The Sun. — London, England, 1861-07-18 00:00:00

of all these affecting creations—noblest, tenderest, loveliest of them all, in the truest and loftiest sense —poor Sydney Carton, the ruined genius with the gentle heart, he who perishes, at the close of the narrative, so sublimely for his friend, and for his foregoee love, by the inexorable blade of the guil lotine. Remembering that tearful and awful ter mination to the tragic melo-drama of the Tale of Two Cities —that mysterious interview in the dun geon, during the perusal of which we ever seem to have ringing in our ears the wonderful ghost music in the " Corsican Brothers " that procession of the tumbrils to the place of execution, with the poor little seamstress clasp 10g,, his gentl e an d h ero i c h an d— t h at ascent of the plood-r e d scaffold of the guillotine, and that first, last kiss at the supreme moment before execution — /nay we not reverently recall to mind the force of the Holy Words— Vix eninz pro justo quis rnoritur : "la pro bona forsitan quis audeat mori ? " For Scarce for a just man will one die; yet, perhaps, for I good man some oee would dare to die." A sub limity; of s e lf- sacr i f i c i ng affect i on, real i se d h ere i n Love exquisit e i mag i n i ng, i n t h e name at once o f eeeve and Friendship. As widely separated, however, as are the com mon every-d ay li fe O f the humbler classes among the haunts of ou r p eace f u l E ng li s h p easan t r y from the stupendous horrors of that Earthly Pande monium which was opened up to view now fully s eventy years ago in the blood-drenched streets of Paris —are these two last productions of the rare and, strictly speaking, poetic (d sroace), that is creative, ge n i us o f Ch ar l es Di c k ens —? he ?ale of , t o° Cities an d G REAT E XPECTATIONS . Ob ey i ng a ha ppy inspiration, Mr. Dickens has in this, his latest fiction, thrown his imagination entirely into that region, that division or section of our common humanity, in the delineation of which he stands supreme an d altogether unrivalled. English life i n the very l owest ranks—that l i fe wh i ch i s real i se d ' 0 us as vividly by his pen of genius as though the creatures which that pen depicts (never, for one ins tant, with the most fugitive touch, or even idea, of v " u ' i garitY) were actual flesh-and-blood existences, Person s we not only knew as if they were living men a nd women, but whom we seemed to know thus quite intimately and familiarly, How lowly the regions are in which the plot of this story is cast mto ay be appreciated at once, by every one who comes the work freshly, in the very opening chapter of 4. 7eirt Expect a ti ons . Th a t i n i t i a l c h apter str ik es 'Jae keynote more profoundly than the reader at the first moment suspects. It not only strikes the key note of the harmonious and discordant concert that follows, but it sounds the whole compass of the in strument literally from the- treble to the diapason from little Pip to the mysterious and long name less Convict, out of whose blended fortunes, or we Might equally well say, misfortunes, rises (like a certain nether palace that shall not here be men tioned) the whole fairy fabric of Great Expectations. It is among the foremost of the shining excellencies of Mr. Dickens as a delineator of humankind that he can ever draw with a loving hand things the purest and the holiest from sources the lowliest and apparently in every way the least propitious for the workin g o f t h ese miracles of the diviner alchemy. Instead of casting pearls to swine, he Can, 40 to speak, detect the living pearls of truth and virtue, lying hitherto perdu, in the mire of the stye and the swill of the trough. In every tette by the wayside, he has an eye for the blos som. The keenest sighted, bright-eyed lapidary— As can ever recognise, at a glance, the " precious Jewel" upon the head of the Toad of Poverty—yea, -„ .4 1 30 n "the ve r y h ea d and front of its offending!" His aim throughout seems, as it were, instinctively 10 have been to reverse that vaunted ambition of Crabbe, the poet of the villagers— " To show the great, those mightier sons of pride, How near in vice the lowest are allied." Charles Dickens aspiring rather to show, more vividly than any one had ever even attempted to s how,,, before, how near akin they are in virtue. "ever closing his labours with Crabbe's almost Cynical reflection— So shall the man of power and pleasure see In his own slave as vile a wretch as he ; In his luxuriant lord his servant find His own low pleasures and degenerate mind; And each in all the kindred vices trace Of a poor blind, bewildered, erring race, Who, a short time in varied fortune past, Die, and are equal in the dust at last. The large and generous heart of Dickens throbbing ever with the profounder yearnings of a far more genial and elevating philosophy —prompting him to the use of his rare and delightful powers as a novelist, not with a view thus simply to depress and sadden, but rather to cheer and hearten, us all on to the work ever lying before each in the "Battle of Life" between the Now and the Here after. So systematically and assiduously has he striven to advance in that one direction at once as a great popular fictionist and as a great practical P h ilanthropist, that, even through the medium of this one graceful department of intellectual toil, Ile has contrived as effectively as any preacher, far, far more effectively than the vast majority of r ° eachers, to en f orce —H eaven k nows i n no sec jail spirit—the two great commandments sum ming up within them, according to Holy Lips, the Z.,° 11 1 and substance of our common Christianity. Q;etting aside as hardly to be here talked of befit ,stnglY that " first and greatest of all the command er:itt se —our author's very reverence for which has led him to the enforcement of it in his capacity as a oiled of fiction, only itedirectly and by a sort of a l ' e ti e d implication —who shall not say that this 'g re at writer h as no bl y d one hi s par,t as a lover of Is kind in the enforcement of that other " com mandment that is like unto the first," teaching all !alike and classes, the most widely separated each .l a r one each, to think more tenderly of one another, to feel more lovingly and sympathizingly in regard to griefs and troubles, to trials and temptations, that a re common to us all It is the persistency with Which, without an effort and without a pretention a eYond his craft, or calling, or profession as a novelist, Mr. Dickens has pursued this onward, 'unward course among his fellow creatures, that to Our mind, lends a dignity to labours that otherwise to a superficial glance may appear simply in their results delightful. We feel that while he has been winning from us all these years so abundantly our tears andour laughter, he has at the same time been bettering us —or that at the very least it is no fault of his it, under the influence of his Mirthful and Pathetic Genius, we are not by this time in some appreciable degree bettered. As to the plot of this new story of " Great Expectations," as to that gossamer thread of th e narrat i ve first of all so - adroitly entangled and afterwards so delicately and cexterously disentangled —we cannot but recall to mind the very earnest appeal addressed to his critics by the author of the " Woman in White" (the immediate predecessor, as the chief attraction in All the I ear Bound, of the present narrative of " Great Expectations")—we cannot but recall very vividly to recollection those almost impassioned words in which Mr. Wilkie Collins de precated the customary, cold-blooded synopsis or epitome by the reviewer of the secrets so carefully Concealed by the novelist, until such moments as he (the novelist) himself might deem the reader's euriosity to be ripe for their revelation, Bearing the reasonableness of that appeal in our conside ration, we cannot at the same moment but remem ber also that the Audience addressed by Mr. Dickens when he ascends the curule chair of his Popularity, or to express it differently, when he heats himself upon his Arabian mat as a Story Teller—that the audience our author then ad dresses is so vast and numerous, that scarcely is any 'work, or number, or chapter of his published— w h en it would be difficult for any critic to make an un timely revelation. Nevertheless, even with that lar ge c i rc l e o f re aders gathered around him upon dt s the instant—that grand "magic circle" in the midst ° f which this Megician of Literature carries on his wonderful conjurations—even beyond that imme diate throng, we are aware of course thatthere ar work lta , pe a , n u y sa o l t o h f ers who always reserve . systematically the "`Dickens's New Work" thatuntil t'l-!a,11 have been actually completed. Rememberinget ! 