The Sun. — London, England, 1854-01-26 00:00:00

tlitrb KUttiont SUN OFFICE, Six o'clock. TAI"fERSALL'S. (THIS EVENING.) LIVERPOOL STEEPLECHASE. 9 to 1 agst Miss Mowbray (taken 10 to 1). 20 to 1 agst Lord George (offered). CHESTER CUP. 20 to 1 agst Newminster (taken and afterwards offered). 40 to 1 agst Nabob (taken). 50 to 1 agst Llanforda (taken). 50 to 1 agst Jack Frost (taken). 50 to 1 agst Star of Surrey. DERBY. sto 1 agst Autocrat (take 11 to 2). Scarcely any betting. TURKEY AND RUSSIA. The Journal do St. Pctersbourg of the 16th con tains the following official reports : "Aide-de-Camp General Prince Gortschakoff relates, tinder date of the 23d ult., that for the purpose of more closely hemming in the Turks who occupy Kalafat, Aide-de-Camp General Count Aurep d'Elmpt received orders to advance with a part of our troops cantoned at i raicwa. On this occasion a battalion of the regiment of infantry at Tobolsk, with two pieces of cannon, and B aumgarten, Jossacks, which, under the command of Colonel de . Daulngarten, commanding the regiment, formed the ad vanced guard of the detachment, occupied the village of Tchetati. At 8 o'clock in the morning of the 19th ult., the Turkish cavalry, to the numbar of 1,500 to 2,000 men, appeared before that village, and attacked our battalion at four different times, but were repulsed each time by the Musketry and grape of our troops, and obliged to retire on Gounia andMolda wit, after losing, according to the account of the inhabitants, 60 men in killed and wounded. On oar side, Ensign Soudschilovsky was slightly wounded in the arm. On the other points of the Danube nothing took place between the 6th and the 23d ult. "The Commandant-in. Chief of the Corps of the Cau casus announces, under date of the 14th December, that our position on the Turkish frontier is strongly guaran teed by our victories of the 6th, 14th, and 19th Novem ber. According to accounts received at Tiflis the Turkish corps, beaten on the heights of Baschkadyk- Lar, was commanded not by the Seraskier Abdi-Pacha, but by Reis-Aklimet-Pacha. After the affair of the 2d November, at Bazandouri, the former was inclined to avoid a decisive battle with us ; but, having met with a spirit of insubordination among the Pachas under his orders, he retired to Kars. Reis•Akhmet-Pacha, who succeeded him, accepted the battle, and by his presump tion exposed the Turkish troops to the defeat of the 19th November." FRANCE. The movements of M. de Kisseleff have become events of public importance. Not only did he at tend the ball at the Tuileries on Monday, but he attended the reception at the Princess Mathilde's l ast night, and is to dine to-morrow with the Em peror and Empress. But, notwithstanding this, understand that he holds himself in readiness to leave Paris on short notice. Since yesterday, M. Kisseleff has begun to speak of a trip which he 1 ! 8 n o Some intention making to Belgium, during Which he will leave the affairs of his mission under the care of M. Balabine and M. Tolstoi. Letters have been received from the Balearic ;Islands, which state that an American war-steamer Vas put into Mahon, on board of which is the am mesador extraordinary of the United States, now en his way to Constantinople. MAILS FOR AUSTRALIA, tf:c. Notice was issued yesterday, at the General Post office, St. Martin's-le-Grand, that the next mails for Melbourne Port Philip, Geelong, Victoria, South Aus tralia, Sydney, New South Wales, and Van Diemen's Land, will be made up on the morning of the 4th proxi- Ito, to be forwarded by the Bosphorus, screw steamer, Under contract with the Postmaster-General, to sail f jom. Southampton. Letters must be prepaid. Printed _books, magazines, reviews, and pamphlets, addressed to New South Wales, will be transmitted by this packet at th e rate of 6d. per half-pound, ls. per pound, and so on, Which must be prepaid. MAILS TO THE MEDITERRANEAN, INDIA, &c.---The snails for Gibraltar, Malta, Egypt, Aden, Ceylon, India, &c., will be made up on the morning of the 4th of February, to be forwarded by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Company's mail packet Indus, screw steamer, via Southampton. Letters for the British fleet in the Black Sea can be despatched by this packet via Malta, if 'repaid. The mails for the Mediterranean, Egypt, &c., will be made up on the evening of the Bth Proximo, by the Overland closed mails, via Marseilles. Letters and newspapers must be prepaid. MARKET NE WS-(THIS DAY.) . GENERAL AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN .0 7 c. 2. the Week ended lan. 26, 1554, made up from the Returns of V‘e i lk Inspectors in the different Cities and Towns in England and Wale , '' p a r imperial Quarter. WHEAT. IBARGEY.I OATS. I RTE. I BEANS. 1 PEAS. S2s 4d 42s 10d 27s 21 I 50s 5d 1 48s 91 51s 5,1 • THE SIX WEEKS' AVERAGE. ."EAr o 0. ,• I BARLEY. I OATS.I BYE.I BEANS. 1 PEAS. - • U 403 4(1 25s 9,1 47 3 4d 47s 8d 505 106 ON EIN N. W HEAT 1,, „• I EASLEY. I DUTIES FO OATS. BYE G COR . I BEANS. I PEAS. -" 4 Is thl is Od I R Is Od is Od ls 01 , QUANTITIES OF GRAIN SOLD LAST WEEK. -heat, 64,581; Barley, 98,085; Oats, 25,139 ; Rye, 151 ; Beans, 4,701; Peas, 2,030 quarters. HAY MARKETS. SSI ITHPIELD.—Meadow hay, 31 Os to 51 8s ; clover. ditto, m 41 Os t o 61 O s ; a nd s t ra w, 1116 s to 21 4s per load. Trad e d.PUMBERLAND.—Meadow hay, 2/ 18s to 51 lOs ; clover 140 , tO supply, nd straw, 1/ 16s man 4s per load. full averageand a sluggish dd. ~ .W i llrEcHAPEL.—Meadow hay, 21 15s to 51 5s ; clover to, 4/ Os to 6/ Os ; and straw, 1/ 15s to 2/ 2s per load. lI PPIY good, and trade dull. MEAT MARKETS. .._ N ENFGATE AND LEADENHALL.—Each kind of meat vt... luoved o ff slowly at this market, at the following prices :: Fa . , from 2 s 10d to 4s 0(1 ; Mutton, 3s 2d to 4s 8(1; eat, 3 s Gd to2d • Pork, 3s 4d to 5s Od per 81 bs , by t he carcase. Gs SOUTHALL, JAN. 25.—Each kind of stock was in good "PPIY, and a sluggish demand was experienced to-day, 48 follow s : Beef, from 3s 2d to 4s 4d ; Mutton 3s 8d to I °d • Veal, 3s 6(1 to 4s 10d; Pork, 3s 8d to ' 4B 8d per 8 1b8, t'o sink the offals. f~IROMFORD, JAN. 25.—Sheep and calves sold steadily, at Prices ; but all other kinds were dull, and lower to Purchase :—Beef, from 3s Od to 4s Gd ; Mutton, 3s 4d t ° 4, 8(1 ; Veal, 3s Gd to 5s Od ; Pork, 3s 4d to 4s 8d Per Blbs. Quarter old Store Pigs, 22s to 27s each. L LOYD'S SHIPPING.-(THIS DAY.) LONDON, Jan. 26. --Wind this day at Noon, W. ; moderate bteeze, and fine, clear weather. OFF MARGATE, Jan. 25.—Dolphin, from Rio Janeiro. DEAL, Jan. 26.—The Sea Queen, London to China, has PIA back to the Downs, with loss of bowsprit, figure-head, a nd cutwater, &c., from contact with a F renc h se h ooner ; the crew of the latter got on board the former. PLYMOUTH, Jan. 25.—Wind, S.W. Arrived—Flora, fro m Oran, for Dublin, leaky ; Elvira, Havre, for Ha- Aannah ; Elof, Newport, for Geneva, leaky. FALMOUTH, Jan. 25.--Wind, S.W. Arrived—Mari anne, from Rio Grande ; Eros, do. PORTSMOUTH, Jan. 25.—Wind, W.S.W. Sailed—Night ingale, for Boston. Off Port—Victoria, Champion, from New York. LOWESTOFT, Jan. 25.—Wind, S.W. Arrived—John and Alice Brown, from Hartlepool, for London, with intowith damage to bowsprit, cutwater, &c. , ha v i n g been run °Y the Isabella Walker, of North Shields, whilst at anchor 41 Yarmouth Roads. CARDIFF, ~,,,, Jan. 24.—Sailed — Lecr o y , for llavan nah ; N ew York, Rio Janeiro. R ,QUEENSTOWN, Jan. 24.—Wind, W. to S.W. Arrived -I'4°Y, from Callao. , CADIZ, Jan. 16.—The Swedish schooner Haverdahl has 1 ,"!' 3 . ,1 abandoned at sea ; seven of the crow sa ved and landed ''ne by the Fidentia, from Elsinore. MELBOURNE,26.