The Sun. — London, England, 1856-01-08 00:00:00

It 0 I'4l -7 Y Pr AP, E T AND COMMERCIAL INTELLTGENCE. CITY, Two o'CLoCK. The Liverpool Cotton Market yesterday closed heavily without change in prices. The sales were 6,000 bales-500 for export, including 420 Pernam and Maranham, sid. to 61d. ; 200 Bahia, 58d. to 6d. ; 250 Egyptian, 51d. to Bid. ; 1,000 Surat, 30. to 41d., (500 on speculation) ; and 100 Sea Islands, 10d. to is. Gd. per lb. In the Railway Share Market there was a steady demand, and prices were about the same as on Saturday. The recent concession of the Spanish Govern ment to the Credit Mobilier of France for the pur pose of establishing a branch of that society at Madrid, has attracted the attention of other foreign banking establishments, as well as the capitalists at Madrid. The latter have had some meetings upon the subject, and have resolved to submit cer tain propositions to the Legislature, for the pur pose of creating a General Bank of Credit, purely national. Preliminary arrangements have been entered into, and a commission appointed to draw uP the regulations of the society for presentation to the Cortes. The members of this commission i►re Senora Mereno, Weisweiler, Bayo, and Fler- Illaridez. The French 3 per Cents., which closed on Satur day at a decline of per cent., recovered yesterday 35 centimes for the account and 10c. for money ; and the shares of the Credit Mobilier, which had fallen 40 francs, advanced 15f. Still there was much agitation on the Bourse, and the state of affairs rather gloomy. Railway Stocks made a further decline on previous rates of 2f. 50c., on Austrian Society Shares to 12f. 50c., on Saint Rambert, Mediterranean, and Midland each 5f., Orleans and North of France 7f. 50c. In consequence of some injury to the line of tele graph with Vienna, the quotations from the Bourse have not come to hand. It appears, from the recent meeting of the Ecuador Bondholders, that the last dividend, due in January, is not to be paid until next May, in c onsequence of the delay which must take place in the transmission of the money. The Govern ment of Ecuador seem desirous of carrying out their agreement with the bondholders, and the latter consider that, under the circumstances, it c ould be advisable to procure the quotation of the Gonda in the official list of the Stock Exchange, a nd also that Mr. Mocato's terms relative to the C onsolidated Bonds should be agreed to. The to solutionsadopted embodied these two suggestions. As the adjustment of the speculative account in the English Stock Market has to be effected in the course of a few days, some heavy purchases have b een made by those who have oversold, and the l 'ioes of Consols have been advanced in conse quence. The dealing having been all in one direction for some time past, the opera tors are now naturally anxious, and arrange tnents are in active progress for the closing of accounts . Consols for money have been 86 1 to ‘) and are now about 861 For account the , r. ioes have been 86/ to 87, and since 86 /, while or next month the quotation is about 86 / to 87 i. Th e New 3 per Cents. have been 87± to 8 7i, and t he l Redu3ed 861 to 87k. Bank Stock. is 2061 to 271 2. Exchequer Bills have been 9s. to 4s. dis count, and India Bonds ss. to 4s. discount. Foreign Stocks have generally advanced, and 14 ,.. 5 0me of the principal securities there is more . e T'itY. Turkish 6 per Cents. have risen to 80 f .nd -" 8 1k, although they are now flatter, namely, m * New Scrip is, however, wi thout much m a nge, being 4 discount. Spanish Deferred are !Per cent, higher, namely, 211 to 214. Russian Per Cents. are 95, Portuguese 5 per Cents. are 45 4, and Mexican 19i to 19i. Dutch 21 per uents. rul e d fl a t, a t 631 to 63a, and the Four per Cents. 941 to 941. The following are the nominal prices of Foreign 3t01,. mi e.s:—Grenada Deferred Bonds, 7 ; Mexican, ' ; Peruvian, 74 5 ; ditto 3 per Cents., 52 3 ; Po rtuguese 4 per Cents., 45 47 ; Russian 5 per uents., 95 7 ; ditto 41 per Cents., 8G 88 ; Spanish 3 per Cents., 381 ; ditto Deferred, 211 i; di tto Certificates, 41 ; ditto Passive, 7j. Railway Securities are very little influenced by th e movement of Consols, and some of the quota 'ions are even a shade lower. Eastern Counties 4 to partioul ar ly h ea vy, and also Lancashire and Yorkshi re . All the Foreign lines are nominal. The Great Western of Canada are with difficulty a4Pported. wanking Shares are dull, and rather heavy, and 14 the Miscellaneous market very few dealings have been recorded. IItITISH FUNDS THIS DAY.—CLOSING PRICES. ( Pro= the Official List. ,) Rno,A, done. tank Stock a Vtr utint. Itedd Annuities ace nnu - 7A 61 sw Per 3 per Cent. Cent. ConsoleAn nui An ties 874 nxities _ . -,' n e Annuities, expire sth Jan.. , 1860... Ditto 30 Years, expire 10th Oct., 1859 3 3-16 ... Ditto 30 Years, expire sth April, 1885 l6} 4 "ia Bonds, 21000 0 Ditto, under £lOOO 4 'Duels for Account 864 7 61 i Ditto for Opening B7l 61 t tchequer Bills, 2id. .0000 1500 Rmall Ditto Bonds, 1855, 31 per Cent 973 Ditto under £lOOO 974 Ditto, 1859 PRIOES OF FOREIGN FUNDS THIS DAY. k exican 3 per Cent. Ditto Account - P°lluguege Bonds, 5 per Cent., Con. 1841 b itto Account Russian Bonds, 5 per Cent., 1822, £ St 95 ..., Ditto 41 pe r C en t 'swinish Bowls, 3 per Cent Ditto Yew Deferred, 3 per Cent. Ditt o A ccount 214 i x d I ,P 4 n , eli Committee Cert. of Coup. not fun 4 p c lirkitii Bonds, 6 par cent — ni tit° for the Account BOl 14 SOA i Ditto Small Ditto New Scrip, 4 per Cent. D itto Account Venezuela Bonds, 41 per Cent Dividends on the above payable in London, Dutch Exchange, ‘ ., 3 per Cent., 12 Gull_ 631 i x d -' Ditto 4 per Cent. Certificates 9l .„ _._ THREE O'CLOCK, Consols ......... Ditto for Account J an . 10 ..........• B(3i x d REPRESENTATION OF TAMWORTII—One of the seats for Ternevorth is rendered vacant by Captain Towns bend's accession to the peerage. We understand that a requisition has been signed by the most influential Electorß, requesting the late member's eldest son (now Lord Raynham) to allow himself to be put in nomina tion, REPRESENTATION OP ROCHESTER. —Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Martin are both canvassing at Rochester, and the content appears likely to be a close one. Mr. Bodkin expresses his desire to support the Government in their effective prosecution of the war. EIBRIFORD CITY.— We are informed that Mr. Thos. Evans, of Sufton, near Hereford, a local attorney of some influence, has consented to be put in nomination at the vacancy occasioned by the bankruptcy of Sir It. Price. Mr. Evans is a Conservative. We are very glad to learn that Lord Adolphus Fitz- Clarence continues to progress favourably. In conse quence of the noble and gallant lord's serious illness, the band of the Guards doing duty at the Palace hav e for a time discontinued the usual musical performances, and will not resume until his lordship has so far re- Covered that the noise will not be likely to aggravate Lis illness. The Duke of Cambridge and a host of the members of the aristocracy called in the course of yes terday- APPEOICHIN4 MARRIAGE IN HIGH LIFE.—We un derstand that among the approaching matrimonial al liances in high life must be included that of Viscount Cornerton, son of the Earl of Normanton, and the Hon. 1 , Mies Barrington, daughter of Viscount and Viscountess I 13 arringtou. 1 We are informed that Mr. Dickinson, son of that distinguished officer the late Captain Richard Dickinson, 2. 1 3., R.N., has been compelled to memorialise Lord anrnure for an appointment in the Commissariat De- Pertinent attached to the array in the East. Dr. Dick ,lbson was a great loser by the failure of the Strand aankere 11 FRE N CH NAVAL PREPARATIONS.—On the let of this 1 , month there were in the roadstead of Toulon the follow lng ships :—The Hercule, Fleurns, Ulm, .°H h ave.rin, Suffren, Duguesclin, Inflexible, Montebello , - uayard, Jemmapee, Dupery', and T riden t ; the steam frigates ' the Canada, Albatross, and Cacique ; the steam- Pere e tt e Reine Hortense ; and the smaller steamers the ID tequin, Solon, Capriciense, and Saone et Meurthe.