1 " 1°8 e) therefore—the uninitiated, as we mayy t ` e ,L'ln them—we cannot but spontaneously allow need there yet remains in regard to M r.in Dide gree "Great E x p e ctations" for a cert Z e gree of that re ticence which Mr. Colli ns de manded for his " Woman in 'White." So far, at aiy `` l e, we ca n un d erta k e to b e reserv ed in our remarks „ l : 4 ?° 11 the plot of this new story now hastening to close, in its periodical form, now actually !,aneluded as :a separate publication, that we refrai n a t l eas t f r om drawing up in a t ; I ‘7garel a phlegmatic summary or syllabus it I ,' ‘ l,e succession of incidents recounted in 'An one understands more thoroughly the con e, al lnate art of the novelist in rendering up to the t moment what he intends fo be hidden, alto- Zi‘"er inscrutable, than Mr. Dickens. We know a bsolutely no surprises in romance that can ' oi t e P e ass as surprises the disclosure , for example, t „ "te fact that Smike is the son of old Ralph, to :1‘;8 the end of " Nicholas Nickleby :" or, the li g h tn i ng -fl as h of astonishment prck ul,e-: „ s ill th e mind of the reader of " Bar ra.-1-tudr,e,, w e en—among the smouldering c 5 of the heave - -hearted Catholic gentleman's a llntresh 'e s H ce le grapples 'with the sli nuse_,r. arc a lemon of the story, apostrophising him as r ia ge, tho u d ou bl e mu rderer!" And here are sur --r here t oo , i n t h e i r way qu ite as startling as any Noveli s t has vet adeeetured upon, elaborately le'relit.„ „P ring the m , in the first instance , and then ah al "'- v laying th em b are f or the reader's astonish. enlhion the course of t' threa d of this new tale of his entitled " Great Ex pectatio " trio w in ding-up of the r avelled Particularly—at any rate we ma y the sow , 'vent u say re to this much—particularly in regardiretaot 'ce of thes e G rea t E xpec t a ti on s—Pp , s ci putho !pee- ion- - win - ) übii- Dents, t this ;sion ! work it is it Can whim itablv itious of the each ever ice ill n our °S and is al ather rnenft riting erish ,s the by — more than vork, tie,n -;If as any ghe r eon rible :THE SUN,I LONDON, TEMBSDAY EVENING, JULYI„IB, 1861. Expectations—from which the work takes its title. Pip! An unpromising name for a hero—to begin with. Yet one that, however ludicrous at its first sounding—wins upon us, somehow as the little hero of the story himself wins upon us, while he is grow ing up ; until we come at length to like him and almost as much (though never quite as much) as Joe Gargery did; dear old Joe Gargery the blacksmith. It is as Joe's child-companion that Pip opens upon us in chapter one of " Great Expectations." After the little boy's interview that is with the terrible Escaped Convict hid away among the shadows of the tombstones in the country churchyard. And it is th© extraor dinary development of the poor ignorant Black smith's Boy into the gentleman, the well-to-do and Educated Gentleman, that:is the marvel of the tale throughout. Around that eccentric transfor mation are grouped together the most motley in cidents, and scenes, and characters. Here Satis House with its weird occupant—that sane lunatic of love and hatred (as one is almost tempted to call her)—Miss Havisham. Here—lying off at a little distance from the Marshes or the meshes," lying off there gloomily " like a wicked Noah's Ark"—the Hulk with its grimly occupants. Yonder—up in town—Barnard's Inn with its lugubrious surroundings, and Pip's Garden Court Chambers in the Temple, where on a windy, rainy night comes the first astounding revelation Yonder in the suburbs—that distracted home of the Pockets at Hammersmith—and, further away still in the west, that temporary abode of Estella (ever haunted by the ghost of poor love-sick Pip) on the old-fashioned Green at Richmond. So much in a sentence or two—for a mere sprinkling of the localities. But now—what possibly can be written within the narrow compass of a few sentences about the living and breathing personages peopling those scenes : unless, indeed, the reviewer's pen could be , . _ guided for once by ono of those amazingly pre cocious precis writers who are alone apparently presumed to go up for the purpose of passing the ordeal of the Civil Service Examinations. A simple enumeration of the names of these new creations of Mr. Dickens would make a . very re spectable table of contents to a Biographical Dictionary. The pick amongst them, and" only the " pick," we e can here undertake even cursorily to particularize. To begin, then, with the beginning, there is burly Joe Gargery, the Blacksmith already mentioned. Joe, now singing " Old Clem" at the anvil. Now sitting at home by the kitchen fire, feeling his right-side flaxen curls and whiskers, and looking out with his blue eyes ("eyes of such a very undecided blue that they seemed to have got somehow mixed with their own whites") looking out with his blue eyes until Mrs. Joe should make an ominous grab at Tickler for the benefit of Pip, or upon her own account, and for the advantage of society generally, come out strongly " on the Ram page." Mr. \Vopsle, that excruciatingly ridiculous Parish Clerk, who eventually emerges upon the London horizon in the tragic line as Hamlet:; but who, even when wearing that peculiar attire called the sock and buskin, never cuts a more ridiculous figure than at that early stage of the stcry when—standing before the kitchen fire at Joe's, after the convict hunt—be wildly cries out No ! " With the feeble malice of a tired man," says the historian—who then adds gravely, " but as he had no theory [to support his negative] and no coat, he was unanimously set at nought—not to mention his smoking hard behind as he stood with his back to the kitchen fire to draw the damp out, which was not calculated to inspire confidence." Then there is that immense ass, Pumblechook, the corndealer or seedsmn of the little country town, hard by the blacksmith's forge and the marshes. Of Mrs. Gargery herself we ought not to omit here to mention that when she happens to be on tho Rampage, as even Joe allows, _ . " candour compels fur to ad - mit that she is a Bus- ter"—pronouncing this word as Joe pronounced it, "as if it began with at least twelve capital B's." As for the Pocket Family, our chief recollections in regard to them are, that as to the children there are seven, all being "not brought up but tumbled up" (" four little girls and two little boys, and a baby who might be either, and the baby's next successor who was as yet neither")—and that as to Mr. and Mrs. Pocket, the parents of the aforesaid, they are described as having by their precipitate mar riage, so to speak, " taken Time by the forelock— when, to judge from its length, it would seem to have wanted cutting." Under Mr. Pocket's guid ance as tutor, Pip has for companions—Bentley Drummie, the Spider, as we learn to call him after wards, "an odd looking young man of a heavy order of architecture ;" and Startop, who is first seen reading, and "holding his head as if he thought himself in danger of exploding it by too strong a charge of knowledge." Mr. Jaggers, the Newgate Lawyer—whose prototype we could name in five letters of the alphabet—Mr.Jaggers,with hisbanner of a pocket-handkerchief, and his creaking boots, and his huge hands scented with highly flavoured soap, hands that he is always washing and towelling after any very dirty case, sometimes scraping the case out of his nails afterwards, is admirably drawn throughout. So likewise, for that matter, is Mr. Wemmick, his heal man of business—quite a du plex character, who sometimes turns up the " right twin," and sometimes the " wrong twin"—with a perpetual hunger upon him for " portable pro perty"—with his mouth now open, now closed (tight) always a very " post-office"--dry as a chip when at the office in Little Britain—genial, cordial, in fact, coatless, and in his shirtsleeves, when in his convivial little suburban retreat, The Castle, down at Walworth ! Preposterously ridi culous though many of the scenes down there are in themselves, they are nothing less than charming at the same time in a thousane particu lars, what with "the Aged" (intensely deaf) chir ruping out perpetually, " All right, John, all right," and what with Wemmick's congenial lady love, Miss Skiffins, with a