The Sun. — London, England, 1863-12-22 00:00:00

~.---..—. C HM' STMAS } - 1% ')LI DAYS.-HASTINGS Fuld ST. LEONARDS, by the BRIGHTON RAILWAY.— CHEAP lt i ,,T URN TIC h.E TS to these places will be issued on the 24th instant, by ti pc tra , .ns leaving Victoria at 2.5 and 6.55 pm , and Londou-bi id::,e at 2.10 and 7.0 p.m., available for return on the SU •: D., I.l' or 1...Ni0N DAY following'. Trains in connection with thes , 3 ieare Kensington at 1.35 and 6.30 p.m. -------- -------- AGE` 1' rs REQU IRED. THE IT iSURA NCE COM PANY is 11 prepared to enter tai a applications for Agency Appoint ments from gentleme n t tal rinc; command of Fire and Life Business. The Royal has always b een conspicuous for its liberality and promptitude in the setl lement of claims. Its annual Incom e is now 01 rer And its fund s in hand now a £l,( 01,000 Transfers of Policies from other Companies received with put charge for Policy, whatx ver the amou n t. Address, JOI [N B. JOHNSTON, Secretary. Royal Insurance Compa , ly , 29, Lombard-street. --- ItONNEVS SILICJ 3 3; LYON.—Every Article of commerce takes 11 s tiff:, either from the inventor or 'manufacturer, and the more perfect the production the g rater is the credit whit h attaches to the originator. BONNET'S SILKS Eze said to be incapable of identifica tion in England; but th.e fallacy of such an assertion is ex pos d by the very trade mark of the firm, as exhibited by Messrs..lAY, of Regent-street. - - The following interwoven mark may be seen at the end o f each piece :—" Manufacture de C. J. Bonnet et Cie., it Lyon it Injarieux." Wear guaranteed. FAMILY MOURNING.—Messrs. JAY would respectfully announce that great economy is effected by purchasing Mourning at their establishment, 2i7 and 249, RKGENT-STREET, their Stock of FAMILY MOURNING being the largest in Europe. Though Messrs. Jay professedly keep the best arttcles for Mourning and Half- Mourning—at all times the cheapest—they supply a Complete Suit of Domestic Mourning for 2k guineas. MOURNING- COSTUME of every description is kept Ready Made, and can be forwarded in town or country at a moment's no' gee. The most reasonable prices are charged, and wear of every article is guaranteed. TILE LONDON GENERAL MOURNING WAREHOUSE, "Regent-street (next the Circus). JAYS'. ENGLA ND'S CONGRESS, in the CHRLSTIILAA DOUBLE NUMBER, of FUN, on WED:NESDA.Y. One Penny. ROYAL ENGLISH OPERA, COVENT-GARDEN. Under the Management of Miss Louisa Fyne and Mr. W. Harrison. On BOXING NIGHT (Saturday , De c. 26), t o commence with the Second Act of Balfe's popular opera, THE BOHEMIAN GIRL. After which, a Grand Christmas Pantomime, on a scale of unprecedented magnificence, entitled HARLEQUIN ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON. Doors open at half-past Six—Commence at Seven. ._._.________-_ T EIE A TRE ROYAL D R U R Y-L A NE. Managers, Messrs. E dmun 1 Falconer and F. B. Chatterton. NIGHT, and In preparation, to b , p r, ducad on BOXING pl. tyed during the h olidays, a Grand Comic Christmas PAR TC,3I DIE, written by E. L. Blanchard , Esq. f o unded upon the pop ular Oriental story of SI entitled and NBAD THE SAILOR. The gorgeously beautiful character of the decora tions, inclusive of more than the u,tial amount of ecenical surprises and transformation wonders, are ensured by the fact of their being entirely designed and for the most part executed by the celebrated artist, Willi am Beverley, whose emiaent services have been retained this Christmas exclu sively for the theatre Royal Drury-Lane. The general action of the Pantomime will be arranged by, and the whole pro duced under the direction of, nMr.i,odert Roxby. Principal c h a racters in t he o p eni ng ,and Messrs. Tom Matthews, Fitz- james, J. N eville. G. Weston, Master . Weston, Percy Coventry, Roselle; Misses Lizzie '4 ilmore, Rose Leclercq, E. 4,e. The Harlequinade will include the services of those vopular Pantomimists (forming a double company), Harry 1101eno and C. Lau, i, Clown Mr. Barnes and 31r. J. Morris, p antaloons • Mr. Cormack and ; Mr. S. Saville, Harlequins ; y,Ladame Bolen() and Misses Gunnies. Columbines. The masks, deqices, and dresses, from designs by the humorously re nowned llykwy n k yn, Mr. J. Barnard. Mach. The music selected and arranged by Gas illuminations by _Mr. by Mr. Tucker and assistants. Ir. J. Hinckley. Properties by Mr. Needham and ass istants. - Dresses by Mr. Larry and Mrs. Lawler. The dances and action of the Ballet will be arranged by Mr. Cormack. Comic scenes, tricks, .&c., invented by Messrs. H. Boleno and Cormack. Morning Perf•rmance of the Pantomime every Wednesday, at 2 o'clock. Box Office open from 10 till 5 daily. THEATRE ROYAL DR U R Y-L AN E. Managers, Messrs. Edmond Falconer and F. B. Chatterton. On BOXING NIGHT, Dec. 26. the Farce of A ROLAND FOCI AN OLIVEtt. Messrs. Walter Lacy, Addison, G. Belmore, the Misses Heath, R. Leclercq, Murray. To conclude with the new Grand Christmas Comic Panto mime of SINBAD THE SAILOR ; or, The Seven Wonders of the World. Clowns, Messrs. H. Boleno and C. Lauri ; Harlequins, Messrs. J. Cormack and S. Saville ; Pantaloons, Messrs. W. A. Barnes and J. mores ; Columbines, Madame Boleno and Misses Gunniss. Prices as usual. Box Office open from 10 till 5 daily. •"%lit ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE. Under the Sole Management of Mr. Fechter. BEL DE NIONIO (a Triumphant Success) will be repeated on BOXING NIGHT, Saturday, Dec. 26, MONDAY, Dec. 28, and Every Evening during the Week. -•- THIS EVENING, the performance will commence with a New and Original Farce, entitled THE LOST CHILD: Mews. 11. Widdicombe, Shore, Garden, F. Charles Collett, Moreland; Misses Percy, Pauline LeJlercq, Wood, Mrs. Lee, and 31iss E. Lavenu. After which, at Eify,ht o'clock, BEL DEMONIO, a Love Story, in Twelve Tableaux, taken from Stendhal's Chronicle," by Mr. John Brougham. Principal ctiarac ter by Mr. Pechter, supported by Messrs. Jordan, Charles, Brouv;hsm, Emery, Raymond, Moreland, Smith, Clifford, Colleit, Sims; Miss Kate Terry, Lavenu, Airs. Lee, and Ai Lis Elsworthy. The Public are entreated to take notice that No Charge is mace to the occupants of Boxes, Box-places, or Stalls, either for play bah' or for the safe keeping of hat. ant cloaks, and t , ,ar the attendants in all parts of the house are forbidden to receive any gratuities whatever. Box-office open daily from 11 to 5. Commence at 7. T ' ATRE ROYAL HAYM ARKET.- Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr, Buckstone. THIS EVENING, A GAIIE . OF S PECULATION. Messrs. Cha.. Mathe;vs, Chippendale, W. Farren, Rogers, Clark, Braid, Gordon, &c. ; Mesdames Fitzwilliam, Hilt, Griffith, &c. Followed by THE GOLDEN FLEECE )fessrs. Charles Mathews, Compton,Weathersby,&c.; Mesdames C. Mathews, L Keeley. Griffith, &c. With COOL AS A CUCUMBER. Mr. C. Mathews. And MY HUSBAND'S G hOST. Commence at 7: ROYAL ST. JAMES'S THEATRE. under the illanag;ement of Mr. B 'WEBSTER, will OPEN on BOXING NIGH I.