— 1 w a/ignani. PRICE OF LAND IN SOMERSETSHIRE.—At a sale of 1 and, the property of John Burrow, Esq., at Wedmore, 2 l ast week, 18 acres of grazing land in one piece were s old at the enormous sum of 2,4601., or about ln/. per a cre.—Taunton Courier. 5 I SHARE. MARKETS. (Tills DAY.) RAILWAYS. Piic:. RAILWAYI. IClosins Prices \ this da-. 22 23 3i 3i 7i - 8 16 - 15 13 - 14 9 - 8 .•. 79 - 81 53i - 54 10 5 - 4 623 -7, 11 - 1? 25 - 27 17 - 19 - 70 50 - 52 9+ - 19i - 20, • •• ..... ••• - SO - fl; 6 - 7 874 - 88, 72 - 74 119 - 121 102 - 104 51i 62 70 - 75 5i - 6i 51 - 76 •- 76, 51 6 93 94 931 94.1 Ict id 84 85 8 7 6i 5i i3i 63 d i 631 37 38 •N •r 9 -10 i - 14 ii - 45 ... 29i • •• -....... 66i - 674 8i - 5 - 12 -12 i 44 45 92 - 97 - - 8f 54 21 -- 23 .01 103 73 75 42 44 11 12 56 57 65 67 5 3d 2d ph, 33 - 35• ••• ..r .. • •i ""'"' 19 19 3a 4i 4 -- 6 ..... ••• It.lloo Amahg. Nottng. Bost East.. fun..K , , 511 Wolverh Stour Va 2 4 .1 i Birk eand. Lai:loßL. 6 Cheshire Juliet__ all Do. Cheish. t Birk. £5O and £25 Cons 19 Do., .C2O all Rlyth Pc Tyne origin& £25 (issd. at £45 .00 Bristol and Exeter... 00 Caledonian. its. Cam, and Cardigar al- Chester & Holyhead. all Cork and Bandon.. all Cork, Black, &Pas , . 1 8 Cornwsll all Do. A 8 Do. B lA Cued J unction 45 Du.,lln &BelfastJunc all Dun. P. & Abe , . Jnc all Do. 2 , 1”7 ...... [OO A):glian 11l Eastern Counties [OO East. Union, A. Stl 100 Ds., B. Stout 8 Do., New A. 7 iiEast Kent 00 East Lancashire 00 Edinburgh & Glasgov, all Edinb. and Peebles.. 00 Edin. Prth 5 Forth & Clyde Jnn all Furness . all Do. Extension .00 Glascow &S. West -r• all Great N. of Scotia LOO Great Northern [OO Do., A. Stock 00 Do., B. Stock .30 Gt. Sth . &West.(lro ) .00 Great Western LOU Do. Stour Val. Rs !I Gua. Stk.. all Irish Sonth-Eas'iern all Lancaster Ez Carlisle 141 Do., Thirds 7 Do. Now Thirds LOO I Lancash.andYorksb t I Da., Wst.B,iding Ur . I all Liv.Criuy.&Southpt all London & Blackwal 100 Lond. Bright & S.Cst. LOG Loud. and N. Westn 16 Do. Fifths 5i Do.lo/.Sh.,Id&S 0 2it)o. Eighths 100 London and S. Westn I all ) 0., 450 all Do., .C 49 .1 all Lndndrry& Col oral 2 1 all Lndndrrr. & Ennis k I 100 Nfanch.Shef.kLinell , all Do. i Shares, No. I sits.Dn.,Man : &Lin. Un. 1 Metropolitan . . 100 Itidlaud 00 '1 ►o. Birmng. & Derby all ►l4idld. G. West. (Ire.' all Do. Half Shares ail Newcastle & all Nwpt.Aberg. & Hrf% Newry & Enniskille , all Newry Warrcupoini and hostrevor. . 100 Norfolk 3 Nortim.Counties 100 North British all North Devon, No. 1 all Do., No. 2 all I A A Deferred all Do., B Guaranteed 10 0 N, Eastern—Berwie l : 211 Do. do. Extension 15 Do.do. G.N.E. ?well sJ Do. Leeds 100 Do. York 100 North London ..... 3i I f N.ALS.Wstrn.,B am, . stead, and City Jn., 17! North Staffordshire , all North Western all N. &S. Westrn. Juno. Nuneaton, Hinelcloy and Leicester 00 i)x, Wore., sr Wolv, eortenlouth 1.00 ()Allah Central 1.0 t: -3eottish Midland 100 ihropshire Un - cn al south Devon loath Eastern all S.)uth Wales I.!" , - 4. Vrkeh. & Riv. Dun 5 %Do 14 itAines,Wok. &Wot -tockton & Darn r:4l,c2lrton & Call' Vale 100 Do. Pref., No. 1 21i riames Hay. D.& R. ulvorstone & Lancs all Vole of Neath... all Waterfil. & Kilkenny all WaterfordeaLimor;clK all West qornwall ' 8 West End of London and Crystal Palace:. all Do. A...... 3 , Do. B all I West London all I Wimbledn k Croydon FOREIGN. t.,11 14 ntwerp&l-tott•rdam 40 Do. 5 p.a. Oblga. cos. in Sli. at par till 'B4 10 Ardonues 4 Belgian Eastu. June 10 Beziors to Gra; s3-raa 4i Bombay t ßaroda, an Central India,Scri , ,l all Do. all Demerara 11 I r)utch Rhenish all I F.:astern of France 10 Now all aat Indian, g. sp. c 10 ! Do, Ey 1-,onsion ts'i 00. do. do., '59, do.. 20 P-d. Tk of Cans.dA is 11)0. St. Lawrence 1: 1 Atlantic do. 70 I Do. Cert. of Deben ) con. into Stk. till '0 all Do. Comp. 6p. c., do. 10 'Gt. Ceutral of "Fran;,, \all Gt. Indian Peninsul ,, guar. 5 per cent all Do. Now 5 per cent all Do. Extensions.... 13 Great Luxembourg Constituted Shares all Do. Obligations r.ll Gt.Westernof Canad ql:arps 5i Do. New all' I Do. Bds., payable's7 with oPtion till '55.: all Do. do., '62, p. '56 . all Do. do., '76, p. 'CO... all Do. do., '73, without option all Hamilton & Toront ,, all Do. (I per cent. 17 Lake Const. & Basle all Liern and Turnhout 19 Lyons and Geneva 14 Lyons & Mediterran. all Madras 10 Do. New all Maria Anton ia .; all Do. do. New all Nnumr It Liege (4itl interest) e.ll Do. (ex interest) all Northern of France all Do.2oZ.Slls sll IDO: 207. 3 p. c Bde (fmy.B.&Anis.Shs. ‘ll gorwagianTrunkPre' 16 Paris and Lyons al; Ditto Bonds all Paris and Orleans all Paris and Rouen... 16 I , nrisCaen&Cherbrg all Do 5 Rome and Frascati al Rouen and Havre all Royal Danish 5 Royal Swedish all Do. Obligations all F,'.ambre and Meuse._ all l Do. p. cent. Prof. ss. Scindo ... all D 0... all Southern of France 16 St. Andrew's and Quebec (A). r.ll West Flanders all Do 5i per c. Pref 18 western of Franco_ all D 0... ..... . ...... all Zealand % 11 100 5 0 40 !di 50 all 25 5 iA , ,sineia doi e yester lay. 7i - 7i 31 - 3 (I i - i 1 d 34t 9 10 p 21 —21 i •• - •• 10 - 9i 15 - 16 GO 65 SO 85 21 2ip 5i 5 1 pa. ip gi - 4 2/ - 3i 24 - 241 2 -21 p 9g - 100 115 - 120 115 - 120 104 106 623 - 24 110 - 115 d I 6 7P. 7 2 - 3 4 - 5 4 - 41 34i - 35 12 - L 2 -44 i 44 - 46 ... -. Plii 15:q - 2i 19i - 2i - i - iP pin •••i - 4 - ••• 3 ii : 24 iii - 19} JOINT-STOCK BANKS. 7.kustralasia .... B a nk of LondOii .. , . .. . gri, Col. 'Bk.& Ln. C. t3ritiih N. American Martel. Bank of Alibi Chrtd. rink. of India, Australia, & China C co it l y on . .. ..................................... Commercial of Loud. gnir.Scot. & 43M Cht. Dona. Chart. Bk. of Australis nitto New Lcudon and County Lnd. &E. Bnkg. Corp 1 London Joint Stock Loud. & Westminster National Pro. of Eng Do. New National of Ireland New South Walez Oriental Bank of Corporation !i•rc.vincial of Ireland New Royal Australn.Bkg G‘,1,1 Imp Co., Royal British iontl, Australia Union of Australia 4 Do. Wew I , Union o: London 89 :41 57 - 59 li --- id c 27 -d44 • • ""•• ••• 16 - 17. ipa; - 2p •• • 4.. •• • .1. ip, • • , 3S -- 40 •H a•• .. 151 -15 i 3i -- 24 d 37 - 39 51 - 53 40 -- 42 73 - 75 8 9 30 16! St. 3 20 Si 2t, 20i 20, UX) 8 10 20 20 20 .00 50 i 0 10 all ;5 all .6 all 5 1 00 i 50 15 IRA THE SUN. LONDON. TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 8. 1656. LINES LEASED FIXED ILENTAI E. CRIMINAL COURT.—(This Day.) 14 liAILW&Uo 1,461 A Compans. C•o , in z rtecia this dat3 . yester fay. OLD COURT. (Before the Recorder.) Patrick Fitzgerald, Charles Field, and Edward Noble, who had been out on bail, surrendered to take their trial upon an indictment charging them with unlawfully hav ing in their possession certain naval stores, to wit, 55 lbs. of copper nails, and 7 lbs. of copper sheeting, the property of the Queen. Mr. Atherton, Q C., and Mr. Sleigh prosecuted; and Mr. Ribton defended. It appeared that Fitzgerald and Field were labourers in the service of the contractor for removing the du-t and chips from the dockyard at Deptford. Upon the evening ,of the 21st of December two police-constables were on duty at the door of a marine store-shop, kept by the father of Noble, when they saw Fitzgerald and Field standing in the shop conversing with Noble, something in an old apron being in the scale, which sub sequently turned out to be the stores in question, which bore the Government mark. The Recorder decided that there was no case against Noble, and against the other defendants the case was proceeding when we went to press. In the course of the morning the Grand Jury re turned a true bill against Thomas William Corrigan for murder. POLICE INTELLIGENCE.--(This Day.) MANSION -HOUSE. ATTEMPTED BURGLARY AND MURDRR IN FENCLTURCa- STREET.