The Sun. — London, England, 1842-05-09 00:00:00

F. hans Med land we Shah c on tc , k il ;al rity m at 33 v.l_'!-,411 3Eub l4ait 1f0t 7300 hen, iter, are it ng a, very n- of , ,ural , A e of 1 OS ,( Mist , ; of di the tblic un :heir with are Te," hich and :AD ruie° 4l • i f The xpe ;eful es of lalf•• take ands The Ting ssess ltive the that . but field. th a S; a . Arild rav's 'ells., ~-: ; NE. spe . l te of, new. Le in , l y of tten, con - ,6; ts, to : ! find ition Tent SUCII.; )11. 3,1 kali,. „I t , ? nsp; . „ [ e ver [ rul4; ery,. st[l(..v". ~~ L ;. 3, it the is der; •• e r ip NI • ;tBl l, I the . shed E• Tolle eces of A I , ITERATURE. A RECORD OF THE PYRAMIDS. Saunders and Otley, London, 1842. - If Mr. Reade does not succeed as a poet, it will certainly not be from any excess of diffidence on his Part. • Indeed, we scarcely know an author who is so little afflicted with this malady, or who—if we may ,judge from his preface to the present work—thinks so highly of his ow n gen i us , an d w ith so littl e reason . Heeven congratulates himself on his unpopularity, whkh he seems to think is an unerring test of his d esert; and quotes a passage from Montaigne to show that the worst writ ers are f requ e n tly th ose w h o h ave gained most applause. Mr. Reade is welcome to all the consolation he can derive from this reflection, but neverthele s s it is our duty to assure him that he will never win permanent reputation as a poet, for this conclusive reason, that he is utterly deficient in origi nality. He is a mere mocking-bird—the very parrot of P arnassus. Most of his best thoughts may be traced to Lord Byron, of whose fourth canto of "Childe he produced a servile imitation in his "1 ta13', 9 with this only exception—namely, that the spirit -and feeling of the original were both most dili gentl omitted in the copy. In his present drama of "`A Record of the Pyramids," instead of measuring his strength with the illustrious Childe, he actually eaters the lists against Eschylus, and furnishes us with a new view of Prometheus, whom he represents to as a n e Egyptian patriot, existing at an age subsequent tthe p . ramids, notwithstanding that poetic tradi iitiornb--ingandy who but our author would dream of dis- - such a legend ?—records him to have lived in the very ear li es t an d ru d es t p er i o d s o f th e w orld, cen istries before ma n had learned the art of making a elc much less' a Pyramid ! Again, the Prometheus of z,"" schyluS was a god-like Titan—a dweller in the Indian ` 4l casus ; the Prometheus of Mr. Reade is an Egyp fain twaddle r ; who discourses common-places about &c., to the thick-skulled citizens of Mem phis. We protest against this new version of the mo st sublime and irnaginatize legend of antiquity. It iS bad taste—to say the leash of it—to tamper with a fable " covered with the awful hoar of innumerable a ges" It was not thus that Shelley treated the sub ject. He took it as he found it, well knowing that any attempt to alter its character would have been an ac t of the grossest presumption. Had Mr. Reade anything like sterling genius in his " Record of the Pyramids," we might perhaps have forgiven him for his hardihood in venturing to disturb our faith in the Prometheus of Eschylus ; but, alas, on P er u. sing his drama, we can detect nothing like Poetic inspiration ; much melody of versification there undoubtedly is, and not a few graceful and li glay-wrou g ht i mages ; b u t the "vision and th e l faculty divine" are wholly wanting ; and many of the b e st th oug h ts, somet i mes even th e very wor d s , may traced to the pages of Byron. Our author, in fact, is merely a dexterous imitator, alive to the mechan an; but dead to the inspiration, of his art. He has a taste but not a genius, for the poetic, and mistakes hi s tinsel for gold, simply because it has a similar glittr-,ders himsel.Fsom his preface, it i s ev id en t th a t h e con falf a singing bird of the very high es t or d er , a t, in speaking of one of his poems, he says, " I re sol , Ted, :to, publish my book ; I knew the reality of the 44 ths which I had, embodied ; I felt that I was sup by them ; that they would live of them he ard v as as such, if once recorded in print, and 'Bong the _few. I then receded from all h `.tuer. effort, and returned to my seclusion, as coVdent of results, as if they had al. e e Z" l , l , ll a,ppened." This tone of cool assurance is mi n e t, b nglY amusing—especially when we bear in already for *th e poem to which the author alludes, is o n l y as Y f orgotten, Or, if remmbe, remembered f ox . his a mere faint echo of "Childe Harold.' As objection ruths," on which he lays such stress,,our all ; that is, that his works contain no "truths" at of v they are nothing more than adroit specimens 4elepersif ic ation,.devoid of thought, but abounding in neies of diction. It is not a little singular that i'.:atinls elabo ra t e preface Mr. Reade twice quotes from Latin authors, and that in one of his quotations he turns verse into prOse and in the other leaves out the il l hver..y word th a t gives i ts emphasis to the line. Thus "!. famons sent i ment of Terence, "Homo sum, taieword i 1 , humani am e a li enum pu t o ," h e actua ll y om i ts " humati," w ith ou t w hi c h th e sen t ence h as ' little or no meaning ; and in the passage from Horace, 1 4. 3i vie me flere, - doleadum - est Primun t ipsi tibi." lie substitute s " sit" for " est," thereby violating the metre equally with the grammar. • But indeed Mr. Reade is by no means remarkable for grammatical accuracy —such considerations are beneath the dignity of genius !—for, alluding to the voca ti on o f t h e poet, says,he"the of sense the duty of his mission will lay on him with the obligation of a moral law." We should not omit to add that the "Record of the Pyra mids " is dedicated to Sir Robert Peel, who, our author seems to think, bears an extraordinary resem blance to Prometheus 1 The Income-tax is certainly a very Promethea n s p ec i es o f i mpost ! TEE LIFE AND LABOURS OF ADAM CLARKE. Longman, London, 1842. There is muc h th a t i s excee di ngly i nteresting 'n this biographical sketch of .Dr. Adam Clarke, "vho, was one of the most learned men of his tl aY, and bv far the most influential preacher. theng the Wesleyan cla ss o f Di ssen t ers . U n lik e celebrated Colonel Gardener, and many others who have afterwards been distinguished by their strict devotional habits, Dr. Clarke's religious im prssions were formed early in life, and remained with him in unabated force down to the close of his Y'nFE, useful, and honourable career. As a preacher, 147 s remarkable for the fervour of his manner, and prod u lin ced le ! ft i?nt emphatic eloquence of his style ; and • thoi e cuect s on his congregations second only to w ieProduced by his celebrated predecessor, John tio-nesf.Y• his Yet he never made the slightest prepara sir, °I. sermons—never knew beforehand one i EN se ntence that h e s h ou ld u tt er ; notwithstand -311, which his discourses, we are assured, d e 'rin , occupied l ess th an one h our i n th e as t wo ellver Y , and sometimes they occupied as much 11- preaching. A.is son thus describes his father's effect' w'' The appearance of my father, and his one in the pulpit upon a stranger would pro " ne one like this—he would see a person hairs mark, except that time had turned is flan' to silver, and the calmness of fixed devotion Save solemnity to his appearance. He spreads his afterL. 'we before him, and opening his hymn-book, reads l o in a clear, distinct, full voice, a few verses, . t he singing of which he offers up a short prayer, u !ch is immediately felt to be addressed to the t rlla . les t)7 of be Heaven. The text is, proclaimed, a nd 11dISCOUrSe is begun. My father hardly ever .I%)te.. e .a line as a preparation for p rea chi ng . av now in my possesion a slip of paper, " .thre e inche s l ong by o ne w id e , con t a i n i ng . ,e* tirst wor6 of a number of texts, an d thi s was th e list of' memoranda on which he preached seven i','eaional sermons in various parts of the country. 411:never entered the pulpit but with diffidence, and _tk.ahriost a p a i n f u l sensat i on o f his responsibility „, a Mesienger of th e G ospe l o f Ch r i st Jesus." Doctor thy, was born in the obscure village of Moybeg, in cc l l nty. Londonderry, some w h ere a b ou t 1760, died o f malignant cholera at Bayswater, in the 11 84 st of 1832. 13 4 , HE BOOK OF THE BASTILES. G. 11'ythen Baxter, Author of " Humour and Pathos," te.—Stephens, London. is a most wonderful pr o d uc ti on , an d w ill { xt r e act the fame of the author far and wide. It 4 54 11 , (1 to 609 pages in imperial octavo, is beautifully Ett , t .nu, and contains no less than 2,870 extracts from tatt!-Lastile speeches, and newspaper articles ; thus, kiPli into account letters and encomiums on the author, h ‘ l leing at least 5,000 witnesses against the atrocious I,,,''rninent of the Somerst House Bashaws. The /I`:ic is embellished by a full-length portrait of Mr. k l . l l t er. The countenance evinces great intelligenee, Rn,, , at th e . same ti me, th a t ki n d , merc if u l, an d c olil - Nus disposition, which would lead any person of i S ;,, 4 cal observation to say, on the first glance, this fa t ir e q the man to face the tyrants—" bonum verum C pr4 erederes magnum libenter." He is, besides, itcc, o „ 4 4 good race, being, according to his own ;4 , a lineal descendant of th e grea t Ri c h ar d vid4 author of the " Saint's Re s t," an d o th er Ile Ath 4 e n ie works, thus verifying the words of the ri Poet— F o creantur fortibus et bonis, vitwe !t . ..ll,juvencis, est in equis patrum virtus." , ' ll ll leave the reader , 11 few extracts. The lying Guardians of -t q had - the impimpudence to advertise a table, h o t f ort the great saving which has occurred 11114.4 T introduction of th e n ew P oor -l a w i n th ose 1 7 6 _ts 4 diark ho w they are put down, at once by figures :—" 1. Received of Mr. Baxter, poor tNlt th e parish of St. Martin, in the city o r tii;sle: 4 l made the 9th of May, 1833, 4s. Signed ass.