—Amongst the artists engaged are Mr. Benjamin Webster, Mr. J. L. Toole, Mr. Paul 'Bedford, and Mr Cha"les \lathews; Mrs. Stirling, Mrs. Frank Mathews, Miss Cottrell, Miss Fanny Josephs, Miss Wentworth, and Mrs. (3i:irks Mathews. On BOXING NIGHT, the new Comic Drama of the HEN AND CHICKENS : Mrs. Stirling in her original character. Atter which, a Comical Conglome:ative Christmas Absur dly, by Henry .1 Byron, Esq., and entitled 1863 ; or, THE S ENsATIONn OF THE PAST SEASON, with a Shameful Dani of Lad/ Somebody's Secret. New Scenery by ~ i on and Sons. Appointments by Mr. Ireland. Music by ,_ W allerstein. Principal characters by 311. J. L. Toole, *"'" Paul Bedford, Miss Cottrell, 3liss Faony Josephs, &c. An 4 th in hi s ,e BIRTH C PL AE OF DODGERS : Mr. J. L. Toole 4baal character. T iiEA fRE-R0 YAL, ADELPIII.- -13.5 P ronriator and :riana. , or. M. B. Wobster. THIS Ey - 1i 4 ,, Messrs. J. L . .ING, THE PItETTY HORSEBREAE ER. t e N •cv.e, Paul Bedford, and Miss Woolgar. man, sitppor- - edt_ r ataa of LEAH : Bth week of Miss Bate lington, Stu:trt, sYt„,Slessrs Arthur Stirling, R. Phillips, Btl yrs. Billing - Iton. — Du Eb e • Miss H. Simms, and enson, urn , To conclude with L. Toole. PARLE FRANCAIS. Mr. J. o r , ltaence at 7. L E A. H.-EV E RY NIGHT. ISS BATEMAN.—ti --------- _ MI m the. filth appearance of ti„ --- iIIIS EVENING, A B I'E l" A.N. in the character o f L g r !eat Tragic Actress, Miss the unbc,unded success with which INL„ In consequence of nation of the principal character in th e 6 natemans imperso ot LEAH has been attended. Nix. vir c hri , five Act Drama ;il . l ega to til announe that it will be perform ed EVERY EVII un furthe c r notice. Nur ROYAL STRAND Manager, 3fr. Swanborond'i: TRE. THIS EVENING, MIRIAII'S CRIME. 31 Honey, Parselle, Belford, Turner, Miss Sou l e :ars. G eo. Man ders. ' Alias Follower,' by (25th time) PATIENT PENELOPE. Return ot. Ulysses. Messrs. Honey and Fenton; IT:e4, Traheeti Bwanbor•ough and Simpson. Es. After 'which, MY IsTLIV PLACE. Mr. A. Wood. Commence at 7. AHE THIRD EDITION OF " THE SUN , ” Containing the Latest SPORTING INTELLIGENCE, x 7.1 be had Every Evening. of G. R. GIANIE, NEWS AGENT, No. 4, Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park. WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tuts DAY.—Monting, h. m.—Afternoon, 12h. lom. roosoßnow.-Mornin g , 12h. 42m.—Afternoon, lb. 4m. The Weather—Sun Office, Dec. 22, 1863. THERMOMETER. This day at Two o'clock Barometer--29.95. Wind—N.-W. ; fresh, and very fine. i3) 1 3 - i 14. V 4,4 L°ND°N, TUESDAY, DEC. 22, 1863. The EtoPeror Napoi 7" --- ,? . from the French senate rs reply 01 ti. ,: e n every essential respect to the address Project of an European ' worthy of the author y w il or tt d :to . ugh . Congress , a noble Proj ect, e o r u i should ' ~- -G v e o r o a,,, he in this it im s p h proveply to s b e i a t s d a weight.y d r e a m .3ole motive power of my actions, bath at s a e t rt b s " is the abroad." A vague generality, it it, true, but an d with which his MAJESTY does not rest contented, m ut one adding as he does, immediately, thereupon, ,i lednt!d, the appeasing of passions, with concord and union;' And further "I direst all my wishes to the moment' when the great questions vvhich divide governments and peoples will be pacifically solved by European Arbitrament." By the utterance of w hich volun teered assurances, not only to the Imperial Senate, but through the Senate of France to the Govern ments of all Christendom, the EMPEROR has, of his own free will, gone out of his way to endorse, to underline, to emphasise in the most distinct and positive way imaginable the pacific assurances so very recently addressed by himself per sonally, under his own hand and seal, to each and all of the European Sovereigns. And, not satisfied with even this as an intimation of his earnestly pacific intentions, the Emperor of the FRENCH recalls to mind the memorable words penned by NAPOLEON the Great, when in exile at St. Helena, that to fight in Europe would be to make Civil War ! " May not this great thought," asks NAPOLEON 111. directly of his Senate, indirectly of all Europe, "May not this great thought [namely that to fight in Europe is to make Civil War], though an Utopia in the past, shortly become reality ?" To that end, to the end if possible of rendering it so, of rendering this Utopian notion or the past, a sacred reality of the future, and that by an earnest effort in the present—the Freavh EMPEROR, only the other day,propounde?:antdo Christendom his Arca dian p ro p oeitio noa g as European Congres s : what our o wn Laureate, a poetical political - d a y -drea mer sang Of nearly a quarter of a century ago, in his famous poem of Loc k s i e y Hall, as " the parliament of nations, the federation of the world!" Rebuffed though the EMPEROR'S halcyon proposition has been in one or two quarters, in one of them, especially, mean ing of course our own, with a. singular and a wholly uncalled-for discourtesy, the Imperial au thor of this great scheme of a peaceful Congress now contents himself with saying, in words evidencing on his part an imperturbable equanimity— "lt is always an honour to proclaim a principle tending to remove the prejudices of another age. Let us unite our efforts for this noble end, and let us only study obstacles to vanquish them, and incredulity to confound it." The perturbation with which the coming Jour de an was beginning to be looked forward to, will surely be in a great measure dissipated, even among the class of, the Alarmists, by the reiteration by NAPO LEON 111. of his pacific intentions thus pointedly and emphatically through his Senate to all Chris tendom. There are few public gifts more appreciated by the population of a large and crowded city than parks and open grounds. We all know how highly our London parks are valued by our toilworn arti sans and busy trading community, while the popular affection for Hampstead-heath, Clapham common, and many other such localities has often been loudly proclaimed on occasion of the many attempts made to encroach upon them. Such places of resort are inestimable privileges to those whose duty confines them to close and crowded shops, offices, or workrooms. At least one day in seven they can see something more than chimney tops or bleak walls. At least there are some spots within easy and uncostly reach in which, as one of our popular writers says of the miners emerging from their subterranean gloom, they can " breathe the air of earth, and look upon the light of heaven." The parks of London have been styled very aptly " the lungs of the metropolis," and although a great part of the vast city's inhabitants can only breathe in this sense once a week, yet there is no question that they conduce very much to the phy sical health as well as the social pleasures of the people. In many of our great towns, sprung up like volcanic islands from the fervid commotion of manufacturing or trading life, similar advantages are being provided for the people. A wise philan throphy looking forward as well as around, provid. ing for the need of the coming years as well as for the wants of the generation that is passing, has in many instances' chosen this form of expending vast wealth or embodying benevolent sentiments. If he who plants a tree for the benefit of posterity has a right to be called a benefactor of his kind, most assuredly he who opens so delightful end healthful a source of recreation to those who are to come after us deserves our admiration and approval. Many of our wealthy men in the leading