—James Daniels, George Roffey, and John Green land, remanded, charged with attempting to commit a burglary, on the premises of Mr. Crossland, 1, Fen church-street, and assaulting John Seeker, the house keeper, were again placed at the bar with a fourth pri soner, named Charles Cooke, an accomplice. Mr. Beard defended Daniels and Roffey. F The three first-named prisoners were examined on Wednesday last, the particulars of which we then pub lished. It will be recollected that Seeker went to the cellar with a candle after the shop was shut, on Tuesday night, to fetch coals, and that he discovered three of the prisoners in the cupboard, when they attacked him in a violent manner. Seeker, nho was sufficiently recovered to attend to-day, deposed that as soon as he discovered the prisoners in the cupboard one of them cried out, " Mur der him," immediately on which he received a blow on the head which knocked him down. He rose up and ran to close the door, but in doing so one of the pri soners passed him. He followed him, the other two prisoners running after him. Not being a bl e t o o p en the front door the prisoner turned on him. Witness then observed that two of the prisoners had sticks, one of whom struck him and he fell ; one knelt on him, whilst the others opened the door and ran off. The third man (Greenland) witness oaught hold of, but he broke from him. He, however, recovered his senses, jumped up and followed him, and came up with him opposite the church in Lombard-street, a gentleman having stopped him. The prisoner was taken back to the premises in Fencburch-street, and a policeman sent for, when he was taken into custody. On his way back the prisoner said "I am sure I was not one of them that was in." He said it before any charge had been made against him. Witness received a wound on the back of the head and one over the left eye, which bled very much. He also received a bruise over the right eye, and his chest was much injured. He could swear to Greenland and Roffey as two of the persons who were concealed in the cupboard. He discovered the prisoners about half past eight o'clock at night. After the prisoner Greenland was in custody he in formed the police who were his companions that night, and the other prisoners were apprehended in conse quence. Some further evidence having been given, the pri soners were committed for trial. diculous description of one of the many cruel freaks of Shahpesh in the fantastic punishment of Khi pil:— "Khipil plucked a handful of the nettles that were there in the place of flowers, and put his nose to them be fore Shahpesh, till his nose was reddened ; and desire to rub it waxed in him, and possessed him, and became a pas sion, so that he could scarce refrain from rubbing it even in the Ring's presence. And the King encJuraged him to sniff and enjoy their fragrance." " Then Shahpesh laughed, and cried, ' Chafe not ! it is an ill thing and a hideous ! This nosegay, 0 Khipil, it is for thee to present to thy mistress. Truly she will receive thee well after its presentation ! I will have it now sent in thy name, with word that thou followest quickly. And for thy nettled nose, surely if the whim seize thee that thou desirest its chafing, to thy neighbour is permitted what to thy hand is refused.' " So the King set a guard upon Khipil to see that his orders were executed, and appointed a time for him to re turn to the gardens. "At the hour indicated Khipil stood before Shahpesh again. He was pale, saddened ; his tongue drooped like the tongue of a heavy hell, that when it soundeth giveth forth mournful sounds only : he had also the look of one battered with many beatings. So the King said, ' How of thy pre sentation of the flowers of thy culture, 0 Khipil ?' "He answered, Surely, O King, she received me with wrath, and I am ashamed by her.' "And the King said, ' How of my clemency in the mat ter of the chafing?' " Khipil answered, 0 King of splendours ! I made pe tition to my neighbours whom I met, accosting them civilly and with imploring, for I ached to chafe, and it was the iyry . raginy thirst of desire to chafe that was mine, devour ing intensity of eagerness for solace of chafing. And they chafed me, 0 King I yet not in those parts which throbbed for the chafing, but in those which abhorred it.' " Happiest of all, however, as illustrative at once of the humorous and imaginative powers of the author of " The Shaving of Shagpat " is his record of the consequence of the kick of Kadrab, the slave to the old beggar who was in reality a Genie so dis guised— _ _ "Then was Kadrab wroth, and kicked the old beggar with his fore-foot, lifting him high in air, and lo ! he did not alight, but rose over the roofs of the house; and be yond the city, till he was but a speck in the blue of the sky above. So Kadrab bit his fore-finger amazed, and glanced at his foot, and at what was visible of the old beg german, and again at his foot, thinking but of what ho had done with it, and the might manifested in the kick, fool that he was ! All the way homeward he kept scan ning the sky and lifting his foot aloft, and I saw him be wildered with a strange conceit." Additional evidence of the marvellously creative fancy of our author it were scarcely necessary to extract from his pages after this inimitable passage. Nevertheless we cannot refrain altogether from some passing reference, at least, to the roc-like bird Koorookh, a creature capable of pronouncing any name save that of Shibli Bagarag—a name dis torted in its beak into Shiparack, into Shiplabarack, into Shiblisharrack, into Shibberacavarack ! Koo rookh being thereupon chid angrily by his mistress —" he with a heavy eye sulking, and keeping the sullen feathers close upon his poll." Neither can we wholly resist thus casually calling to our own remembrance, as it were, by the simple aid of their incidental enumeration—Karaz the evil Genie, whether as he appears when lolling his huge head upon the lap of Noorna, she whispering her spells the while into his " hairy-pointed red ear," or whether seen again under, a more dreadful aspect when reeking up into the presence of Kadza, " the great smell" of the monster being " an intoxication in her nostrils," and his foot stamping in wrath so as to shake to its foundations the palace of the city of Shagpat ! And besides the bird Koorookh and the Genie Karaz—the Solid Pillar of Water in the mystic cavern, paved, under the smooth roll of the billows, with " agates of size, limpid cornelians, plates of polished jet, rubies, and diamonds innu merable.' And the fairy boat of the shell in which Noorna bin Noorka and Shibli Bagarag sped so swiftly across the ocean that " the waters smacked and cracked beneath it." And the marvellous fruit-tree of Aklis, more marvellous even than any fruit tree in the garden of Alladin : " A tree with golden spreading branches and leaves of gold ; among the leaves gold-feathered birds, and fruits of all seasons and every description—the drooping grape and the pleasant-smelling quince, and the blood-red pomegra nate, and the apricot, and the green and rosy apple, and the gummy date, and the oily pistachio.nut, and peaches, and citrons, and oranges, and the plum, and the fig." And the Fountains of Aklis, that were fountains throwing up showers of " gems, pearls, chrysolites, and thousand-hued jewels." And the China jar of the King of Oolb, which was brimmed with wine, and remained so though a thousand drank of it. And the royal dress of Samarcand, rendering the wearer of it invisible, like the cap of Fortunatus. And the imaginary chair of Khipil, where the wretched builder for one day and one night sat upon nothing --and the ideal fountain where for three days and three nights he drank of its drought—and the supposititious fruit tree, as which for seven days and seven nights ho stood " with stretched arms, as they were the branches of a tree, in each hand a pomegranate." Punishments more tantalising almost we had said than the banquet of Tantalus himself, or than the feast of the Rarmesides ! Finally, as evidences of the original fancies lavished in the adornment of this Arabian Narrative, we may instance the magical hairs plucked from the horse Garraveen—" sapphire hairs, with a flicker ing light that seemed to live, wriggling their lengths, and were as snakes with sapphire skins —hairs that ultimately swelled, and took glittering