—The Posthumous (barque) has hen lost near Keapareo ; crow saved. The Nina, Canton " Adelaide, S.A., has run on shore at the latter port, but lap exected off—(the Nina is reported as arrived at Ade gen the Bth of Oct.) The Sarah Alida Maria, bound to Batavia, has put back to Adelaide, leaky. (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.) LIVERPOOL, Thursday, 10.45 A.M. ‘ 70 16 3 7 the screw steamer Alps wo have advices from New 4 rk to the 4th instant. Fork ste amer B a lti c , f rom Li ver pool, arrived at New o n th e 12th inst. 6 hip Three Bells had arrived at New York with 230 the survivors from the wrecked steam ship San xraneisco. (UY SUBMARINE AND EUROPEAN TELEGRAPH.) GRAVESEND, Thursday, 9.50 a.m. win d , W., fine • tide, last hours' tide. z Arr ived—Triton (s), ot fr omte CalaAlar s) i unkirk rail of Auckland (s), Rrdam ; Min ( Deu D w Diep irle nds, Dunkirk. Wi DEAL, Thursday, 9.20 a.m. nd, W., light and fine. anc hored — Hurricane ; 4378 second pendant, f rom west ward, to London. Put back —Swan, for Savannah. R XRCUTIONoE W. CUMMING, AT EDINBURGH.- 4 INEURGII, WEDNESDAY MORNING. --The Home Secre tary having declined to commute a capital sentence tpassed Upon W. Cumming, seaman, for th e mur d er o f his wife, at Leith, the execution took pl ace at Edi n b urg h morning, at 8 o'clock. The wretched man met his end with remarkable composure, and before he was thrown o ff, addressed a few remarks to the vast crowd, warning the re against indulgence in Intoxicating drink. Gin. siderable sympathy was manifested for the criminal, "in," to his excellent conduct since his condemnation, 41 1 d the hones of a reprieve excited in his mind by the respite he had enjoyed. No disturbance took place, and withiti . one hour all trace of the awful event had disappeared, 20 17i 20 20 20 20 2 d 1 4 3 d 201 1 i ico 20 p 31 id par par 4 p 2tp 44 —34 d 2 -14 d 24 —14 d .. ... ; Id par Si —9, 5 6 11 par p 5i 6 xin 6i- 7i 29i = iii./ 76 - 86 13 -136 R 41 - 43 37 - 39 29A - 30 3 - 1(1l J 7 -- 18 j 7 - L •• ••• ...• pm x in i -- i 2'- a-p i!} ------ iidl 8i i x in 29/ 301 , xn 24 x in 10 111 ain 3i f a n 12i 13 LINES LEASED, AT FIXED RENTALS. Sbr. Paid! RAILWAYS. Leasing Closing Prices Business Compans. I this day, this day. 50 all Bedford Bletchley St. 100 Buckghamsh L. &N.W. 101 50 all Clydesdale Jc Calsdon... 50 52 St. 100 E.Lincoln .gr. 6p. cent Gt.Northn 139 - 141 25 all Gins. Barr. & Caldenian. Neils. Direct. all Do. New Do. ••• 25 all Glstr.&Dn.Fr Gt.Westu. 3p - 33 30 100 all Hrtlpl. Dk. & Yk. New. Railway & Berw.. 50 all Hull &Selby Y.&N.Md. 108 110 25 all Do. 1 Shares Do 12i all Do. Shares. Do 264 274 12i all D fe Loonp.dtreGrie.euenewe D S. O 2 Eastern. 1 4 3 1 2 1 5 31 20 all St. 100 Lowestoft gr., 4R. 100 Do. per 6 p 54 all Manch.Bxton. Ln.&N.W. and D ar lingt. 50 all M ite id d d ca le l‘ s i r l a ) . t r l o o ' c dt k Stckl4toidaid 3 & 100 sill Midld.Bradfd. Nlidlancl... 97 99 50 all Northern and - 61 Easternsp.c. E. Count.. 59 5 all Do. 6 per ct Do 5' all Do.Fixedsp.e Do .. _ all Prest. & Wyrc L. &Is. W &Ludt Yk •• • 1 12 Do. 4 Shares. Do S 100 Roystn.dalit. Gt.Northn 138 142 S 100 Do.Shepth.St. Do l3B 142 2' 188 Shef. Both. & Lancash.& Goole g. 5. p.c Yorksh 1 12 9A S. Staffordsh— hlrMClean 2 lid 50 all WearValleygr Stockt. & 6 per cent... Darling. 25 all Do Po 2 94 30,} Bt. ) loo . ViriltSdiSomrst Gt.Westn 95 97 SHARE MARKETS.-(THIS DAY). BRITISH RAILWAYS. Closing Prices this day. RAILWAYS. Basiaess done this day. Aberdeen ...... 'Ambg. Nottng. Bost. & Eastn. Belfast & Ballymena Birmng. Wolverh & Stour Valley ... Birkenhd. Lancsh & Cheshire Junet Do. Chesh. & Birk., £5O & £25 Cons , Blyth & Tyne original I £25 (iss. at £45) 100 ,Bristol & Exeter 100 all Chester & Holyhead all ,Cork and Bandon—. all Cork, Black. & Pass 12 'Cornwall 19i -- 20 4i -- 4i 8 - 9 12 10 di 16 18 6 5d 92 - 94 511 -51 i 14 16 14 - 15 42 - 41 45 Dublin&BelfastJunc. all Dundee Perth &Aber ' (leen Junction ..... all •Do. New all Ri.st Anglian (X 25 L. & E. & L. & D.)..... all Do., (ElB E. & II.).. all Eastern Counties..... 100 Els ternUnion,A. stk. 100 :Do., do. B. 8. Do.NewS(lateThirds) 100 East Lancashire ...... 100 Edinburgh & Glasgow 3 MO. and Peebles... 100 Edinb.Prth.&Dundee, 8 - 9 42 42 si -- 42 24 28 61- 63 60 - 62 20 . - i. I Forth and ClydeJunc. 100 'Glasgow & S. Western 100 Great Northern Stk 100 !Do., A. Stock 100 iDo. , B. Stock 100 Gt. Sth.&West.(lro.) 100 Great Western 11 'lrish Sonth-Easters. all Lancaster & Carlisle 11i Do., Thirds 100 Lancash. &Yorkshire 171 Do., Fifths 114 Do., Wst. Riding Un. all Leeds Northern ....... all Liv.Crsby.&Soutbrot. all London & Blackwall 814 - 823 58 - 60 126 - 128 97 - 99 80i - 81 87 92 1 11 —l3 p 61i-- 62 7t 7ld' 12 13 7a -- 7i par -- p 97A -9 8 A 100 A -- 101 A d-- par d p 6 1 76 78 12. -11 Ad , 10 -- 9 d Lond. Tilb. & Sthend. Lond.Bright.& S.Cst. London & N. Western Do. Fifths D°. ,16/.5h.,M&8...C1 Do. Eighths London ok S. Western Do., £50.........•••••• Lndndrry.&Coleraine Lndndrry. & Ennisk. Manch.SheLikLiueln. 20i -- 214 Do., Man. &Lin. Un. Midland .... .. Do. Birming. & Derby Midland G.West.(lr.) Do. Shares Newcastle &Carlisle Newmarket 60i -- 61 33 35 53 55 d par 6 5 d' 2t— 3 Do. Bury Extensions Newpt•Aberg.&Htfd Newry & Enniskillen Newry Warrenpoint & Rostrevor Norfolk.- ..... Nortlin. Counties Un North British North Devon, No.l Do., No. 6 8 44 46 3i 3s d 29:1 30 8— 10 De., A Deferred I Do., i B Guaranteed North London N. & S. Wstn., Hamp stead, and City Jn North Staffordshire North Western.. N. & S. Westrn. June Nuneaton, Hinckley, and Leicester Oxford Worcester di Wolverhampton Portsmouth Scottish Central Scottish Midland Shrewsbury & Birmg Do., L. & N. Westn Guaranteed Stock Shrewsby. & Herold Shrewsby. & Chester (Nor. W. Min.) Do. Halves, do Do. Oswestry Shropshire Union Do. A, B,C, & D, fully paid up at per cent South Devon South Eastern South Wales S. Yorksh. River Duu n - 24 64 - 7i 52 ... 55 5 d 7/ -8/ 1 d par 33 - 35 89 - 91 54 - 56 55 - 60 545 60 2i 21ths 13 - 15 64 - 74 10 - 12 3i - 13 15 59 31 32 3 -- 2 d 4 5 Do. Staincs,Wok.,&Wok Stockton & Darling Stockton & ilartlepl Taff Vale Do. £lO shades Do. Pref., No. 1 Thames Haven Dock and Railway Vale of Neath Waterfd. & Kilkenny Waterford&Linierick West Cornwall.. West End of Loudon and Crystal Palace West London Wmbledon &Croydon York Newctl. &Berw. Do. Extensions....... Do. G.N.E. Purchase 'York di N. Midland.. IT -- iO 2i • 24 14j - 15 - 5t 25 - 27 6 - 7 61A - 62. 9i - .‘1 441 - 45; raid 100 19i i 4i 51j 1 i 4 12k 13 k 12k 611 1 81i i 2 14 93 791 805 61i i i 2 x in 98 1001 R i 1 11/ 21; 60i k i li FOREIGN. lAntwrp & Rotterdam Belgian East. Junet Boziers to Graissessac Central of Italy Charleroi & Erquoliu Demerara Dijon and Besagon Dutch Rhenish 'East Indian Do. Extension !Gt. Indian Peninsula! Gd. Junct. of France Gd. Trunk, of Canada Stirs. and Bonds Gt. Central of France Gt. Wcstn. of Canada Shares Do. bonds(l i55.)1857 Do. bonds (2. i55.)1862 Hamilton & Toronto Do. 6 per cent Lake Const. & Basle Lucca and Pistoja, 5 per cent. pref. Luexembourg Do. (Railway) Do Do. (Canal) Do. 6 p. cent. prcf Lyons & Mediterran, Madras . Maria Antonia Do. New Melbourne Dk. & By Namur & Liege (with interest IDo. (ex interest) !Northern of France Do. 201. 