The Sun. — London, England, 1863-09-10 00:00:00

THE ATRE ROYAL DRURY - LANE. Manag errs, Messrs. Edmund Falconer and F. B. Chatterton.—' the Public is respectfully intormed that the above (the N ational) Theatre will be OPENED for the WINTER SEASON, on SATURDAY NEXT, September 12th. when will be produced an entirely new and original Comedy, by Edmund Fal oner, Author of " Extremes," " Woman." " Peep o'Day," &c., entitled NATURE'S. ABOVE ART A Romance of the Nursery, In which Mess rs. Walter Lacy, Addison, Ryder, Barrett, G. Belmore, FF. Charles, Neville ; Miss Charlotte Saunders, Miss Miura: r, Miss It. Leclercq, Mrs. Melville, and Mrs Ed mund Pale( mer. assisted by other a rtists, will perform. After the Cc imedy will be presente d a Popula^ Farce, prin cipal charatrters by favourite members of the Company. Box-ollicc o pen from Ten till Five daily. R OYAL PRI N CE SS' L3i r. Ge r,e vSinin'THEATRE. Open under the Management of Mr. Walter Montgomery. 'l' HIS EV MTING, ICING JOHN. King John, Mr. Walter 311ontgomery ; Faulconbridge, Mr. Henry Loraine. To be followed by FAMILY JARS. Commence at 7. T 1-IEA I:E.E-KU VAL, ADELPHJ, bole Proprietor and Manager, M. B. Webster. THIS F.VENING ('d week), at 7, a new comic drama, THE HEN AND CHICKENS ; or, A Sign of Affe , tion. M essrs. Billing - ton, R. Phillips, Stephenson; Mrs. Stirling and Miss B. Simms. After which, at a quarter-past S. the new drama of THE 'TAUNTED MAN; OR, THE G.. OST'S BARGAIN, in which will be exhibited Professor Pepper's adaptat!on of `he Great Spectral Illusion. Messrs. J. L. Toole, R. Phillips, Sefton C. J. Smith; Mrs. Alfred Mellon and Miss H. Simms. Followed by anew Burlesque, entitled ILL-TREATED IL TROVATORE. Messrs. Toole, P. Bedford, R. Phillips, Ebnrne, C. J. Smith, Romer; the Sisters Nelson, Carry and Sara, and Miss K. Kelly. ROYAL STRAND THEATRE. Manager, Mr. W. H. Swanborough. THIS EVENING, HIS FIRST CHAMPAGNE. Mr. Leigh Murray. Followed by (46th time) THE MOTTO, "I'M ALL THERE." Messrs. Honey, Turner, E. Danvers, Collier, Clifton ; Mesdames Ada Swanborough, F. Josephs, Maria Simpson, Wallace, and Jenny White. To conclude with TURN HIM OUT. Mr. Turner, Miss Thorne. Commence at 7. rp HE TFLIRD EDITION OF " THE SUN," Containing the Latest SPORTING INTELLIGENCE, eau be had ]very Evening of G. R. GLILNIE, NEWS AGENT, No. 4. Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park. HlGkt WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. THIS DAY..—Morning, 12h. 20m.—Afternoon, 12b. 40m, To-wortnow.-Morning, lh. 2m.—Afternoon, lb. 21m, The Weather—Sun Office, Sept. 10, 1863. THERMOMETER. This mowing This day at Two o'clock 6O Barometer-29.85. Wind—Westerly; light, and cloudy. . ~,,..1,-,...-: ~-).. rtg. 04vjp.4-4. tint • ...., 4- ~ 1, -..c ,_ 4 ~,in.M.... . , LONDON, THURSDAY, SEPT. 10, 1863, The Fall of Sumter does not by any means neces sitate the capture of Charleston. The demolition of the Fort is certainly, at the same time, a step towards the occupation of the city, Yet, when this has been said, nearly all has been said : for it is really and truly little more than a step ! Writing after the de struction of Fort Sumter, one of the most intelligent of the correspondents upon one of the principal of the New York newspapers, penning his remarks under date Morris Island, the 24th ultimo, observes —" The work before this army and navy is more gigantic than any abroad, or than many here, seem to com prehend." Ominous words, those, beyond any doubt of it, in their most grave emphasis ! But words That the correspondent thereupon immediately hastens to justify, while yet farther emphasising, thus—" Because," he writes, " the rebels in 1861, by reducing to surrender a garrison without pro visions gained possession of Fort Sumter, thereby depriving the United States of its military power in this harbour, it does not follow that the United States, by regaining possession of its ruins, deprive the Confederacy of Charleston. There are," he goes on to say, " yet other and far more formidable works, corn e on shore, others in mid channel which our troops and ironclads will be obliged to overcome and reduce before they can make a com bined attack upon the city." Observe—before they can get at the city, for the purpose of sub jecting it to a combined attack, they will have, according to this informant, who writes from. the spot, who is himself an eye witness of the obstacles that will have to be overcome, those obstacles, those other and far more formidable works, that the writer thereupon goes on to enume rate, will, as he observes, have to be overcome one after another, by way of a preliminary. Referring in the enumeration of these same obstacles, first of all to the situation of the Federal navy, now engaged in threatening Charleston through its outworks, this correspondent of the New York journal says " Fort Moultrie is not yet taken, nor have the monitors directed their energies against that stronghold. In order to get fairly by Sum ter, they must not 'only pass or reduce Moultrie, but they must partially destroy and run the gauntlet of the strong line of obstructions which reaches directly =roes the channel from the walls of Sumter to the shore of Sullivan's Island. Here is an immense labour at the outset, requiring not only great strategy and courage, but in all pro bability much time, which is now of serious import ance to us. The character of these obstructions are said to have been correctly ascertained a few nights ago by young Porter, and are now in the possession of Admiral DAHLGREN. What means will be employed for their removal are not yet announced." Ugly enough, even that, to begin with! But he adds, " Accepting these obstacles as past, however, others in the shape of a vast bed of torpedoes will have to be floated Over near the junction of the South Folly Island and Hog Island Channels, about half a mile from the water battery, at the head of Sullivan's Island. At this point the monitors will be subjected to a concentrated fire from the water battery, from Fort j" . . °l ' lle ° ll , from th e mortar b attery on Mi d dl e G roun d irom the batterypleasant and from at Haddrell' s P o i n t near Mount just belowus two other batteries nearer still, unt Pleasant. Unless the monitors