-overseer. 2. Parish of St. Mar t4iiN Vord—llecd., the 29th of February, 1841, of (14. 4 . li rt " B :kters, 96. 70. Lemuel Llewellyn, collr.7— 1 4 ,, 114 08 - that the:poor-rates, in place of being stat e have been more than doubled by the new ' ` vi a Swer was e angiven to this matter-of-fact lit 17 4,1 4 4 t . , and the author, therefore, with becoming ()de. to n, castigates the parish functionaries in the d en Sarcastic strain :—" It is needless to say the throwni., d o w n i n thi s l e tt er was no t accept ige-tic,79icd too much like wor k f or th e ca p ac iti es o.i. e ar. er °t(l Guardians (eel geese), and they, with 141 4 , 0 e -es- and on their beaded drumsticks, Hold, enough! In a word, they 14 9 re look. on it again • they dared not, but, h a 84i 1 ? f 11 h ad b ve , confessed that their belly was u —t ey ?Pared td ad thei r 1 grue • 14t what the Hereford Board 'h t. ,do (i. e. to p rove truth to be a lie), that the w 4 h, ; Board dared to undertake. Yes, the pauper of lewd, iiceritious, liberal Ledbury, stepped e 44 1 . 01 . scue of their Alalthusian brethren of the OP the 1.6.,th....0f March, 1841, the' - ChiiirnTan of - the-hedbnry Board, a clerk of no int ' portance, having previously had an illicit intercourse with the Assistant- Commissioner of the district, who, under promise of marriage —no; but under promise of sousing him up to his great red ears in the grease of a fat living, had seduced and crammed him, was sud denly taken in labour of a praise-bare-bones poor-law speech, and was delivered of the same (the aforesaid Assistant-Commissioner acting as man-midwife), in the presence of the assembled billy and bearded goats, Guardians of the Ledbury Union. Brave Guardians ( vel geese) of Hereford, who have suffered many times and oft from Baxter's lash, turn to him, the Chairman of the Ledbury Board, who has thus so kindly kissed your parts and made them well." With what delicacy and tact he points out the very spot where his lash had inflicted the red gushing wound ! The descrip • tion altogether, is powerful and graphic in the extreme, and reminds us of Brougham in his best days, when painting to his astonished hearers the sufferings of naked black women under the whip of a merciless and shameless negro-driver. The author, however, does not confine himself to this style of writing. At times he is tender and plaintive, embodies his thoughts and fancies in the most rich and mellifluous language, and surpasses even the silvery-toned Wilberforce, or the voluptuous Jean Jacques Rousseau. What, for in , stance, can exceed in these respects his description of an author's dreams? "'Oh, the day dreams of an author ! and oh, the night dreams ! (Having painted the day dreams, which are rather common-place, he thus launches forth in strains which, though in prose, possess all the highest attributes of poetry). " Such his day dreams, often, often realised, and his night ones—his, when he sleeps—his, for beautiful fair ones, girls of heaven, houris and angels, yet passionate and female still, with rounded, rosy limbs—the blissful visions of his own lovely imagination, to bend o'er his slumbers, and, in delicious abandonment, play with and twine round their small taper fingers his long flowing hair, and with their mouths, pouting with vermillion bloom, kiss—" but we can go no further— the picture is too powerful to behold ; the sweetest of all Roman poets, Ovidius Naso, falls far short of this even in the sweetest of all his elegies, that begin ning with " Estus 'rat, mediamque dies eaegerat horam ; Adposui medio meuibra levanda toro." If the author will swear that he has not com mitted an act of plagiarism, or even give his simple affirmation that he has not read the ode, or merely say that he has not taken the idea of " rounded, rosy limbs" and something else, from two other lines, he ought to be ranked as the first of living poets. These lines are— " Qum; humeros, quales vidi tetigique lacertos ! Quantum et quale latns ; quam juvenile femur." But reader, mark how the language changes when Mr. Baxter describes another bed-scene ; namely, that in which a young thief of two-and-twenty sur prises Mr. Chadwick snoring in bed at one in the morning, with his sweet spouse by his side, for we are led to infer from the word " nightcaps" that the worthy secretary is not alone. " Neither should I calculate," says the author, " knowing your peace able temperatures, would you sneeze at such circum stances as some young thief of two-and-twenty, or thereabouts, waylaying you at your front doors, or when returning homewards, from your country walks, laden with cowslips and 'long purples,' or as you paced the gas-lighted streets of London, contem plating and smiling on the passing odalisques, with their scarce petticoats; or as you lay prone, (the ' bell then beating one'.) playing pigs' overtures, with variations, in your beds and blankets, —for the self-same modest gentleman to stand over your nightcaps, and with 'strange oaths' and sig nificant curses, flourishing right and left his damned double-barrelled swords, and cut and thrust pistols,' ease you of a greater quantity than would be con venient of your L.S.D. The initials are read back wards, according to the custom of the Jews, and mean ' damned starvation ledgers.' " We suspect, however, that our author has carried the joke a little too far. Mr. Richard Martin made Blackwood, on his ",Mended drumsticks," beg pardon for allowing Christopher North to say, " why don't the Smithfield drovers kill him ?" and here Mr. Baxter encourages young blackguards of twenty-two, and thereabouts, to commit burglaries in S o m erse t House,and perhaps murder both the Poor-law Commissioners and their poor Secretary, at one fell swoop. But we must come to a close, and rest satisfied with two more short extracts—the one in prose, and the other in verse, describing in nervous and appropriate language, the horrors which the Bishop of London, the Somerset House despots, and the base Whigs, have caused by the erection, not of one bastile, like the King of France, but of hundreds throughout the country. The first is from an Invocation, by the author of " Humour and Pathos," "Don Juan, Junior," &c. to the people of England, calling upon them to come forward and raise subscriptions for Mr. Oastler. " Yes, Richard Oastler, because he dared be honest, dared be honourable, dared be humane, dared he religious, dar e d s hi e ld you and yours from the painless extinction' of Marcus,' starvation, poisoned' skillies, coarser food,' dungeons, sabre-cuts, and ball-cartridges; because dared— when all hands were against you and all hearts—step nobly forward, and with the eloquence of a god, de clare that your wives, sisters, and daughters, as vir tuous as they (the man-slayers and women-quellers of the hostiles), yea, more so than many of the satin-clad and diamond-gemmed wives, sisters, and daughters—(vide the crun. con. trials)—of my lords and gentlemen,' should not be handed over an unauthorised prey to lust and brutality—that your children, your pretty ones,' should not be torn from your bosoms, and by Societies, miscalled Friendly,' transported thousands of miles across the deep waters to distant colonies ; that your limbs should not be tied up and manacled, if at any time, in the bastile prisons, you happened to converse with your wr e t c hed relatih and friends ; that the bodies of your mur • dered dead should not, without the decent ceremonial of book, bell, and pall, be trundled into an un- . , consecrated hole, like deceased dogs, cats, rats, and stots." We can excuse this strong language, if Mr. Baxter knows or believes that such things are done in his part of the country, but we have always understood that those who died in work houses were buried according to the rites of the Church of England—that the beautiful service for the burial of the dead was duly performed, and never heard that ropes or manacles were used to restrain the inmates, liked esperate malefactors. If such deeds are committed in any union, •or if the chaplain is al lowed to neglect his duty, as here described, Mr. Baxter would confer great benefit on the poor by lay ing the facts, properly authenticated, before Parlipn ment. We warrant him the Hereford Guardians would not be allowed to 'commit such acts of abomi- nation with impunity. The last eitraciVi;;;;; (for Mr. Baxter is a poet also), taken from a work of his, entitled " Don Juan, Junior," and here we cannot help expressing our surprise that a descendant of that pious man, Richard Baxter, should read such books as Byron's " Don Juan," and Ovid's " Art of of Love." We give the lines, however, without fur ther comment on that point, and merely call the at tention of the reader to the powerful effect of the second and sixth. The second, in particular, exhi bits in perfection that wonderful quality which only great poets possess—namely, the faculy of making the sound an echo to the sense. No one can read it without a gnashing of the teeth and an involuntary shudder for the sufferings of those subjected to the terrible engine. The author informs us that Mr. Oastler took it as a "top piece" for his Anti-New Poor-law letters. AN ANTI-POOR-LAW TOP-KNOT. " It's a pity 'tis pass'd, that pauper wo So rife with murder, poisonings, hearts broke—rack Authors of England why are ye so slow ? Gentlemen of England why are ye so slack ? Awake ! arise ! expose ! ward off the blow, Ere yet it comes down thundeiing on your back— Let its cruelties continue, and, grow like weeds, And, I can only say, look to your title-deeds." We thus take leave of Mr. Baxter, and seize this opportunity of expressing great regret that his valua ble work had so long escaped the notice it deserved. It lay all but a " sealed book," among many others of a very different kind which had been duly honoured, and might have remained there for months had not our attention been roused by a short, .but powerful letter which only such a writer could indite. May he be rewarded for