provincial towns have greatly interested themselves in any effort made towards opening parks and pleasure grounds for the people. Many of our large centres of industry possess such an advantage, and it is heartily to be wished that fewer were without it. Among those thus favoured is Birmingham, whose beautiful Aston Park has been the subject of much gratification to all classes of visitors. It is with considerable regret, therefore, that the public have recently seen some transac tions brought to light which appear to render doubt ful the right of the people to retain their park. It seems, according to the correspondence lately pub lished, that when the park was first opened to the public its proprietors were the members of a joint stock company, formed not indeed for purposes of profit, but with a view of securing the hall and park, which had long been coveted by the inhabi tants of the city. One of the earliest public intima tions of the scheme was a letter addressed to the Earl of SHAFTESBURY by Mr. RATCLIFF, then Mayor of Birmingham, in 1853. This letter was written with the object of obtaining her MAJESTY'S promise to open the park in person, end the advan tages which the park opened to the large body of artisans who thronged that thickly peopled district. This letter produced a subsequent communication from the Home-office, in answer to which the Mayor entered very fully into the matter. This reply, which was read at the meeting of the Bir mingham Town Council held last week, enables us to understand the original aspect of affairs. Mr. RATCLIFF tells the Home Secretary that the main capital of the company was raised by means of ,b ates of 21s. v a l ue , i ssue d t o wor ki ng men. O thers Were donation shares, the holders of which claimed neith er capital v Pr m efit nor privilege. The rema i n d er o f t h e 1 to be raised by th e i ssue o f a t hi r d c l ass of shares, W hich man agoment et te e were chiefly tak en by th e m iddl e classes f or the sake o f o bt a i n i ng a vo i ce i n the he park. It was a l so prov id e d i n t h e deed of settlenaeet that if the company should prove unable to proceed With the scheme, they might tender the whole to the eouncil of the borough upon p a yment of the liabiliti es then existing. Such a a creditable solution to the appears to offer clause app never bees p . 5 that the purchase money present difficulty. It a p peat _ . fall3' obtained, her "IP and eircume open a place f or iAjzsTic h wavaisleir':sked, with all the the genera' stance of State, to recreation which in a few years was ii, l onger to be public property. inhabitants of the borough very naturally, that the e m, The present Mayer, unwilling, should lose their treasured park , took the sing ularstep of addressing Sir C. B. riIIPPS on the subj ect, in order that the matter might reach the QUEEN,The reply to this communication contained a well , merited reproof. It expressed her MAJESTY S sur prise that she had not been correctly informed on the matter, and expressed her expectation that the citizens of Birmingham would not delay in securing the park as a public possession. This very natural and sensible advice does not appear to commend themselves to the good people of Birmingham. The royal hint has not been taken, and the members of the Town Council seem to be decidedly unwilling ito fulfil the pledge partly given on their behalf by their former Mayor, whose acts and writings on thin matter they never opposed or co tredicted. At the late meeting, too, resolutions were pro posed—one t t theo Baths effect and that the Park Committee, matter be it te re ferred, with instructions to consider any proposal made for the purchase; the other was that the Council should take steps to purchase Aston Hall. The discus sion as to the relative merits of those proposals was long and animated , numerous ocspcueapkyeirnsg. several one hours, gentle engaging bo gentleman ldlydeclared that the town was compromised, and that after bringing the QUEEN to Birmingham and representing to her MAJESTY that Aston Park was for the people, it would be disgraced if the Council did not purchase it, let the price be what it would. His remonstrances failed in their effect, and by a preponderance of 29 votes the resolution for referring the question back to a committee was passed. We cannot but share the hope expressed by Sir CHARLES PHIPPS on. behalf of her MAJESTY, that the wealthier citizens of the town of Birmingham will not suffer such dis credit to fall upon their town, as the loss of this park would infallibly occasion. The sum re quired, though perhaps large for the purpose, is not large for a town like Birmingham, and it would ill become one of England's great manu facturing centres to be accused of parsimony. Their eloquent member, who is always ready to proclaim the right of the poor, had better read them a lesson. Indeed, if he sets them the ex ample by heading the subscription list it would be only consistent. Let Birmingham look to its laurels, or the general public will begin to believe the professions made on behalf of the working classes, especially as concerns the opening of this Hall and Park, to be no more sterlidg than their manufactures were wont to be regarded, and con sider them mere "Brummagem wares." Every now and then the readers of the public papers are horrified and disgusted by the account of some shocking act of cruelty, and some wanton case of malignity comes before them that seems more suited to the doings of fiends than the delibe rate deeds of men. A most frightful instance of barbarity has just been brought before us by the energetic efforts of that praiseworthy Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It is moat satisfactory to reflect upon the result of their la bours, and the amount of good that they do is almost incalculable. Still their services effect more benefit in so far as regards preventive measures, and it is of importance that the subject be consi dered in the light of adopting remedial ones. The knowledge that at any time a case of cruelty may be detected and brought to justice doubtless deters the commission of many crimes ; but when the danger has been braved and the act perpetrated, in spite of all warning and regardless of detection, it is neces sary to reflect a little on the nature of the penalties inflicted. It is very much to be regretted that for some reason or other the sentences on these mis creants and ruffians are never half severe enough, and do not in the hundredth degree come up to a fitting idea of retribution. The case here cited is most revolting, and indeed it is almost to) horrid to dwell upon. Two labourers were charged with maltreating a dog in the most cruel fashion. They were flaying it alive. Mr. PRATT ; who prcsecuted, very properly demanded the heaviest possible punishment, truly adding that this case was one of the worst ever brought into a court, It was proved by witnesses that the " prisoners were actually en gaged in cutting off the skin from a dog while alive." It was also shown that it was not till some disturbance overtook them that they desisted, and threw the animal into the sea. The Chairman of the Bench said that he had never heard a " more gross case of cruelty in all his experience." All