foot-lights, the orange peel, and the saw dust,—are they the terms of the immunity ? Alas, and alas! I believe they are. Next to this, the relative fates of Willis, the American author of " Pencillings by the Way," 'notice. Never the Boy Jones, claim our e special notice. Never was good honest John Bull's predilection for strangers more happily hit off than in the following extract:— Of all the lions that caprice and the whimsical ab surdity of a secor.d-rato set in - fashion ever courted and entertained, never had any one less pretensions to the civility he received than the author of " Pencillings by the Way"—poor in th oug ht, s till poorer i n expression, without a spark of wit, without a gleam of imagination --a fourth -rate looking man, and a fifth-rate talker, he continued to receive the homage we were wont to be stow upon a Scott, and even charity extended to a Dickens. His writings the very slip-slop of " com m erage," the tittl e -t att l e o f a S unday paper, dressed up in the cant of Kentucky; the very titles, the contempti ble affectation of unredeemed twaddle, Pencillings by the way ! Letters from under a bridge. Good Lack— how the latter name is suggestive of eaves-dropping and listening; and how involuntarily we call to mind those chance expressions of his partners in the dance, or his companions at the table, faithfully recorded for the edi fication of the free-born Americans who, while they ridicule our institutions, endeavour to pantomime our manners. For many years past a number of persons have driven a thriving trade in a singular branch of commerce, no less than buying up cast Court-dresses and second-hand uniforms for exportation to the colonies. The negroes, it is said, are far prouder of figuring in the tattered and tarnished fragments of former greatness, than of wear ing the less gaudy, but more useful garb, befiting their condition. So it would seem our transatlantic friends prefer importing through their agents, for that purpose, the abandoned finery of Courtly gossip, to the more use ful but less pretentious apparel of common-place infor mation. Mr. Willis was invaluable for this purpose ; he told Ida friends every thing that he heard, and he heard every thing that he could; and, like mercy, he enjoyed a duplicate of blessings—for while he was de lighted in by his own countrymen, he was dined by ours. Pie scattered his autographs, as Feargus O'Connor did franks; he smiled, he ogled, he read his own poetry, and went the whole ljon witli all his might ; and yet, in the midst c tlilm, a rival starts up equally d es i rous o f court secrets, and fifty times as enterprising in their search; he risks his liberty, perhaps his life, in the pursuit, and what is his reward? I need only tell you his name, and you are answered—l mean the bay Jones ; not under a bridge, but under a sogu, ; not in Almacks, obtaining it at second-h, nd, but in Buckingham Palace--in the very apartment of the Queen—the adventurous youth has dared to insinuate himself. No lady, however, sends her album to him for some memento of his genius. His tem ple is not defrauded of its curls to grace a locket or a medallion; and his reward, instead of a supper at Lady Blessington's, is a voyage to Swan River. For my part, I prefer the boy Jones: I like his singleness of purpose; I admire his steady perseverance; still, however, he had the misfortune to be born in England—his father lived near Wapping, and ke was ineligible for a lion. To what other reason than his English growth can be attributed the different treatment he has experienced at the hands of the world. The similarity between the two characters is most striking. Willis had a craving appetite for Court gossip, and the tittle-tattle of a palace ; so had the boy Jones. Willis established him self as a listener in society; so did the boy Jones. Willis obtruded himself into places, and among people where lie had no possible pretension to be seen; so did the boy Jones. Willis wrote letters from under a bridge: the boy Jones eat mutton chops under a sofa. The portly figure of Sir William Rowan Ha milton, President of the Royal - Irish Academy, adorns the portrait gallery of the " University Magazine" fin• this month. The " Vice Legate's Bal I," the " Chapters on G hosteraft," and '' Gas par the Pirate," are all very clever. There is an excellent Review of " Tyler's History of Scot land," fast becoming one of the few standard histories originally written in the English lan guage. Altogether the Number is a very good one. THE LATE ACCIDENT ON THE GREAT WESTERN RAIL WAX. CORONER'S INQUEST. READING, FRIDAY NIGHT.