his labours ! "Maete nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad astra." FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS. Part 12. Virtue, London, 1842. A new edition, in cheap monthly parts, of a work once highly popular, but scarcely worthy of republica tion, from its uniformly painful, and even repulsive character. CARPMAEL ON THE LAW OF PATENTS The best panegyric on Mr. Carpmael's book ap pears on his own frontispiece, whereby the public demand for his work has already caused it to arrive at a third edition. The branch of law on which it treats, unsatisfactory and insecure as it was of late years, has by more recent decisions in our law and equity courts, assumed validity and importance, as suring security, protection, and recompense to the ingenuity of inventors. Twenty-one years appear to have been the original term granted to patentees by the Crown, as an exclusive privilege for their origi nation of new manufactures; but, after the reign of James 1., this term was abridged to fourteen years, in consequence of abuses. By careful specification and right entitlement now, there can be no liability of failure on the part of patentees at present. The dictum of Lord Tenterden set the honourable quali fications of the patentee in their true light : " the man," said his Lordship, " who makes an experiment with a new material that is suCeesgful, though it is for a purpose that is old, though it be with a tieW to pro duce that which has been produc — ea before; is entitled to the protection of the Crown and to the thanks of the public." To the recommendation that a com mission of scientific persclits, ordinarily from , ; TUE SUN, 1 ON DON, MONDAY MORNING, MAY 9, 1842. INFANT ORPHAN ASYLUM-. We have much pleasure in calling the attention of our ; readers to the merits of thi s i n t eres ti ng c h ar ity, - whose advertisement appeared in The Sun of Saturday. His Grace the Duke of Wellington has been induced, by its urgent claims, to undertake to preside at the anniversary dinner on Wednesday next, at Stationers'-hall, and we sincerely trust the, exertions of the Stewards will be crowned with the success which such a cause so eminently deserves. The following extracts from a circular issued by the Committee, in connexion with the erection of the new Asylum at Wanstead, will not only exhibit the na ture and utility of the charity,. but,also, we hope, secure that measure &'public sympathy arid support which is so much required to sustain the managers in their important charge : The charity has been instituted, fourteen years. It receives the infant orphan only, and there is none other of its kind. Its purpose is to board, clothe, nurse ' and educate these childr e n un til a ft er seven years o f age, when they are eligible for admission to other institutions. One hundred and eighty-five of this class of orphans are now on the establishment, among them are the children of clergymen, of officers in the army and navy, of mer chants (once in affluence), and other respectable classes. The elections are held half-yearly, and the admissions are upwards of fifty annually. Not only does so young a family, all under seven years of age, give much more trouble, and bring greater expense than elder children ; but, what at first may not be so evident, is an important fact, that they require much more room f or t h e i r healthy accommodation. For this purpose the Committee have been obliged to add house to house, till they find them selves in possession of not less than three, and still re quiring greater space." And again—" We trust that the great importance of the subject will not only be deemed an adequate apology for this appeal, but that it may dispose you candidly and generously to consider how you may best respond to it. Let it still be remembered that the object is great, and that it requires earnest and united effort. That we are proposing. to raise an institution which, by its magnitude and readiness to receive all, without regard to place, will take a national character ; that it is for the orphan, de prived of his natural guardians ; that it is for the infant orphan, the most needy and unhappy of his class, for which public charity has done nothing ; that it is, there fore, not a rival, but a supplement to other excel lent charities ; and that it proposes to shed its parent-like protection, for ages to come, over thousands of fatherless and motherless diklren. Is not ,this the highest walk of charity ? Does not the Divine Providence seem to permit such occasions, that we may imitate its own benignity ? Can religion find a better expression, than thus to v i s it t he f a th er l ess a n d widows in their affliction ? Can wealth find a better ser vice than to provide for their need, and -soothe their sorrows ? Can the heart know a sweeter return, than is found in the widow's blessing and the orphan's prayer ? Can Christianity herself be more honoured and served, than by showing that she provides for both worlds—that where she erects the Church, she also raises the hospi tal—that she consults man's two-fold nature and total happiness—and that she passes over our sad and sinful world, like an angel from heaven, breathing hope and promise for " the life that now is, and for that which is to come ?" MURDER OF MR. EWING, AT THE MOBILE THEATRE. Mr. Ewing was an actor of considerable talent in the United States, and his wife, in conformity with a prac tice adopted by many married ladies ou the stage, per formed under her maiden name. She is the daughter of Mr. Hamblin, the proprietor of the Bowery Theatre, New York, who under the dynasty of Mr. Osbaldiston, at Covent Garden Theatre, went through his range of Shakspearian characters with great eclat. We copy the following account of the murder from the .A'ew Orleans Picayenne _ "This terrible event—the murder of a husband by the wife—has of course caused great excitement at Mobile. Up to Saturday night the murderess had not been ar rested. The Ledger gives full particulars. t appears that Mr. Ewing and Miss Hamblin were ma ' ried, and for a long time lived very unhappy•together. Recently, however, they agreed to separate, and it was the design of the latter to leave Mobile on Sunday morning for St. Louis. Whether a quarrel occurred on the Friday pre vious to the perpetration of this horrible act is not known ; but during the first act of the play many of the audience remarked a peculiarity of conduct in the par ties towards each other on the stage. After the falling of the curtain the deceased proceeded to his dressing room, where he was.followed by his wife. Some dispu tation, it is said, occurred there relative to the wardrobe, when the conflict ensued which terminated the life of the deceased. There were three wounds inflicted, one of which grazed the arm ; the others were in the body. The most fatal one was a little on the side, just below the ribs. The Ledger says, it is the opinion now that the wound was not sufficient to cause death so rapidly, but it is supposed that its fatality was aggravated by the falling of the deceased. The manner of Miss Ham blin after the conflict was such as to lead to the supposi tion that the act, so far as death is concerned, was unpremeditated. She inquired several times whether the deceased was much hurt, and not until there was a certainty of his death did she attempt an escape. The doors were closed upon her, but she leaped from one of the windows, about ten feet from the ground, and so escaped. She was in her stage attire (the dress of a page), but had thrown over it a coarse gown. This act, taken in connexion with the time, place, &c., is certainly one of the most solemn on record. The sudden transi tion of the dqeased from the miniie world of the stage to the illimitable and unfathomable future ; its unex pectedness, and the meretricious attire in which the act was committed, form altogether an appallingand dreadful picture." BURIAL OF THE DEAD. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SlR,—May I crave the indulgence of the insertion of this note in a corner of your valuable journal. I feel confident that, after having perused the statement therein contained, you will consider that the circum stances of the case (which have produced a powerful sensation among the inhabitant's of Biompton and its vicinity) fully warrant their being made public. A. few days back, a private of the 2d Life Guards, wish ing to have his deceased child interred in Brompton church-yard, and having paid the accustomed fees for &c., at th e time appoint e d, opening the ground, attended the remains of his child to the grave. The coffin having been lowered, the father expressed a desire to see the grave filled up, upon which a violent altercation ensued betwixt him and the churchwarden, who refused to comply with the father's request, on the plea that he must wait till some more interments had taken place in the same grave. Eventually, ,two policemen were called, and they were ordered by the churchwarden to take the soldier into custody, which they refused to do, and, after some more disputing, the gave was filled up; Not long after, the funeral of a private soldier took place, when the same seene was repeated with the same churchwarden ; but the cor poral, who was left behind by the officer in command, having firmly insisted upon seeing the grave filled up, it was at length done. • Now, Sir, it has come to my knowledge since the- time above referred to, that in many instances (although the regular fees have been paid for interment) the coffins have been low-' ered, a few planks placed over the top of the grave, and, despite the noxious exhalation that must arise from bodies so placed, the grave has been suffered to remain in that open state till the churchwarden thinks it is full enough, and then it is filled up. These facts, disgraceful to the authors of them, and which, in my opinion, concern . the,pliblic materially, hardly require comment, but which your many readers can com ment upon as they think proper: Apologizing for thus troubling you, I am, Sir, your obedient Servant, Knightsbridge, May 5; 1842. , P. RECOLLECTIONS OF, PEKIN. BY A RUSSIAN TRAVELLER. (Abridged from the Allgemeine Zeitung.) In the first few days of our residence at Pekin, we experienced so much inconvenience from our Eu ropean clothing, that we' made all possible . haste to exchange it for the costume of the Chinese. PALACE .AND RESIDENCES or PEKIN.