scales, and were [indeed] sapphire snakes, with wings of intense emerald"—creatures of which the following marvels are then related : " And they rose in the air spirally together, each over each, so that to see them one would fancy in the darkness a fountain of sapphire waters flashed with the sheen of emerald. When they had reached a height loftier than the topmost palace-towers of Aklis, they descended like javelins into the earth, and in a moment :e-appeared, in the shape of Genii when they are charitably disposed to them they visit ; not ranch above the mortal size, nor overbright, save for a certain fire in their eyes when they turned them ; and they were clothed each from head to foot in an armour of sapphire plates shot with steely eme rald. Surely the dragon-fly that darteth all day in the blaze over pools is like what they were. So Abarak bit his forefinger and said, Who be ye, 0 sons of brilliance ?' " They answered, Kravejin and Veejravoosh, slaves of the Sword.' " The sword here mentioned being the Sword of the Event—the Sword of Aklis. "Lo ! the length of it was as the length of crimson across the sea when the sun is sideways of the wave, and it seemed full a mile long, the whole blade sheening like an arrested lightning from the end to the hilt; the hilt two large live serpents twined together, with eyes like sombre jewels and sparkling spotted skins, points of fire in their folds, and reflections of the emerald and topaz and ruby stones, studded in the blood-stained haft. Then the seven young men, sons of Aklis, said to Shibli Baga rag, Surrender the Lily !' And when he had given into their hands the Lily they said, Grasp the handle of the Sword !' "Now he beheld the Sword and the ripples of violet heat that were breathing down upon it, and tliSse two venomous serpents twined together, and the size of it, its ponderous. ness ; and to essay lifting it appeared to him a madness ; but he concealed his thought, and, setting his soul on the safety of-Noorna, went forward to it boldly, and piers ng his right arm between the ;twists of the serpent, grasped the jewelled haft. Surely the Sword moved from the slings as if a giant had swayed it ! But what amazed him most was the marvel of the blade, for its sharpness was such that nothing stood in its way, and it slipped through everything as we pass through still water—the stone co lumns, blocks of granite by the walls, the walls of earth, and the thick solidity of the ground beneath his feet. They bade him say to the Sword, Sleep !' and it was no longer than a knife in the girdle. Likewise they bade him hiss on the heads of the serpents, and say Wake !' and while he held it lengthwise it shot lengthening out. Then they bade him hold in one hand the sapphire hair that conquered the lion, and with the edge of the Sword touch one point of it. So ho did that, and it split in half, and the two halves he also split ; and he split those four, and those eight, till the hairs were thin as light and not dis tinguishable from it." The Lily surrendered by Shibli Bagarag, in order that he might grasp the Sword of the Event, being the Lily of the Enchanted Sea, in effect one of the loveliest imaginings in the whole of this strangely imaginative Arabian Entertainment. In evidence of which we are here tempted to give another and a more lengthened quotation. A passage it is descriptive of the manner in which Shibli Bagarag went in search of the missing Lily, aided only by drops of the magic water from the miraculous well of Paravid. Than which description we know of none in its way more exquisite for its sorrowful beauty and pathetic tenderness. Listen ! " Now when he awoke the second time he was in the bosom of darkness, and the Lily goys from his hand ; so a o s f k that, e a f 0 ra and d the groped L ly ; ho lifted the phial to make cer a ta i i i n about till he came to what seemed an urn to the touch, I ca ught a light from it in passing.' and into this he dropped a drop, and a voice said, And he same in the darkness to a tree, and a bejew e ll e d bank, and other urns, and swinging lamps without light, and a running water, and a grassy bank, and flowers, aid a silver seat, sprinkling each ; and they said all in answer to his question of the Lily, 'I caught a light from it in passing.' At the last he stumbled upon the steps of a palace, and ascended them, endowing the steps with speech as he went, and they said, The light of it went over us.' g e groped at the porch of the palace, and gave the door a voice, and it epenod on jasper hinges, shrieking, 'The light of it went through me' Then he entered a spacious hall, scattering drops, and voices exclaimed, We glow with the light of it.' He passed, groping his way through other halls and dusk chambers, scattering drops, and as he advanced the voices increased in the fervour of their replies, saying, We blush with the light of it ;" We beam with the light of it f We burn with the light of it.' So presently he found himself in a long low room, sombrely lit, roofed with crys tals ; and in a corner of the roam, le ! a damsel on a couch of purple, she, white as silver, spreading radiance. Of such lustrous beauty was she that beside her, in sleep the Princess Goorelka as Shibli Bagarag first beheld her would have paled like a morning moon; even Noorna had waned as doth a flower in fierce heat ; and the Queen of Enchant ments was but the sun behind a sand-storm, in comparison with that effulgent damsel on the length of the purple conch. Well for him he wist of the magic which floated through that palace ; as is said, Tempted by extremes, The soul is most secure ; Too vivid loveliness blinds with its beams, And eyes turned inward soon perceive the lure.' Pulling down his turban hastily, he stepped on tiptoe to within arm's reach of her, and, looking another way, in clined over her soft vermeil msuth the phial slowly till it brimmed the neck, and dropped a drop of Paravid between R. 100 St 100 26 all ne 5 all ;t. ;t. 100 5 all i 0 all 5 all all .2 all Vl sal St. 0.1 it 00 St. WO 5: all a. ►(0 5} ;0 all +0 all (‘ all F all 2 all 3t. 11)0 5 18}? all 2 9 ad] 5 l i en . 00 st. 1100 It. 100 100 1.5 all all all 64 all 6} all LO 2 it. 100 It. 100 ti!i all tit all LO i ali 5 all [0 all it. all It. 100 5 all ;t. 100 .!0 all It. 1101 i It. 100 it. 100 k. 1(k) 12A 74 iO all It. 100 /0 10 St. 1100 it. 100 it. 100 8 all 10 all 10 all St lob 253 ail 13 all L 6 6 It. 1(X) It. 100 It. 10 , 1 It. 100 It. 1 100 it. 110► ;t. tOO :24 All l2t all L 0 all 6 4 1.2 i all 1.2aa1l 1 2? 10: St. WO St. 100 Bedford and London izi N. West.' &N.W. ,aledon E. Un. & E. C Gt.Nri.; , , , E. Count aeldouian Westn Yk. New. & Rens. Y. St NM Eaat 17;0m 'eto & CO. o o rfolk. L.& N. W & Midld. Stektou & Darlingt. En. Cowl E. Coant. rL. ° & .. N.W. klt North Lancash & York sh. T. Brassey M.Meleanl & Darlingt Do leltw, P.R,EFEItEN berdeen o. No. 2, 7 p. c. ;tlyth and Tyne leper c. pref. (issd. at 50/' Brie. & Ex. 4 p. c. St. Do. 4 p. c. Shares... Caledonian £lO 'Mester & Holyhea.' Guar. 5i per cent Do. do. Pref. No. 2 Do. do. Pref. No. 2 Cork &Bandonsip.c Dun.Prth .& Aber. J Z. Anglian Cls. A Sh Do. do. CI s. B 6 p. c Do. do Cis. C 7 p. c eastern Counties Ex tension, 5 p. c. No. Do. No. 2 . Do. New 6 p. C. St. ast Un., G. 6 p. c. Do. 51., 10 per cent. ko. 10/. Delientr. Sh Do. do. 4 por East Lancasi.. 6 p. ate &W. York. J. sths Prth.&Dun.4p.c ,Furnet4s 11a.a. 8t S.W. GI- 5 P. c. Great Northn. 5 p. c Do. 5 p. a. Redeem. at 10 p. c. prem. ~ Do. 4i p. c. i De. 5 P.C. Scrip, Red. 1 At sp. c. pm... . . _ rlt. N. of Sea. I st Pre 61t. S. &W. (Ireland; Do. 4per c. Prof. S , Gt. Westn. (Barks 3;. Cants Ex . 5 P. c) Do. con. red. 4 p.c. Do. con. red. 4 p. c. 70. irred. 4p. c. Do. Birm. Pref. Sh Do. Chester 8 p. c.P.S. De. do. 5 p. c. do Do. Binn. Gua. Stk Do. Ches. Gua. Sh Do. do. do Do. do. d 0........ .• •', Lan. &York. F. £2, Do. 6 p. c. Stock Lon. &Brigh. 0.5 p.c. Do. Pref., 5 p. e. St; ; Do. New Guar.6 p. c; Do. do. 5 per cent_ Lon.&N. W.,-Co`. Nuneaton 5 p. ct Lon. & S.W. 7 per ct Londy. At oolet . Sh. Lowly. & Ennis. A S h Shef., & tin. New £lO r)o. tlarypt.