this was very true, but the conclusion drawn from such pre mises is most dissatisfying. The prisoners were condemned to two months' hard labour. This is a mere farce of punishment in comparison with what such characters deserved. There should be some imperative infliction to such cases as these that no magistrate can alter, and from which there can be no escape. This will be the only sure and certain way to put down such a disgrace to humanity as the occurrence, much less the repetition, of these offences most assuredly is. In the first place there should be some disgrace attached to the penalty in flicted, E 0 that the offender may not have the oppor tunity of treating the aflair as a joke when the term of hie incarceration is over. In the instance of the " garotters" the plan now in vogue of affixing to the sentence the penalty of flogging, appears to have been in some way successful, since far less is heard of the exploits of these nocturnal assailants, who had become at one time inseparably asso ciated with the perils and dangers of the night. When the attention of Parliament was drawn to the question, there was great opposition at men tion of the proposal for instituting flogging as an addenda to the sentence on these offenders. Doubt less the same objections would be urged were the energetic reformers of the law to propose a similar infliction on the perpetrators of the cruel deeds re ferred to. Notwithstanding such demurrers abound ing, it is to be earnestly trusted that there will be. found discerning legislators to take up the cause when Parliament assembles. The near approach of this period is a source of satisfaction to many as well as Mr. COBDEN ; and they confidently look forward to the opportunity that will present itself to those desirous of amend ing errors, rectifying mistakes, and adjusting diffi culties in the working of the decrees of justice. It is a solemn and sacred duty to society to put a stop to such violation of all laws, both human and divine, as are infringed by the doers of the dark deeds alluded to. It is a grave responsibility which rests on our Legislature that our laws should be changed and altered until they are sufficiently strong to deter those who are evil disposed from the commission of such crimes. It would be a great ad vantage to the cause of civilisation, and a special service to the interests of humanity, if prompt and decided measures were adopted. It is a scandal to an age, with its vaunted improvements and its astounding discoveries, that there is no statesman who can devise, and no legislators who can carry out, laws.that are potent enough to militate against barbarians and check the course of brutality. No pains should be spared, no prejudices should be allowed tostand in the way of the necessary change and imperative remedy. As BOILEAU observes of a faulty production— rove foie sur le metier remettez l'ouvrage. Again and again should the effort be made, until it is an established fact that a strict and severe discipline is effected, and that a system of terrorism prevails that must in time create a salutary effect and produce a beneficial change. To inflict a trifling penalty upon men so destitute of the commonest feelings of humanity an d se dead to all sense of shame, and then to enforce far heavier penalties upon those whos e offence is a trivial theft to which they jadszef. aisttwarivllinngotfdaomtiloy, were al above it in most driven by the pressure of want ything that is to be protected ; that may and the de al " excellence. It i ' r ate seems pr o property a incongruo us the o n er a e nc i i s th m e u sp ch rea t d ha o t f ratiks h but • point of real worth beforeb e v s e te standard necessary, d aanrdd iefix ch e and s idle to preach about the diffusion of knowledge educa tion becoming the great social regenerators, if it is co gnisance ofi gn once known that the law takes no co cruelty as a crime. It cannot be a misdemeanour or a folly; it is a grave and serious commission of wrong which the offender should be taught to consider of vital consequence to himself and his welfare, rendering him amenable to the severest possible penalties which his fellow countrymen can inflict, and exposing him to the wrath of a still greater and more terrible tribunal hereafter. When barbarities are committed that the readers who study savage life can hardly credit, it is time the country takes the alarm, and that from the benevolent and philan thropic who abound among us, some should stand forth to take up the case of cruelty in its worst features with a zeal that will be worthy of the cause, and with the spirit which will not shrink from any ordeal to which its efforts may be subjected. All improvements meet with opposition, but the pilot who weathers the storm is not stopped by the raging of the hurricane nor the roar of the waters, and the reformer who stems the abuses of his age must persevere through good and evil report until success attends his efforts, and after the happy issue of his labours he may behold the end that crowns the work. THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 22, 1863 LITERATURE. the Life of William Blake. By the late Alexander Gilchrist. Two Vols. Macmillan and Co. It was Glorious John who wrote in Absalom and Achitophel the witty and imperishable distich— "Great wits are sure to madness near allied And thin partitions do their bounds divide." Of the miserable truth imbedded in t h e p oe ti c am ber of which couplet, William Blake, the hero of Mr. Gilchrist's posthumous biography, is as surely one of the most extraordinary illustrations any where discoverable. There, too—in Blake's instance —the partition was not only thin indeed ; it was of the very thinnest ! And this thinnest of all possible partitions between the bounds of Genius and of Madness was, moreover, as it appears to us, perforated like the section of a honeycomb, like the framework of a colander, like the skele ton of a leaf. Besides, it should be said, the pro portions in which the Genius and the Madness of Blake's nature or idiosyncracy stood relati ve l y t o each other, were, to our thinking, such, were so widely contrasting, were so painfully dis proportionate in the predominance of the one over the other, that when the two, te., the Genius and the Madness, through the medium of that thinnest of perforated partitions (still to em ploy Dryden's simile) became mingled together, the drop of Genius, so to speak, got to be so diluted in the surging ocean of Madness as to be hardly recognisable, save upon the subtlest researches being instituted by what one may call the very chemistry of criticism. Already, since the recent publication of these two singularly hand some volumes—volumes the superb " getti ng up" of which reflects the very highest credit upon the publishers—we have remarked a disposition, on the part of a good many among the ablest of our contemporaries, to exaggerate in an astounding manner, in a manner to ourselves alto gether incomprebensib!e, the infinitessimal modicum of Genius in any way (at any rate to our limited apprehension) discernible in the intellect of William Blake. Born, this Fictor Ignotus was, it appears, in the November of 1757, though we should most assuredly have expected him to have been born rather within the month of M arch, for mad as a March hare he certainly continued to be, off and on, all through his eccentric life, until the time when (within three months from the completion of his seventieth year) he breathed his last on Sunday, the 17th of August, 1827. Seventy miserable, anxious years, moreover, they must have been to poor Blake—in the flesh. For, all through his career he was constrained to exercise the most rigid economy—sometimes even being driven to the direst straights from a lack of the mere bare ne cessaries of existence. We have said, advisedly, that in the flesh, his life of seventy years duration must have been full of, and running over with, wretched ness, But—in the spirit—enjoying, in that way, the privilege of all madmen, he doubtless had many ex witb,he—in common to wit, Benjamin beignin with, like Haydon, himself. Nay—in this, qu withi si t e anotherc o n s o l a t p i o i n e s t . 