—We no sooner found ourselves equipped as by law established, than we sallied forth in a small hired chaise to gratify our curiosity with a sight of Pekin. We drove past the Palace of the Emperor, who, however, only passes the winter here, but the spring, summer, and autumn at a country residence twelve miles oft the capital. The town palace occupies an immense space, and con sists of a vast assemblage of houses of one story high, covered with tiles. Each of these is separate, and has its particular destination. In one, Emperor ; lives ; in another, transacts busines s ; a third. is the residence of the Empress ; a f our th, of the widow of the deceased E the Emperor - a fifth surrounded with a sixth, those of the departed one ; others are con tainsinha- the concubines of the reigning. sovereign, a and attendants in bite countless d by s t high wall, within which none may enter without w h e a i r r m c s h . i l d E r ea t h u o n u u s c e h i s s , permission. These are again enclosed in one general wall, the gates of which open only to the courtiers, and the outer inclosure alone is free to be entered by the public. The shining yellow tiles cover i ng t h e roof of the Palace were all we were destined to behold of it; and turning away after this scanty gratification, we drove through a street which, like all the principal ones, was distinguished for breadth and‘regularity, but none are paved. In the middle of every main street the earth is thrown up to the height of about three feet, for foot passengers and light carriages ; those heavily laden, and drawn by from five to seven mules, must pass along the narrow paths at the side next the houses ; but when, after heavy rain, these become filled ' with impassable mud, even heavy vehicles are allowed the advantage of the raised - road, which, being broad, would be convenient enough, were it not hemmed in by tents and booths, encroaching so much on the pathway as scarceto leave ro om f or t wo car riages to drive abreast. When the Celestial Majesty goes out to take a drive, which happens several times during the year, these baths are all cleared away, and the road smoothed and covered with yellow sand, that the inconveniences of the streets of the capital ma'y not be experienced by its ruler. STREETS AND SHOPS OF PEKIN.—The immense po pulation of Pekin occasions the streets to be filled the whole day with an uninterrupted succession of ve hicles, proceeding in two lines in opposite directions: Although the principal streets are sufficiently . wide, the by.bizeetk are 1,0 uarretvv, that two carriages eau. ' judge- and jury for the adjudication of patent—rights, Mr. Carpmael states reasons of objection which appear colourable ; he also apprises his readers of a recent decision, by which an inventor, intending to take patents in England, Scotland, and Ireland, must have them all sealed before putting the invention into public use, and before enrolling the specification in either country; so that an invention, being in public use in England before the sealing of a patent in Scotland, renders the Scotch patent void ;—of this patentees will make due observance. In conclusion, we have to advise Mr. Carpmael's book as one highly valuable to all more or less interested in patents. REGISTRATION OF DESIGNS, IN ORDER TO SECURE COPYRIGHTS. The object of this sixpenny pamphlet is to elucidate the sections of the last and preceding Parliamentary Acts relative to the registration of designs ; and it carries out its purport in a commendable and twofold manner by pointing out not only the true and un mistakeable sense of their divers clauses, but also the erroneous constructions which have been put upon them, thereby to guard against untoward repetition, or committal of the same. FLANDERS MAIL. BRUSSELS, MAY 6.—M. Bothori, who has just com pleted a carriage which moves alone without steam, with galvanism, and without horses, set out a week ago to fetch the two millions in silver, which Rothschild has promised him if he will bring them from Paris to Brussels with his carriage in fifteen hours. He is ex pected at seven o'clock on Sunday evening at the An derlecht gate. The Commissioners sent from Brussels for the pur pose of examining into the practicability of founding a colony in Brazil, have arrived at Rio de Janeiro. Let ters received at Antwerp state that they were fiefourably received by the Congress of Brazil, which seems disposed to grant the society all the concessions that it can desire. tit/Ail - AN 10 U biIDS..-BAUFSELII, MAT 6. Actual Debt, 2% per Cent. Rothschild's Lean 5 per Om t........ Loan of Thirty Millions, 4 per Cent. 93% • 3 per Cent. — ---- (1340) •I( 5 Loan of City, 1:32, 4 per Cent. • It 4 Society af Commorce, 4 liper Cent F6 Bank of Belgium, 5 per Cent ............. National Society ............. ................... ... Exchange on London (shott) Thirty.seven. —Brussels Papers, May 6. AUSTRIAN FUNDS..-VigsNA, Aran VI. r iveper Cents. tetalliquel Four per Cents. Three per Cents. • 76% . Rank Shares HAMBURGH BORSENHALLE, MAT 3. Bills. Money. Austrian 5 per Cents. Bank Shares 1707 1709 Anglo-Russian Loan llO l4 1 lu4 Russian 5 per Cent., Ist series, Certificate...- +ol Inscription, Ist series. Russian b per Cent. Hope and Co., 3d and 4th Series 99 Ditto in Certificates !9 -- hew 4 per Cent. (1840) 894, 894 a Dutch Actual Debt, % per Cent. ......... Ditto 5 per CenL ......... - Polish Bonds 155 New Tickets. 1 74 Anglo-Danish Loan, 3 per Cent. 79% 79 Spanish, New 5 per Cents. . 18 -- EXCHANGES ON LONDON. HAMBURG'', MAY 3.-13 1. , t6, Two months 1; 8%. PETERSBURG, APRIL 22.—Three months, 37 31-32 pence. STOCKHOLM, APRIL 26. Seventy-nve days, 12 12. PRUSSIAN FUNDS.—BERLIN, APRIL 30. Bills. Money. St. Schuld Sch., 4 per cent. 104% 144% Prussian English Bond, 1830, per cent It 3 102% Enchange on London 6 22% 6 22% Prussian State Gazette, May 1. THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA, THE RUSSIAN NOBILITY, AND THE SERF POPU LATION OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. We publish subjoined a document of much importance— namely, an ukase of the Emperor of Russia for ameliorating the condition of the serf population of h.s empire. We give at the same time an order of the Minister of the Interior, and a circular letter of the Grand Master of Police, accompanying the ukase, modifying and limiting the sense of the Imperial edict. An apparent contradiction is evident in the text of those documents. It seems as if the benevolent intentions of the Emperor were arrested almost on the point of execution, by an after thought Gf policy, forced upon him by unseen obstacles which had arisen. We are enabled, however, by a communi cation from Vienna, of a confidential and important nature, to explain this seeming inconsistency. We are told that the Emperor of Russia, having resolved to liberate, in one sweeping act, the immense . portion of the po pulation of his empire born in a state of servitude, lately called together the Council of State, for the purpose of making his intentions known. Tha proposition was received by the sub servient pillion of the Council with satisfaction ; but the old and powerful nobility present declared that such an act was tantamount to a revolution—that it endengered their lives and properties, and that, in honour and conscience, they could not adopt it. 'I he Council separated without any decision being taken, and the utmost secrecy was for some time preserved on the subject. But a matter so important to all the great interests of the nobility and inferior classes could not long be suppressed, and at length the public became alarmed with reports relative to ths Emperor's intentions. The old nobility (whose fathers have heretofore proved what desperate expediencies they were capable of resorting to, when their interests were affected by the Imperial will,) assumed atone, almost amounting to menace, against the Emperor, while, on the other band, the liberal portion of that class, supported by popular opinion, openly avowed their approbation of the Autocrat's conduct. In this state of things the Emperor was forced to compro mise, and, unwilling either to give up his favourite project, or to have the appearance of yielding to the clamour of the old nobility, he issued the ukase above alluded to for the modi fication of the condition of the serfs, accompanied at the same time by an order of the police, explaining it in a manner cal culated to satisfy the apprehensions of the opposition. The question now remains in this rather uncertain position. The violent and headstrong character of the Emperor, who is never known to recede from any resolution deliberately formed, gives reasons to believe that he will proceed to other and more decided acts, while the deeply-rooted prejudices of the nobility, who are equally reckless in their resolves, may lead them, rather than submit, to make such a resistance as might be fatal to the Emperor. Viewing this subject in all its bearings, it is one of great im portance, , and neither the Revolution of 1830 in France, nor the Reform Act in this country, have led to the, serious conse quences which may arise from further agitation of it. We need only add that our information on this matter is drawn from the best and most authentic sources. UKASE TO: THE DIRECTING SENATE. In the ukase of his Majesty to the Directing Senate, dated 2d of April of this year, and signed with his own hand, it is raid:— " The articles 440 and 457 of paragraph 9 in the code of laws, fixes the regulations according to which seigneurs are allowed to convert their serfs into free labourers, in making over to these in full property seignorial lands, in consideration of certain reciprocal advantages to be specified in special con tracts. But, willing, in the interest of the State that these feudal lands; one of the privileges of the nobility, and which are engaged by contract, be guaranteed from all that might endanger property belonging to the nobility, we have Thought proper, by interpreting article 442, paragraph 9of the codes of laws, to concede to the seigneurs who should be disposed to conclude with their peasantry contracts based on the skid ar ticle, and this without prejudice to the interests of the labour ing peasantry, to concede to them the right of supremacy over the lands thus conceded. And we order that all peasants who shall receive portions of the said feudal lands to recognise this supremacy. 