prove actually impregnablet o an y fire, this trial ing e F cort sore Moultr- p e rhaps a disastrous one. Con !eased and silen ce d, tog e the r w ith the obstru ct i ou e t h e route which and the li ne o f t orpe d oes , a mostta Dahlg ren h as s till t o pur sue will will b e , will be Unpleasant one. Hi s approach, therefore dangers." The writer afterward s vir eued with terrific nue into consideratio n the three ta kes seriously which, according to him, the - F eder :' v e routes by nn-clad s may yet approach Charleston. Each of t hese 1 a most appearing, as we read, more formidable have last been. than the one about which w e Even when he supposes t he Norther n assaila nts t have got, so to speak, wi thin reach o f the b e ° leagured city, what are his remarks in regard to th e defences of Charleston ? They aro these—" The city itself is known to ba strongly fortified and defended by hea7y ordnance. No one," he "Ys, " who will glance at the map of Charleston harbour can fail to be impressed with the truth of ti - ,ese statements, and those here who have watched with en impartial judgment the career of the moni- tors, and the means and courageous defence of the enemy, aro rally convinced of it." TowardE the close of the communication, he remarks, indeed , quite frankly, as bia own assured conviction, " Our final success is —in the distance ."' Meaning, in other words, that, as we here set forth by remarking, the Fall of Sumter does not by any means imply the immediate seizure of Charleston. He tells his brother Felerals in New York, through the jonrn al o that city of which he is the correspondent, " We are fighting agl:inst an enemy that is not easily scared, with whom the destruction of the city will not be held sufficient to cause its surrender, unless that destruction also includes the troops and the navy with which he defends it. We may approach near enough to pour shell on Charleston, as on Sumter, but unless we destroy also in our course the batte ries and forts along the way, we shall still have an enemy to fight whichever direction we turn." So that, after all, according to their own showing, the Federals have not gained so very much by the bat tering of Fort Sumter into ruins. They are only yet stammering over the first two or three letters of an alphabet of difficulties requiring still to be conquered, one by one, before they can even "get at" Charleston—to capture it. Now that the Florida is for the moment at least safe, it seems natural to consider her wonderful course during the war. The feats accomplished daring the late eventful scenes of the American dis turbances by this trim little vessel are perfectly astonishing. When it is remembered, too, that her exploits have been performed in the teeth of the enemy, of course additional prestige is imparted to renown. In fact, no vessel could have done more than has this solitary ship. No less than eight times has she run the blockade, which of itself would be sufficient to stamp any vessel as marvellous. Her captures have also been most numerous and important; indeed, the amount has been calculated to be not less than fifteen millions of dollars,whieh sufficiently speaks for their number and value. It is not to be wondered that so daring an adversary should be the subject of dire ani mosity, and no less than seventy armed vessels have been despatched to capture this wonder of the waves, but to no purpose. The Florida has out witted them all, and rode on in defiance, pursuing her daring and reckless course the more triumphant the more dangerous such a venture seemed to be. The exceeding celerity with which she moves in creases her wonders, and adds to the difficulties of those who seek to capture her. It can never be premised as to which locality may see her next, or what country may share the honour of her visits. With all the trophies that she has gained, how ever, the Florida is not of the pira,tical caste; she fights in self-defence, not for the love of slaughter. The hardships that the intrepid crew have often had to undergo are borne without a murmur. Cer tainly, it would have been downright impossible for the ship to have achieved anything like its celebrated works without the most daring and dash ing spirits to carry them out. No one who did not act for the love of the thing, as it were, could have succeeded in one instance, much less in so many. It must be by combination and by indifference to the claims of routine, that any especial service is rendered on an emergency. The Florida has certainly proved the truth of this by her almost marvellous career as yet, and whatever may be her fate before the close of this fitful contest she has gained a name in the history of the war second to none on land and sea, and long in the memory of the States she has served will her memory live in admiration and delight. The Confederates may we'l be proud to possess such a craft; by her alone have they gained a supremacy on the seas that at one time they could never have expected to have obtained, and ranked themselves high above their enemies for courage, intrepidity, and gallant exploits. While enjoying their well-earned repose at Brest, the officers and crew are preparing mentally and bodily for fresh dangers and new achievements. The enemies, whose name is legion, are meanwhile casting their snares for this gallant little craft ; but it is to be hoped that her old fortune will still favour her, and enable her to steer clear of hostile encounters, and to escape all subtle manoeuvres of a deceitful nature. It would cause great annoy ance and disappointment to many if the scene of her triumphs was over, if her career was cut short, and her intrepid crew made prisoners. In England there would be a general regret, for the Florida is an universal object of attraction, and it is with pride that we reflect she was English built. Her captain has said. they are " two ships against fifteen hundred," and, paradoxical as this descrip tion may be, it seems borne out triumphantly by the issue. It must be gall and wormwood to the boastful Government that threatens to sweep British commerce from the seas to find themselves thus thwarted at every turn and outwitted at every move by one small insignificant craft. Had