—This morning, at ten o'clock, a Coroner's Jury, consisting of twelve of the most respectable tradesmen of the town, assembled at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, to inquire into the cause of the death of Richard Woolley, one of the passen gers by the luggage-train which left Paddington on the morning of Friday, the 24th inst. Mr. J. Blandy the Coroner for the borough, pre sided. The Coroner and Jury having viewed the remains of the deceased, which were in the hospital, immediately adjourned to the public office in the town, where the evidence was proceeded with. The public office was crowded throughout the whole of these exceedingly lengthened proceedings, which lasted upwards of ten hours. - Mr. Bartlett, solicitor, of Friar-street, Reading, at tended for the purpose of examining the witnesses and watching the proceedings, on the part of the friends of the deceased. The examination of witnesses then commenced, and was principally to the same effect as that adduced on the previous inquest. Mr. T. Hardy Bertram sworn—l am an ssistant en gineer in the service of the Great Western Railway Company, and reside at No. 2, Portland-place, Read. ing. My duties are to visit that portion of the line under my charge, generally twice daily, from Reading to Lon don. I employ competent foremen upon short distances, who inspect the line closely, and employ other men, or gaugers, under them, also to inspect the line in all weathers. The foremen report to me any unusual ap pearance, or requiring anything in the usual processes of repair. On the Wednesday afternoon before the ac cident I remarked that the portion of the line, particu larly at Sonning-cutting, and it presented no change in appearance from the previous three weeks. Mr. Charles Owen, my assistant, stated that sundry drains ordered by me had been made, and that he had made part of an under drain, in cne slip, which was in the immediate neighbourhood of the great slip which occurred on Friday. I received no communication which rendered a detailed examination on my part, in any part of the cutting ; necessary. I consider the slopes throughout the cutting were equally safe. Ido not consider the spoil bank on the top of the cutting accelerated the fall from its own weight, or contributed at all to the slip. I have examined the slip since the accident took place. The slip, in my judg ment, is to be attributed to water perforating from a small seam of gravel which occurs near the top. That seam of gravel had not previously attracted my atter'. Lion, as it had only been thrown open by the slip, and then showed itself. There was no previous appearance in the ground to indicate the probability of a slip of this kind taking place. it was an entirely new slip in my opinion. The police arc not under my directions, but I am authorised by Mr. Brunel to put special watch men upon any part of the line, by day or by night, on which the state of the works may appear to require them. The reports made to me by the foreman under me are made personally, and not in writing. In my opinion, no systems of precaution can be taken by the Company to forewarn them against accidents of this kind, better than are now adopted. Charles Owen was then called in to be examined.— Upon being sworn, he said—l am employed by Mr. Bertram, as an assistant, to see that the repairs in dif ferent parts of the line, and the Soaping cutting in par ticular, were properly done. He gave me instructions about three weeks ago to go to Sonning cutting, and i examine the slip which bad then taken place, and see that the instructions he had given to the foreman had been carried out. I did so, and I found the drain Mr. Bertram had ordered to be completed had been done. It was the duty of the foreman, Bottrell, to visit those slips when I did not, to examine them. Bottrell's duty is to make his reports to Mr. Bertram. During the sixteen days I was absent I frequently inquired of Bot trell the state of the slips, and his report was satisfactory. The principal evidence in addition was that of Mr. Brunel. This gentleman was examined at considerable length. He stated—With respect to the system of watching adopted at night, I consider that any number of watchmen will be more effectively employed when placed specially to watch any particular place where any change is expected than by attempting to patrol generally over a district in the night, and for that rea son this system is adopted ; my assistants have po. sitive directions, at all times, without any limitation, to place watchmen at any point where they consider, from any previous symptoms, or from any peculiar cir cumstance, that there is anything to watch for. At the present moment there must be about thirty, or more, between London and Bristol each night. These men being workmen, and in communication with the foreman, know better what to watch for, and are more likely to see any change, than the ordinary policemen. The Sonning cutting I can safely say, has given less trouble, and caused less anxiety, than the majority of cuttings on the line. Near the place where the late accident occurred, there was one of those