0 r T I ca g begin s Robert vvilli am BHayden—tolake believed better off than poor Haydon (who, by the way, had that direst of intellectual curses, the ambition of a great genius, with scarcely any particle of genius at all through the aid of which to realise his aspi rations)—better off than poor Hayden, William Blake not only believed in himself, but found others (infatuated people, a s i t seems to us, we must confess it!) who believed in him also. Veriest, for one, and divers other clever men, abler and wealthier men than Varley. It should be pre wised at once, however, before we pen another syllable about the strange, erratic, bewildering hero of this biography, that we must not be sup posed to imply other than the fullest and the most cordial appreciation on our part of the rare and noble powers here applied to the task of writing Blake's Life, and of analyzing his various works, both pic torial and literary, by the gifted biographer —since unhappily deceased—that ripe scholar and large. hearted gentleman, whose worthier privilege, as it appears to us, it was, to be the Biographer of William Etty the Royal Academician. The late Alexander Gilchrist, to whose indefatigable industry and as• siduous devotion to the task he had voluntarily selected as the last and crowning labour of his own life, we owe this highly elaborated Life of William Blake—the deceased Mr. Gilchrist has undoubtedly, in this posthumous woik of his, offered another notable contribution to the art-literature of Eng land. Whatever our estimate of Blake, the hero of the biography, that at least, in honest truthfulness, must be here asserted in regard to this final literary achievement bequeathed to the public by Mr. Gil ohrist as the writer of so very singular a biography. Thanks, moreover, to the earnest co-operation in a labour-of-love upon a labour-of-love—thanks, we say, to the earnest co - operation of Mr. D. G. Roa setti and of Mr. W. M. Rossetti, in collecting toge ther the materials here compacted within the compass of the second of these two volumes— the literary performance now before us, as a whole, appears to us, as such, almost as satisfactory as though it had been watched, as a completed work, through the press by Mr. Gilchrist himself. What ever friendly devotion could do, to the end of per fecting Mr. Gilchrist's hardly completed labours upon this his "Life of William Blake," has certainly been done (Mr. Gilehrist's widow may securely laying that comforting "unction to her soul") by the a ff ect i onate zea l o f men as g if te d a nd as peculiarly w e ll qualified for the task intrusted to them as th e M essrs . R osse tti. R e t urn i ng , how ver, to the work itself as a work of art, we must frankly acknowledge that it is to our view the veriest puzzle among puzzles. To say nothing whatever of the man's;" Life," look, we would simply ask, at his works—look at his pictures! look at his writings ! Here, of course, the very pick of those works, of the drawings and of the writings of William Blake, the very choicest among them are here, we say, as a matter of course, pre sented to us, manifestly with a view to couamand our admiration. Several among the ablest of our contemporaries, as already hinted, have forthwith, thereupon, at once, and quite in continently, gone into a sort of ecstacy of admiration. Paeans have been chaunted to the memory of the genius of Blake, to the memory of his genius both as a n artist and (ye Gods !) as a Poet. For ourselves, we have come to the examination of the " Life of William Blake, Pictor Ignotus" (and so be it, in perpetuo !)—we have come to the examination of these selections from his Poems (!) and other writings, and of these foe similes of the very choicest among his pictorial productions, with a judgment altogether unbiassed. And having now scanned the two volumes, these two splendidly appointed volumes, upon which the eminent publishers, the gifted biographer, the fair editress, and her two distinguished colaborateurs in perfecting so far r: a could be perfected the present posthum ous biography having now very carefully scanned these two attractive volumes of the Life of William Blake by the late Alexander Gilchrist, we, for one, certainly can affect no sort of admiration whatever for the mad genius of William Blake himself, assuredly none what ever for his doggrel verses, nor yet for the grotesque and often hideous productions of a pencil that seems to have had the capacity chiefly of jotting down, in black and white, so many fantastic nightmares! A sample or two of Blake's poetry will be quite sufficient for our purpose—as affording a perfect justification to every syllable we have written, here, about it. Take this vary amaz ing production, for example, from p. 33 : THE LITTLE BOY LOST. Father, father, where are you going ? O do not walk so fast; Sp,ak, lather, speak to your little boy, Or else I shall be lost. The night was dark, no father was there, The child was wet with dew ; The mire was deep, and the child did weep, And away the vapour flew. Can anything be—more distinctly—drivel? Or take the pendant to it— TIIE LITTLE BOY FOUND, The little boy lost in the lonely fen, Led by the wandering light, Began to cry, but God, ever nigh, Appeared like his father, in white. He kissed the child, and by the hand led, And to his mother brought, Who in sorrow pale, through the lonely dale, The little boy weeping sought, Or let us excerpt from page 40 the subjoined jingle : SPRING. Sound the flute! Now 'tis mute; Birds delight Day and night, Nightingale In the dale, Lark in sky,— Merrily, Merrily, merrily to welcome in the year. Little boy, Full of joy; Little girl, Sweet and small; Cock does crow, So do you ; Merry voice, Infant noise ; Merrily, merrily to welcome in the year. Little lamb Here I am; Come and lick My white neck; Let me pull Your soft wool ; Let me kiss Your soft face ; Merrily, merrily we welcome in the year. Or again at page 57 the following THE FLY. Little Fly, Thy summer's play My thoughtiess hand Has brushed away. Am not I A fly like thee ? Or art not thou A man like me ? For I dance, And drink, and sing, Till some blind hand Shall bru.