they been told at the commencement of the war the re sult of this ono venture on the part of their con temned and despised opponents, how they would have laughed, sneered, and caviled at the seer who prophesied such a chance, and been indignant at the notion of their finding their equals, much lees their superiors among the insignificant equipments of the South. The fact of the Florida being well received at Brest is rather significant at the pre sent juncture. There can be no doubt that all points the same way to the recognition of the South by France. If such an event does take place, it will be rather infra dig for England to follow in the wake of another Power, instead of co operating in the work. The postare that our nation is compelled to take at present is in all respects a most unsatisfactory one. We are now suffering heavy losses from the course adopted by our Government at the outset of the war, and as if this was not enough, every conceivable annoyance is being inflicted upon us, our mer chandise is injured, our honour is insulted, and yet constantly are there memorials presented to Earl RUSSELL, beseeching him to do something i n t h e way of putting a check to the ravages of the Florida, Alabama, &c. It is quite despicable for people :o be so devoid of public spirit as to insist on ,heir country being trampled upon to suit the prejudices of a canting set here, or to favour the arbitrary notions of an unjust Government on the other side of the Atlantic. When we read o: such cruel and wanton outrages inflicted in the name of civilised warfare, as are carried on by the Federals, it seems incredible that any so- called philanthropists and peace lovers should take their part. The " Greek fire "is a mode of war that has never been used of late years, and yet it is ruthlessly and relent!essly emi):oyed at present by those whom Mr. COLDEN styles our 'aithfal allies. These apologists of the Federals, who talk against the depredations of the Florida, had better look at home, or they may lay them selves open to the charge of straining at a gnat 411 d swallowing a camel. T here are f ew o f our soc i al questions of more Pasai ng import ance than the condition of the homes of th e labouring matter of ecitil been poor, and there is, pe r h a p s , no onsideratiou i n w hi c h l ess h as b een done. It has said so oft en th a t it h as b ecome a truism W hi ch no 0 is idle to pr eac h ne ventures to dispute, th a t it moralityhto parent s an d attempt to edni;ate and ele vate Cila dwelling-pla ce prevent n th if era th fr e om co h n a d v it i i n o ; s an o y f their regard to the decencies of everyday b e en told us, too, by physiologists life. It h as by men of theory and men of p ractice physicians, , that insuf ficient ventilation, bad drainage, a nd damp, draughty sleeping places are evils against Which frame of iron cannot long contend. Y e t, amid the active exercises of charity that builds reformatories and hospitals, that presides over schools and insti tutions, we look tamely on while all these evils a re the common attendants of our llt ourer's daily dwelling. Over-crowding, close air, bad smells, and dilapidated walls and roof, are of such constant recurrence, that they excite but little comment. The political wrongs of the masses find exponents er.ongh. Universal suffrage, uncontrolled voting, and similar doctrines ere never without their ad vocates ; "The rights of the people" is the continual cry raised by demagogues and would-be reformers, bat the rights of the people to the unchecked use of the common necessaries of life, their claim to a clean, roomy, and habitable dwelling-place on the land they cultivate—such pretensions are little heeded. It is undoubtedly a difficult case, and one that it is hard to mend without trenching on the power of the landlord, and English reform and charity too are justly very cautious about encroach ing on private right. One man has a right to let a cottage or hovel, and another man has a right to occupy it if he pays the rent, and the reformer is not asked to interfere in the matter. Still, it is a national disgrace to us that we should quietly sit down helplessly in face of such a state of things as is proved to be existing among us. Recent discussions on the subject have called forth a statement from Mr. SAMUEL CLARKE, who, having filled the office of sanitary inspector during a period of fourteen years, has good right to raise a voice on the matter. The extracts which he gives from some of his own reports made in the county of Norfolk during the last twelve months are positively appalling; and these quotations are not, he tells us, the worst cases, for those he has purposely avoided, giving, consequently, an accu rate picture of the average condition of the dwell ings of our labouring poor. And from the extracts given, dreadful as are their details, there seems no reason to think them exceptional cases. The same story comes over and over again —parents and children of all ages crowded into one ill-ventilated room, the walls leaking, open ditches near the house, and a total absence of proper drainage. In one case we find a man and his wife and seven children, whose ages range from three years to twenty, living in a small place "not large enough to be called a room, being, in fact, the space between the ceiling and the roof," The only air and light that reach this place are admitted through one square of glass eleven inches by nine. Another dwelling is described as " a rickety tenement," whose walls are propped up and liable to fall at any time; there are large apertures in the walls near the bed, in which an old woman has lain since last Christmas. It is "surrounded by filthy dykes, full of stagnant drainage matter." Again, we find a cottage whose floor is full of large holes, with pieces of wood supporting the roof, and the drainage run ing into an open ditch; and another where a hole is cut in the wall to give ventilation and stopped up by bricks at night. In places such as this sleep eight, nine, or ton persons of all ages and both sexes ; and yet such, we are told on unquestionable authority, is the common state of the cottages of our agricultural labourers, and has been for many years past. Complaints