3 p. c. Bds {filly. B. &Ams. Shs. I NorwegianPrnk. Pref Paris and Lyons Do. bonds Paris and Orleans Paris and Rouen Paris and Strasbourg Paris Caen& Cherbrg. Quebec & Richmond Rotten and Havre Royal Danish Royal Swedish Sambre and Mouse Do. 56 per cent. pref IS.E. of France Southern of France St. Andrews & Quebec Upper India Scrip West Flanders 10 Do. N per c. Prof 10 Western of Franco 4 West. of Switzerland 2 Wiesbaden 12 Zealaufl 100 100 12 21 1 100 421 34 all all 100 5 17; T all. 100 3} 100 16 111 all 2.2 100 100 100 100 all 100 all 15 2.2 all 16i 100 8 100 all 51s. 1.00 20 111 100 THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 26, 1854. LITERATURE. which we may direct attention to that most exqui site passage—droll, and wise, and witty in every syllable—in which (pp. 112-13) our great satirist takes us by the button hole and whispers to us that we have each—(whatever wry faces we may make in contradiction) —a closet with a skeleton ! We regret not to have left ourselves room, at this moment, for the quotation. Lives of the Queens of Scotland. By Agnes Strick land. Vol. IV. Blackwood. Complexion, pale and clear—hair silken and, in colour, a brilliant Chesnut--eyes dark hazle and sparkling—face oval in contour—expression pen sive, but of an exquisite loveliness. Such is that phantom of beauty which rises out of the turmoil of the sixteenth century, whenever the student of history muses over the life and death of Mary Queen of Scots. Such are among the shadowy charms that bloom as brightly as ever, after the lapse of three hundred years, in the popular recol lection. Maria Regina Scotorum—three words scarcely utterable together without some emotion —associated as they are with the remembrance of so many poignant sorrows and of such various and lamentable vicissitudes. Frequently as the roman tic career of Mary Stuart has been described before now, the narrative has never been invested with a more peculiar fascination than by the graces of the luminous style and by the charm of the undoubted veracity of Agnes Strickland. In the last pub lished volume of her important historical serial of " The Lives of the Queens of Scotland and English Princesses," Miss Strickl an d h as extended her annals of the unfortunate rival of Elizabeth from the first agitation of the question of her marriage with either Dudley or Darnley during the com paratively brief interval of h er w id ow h oo d , on th e premature demise of the Dauphin, down to the murder of Rini° in the Palace of Holyrood, and the birth of James VI. of Scotland and I. of Eng land in a little room in the ancient castle of Edin burgh. Otherwise from 1564 to 1566 — tw0 years requiring this goodly volume of nearly 400 pages for the record of the extraordinary events com pressed into an interval so brief, but so memorable. I Bearing in mind that twenty-one years of Mary Stuart's life and reign have yet to be recounted by her biographer, namely those twenty-one years elapsing between 1566 to 1587, the date of her lamentable execution on the Bth of February—it will be perceived how much yet remains to be told by Miss Strickland of that tragic history of which we may be said as yet to have received only the sor rowful and alluring commencement. Conspicuous we cannot but think among the deficiencies of the present work is the manner of its arrangement, in —firstly, the absence of any table of contents, and, secondly, the lack of any marginal date capable of preserving in the recollection of the reader the precise epoch at which he has arrived as he ad vances in the perusal of the narrative. The former deficiency may be compensated for, readily enough, at the close of the entire work, by an ample index drawn up alphabetically. As to the latter, how ever, the hiatus can in noway be suppli e d un til the issue of a revised edition as soon as may be practicable on the completion of this c ompan i on t o Agnes Strickland's masterpiece. Throughout the volume here submitted to our consideration it is still agreeably obvious that the accomplished lady annalist has persevered admirably in the fulfilment of the now stereotyped promise of her motto from one of the Poetic Siamese, the Damon and Pythias of English Dramatists, the Orestes and Pylades of our national literature. " The treasures of anti quity laid up " and hitherto overlooked, many of them, she has here opened to the general scrutiny with those " old historic scrolls" the majo r ity o f which are cared for more tenderly in Scotland than the parchments of a corresponding age and value littered about so many neglected holes and corners in so many of the public buildings both in London and in Westminster. As an illustration of the diversity of the scattered lights brought to bear upon the history of Mary Queen of Scots by the most recent and the most painstaking of her bio graphers, it may be here remarked how feli c it ous l y . Miss Strickland weaves into the gorgeous and com plicated tissue of her narrative the origin of that pathetic old ballad of " Mary Hamilton," in which was touchingly commem orated the seduction o f a serving woman and the infanticide attempt e d by her seducer, the young Queen's French apothe cary. Another instance of the same minute investigation on the part of our authoress may be observed in that disclosure of the domestic economy pursued at Holyrood, and which Miss Strickland's researches have brought to view, and. from which it would app e ar that certain propor tions of the com mones t necessa ries of life, such as bread, wine, eggs, coals, wood, and candles were awarded to each individual in the royal household, from her Majesty downwards to the humblest of her female servants. Everything, indeed, indi cates the scrupulous regard of the writer to the embellishment of her text by the largest researches of novel and curious particulars that could be col lected together for that purpose, by assiduous re gard to the labour of continuous investigation. It is scarcely possible, of course, to pronounce any decisive opinion of a production so remarkable, both in its subject and in its treatment, solely from at tention to a fragment of it like the present volume, ingenious and masterly though that fragment may be in itself. A torso may at once command our admiration, but from it wc. can only guess at the merit of the complete masterpiece. Nevertheless —while all this is admitted, while the volume under review is still regarded as only a single portion of an extended and elaborated composition --sufficient may be recognised in it to satisfy our judgment that the entire work, when completed, will be so far worthy of the reputation of Agnes Strickland, as to constitute, in the " Lives of the Queens of Scotland," an admirable pendant to the " Lives of the Queens of England ;" and in this exquisite biography of Queen Mary, a fitting com panion to her inimitable biography of Queen Eliza beth. Leila, or the Siege of Granada : and Calderon the Courtier. By Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, Bart., M.P. Chapman and Hall. As an additional volume of the writings of Bul wer Lytton, in the " Standard Edition" now for some time past in course of publication, the twin tales of " Leila" and " Calderon" will be peculiarly acceptable to a considerable number of the mani fold admirers of our great novelist. For, if neither of these works have secured to themselves any share of popularity at all comparable to that commended by the rest of their author's imaginative productious, that circumstance may be chiefly attributed to the fact of their having ori ginally appeared in a more costly form, accompanied by a multiplicity of elaborate and beautiful embel lishments. Perused, now, apart from those grace ful decorations, the two stories will be found, how ever, to have owed but little of the success which they then obtained from the restricted, but earnest circle of their admirers, either to the brush of the colourist, or to the needle of the engraver. Of " Calderon," the romancist has himself observed that it " belongs to the higher grade of passion and art than its companion"—adding that he once meditated concocting the story into a tragedy. A sufficient testimony of the dramatic power of the plot—a power by the way that leads one on with breathless curiosity through these eleven alluring chapters from the commencement of the tale to its completion. Speaking