figure like a child's kite, and yet with a waist continually tempting , Wemmick's arm to stray from " the path of virtue , ' as represented by the table. The Convicts of various kinds that flit across the story at uncertain intervals are one and all depicted with strangely life-like touches from this master-hand, even to the fact of their " bringing with them that curious flavour of bread - poultice, baize, rope-yarn, and hearthstone, which attends the Convict pre sence." The Convict—that is, Abel Magwitch, otherwise Provis—is the mingled horror, and interest, and—in some dim, blundering sense, also, throughout, the book—charm of the whole narra tive. If only from the occasional " click in the throat," the reader feels all along strangely that, under that rough and loathly rind, there is a latent core of goodness. Here, as an exemplar of the man, we will extract from the opening chapter of the tale the manner in which the Convict instructs little Pip what to do upon the Arst evening of their acquaintance— " You bring me, to-morrow morning early, that file and them wittles. You bring the lot to me, at that old Battery over yonder. You do it, and you never dare to say a word or dare to make a sign concerning your having seen such a person as me, or any person sumever, and you shall be let to live. You fail, or you go from my words in any partickler, no matter how small it is, and your heart and your liver shall be tore out, roasted, and ate. Now, I ain't alone, as you may think I am. There's a young man hid with me, in comparison with which young man lam an Angel, That young man hears the words I speak. That young man has a secret way pecooliar to himself of getting at a boy, and at his heart and at his liver. It is inwain for a boyto attempt to hide himself from that young man. A boy may lock his door, may be warm in bed, may tuck himself up, may draw the clothes over his head, may think himself comfortable and safe, but that young man will softly creep and creep his may to him ' and tear him open. lam a keeping that young man from harming of you at the present moment, with great difficulty. I find it werry hard to hold that young man off of your in side. Now, what do you say P" I said that I would get him the file, and I would get him what broken bits of food I could, and I would come to him at the Battery, early in the morning. " Say Lord strike you dead if you don't I" said the man. I said so, and he took me down." Hence the whole aft er - mystery o f t h e i r won d er f u l relationship with each other. As a companion picture we must subjoin the description given shortly afterwards of Joe's amazement when Pip (bent upon procuring food for his convict betimes) suddenly secretes his slice of bread and butter down ones of the legs of his trowsers— i. he it Joe was evidently made uncomforhble what sup posed to be my loss of appetite, and took a thoughtfulh' e out of his slice which he didn't seem to enjoy. He turned it about in his mouth much longer than usual, pondering over it a good deal, and after all gulped it down like a pill. He was about to take another bite, and had just got his head on ono side for a good purchase on it, when his eye fell on me, and he saw that my bread-and-butter was gone. The wonder and consternation with which Joe stopped on the threshold of his bite and stared at me, were too evident to escape my sister's observation. " What's the matter now?" said she, smartly, as she put down her cup. " I say, you know !" muttered Joe, shaking his head at me in very serious remonst r a n ce. " Pi p , old chap.! You'll do yourself a mischief. It'll stick somewhere. You can't have chawed it, Pip." " What's the matter now P" repeated my sister, more sharply than before. •' if you can cough any trifle o n it u p , Pip, I'd recom mend you to do it," said Joe, all aghast. " Manne rs is manners, but still your €,lth's your elth." By this time, my sister was quite desperate, so she pounced on Joe, and, taking him by the two whiskers, knocked his head for a little while against the wall behind him ; while I sat in the corner, looking guiltily on. " Now, perhaps you'll mention what's the matter," said my sister out of breath, "you stating great stuck pig." Joe looked at her in a helpless way; then took a helpless bite, and looked at me again. ‘ h ‘Y is ()u cheek,kn know, Pip," said Joe, solemnly, with his last bite in and speaking in a confidential voice, as if we two t w e e t r h e a q l u a i a t t e alone,to tell upon"3,ony and an ma any is time.always B ut friends, sneh a a " n_d Id he moved his c h a i r an d looked'abou y t the floor between us, and then again at me—" such a most oncommon Bolt as that I" " Been bolting his food, has he ?" cried my sister. "You know, old chap," said Joe, looking at me, and not at Mrs. Joe, with his bite still in his cheek. " I Bolted, myself, when I was your age—frequent—and as a boy I've been among a many Bolters; but I never see your Bolting equal, yet, Pip, and it's a mercy you ain't Bolted dead." My sister made a dive at me, and fished me up by the hair : saying nothing more than the awful words, " You come along and be dosed." Whereupon poor Pip is drenched with tar-water, as ajudicious corrective. How pathetically dear old Joe can talk, even with his feeble command of lan guage, let those say who have read his account of his drunken old father going off in what Joe calls " a purple leptic fit." " And it were my instruc tions," says Joe, " to have had put upon his tomb stone that, Whatsume'er the failings on his part, Remember reader he were that good in his hart." But, better than this, in the way of affording a clue as to how far J^e himself "were that good in his hart," take the following—where Joe and Mr. Jag gers are talking over the sudden dawn of Pip's Great Expectations (long looked-for, but at last arrived)— " Well, Joseph Gargery ? You look dumbfoundered ?" " I am !" said Joe, in a very decided manner. " It was understood that you wanted nothing for your self, remember ?" "It were understood," said Joe. "And it are under stood. And it ever will be similar according." " But what," said Mr. Jaggers, swinging his purse, " what if it was in my instructions to make you a present, as compensation ?" " As compensation what for P" Joe demanded. " For the loss of his services." _ _ _ Joe laid his hand upon my shoulder with the touch of a woman. I have often thought him since, like the steam hammer, that can crush a man or pat an eggshell, in his combination of strength with gentleness. " Pip is that hearty welcome," said Joe, "to go free with his services to honour and fortun', as no words can tell him. But if you think as money can make compensation to me for the loss of the little child—what come to the forge—and ever the best of friends 1---" 0 dear good Joe, whom I was so ready to love and so unthankful to, I see you again, with your muscular black smith's arm before your eyes, and your broad chest heav ing, and your voice dying away. 0 dear good faithful tender Joe, I feel the loving tremble of your hand upon my arm, as solemnly this day as if it had been the rustle of an angel's wing. But I encouraged Joe at the tim3. I was lost in the mazes of my future fortunes, and could not retrace the by paths we had trodden together. I begged Joe to be com forted, for (as he said) we had ever been the best of friends, and (as I said) we ever would be so. Joe scooped his eyes with his disengaged wrist, as if he were bent on gouging himself, but said not another word. Mr. Jaggers had looked on at this, as one who recognised in Joe the village idiot and in MO his keeper. When it was over, he said, weighing in his hand the purse he had ceased to swing— " Now, Joseph Gargery, I warn you this is your last chance. No half measures with me. If you mean to take a present that I have it in my charge to make you, speak out, and you shall have it. If on the contrary you mean to say--" Hero, to his great amazement, he was stopped by Joe's suddenly working round him with every demon stration of a fell pugilistic purpose. Which I meantersay," cried Joe, " that if you come into my place bull-baiting and badgering me, come out I Which I meantersay as such it you're a man, come on I Which I meantersay that what I say, I meantersay and stand or fall by l" Another fragmentary passage—premising, however, that this shall be the last—we are fain yet to add to the foregoing quotations as an additional sample brick, after the fashion of Skolastikos. The brick here, however—a very genuine brick—shall