of the heat, of the closeness, of the bad smells, of the miserable over-crowding, are met with from many of the inmates; others appear to have sunk into a state of hopelessness or indifference on the matter. The over-crowding of our large cities and manufacturing towns has often been lamented over as an evil, in some degree in separable from the rapid increase of our population, and the centralising tendency of trade and com merce. It has been a matter of rejoicing to the well-wishers of the poor that the increased facility and diminished cost of the means of locomotion will enable the labourer to live a little further from his place of work, and will c,nscquently give him a little more choice in selecting his cottage or rooms. But here, in the free open country where the air, if they could have it, is finer than the best of our town breezes, where the space is open and health comes unsought to those who live in decent dwell ings, here where the poorer classes are supposed to have had such easy access to their worldly supe riors, and to secure so much more of their interest and attention,—the worst evils of a London alley, or a Manchester and Liverpool byeway are things unnoticed from their frequency. it is time that this was looked to. It is time, if we call ourselves a Christian nation, that we treat our fellow-men and women as human beings, and give them an oppor tunity of living as becomes human beings. Excep tions are to be found, and Mr. CLARKE tells us that in some par!shes enlightened owners have thought it necessary to bestow as much care and consideration to the proper and decent accommoda tion of the labourer as is shewn to the brute crea tion, whose services are also required in the culti vation of the soil." It is to be hoped that such in stances, whether p rompte d b y pru d ence or bene volence, will n o longer remain exceptional, or if so we had better abandon our sermons and lectures, and our atternrts at rational education, which, under existi ng circumstances, must appear to the residents in th ese miserable hovels little better than a satire and a mockery. LATEST INTELLIGENCE. (REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.) GREECE. COPENHAGEN, SEPT. 9. King George the First will return to-morrow. He will proceed on the 11th to the Palace of Glucks burg in Schleswig to take leave of his Danish Majesty, and will continue his journey on the following day via Rumpenheim, Brussels, and London. THE POLISH INSURRECTION. CRACOW, SEPT. 10. An encounter resu:ting in favour of the insur gents took place at Kokiciny, on the Warsaw and Cracow line of Railway, on the 4th inst. Fifty Russians fell. Lelewel, after his victory on the 3d, pushed forward in the direction of Turobin. BERLIN, SEPT. 10. A private letter, received here from Warsaw, dated the 9th inst., states that on the following day all communication with the city would be cut off, and the strictest state of siege established for 10 days. - --_ ITALY. TURIN, SEPT. 10. publishes a letter from The Stanzpa of today the Roman Penitentiary Court to the Italian Bishops, demanding a formal recantation from the priests who profess principles contrary to those of the Roman Curia, under pain of heavy eccle siastical punishment. SPAIN. MADRID, SEPT. I 0 Senor Madoz and General Prim have declared that the Progressist party is in favour of monar chical constitutional liberty, and that it will never follow a policy of violence, but one of legal resist ance. Another meeting of 50 members of the Demo. cratic party has taken place at which the policy o . abstaining from voting was agreed to. FRANCE. PARIS, SEpr. 10 The Emperor has received a letter from the Queen of Madagascar, notifying her accession to :he throne. The Due de Montebello, French Ambassador at St. Petersburg, has received permission, at his own request, to pass two months in France, where care for the health of the Duchess requires his residence. The leave of absence of the duke will coincide with the stay of the Emperor Alexander in the Crimea and at Moscow. Princa Metternich, the Austrian ambassador to the Court of th e T u il er i es, i s ann ounced, we observe, by Le Pays, to have just returned to Paris . BOURSE, Sept. R —T —,. he market has recovered a little buoyancy, an d a f a i r a mount of business has been done at an advance. Threes, for the Account, are now firm at 69f . 15c. Railway Share Market firm, showin g a slight improvement i n som e of the lines. The m ar k et agai n re t r ograded towards the close, and left off as follows :- 4i per Cents. ..... . 95 50 Italian Loan 73 90 Do. end month.... Do. end month 73 90 3 per Cents ...... 68 80 New ditto Do. end month.... 68 80 Do. end month 74 Credit Mobilier....llBs Russian - Do. end m0nth....1185 Austrian Bank Shares ..... 3385 Spanish Threes — Credit _Fonder ....1395 Home Debt RAIL' rAYS. --- • • - - Cash. Account. Orleans 1036 .. 1040 Northern New ditto - Lyons and Mediterranean 1045 .. 1040 Geneva.. 497 50 .. 498 75 ... Southern 742 50 .. 740 Western Eastern Sardinian Austrian ...... 1.:m.6llrd North of Spain Saragossa 655 .. 655 Ditto to Barcelona THE BOMBAY MAIL. SOUTHAMPTON, SEPT. 11. 's steamer The Peninsular and Oriental Company Ellora, with the heavy portion of the above mail, has arrived here. She bring 54 passengers, and £770 in speoie. _ _ The Moors of the Riff have attacked the Spanish troops At the garrison of Melilla. The latter had 2 officers wounded, 3 soldiers killed and 42 wounded. The loss of the. Moors is stated to have been great. They left 91 prisoners in the hands of Spaniards. Exchange on London at Gibraltar, 90 days, 493, 491, DIABLERIE OF THE FRENCH THEATRE. (From L' Union,) Diablerie is the order of the day at the French Theatres. At the Opera Comique they are playing Les Amours du Diable, where, among other fine things, the whole of the infernal regions dances in fury around a poor diablesse who has allowed a soul to escape that she had the charge of conducting below. At the Theatre of the Porte St, Martin Les Pilules du Diable, a fairy extravaganza, con tinually withdrawn, has. also continually a diabolical success. At the Gymnase they are perfoiming Le Demon du Jeu, an infernal drama, which has be come the rage, and chooses to be regarded as a comedy. At the Ambigu they have the Sorciere, a drama in which history takes all sorts of fantastic galops mounted upon a broomstick ; and at the Theatre de la 0,, 1 . 