of " Leila," while Sir Bulwer Lytton acknowledges its unquestionable inferiority to his other historical romances, both in elaboration of plot and in delineation of character, he maintains that " there are portions of the con ception—as connected with the position of Alman ser between Moore and Christian—and detached scenes and descriptions—which the writer's more matured experience would be unable to improve :" a bold avowal from that master-hand which has traced with such consummate skill of late the ex quisitely pencilled and unfading beauties of "My Novel" and " The Cantons." Nevertheless, an avowal which cannot raise surprise in the mind of any one who has perused thinkingly the five books of " The Siege of Granada," in which Sir Bulwer Lytton has commemorated the glory and the shame, the heroism and the weakness of the unfortunate Boabdil, the last of the Moorish Sovereigns —a re cord as touching as that pathetic narrative in which M. de Chateaubriand evidenced his sympathy for the Last of the Abencerrage. The Slave Son. By Mrs. Wilkins. Chapman and Hall. This is another tale of slavery ; but it takes a novel view of the question. The authoress endeavours to prove the horrors of slavery by showing the vices it produces—treachery, deceit, and cunning. She holds that the " slave saints and martyrs" of which we have heard are more ideal than real, and asserts, perhaps correctly, that worse than the tortures of the body are the evils it induces in the mind. Whichever view is taken, the subject is sufficiently appalling ; indeed too much so to be pleasing in a fiction when we know the pictures are drawn from life ; but it proves the general feeling, and if it can accomplish any good purpose it will attain its object. liarold, the Last of the Saxon Kings. By Sir E. Bul wer Lytton, Bart., M.P. Chapman and Hall. It was said of " Harold " by a reviewer in the Edinburgh, shortly after the appearance of that magnificent historic romance, that it was a work that might be currently designated " A Prose Epic "—and this was said too by a reviewer who was himself a poet and au antiquarian. Never was panegyric more eminently well deseved. " Harold " could not be defined by any phrase more strictly appropriate. It has throughout all the verse, and sometimes even the rhythm, and frequently all the afflatus of epic poetry. Its elo quence, if one might be permitted to use the term, for once most reverently applied to a contribution to profane literature, is at intervals of an almost biblical character. Biblical in its simplicity and in its impassioned and lyrical iteration. Is an illus tration of this required ? Turn to the close of that wonderful scenic description of the trial of Sweyn the Earl before the Witana-gemot in the great hall at Westminster. When the accused closed his address to the austere and august assemblage. When— "He gathered his robe of state over his breast as a monk his gown, and, looking neither to the right nor to the left, passed slowly down the hall, through the crowd, which made way for him in awe and silence ; and it seemed to the assembly as if a cloud had gone from the face of day. " And Godwin still stood with his face covered by his robe. " And Harold anxiously watched the faces of the as sembly, and saw no relenting ! And Gurth crept to Harold's side. "And the gay Leofwine looked sad. " And the young Wolnoth turned pale and trembled. " And the fierce Tostig played with his golden chain. " And one low sob was heard, and it came from the breast of Aired the meek accuser—God's firm but gentle priest." And so, throughout every book, and chapter, and page (and we had almost said every sentence, too) there are testimonies of the justice of that phrase of the Edinburgh Reviewer, that " Harold" is nothing less remarkable or less admirable than a prose epic—a prose epic in which what marvellous creations are introduced ! what heroic phantoms of the historic past ! what figures grotesque, and h pewitching, and pathetic, and colossal ! The meek Edward the Confessor, and the lordly William the Conqueror—Godwin and Lanfranc—Hardrada and Gryffyth—tho gentle Edith and the preposterous Messire William Mallet de Garville ! Besides crowds of others, priests and laymen, witches and warriors —and through all the grand irresistible current of the fortunes of the generous and heroic Harold, the last and, in some respects, the most beloved of the Saxon kings, hurries the imagination onward from event to event, from incident to incident, to the close of the great epic story on the battle-field of Hastings, its crowning and tremendous consum mation. The Newcomes. No. IV. By W. M. Thackeray. Colonel Newcorue, we regret to say, we see little or nothing of in the present instalment. Abso lutely nothing, indeed, until just at the moment of its conclusion, when he is assembling a motley group of his friends around him for a grand dinner at his west-end hot e l—f r i en d s ( w i t h us as with him) both old and new—boisterous r. Fred. Bayham, and honest Mr. James Binnie ; Mr. Arthur Pendennis and his " chum" Mr. George Warrington ; Sir Thomas de Boots " who is not a bad chap over a glass of wine," and Mr. Barnes Newcome, " a dry fellow at first, but who I dare say has good about him when you know him ;" our young hero Clive, and our elegant acquaintance, the Rev. Charles Honeyman. They aro all about to sit down to the banquet, when the number abruptly terminates. So that we are left to unfold the table napkin, and nibble the bread crust, and play with the forks and spoons, and disturb and re-adjust the contents of the saltcellar until next month, when it is to be hoped that the repast will at length be fairly commenced. By the way, we begin to recognise the source of one of the secret charms of Colonel Ne wcoine—froin the very first our especial favourite. He has a touch of the ex quisite innocence of Sir Roger de Coverley. "When Honeyman was ready, the Colonel, who had the greatest resp ect for the ch urelibwould. not hear ofgoing out of the room before the clergyman, and took his arm to walk." It might have b een penned by Addison. There is no guile in the character. It wins upon us more and more at every fresh intro duction. The very antithesis, or antipodes, of that delightful old rascally parasite, Major Pendennis ! Richard Doyle gets better and better in his illus trations—particularly in the little wood- cuts sprinkled through the letter:press, some of which are admirable. J. J., too, in. the cloud-land of his day-dreams, is one of the gracefullest etchings imaginable. He gives large promise. Bye the bye, this same Hans Christian Andersen, like J. J., is one of the best and most original of the characters introduced. Now, let us inquire how comes it to pass that for once Mr. Thackeray repeats himself ? Yes— snips a little paragraph out of the " Book of Snobs"—re-christens the small personages therein mentioned, and slips it into hi s new wor k , the gt N ewcome s." How runs the incident ? Why, in the " Book of Snobs, it is Miss Snobky (the little lady daughter of Sir Snobky Snobky), who loves and is beloved by the Lord Claude Lollipop, a little brat patrician. In the " Newcomes" it is Ethel (the little lady daughter of Sir Brian New come), who loves an d is bel ove d b y the Lord Hercules O'Ryan, a lso like his p ro t otype ot h er self, a little high and mighty brat patrician. News comes in the young in each instance, of a sudde n remova l f rom o town g maiden's family, bringing dis may to the infant love passages. In the Book of Snobs it runs thus, c. iv., p. 16 : The Old Story Teller. Addey and Co. A volume with such an attractive title, professing to contain popular German tales, with one hundred illustrations, must certainly be a favourite