& Carl.4p f)o. 4 per oont Do Consol.s p.c.St Do. Consol. Bristol tk Birm. 6 per cent Do. 4i p. c. Pref. St l po. Pref. 4 d per con! IDo. 5/. Pr , f. 4 p. c. Ditto L. St H. Pref. SI Norfolk Debenture,. Do. Pref. 4 p. c. Stow. Do. 5 p.c. Eat Do. 5A per et. pref Do. Way. Val. 5 p. North British N'. E. Berm, 4 p.c. P Do. do. do Do Leeds 6 p.c tNe.l e. do. Quarters 4 Do :York 11. & F 4. Pox. Korth Staffordshire. Oxford, Worcester, Wolverh.£ls, 6 p . e Do R. Pref. 101. Sh, E3cot. Cent. ,New Pre' mouth Devon 'Do. fixed, 4,4! per con' IS. Eastern (Readiniq Ann.) of £1 Os. 6d. Do. 4i per cent IDo. Fixed , q p c sh IS. Wales Gua. 4 p. c Do. do. 4. p. c S.Yorksh.4p.c.Guar. iStock. & Dar., 5 p. c. IDo. do. do Stock. & Hard. g. r. c. till July 1,'56: Watertd. St Kilk. 6 p e 92 - 94 94 - 98 132 - 134 ••• ... lel lois iii -: li. Itois -7: lio 4.. ''''''' -. 24 - 2i 88 sO id io 55 57 iio Q 4 - 8 3i - 2.1 30 - 31 81 -- 83 lB SHAB.Ed. 106 - 110 104 - 106 iio : 58 k 7-ii 15 - 16 q - 7 - ii I - A - 114 - 6 : 62 li2 114 105 - 107 98 - 100 - 10 6 - 6A 85 - 87 77 - 79 77 - 79 91 - 15i - Ioi 94 - 10 - 63 17 - 18 84 - 9 13 - 134 1 - 131 - 133 • ... .... ow ••• ....... ...., •• • "'-"' .41 • • • • • .131 t 3 - 133 131 - 133 91 - 93 4 - 44 98 - 100 87 -84 21 - 3k • • i . • i d 13 - 14 id - Pa' 21i 22 ; 92 94 8 - 94 ... ~ .r • • • P it ..3 --: ia MINES. kg LI, Frla .....•...• ..• inglo Austrin. Gold Auglo Californian Australian..,. tustralian Cordillorai sve Maria gaden (Gl.Duchy of 3lsanarvon Iron and Coal _ Ilritish Iron 13razilianImp.(issue , 7 at £5 pm.) Do. Cacaos Sr Cuialp, , Do. St. John Del Rey Clarendon Cons. Min Co. of Jamaica obro Copper ..olouial Gold op per Min. of Em. - !, - Do. Pref. 7i p. cent. 1 7opia.po ortuna 3e neral . lt.NuggatVanßog Great Polvooth Gt Wheal Vor United Liberty ;mixes Lusitani an ariquita ew Granada Sonveau Monde Pontgiband Silvcr Lead Min. it Smelt Port Philip ?Hartz Rock nhyraney Iron 'Do. Now ' l .:Antiago de Cuba '4onth Australian..., Do. Scrip. Do. 10 per cent Pro: nu Croft United Mexican Waller 'est Mariposa........ Wortling Mining o' Austr%lis Vuim - . - . - G. 2 27 29 in 65 69 33 33 24 26 19 20 - id 14 16 i 1 • i s A - 6f —7/ - 10 - 12 20 - 22 6 - 8 4 - 4i 1 --- 1 4 - 3/ - - A THAMES. DARING BURGLARY ON MR. CUBITT'S PREMISES, ISLE or DOGS.—James Mosley, a young man, with his arm in a elirg, was brought before Mr. Yardley, charged with breaking into the premises of Mr. William Cubitt, and stealing some drawing instruments, money, and a box of paints therefrom. Thomas Hurries said he was watchman in the em ploy of Mr. Cubitt, in the Isle of Dogs. He went round the premises at half-past 9 o'clock last night, and all was then perfectly safe. He went round the premises half-an-hour afterwards and discovered the prisoner con cealed in an outer office. He immediately darted on the prisoner, seized him, and said to him, " What do you do here? The prisoner said "Mind my arm," which was bleeding, and went to the other side of the prisoner and asked him if he had any confederates with him. The prisoner replied that he had, that there was a tnau in an inner office, and that he would wait while the witness went after him and secured him. He refused to part with the prisoner, but went round the buildings with him and could find no other person. He then conveyed the prisoner to the station-house, and, on examining the premises discovered that the burglar had obtained admission to the outer office, by bmaking pane of glass, and unfastening a bolt or catch which secured the lower sash of the window to the upper one. The inner door of the office hal been broken open with a pair of fire-tongs, and an entrance obtained to a pas sage leading to an inner office, the door of which was not fastened. A drawer had been forced open, and several compasses, rules, and other drawing instruments, a box of paints, and 2s. 7td. in money stolen. He found the drawing instruments on the read along which he con veyed the prisoner to the station-house. The box of paints was also recovered. They had been dropped just outside the building as he was leading the prisoner away. He asked the prisoner how he injured his arm, to which he replied that he had chopped it with his father's adze in the morning. There was a large hand kerchief round the prisoner's arm. The handkerchief was saturated with blood, which was quite warm ; and a surgeon, who was called upon to attend the prisoner, said the wound was recently inflicted. He looked at the window which had been broken, and found stains of blood about and near the window. Mr. Yardley ordered the depositions to be taken, and committed the prisoner for trial for the burglary. A BRITISH SOLDIER FLOGGED TO DEATH. The correspondent of the Morning _Herald in his letter from the Crimea, dated Dec. 24, says : " A private of the English artillery has this week died under the lash at Balaklava ! I believe his offence was drunkenness. Be it so. Ari there no roads to be made or mended ? Are there no stones to be broken ? Arc there no round shot to be polished ? Is it not better to stop grog than to stop life ? Let your readers y de d se o r e t s io n n o , t flo h g a g ra in s g s us, answer. My opinion is that though in many cases, such a th s a m t is admissible, it (now now that men can well be spared for sentries over prisoners), is not the best punishment for drunkenness. I shall not argue n e y e n n e r m this question out now. I shall simply say that this pri vate was made fast to the usual limber-wheel, that his s t ate was apparently not one of health, that he was sentenced to receive, and did receive in full, 50 lashes, at the hands of the serjeant farrier of the left siege train at Balaklava Heights, and that on being, cast loose he fell to the ground like a log, there remained a short time, was carried to the hospital, and there died ! lam told that this private belonged to the Bth company of the 7th battalion (Royal Artillery), but I have failed as yet to learn his name. He di e d on Sunday morn ing (yesterday), having been flogged on Saturday, after the departure of the last mail from Balaklava. And I think that the War Office authorities ought to investigate the case. Mon are men, and must not he treated as beasts, for which latter we have, at least, a Martin's Act.'" LLOYD'S SHIPPING.—(This Day.) Ltripos, Jan. S.—Wind this day at noon, E.; light Jan• 7. Wind E.N.E.—Arrived—Hol breeze and hazy. i' oiJareiro for Antwerp, leaky, with loss of Po main-maut, from contact with a brig. Sailed—H.M.S. t from m m o H R T i Perseverance, for the Crimea. PLYMOUTH, Jan. 7.—Wind E.—Arrived —Anstinna, from Bremen, for San Francisco. Sailed—Waluner Cas tle, for Australia. FALmouni, Jan. 6.—Wind variable, with fog.—Arrived —George, from Plymouth for Cardiff, with loss of bul warks, stanchions, &o from contmet with the Haltwhistle, off the Blackhead ; Livonia, Akyab ; Progress (s. tpt.), Crimea and Gibraltar ; Mary Harrison, London, for Ma dras; Anna, London, for Genoa, leaky. (PER ELICCTRIO TELE(IP,APH.) SOUTHAMPTON, Tun:lay Morning. Arrived—Despatch (s.), from Jersey; City of Limerick (a.), Dublin; Poultans, Sunderland; Atalanta (s,), Havre. Sailed—Carlo Alauran, for New York ; Wonder (s.), Jersey ; Alliance (s.), Havre ; City of Limerick (s.), Loudon. (BT SUBMARINE AND BRITISH TELEGRAPH.) GRAVESEND, Tuesday, 9.58 a.m. Wind N.N.E. ; tide, quarter flood ; cloudy. Arrived.—Elleu, from Jersey. DEAL, Tuesday, 9.47 a.ra, Wind I , T. ; moderate. Passed—Amede, from London, for Rouen ; Hilda, London for Cardiff ; Clementina, London, for Algoa Bay ; Kennier, London, for Plymouth. Anchored. —Sovereign, from London, for Trieste. Madame La Marquise Campana has arrived at the Clarendon, from Paris. TUE CASE OF MBS. WOOLER.—The auditors of the county of Durham, in presenting the accounts the other day, mentioned that the late prosecution in the great Burdon poisoning case had cost the county no less than 5121.—Gateshead Observer. STAR CLUB OF LONDON.