6, Peau d'Ane, a fairy tale, of which a diabolical sorcery occupies the principal part. At the Theatre of the Chatelet the Secret de Miss Aurore terminates with apparitions and phantoms; and at the Theatre Dtjazet, in the Spectres de Aurore, a sorceress, without any regard to propriety, summons before the audience the dead, and even the living. Let us add to this list the pretty salon of M. Robin, where the phantoms have commenced their diablerie, and where every evening they draw together a multitude of mad spectators, tin monde Jou ! CONTRADICTORY REPORTS. THE STEAM RAMS AT BIRKENHEAD. The mercantile organ, the 'Shipping Gazette, says : " We have reason to believe that the announcement which appeared in a morning contemporary yesterday, to the effect that the Government had directed the iron clad steam rams now in course of construction at Liverpool to b e stopped, is premature, if not incorrect. We may add that, on the attention of the Foreign-office being called to the character and build of the vessels in the early part of last month, and before the memorial was prezented to Earl Rus sell, the officers of the Crown at Liverpool made a survey of the ships, and some correspondence passed between the authorities and the builders. The result was forwarded to the Foreign-office, and in the event of no new material fact transpiring, we understand that no further action is likely to be taken in the matter until the important points of law raised by the ruling of the Lord Chief Baron in the case of the Alexandra are settled by the full court next term, and possibly not even then." The peaea•at-any-price organ, the 6"tar, says :—" We are glad to be able to state, on undoubted authority, that the Government have ordered the two steam rams which have been the subject of so much controversy of late to be detained." - - The d eat h is announced of Baron d'Orgeval, for merly Chamberlain to Charles X and officer in the Qardes du Corps. THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 10, 1863. MR, BOHN'S NEW VOLUMES. SCANDAL ABOUT QUEEN ELIZABETH ! Mr. Fronde has been busy about the Simancas MSS., and intends, it is said, making liberal reference to scandals about Queen Elizabeth in his first and second volumes of the history of the reign of that Queen, forming the seventh and eighth volumes of his " History of England from the Fall of Woisey to the Death of Elizabeth." Hitherto the extracts given from these Simancas documents seem en. titled to no more credit than is usually accorded to the scandals promulgated by Nicholas Saunders and Ciirolame Pain; 'Dwards the close of the 16th century, An Introduction to Astronomy : to which is added An Astronomical Vocabulary. By John Russell Hind, F.R.A.S. One rel., pp. 216. Third Edition. Henry G. Bohn. Our Village. First and Second Series. By Mary Russell Mitford. 2 vols. Henry G. Bohn. Guided by the happiest tact in the selection of copyrights, Mr. Bohn has, during the last sixteen or eighteen years, been gradually accumulating upon his own library bookshelves, and upon those of his subscribers a really wonderful store of sound, stirling, delightfully entertaining, and hardly less delightfully instructive literature. Ha has been enabled to do this, all the more effectually and effec tively, all the more rapidly and comprehensively by issuing from the press, almost simultaneously, not merely two or three, bat as many as ten or a dozen totally different collection of books, or as he hss entitled them, one and all (and with good reason) LIBRARIES. In evidence, at once, that we are not in any way exaggerating the number of these distinct series we need only here briefly enumerate the designation of each set of these valuable works. The Standard Library, the most varied amongst them all, is, as a matter of course, far and away, amongst them all, the most voluminous. Uniform with it, is The School and College Series, hardly less varied, though, as might at once be imagined, not nearly so voluminous. The Illustrated Library, a little more costly in price, comprises within it works no less popular than " White's Selborne" sad " Wal ton's Complete Angler," and with these otters no less comprehensive in their scope than "Lodge's Portraits of Illustrious Personages." The Anti quarian library comprises within it, again, such otherwise inaccessible authorities as Bede and Mallet, as Mathew Paris and William of Malmesbury, as Marco Polo and Giraldus Cambrensis. The His torical Library would be welcome to any book col lector of moderate means, if for nothing else, for its comprising within it editions of the Diaries and Corresponience of both Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn. The like might be said for The Library of French Memoirs, because of its supplying the English reader, in full, with those both of the famous Duke of Sully and of Phillip of Commines. What need be said further in regard to the value of The British Classics, when it has been remarked that, among them, have here been brought together the works of Edmund Burke, of Daniel Defoe, and of Joseph Addison ? No less than seven volumes of the collection being given up to a noble edition of "Gibbon's Roman Empire," complete and una bridged, the original text of the " Decline and Fall" being accompanied by a profusion of illustrative notes and commentaries, by critics as various in their acumen as Guizot, Wenck, Neander, and Niebuhr. The Ecclesiastical Library, embracing within it translations from the Greek of Eusebius and Philo Jut seas—The Philologico-Philosophical Library, containing, among other curious works, Wright's Provincial Dictionary" and " Wheeler's Analysis of Thucydides"—The Extra Volumes, no mere careless after-thoughts on the part of the publisher, be it observed, but a series, on the contrary, num bering within it the writings of such giants of literature as Rabelais, Cervantes, and Boccaccio— The Shilling Library, about the best of all the railway libraries issued from the press : these, with The Classical Library and The Scientc Library, carry the separate collections