•h my wing. If thought is life, And strength, and breath; And the want Of thought is death ; Then am I A happy fly, If I live, Or if I die. About equivalent to this kind of poetry (save the mark !) are the choice exemplars here given of Blake's pictorial performances. Opposite p. 129, vol i., is a drawing of a spider's web, such as any school-boy, not an incorrigible dunce, might scrawl on his slate in a few minutes. In the sane vol., at p. 137, there are a few wriggling lines representing a flame, and used as the tail-piece to a chapter. At p. 89 (do.) is a horrible hobgoblin of an old man, on all fours, that the before-mentioned schoolboy's younger brother might readily have pencilled on the margin of his copybook in a moment of hallucination or of indigestion. It bears—this crawling old man in scrawling outline—a ter rible resemblance, in its way, to the effigies of the patriarch Job, as represented by Blake in a series of frightful drawings that we suppose, from the elaboration with which they are all given in a cluster, are to be looked upon as very high up, indeed, among Blake's artistic masterpieces. Job himself, in those drawings by Blake, when he is at his worst, looking for all the world as though he had the measles rather than those boils Pet Marjorie used to be so thankful for not flaying, herself; like the great Patriarch of old. In brief, the series of drawings by Bl.ke in illustration of the Book of Job, are, according to our sense of the awful or the beautiful, very much, indeed, like a series of profane caricatures. The very archangels in the backgiound of one of them—a cluster of three of which archangels will be found here reproduced in gilded emblazonry on the cover of the two volumes—look, as the phrase is, as like as two pins, to a row of double teeth, when looked at from a little distance. Let either of the two volumes be held up at the opposite side of a room, to any one who knows nothing whatever about the contents of the books, and we are perfectly well satisfied that the impression produced on the majority of individuals will be that the volume so displayed is some gorgeous work upon the science of Dentistry. According to our view of it—the work altogether is a mistake : the Life of William Blake, as we estimate it, not being worth the writing, his poems not worth the printing, his drawings not worth the engraving. As one of Cruikshank's funniest pictures, representing a landsman dreadful sea sick, had inscribed under neath it, " A very good man, no doubt, but a bad sailor;" so we should be, here, disposed to pro. nounce upon this Life of Blake an opinion some what similar, namely, one to the effect, that William Blake also, in his way, was a very good man, no doubt, but neither a Poet,• nor yet a Painter. M. JULLIEN'S BAL MASQUE. The mantle of Jullien pere seems to have de scended on his son, together with his popularity. The close of his concert season at Her Majesty's Theatre—the season itself having been an unques tionable success—was last night marked by one of the largest gatherings at a bal masque within our recollection, The re-arrangement of the theatre showed judg ment. In place of the two narrow straits on each side of the orchestra,where the proscenium contracts the space, and wherein on crowded nights the pro menaders have their bodily circulation impeded and their physical circulation accelerated by a squeeze, and an atmosphere recalling the " horrors of the middle passage," the withdrawal of the musicians entirely to the back of the stage, gave ample scope for passing; indeed it was the part chosen for much of the saltatory evolutions in front of the removed orchestra. The decorations of the theatre were tasteful, and the boxes well filled for such an occa sion, when the more ardent pleasure seekers prefer mixing in the revelry to looking on from " some coign of vantage." The inventor of the celebrated " Greek fire," Levi Short, died in Philadelphia on the 26th ult. _ _ MR. EDMONDSTONE, late lieutenant-governor of the north-western provinces of Bengal, has been made a K.C.8., and Colonel C. R. W. Hervey, of the Bombay Staff Corps, a C.B. Ma. CONINGHAM, M.P., does not intend to retire from the representation of Brighton until the end of the present Parliament. TIIE AUSTRALIAN COLONIES aro in a ferment, remarks the Spectator, even the judges joining in public meetings to protest against the revival of transpor tation to any part of the continent. Even as it is, bushrangers in New South Wales plunder small towns with impunity, and the colonists affirm that wherever they may be sent the convicts will sooner or later make their way to the settled districts. It appears to be beyond question that if the plan be persisted in the colonists will resist, and it must not be forgot' en that even the Cape Colony, which has not begun to talk of setting up for itself, rebelled against the introduc tion of prisoners, BACON'S FEDERAL PROGRESS MAP OF AMERICA. —Messrs. Bacon have just published another of their excellent series of coloured American maps. The one before us professes more than ordinary interest, btehoa shows at a glance the exact position of affairs both on the irFe deral and Confederate States. There is also T on, amongst same sheet a great quantity of useful inforroa which will be found a record of important events during the war, extracts from the census, position of the American forts, North and South, &c. LATEST INTELLIGENCE. (REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.) AMERICA. QUEENSTOWN, DEC. 22. The extra Inman steamship City of Limerick, from New York on the 11th inst., arrived here at 3.45 a.m. to-day, with two cabin and 20 steerage passengers, but no specie. She landed four steerage passengers and proceeded at 4 a.m. for Liverpool. Her news has been anticipated. GREENCASTLE, DEC. 22. The Canadian steamer Hiberniln, from Portland on the 12th inst. arrived here at 8.10 a.m. to day. RUMOURED PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. LIVERP OL, DEC. 22. A private telegram received here by the Hiber nian, states that rumours of peace negotiations were current at New York. These rumours were considered very doubtful, bat they nevertheless had influenced the markets. Gold, 491. FRANCE. REPLY OF THE EMPEROR TO THE ADDRESS FROM THE SENATE. PARIS, DEC. 22. Thy Emperor made the following reply to the address of the Senate, p►esented by the deputation yesterday : " Good is the sole motive power of my actions, both at home and abroad. I desire the appeasing of passions, with concord and union. I direct all my wishes to the moment when the great questions which divide Governments and peoples will be paci ecally solved by European arbitrament. This wish was that of Napoleon when he wrote from St. Helena, that to fight in Earope is to make civil war.' May not this great thought, an Utopia in the past, shortly become a reality ? It is always an honour to proclaim a principle tending to remove the prejudices of another age. Let us unite our efforts for this noble end, and let us only study obstacles to vanquish them, and in credulity to confound it." The Illoniteur of this morning publishes the cir cular of M. Drouyn do Lhuys, dated Dec. 8, the sense of which agrees with the analyses already published by the journals. BOURSE, December 21.—The arrival of the Eng lish funds with an advance of has had no influence on the market, which has again become heavy, and the business done shows a fall on the closing price of Saturday. Threes, for the Account, which opened at 661. 