—MEETINGS FOR 1858. — Wednesdays, Feb. 27, March 26, April 10, and May 21, Fenton': Hotel, St. James's-street ; June 25, Ship Hotel, Greenwich ; and July 23, dejeuner. The presi dent will take the chair at seven o'clock precisely. Ladies will be received at the meetings in June and July.—Octavius Green and John M. Deere, honorary secretaries. GENERAL REDUCTION IN THE PRICE OF BREAD. — Yesterday morning the bakers generally througkeut the metropolis made a reauction of one halfpenny in the price of the 41b. loaf ; bread of the second quality varies in price according to the locality, from 81d. to 9td. per 4ibi. ; good sound household bread may be obtained from Bd. to 86d. ; and country bread (unweighed) at 76d. to Bd. per loaf. The best bread varies from 10d. to 11d. per 4lbs. A proportionate reduction in the price of fiour. LITERATURE. THE NEW AUTHOR. The Shaving of ,Shagpat : an, Arabian Entertain ment. By George Meredith. Chapman and Since the " Vatliele of William Beckford, we .have had no such oriental story as this " Shaving of Shagpat" by George Meredith. It is a produc tion the merits of which are collectively something to our mind quite extraordinary. We speak thus, moreover, of the remarkable work under notice with the strictest impartiality and without one particle of exaggeration. In Mr. Meredith—now that we have read his very curious volume—we at once re- cognise a writer Of real genius, of a genius large, true, and original. As such we most cordially hail his appearance. As such wo heartily accord to him the meed, whatever it may be worth, of our un affected and unstinted admiration. Henceforth lie takes high rank among our chosen favourites by right of his most remartrable powers ai a humorist, and by reason also of liis prolific and splendid imagination. It we are not strangely mistaken, there appeared some four or five seasoas back a small volume of " Poems" by the same author, the author of this " Arabian Entertainment." Pretty and graceful verses for the most part—and nothing more—ac cording to our remembrance of them. During the interval which has since then elapsed, the intellec tual capacities of Mr. Meredith have manifestly not been lying dormant ; rather be it said, judging of them by this novel attestation of their general development, they have been all the while expand ing, and maturing, and multiplying. Insomuch that the little green IGnio has already ripened into this goodly red octave—a handful of fugitive stanzas yielding place to the present gorgeous ad denda to the grand old. masterpiece of " The Ara bian Nights Entertainments." For as such we are disposed to regard " The Shaving of Shagpat," as here related after the genuine oriental fashion by the lips of our young literary necroman cer. Mr. Meredith claims for his book and judiciously claims for it, the merit of originality. For, candidly be it said, at the first blush, it is a merit not easily recognisable as belonging of right to the narrative—so marvellously true to the style and manner imitated (that of the oriental story tellers) is every turn and phrase, we had almost said every idiomatic metaphor and expletive in this (accurately so-termed) " Arabian Entertainment." Examined, however, with auy degree of critical sagacity, the originality of the work is altogether unmistakeable. "The Shaving of Shagpat" could never, surely, by any reader endowed with the smal lest modicum of acumen be seriously mistaken for a single moment for a mere translation. Its pre vailing sparkle, whether in conception or in treat ment, is proof positive of its originality through out. It may be regarded by those who list, as a satiric allegory, having reference to a cer tain hairy freak peculiar to our own generation. It will be perused by others, however, as by our selves, without regard to any hidden significance in the incidents recounted but solely with an eye to the luxurious enjoyment of the writer's abound ing drollery, and of the deft and wondrous play of his quaint, adroit, delicate, erratic, puck-like imagination. 'lt must be fairly acknowledged by us, nevertheless, that we cannot, for an instant, consider our author to have, in any respect what ever, done justice to himself in the preamble, or exordium, or preface, or whatever it may be called, of his entertainment. His fancy scarcely warms into life until we arrive at the fourth instalment ; until we are listening, in fact, to the ingenious and most ludicrous definition given of the punishment wreaked by Shahpesh, the Persian, upon Khipil, the Builder ; until we have passed, in short, through the elaborate records of " The Th wackings" and of " The Betrothal," and even be it added through the strange, wild story recounted of " Blianavar the Beautiful." Yet as elucidative of the subsequent and more enthralling " mysteries" of the volume, these same introductory chapters have their intrinsic worth doubtless, if only in the way, perhaps, of mere prefatory explanation. As, fcr example, may be recognised where it is observA long afterwards in reference to the somewhat tedious and until then unaccountable record of the " Thwackings," that the hero of the tale escapes the peril of oblivion through the redeeming aid of their vivid and ineradicable rememberance,—illus , trative of the poet's recommendation : " If thou wouldst fix remembrance—thwack ! 'Tie that oblivion controls, I care not it it be on the back Or on the soles." Accordingly, as Achilles was soused in the saving waters of the Styx, so Mr. Meredith's hero gets soundly thwacked by way of an agreeable prelimi nary, to the end that the said thwackings may prove in due season the most effectual of preser vatives ! IShagpat, it should he observed at once, is not so much the hero of the story as the victim of its crowning incident—the veritable hero being no other, iu truth, than Shibli Bagarag, nephew of the renowned Baba Mustapha, chief barber of the Shah of Persia. Shibli Bagarag, himself a barber like his loquacious old parrot of au uncle, is the youth predestined by the readers of the stars for the ulti mate "Shaving of Shagpat," an achievement of preternatural difficulty, and one the glory of which is recognised from the first as altogether beyond tke reach of adequate celebration. The difficulty is soon perceived to lie in a single hair on the head of Shagpat the son of Shimpoor, the son of Shoolpi, the son of Shullum—otherwise known as Shagpat, the clothier of the city of Shagpat. The hairiest man in all the world--" a miracle of hairiness, with hair as he had been muzzled with it, and his head as it were a berry in a huge bush by reason of it." In this tremendous bramble-bush of hairi ness howbeit there is one hair, as we have hinted, the arch-difficulty to the hand of the barber-hero Shibli Bagarag. A hair not to be shorn by any earthly implement—the Hair of Fortune, otherwise known as the Identical,or still more solemnly, in deed, as the Identical. of Identicais ! With a view to the severing of which said Identical, as' well as the rest of the umbrageous hairs upon the head of Shagpat, the clothier, Shibli Bagarag goes through all those complicated and miraculous series of adventures making the marvel of the enthralling narrative of this same wonderful Arabian 'Entertainment. /Wonder ful it is in truth, we repeat, both by reason of its prodigal display of the humorous and its as tonishing evidence of the creative power of its author's imagination. Exquisite is the agile play of the imaginative faculty revealed, for example, in the description here given of " The Well of Pa ravid"—a drop of the waters from which dropped upon anything animate or inanimate rendered it on the instant vocal—upon a rock, upon a foun tain, upon a basin, a soapbowl, and barber's tackle, upon the marble floor of a palace, upon a spike of lavender ! Marvellous a:lain in its way is the vivifying imagination revealed by the author of " The Shaving of Shagpat"—in "The Talking Hawk," in " The Horse Garraveen," in " The Lily of the Enchanted Sea," in the "Palace of Aklis," in "The Wiles of Rabesqurat." j lt is the imagina tion of a poet that conjures all these wonders into being as it is the genial fancy