'Wherefore we have decided that all contracts passed by mutual consent between the seigneurs and their peasantry shall be based on the following dispositions, which have been examined in the Council of the empire, and sanc tioned by us " 1. The tenure of the peasant to the seigneur can be regu lated in the contracts by money arising from the produce of the land, or from any other kind of industry. "2. Should the peasant refuse to fulfil the conditions of the contract which they have accepted, they shall be compelled thereto by the local police, under the guarantee of the head of the nobility of the distict, and under the superintendence of the Government authorities. " Ihe peasants who shall have entered into contracts with their seigneurs shall henceforward bear the denomination of 'peasants who have obligations to fulfil.' "4. In as far as these peasants are concerned, the recruiting service shall follow the rotation laid down by the ordonnances for that service. "5. With respect to the support of the Greniers d' Abon dances (depots for grain), and the assistance to be given in case of fire, which are at the charge o(' the free peasants, under the direction of their seigneurs, if the latter refuse to take upon them this responsibility, the obligation shall be ful filled by the nearest authorities. "6. The seigneurs shall organise among the labouring pea santry a local administration, and shall have the high police. " 7. As for the contracts to conclude with the peasants who belong to the properties engaged with the banks of the empire, if the intention of, the seigneurs these properties in pledge, they must obtain the content of the bank before passing a contract. "8. The seigneurs and the labouring peasants, who will have been liberated, are t o cons id er t h e contracts passed between them as indissoluble, each, however, keeping the right to change certain clauses of it in case the property should be engaged to the banks of the Crown. These charges must be guaranteed by those banks. " 9. The contracts entered into according to the above dis positions shall be drawn upon stamped paper of the fourth class, and submitted for our sanction tnd signature according to law. "10. The directing Senate is entrusted with the carrying into effect of this ukase." " The next document is from the Minister of the Interior, dated April 2, 1842, addressed to the head of the police at St. Petersburgh. The Minister, in forwarding the above ukase, says that the object of it is to determine the nature of the te nure of the peasantry in the contracts they will form with their seigneurs, but that the lands remain, as heretofore, the lands of the nobility. From hence it clearly results, that the relations which exist between the seigneurs and the peasants, with whom no contract should have been concluded, remain the same as ever, and experience no change. All this is ex plained in the terms of the ukase, and it must be understood in that spirit. If the Emperor had had any other view he would have openly declared, it. As he has not done so, to seek in the imperial ukase, or to persuade ethers that it can bear any other signification, would be a great crime, since it will be acting against the will of our Sovereign. " His Majesty therefore orders to all military and civil Governors to watch with care that no false interpretation be given to the present ukase, such, for instance, as the freedom of all peasantry. If among any class should bo found eviledis • posed persons, spreading false and dangerous intelligence to delude the people, they are to be arrested and punished with all the rigour of the law. " They are equally to take care that the peasants remain in the same subserviency to the legitimate power of their seigneurs. If any should prove contumacious, they, are to he brought back to their duty by mild means and persuasion, and in failure of this by the rigour of the law. (Signed) " PEROWSKY." "To this letter is subjoined an order from the Grand Master of the Police, aide-de-camp of the Emperor, prescribing to the masters of police to give their utmost attention to pre vent any false interpretations and false reports that may be spread about on the imperial intentions as manifested in the above ukase. (Signed) "CACOCHEKINE, Grand Master of Police." LEARNixa TD B ; SWORD ExEubige.—On Tuesday evening, as Sergeait Rarnsden, belonging to the Arundel and Bramber Corps of Yeomanry Cavalry, was giving a few les sons to a recruit , who had recently entered the service, in cautiously allowed him to use the naked sword, and, in the act of " cutting six," the unfortunate sergeant had his rr se nearly half cut off, but a medical gentleman being on the spot, -ban dages were applied, and we are happy, to say the poor fellow is doing well. • ....,..,, ~ J. not pass in ,them, and a driver is obliged on entering them to call.out, that no one may enter at the same time at the opposite end. Formerly at every point of intersection between these streets, there stood a gate closed it night, but though many of these gates are still standing, the custom has been discontinued. The houses of the Chinese have a monotonous ap= pearance, being mostly surrounded with high walls of grey half-baked brick, above which nothing but their peaked roofs are to be seen. The only exception to this uniform grey colour is offered by the imperial palace, which is covered with smooth green tiles. Besides this, seven or eight princely abodes offer some variety of colour, but the unvarying dusty hue of the rest would become insupportably wearisome, were it not for the relief afforded by the projecting shops. Before the entrance of each of these hangs a varnished black board covered with gold letters, but there is little decoration in any other than the sweetmeat shops. The whole fronts of these are almost always Covered with gilding, enriched with sprawling dragons and other figures, and their splendour is rendered still more striking from the contrast presented not unfre quently by the ruinous hovel and broken-down wall adjoining.• Gardens or walks for public resort do not exist in Pekin, and among the buildings the only ones worthy of notice are the temples, which are profusely painted with vermilion, DEVOTEES AT THE TEMPLES OF PEKIN. Among the sins of the Chinese, certainly cannot be counted that of excess of ceremonial devotion, for these tem ples are almost always empty. A newly-appointed official sometimes seems to consider it a duty, when the place obtained is a lucrative one, to visit 'all the temples in the city, and he then goes to" work in the following manner. He carries into the temple a bundle of tapers, made of the bark of trees and sweet scented oil, and kindles them before the idols whilst the priest strikes with a stick on a metal plate, the worshipper then makes a few prostrations, throws down some money, and the business is. settled. During certain days in every year, the temples are much frequented, but for the purposes of trade, not of devotion. The courts are then filled with traders, who display their goods, principally of the ornamental kind, and the visitors stroll about, or make purchases, as at a fair. Enormous prices are demanded on•these occasions. For a stone of a grass-green colour, much valued by the Chinese for rings, bracelets, &c.,' a merchant asked me 250 lan (upwards of 1001.), and took 26. The scene is further enlivened by the ex hibitions of conjurors throwing knives, tumblers walking en their hands, and other similar diversions, but by the evening the temple is again left silent and desolate. TAVERNS.—ROASTED ICE.—If the houses of reli gious worship usually stand empty, the houses of public entertainment, on the other hand, are almost always full. • The prices charged at these places are enor mously high, and among the young men of the wealthy classes, it is by no means uncommon for a supper party of three or four to spend 50 lans (231. 10s.) • The dainties consumed on these occasions are of a very recherche . description, and principally re commended by the difficulty of procuring them. A favourite dish, for instance, is roasted ice, which is enormously dear, as very few cooks possess the skill and dexterity required for its preparation. A lump of ice is taken upon a sieve, and after being quickly enveloped in a sort of paste made of sugar, eggs, and spices, is plunged into a p an f u ll of boil ing pork fat or lard. The grand point is then to serve it up before the ice has time to melt. What may be the peculiar attraction of this dainty dish it would be hard to say, for though frozen inside it burns the mouth when first tasted. A small plateful costs six lan (about 365.) The Chinese viands in general are disagreeable to an European, as they , do not use salt in their cookery, and do use an immoderate quantity of pork fat, besides ginger and garlic. The roast meats, however, it must be admitted, form an ho nourable exception, and would be acceptable even at . the table of a Parisian gastronome. The immense number of taverns (or traiteurs) in Pekin find no want of support, as it is the custom to entertain guests there, and not at private houses, to which relationship or very particular intimacy alone can give a claim to be invited. A banquekat one of these houses is considered to be a necessary conclusion to the pleasure of a theatrical entertainment, which is generally over by six in the evening, beginning at.eleven in the fore noon. At these dinners, or suppers, the handsome boys who play th e f ema l e par t s are frequent guests, and they are allowed to select the dishes. Their choice, as may be supposed, is seldom guided by eco nomy, and indeed it occasionally happens that they have an understanding with the master of the house. These boys are generally elegantly dressed, polished in their manners, and fluent and even witty in their conversation. CHINESE FANCY FOR ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS.—The Chinese women are to be seen neither in the temples, nor the theatres, nor the taverns, but only in the streets. None but the lowest class ever walk on foot, others drive in carioles, and ladies of the highest rank are borne in litters. They go without veils, with their heads uncovered, and decorated with beautiful artificial flowers. Indeed this custom of sticking flowers in their hair is so prevalent, that I have known a dirty old cook, running out to buy a garlic or a cabbage, stop to adorn her grey locks with a flower. The dress of the Chinese women consists of red or green trowsers, embroidered with doloured silks, and a jacket or upper garment., likewise embroidered. Narrow shoulders and a flat bosom being regarded as handsome, they bind a broad girdle tight over the breast, by way of improving their figures. The movement in the streets of Pekin begins with break of day—that is, in summer at four o'clock, and in winter at six, and the noise and bustle increases till seven, when it is at its height. By nine or ten o'clock •the whole city is asleep, the most profound stillness reigns in the desolate streets, and only here and there is seen the faint light of a paper lantern fastened against a post. THE EARL OF ROSSE'S TELESCOPE. - The subjoined account of the Earl of Rosse's noble Telescope, now casting and in formation, is from the pen of Sir James South, the eminent astronomer : The foundry is not many feet from Birr Castle, the residence in Ireland of the Earl of Rosse, and, with the exception, of the crucibles, which were made by Messrs. Dewer, of Old-street, St. Luke's, all the ap paratus employed on this interesting occasion (the steam-engine itself included) was made in workshops adjoining the Castle, under the Earl's immediate di rections, by workmen trained and instructed by him self. The casting of the speculum of this leviathan telescope having been safely effected, I forward a brief description of the modus operandi adopted by the- Noble Earl, in the confidence that by very many of your intellectual readers it will be gratefully received both at home and abroad. As, however, diagrams are not well suited to news paper columns, I must endeavour to provide a substitute. Make, then, one extremity of a line 41 inches long bisect a perpendicular to itself of 24- inches long, and the other extremity of it bisect another perpendicular to itself of 2 inches and 3 tenths ; beyond which per pendicular extend the first-named line 2i inches. Call the first, the crane line ; the second, the chim ney line; and the . third, the mould line. On the crane line, at the distances from the chimney line of 1 inch and 2 tenths, 2 inches and 4 tenths, and 3 inches and 6 tenths; make dots. On the first of these dots place, centrally, a silver fourpence ; on the second, a silver penny ; on the third, a sixpence ; on the centre of the chimney line, a shilling ; on each of its extreme points, a silver fourpence ; on the centre of the mould line, a crown ; on each of its extreme points, a sixpence ; and on the uncovered extremity of the crane line, a card of 2 inches square, so that its extremities shall lie parallel with or perpendicular 1 to the crane line. Now, supposing these several coins and card to have the same' thickness as the silver fourpences, the toad ensemble will indicate an horizontal section of the foundry; for the three fourpences will represent the crucibles in their furnaces, the shilling the chimney, the penny the crane, the crown the bottom of the mould, the sixpences the iron pouring baskets, and the card the floor of the annealing oven. The crucibles were of cast-iron, 24 inches interior diameter, and 30 inches d ee p, each weighing abOut half a ton. They were kept in situ above the bars of the furnaces by cast-iron supports and subjacent brickwork. The furnaces, about 5,} het square, were brick ; their fuel apertures were 4 feet diameter ; their height above the gratings, 8 feet ; their ashpits, 2 feet ; and their several flues passed into the chimney, which was 54- feet square at bottom, and in height was many yards. The iron pouring-baskets were supported on wooden frames, and were supplied with pivots ; one pivot of each basket having had welded on it at a convenient angle an iron lever about three feet long, by which fee basket, with its contents, was turned on the pivot of the former without difficulty. The bottom of the mould, 6 feet 8 inches in dia meter, was formed of iron hoops 6 inches broad, packed as closely as possible side by side, their edges up, and turned in the lathe till the upper surface had imparted to it a convexity necessary to produce the wished-for concavity in the surface of the speculum when east. A half-crown placed centrally on the crown-piece will represent the wooden pattern for the mould ; it was full 6 feet diameter, and' about 5/ inches thick. The bottom of the mould (the crown-piece) was now included in a quadrangular wood frame, and sand being crammed. between it and the wooden pattern, the latter was removed with the crane, and the mould thus made, being so perfectly horizontal, was ready to receive the melted mass. The metals of which the speculum is composed ,are copper and tin, 126 parts of the former to <';7 ) .:, of the latter; had it been 58" of tin, the proportions would have been the atomic Otinclard. . ..•, q,'. ,u. y. The copper employed was fragments of copper sheathing, and about three tons of it were used ; the tin was grain tin. The price of the former is about 1001. a ton, that of the latter I do not know. At two o'clock in the morning of Wednesday, the 13th instant, the furnaces were lighted, and in about ten hours the crucibles were in a state fit for receiving their respective charges. The metal, which had been previously fused and broken up, was distributed equally amongst the cru cibles, so that any accidental difference in it was pro bably destroyed. By nine in the evening the furnaces were opened, and the flames of nearly homogeneous yellow light which issued from them were splendid. The coun tenances of the bystanders looked like those of ghosts, whilst the scarlet coats of the officers present seemed a dirty yellow. Tackle from the crane was now fastened to one of the crucibles at the extremity of the chimney line, and when raised above its surface, the revolution of the crane on its centre deposited it as quietly as pos sible in its corresponding iron basket; it did the same for the second crucible, and also for the third. By turning the iron bask e t s on th e i r p i vo t s , th e con tents of the crucibles were simultaneously poured into the mould, and some minutes elapsed before the un dulatory motion of the fluid metal ceased. In about twenty minutes the quadrangular wooden frame and sand were removed ; an iron ring con nected with a bar passing through the oven at the back aperture was clamped round the red hot speculum, the tackle of a capstan was hooked to the bar, and the speculum was hauled from the bottom of the mould over an iron railway into the annealing oven. The oven, whose interior had been kept at a dull red heat for some days, was now charged with charcoal, the arches below with turf, and every opening of the oven built up and plastered over, and it is supposed that two months will elapse before the speculum is cool enough to be removed with safety. Not an accident or anything untoward happened during the process, and in 40 minutes from the time of the first crucible being moved the speculum was safely in the oven. The metal is 6 feet diameter, it is 51 inches thick at the edges, and 5 inches at the centre; its weight is about 3 tons. By grinding and polishing its thickness will pro bably be reduced 1-10th or ,nth of an inch—it will be. formed into a telescope of 50 feet focal length, and will, there is every reason to hope, be actually in use this year. The speculum will have a reflecting surface of 4,071 squaxe inches, whilst that of the telescope made bv the immortal Herschel, under the auspices of King George 111. had but 1,811." SLAVERY IN THE FRENCH COLONIES. We informed our readers in a former number, •f the frightful crime committed by a manager of an establishment in Guadeloupe on some unfortunate slaves. We now present the trial of this case, which was adjudged in November last, by the Correctional Police. The Court being opened, the registrar read the de positions of the surgeons and the arrest of the chamber of accusation • from which it appeared that Jean Laf franque, aged twenty-six years, born at Bagneres, department of the Hautes Pyrenees, is accused—First of having inhumanly treated the slave Dalphont, who was afflicted with a serious disease—of having in flicted on him several blows with the whip, and kicked him, only a few seconds, before his death : Second of having tied the slaves Jacob and Six- Ponces to a tree, and thus exposing them many hours to a burning sun—of having then caused them to be tied face to face, and, whilst in that position, forcing them to swallow human excrement, flogging them, and finally burning their posteriors with a hot iron— offences punishable by the ancient ordinances, and by articles 5 and 311 of the penal code. After the reading of these documents, the Usher introduced the witness Jacob. The substance of his .evidence was as follows : " MY first master resided at St. Martin, he brought me to Pointe-a-Pitre, where I was sold to M. Boisau bin, and attached to the establishment under the management of the accused. I was marrooning with the negro Six-Pouces, employed in the same esta blishment, when we were arrested by M. Laffranque. We were in the first instance bound together face to face with cords, which were then fastened over our heads to the branches of a tamarind tree, our feet rested on the ground : in this position we remained from eight in the morning until noon : M. Laffianque then ordered them to bring a vessel containing the iiccal matter, which he introduced into our mouths, and with the nostle of a watering-pot, which served him as a funnel, he poured water into our mouths to force us to swallow it. Were you ill ?