of works pub lished by Mr. Bohn to the full number of THIRTEEN! The Scientific Library and The Classical Library, each of them, extending already to very nearly 100 volumes ! The latter, even now, is a perfect marvel of completeness, con sisting, as it does, of literal prose translations from such Greek and Latin classics as Homer, Virgil, Horace, Cicero, Herodotus, Livy, Plato, Aristotle, sEichylus, Thucydides, Sophocles, Terence, Sallust, Ph miens, Tibullus, Suetonius, Apuleius,Xenophon, Hesiod, Catullus, Nepos, Caesar, Juvenal, Plautus, Euripides, Pindar, Lucretius, Aristophanes, Mar tial, and Demosthenes. Talk of CRAM like that to a Schoolboy —it were (for him) like killing off-hand the grim old Dragons of Difficulty now watching over the wickets of the golden orchard, and, after that, turning him loose and unnoticed into the Garden of the Hesperides ! Whatever extent of toil Mr. Bohn may have lavished, whatever amount of money he may have squandered (and he has manifestly been stinting of neither) in the publication, simultaneously or alternately, steadily and progressively, of these Thirteen remarkable collections from the literatures of all nations and in all languages, that enterprising publisher must surely have had, must surely be now having his reward—for he has certainly earned it, he is still persistently earning it. Here, in the two charming works, whose titles are prefixed to this notice, are his two latest additions to two among his Thirteen Libraries—Miss Russell Mitford's Village to his Standard Library, and Mr. Russell Hind's Introduction to Astronomy to his Scientific Library—the two works,or three volumes, issued from the press by Mr. Bohn simultaneously with the magazines for this present month of Sep tember. As to " Our Village," it has during the last two generations enjoyed the reputation belong ing of right to a beloved and favourite English classic—a book familiar to every patriotic man of letters who can appreciate a humour as sweet and innocent in its flavour, a style as pure and spon taneous in its grace, as those of either 'Washington Irving or of Oliver Goldsmith. What the Rev. Gilbert White did so wondrously by the natural f his tory, or more especially by the birds and insectss ociofal Selborne, that Miss Mitford has done by h life of the Village, of which she herself was, i h n e a e p v p e i r ly y i sense of the word, so happily an inhabitant; that is for herself while an inhabitant and foer and national literature for ever afterward gammer,lads and lassies,old crones and s aPple-cheeked children, tinkers and tailors , as t he nursery district has it, soldiers and sailors, butchers and bakers and (supposing there could have been such in Our Village) candlestick makers—all were as one to Miss Mit ford ; she had an eye for the oddities and the virtues, alike, of each of the motley race around her—.each was caught and embalmed a nd eternized in the amber of her beautiful narrative. And here in what is nothing less than a really lovely edition, of this charming Mr. Bohn presents the whole Eng lish classic (the two series of of the work complete), in companion volumes to his subscribers. As to the new volume of The Scientific Library (is not this, by the way, the sixty-second ?), while it is notified upon its titlepage as the Third Editi on of the work contained in it, we may here add yet more, in reference to the interest attach ing to it, as a whole, that the book con sists of two distinct publications originally issued from the press separately, and now brought toge ther—henceforth, we will hope, to be incorporated permanently with each other. It is but right that they should be so, for they certainly harmonise very admirably. Both works, in this third edition, moreover, are very considerably en larged. while the contents of each have been . subjected to a most careful revision. As an Introduction to Astronomy we believe the book to be unrivalled. As as Astronomical Vocabulary we believe it to be at once the completest and the most accurate ever yet published, certainly within so brief a compass and at so small a price. As might have been expected from so eminent an astronomer as Mr. Hind—himself the discoverer of no less than ten out of the astounding number of seventy-eight asteriods, yet brought to light, between the Ist of January, 1801, and the 15th of last March, 1863 — Mr. Hind's asteroids being Iris, Flora, Victoria, Irene, Melpomene, Fortuna, Calliope, Thalia, Euterpe, and Urania —the very latest information in regard t o th e growth of this celestial science, a science ever -expending, ever-advancing, is embodied with scrupulous care in this very lucid and masterly Introduction to Astronomy. ADELPHI THEATRE. Last evening Mr. J. L. Toole took his annual benefit, and never on any former occasion has a greater audience been collected within the walls of this very favourite theatre. Long before the rising of the curtain every seat was occupied, and those who had the misfortune to arrive later in the even ing had to submit to the inconvenience of standing during the whole performance. Inconvenient as this was to many, the pleasure of paying tribute to an accomplished and favourite actor reconciled them to the existing state of aff a irs, and everyone seemed determined to enjoy the bill of fare that had been provided for them. The performance com menced with the admirable comedietta, "The Tragedy Queen," in which Mrs. Stirling, as Mrs. Bracegirdle, displayed all those admirable abilities which have made her so great a favourite with the playgoers of the metropolis. This was followed by Morton's capital farce, "Your Life's in Danger,' which was performed for the first time here, and in which Mr. Toole sustained the part of John Strong. Immediately Toole's voice was heard a tremendous volley of applause burst from all parts of the house, and on his appearance it was renewed again and again, which seemed quite to overpower him. For a short time the piec e was entirely stopped, but on silence being restored the play proceeded for a few minutes, and then the laughter evoked by the comical dilemmas of the aforesaid John Strong, found himself in a foreign a true-born Eiglish mee , country, became loud and irresistible. Throughout