40e., are now at 661. 30c. Mobilier have also receded, being now quoted at 1,022 f. 50J. Railway Shares have also slightly declined. The market closed as follows : 41 per Cents .. 94 05 00. end month.... 3 per Cents Do. end month 66 35 Credit Mobilier 1027 50 Do, end month 1030 Bank Shares 3350 Credit koncier 1220 Roman Italian Loan 7l 40 Do. end month — New ditto Do. end month — Russian Austrian Spanish Threes.„ Flume Debt .. — Deferred RAIL' rAYS. Cush. Account. 970 970 965 966 25 Orleans Northern New ditto Lyons and Mediterranean 922 60 .. 925 New ditto BB3 75 Geneva 498 75 S Althorn 675 .. 677 50 Western Eastern Sardinian Austrian Lombard . 6lB 75 .. 620 North of Spain Saragossa .. Ditto to Barcelona THE SCHLESWIG HOLSTEIN QUESTION. HAMBURG, DEC. 19. The feudal party, the clergy, lawyers, and offi cials of Holstein are preparing an address in which they call upon the Prince of Augustenburg to assume the throne of the Duchies. Numbers of ex functionaries in Schleswig and Holstein who have refused to take the oath of allegiance to the King are now residing in this city, and keep up the agitation, from which the Senate wisely holds itself aloof. It has, however, induced the citizens to vote a million of marks banco for the defence of the coast against possible Danish attack. The well-known writer, Baron Dirking-Helm feld, brother of the former Danish envoy to Paris, is now residing at Frankfort, where he warmly defends the cause of the Duchies against Germany. He has recently published a pamphlet, intended to prove that, in right of his wife, Christian IX. is the only legiti• mate King of Denmark and the Duchies. There is little doubt, indeed, that if the Schleswig-Hol steiners felt assured of their national rights, they would unquestionably reject the Dake of Augus tenburg. It would be necessary, however, that the concession should be made regardless of the pressnre of the priests and functionaries, who think all their privileges would be secured under the reign of the Prince. The agitation iu the north of Germany only hoists the flag of the Duke of Augustenburg to separate the Duchies from Denmark and to conquer Schleswig. The democratic portion only takes part in it, because it hopes that it will bring about another directed against the Sovereigns of the small German princi palities, and the reactionary system followed in Prussia. The Austrian troops, consisting of 170 officers, 5,500 men, and 400 horses, arrived here by way of Harburg. They are made up of 2 German regi ments, 1 Polish regiment, 3 Hungarian regiments, and 1 Italian regiment; 2 hussar regiments, 1 being Hungarian, the other Czechs, a chasseur regiment, and a battery of 98 guns. The town of Hamburg is to pay 100,000 marks monthly towards the sup port of the troeps. ROME. ROME, DEC. 16. The great event which chiefly occupies men's minds in the Eternal City is the step about to be taken by the Pope at the Consistory which will be held on the 21st. His Holiness will then appoint bishops to the various dioceses in the old Pontifical provinces of the Romagna, the Marches, and Umbria. The new prelates are to be distributed as follows :—Cardinal Guidi will be Archbishop of Bologna, Monsignor Clementi Bishop of Rimini, Monsignor Cardoni Bishop of Loretto, Monsignor Vitelleschi Bishop of Osimo, Monsignor Andreali Bishop of Cagli, the Abbe Micalet, of Al alta, Bishop of Citta di Castello, and the Franciscan monk Pettinati Bishop of Nocera. An opinion prevails that the Emperor l'i s aP 3 ° ( l eoe i:: will use all his influence at TurintAorecahubie sp 0011 n Victor Emmanuel to accept the appointment the Pope, but with what result timeo on ly can show. by E bempo mer Mousignor Do Donnechase, the y d the well Rouen, has been recommended ot al, an Napoleon to the I' ) P o as Cardinal, nated to that dign it y at the next Consistory. M. Do Bo as e no w m a e s fion R t m e i r 143., an Orleani st , and being I co-operated w i t h the French ;inec a l i : Ambassador to cause the pope to accept the decree expelling the Jesuits from France. He is now a d evoted B ona• partist, and a Cardinal. The ex-Queen of Naples has retired to Albano, where she Intends to pass the winter. The King of Bavaria, while in Rotne, made every effort to re coneile the King and Queen, but without success. It is rumoured teat the French army at Rome will be increased by 6,000 men. _ Crn 61:111 111,11 b HER MAJESTY. OSBORNE, Dec. 21. His Royal Highness Prince Alfred left Oiborne !his morning, with Prince William of Hesse, for London. Prince IVilii.am proceeds immediately to Ger many, and Prince Alfred will return to o,borne. Lord Stanley of Alderley has returned to London. - - - Funeral of the late King of Denmark. COPENHAGEN, Dec. 18. The Berlinske 7idende publishes the following "At the moment of going to press the mortal remains of King Frederic VII. are being conveyed from this city. The immense, imposing funeral cortege moves in -the calm, clear winter's day through our city amid the salute of minute guns, the tolling of bells, and the deep-felt grief of the whole population. The city has put on tnourning. All business has ceased. The houses in those streets through which the procession takes its way ar c hung with black and white drapery, and flags half mast high. In many places there are inscription s recalling the most important events in the life Of the deceased monarch. " All parts of the country have sent representa tives to the capital to pay the last mournful honours to King Frederic, and at different points on the passage of the cortege a last farewell is raised which testifies to the affection borne by the present gene" ration to the deceased, and the gratitude with which the Danish people through many future generations will regard him." THE BETROTIIMENT OF THE PRINCESS ANNA OF HESSE, daughter of Prince Charles, to the reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, took place a few days sinca at Darmstadt. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge and a large party will meet on the 4th proximo at Knowslei Park, on a visit to the Earl and Countess of Derby. The Duke of Brabant, by the &civic° of his physi' clans, will pass the worst portion of the winter in the envi rons of Nice, The Duchess of Brabant will remain L' Brussels with her children. His Excellency the Earl of Carlisle and suite have been staying on a visit to the Marquis of Drogheda at Moore Abbey, Monasterev an. The Duchess (Dowager) of Sutherland and family left Stafford House, St. James's, yesterday, for Cliefciell, near Maidenhead. The Marquis of TullibArdine left town last even' ing for Blair Athole, Perthshire, to meet the Duke an d Duchess of Athole. We are informed the Duke is in a very low and precarious state. The Earl Granville has left town oti a visit to the Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne, at Bowsod Park, The Earl and Countess of Malmesbury l e ft town at the close of the past week for Heron Court, near Christ' church, until the meeting of Parliament. The Earl and Countess Spencer and Ladp Sarah Spencer will remain in Egypt until the end of January, an d are then expected to go to Algiers and Spain on their waY home. It will be gratifying to the noble earl's numerous friends to learn that his lordship's health has greatly belle fitted ty his visit to the East. The Earl of Mansfield arrived at his residence, Caen Wood, Hampstead, on Friday last, from Scone Palace, Perthshire. The Earl and Countess of Cardigan have recently entertained a party of visitors at Dean Park. Amongst th e company have been the Earl of Oxford, Lord Ceurtenah Lord Loughborough, Lord and Lady Bruce, Aumiral and the Hon. Mrs. Rous, Mr. and Lady Emily Kingscote, Hon. St. George Foley, Hon. George Craven, Colonel and flow Mrs. Curzon, Hon. H. Forester, Mr. George Payne, Capt' and Mrs. De Horsey, &c. Louisa Countess of Seafield has arrived at the Queen's Hotel, Upper Norwood, from Grant Lodge, Elgin. The Right Hun. Sir George Grey is still staying at his seat, Falloden, Northumberland. PRINCE LOUIS NAPOLEON.