be no other than— Trabb's Boy ! Pip, in the plenitude of his good fortune—that good fortune still, so to speak, all the time with a radiant gloss upon it—is sauntering, glad at heart, through the streets of his native town : when—" Fate," ex claims Pip himself in tones of anguish,while relating the circumstance, " Fate threw me in the way of that unlimited miscreant, Trabb's Boy" " Casting my eyes along the street at a certain point of my progress, I beheld Trabb's boy approaching, lashing himself with an empty blue bag. Deeming that a serene and un conscious contemplation of him would best beseem me, and would be most likely to quell his evil mind, I advanced with that expression of countenance, and was rather con gratulating myself on my success, when suddenly the knees of Trabb's boy smote together, his hair uprose, his cap tell off, he trembled violently in every limb, staggered out into the road, and crying to the populace, ' Hold me I I'm so frightened feigned to be in a parcxyem of terror and con trition, occasioned by the dignity of my appearance. As I passed him, his teeth loudly chattered in his head, and with every mark of extreme humiliation, he prostrated himself in the dust. " This was a hard thing to bear, but this was nothing. I had not advanced another two hundred yards, when, to my inexpressible terror, amazement, and indignation, I again beheld Trabb's boy approaching. He was coming round a narrow corner. His blue bag was slung over his shoulder, honest industry beamed in his eyes, a determina tion to proceed to Trabb's with cheerful briskness was in dicated in his gait. With a shock he became aware of me, and was severely visited as before; but this time his motion was rotatory, and he staggered round and round me with knees more afflicted, and with uplifted hands as if beseech ing for mercy. His sufferings were hailed with the greatest joy by a knot of spectators, and I felt utterly confounded. I had not got as much further down the street as the post-office, when I again beheld Trabb's boy shooting round by a back way. This time he was entirely changed. He wore the blue bag in the manner of my great-coat, and was strutting along the pavement towards me on the oppo site side of the street, attended by a company of delighted young friends to whom he from time to time exclaimed, with a wave of his hand, ' Don't know yah I' Words can not state the amount of aggravation and injury wreaked upon me by Trabb's boy, when, passing abreast of me, he pulled up his shirt-collar, twined his side hair, stuck an arm akimbo, and smirked extravagantly by, wriggling his elbows and body, and drawling to his attendants, ' Don't know yah, don't know yak, pon my soul don't know yah I' The disgrace attendant on his immediately afterwards tak ing to crowing and pursuing mo across the bridge with crows as from an exceedingly dejected fowl who had known me when I was a blacksmith,tulminated the disgrace with which I left the town, and was, so to speak, ejected by it into the open country. " But (adds Pip) unless I had taken the life of Trabb's boy on that occasion, I really do not even now see what I could have done save endure. To have struggled with him in the street, or to hate exacted any lower recompense from him than his heart's best blood would have been futile and degrading, Moreover, he was a boy whom no man could hurt; an invulnerable and dodging serpent who, when chased into a corner, flew out again between his captor's legs, scornfully yelping. I wrote, however, to Mr. Trabb by next day's post, to say that Mr. Pip must decline to deal further with one who could so far forget what he owed to the beat interests of society, as to employ a boy who excited Loathing in every respectable mind." The squandering about the narrative of comical incidents quite subsidiary to the progress of the story, is something remarkable of its kind, even with Dickens—such as the extraordinary amount of "play" Joe contrives to obtain from his hat at Pip's London Chambers—that hat which first of all is described as having been held carefully by him, like a bird's-nest with eggs in it ; but, as afterwards, when perched upon the extreme corner of the chimney-piece, demanding from its owner " a con stant attention and a quickness of eye and hand very like that exacted by wicket keeping." No less remarkable is the equally auent squandering about him by our Great Humorist of little minor characters of the most extravagant whimsicality, the mere momentary recollection of which by acci dent in certain serious situations—say, when seated in an omnibus, with a row of sedate people oppo site—becomes an almost painful tax upon one's gravity, as Pope has it in a delightful line— " Exceeds all power of face l" Say it is the Avenger (own brother, we take it, to Bailey Junior) Pepper, the boy-tiger, in blue coat, canary waistcoat, white cravat, top boots, and creamy breeches, who announces Mr. Gargery on his arrival at Barnard's Inn. [" I thought he never would be done wiping his feet," says Pip in this place speaking of Joe's town apparition, " and that I must have gone out to lift him off the mat, but at last he came in!"]—Sayit is that "ridiculous old woman of limited means and unlimited infirmity," Mr. Wopsle's Great Aunt—" who used to go to sleep from six to seven every evening in the society of youth, who paid twopence per week each for the improving opportunity of seeing her do it." Or Dolge Orlick, the blacksmith's assistant, imposing his impossible name upon the village as an affront to its understanding, slouching in and slouching out wherever he goes, like Cain or the "Wandering Jew. It is in association with this vagabond that we have the hero of the tale, described as in a pre dicament of the most appalling kind imaginable —the horror of this dire delimma being, however lamentably marred, as such, by the reader's recol lection, that it is Pip himself (the otherwise, to all appearance, inexorably doomed victim of this devilish plot) who is the narrator of the circum stance, and who must consequently have been snatched somehow from the very jaws of destruc tion ! It is the one inevitable, inartistic mitigation of terror incident to and consequent upon the auto biographic form of narration. As an imaginary Autobiography however, Pip's story of the rise and fall of his Great Expectations must be prlnounced in simple justice to be as truthful a revelation of a human heart with all its fluctuations of good and evil, w i t h a ll i ts errors, an d wea k nesses , an d temptations, Mr. Dickens's even that heroes of and ou our autobiographers, chief favourite among Mr.Murd s t one ' s " Brooks of She ffield " the " D2isy" of Steerfo r th, tho °P‘Doady" of little ' Dora, the "Trotwood" o f A comparative gentle-heart e d unt ‘ Betsey, cPe noble, manly, loveable, David rfi a e r l a d! v e Compared insignificance, him certainly as individual rnp creation, Pip sinks, it must be admitt e d, into o wYet Paiyp,'snotwithstanding,autobiography as a work o f self-delinea tion to the t i full as truthful in highom the among m s o a n m g e m the a s t e r i r n e d . ! As such it is not at ail unworthy of assuming its remarkabl e emanations afford s additional evidence of the creative power of this plane from great Original Genius, and of his sustained mastery at his own will and pleasure, as he lists, just over the depths of our Fears and, of our Laughter. Scarcely anything has been here remarked—and this purposely—in reference to the three para mount sources of the enthralling interest of this singular tale of " Great Expectations." Mi ss Havisham with her ghostly, ghastly Fate as that Bride that was not to be, who had looked upon an agony as terriole as that typified in the gorgon head of Medusa, on her marriage morning, and had thenceforth d liverom youth into old ae clad in her nuptial ra f im6nt as in a white lace shroud and in a white satin winding-sheet. Es tella, the brilliant, the beautiful and bewitching Estella, with her heart of ice and her refrigerating pride, and yet—in spite of all that haughty self-asser • tion of hers—her terribly debased and evil parentage. Offspring as the radiant lady proves to have been of—shall it be said ?