with all lovers of those charming old romances in which everything is so very improbable, and at the same time all the events occur so opportunely. If chil dren are lost in a wood they are sure to meet some fairy, who guides them out ; or if the heroes of the tale are pursued by giants, they are sure to remem ber some old charm. that transforms them into roses, or some other equally convenient disguise. The present collection contains many not generally known, and therefore possesses the charm of novelty. All juvenile readers who admire fairy tales (and who does not ?) will find the " The Old Story Teller" a most attractive companion. Illustrations of Scripture front Botanical Science. ,By D. Gorrie. Blackwood. This little work is designed to throw a light on the botanical allusions in Scripture, by an account of the peculiar properties and uses of the different kinds of herbs, plants, &c., mentioned. It con tains some useful scientific information, and has several excellent engravings. Elements of Physical and Classical Geography. By J. Pillans. Blackwood. This is not one of the ordinary school books of geography, nor .is it intended for mere beginners in the science, but is calculated to assist the ad vanced scholar in astronomy as well as geography. In the preface the following proposal is stated : " The principal object aimed at in this volume is, to communicate to those who have been engaged for some time in a course of liberal study such information as shall not only facilitate the acqui sition and cultivation of ancient learning, but con nect the writings of the classics with impressions and associations that will add to the profit and pleasure of perusing them." To the classical stu dent this volume will be a useful raferee, and it possesses an appendix, containing a selection of passages from the Latin poets, illustrative of an cient localities and peoples. It forms an accom paniment to Mr. Keith Johnson's "Physical Atlas." It is deserving of high praise from the research and labour displayed in its composition, and the originality of its design. "In the very height of the season, from some un expected reason, the Snobkys suddenly determined upon leaving town. Miss Snobky spoke to her female friend and confidante. " What will poor Claude Lollipop say, when he hears of my absence ?' asked the tender-hearted child. " 0, perhaps he won't hear of it,' answers the con fidante. My dear, he will read it in the papers,' replied the dear little fashionable rogue of seven years old." In the Newcomes it is told as follows : c. 10, p. 99 " One day Sir BHA% Newcome announced his inten tion to go to Newcome that very morning, taking his family, and of course Ethel, with him. She was incon solable. " What will Lord Hercules do when he finds I am gone ?' she asked of her nurse. "The nurse endeavouring to soothe her, said, Per haps his lordship would know nothing about the circum stance.' " 'He will,' said M 155 Ethel—' he read it in the newspapers.' " The Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. Vol. XIV. Part 11. Murray.. The first article is on " The Farming of East Lothian." It is remarked that the three Lothians, East, West, and Mid, do not, take n together, cover a larger space of ground than an English county of moderate size. But their geological and climatic influences are of so varied a nature that it is requi site to consider tho farming of each separately. After a long account of the manner adopted and the plans carried out in the county, a highly favour able description is given of the p resent stat e of things. There is no doubt , it is said, that the North British Railway has considerably augmented the agricultural value of the county. In conclu sion, the writer of this article observes—cc The hi s t o ry of the agriculture of East Lothian teaches o ne lesson emphatically. Its record of improve =AS iS almost uniyersally that of those effected Mr. Thackeray is not now so dry of the hu morous that he need bestow on his readers a more reChMICO of hiN bygone witticisms, In proof of by the tenants themselves. With that history before us we should fail in reading its most obvious and most instructive lesson if we did not record in our report of this county that the most important source of its past and present agricultural position has been an enterprising and intelligent tenantry, and an educated and faithful class of farm labour ers." The following subjects are " The Farming of Herefordshire," and " Agricultural Chemistry." There are several tables given, containing a series of experiments with pigs. There is also a plan given of covered homestalls, which appears to pre sent great advantages ; together with " isometrical drawings showing the exterior elevation and inter nal arrangements of the same." It will be seen from this brief summary that the volume before us is replete with information of a varied and interest ing nature. Views of Canada and the Colonists. By J. Brown. Second edition. Adam Black, Edinburgh. The first edition of this work was published in 1844, after a four years' residence in Upper Canada. The work was well received, and the author having now the advantage of a residence of the same duration in Lower Canada, feels emboldened tc publish a second edition, with the results of his additional experience. He has re-written the entire work, with one or two trifling exceptions, and trusts, from the variety and comprehensiveness of its information, it may prove worthy to be con sidered a standard work on Canada. It contains views of the present state, progress, and prospects of the colony, with detailed and practical informa tion for intending emigrants. It is justly observed in the preface to the first edition, that " books of travels, in a great measure composed of hasty obser vations, do not satisfy the keenly practical in quiries of the numbers naturally desirous of being acquainted with particular and detailed facts." This work is chiefly dedicated. to those whose friends and relations have already made Canada their home, or those who, desirous of emigrating, look to Canada as the nearest and most attractive of the colonies. Both of these classes of readers naturally desire a circumstantial account of the country and its peculiarities, the towns and their statistics, the population and its.industrial occupa tions, rather than a description of its scenery or sketch of its early history. It fully carries out this plan, and from the elaborateness of its details and the completeness of its information, the second edition is likely to meet with the same general approbation that was accorded to the first. A Guide to Geology. By J. Phillips, M.A., F.R.S. Longman. The fact that this is the fourth edition of a work on a science not generally interesting, must be con sidered as a strong recommendation. Though not attractive to the general reader, it will be found an excellent manual for the student of geology. It commences with a definition of the science, and leads the reader on through the labyrinth of ab struse information, which is methodically arranged and classified. The Principles of Education. An Elementary Treatise, designed as a Manual or Guide for the use of Parents, Guardians, and Teachers. By Hugo Reid, Author of " Elements of Astro nomy," &c. Longman. Many useful and important hints may be taken from this little work by those whom it regards to profit by them. The style is simple and matter of fact, as is suited to the plain and unvarnished facts placed before us. The duty of teachers is strongly insisted on in many ways, and hence much advan tage may be derived, for it often appears from the conduct of the latter, as if they thought that it was only incumbent on their scholars to obey its dictates. If the plans