—No, because I vomited immedi ately. After that, we were untied from the tree and laid on the ground. M. Laffranque made Aurelie heat a piece of iron which he applied to the skin ; my posteriors and thighs were burnt; he did the same to Six-Pouces. Tell us what you know of Dalphont ? Dalph on t was ill, he had a swelled leg. M. Laffranque had made many incisions, in order to Cure it. For some time it improved ; but the disease returned when they forced him to work. One day he fell into a rut, arel NE. Laffranque caused him to be covered with earth. Some days afterwards they desired him to draw the carcass of a bullock, with the other negroes of the es tablishment (a large slaughter-house), he fell from ex haustion. M. Latfranque made the driver beat him, and then beat him himself. He died under the blows. It appeared from the written deposition of Aurelie, that Jacob and Six-Pouces, being tied together in the manner described, complained of being burnt by the sun; that Laffranque said to them, " Ah ! ah I will show you something immediately, I will burn you directly with a hot iron :" that it was she (Aurelie) who, by his orders, put the iron in the fire, from which he withdrew it himself, in order to make use of it; that, at the cries of the two unfortu nate men, he said, "this burns you so much the bet ter! What have you done with that which you have stolen ?" During this operation, relates the witness, Jacob and Six-Pouces rolled one over another, im ploring forgiveness. After this, Laffranque caused them to be unbound, and, tying their hands and legs together, he forced them to walk by beating them with a supple jack ; these cruelties of Laffranque, and the cords together, caused all the wounds of Six-Pouces and Jacob. He made them eat excrement by means of a funnel: he has employed the same means to make her (Aurelie) eat it. Aurelie further corroborated the evidence of the other witnesses relative to Dalphont. Suzanne, a slave from St. Martin, at present at tached to the establishment of M. Boisaubin, stated, that, she was present during all that passed, and en tered into the most minute details. the day of the death of Dilphont she saw Laffranque dance on his body. Charles, the overseer, corroborated the former statements, as did also Benedictine, who further added that Laffranque had made her son, a child six years of age, eat excrement. The Attorney-General, in an animated discourse, summed up the evidence against the prisoner. He laid particular stress on the statements respecting Dalphont, and sought to establish the fact that Laf franque had forced to work and beaten a dying man. lie finished by inquiring how it was that the crimes against slaves are frequently of a character which are unheard of against free people. It is, said he, that, in the bieasts of some men, religious sentiment is counted for nothing in the relations between master and slave; they do not believe in their frater nity before God. When they exhaust on him whom circumstances has placed in their hands, all the contempt, all the outrages, all the tor tures which a devilish imagination can invent, they do not blush with shame ; they do not experience that compunction which rarely fails a man when he is ahout to injure something made in his own image. It is your sentence, Gentlemen, that will restore the slave to his dignity as a man ; and if they still repu diate the dogma of his equality before God, they will, at least, be forced to believe in his equality before the law which protects him. After the reply of the Advocate, the Court retired into the Council-Chamber to deliberate, and, at the close of an hour they returned with a sentence which condemned Laffranque to one year's imprisonment ! Anti-Slavery Reporter. PASSION AND PRINCIPLE ; A NOVEL, EDITED DT Cam FREDERICK CIIAMIER.—This excellent and most amusing novel so entirely differs, both in its general character and in its varied details, from all the productions hitherto ac knowledged by its editor, Capt. Chamier, that although it is at least equal in literarrtalent as well as in acquaintance with life, and with the human heart, to any of that popular writer's avowed works, no one will fall into the mistake of attributing more than the editorship to him. The contrasted characters of the two heroines of this novel—both almost equally gifted by nature, but 'education and circumstance having left the one wholly at the mercy of " Passion," while they have led the other to regulate her conduct, and even her feelings, by " Prin ciple" alone, give at once a charm -and a moral value to this work, which place it very far above the ordinary novels of the slay. AUSTRALIND.—The following is an extract from a letter recently received from a young gentleman who accom panied the expedition to Australind, in Western Australia, with the first body of settlers dispatched by the Western Aus tralian Company in 1840. It is written from the Vague Inlet, where, as the writer states, he had been to acquaint himself with that district ; 6 be had previously been to Perth for a simi lar purpose, and returned with the same preference for Le schenault :—" Vasse Inlet, Dec. 9, 1841.—You will see by the upper line of this short epistle, that I am thirty miles south of our settlement. I gave myself a holiday this week, and rode my pony down here to see this district, with which I am much pleased, but I most certainly prefer Leschenault to it. The country is very fiat, and the vegetation down to the beach. The wheat looks very well. I rode over the am of Mr. Layman yesterday, with Mr. Chapman, with whom I am • , 't• • so at present. Mr. Layman has about twenty-five acres of whet t 1 lin this year. Travelling here is very difrerent to what it is la England ; we do not look for inns, but make ourselves at home wherever we go, and are sure of a welcome. I stayed two dap with the IBussels, and dine to-day with Captain and Mrs.. Molloy. He is in the Rifles, on half -pay, and holds the office' of Government Resident for the Vasse. You must excuse the . shortness of this letter, for I shall write you another soon in , answer to your own • but an America n w h a l er , be i ng home- S . 11 ward-bound, full (3, 000 barrels of oil), and touching at St. Helena, I thought it as well to send a feW lines. I shall return to Lcschenault on Friday or Saturday. All's well in our set tlement. We expect to hear this week of the arrival of the Don or Lucretia at Swan River. The water is very smooth in Geographe Bay, but no shelter. The anchorage good.. Three whalers are in the bay, and we expect twenty or thirty in a day or two. They will take all the potatoes they can ob tain, and the lowest price, 201. per ton." • THE LIFE or ADMIRAL KEPPEL.—We are re quested to state that Mr. Colburn, of Great Marlborough street, has this day published " The Life of Admiral Viscount Keppel, First Lord of the Admiralty in, 1782-3," by the Hon. and Rev. Thomas Keppel, in 2 vols., Bvo., with portrait, which can now be had of all booksellers. Mr. Colburn has also nearly ready " The Journal of a Tour to Constantinople, by the Danube, in 1840-41," by C. W. Vane, Marquis of London derry, G.C.8., &c. ; to which is annexed the author's cor respondence with Prince Metternich. Lords Pensonby, Pal merston, &c., in 2 vols., Bvo., with illustrations ; and " Tra vels in Kashniere, the Himalaya of the Punjaub, including the Mountain Course of the Indus, through the Valleys of Great , and Little Thibet or Iskardo," by G. T. Vigne, Esq., 2 vols., Bva., with numerous illustrations. - " Jactir BLAYLocK."—Poor Jacky Blaylock is dead ! For more than fifty years no election has taken place in Carlisle, without bringing Jacky prominently on the stage ; nor is there an old inhabitant of the merry city but can repeat some of Jacky's odd sayings, and recount some of his prac tical jokes. He was a " freeman" by birth, a brick-layer and " slap-dasher" by profession, and a droll and humourist to the last. When the old Corporation became too saintly to pa tronize the King-moor sports on " Hollow Thursday," Jacky Blaylock assumed the office of mayor .for the day, and for many years enacted the " Lord of Misrule," with most " ex cellent fooling." tie completed his 710 year on Sunday last, and died on Ascension Day, the anniversary of all his glories ! His latter days were passed in great poverty ; but to the last he refused all parochial assistance, lest he should be deprived of his vote at the next election ! Carisle Journal. Mr. Buckland, it appears, is the solicitor employed to get up the evidence in Good's defence, and frequently 'lei t him in his cell. A sum of 20/. has been received by him for carrying on the defence, and it is supposed the money has been supplied by the Sheriffs. Good still continues to be very com municative with the turnkeys, two of whom are constantly with him. This renders their duty very laborious, since there are but fourteen employed, including the principal turnkey. On Friday last, when Good was informed there bad been another murder committed, he replied, " God bless me, it will make weir work very hard ; you must certainly have more hands. No person but his legal adviser, and those persons connected with the gaol, are allowed to have any communication with him. Molly Good has become very silent during these last few days. Observer. DARING ROMIERT.