of a humorist that guides the pencil in the limning of that ludicrous portrait, for instance, of .Noorka bin Noorka, as she first appears before us under a witoh disguise as "a woman, old, wrinkled, a very crone, with but room for the drawing of a thread between her nose and her chin . . . her joints sharp as the hind legs of a grasshopper !" A humorist, too, and none other, a humorist with an infinite and subtle appreciation of the humorous, telling us how, in the thwacking of Shibli Bagarag, " the thong took an airing before it descended upon him —coming down on him with the hiss as it were a serpent, and with a smack as it were the mouth of satisfaction 1" Relating how, when the King looked amazed, "he made a point of his eyebrows"— when the Seven Sons of Aklis were tickled " they laughed so that their chins wore uppermost"—when Kadza, the spouse of Shagpat, was startled into a swoon she became " limp, after the well-remem bered manner of the amiable Migge of " Barnaby Rudge." / A humorist of very delightful facetious ness Mr. Meredith., proves himself to be, indeed, repeatedly throughout the shifting scenes of this astonishing phantasmagoria of portraits, portraits some of them surprisingly bizarre, grotesque, and ludicrous. As where he paints Abarak, the hunch back, with his legs bowed as though he had a moon between them ; or, again, where he depicts that goblin ape of Aklis, who " sat down and crossed his legs, and made a study of Shibli Bagarag as of a sovereign that held forth a deceiving bargain"--theold monkey,whoafterwards " arose with a puzzled look, half scornful, and made for the door slowly, turning his head between whiles as he went, and scratching his lower limbs with the acute reflectiveness of age and extreme caution"—own brother, as we should conjecture him to be, of the Singe Caporal of M. Paul de Kook, the ape in " La Jolie Fille to du urne Faubourg," 44 /e dos-- who, in a moment of difficulty, pot tant /a main gauche a son derriere, qu'a/ gratte avec une sorte de fareur." Sappier examples, how ever, of Mr. Meredith's remarkable powers as a humorist may yet be culled abundantly from other pages of his Arabian Entertainment. As, for in stance, where the hero-barber, beholding Shagpat " arrogant in hairiness" can scarcely resist lather ing him to the eyes and upwards, and assaulting him with his tackle of office—the chronicler writing " now long gazing on Shagpat awoke in Shibli Bagarag a fierce desire to shave him, and it was scarce in his power to restrain himself from flying at the clothier." Better still that exquisitely ri- 80 79i 54 84 I * 52 1U i 6 5i 93 li 84 , i 633 i 37 4 t. I too 10J all 20 all 10 .0.1 all It. 1100 [0 I all l 0 I all !O I all X;) al I 5 all 5 15 .2, 1 _4 all 5 I 4i 1 111 1 s d 03 nil , 1 I all 1 all 1 i all i 0 1 all g) all 15 1 a l a a a l a i l ll 3 all 5 1 all ! all I 1 all ZO all 5 1 1 1 1 all if) I all .5 I all 1 all 1 all 1 .0 I 9 gs an all h I I an 12s 1 ' .11 MISCE LLA.NISUUb. 19 Australian A gricult. 26 28 s le all A. UK h-aln. Royal Mai 10 zz Berlin Water Works 6 7 i 50 40 grit. American Law' 47 51) 100 :s2 Canada l2O 125 St. 100 Canada Gov. 6p. ct Jan. and July 1.05i 106} 105. 5 all Crystal Palace. 2 2 2 5 5 Do. Preference.. 4i -- 4 5 s 4 all Crystal Pal. of Franc. 1 0 Duston Iron Ore 20 11 Eastern Steam • • •. 5 all En.&Aus Cop Sm Co 1 1i 25 24 Electric Telegraph... 20 21 1 all Electric Teleg. of Ir. ... • ••• 5 all Gen. Iron Se Collier - 15 14 Gen. Steam Navigat. 1C all General Screw Steam 15f i.O 10 Irish Beetroot St.gal 20 10 Magdalena St. Navig 10 all Meditoran. Elec. Tel. 8 10 10 9 Mexican&S.Americn. 5 - 5i 5i 1 all Nat. Pat. Steam Fuel 10 5 Netherlands Land.... 1 —1, 10 all Do. Do. 5 1 Do. 8 pcP iss at 1 d id 2 1 N. S. W. Coal lz Inter. Steam Navigat. Co. 100 80 Now B. &N. S. Land 18 22 1 all N. B. Australasian a 20 15 Nrth.cf Euro p eSt aam • 1 all Oriental Gas — 1 2s. Do. "New shares" all Peel Rr. Ld. & Minrl. 2* 2i 50 all Peninsular& Orients 63 65 • Gla Si) 10 Do. New — ...p 13i ' 2 all Portland Iron Co 100 60 Royal Mail Steam 77 1 r.ll Scot. Austral. Invest. 1 10 1 Ditto New — all S'outh A.ustralLand 34 36 1 al; Submar. Tel. Scrip a , 0 all Re t :, , isteroti. g • 5 Trust& L.Co.U.Can. 100) 28 Van Diernen'e Land 14. 16 8431 90i 89 i 4l 51i 2 49 81 41. 40i 74i 1 i pm pm 113 12 86 5 781 8 1101 x d the bow of those sweet lire. Still not daring to gaze on her, the said then, My question is of the Lily, the Lily of the Sea, and where is it, 0 marvel ?' " And ho heard a voice answer in the tones of a silver bell, clear as a wind in strung wires, Where I lie, lies the Lily, the Lily of the Sea ; I with it, it with me.' " Said he, 0 breather of music, tell me how I may lay band on the flower of beauty to bear it forth.' "And he heard the voice, An eqeal sputa betwixt my right side and my left, and from the shoulder one span and half a span downward. " Still without power to eye her, he measured the space and the spans, his hand beneath the coverlids of the couch, and at a soot of the bosom his hand sank in, and he felt s fluttering thing, fluttering like a frigbted bird in the midst of the fire. And the voice said, Quick, seize it, and draw it out, and tie it to my feet by the twines of red silk about ;4. , " He seized it - and drew it out, and it was a heart—a heart of blood—streaming with crimson, palpitating. Tears flashed on his sight beholding it, and pity took the seat of fear, and he turned his eyes full on her, (trying, ' 0 sad fair thing ! 0 creature of anguish ! 0 painful beauty ! Oh, what have I done to thee !' " But she panted, and gasped short and shorter gasps, pointing with one finger to her feet. Then he took the warm, living heart while it yet leapt, and quivered, and sobbed ; and he held it with a trembling hand, and tied it by the red twines of silk about it to her feot, staining th9ir whiteness. When that was done, his whole soul melted with pity and swelled with sorrow, and ere he could meet her eyes a swoom overcame him. Surely when the world dawned to him a third time in these regions the damsel was no longer there, but in her place the Lily of Light. He thought, It was a vision, that damsel ! a terrible one; one to terrify and bewilder ! a bitter sweet ness ! Oh, the heart, the heart !' Reflecting on the heart brought to his lids an overcharging of tears, and he wept violently awhile." Sufficient testimony, however, has already, we may conjecture, been afforded by actual extracts from these annals of " The Shaving of Shagpat " to justify whatever panegyrics we have been im pelled, by our admiration of the work, to pronounce upon it as a genuine, though, at the same time, a perfectly original Arabian Entertainment. Testi mony sufficiently ample and conclusive, we trust, to tempt many of our readers to an examination of this singular volume for themselves. Through its perusal they may there learn more succinctly, and in detail, how it came to pass that Shibli Bagarag, the barber, became in the end Master of the Event, thereby rendering his career "an odour in distant lands, a joy to the historian, the Compiler of the Events"—being enabled by the aid of Noorna bin Noork9. and in spite of Goorelka of Oolb—sustained by the Lily, and strengthened by the hairs of Garraveen, and armed with the Sword of A.klis—to accomplish the Shaving of Shagpat, in defiance of the Genie Karaz and of the secret might of the Identical. 