here proposed were carried out, it is undeniable that a great deal of extra ex ertion would be needed on both sides, but it is equally certain that advantages great and desirable would accrue to the recipient and imparter of knowledge. The chapter of " Intellectual Train ing" is very well written, and it is most lik e ly many will appreciate the good advice here offered to them. John Railton ; or, Read and Think. By William Robson. Routledge. The motto of this little work is taken from Sir Philip Sidney, " Until they find a pleasure in the exercise of the mind, great promises of much know ledge will little persuade them that know not the fruits of knowledge." The writer asserts that in his instructions of youth he found no lessons pro duced such a lasting impression as those conveyed in cheerful conversation, enlivened by anecdote. This method he has adopted in tho present volume, presenting information in the most attractive form, with every variety of entertaining anecdotes. It is likely to fascinate as well as to teach young readers, and those more advanced may derive both pleasure and profit from it. It has the additional attraction of numerous illustrations. The Cross and the Dragon ; or, the Fortunes of Christianity in China. By John Kesson, of the British Museum. Smith and Elder. This work contains a great deal of information on the yet imperfect history of China. There are accounts given of the Christian missions and mis sionaries, and of the Chinese secret societies. From different histories facts are collected ; therefore, in 'a small compass we meet with varied and interest ing subjects which otherwise would not be known to the general reader, as it is very different to take up a small volume like the present one, or to study a number of histories composed on a comprehensive plan. There are five divisions in the subject dis cussed of here. The legends of the introduction of Christianity into China by the Apostle Thomas and his disciples arc in the* first s The history of the Nestorian Christians in the seventh century, under their leader Oli-puen, is the second. The missions of the Dominicans and Fransciscans in the four teenth century, are in the third part. It is observed that these missions met with a speedy failure, and for two centuries afterwards China was left alone by the missionaries, when in the sixteenth century the Jesuit Mission was founded. In the fourth part the labours of the Jesuits are treated of, and the Protestant missions of the present century con cludes the work. A description is given at the conclusion of the seal of the grand secret society of China, the Thien Ti lioih, a Brotherhood of Heaven and Earth. It is observed that "the duties of each member in his individual capacity are the same in character that have been dictated to the members of all secret so cieties that have ever had existence, whetjier in the temples of Thebes, the courts of the Vehmgericht, or in the masonic lodge—an offensive and defensive warfare against the uninitiated." " Agents supply trusty brethren with money, but talkative, hare brained, and suspicious brethren are got rid of by poison." These societies are very numerous, as will be seen from their inscription—" Ten thou sands of ten thousands are the armies of the bro therhood of Heaven and Earth." The author ob serves that time must be given for China before any reasonable hope can be entertained of its improve ment, especially in an evangelical point of view. The Catholic Almanac for 1854. Dolman. A biography of an illustrious writer imparts to the almanac designed merely for the Roman Ca tholics of the United Kingdom, an interest that appeals indiscriminately to every intelligent mem ber of the population. The biographer being the Rev. M. A. Tierney, and the subject of his memorial the Rev. John Lingard— the his torian of England, and one of the brightest names in our national literature. The notice, of course, is necessarily succinct, and perhaps over-much abbreviated—its writer modestly calls it " a hasty and imperfect outline —but sufficient, at least, is therein given of the facts connected with the personal history of our great annalist, to enhance in a remarkable degree the admiration inspired originally in his regard by a perusal of his popular and classic masterpiece. I a r From the date of his birth, on the sth of February, 1771, at Wincheste r, to that of his death, on the 17th of July, 1851, at Hornby, there were but few events to diversify the calm and equable current of that philosophic career during those eighty years and upwards—but from first to last, there were manifest those qualities which secure our respect, w in our love, and ultimately command our venera tion. Besides pos s e ssin g the charm of this grace ful memorial of Lingard, the Catholbc. Almanac for 185 4 will be found to comprise within its well arranged pages a mass of important statistics, and other curious and valuable information. Colonial Life Assurance Alatunac for 1854. S Leith, Edinburgh. Conspicuous among the tastefully printed al manacs for the New Year, the " Colonial Life As surance Alm anac " h as the charm of a graceful and useful frontispiece, together with that of a deli cately tinted typography. The frontispiece is sim ply a map of the world, giving an almost micro scopic view of the two hemispheres. Another ac ceptable little almanac is the one issued in the name of the Art Union of London, one that from its miniature size would seem to have been designed for the Lilliputians. THE Commiso.—This fine screw steam-ship, built by Napier of Glasgow, for the Peninsular and Oriental Com pany, has, we understand , received some slight damage to her main shaft, to repair which she will leave South ampton in a day or two for the building premises of her conatructori in Bootland. PREFERENCE SHARES. Aberdeen Do., No. 2, 7 p. c Blyth & Tyne 10 per ct. pref. (iss. at£so) IBristol & Exeter 4 pr cent stock.... IDo. Do., shares Caledonian £lO Chester & llolyhead Gnar. 5} per cent Cork&Baudon 5,i p. c Dundee Perth&Aber dean Junction EastAnglian (£3los) 6 per cent Do. (25) 7 per cent Do. (1,7175) 7 p. et Eastern Counties Ex tension, 5 p. c. No.l Do., No. 2 Do., New 6 p. c. St Eastern Union, Scrip Guar. 6 per cent Do. £lO Deben. Sh EastLaneash. 6 p. ets East & West Yorksh Junction Fifths Edinb.Prth.&Dundec 4 per cent. Glasgow & S.Western guar. 5 per cent Great Northr 5 p.c Do. 5 p. e., Redeem., at 10 p. c. pruin Do. percent. Scrip Gt.N. of Scot. ,lst Prof Gt. Southn. &Wcstn. (Ireland) Eighths Do. 4 per et. prof. St 1 Gt. Westu. (Barks dr Hants Ex. 5 p. c.) Do. con. & rod. 41 p.ef Do. do. 4 per cent I Do. irredeern. 4 p. c Lan. & York. F. £2O, Do., 6 p. c., Stock Leeds Nn. 6 p. c. No. Do. Quarters,lB4B London and',Brighton Guaranteed 5 p. c Do. Pref., 5 p. c. St Do. Convertible, 5 p c., 1852 Do. New Guar. 6 p.c bond. & N. W., Cov & Nuu., 5 per cent London &S.Western, Con. Thirds Londonderry& Color. Shares ......... Londy. & Emits. Sh Manch. ,Shef., & Lin., Shares, No. 1 Do. New, £lO Do., £6. Aarypt. &Carl. 4 p. c. Do. 4i per cent Mid. Consol. 6 p.c. St Do. Consol. Bristol & Birm. 6 per cent Do. Pref. 44 per cont Norfolk Debeut. Sh Norfolk Extension Do. Pref. 5 per ct Do. Way. Val. 5 p c North British North Staffordshire Oxford Worcester & Wolverh. £15,6p. c. Do. Scot. Cen. , New Pref Shrews& Birm. N. G Shrewsby. & Chester (Nor. W. Min),B p. c. Do. 5 per cent South Devon Do. New S. Eastern (Reading Ann.,) of £1 os.a. S. Yorksh.4p. c. Guar. Waterfd. &K ilk . 6p. c. York Newcastle and Berwick,4 p.c.Pref Do York & N. Midland H S. Purch -- i . c a l 99 101 6h -- 6$ 4 -- 4. 