—a felon and a murderess ! Lastly, that third source of the all-absorbing in terest of the tale, the most potent attraction among them all, and yet the very one that at the outset seems to threaten only to prove throughout an object utterly repulsive—Magwitch, alias Provis, alias Campbell, that " mere warmint," that poor dunghill outcast, that condemned felon and re turnedconvict, and despised and hunted fellow-crea ture! Magwitch, with his redeeming love for Pip, and his ludicrous terror of being low, and that awful little Book, on which he goes about the world, swearing everybody he comes in contact with upon the moment of their first acquaintance, and his passion for "shorts" as a disguise, and his ambition —the dominating and ch er i s h e d ambition of his life (as a mere warmint) to own a London Gen tleman ! It is an astonishing creation throughout, from the first to the last, so horrible, so laughter-moving, so degraded, and yet so good a nature steeped in the dregs of squalor and wretchedness, yet with so much gen tleness and such large capacities for enduring affection still vital within it ! This portraiture of Magwitch, in truth, while it is the last is very far indeed from being the least among the many re markable successes of this kind achieved by the same all-embracing and benignant Genius in the living Dreamland of imaginative Literature. It is intentionally, we repeat, on our part that we do not here adventure upon anything more than a passing reference to the three principal sources of interest, but just now particularised as imparting their blended attraction to the narrative of Pip's life, and of the rising and the falling of his Great Expectations. Anything beyond these merely casual references to them here were incompatible indeed with our immediate design of allowing the Novelist himself, in his own inimitable way, and according to his own peculiar pleasure, to make, in the instance of many a Future Reader, his own well-timed and designedly, tardy revelations. The work viewed as a whole, now that it has ap proached the public at last in its completed form we recognise as a production so true to life and to reality, as so just a shadowing forth of human nature (here recognised -anew for the most part under the kindliest aspect) that we accept the Book from its Author as little less than a Benefaction. 13.14 stock stock stock stock stock stock stcoc stock stock stock stock stock stook stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock 6.4.0. stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock MONEY 2UAIU(ET AND CITY. NEWS. CITY, Two O'CLOCK. stock A very moderate demand for accommodation is still reported in the general discount market, and the best bills are negotiable as low as 52 per cent. ; the supplies at the command of the banks and pri vate firms being largely in excess of the require ments of the commercial community. At the half-yearly meeting of the London Joint Stock Bank, he'd to-day, the usual dividend at the rate of 124 per cent. per annum was unanimously agreed to. Business in the English Stock Market to-day has been rather dull, and the tendency of values has indicated weakness, Consols having declined to 89a for money, and 90 far the account, or nearly per cent. lower than they were yesterday after noon. The New Threes and the Reduced remain at 894 2, and the 5 per Cents, are 107. Bank Stock is firm at 231 ; India ditto flat at 2184- 220 ; ditto 5 per Cent. Enfaced Paper at 914. Exche quer Bills, June. are 3s. to 2s. dis. The New Indian Loan Scrip is 1001 I. In the Foreign Market a further advance has taken place in Turkish Bonds, the old 6 per Cents. being 831 1-; ditto 1858, NI 671; ditto 11.00 ; Brazilian, to 991; e Sardinianßonds nave remain improvedat7Btto 6 r B ruvian have receded to 954-. The last week's railway receipts, ascertained up to this day, are in round figures as under : stock stock stock stock CLOCK stock stock stock stock stock 12 10 stock stock - stock stock stock stock 1861. Great Western £49,203 North-Western South-Western 1860. £19,718 90,500 21,045 Brighton 20,957 19,859 Midland South-Eastern Great Northern 25,352 24,983 Lancashire and Yorkshire Bristol and Exeter .. 6,668 7,123 North-Eastern .. Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln it... 12,203 12,022 North British 7,398 7,180 South Wales Great South and West Ireland Edinburgh and Glasgow 6,277 6,115 Grand Trunk of Canada Great Western of Canada These returns are of an unsatisfactory character compared with those of the corresponding period of last year. On the Great Western there is a decrease of £515 ; the North Western of £1,885 ; the Midland of £1,084 ; the South Eastern of £4,473 ; the Lancashire and Yorkshire of £3,491 ; and the Great Southern and Western of Ireland of £263. The South Western shows an increase of £1,890; the Brighton of £1,098; the North Eastern of £1,113; the Grand Trunk of Canada of £750; and the Great Western of Canada of £217. A meeting of the Bank of New South Wales took place in Sydney on the 24th of April, when a divi dend at the rate of 15 cent. per annum was declared. The operations in the English Railway Share Market have been of an unimportant character, and little variation has taken place in values. Caledo nian, South Western, Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln, North Eastern (Berwick), and South Eastern, however, improved about 55., while Mid lands declined 55., and Bristol and Exeter, 10s. Great Western, North British, and South Wales brought previous values. In the Foreign and Colonial undertakings there was little change of importance. Namur and Liege brought 8k ; Grand Trunk of Canada, 19f ; Great Indian Peninsula, 95k 96; and East Indian 98% 99. Joint Stock Bank and Miscellaneous Shares con tinued at about former quotations. BRITISH FUNDS—CLOSING PRICES. Bank Stock 3 per Cent. Reduced Annuities 893 / i 3 per Cent. Cons*ls Annuities New 3 per Cent. Annuities B 9B i I I 5 per Cent. Annuities..... Annuities, 20 yrs, expire iith Jan., 1880 — Ditto for 30 yrs, expire sth April, 1885.. 152 India Stock. •••••• .......... Ditto 5 per Cent. .............. 991 i 0 It/ Ditto Loan Scrip, 5 per cen t GFtsiDeexleiniktedta'olrA. 1003: lit i Ditto Enlaced Paper, 4 per Cent — Ditto 5 per Cent............ ...... 94 3, Ditto oi per Cent Ditto Debentures, 1863 Ditto 1864 Ditto Bonds £l,OOO Ditto under £l,000 '2onsols for Account, Aug. 7. ............ 90 i 84 90 India Stock for Account ................ Ditto S per Cent March. June. Exchequer Bills, £l,OOO, 2d........ _ ;2 dis D,t-to £ 5OO ... 3 dis ........... Ditto Small FOREIGN FUNDS—aim s/Nu PRICES. Brazilian 5 per Cent......... 99.1 Ditto 4i per Cent. 1858 .. s o o . l . id . ....... 7i 84 Ditto C- per Cent., 1860 I\ 3 :e p :v er .C Zt 123 , 223 / New Grenada Active, 31 per Cent. Ditto Deferred Peruvian 41 per Cent .. Account Ditto Account Ditto (Uribarren), 41 per Cent. Portuguese 3 per Cent., 1853 461 'ordinian 6 per Cent • ...... Ditto Account ...................... 781 Spanish 3 per Cent .. 481 crkish 6 per Cent .............. ..... Ditto Account ......................801 80 Ditto New Loan .................... 661 Ditto Account ............ Ditto £lOO Bonds ...... Dividends on the above payable i n London. T HREE O'CLOCK. Consols, Money Ditto Account B9l 90 Share Belfast and Ballymena Bir., Wol., and Str. Val. Birk., La., and Ch June Blyth and Tyne Bost, Sleaf. and Mid.Co Bristol and Exeter Caledonian E'armartlien & Cardigan Cork and Ban den Cork, Blrock., krassagc Cornwall . DO A ( A gets no div. D o B , until 6pc peran. r hasbeen d.toß Dublin & Belfast, June Dun., Perth, &Ab. June East Anglian... Eastern Counties Eastern Union, A stock Do do B do Do Nw A, late EU3ds East Suffolk Edinburgh & Glasgow Edin. Perth, & Dundee Forth &. Clyde Junction Furness Glasg. and S. ' Western Great Nthn. a Scotland Great Northern Do do A stock ... Do do R do Gt. S. AD W. of Ireland Great Western Do Str - Val gua. stock Trish South-eastern Lancashire & TorkshirC Loudon and Blackwall Lon., Bright.. & S Coast Land., Chat., and Dover Lond. &Nth. Western Lond. & Mb. Western L'derry & Coleraine derry & ni sßill en Wan. Shef. (Cr, Linooin , Maryport and Carli sle Do do shares ITetropolit an Jfidland Do new . • Do Nrming. k Derby Xfhl. Gt. W. of Ireland I Do shares Mid Kent Do, Cray Line 'ewcaatle and Ctrlisle ' Newry t Annav,h, def Newry, Warnpt. Ros Norfolk North ... Nor.Dey.Rail&Dk.stoo'• D 4tk ; A reel no d until 6pcnas beenpd.l3 Do B stock Nth. Eastern—Berwict Dodo, a .N.E. purchase DoLeeds ....... ....... Do York . . (North London ........ 6 7 94 93 100 1001 5 6 42 43 8i 9 17 18 491 594 39 41 28 30 L 9.16 I Do new. North tafrordshire N. and S. W. Junction Not. &Grantham Rail rzebles Portsmouth Scottish Central Scot N. E., Aber. stock Do Scot. kid. stock... Shropshire Union - Sittingbourne & Sheer. South Devon .......... S.