superficial slips. I had seen it about three weeks before the accident. I inquired of Mr. Bertram and learned that he had given directions to have it drained, and I saw afterwards that it had been drained, and in passing very frequently I observed no change had taken place. Upon examining the greater slip a few hours after it had occurred, 1 found the drain which had been cut round the old slip, and which marked its situation. I found that the fall of earth which had taken place was situated about 40 or GO feet further east, and higher up the slope. It was a totally distinct matter ; the first was a sliding of the surface, the result, I believe, of the quantity of rain that had fallen ; the other was a large breaking down of the masses of slope in a particular stratum near the top of the slope. The ordinary sliding down of the surface below this, which is the result of the slip, and not the slip itself, had spread over and reached the former slide ; but they were totally distinct, and the larger one could not have been caused by the small one. I can speak to the fact that the passengers' carriages are quite as strong as the luggage vans, for they were originally constructed for luggage, and since converted into passengers' trucks. I arrived at the spot of the accident at about half-past eleven o'clock. They had not then entirely removed tl.e earth from off the rails. I examined the site carefully and particularly, because was surprised at so much mischief having been pro duced by the comparatively small quantity of ground which had slipped, and I found some large stones which bad slipped down with the clay, being part of a bed of stones wbioh lies a considerable height up the cutting. One of these stones, probably two feet square, ap peared to have been on the rail just at the point where, I think, the engine first left the line, and I have no doubt that these stones were the cause of the accident, as I think the engine would have run through the clay, and the train have b een s t o pp e d muc h more gra d ua ll y . Ile engine wheels were not broken, but the guard, as we call it, was broken. By the CORONER—I do not think if more vigilance had been used the accident could have been prevented. I am satisfied, most decidedly, that my engineers re ported everything which occurred, and, from reports made to me. from my knowledge of the cutting, and from what I have seen so frequently passing through it, that this fall of earth has taken place without previous symptoms. By the. Foreman—The result of all our experience upon the line has been, that these slips have been caused either by continued rains, or breaking out of some fresh springs. If the passengers had been in the hind car riages they would have escaped, of course ; but, gene rally speaking, it is not a sate position for them, as they would be exposed to more danger than in front. [Mr. Brunel gave the same reasons for forming this opinion which were given by him when asked a similar ques tion at the inquest held on Monday last.] With re spect to the relative safety of the passenger trucks, I have to state that I have frequently travelled by them, and at one period I generally went by them once a week to Bristol, as being the last train out of London at night ; and, taking the speed of travelling into consi deration, 1 considered them rather a safe train than otherwise. By the CORONER—The chances are greater of a luggage-train being run into behind than before. By a Juror—There is a tail-lamp always behind the luggage-train ; but from the frequent stoppages of this train, the shifting of waggons, &c., there is still risk of its being overtaken unexpectedly. By the CORONER—If two or three empty carriages intervened between the tender and the passengers, they would not at all add to the safety of the passengers, in consequence of the comparative lightness of those empty trucks. By the CORONER—An accident is more likely to occur to the passengers by a slip at night than in the day time. A mere patrol along the line at night would not enable him to be an effective watch. It is EVENING SUN impossible in the night, and by the mere assistance of a lamp, for a policeman, walking along the line, and without knowing what he has particularly to wat c h for, to detect any changes in the levels and rails, or any of the numerous symptoms of danger. Such watching could not be relied upon. It appeals to a►e that the most certain way of securing safety by night is to use all the means in our power during daylight to remedy any evil, and detect any fresh symptoms o movement, and then placing special watchmen at those places, with a knowledge of what they have to look for ; and that is the system which is followed. Mr. Russell. M.P., wished the following question to be asked Mr. Brunel : With reference to the police force upon the Great Western Railway, compared with railways in