'Fantastic the book is—and with rea son, as becomes an Arabian Entertainment Abet ing the style and manner of the Oriental Story- Tetlers—but besides being thus ingeniously fantas tical, it is a production, to our thinking, as we have already intimated, at once exquisitely hum)- , roue and splendidly imaginative. THE PEACE PROPOSITIONS. Private advices from St. Petersburg reach to the 29th of December, and are of considerable interest. They mention the arrival of Prince Esterhazy, and state that the question of an ultimatum, was the subject of universal talk and of all kinds of rumours. It had been reported in high quarters that his propositions, both the maxi-• mum and minimum, were at once rejected, but this was positively erroneous, and it had been ascertained that he had not yet even seen the Chancellor (Count Nesselrode), and was not to see him till the following afternoon. It was also understood that no answer was to be given for 15 days, and it is added that a Council of the Em pire was to be appointed to examine and discuss the propositions. Hence it is said, "it may be taken for granted that all reports in the meantime will be totally destitute of foundation." These letters confirm the dis favour with which Austria at the present time is pro fessedly regarded. The members of the Austrian Lega tion, it is observed, not having instructions from their Government, declined attending the Te Deum at the Palace for the fall of Kars, " and are, consequently, not received into Russian society." All classes, even includ ing the peasants, are represented as indulging in invec tives and sarcasms against them. With regard to trade, the activity of the overland transit is said to have in creased, and it appears that, owing to the extraordinary number of horses employed to bring imports from the Prussian frontier, the rate of carriage back from St. Petersburg to Knowno had fallen to 6/. per ton for hemp, flax, and tallow. In consequence of the expecta tion that the land traffic in the spring would be enormous, and that much higher rates will prevail when the present large importation of sugar, cotton, dyewoods, &c., shall have ended, the English houses and capitalists in gene ral were taking advantage of the opportunity to forward their goods as fast as possible. The Government have contracted for 3,000 tones of lead to be delivered in the spring and throughout the summer. Its price had greatly fallen, and sulphur, which was last year 501 per ton, could now be had for 301. This was owing to the undisguised facilities afforded by Prussia, ami an expectation is mentioned that such articles will very soon be at nearly peace prices, "as they continue to be imported without any apparent interruption." Even the Russians, it is said, express great astonishment at this state of things, and are fearful that, being so fla grant, it may lead to a suppression of the entire traffic next season. Indeed among some of the principal mer chants the conviction is that there will be peace, or a total stoppage of the overland trade this year. These persoas, therefore, think it best to enter into no specula tion in Russian goods for next spring, for delivery at which time a great deal of German, although not much British capita! has been advanced to the Russians for the supply of the English markets throughout the sum mer. The rate of exchange, in consequence of the ex tent of trade, was well supported at 35 11-16 d., which it is remarked, is very little lower than that at which it has often stood in ordinary times, when, as is now also the case, the import market has been brisk. The wea ther was very mild, the thermometer being three degrees above the freezing point, and great quantities of goods were being forwarded to Archangel in the expectatiou of getting them off before the arrival of the blockading squadron. Subsequently to its departure last autumn 33 vessels got in and afterwards cleared with cargoes. Among these were some American vessels, which bad brought large supplies of arms and other munitions of war. Oue ship under the American flag, it is said, re mains frozen in fully laden with flax and linseed, ready to sail on the breaking up of the ice for London, clearing out for Holland. In the Baltic, it appears that owing to the present mildness of the temperature navigation has been resumed at some points, since the steamer Hobe was to leave Travemuude for Revel on the 30th of December, and would take goods thence for Lubeck. THE EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY. The following is the report of Lieut.-Col. Wynne as to the condition of the line of railway between London, Cambridge, and Norwich The under bridges and viaducts on the line between London and Norwich are very numerous. Not only (says Col. Wynne) do all the bridges require to be strut ted, the ends of the longitudinal timbers being in many instances decayed through half their thickness ; but the extent of the decay requires to be fully ascertained, es pecially at a!! the bearing parts, where the decay is al ways the greatest, and the results to be apprehended the most serious. This cannot he satisfactorily done, at least in the large bridges, without relieving one-half of the bridge from the traffic, while the other half is undergoing examititien. The great deterioration these bridges have undergone from the ravages of decay, with the consequent reduction of original strength, is a condition of things to cause the most serious apprehension, and until every bridge has undergone a careful overhauling in the man ner T have saggested, I am of opinion that the public cannot travel over the railway between London, Cam bridge, and Norwich without incurring serious risk. The re,ult of my examination of the permanent way was to I show that, whilst vast numbers of old sleepers have been removed and replaced by new ones, evidenced by the great piles of old sleepers lying along the line in different places, and which were fl a state of decay such as I have rarely met with, numbers yet remain in the line quite as much gone. Although this is a matter of serious mo ment, it is not so bad as that of the bridges ; for the sleepers, though much decayed, have some soundness at the core, and the danger c )uld be met for the time by m aintaining a greatly reduced speed over the line. Sneuld the permanent way not be renewed till after the reparation of the bridges is completed, it will be neces sary, for the public safety, to prescribe limits to the speed of the trains. A large section of the line south of Cambridge I found wet and scantily ballasted." Captain Galtou, transmitting the above report by direction of the Lords of the Committee of Privy Coun cil for Trade, to the Secretary of the Eastern Counties Railway Company, requests that the notice of the Directors be drawn to the above portion of the re port, and adds : " My Lords instruct me to point out that the Act 3d and 4th of Victoria, chap. 97, under the provi sions of which they ordered the railway to be in spected, does not empower them to take any further steps in the matter, but they direct me to express their opinion that, under the circumstances stated in the report, it is necessary that the subject should re ceive the immediate and careful consideration of the directors, and my Lords will be glad to learn, with as little delay as possible, the view of the directors as to the course they intend to pursue. LAURA GAY.—A. Novel. 2 vole.—" We have read novels of scenes and incidents more exciting than this, but rarely one written with finer taste, or affording deeper interest by the power of unaffected and attractive expression used in narration, colloquy, and description. The author is a man of elegant and manifold acoomplish ments, versed deeply and extensively in art and litera ture, and by no means unacquainted with the world and of politics and fashion. Laura Gay and Charles Thorn ton are admirable characters, admirablj portrayed. They are the centre of a throng of diverse and interest ing idiosyncrasies, and all, cleverly grouped together, form a fine picture that will make the fame of the author. —Observer. The c ontinental letters describe an improvement in the exchanges. At Hamburg money had become com paratively abundant and discount had fall en to 5i per cent., with the prospect of a further red action. The rate of exchange had consequently rallied, and bills on London were very scarce. In Holland there was a similar tendency, and at Paris also the rate is firm, nothwithstanding the scarcity of money an d the gloom on the Bourse. . , zed - ew ❑a. tp- the left arn ock aey up -12 red the on. 'an L to rial d ; )ro au- ha, of pon the ion Eau ties, fore yers eart 1 has lour sera bus the en. 'an- Inky ged new ►me gip 2441 38 7i