-Durham & Lane. Un. South Eastern ........ South Wales S. York. and River Dun Staines, Wok,. and Wok Stockton & Darlington 100 100 100 10 13 4 100 100 100 Do do Do New (1860) !Taff Tale .......• .• .• Do Pret. No 1 ThamesilavenDk&llail Ulster ......... . D 0.......... ...... .. Vs le of Neath Victoria Sta. and Pim Waterford & Kilkenny Waterford Limerick !West Cornwall ;West London 51 CI Do Ist class ........ Do 2cl class .. IVestilartlePool Efarbr and Rail West Midland—Oxford Do. Newportj Do. Hereford! 4$ 48 42 14 86 88 Do.. Do.. Gt.North. l E. Counts. Do. :Gt. West Yk.N.&Tir , Yk.N. Ard. Do. iDo. tLnt N.W. S. Eastern Peto &Co. Norfolk 'Do. 1L NWW-3 1i tifid land E.Counto Do. Do. Do. gidland LAr NW L.Yk. Do. t.North P. Bra ssey Do. n`Clean t. Wes,. L.& Bryky BANE OF _ENGLAND. An Account, pursuant to the Act 7th an d B t h Vi ctor i a cap. 32, for the week ending on Wedn es d ay, the 17th day of July, 1861: L25,301,795' OGt°hveer Securitie s . 3.014,900 t Debt X 11,015,100 issuE DEpALurm r Eivr e . n Notes issued! & Bullion 10,711,795 Gold sflv oierCtunilion. (Including '425,30,79 5 BANKING DEPARTSI74NT. Proprietors' Capi- Governrnent Seen tal 3,383,112 Dead - L - v . ~ eightAn- Pest 4 '9 S 5 202 Public Deposits (in- ......... .., , • , eluding* Exche- Other Securities .. 19,634 290 quer, Savings' Notes .......... 4,913,935 Banks, Commis- Gold a nd . Silver Coin..,, missiouers of Na-£14.553,000 rifles tional Debt, and Dividend Ac -2,946.205 counts) 8 Other De_posits 13,317,93 Seven nay and other Bills £25,361,795 803,348 649,500 £34,819,775 M. £34,849,77 5 AnSITALL, Chief Carthier. Dated July 18, 1861. FARROW V. THE EARL OF DUDLEY.—In this case the jury were discharged without returning a verdict. THE AFFRAY 1N NORTHUMBERLAND-STREET. — The unfortunate nian Roberts was this morning seized with violent shivering fits, and death seemed to be rapidly ap proaching. His wife and other relatives have been at his bedside the whole day, but he is unabl e to recognise any person. It is the opinion of Mr. Skegg, he cannot survi ve man y hours longer. the surgeon, that SHARE MARKET-(THIS DAY). ORDINARY SHARES AND STOCKS. Railways. 8 8i 95 100} Paid.f Closing Business p rto , Done 86 R 8 28 29 107 109 126 130 104 109 100 101 129 131 IC4 106 71 714 58 62 112 1126 50 32 [2O 121 43 15 941 95i 95 06 104 11 474 485 4 12 4 122 f 1 I+ p I 95 47 8 6d 57 E 9 63 634 107 107 n 4 63 P C4 94 944 96 98 444}9' 10 )0 86 83 115 117 331 341 87 89 46 48 3 41 81/ 81/ 83 0 85 97 4 7 39i 4o 9 10. p 5 t 6 i P 55. 56} 2i aii d k; 111 Ili 8 1 1 I i 65 96 PREFERENCE SHARES. Shareßailways. _LPaid II Blythe and Tyne 10 pert c. pref. (issued at ..-05( (Iris. & Exet.4 p.et.stoct 'Do. do. do. Shares Caledon £10,41 per cent Do. Quar. Shares, No. 2. Cork & Bandon, 5a p. c. Cornwall. 5 per cent 1 Dun.Perth&Aber.Jun. Do Ist Class Pref E.Angn.Class A 7 &sp.c Do. do. Class B 6 p.c Do. do. Class C 7 p.c E. Court. Ex. 5 p. c. No.l Do. do. No. 2 Do. New 6 per et. stock. Eastern Union, 4 per et Do. 5 per cent. guar... Edin.&Glas.sp.e. shares Do. 4 p. c gua. S. & D. kdin. Perth& Dun. 4 p.c. Furness, 5 per cent .... Glas.& S. West.g.a. 5 p.c Great Northern, 5 p. et lmo.sp.e.Redm., 10 p.c.pm Do. 41 p. c. do. do. DO. sp.c. I; edm. 5 p.c. pro Gt. N h. of Scoticl. Ist pf. f Gt. Sn. & W (Ireland) , 1 p. ct. pref. stock Great West. (Berks any' Hants) Ext. 5 p. ct Lo. Redeemable, 41 p.ct Do. Redeemable, 4 p. et Da Irredeemable, do Do. 5 p.ct. Redeem. Pref Do. Birm. Pref. Shares G t. W. Ches. 8 p.c. pf.sh Do. do. 6 p. ct. pref Do Birmg.guar. stock Do. Chester gun. shares Do. do. do. Do. do. do. Lan. & Carl. 4i p c. pref Lan.&York 6 p. c. stock Do.Barnstst.E s 3s 100 pc Do. 6 per 0. (E. Lan.) Lon.& Brig. 5 pc.gu. No.l Do. 5 p. c. No. 2 Po. gun. 6 p. 0. Do. da 5 p.c. No.l Do. do. 14 per cen , . Do. do. 41 p. c. shares Do. 7 p. et. Pref. stock Do. (VA do. (W.E.&C.P ) Do.4p.e.S.(div.def.til '65) Do. 4 per cent. Pref Lon. Chat. and Dover Do.W. (A rceiv. no div. Ex.A til6p cis pd on '.. B B. & Brom ex. Do. Metropolitan Ex B Lon. and N.W. Coy. and Nuneaton, 5 p. ct Lon. & S.W, 7 p. et. stock Do. 4i per cent Do. (Prtsm. perpl anus. of 2s. 6 d..... ..... .... stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock 26 7 13 100 stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock stock 10 10' stock stock stock 23.6 d. 12i 12 stock 6 stock 10s. 10 1.0.6 'Londondy. & Cole. eh Londony. & Ennis. Man. Sh. &Lin. 6 per ct IDo. £6 Do. 3f per cent Do. redeem. 6 per cent '',Taryport & Car., 4 p. c Do. 45 per cent. ,Mid. Con. 6 p c. stock Do.Con.Bris. & Bir. 6 p.C. Do. 41 p. c. pref. stock Do. 45 per cent Do. Lela & Hit. pref. st. Norflk sp. c. Ex. at. 1846 Do. 51 p. o. Pref. do 1847 Do.SVV ay. Val. Ex. s t. 1847 North British, 5 p. o Do. New, gua. 5 p. e Do. Bor.lTn. g. pf. shs Do. do. do N th. Dev.l4ail. & Dck.Co. N-East.Cons. Pref. 4 p. Do. 41 p c. redeemable Do. G.N.E. 4 per a pref. Do. Berwick, 4 p.c. Pref. Do. Leeds, 6 p. a. No. I Do. do. Quarters, 1848 Do. York, H. & S. Purch. North Staffordshire Rhymney Guaranteed. Scottish Central, new pf Scottish North-Eastern 31 p. c. pref. stock Do.Aberdeen,gua.6p.c Do. 7 p. c. pref. stock South Devon, Ann. 10s. Do. Fixed 41 per cent. South Eastern (Readin g Ann., 1.0.6) Do. 41 per cent. Do. Fixed Ilp.c. Ist is. , outh Wales, gua. 4 p.c. Do. 41 per cent. J)o. 5 per cent ° S.-Yorkshire, 4 p. e gua Stock. & Dar. A 5 p. c Do. B 6 per cent Do. C 6 per cent Watrfd & Killtny, 6 p.c w.Mid -Oxt Ist Gua stk Do. 2d do Do. Newport 5 p.c.pf.red. Do.Perpet. 6 p. c. pf 1K661 Do. till 1869, Ist is.l all 100 100 100 100 8.13.4. too 100 100 all all Closing I Business Price. Done. tot 104 20 21 51 ei N 101 [OB 112 105 108 [O7 109 108 108 121 123 78 80 (09 111 90 92 75 77 [l5 117 110 111 102 104 106 108 97 99 98 98 87 20 88 90 [OO 102 96 10 166 176 199 10f 74 76 20 21 10 106 15 156 114 116 1111 116 137 140 114 116 101 103 [5O 155 [27 130 71 74 68 0 13,E 11 [25 127 Cs 'if 134 136 102 103 92 93 201 1 151 110 112 1 1.08 110 1 1 p 91 93 101 ICI3 104 108 P il3 d l ip 22 x 3 132 12t 10 10i 23 23i 99 100 99 100 08 100 85 90 26 27 314 32 314 32, 45 48 124 126 118 120 100 103 120 122 115 117 LINES LEA Railways• Redford and Illetchley all Buckinghamshire lOO Chester Sti Holyhead ' 100 Do. 5i percent 100 Do. 5 „ 100 Clydesdale June lOO all I,:itn Colchester,eoins I Stour go p N: r a l e ' E.l.Tnion,HarwiehShs.all Do. Woodbridge lOO 1 Gls.BarratNeils.Drct , 100 Do. new .. 100 Gloster & Dean Forest' all Hrtlp'l Dock & Rail.. all Hull and Selby. Do. 'Hives. Do. quarters......„l all Lanc.&Carl. gua. sp.c.t lla() London & Greenwieh. l 100 Do. Preference ! Lon.,Tilbnry,Ss S -end Lowestoft g'int. 4 p Do. .; per cent Mne.,Bxtn.,&:llatlock Mid. Bradford Prefer- ence Stock Newmarkt,BuryEx. gua. 5 percent..... 5 NortlandcEastn. 5 p. c. Do. 6 p..c. Do. Fixed 5 p. c North Western.....- Preston and Wyre. Do. Shares ...... A. Boystn."ll iler .t; Sheeiord Slarewsbry& Do. do. S.-Staffordshire Wilts and Somerset Wimbledon S:Qroydp , 100 100 100 100 all 100 5. 5 6. .T FIXE' Paid. , Leasing uo.'s Ln &N.W. D 0....... Closing Price. 91 96 52i 635 121 123 ,111 112 101 103 154 161, 132 134 4i 4: TALS. 1112 114 20) 203 69 61 112 117 83 86 Business Done. 03 95 55 57 15i 16 131 133 118 122 1 lip 68 90 0e 2i BRITISH POSSESSIONS. Share' Railways. Paid. 100 stk 18 204 10 100 I Atlantic 66 S Lawrence Bom., B arol a rt. Cent Ind Gu. 5 per cent.. ...... ' Do, Do. 13 Buffalo and Laxe Huron Do. New ..... . . Do. Preference Buffalo,Brant,&Godricb 6 p. ct. bds. Aug. 1, 1872 Do. do. July 1, 1878 Do. do. June 1, 1874 Clcutta.&S.Eastn. (Lim' Cape,Eastn.Prov. (Lim.) Cape Town Dock Scrip Ceylon Guarantd. 6 p. c. Demerara.. Eastn. Bengal gu. 5 p. East Indian, gu. 5 p. c. Do. F Shares Ext..... - 111 - 100 all all all all 100 Closing Price. 1741 20 stock stock 100 stock 20 stock 20 20 100 100 100 stock stock stock 20 stock - 57 81 94 95 stock 4i 5 d 6 7 75 BO 65 • 70 65 70 4/ gsi stook Do. Jubbulpore Do. 44 p c. -Debentrs Do. 5 p. e. Deb., 1864 Do. 1865-1870 Grand Trunk of Canada Do. 6 per cent. Pref Do. 2d Pref. 6 per et Do. 6 per ct. Debentr Do. 7 per cent. 1862 Do. do. 1867 Do. do. 1872 Gt.lncliaPenin.gua.sp.c. Do. New Jua. 5 p. c Gt. South.of India (Lim guaranteed 5 per cent. Do. do. I/ d I id 98i ohll / d 96 98 99 100 99 100 184 194 59 62 50 65 34 36 40 44 31 33 31 33 95 B 6 lkd i i 92 94 f 1 10 tot 104 10} 94 96 83 92 IGt. W. of Canada Sharesl Do. New Do. 6 p.c. '73 with't opt. Do. 5 p. c. do. '77 d 0... Do. 54 p. c. do. '7B d 0... Madras guar., 4i p. Do. do. 5 per cent .... Do. 41 p. c. Extensiln Do. 5 Mclb.Corp. 6 p. c. Bnds. Newßrans wick 65 Canda Ry.