general, is the police as large as upon other lines Mr. Brunel repl►ed that it was so, and that such, he believed, was the opinion of the Inspector-General of Railroads. There was uo railroad in the kingdom which lead a stronger body of police engaged. The CORONER then proceeded to read over the whole of the evidence, and remarked upon various portions of the depositions as he went on. The Jury then retired, and after being absent far nearly an hour, returned the following verdict in writing :—" The verdict of the Jury is, that Richard Woolley came by his death from a fracture he received on the skull, caused by the engine called the Heda, coming into collision with a mass of earth, having fallen from the slope of a cutting on the Great Western Rail way, at Sonning, in this county ; and they are of opinion that the accident might have been avoided had there been a night police or watch on the cutting. They therefore place a deodand on the engine and train of carriages of the sum of one hundred pounds. And further, they recommend that the passenger trucks be in future placed further from the engine." THE LATE EXPLOSION ON TEIE BRISTOL AND GLOUCESTER RAILWAY. BRISTOL, DEC. 31.—An inquest was held yesterday evening in the Board-room of the Infirmary, before J. B. Grindon, Esq , Coroner, and a respectable Jury, on Henry NVilliams, another of the sufferers by the late accident on the line of the Bristol and Gloucester Railtvay, who expired in the Infirmary. The Jury having been sworn, proceeded to 'vievaZthe body of deceased, which was much burnt, and ex• hibited two extensive wounds in the thigh. The CORONER then briefly addressed them as to the nature of the inquiry they would have to make, After which, the Jury proceeded to the bed-side of another of the sufferers, named John Hodge, who deposed that he was a labourer, employed in the con struction of the line near Wickwar, at shaft No. 5. Deceased was a blacksmith, and worked near it. The gunpowder used in the work was generally kept its the blacksmith's shop every night, and taken out in the morning. There is no precaution taken against an explosion that he knew of. It is the duty of the banksman to put the powder in the shop, as he took charge of all the powder. It is kept in barrels, round which there is a bag made coarsely of hemp. The barrel in question contained one cwt. of powder. Thu blacksmith's shop is close to the shaft. The powder is not kept in any particular part of it, but sometimes its one part and sometimes in another. On Monday morning last, at about seven o'clock, witness was in the shop with several others. The forge was lighted, and the deceased was hammering at a drill. Witness and the other men (eight in all) were standing near to the fire. Two barrels were standing near the wall at seven or eight feet from the fire. There was no thing between them and the fire but two or three planks which leant against the wall partly covering them. The men in the shop were sitting down quietly smoking their pipes, and at about seven o'clock the powder ex ploded and they were all blown up. Three were killed, on the spot, one of wham was Jones, the bankstear s , who was supposed to have put the powder in 04 itlop. Witness and the others were much bruit e d and wounded, and brought to the infirmary. r ihe powder is kept in the smith's shop because ttere is no other place where it can be kept under t over, and it must be kept dry. Lewis Crew, another or the sufferers, was next exa mined, and gave, to a great extent, similar testimony. Mr. C. Gregg, house-surgeon, deposed to the nature of the injuries of which the deceased died ; and also gave a statement of the deceased, made under the apprehension of death, as to the cause of the accident. He said the powder had got a little damp, and had been put into the smith's shop to dry. At the time of the explosion he was blow ing the forge fire. A spark must have flown to the barrels. He heard a great noise, and then a lot of things tumbling about him. Tire learned Coroner proceeded to sum up, comment ing with much severity on the gross negligence evinced in the care and management of the gunpowder. The jury then consulted together and returned a ver dict of " Accidental death," accompanied by the fol lowing addition :—" And the jury unanimously express their great regret that in this ease they have it not in their power to mark their sense of the grossly improper management of this line of railway by levying a deodand, which they would have levied to the utmost extent, had anything been left to levy it upon." POST-OFFICE. A Treasury Minute was last night published in the Gazette, with reference to the Postage dues. The sub stance of it is contained in the subjoined schedule : Between any port in Madeira and the Canary Islands, or between any port in Madeira or the Canary Islands and the Azores, or between Madeira