5 -- 5 1 P 1 -- lip 1p 13} -- 14 2i- 1i -16 108 110 i par— i pl 8 - 83/4 6i 7 96 98xd 90 95„ 94 96 „ id par 1137 —l39xd 2i - 3 i2# - i2~ 6 7 9 9a Par p '137 139 11 id .. - ... xd 93 - 100 id- i P .i i 2. io 15i -16 i 9i -10 i 11 - 13 i d - ip 22i - 231 17 - 19 - 93 - 96 - 4 I i disxdi MINES. |a ... par P d 6 d 2 2 d t 6 d t d A d 9 - 11 i i d' 8 10 5 6 2 3 29 31 d 45 47 par— p —13 i 60 70 4 6p li 2.} 14 Hid, par 11 11 id 9 ... 11 * d 6ixd d d ••• -- ... par Ap 4 par— # p 28 —3oxd 8 10 4i 5A 5 7 3 36 d d d i i di Agua Fria Anglo Austen. Gold Anglo Californian Australasian Australian Australian Cordillera Australian Freehold Ave Maria Baden (Gd.Dachy of) Bleenarvon Iron and Coal British Austrin. Gold British Iron Braziliaulmp.(issued at £5 pm Do. Coeaes & Cuiada Do. St. John Del Rey Carsous's Creek Cobra Copper i Colonial Gold Copiapo . "Copper Min. of Eng. Do. Pref. 7, p. cent. 'English and Austin.' Copper Snieltg. Co General Gt. Nugget VcihSerp Do. Registered Great Polgooth . Lake Bathurst Liberty Linares Loud. &Californ. Gold Quartz Crush. Co Mariquita. Mexicau&S.Anierien . : New Granada I New Linares ➢iiniug and Smelting Co Nouveau Moude :Poutgiband. Silva Lead Min. & Smelt Port Philip [Quartz Rock lithymney Iron Do. Now .Santiago de Cuba , South Australian , Tin Cr0ft...... United Mexican , Waller I West Granada.. West Mariposa - I Worthing Mining of Australia 'Yuba.. JOINT-STOCK BANKS. Australasia . . British Colonial Bank and Loan Company British N. American Bnk .of India, Austral., and China Chrtd. link, of Asia Colonial Commercial of Loud English Scottish and Australian Chrtd London Chrtd. of Australia London and County London Joint Stock Lond.andWestminst National Provincial of England Do. New National of Ireland New South Wales Oriental Bank Cur poration Provincial of Ireland Do. Now Royal Australis. Bkg and Gold Imp. Co South Australia Union of Australia Do. New Union of London Union of Madrid 75 - 77 •• • id ... die 4 ldis 2i 2d i d par 42 = u 43 - 45 70 - 72 MISCELL. Aubin coal and Iron Australian Agricult. Australsn.Pcifie Mail Australn. Royal Mail Berlin Water Works Brit. American Laud Brit. & Coln. 3meitg.l and Reduction Co Canada Company Crystal Palace Do. New Crystal Pal. of France Eastern Steam Electric Telegraph (A) Do. (B) Electric Tel. of Irol Gen. Steam Navigat General Screw Steam Irish Beetroot Sugar Magdalena St. Navig. Nat. Pt. Steam Fuel Netherlands Land N. S. W. Coal S.; Inter- , Stem. Nay. Co N. B. Australasian ' Do. New. Nrth.of Europe Steam Peel Rr. Ld. & Minrl. Peninsular & Oriental Do. do. Portland Iron Co Royal Mail Steam.... Scot. Austral. Invest. South Austral. Land Submarine Telegraph Van Diemen's Laud EOUS. ••• - ••• 39 - 41 ••• ..... 68 - ;72 75 -- 80 -- lip lipl 16 - 18 16 - 18 ' ---- id id 1 TP ... i ... /Idd - 35 - 37 d - P 13 - 14 100 100 100 6 100 12i all all 1 all all 10 100 100 100 100 100 100 all 100 12i 12i 12j St. St. St. St. St. 20 15 8 10 10 25 10 L. 0.6 454 30 i 11i i 30 20 1 40 62 li 2 101 45 1 1 10 1 1 30 1 10 2i_3l a in x d a in I in 25 100 100 20 50 50 100 100 20 50 20 25 zin I in sin 21 35 6i 13 i WEDNESDAY CONCERTS.—The programme of the con cert of last night was filled chiefly with ballads and morceaux of the most popular cast, which were sung by Mr. Augustus Braham, Mrs. Alexander Newton, Miss Poole, M r . Y oung, and other vocalists. The audience were so well disposed to enjoy all that they heard of this class, that the second part of the concert was well nigh doubled in length by the frequency of the encores. The principal instrumental incident of the evening was the performance of Benedict's pianoforte concerto in C by Mdlle. Madeliene Graever. This young lady who is not altogether unknown to a London audiencehe, is an artist of unquestionable attainment, and her efforts last night were warmly applauded. Besides Mdlle. Graever, Mr. Viotti Collins and Mr. George Collins performed a duet on the violin and the violoncello, the former contributing also a violin solo. Herr Meyer Lutz conducted. There was a large attendance at the concert, 10 all 14 all all 13.5 24i all all all all 12a. 10 2231 all all 118 109 i 10 29 9 i it xd 7i 15 14i xd 44i x(1 7o 1i 1 7 10 39 40i MR. COBDEN ON TIIE EASTERN QUESTIO . ( From the Times.) It is strange that Mr. Cobden should speak on the subject of peace and war, more especially of war in the East, and that we should feel ourselves constrained, in very many respects, to agree with him. The change however, is none of ours ; it is purely and entirely M r Cobden's own.. Whether he has discarded altogether th e doctrines of the Peace Society we do not know, but h certainly discourses of war in a more rational tone than we ever remember to have heard him before, and with a practical common sense, the absence of which we have had too frequently to regret in his speeches on this exciting subject. Mr. Cobden seems at last convinced that a man may be sincerely desirous of peace without attending meetings to declaim on its ab stract merits, and that a Government composed mainly of the aristocracy of this country may be earnestly de sirous of encountering everything except dishonour, rather than inflict upon us the greatest of human cala mities. The tribute which Mr. Cobden pays to the exertions of the Ministry in this matter is honourable to his candour, and the remarks he makes on the fickle ness of popular opinion, and the probability that those most earnest in desiring war will soon be the foremost in deprecating it, are eminently just, though scarcely consistent in a speech commencing with an argument, however intentionally feeble and inade quate' in favour of a large extension of the suff rage . Nay, Mr. Cobden goes further, and admits that, on the principles which Lord Aberdeen and every member or his Government have always professed, they are bound to make war, and that nothing but the will of a enajority of the inhabitants of Turkey could release them from that obligation. Still, as might have been anticipated, Mr. Cobden cannot brine his mind to consent to the im pending hostilities, and he is driven, in order to find a reasonable ground of dissent, to advance the monstrous proposition that this country has no interest in pre venting Russia from conquering Turkey in Europe, and making herself mistress of Constantinople. We admit to Mr. Cobden that the mere fact of the insolence and arrogance of the Emperor of Russia, although (a con siderable ingredient in the question, would not alone be sufficient to determine us to take up arms, and we may further grant that the preservation of the integrity of the Ottoman empire would not, abstractedly considered, with out reference to the character, strength, and geographical position and intentions of its assailant, be an adequate mo tive for war. But, though not in themselves sufficient, it is idle to treat these motives as of no weight or importance, or to suppose that we are to argue the question as if the claims of Russia were just and reasonable, and her power one which, though sufficient to crush Turkey, had never threatened with danger neighbouring kingdoms, nor sought to disturb the balance of European politics. Having utterly put aside these two very im portant considerations, as having no bearing on the mat ter, because they are not singly decisive :of its merits, and having discarded, with equally summary logic, the consideration that Turkey opens her ports to our manufactures, whilst Russia encounters u s i n ti me of peace with the half warfare of a hostile tariff, Mr. Cob den proceeds to prove his great proposition, that we have nothing to fear from the presence of Russia at Constanti nople, and this conclusion he demonstrates after the fol lowing singular fashion :-.