&L and(Lim.)g.6pc Class A Capital Share Do. do. Land d 0........ Do. do. B Capital d 0... Do. do. Land do. ...... Oude (Limited) . ... Seinde .. •• —•• •• - 3 Do. Punjaub ...• E g Do. Do. .... •• •• ..1 • Do. Indus. St. Flo . fag., Trinidad (Lim.) Scrip ..1 83 85 921 slt3f 85 87 5 7 [lOO 15 all 100 1 5 7 98 100 'ld' 11 Insinese done 84i $ 98i 9 116 ii 8k 90 92 4 4 d 993 9 21 2 00 0 At Ardennes w e e r r nar n I;ctlerdam all 5 ep 55 61 — &. .FOREIGN RAILWAYS. _ 1) 2 0 Bah.&S.Fran...Lim.7 p.c. 133 2 1/ I 111 5 Belgian East. J unc ti on all 1 I 20 Beziers to Gralssessac all Carmeaux Mine &, Rail 30 105 115 100 Copiapo . . .... " all 10 Ditto Extension all 35 35 20 Dutch Rhenish lO 25 21 20 Eastern of France all 22 23 20 Grand Rua Guar. 6p. c all 20 Do. do. All 20 Great Central of France all - 20 (it. Luxem., Con. she all 7 85 75 20 Italian Junction 20 Lierre & Turnhout all 20 Lyons & Geneva, .. • • all 20 Namnr & Liege • • all 8 81 8 5 20 Do. 6 e. Pref. 16 ernNorth of France.. all 37 38 16 Do. New Shares •• • 15 10 Norwegian Trunk Frei. all 8 5 9 4 20 Paris ,Lons, & Mediter. all 375 1,85 20 Paris & y Orleans all 53 65 20 I Recife & S. Fran. (fern ) zua. 7p. et. Urn.. • • 17 6 551 1 1 5 20 Riga & Dunaburg— •• • 15. 5 . 20 Royal Danish all 11 14 5 Royal Swedish .....• • • all • 4 Do. 7 per cent. Pref all 20 Sambre & Meuse 10 Do. 55 per cent. Pref all 85 ^i 20 San Paulo, lim, g. 7p. c. 4 2 15 2 20 S.Aust.&Lomb Venet . in 16 5 5 d 20 Southern of France all 215 525 20 S. East Portugal 7p et 4 - 81 West Flandern 10 Do. 55p. c. Preference all 95 9t 20 W. & N.W. of France 23 West , rn of Austria.- 6 20 West..rn of Switzer land all 6 Wiesbaden 6 Do. 8 per cent Pref all 20 Zealand all BRTTISII MINES. A 1 tre7lConsols(Philack) 3.2.10 15 15 British Iron Clifford nil 165 175 Devon G. Cons. (Taoist ) 1 355 105 I East Bassett (Illogan) I 30 821 875 853 45 655 - East Caradon ' .14.6 215 25 245 541 E. 41 , "1 Russel (Tavistk ) 7.4.0 3 35 35 Gam.&St Aubyn(Gwen.) 541 12 1* IGreat South Tolgus l7s 25 21 G.Wheal (Philack) 13.12.6 4 5 G. Wheal Vor (Helston) 40 4 5 (Grenville 6.8.6 11 2 - ,Herod's-Foot 8.12 38 10 - Hingston Downs 4.11.6 1 5 2t Lady Bertha Margaret (tiny Lelant) 95 42 44 (North Downs 25 45 45 'North Frances ((Mogan) 114 35 4 - IN.Wh i l Basset (1110 o,n) 1.11.0 35 4 . ,North Wheal Crotty Par Consols (St Blazey) 15 8 9 20 Providence(UnyLelnt) 10.6.7 31 34 ISortridge Cons. Min. Co. 1 5 5 South Caradon(StCleer) 14 200 'BlO S. Carn Brea (Illogan).. 4.18.6 21 SI 1 !S. Dev. Iron &Gen., Lim. all 5 IS.Wheal Fran. (Illogan) 18.14.5' 120 130 ;Stray Park 26- 33 35 5 :Tamar Silv.& Lead Min 45 15 15 lU Tin Crott 9 5 54 I Vale of Towey (Carm )13s 6d 1 West Basset (Illogan) l5 175 185 W. Caradon (Liskeard) 5 46 48 46 West Seton Wheal Basset (Illogan) 55 75 85 Wheal Buller (Redruth) 5 95 105 Wheal Edward (Cals.) 71 11 15 Wheal Kitty (U.Lelant) 1.7.2 6 8 Wheal Mary Ann (Men.) 8 81 105 Wheal Tretawney (Lis.) 7 14 15 5 1 2.8.2 FOREIGN N IN.kb all 1 10s.- all all I t i d I 32ii 334 1 2 1 dig. 36 39 6 8 1 I 2 2i 23 24 * 1. ii o p 7 8 i Id i 1 id 2 4 li 0 Id p 6 1 I I 1 33 3 i 3 Australian I BonAccord Copper, L im. Brazil St.J. del Rey,Lim Do.L an d and Mining Co. I Clarendon Cone.MinCo. Cobre Copper ..... Copiapo DunMoun.Cop.Ming, Co Fortuna. . General Gt N. Cop. of S. Austr Kapunda (Limited) Linares Lusitanian Mariquita IN.RhineCopoiS.Aus.L IPontgibaud Silver,Lead Minin and Smelt Port Philip Scottish Anstrin. (L.) United Mexican .. Worthing ( Limited).... p NKS. JOINT-STOCK B 100 Agra&UnitedService Bk 40 Australasia .. 25 Bank of Egypt. 100 Bank of London . 20 Bank of Turkey . 50 British North American 20 Chtd.Bank of India, &c. 25 Ch.ller. of In. Lon.& Ch 100 City 100 Colonial .. . 20'11 Corn. Bank of Canada 100 Commercial of London 20 Eng.. Scot, & Aus. Ch 20 Gen. Bk .of Switzerland 20 Lon. Char.Bkof Austral 20 Do. new 50 London and County 50 London Joint Stock 20 London and S.Airican 100 London & Westminster 100 Nat. Prov. of England . 20 Do. new 50 National Bank ........ 2C New South Wa1e5...... 25 Orient. B. Corporation . 20 Ottoman Bank .. .. .. 100 Provincial of Ireland.. 10 Do. new 25 South Australia 25 'Union of Australia .... 50 Union of London 100 Unity Mutual... 86 €8 I 60 62 30 a 5 11 3 b id 51 53 191 201 32 33 73 75 sn 15& 161 23 231 2 2) 36 37 31 32 2i 2 68 69 COLONIAL GOVERNMEN 49 50 18 19 37 39 24 in 61} t 20¢ 51} 12k 36i 311 1 lei i IS 38& 71 25 'T SICU RITIES. - ICan.Gov. p.c.Ja. y 1877-9 . 100 105 109 1061 71 Do 6p. centlBBo-2 100 —D- o. 6p. cent 1853-4 100 D- o. 6p. c. Feb. & Aug. 100 107 109 ---- Do. 6p. c. Mar. & Sept. 100 107 109 Do. 5 per cent lOO 98 09 981 f Cape G.Rope, 6p 0,1830 100 107 108 Do. 1890 100 107 108 N. B.Gov. 6 p.c. Ja.dauly 100 1045 1055 Do. 6p. c.Ap. & Oct. 100 N. S.W. Gov. sp. 0.,1866 100 971 185 Do. sp. c.,1871 to 1876 100 975 vB/ Do. p.c., 1888 &upwds 100 971 114 981 7 1 Nova Scotia Gov. 6p. sterling, 1875 - lOO 1045 1051 S. Au5,G6p.c.1878.& up lOO Vio.Gov. 6 p.c. Je.&Julyi l 100 _ I Do. do. 6 p.c. Ap.&Oct lOO 1055 106 1051 651 DOCKS. stock Commercial lOO stock Do. 4 per Cent.Pref.Min lOO stock East and West India stock London stock St. Katharine. lOO 64 66 stock Southampton 1 100 1 94 — O6 stock Victoria 20 Do' New. 2 I d MISCELLANEOUS. 10 Anglo-Mexican Mint .. all 131 14 10 Atlantic R. Ml. Stm (1d) I —1/ 2 1 1000 Atlantic Tel, (Limited) all 25 Australian Agricultural 19 30 32 10 Berlin Water (Limited) all 45 41 50 British American Land 40 50 B.&l.Mag. TeL A. (Lim.) all 30 35 20 Do. 8,7p.c.t1111852 (Lim.) all , 18 20 20 Do. C. (Limited) all 10 13 325 Canada Land 10 Cbandslands Tel. (Lim , all st. Cop.lllln.ofEng.&Smltg all 25 Do. Pref. 71 per cent. l— st. Crystal Palace st. Do. Preference st. Do. 6 p ct. Perpet. Deb lOO 101 103 .. 20 E.lndia Irrign. & Canal 1 n ,,4" 020 d st. Electric Telegraph .• • • 1 0 .0 y_ 25 Do. New 3 5 21 35 5 English &A . us. Copper all 16 Gen. Steam Navigaton al4_ 1 Great Ship I .invited). • • ail I 1 1 Do. 173 pet Preference 3 5 Lon. District Tel. (Li m.) 204 ML.aGd.rOaszninrri b. and s d co d 5 1 1 11 1 35 d n 4 10 Metd.ioEnaalteDnis aff:lmm..)) all Na • all 2-0 Nerbu.CoalLlraonnd(Lim ) 5 old 10 Netherlands iSS dis . all 5 too.B p.c... ref.. . 1 100 N.llr.&NovaSentlaLand 80 5 10 1 1 N.R.Anstralaslan (Lim.) all 511 I Oriental Gas (Limited). all 15 1: 1 Do. New Shares (Lim). 15s. 10 Orintl. In. Steam (Lim.) 8 _ st. Peelß.Lnd.&sllo.(Lim) 100 48 51 185 50 E'en. & Oriental Steam all 68 70 50 Do. New 3O 9 11 20 Red Sea&ln.Tel.g.4/p.c all :81 191 50 Rhymney Iron all 17 18 14 Do. New all 5 51 100 Royal Mail Steam 6O 49 51 st. Scot. Austin. Inv.(Lim ) 100 131 136 2.5 South Australian Land all 32 1 Submarine TeL Scrip all 1 Do. do. Registered .. all 10 Do. - all 41 6 10 Trust and Agency or Austrlasia (lim) lst is. I I , r 20 Cr.& Ln.Co. of Upr.Can. 5 L" 4 P n. K' dom Tel. Co. (lira.) 1 e — d 100_Van Diemen'a Land 1121 1 122 107 63} 3 94i 4 I THE BANKRUPTCY BILL. The House of Commons is to boinvited_to7day.to disagree with the two most important of the Lords' alterations of the Bankruptcy Bill. The almost unanimous feeling of the trading and commercial classes against the proposed retention of the pre sent powers of the official assignees has been too unmistakeably evinced by petitions most numer ously and influentially signed, as well by individual traders as by the various Chambers of Commerce throughout the country, to be disregarded ; whilst the necessity of creating a new Judge to administer , the new system is fully recognised. There are, hovi ever, many other minor but still important, and (as we must term them) insidious, alterations made in this bill by the House of Lords, to which we desire to direct the attention of the House of Commons and the public at large. On the retrospective clauses, as they are called, we will not comment, further than to observe that although it may be reasonable to apply the new law to old cases, yet care must be taken that, either under the old or the new law, these cases may be reached and provided for in some way. That such a contingency has in other cases been overlooked by the House of Lords appears from the fact that they have inserted a clause which precludes any trader who is not in prison from petitioning the Bankruptcy Court, unless assets to the amount of £l5O can be shown to exist ; so that a numerous class of small tradesmen and others would thus be en tirely debarred of relief under the statute, un less some compassionate and generous cre ditor could be found to go through the process of a lawsuit to