—The present Emperor Napoleon 111., some years ago, enjoyed a quite exceptional popularity amongst the London cabmen, from always pay ing without a word whatever they asked of him I JUDGE'S CHAMBERS.—Mr. Sergeant Shea, having been sworn in one of the judges of the Court of Queen's Bench, attended at the Judges' Chambers yester day. His lordship will relieve Mr. Justice Mellor, who has just returned to town after disposing of the assize business at York, where he had been sitting in consequence of the death of Mr. Justice Wightman. There will be a daily at tendance at the Chambers until the Christmas recess. At the Queen's Bench and Exchequer Courts the judges sit in the morning ; but in the other court Mr. Justice Keating sits in the afternoon. MR. JUSTICE SLUE NOT AN IRISHMAN.—III the biographical notice of Mr, Justice Shea which ap peared in The Sun on his elevation to the Bench it is stated that he was born in Kilkenny. This statement is, it ar pears, inaccurate. Ms father was an Irishman, descend from a family who had settled in the county of Kilkenny prior to the revolution of 1668, but came to England at ia2 " early period in life. He married a Miss Darell, belonging to a well-known family in Kent, and his son, now Justice' Shce, was born at Finchley, Middlesex, in 1804. It was 'g a gentleman connected with Kent that he addressed tl3e meeting held at Penenden-heath when that county P ea tioned Parliament with reference to Roman Catholic ercoly cipation. In his speech on the nomination-day from °e t Marylebone hustings, in 1847, he said, in reply to the tail 1 that he was an Irishman was born at Finchley ; bu t e have yet to learn that it is a crime in an Irishman to asP ir to enter that Parliament in which Sheriaan, and GrattO., and Canning, and Wellington laid the foundation of tla country's greatness." AN EPISCOPAL SWASHBUCKLER, GETTING 1° ) A Fix AND OUT OF IT !—Bishop Polk, Accordiog to Colonel Fremantle, is the finest figure in tho se parts, t' good looking man, with all the manners and affa bility of °' "grand seigneur," tall, upriOit, and "looking nn l et , W °l. : like a soldier than a clergyman." When he has done fl;l ititi r , R. he intends to go back to his other profession. He is A ye " ) ; brave man, whereof here is a specimen incident extr acten, from him by our ingenuous Guardsman. Bishop loquitur, in a modest yet graphic manner : "—" W ell, ;'' . . a r ' it was at the battle of Perryville, late in the evenirtg, in tact, it was almost dark, when Liddell's Brigade ca me i'l , action. Shortly after its arrival I observed a body o f 11 :'' 1 :; whom I believed to be Confederates, standing at an angl e . this brigade, and firing obliquely at the newly arri'obo troops. I said, ' Deer me, this is very sad, and In us t y stopped ; ' so I turned round, Lut could find none' 4 0 11 ' 1 young men, who were absent on different messages; a determined to ride myself and settle the matter. l ie' 7' ~,, cantered up to the Colonel of the regiment which w as aui 't3e. '; I asked him in angry tones what he meant by Bi:tooting own friends, and I desired him to cease doing so at °ll , O He answered with surprise, ' I don't think there croiy.! mistake about it; I am au, e they are th e e ' l iv y. r. 'Enemy!' I said; ' why I have only just lett a:ol%one self. Cease firing, sir ; what is your name ?' ' 1 13.0 are is Colonel —, of the Indiana; and pray , sir/ vi _ cu t, you ? ' Then, for the first time, I saw, to my astonistont, that he was a Yankee, and that I was iu rear of Mont that O r p e e g but to of Yankees. Well, I saw that there annilytril to l t g l e t brazen it out; my dark blouse and the . in w :r e se i s i e ug to him anal befriended me, so I approached , ril l soont otscurit: f show you wh o s na t l o l c n e n a r se se firing ; at shook my fist in his face, saying. - 0 - noo. , sir, a c t i o wn the line, shouting in. I then turned I am, sir. Cease firing, my horse and cantered slowlY an authoritative m 3C t: u a k ce si d a disagreeable sensation, like' the same time I experience . a nd calculating how many bullet 9, screwing up V in- tack, b o ulders every moment. I was afraid would be between when I to increase toy Pa ce until d back to my men. I imme the spurs in and galloped ope put u to tho nearest c ' - .1 to bun we nt p colonel, and salt t diately colone l, I have reconnoitred those tcllows pretty do se l37 _ an d I find there is no mistake who they are ; you ll ' aY get up and go at them." And I assure you, sir, that the slaughter of that Indiana regiment was the greatest I have ever seen in the war." HOLYROOD to thePpA u L b A I C i c E t , - - 0 l i e t a wr n l a that l ff b s r e d v erat generalval gra tificationua additions to the collection of Royal pictures at Holyrcod are about to be made by command of her Majesty. In the large collection in Hampton Court there aro a good many duplicate portraits of Royal personages connected more .or less directly with Scottish history, and ou the attention of the Queen being drawn, through the proper official channels, to this ciicurnstance, and the suggestion made that some of these might be spared from the richly clothed walls of Hauir ton Court Palace to the more needful a nd not less Royal appropriate Holyrood, her Majesty at once acquiesced in the propriety of the transfer, and e xhibited much personal interest in the selection of the pictures. As the arrange ments are not yet completed, we can not g ive any list of al? paintings, but may mention that both their n umber Ana their value are considerable. We believe that, in conjunc • tion with the Horne Secretary and the Lord Advocate, through whom the necessary communications were rots Mr. Forbes of Medwyn is entitled to the credit of being t means of obtaining for Scotland this valuable mark oi ItoY favour. Mr. Forbes has, we believe, taken much trouble in the matter, and his success must be very gratifying to all who feel an interest in our Scottish historical r.nouti ments,—Scotsinan. Th datio three takes Th with with cided a s tO POrtU lng t rien e teraa high( insur X3OO puny Th the Navi 23, t Mini mark share ()Moil At teleg Firm In thane Vas a excee retur 91 : 1 New 1061 Cent! Th kart Per C Urea as; Loa, In have hibit !shire adva Tt tion Bz requ Paci: con' pren mil 1), von. v ow. Indi 1)i Au Br a , Di 13; bt, 'volc Lib Di tq u -tut Dan Dut dire Ital M - 0 - ; INel Qp, I) Ta,