or the Canary Islands or the Azores and any port in the West In dies or North or South America, other than the West ern Coast (not passing through the United Kingdom),. Is. for each Litter not exceeding half an ounce in weight. Between any port in the United Kingdom and any port in the Canary Islands or the Azores, Is. Bd. Between any port in the United Kingdom and any port. in Central America or Venezuela, or New Grenada (ports in the British colonies or possessions, and the Isthmus of Panama, and on the Western Coast of South America, excepted),2s. Id. Between any port in the West Indies or North or South America, whether in her Majesty's colonies or not (but not including ports on the Western Coast of South America), and any other port in the West In dies or North or South America (except the Western Coast), not in her Majesty's colonies or possessions (without passing through the United Kingdom), ls. Between any ports or places on the Western Coast of South America (in addition to any other rates pay able under this warrant for the transmission by packet boat, to or from the Northern or Eastern Coast of the Isthmus of Panama), Is. The following sums have been given to the Accident Relief Society :—His Grace the Duke of Buck ingham, 201.; the Earl of Burlington, 10/. ; the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, 101.; Mrs. Marryatt, 10/.; G. B. Kent, Esq., 5/.; W. Dudley, Esq., 5/. CHERRY RIPE.—A woman named Beckley was delivered at the Luton Union workhouse on the 17th instant of a fine female child, with a fine ripe cherry hanging from the first finger of the left hand, and a smaller one hanging from the first finger of the right hand.----llertford Rifirriner. WANTED, A SCHOOLMASTER.—The follow ing is the address of a letter posted not a hundred miles from Chard yesterday :—" For Mrs. Kings Mead Street N 37 pleas to convey the leter to she poast paid." We can aver that the above orthography and address are verbatim et literatim like the original. The letter was sent, " Try Bristol."—Sherborne JournaL DESTRUCTION OP THE QUEBEC 'POST.. OFFICE ny FIRE.—The Quebec post-office was burnt down on the 2d ult., but owing to the timely discovery of the conflagration at its commencement, all the books, papers, and letters in Postmaster Sewell's department were saved ; those, however, of the General Post-office department were destroyed, with some valuable private papers belonging to the Deputy Postmaster-General. The village of Jumelles (in the Eure) has been alarmed by the appearance within it of a bear. It is be lieved to be an animal escaped from a menagerie recently exhibited at Vernon. What is Pussey-ism, Ma ?" said a little in quisitive girl to Imr mother, " anything about a cat, Ma ?" Aye, child, a cat or a cat's tail, for anything I know." SUICIDE IN THE REGENT'S CANAL. — Mr. Baker held an inquest yesterday, at the Albion, Maiden lane, on the - body of a female, name unknown, about 24 years old. It appeared that on Tuesday evening last, as a man named Thomas llawbin was passing along the Regent's Canal, near Battle-bridge, he saw deceased struggling in the water. She sank in a few seconds, and her body was taken out with the drags in a quarter of an hour. She must have jumped from the bridge, and had left her bonnet and shawl on the parapet. She was dressed in mourning. Verdict—" Found drowned." FATAL ACCIDENT BY FlRE.—This morning, about half-past seven o'clock, the following lamentable accident happened to a girl named Ann Jameson, about seven years old. It appeared that the deceased had been left with two other children sitting by the side of the fire at their residence in No. 73, Granby-street, Water loo-road, and during the temporary absence of the mother a lighted coal flew from the grate and set fire to the child's dress. The screams of the sufferer soon brought some of the lodgers to her assistance, when the fire was soon extin guished, but every portion of the child's dress was de= stroyed, and the body so dreadfully burnt, that; not withstanding early medical assistance was Procured, the child died at ten o'clock this morning. Not fewer than seven other accidents, under similar circumstances, have occurred to children in the neighbourhood withdn the l ast two days, but fortunately only one has been fatal. Lord Brougham, Mr. Justice Williams, the Right on. Henry Goulburn, Chancellor o f the Exche q uer, Ile, lion. C. Law, M.P., and several other distin g uished t'lrsonages, have been on a visit to Cambridge University. P e BERLIN, DEC. 22.—The King will leave Berg fin on the 16th, and, passing through Mageeburg, lioxt at ers Ostend Hague,steed on th &c., and 20th. His the Kingdom h of es Belgium, and arrive most strictly forbidden any ceremonies to receive him, of which notice has already been given to the authoritif s of the se veral places in Prussia through which he will pass. - ill R;