incarcerate them. The Lords in this 'in stance had , forgotten that the Insolvency Courts and the system there administered were to be abolished ; but the recalcitrant feeling in their m!nds against that abolition crops out in many other places. Thus eight or nine clauses are all intended to reintroduce for specific purposes and in individual cases the very same insolvent law which it is the main scope and purport of the Bill to repeel. The noted ques tion of " What's in a name?' never received a more forcible illustration. The Lords are content that non.traders shall be called bankrupts instead 'of in solvents, provided their persona and estates continue liable to the same consequences only as under the present law of insolvency. Another class of altera tions by the Lords consists of minute verbal changes, which might be hoped to pass unnoticed, but which in reality neutralise or defeat the whole effect and meaning of the clauses in which they occur. Thus the Bill provided that in all cases an estate at the credi tors' wish should be transferred to the County Court, where it might be woundup with greater celerity and economy; but the Lords, by substituting the word " may" for" shall," have practically given the C our t of Bankruptcy the power of over-riding the wishes and resolutions of the creditors. A similar substitu tion of words has left it within the option of the present Bankruptcy Commissioners whether they will transact any business at chambers or not'; and as these officials would not unnaturally be dis inclined to depart in any particular from a system with which they are thoroughly familiar, and in the practice of which many of them have grown grey, the hopes of those who anticipated a vast saving of time and expense from the intro duction into Bankruptcy of Chamber practice will be in all probability entirely frustrated if this alteration be allowed to remain in the bill. Again, with regard to trust deeds, the bill had made three most valuable and important. changes in the law, by which business would have been facilitated and litigation avoided. A majority in value of a man's creditors might resolve to accept part of his property instead of the whole, and upon receiving that part might release him from his existing debts and lia bilities by executing a deed, a form of which was given by the act, so that no cavil might hereafter bo entertained as to its validity. But the House of Lords think that creditors should not be allowed to make such an arrangement, and accordingly, by the elision and insertion of sundry little words, they would propose that the majority must be in number and value, so that creditors to the amount of £lO should have as much voice in the matter as creditors to the amount of £l,OOO ; that the whole of a debtor's property, even down to the wearing apparel of himself and his family, should be given up ; and that there should be no form of deed, in order that dissentient creditors may be able to call in pro fessional ingenuity to upset the whole arrangement. At present it is notorious that small creditors do re sist these arrangements, until, to obviate their op position, they are paid in full; that it is practically impossible and theoretically undesirable that the whole of a man's effects should be handed over to his creditors, especially if they are wil ing to take less; and that legal objections to these deeds are the usual resource of a defeated yet un convinced minority of small creditors ; and we trust that here also the Commons will disagree with the Lords' " amendments." . One whimsical " amend ment" remains to be noticed—the Bankruptcy Com missioners are not to be allowed to try a bankrupt for misdemeanour unless he consent to their juris diation. If a criminal in bankruptcy is to be really allowed to choose his own tribunal, we imagine that he would (especially if a non-trader) prefer the House of Lords. With the exception, perhaps, of a clause allowing a proof for premiums upon policies of insurance, we have been unable to discover any one single alteration made by the House of Lords in this bill that is worthy to be called an "amend ment ;" and we believe that the House of Commons, in resisting (with that exception) all the so-called amendments would find itself backed and supported by an amount of public opinion which the Upper House would not be able to gainsay or resist. The leading objects of this bill were to give to creditors greater facilities in legal arrangements with their debtor, and greater control over the debtor's estate, or such part of it as they might think fit to accept ; and also to cheapen, simplify, render uniform, and Otherwise improve, the realisation and distribution of that estate, when necessary, by the Court of Bankruptcy. The country will have no difficulty in determining which branch of the Legislature has adhered most faithfully to these objects, of which the legal and commercial soundness is undeniable and undenied.—Daily .News. THIS DAY'S MARKETS. CORN EXCHANGE. - - IMTERIAL WEEKLY AVERAGES. Wheat, 508 Od; barley, 30s 4d ; oats, 24s 6d ;: rye, 33s Od ; beans, 42s 4d ; and peas, 42s Od. THE SIX WEEKS' AVERAGES. ^ Wheat, 52s 7d ; barley, 32s 5d ; oats, 25s 5d ; rye, 35s 5d ; beans, 43s lld ; peas, 40s ld. ENGLISH GRAIN SOLD LAST WEEK.—Wheat, 51,467; barley, 1,093 ; oats, 2,106 ; rye, 18 ; beans, 1,418 ; 27 quarters. METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET. Our market to-day was but moderately supplied with boasts, which moved off steadily, at fully Monday's cur rency. A few very superior Scots and • crosses have realised ss. 2d. per Blbs. The show of sheep was tolerably good. Prime Downs and half-breds commanded a ready sale at, in some few instances, a slight advance in the quo tations. Other breeds were a slow inquiry, at late rates. A. few very superior lambs realised 6s. 4d. per 8113 c, but in ferior breeds were a dull inquiry. We have to report a heavy sale for calves, at the late decline in value. Pigs and mulch Cowq were very dull, on former terms. Per 81b. to sink the offal. s. d. s. d. , d. a. d. Crse. & inf. beasts 3 6 38 ! Primecrs-wool do. 4 4 4 10 Second quality do. 3 10 4 2 Pme.S'thdowndo.s 0 5 4 Prime large oxen 4 4 4 81Large orse. calves 3 6 4 0 Prime Scots, &c. 4 10 5 0 ' Prime small d 0... 4 2 4 8 Crse. & inf. sheep 34 3 6 Large hogs .310 4 4 Second quality do. 3 8 4 0 Small porkers.... 4 6 4 8 Lambs, 6s Od to 6s 4d. Suckling calves, 218 to 30s ; and quarter-old s tore pigs, 21s to 295. FOREIGN SUPPLY. TOTAL SUPPLY 2BO B eas t s 1,200 Sheep and lambs.... 1222,0 Sheep .... .... 320 Calves .............. 250 Calves Pigs. 3OO Pigs .......... MEAT T , E:l:EritadrrAoc:74olAisKeL6e.Tm;Sani.nTudht The :6:lBl3psapt e6laidedsptyo, r4fou3l: lo:cicif stmt:mutton, 4k : 08 4: ; 4 8 Od to are :_ B e e f f moderatelyrnoamg o t l osd e y° da t here day NEW GATE AND .... to ") g f in () l e l a o t w s B p d er to Blbs. by the carcase. 55 4d The y- SOUTHALL, July I 7 as moderate, a as follows : Beef, 3s 8d to 5s Od • 3 8 8 d ;10dto lamb,4s 488 d generally ruled steady Is 4d ; lamb, 5s Od to 6s Od ; ve es ob a alu t Od to 48 8d per Blbs to sink the offal, to 4s 6d ; pork, 4s el h ;::34l t syli s and sheep commanded ROMFORD July 17.— pri P ee ri s T a steady sale, at full lows :—Beef, from 38 6d to 5s Od ; trade dull, as fol lamb, 5s 2d to 6s 2d •' veal, 48 , mutton, 3s 4) dto Is 4d ; Od to 48•6 d. per Blbs • suo ,. Od to 4s 6d ; and pork, 45 old store pigs, 21s i 'mg Calves, ranch 20s; quarter to £lB Os each, o 288 each ; and cows, £l5 Os RA.Y MARKETS. SMITTIFIELD.—OId Meadow hay, £2 Os to £5 Os Od ; new do., £2s 10a to £4 Os ; o ld clove, do., £ 3 10 s to £6 Os ; new do., £3 O s to £4 15s • and straw, £1 14s to £2 Os per load. A. fair demand. CI 7 MTIEHLAND.—OId Meadow hay, £2 Os to. £6 Os; Ilew 110 ., £2 lOs to £4 Os : old clover, £3 lOs to £5 18s ; new do., £3 Oa to £4 12s; and straw, £1 151 to £2 N per load. Trade dull. WHITECHAPEL.—OId Meadow hay, £2 Oa to £5 Oa Od new do. , L 2 lOs to £ 4 Os ; old elovei, £3 lOs to £6 Os Od new do. £3 Os t )£4 15s , and straw, £1 14s to £2 Os per lead. Trade steady, COAL MAR micas at Coal per Ton at s.(l. Tanfield Moor Butes..l3 0 Elolywell ..15 6 Trettgh Hall 17 Carway and Duffryn Scuth Hetton 19 Malting Do. Anthracite..2l 6 Shincliffe 17 West Wylam 14 0 South Hartlepool...... Wylam 15.'6 ET—JULY 17. the dose of the mfirket Walls End. Sips at market, 16 sal 1, 15. Year were noir rists, ,t has gi gth 9 and rnest have other been rdaif rday, hirty 10841 104 4 71 4 43 4 94. 5 951 6 31 sf 122 i 112