the piece Mr. Toole acted with all his unrivalled power, and at the fall of the curtain he had to bow his thanks to his delighted patrons. Next came the burlesque written by H. J. Byron, entitled " The Rosebud of Stingingnettle Farm, or the Villanous Squire and the Virtuous Villager," which the bills informed us was " a domestic drama as can be managed in half-an-hour." Although it cer• tainly did not occupy longer than that time, its close was positively a mercy to the audience, for what with the indescribable drollery of Mr. Toole, and the united efforts of glorious Paul Bedford, Mr. C. J. Smith, Mr. Stephenson, and Mr. R. Romer, it must, had it continued much longer, brought about a catastrophe to some, occasioned by inordinate and intense laughter_ The Misses Nelson then contributed some very pretty singing, and the en tertainments closed with the " flaunted Man, or the Ghost's Bargain." Here again Mr. Toole dis tinguished himself as Tetterby, es also did Miss Woolgar (Mrs. A. Mellon) as the wife of the little newavendor and tobacconist. The benefit was a great success from beginning to end, and cannot but be gratifying to Mr. Toole. At a bull-fight which took place three days ago at Nismes, one of the toreadors named Milhomrae wes severely wounded by one of th 9 animals. THE ARCFIBISROP OF DUBLIN.—His Grace did not pass a good night, but was in less pain yesterday (Tuesday) morning, Rig debility increases,—.DWin Daily ,Express, - The Explosion in the City of Madison, The following is a lengthened account of the ex plosion in the City of Madison :—" Wednesday last, August 19, was the day of which we now particu- larly speak. It was ordered that the City of Madi son should take aboard a certain quantity of fixed and unfixed ammunition, together with an addi tional number of projectiles. The boat was lying at the wharf immediately in front of the city, ready to receive the cargo. In order to expedite the load ing a heavy detail of soldiers, numbering 160, was made at noon from one of the regiments in the city, the numbers of which, owing to the confusion now raging, and the speedy departure of the boat to bear this, I have not yet been able to learn. As a❑ aug mentation of this number, about 20 negroes were also engaged in the work. During the entire afternoon the work went on with unabating vigour. Oae continuous train of men could be seen, like so many industrious ants, moving to and from the boat laden or returning unladen, as then happened. It was early in the evening; 150 tons of the terrific but slumbering agent were already on board. The men were pressing their energies to complete their task and return to the then quiet and less laborious avocations of camp. In order to hasten the work the party was divided into two bodies, one of which carried the ammunition to the hatch and the other in the hold deposited it in its proper place. At the time of the fatal slip a negro was standing in the hatch to receive the ammunition and pass it to one below, the weight being too much for one man. A. shell was being passed. The soldier had given it into the hands of the negro and was walking away in the train of many others preced ing him, who were returning to bring a fresh load. At the same time pressing along the gangway was a crowd of the laden hastening to deliver their loads into the hands of those below. In the hold the men were no less active, and quickly disposed of the crowding and accumulation of business in store for them. Unfortunately, the negro standing below failed to properly secure in his hands the shell handed to him from the one in the hatch above. It slipped, he made an effort to regain his grasp, but it had already struck. The shock sustained by the fall ignited the irresistible power within. No sooner came the flesh than followed the report. In an instant, as if the first were merely the pre monitions of the great terrors to succeed, the very city shook to its foundation, window panes fell in by the terrible force of the concussion with a deafening crash, the river boiled violently and spasmodically, and its very bottom was ploughed up by the immense rush of the element. Now fol lcwed all the horrors which ever mutilated the human form and wound it in the writhings of most painful and shocking tortures. The boat in the explosion had _parted ; the hull fortunately was forced immediately to the bottom of the river, going down bow first, thus somewhat lessening the im mensity of power involved in the large quantity of ammunition on board, for the rushing in of the water in a measure checked the violence of a greater explosion which otherwise would have followed. As the hull of the boat went down, the cabin, texas, pilot-house, chimneys, end everything above the deck shot into the air, over 100 ft., in one confusion of timber, furniture, machinery, and bodies, and fell into the surging, hissing ruins below, with a crash that seemed in its awful majesty of appear ance and sound to stop the pulsations of the heart, to freeze the blood of life, to chain one immovably to the earth in one wild and reeling conflict of the fear-stricken, cowering faculties of the human frame. The concussions and reverberations had almost ceased their fierce notes, nothing but the distant lingering sound, and as it was wafted far off on the waves of the atmosphere, to tell in its own language the tale of horror, could be heard, and rapidly even these expiring evidences were quieted into the serene calmness 3f evening. Now came that most appalling of all moments of acci dent. As if to hide the scene from the smiling, quiet heavens above, a dull curtain of leaden smoke intervened the havoc below and the placid blue above. From all parts of the city crowds of officers, soldiers, and civilians called forth by the terrific explosion, came crowding eagerly down to the scene of destruction. The demarcations of rank were all lost in the hurry and excitement of the rush to learn the cause of the shocking sounds that had but a few moments before shook the very walls of the city. Officers stretched their limbs to most unmartial lengths to keep up with the wave of curious humanity as it poured along. Little can be imagined of the revulsion of feeling when the spectacle burst