—The only danger, according to him, which we have to dread from the occupation of Constantinople by Russia is, that by virtue of such occu pation Russia shall become a great maritime Power, and dispute with us the dominion of the Levant, the Medi terranean, and, ultimately the ocean. But if Russia, argues Mr. Cobden, is to become a great maritime Power, she must become so through the same means by which Venice, Holland, England, and America have gained their sway over the seas ; she must carry on ex tensive forei g n commerce, and bring up her seamen in the perils and trials of mercantile enterprise. But this very foreign commerce will, in proportion as it increases the strength, diminish the ambition of Russia, and de prive her of the desire of foreign aggression, while it puts it in her power to gratify it. Such is Mr. Cob den's argument. Now, in the first place, we entirely deny that it is solely, or even principally, on account of any dread that Russia should become a great maritime power that we deem it expedient to prevent her overrunning European Turkey, and possessing herself of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus ; nor should we deem it a sufficient ground for going to war that by such means we could prevent another country from rivalling us on the sea—a laudable ambition which is open to all the nations of the earth. But Russia seated in Constantinople is full of the most portentous dangers, not to England only, but to Europe, and, indeed, to the destinies of the whole human race. Drawing her strength from the resources, not of civili sation, but of barbarism ; possessing among her 'higher classes just as much knowledge of European arts and civilisation as is necessary to destroy them, and in her lower orders a state of ignorance so dense, and of opin ions so degraded, as to find in a single man their law giver, their sovereign, and almost their God, this nation is peculiarly calculated to debase whatever it conquers, and to demolish a civilisation which it can neither ap preciate nor receive. Manchester may view with in difference the accession to the dominion of such a Power of some of the finest provinces in the world— of 15,000,000 subjects, and of their ancient capi tal—the key of Europe and of Asia ; and may hope that, when the barbarous Turk has been ex pelled by hordes scarcely less barbarous and infinitely more dangerous, things will go on as before, and the European system, relieved of its Mahomedan element, enjoy a renewed vigour. But is this expectation rea sonable ? We g ive to the most anti-commercial country of Europe hundreds of miles of the navigation of her finest river, and we must expect that by that change the Danube will be as effectually closed to commerce as the Dnieper, the Dniester, or the Volga. Of course, with Russia in possession of the Dardanelles, the rising commerce with Asia by way of Trebizond is at an end, the Circassians must fall in their isolation, and Asia Minor be open to invasion at once from the west and the east. 11as it ever occurred to Mr. Cutden to consider what, in the case supposed, would be the inevitable destiny of the Austrian Empire ? Cut off from her communication with the Black Sea--her natural outlet—with Russia as her neighbour in the Adriatic, it would not be difficult to dispossess her of her ports in that sea, and to reduce her to a position of dependence on the will of the Czar. It is needless to trace, step by step, the inevitable course by which a Power, which has already absorbed Po land, Finland, Bessarabia, Georgia, and so many other provinces, would proceed to deal with the smaller principalities and kingdoms of Germany. With out supposing Russia to possess any considerable mari time power, but merely to carry on her advances by land, it is obvious that from the conquest of European Turkey and the occupation of Constantinople would fol low necessarily a chain of events which would leave England and France the only States capable of opposing her onward course towards the foundation of an empire based on universal fear and universal barbarism. To this condition it must come at last ; and, if it must come, were it not wiser to meet this Power in its first onset, befere it is strengthened by the arms and tributes of so many conquered provinces, than to suffer the cockatrice's egg to hatch, in order that we may see if we have strength to crush the full grown monster t It is not a question of maritime supre macy, any more than the invasion of the Goths and Vandals, the Romans, or the Macedonians, who con quered the sea by the land. It is a question of self preservation, and of the assertion of that law of Europe —the only defence of the weak against the strong, of the trampled against the oppressor—the only guarantee of future peace. We cannot isolate ourselves from the great commonwealth of nations, and continue to be the nation we are. It is the penalty we pay for our high destiny, our glorious mission, and we will pay it with out repining. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. WESTBURY STEEPLECHASES—YESTERDAY: — THE WILTSHIRE HANDICAP of 40 sovs. each, 5 ft, and only 2if declared, &c., with 60 added. The second hor.o to save his stake. About 4 miles. Mr. W. Barnett's Diana, 10st Mr. Higgins's Sir Philip, 6st Blb (Weaver) 2 Mr. B. Land's The General, list 101 b (Owner) 3 Hon. Colonel Boyle's Champagne, 9st 41b (Viney) 4 Mr. James's Pride of the North, lOst 61b (R.James) 0 Mr. C. Boyce's Cigar, 9st 81b (Owner) 0 Betting-6 to 4 agst Diana, 3to 1 agst Pride of the North, 4to 1 agst Cigar. Won by 20 lengths ; bad third. TUB WESTBURY FREE HANDICAP SELLING STEEPLE• MUSE, of 3 sovs, each, with 121. 10s. added. The second to save his stake. Optional sellingweights. About 4 miles. Mr. C. Higgins's Countess, aged (304), Pst 81b (Weaver) 1. Mr. Thompson's Chester, aged (601.), 9at 91b (G. Stevens) 2 Mr. Johnson's Stanley, aged (60/.), 9st 91b Burrowes) 0 Betting—Even on Countess, 6 to 4 agst Stanley, wino 2 agst Chester. Won by nearly 30 lengths. The win ner was sold for 451. 10s. SCRAMBLE STEEPLECHASE of 20 sous. Optional selling weights. About 3 miles. Mr. Parson's lodine, (201.), lOst (T. Burrowes) 1 Capt. West's Axa, (201.), 9st 71b The following also ran :—Little Dan, The Hind, Patty, Auctioneer, Roderick. Betting-2 to lon lodine. Won by a length. No thing else up. The winner sold for 211. FINE ARTS,—The magnificent upper salon at Crock ford's— now the Wellington, in Piccadilly—has juet been decorated by the pencil of Mr. Sang. The luxu riant splendour and truly aristocratic grandezza of this apartment dates its existence at the period of George the Fourth and bis Royal brothers. The mouldings are of the most exquisite and tasteful class, and were copied from the best specimens of Versailles, at the time that the club was erected with such astounding liberality by its original proprietor. Yet colour has ever been con sidered to be wanting to relieve the profusion of gold decoration and the cold masses of white. And this has been effected in a manner the most delightful ; and the addition has served to render the salon far more mag nificent than any other in Europe. The designs i 4 colour are all surpassing in excellence. The Wattean. like medallions and the original and capricious corn. positions in the panels are painted in perfect and melo dious harmony. Indeed, the tout ensemble is marked by felicitous judgment and incomparable artistic ability, and when it is borne in mind that this dis p la y o f masterly execution has been ca lled forth b y , an d is especially devoted to, the require ments of "the peopl e ri t i s no less pleasing as an evidence of the onward march of taste and refinement than commendable on the part of th spirited proprietors, whose 'wealth and liberality have so successfully contributed to tho reau1t....6100. , - 1 1 171: W 16f St. 194 i 50 40 25 25 20 20 10 10 20 st. St. St. St. 10 St. 25 St. 25 25 St,