—About eight o'clock Thursday evening a man, shabbily dressed, made his appearance at the front kitchen window of the house of Mr. Edward Simpson, in West-square Lambeth, for the purpose, as it seemed, of so liciting charity. The man's wretched appearance inducing the servant to go to the pantry for the purpose of supplying him with some food, he took advantage of her absence by abstract ing a quantity of plate that had been left .on the dresser with the dinner service, and contrived to get clear off with his booty. A letter from Stuttgardt, 21st ult., states—" Within the last fortnight our capital has been the rendezvous of a great number of persons of high rank, curious in fire-arms —not only Germans, but foreigners, particularly English. The cause of this influx of company is the sale of the late Duke Henri de Wirtemberg's valuable collection of Runs and pistols. In it is feund a complete series of the various sorts that have existed since 1650 to the present day , from the workshops of the most celebrated makers in all the countries in Europe. There are also several articles which present an his torical interest from having belonged to celebrated personages, such as Louis XIV., Charles XII., Turenne, the Duke d'Albe, Prince Eugene (de Savoie), Napoleon, &c. Other objects are remarkable by curious carvings, and incrustations of gold, silver, ivory, and mother of pearl, and by their ornaments in precious stones. The whole collection is valued at 400,000 florins (a million of francs). THE COLONIAL DUTIES AND THE COTTON-TAX. We are glad to find that an effort has been made in this town to call the attention of Government to the injurious operation of the cotton-tax upon certain descriptions of our manufactures, end more particularly to point out the incompatibility of the proposed colonial duties with the continuance of this most im politic duty. Taking into account the' proximity of the United States to our North American and West Indian ado riles, and the d•sadvantage to which the British manufacturers are subjected by the the tax. the discriminating duty of seven per cent. on American cottons hardly seems sufficient to -enable our manufacturers to sustain a competition in do mestici, and all those cheap and heavy fabrics, in which the Americans peculiarly excel. The proper remedy, however, is not to increase the colonial duties, but to remove the cotton tax.—Manchester Guardian. SCOTT AT FAULT ON A " NOV EL" QUESTION ! Walter Scott was at London when the gas light was first spoken of. On his return to Edinburgh, being in com pany with some very intelligent gentlemen, members of the legal and other learned professions he told them of the novelty of pretending to light London with coal smoke. He, and the intelligent company, broke out into a hearty laughter at this piece of novelty. " Gentlemen," Walter Scott observed, " I must confess such fools as this man with his coal-smoke light, are worse then other fools—they are the most stubborn fools, and cannot be dipsuaded in any manner from their monomania." Some twenty years thereafter, Walter Scott was appointed Di r e c tor o f the ° Edinburgh Gas Light Company ! A WOMAN KILLED BY A Cow.--An inquest was held on Tuesday before P. F. Curry, Esq., Coroner, to in quire touching the etre =stances which led to the death of Charlotte Robinson. The deceased was the wife of Henry Robinson, a landing waiter, belonging to the Customs of this port, and residing at Salisbury-terrace, Old Swan. She was 65'years old. Her death was occasioned by an attack from a cow, which rushed upon her as she was passing along London-road, on Saturday afternoon last. The cow tossed her in the air, and caused concussion of the brain, wherelf she died on Sunday evening. The deceased, it ap peared from the evidence, was a short distance in advance of the cow, which rushed forward, put down its head, and threw her tip. She fell head foremost on the foot-walk. The cow did not appear to be a wild one. The height from which she fell was six or seven feet. The man who drove the cow did not appear to be blameable. The jrity found a verdict ac cordant with the evidence ; that the deceased had, by misfor tune, been tossed by a cow, which caused a mortal concussion of the brain, of which she died.— Liverpool Chronicle. The Constitutionne4 in a Tanjiers letter of the 13th ult., has the subjoined singular account of the treatment received by the American Consul-General from the Emperor of Morocco :—" An affair has occurred 'here, which, although not very important in itself, may lead to serious results. The Consul-General of the United States, having been recalled by his Government, made public preparatihns for his departure ; but, just as he was going to embark, the Governor informed him that he could not be allowed to leave without permission from the Emperor. This having been obtained, Mr. Carr engaged a passage in a steamer for Gibraltar, but was again detained, and, on attempting to go on board, was violently laid hold of by a soldier. Mr. Carr, indignant at this con duct, would have forced his way, armed with a sword-cane ; but the Consuls who accompanied him interposed, and he was induced to yield. The Consuls then met in deliberation, and it was resolved that he should lay his complaint before the Em peror, and demand the dismissal of the under-governor, and the putishment of the soldier who had laid hands upon him. The Emperor replied—' My servants did their duty, for you know that no Consul can leave the country without my order, ant this I had forgotten to give them. I give it now, and you may leave, carrying with you all the good and evil you have re ceived.' The American Consul communicated this to the e ther Consuls, declaring that he would strike his flag, and not hoist it again until full reparation should have been offered to his Government. The American flag was immediately rem red from the Consulate, according to his announcement. On the 7th, Mr. Carr embarked without meeting with any further obstacle ; he was accompanied to the vessel by all the other Consuls." TRADE,, ON THE INDUS.—The navigation of the Sutjedge and the Indus appears to have increased in an extra ordinary proportion within the last few years. A statement prepared, and which has been published in the Bimthay Times, gives the number of boats which traversed the rivers from Loo (liana to the sea in 1838 at 5, with an aggregate burden of 1,900 maunds, while in 1841 the number had increased to 69, with an aggregate burden of 37,050 maunds. The number of " chuppoes" navigating the Sutledge down to Gourgeara was in 1840, 18, with an average burden of 5,550 maunds; and in 1841, 31, with an average burden of 9,300 maunds. KANDAIIAR.—We have been favoured with a copy of the following letter, dated Kandahar, Feb. 14, 1842 Ni P e are, thank God, all safe at this place, although in daily expecta tion of the people in the town rising against us, and the enemy, only 25 miles off, are threatening to attack us. Our commu nication with Caubul and the provinces is cut off; and report says that Sir W. 111.1Sitighten, the Envoy and Illinister, is murdered; with several other officers. It is to he hoped, in the spring, troops will be pushed up from India, for we can do nothing at this season, when, plea,e God, we will give them a lesson they little think of. General Nott, with a large force, went against the rebels collected only eight miles from Kan pahar, and killed and wounded about 700 or SOO of them ; but they are increasing in numbers every day, and one of shah Soojah's sons (Sufter Jung) at their head. It is said they dined in their shrouds the other day+, and swore upon the Koran that they would either murder us all or be killed in the attempt. • SINGULAR Cuirr RENTs.—Statue curiosity !mg been excited respecting an advertisement in this paper last week for a sale of property in Over Alderley, inter alia, of " two annual chief rents belonging to the demesne; the one of a pair of gloves and Bd. payable by Lord Stanley, of Alderley, for a tenement or farm called Shaw Cross; the other of a red rose, payable by Thomas Brocklehurst, E.g. of the Fence, for a tenement or farm called Fitton Tow n." A correspondent has furnished us with the following particulars :-.—On the 19th of August, 1642, Francis Fitton, of Over Alderley, yeoman, came to the house of Francis Acton, in Over Alderley aforesaid, and then and there paid and delivered auto Thonias Acton, son and heir of said Francis, one red rose, for the use and behoof of said Francis, in lien of a chief rent which the ,SXid Francis Fitton should have paid at Midsummer then last, for his lands in Over Alderley, which he confessed he held of the said Francis Acton. And, again, on the 25th June, 1688, Robert Norbury, of Over • Alderley, yeoman, came to the capital meesuage of Samuel Acton, in Over Alderley, and there delivered unto George Massey one red rose, for the use of the said Samuel, in lieu of a chiet rent payable yearly on Midsummer-day, for his lands in Over Alderley, which were late the inheritance of Francis Fitton, being always acknowledged to be ho l d en of the said Samuel Acton and his ancestors. On the 14th August, 32 Charles 11. a fine was levied between parties therein named, of (inter alia)" One pair of white gloves and eightpenc ...r eli t, i n Over Alderley."—Afacclesfield Courier. We find the following statistical table of the Uni vs rsities of Europe in a German Journal : Countries.' Inhabilantp. Universities. Stude. h. Russia 55.000,000 11 6.570 Great Britain ..••.•••• 27,000,M0 9 17,750 France '35,000,000 14 12,180 Austria...... 37,000,000 9 15,100 it P r u55ia............ 15,000,000 7 5,220 The rest of Germany 17,000,000 - 12 7,960 ' :4 Denmark 2,250,090 2 1,430 ':: Sweden and Norway 4,300.000 3 2,810 Spain Italy l9 8,800 1 1,960 P 5w 0r i t t u ze g r a 1 1 an . d .................... ::: Belgium ... 1 2 48: , 2 7 g i " O W OO O° 5 1,100 , ..... The Netherl an d s __ 3,000,000 3 1,400 1,420 Greece ..... ...... '1,000,000 1 .200 lonian Islands ...... 00,000 1300 . . . , • • , \.'" t . r