into view, As the waves, rush ing against a line of immoveable breakers recoiled at the shock to meet the flow of the still incoming surge, upon which it breaks with vio lence, checking its progress and breaking up that uniformity and beauty of motion which the sea, when allowed freely to act, ever pictures, so the waves of human instinct and feeling recoiled at the most heart-rending scene which lay in their view Every sentiment of the human heart, every function of the human frame received a check, the recoil of which stunned men—veterans of many a battle field—almost into fainting awe. The picture that presented itself may now be briefly summed up. The boat was a total wreck. The buildings in the city were wrenched almost from their founda tions. There was an almost total absence of window panes. The boats in the vicinity were shattered or blackened, The steamer Edward Walsh lay with her whole side torn from her. Men and animals were flying scattered here and there on the levee, dead, dying, or suffering, powder burnt. or internally injured by the intense force of the concussion. The water could be seen presenting spots of earthy substance upon its surface, or here and there small circles of blood, which plainly marked the end of some fallen victim. Then, again, floating bodies could ba seen amid the rubbish of the catastrophe, occasionally one popping out of the water, blackened and bloated remaining poised on the surface for a moment, and then for the last time sink to rise no more. In other places it seemed as if some still breathing body might be seen in its last paroxysm of death gasp, throw out its arms for help, and then fall back into the watery depths, its death couch and its grave. The scene was beyond all powers of description. Its equal is nowhere. A comparison cannot be found. Let us breathe a sympathetic word with the mothers, the fathers, the wives, the brothers, the children of the many victims of this cruel catastrophe. It is true, , if the sacrifice were necessary, the field of battle would have been pre ferable to the tortures---an inevitable death—which awaited the victims of this disaster. Let the con- solation, however, of the sufferers at home be, that the prevailing intelligence that regulates and presides over the destinies of mankind had in view some object, so one lesson—though a dear ore, some lesson we must yet learn." BACON'S WAR MAP OF AMERICA.—The beauti ful steel-plate map now before us, published by Bacon and Co , of Paternoster-row, will at the present moment be found particularly acceptable. The different Federal and Confederate States are so distinctly coloured and particularized that any particular spot required is recog nised in an instant, in addition to which there is printed on the sheet a variety of very useful information touching the Federal navy, the position of the American forts North and South, the population of the States, and the important events of the war. The map is wall deserving a place in every reading-room, library, public or private, in the country. The cheap price at which it is published is really wonderful. Tom Taylor is at present engaged in writing the life of Sir Joshua Reynolds, our great English painter, and greatest of all the Presidents of the Royal Academy- ENGLISH HORSES V. ARABS.—A correspondent at Alexandria, writing on the Ist, BSISB-" Your racing readers may be interested in hearing that the much vexed point as to the merits of English and Arab horses has just again been tried in Cairo. Ali Paella, who has the finest stud of Arabs in Egypt, maintained that no English horse could run against an Arab for four miles. His High.. nese Ilalim Pacha offered to run Companion, a well-known racer here, against him for any sum he liked. The match was run from the first station on the Suez desert to Cairo. The English horse, which was bred, I believe, by Lord Ribblesdale, won in a canter by more than half a mile. Such a crushing defeat has taken all courage out of the par tisans of Arab horses. What astonished the natives most was that Companion, beating his adversary by so great a distance, was perfectly fresh and quite ready to turn round and run the distance over again, while the Arab was quite exhawed and blown, Court ..E (insular. ARRIVAL OF HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN—(This Day). Her Majesty, having completed her tour abroad, returned to England to-day, apparently in the en joyment of excellent health. No such restrictions as were imposed when her Majesty left England were insisted on to-day, con sequently soma thousands of persons were enabled to pay their respects to their Sovereign, without the slightest breach of order or decorum. Staff Commander Walsh proceeded this morning with the Fairy steam tender to Greenhithe, where he met the royal yacht, having on board her Ma jesty and suite. Her Majesty was accompanied by Prince Alfred, Princess Helena, Prince Leopold, and Princess Beatrice, and was attended by the Marchioness of Ely, the Lady A. Bruce, Lieut. - General the Hon. C. Grey, Colonel Sir T. M. Biddulph, Major Cowell, and Dr. Jenner. The disembarcation took place at Woolwich pier at five minutes past eleven o'clock. Her Majesty and suite were received by Commodore Superinten dent Sir W. Nicholson, the flag officer of the port ; Viscount Sydney, the Lord Lieutenant of the County and Lord Chamberlain ; Major-General Sir R. Dacres, and Captain Gordon. A royal salute was fired as soon as her Majesty came on shore; and immediately after wards reports from guns were heard from ail directions. Amidst much cheering her Majesty and suite in five carriages, and preceded by mounted police, drove from the Arsenal, and proceeded through Charlton, Greenwich, and Deptford to the private station of the South-Western Railway at Nine Elms, where a train being in readiness at 2 0 minutes past 12, the royal party proceeded at once to Windsor. THE PRINCESS LOUISE.—Her Royal Highness the Princess Louise arrived at Windsor Castle yesterday afternoon shortly before six o'clock from Osborne, in order to meet her Majesty and the royal family on their return from Germany. Her royal highness left Gosport at 3.30, and arrived at Windsor station of the Great Western Rail way at 5.43. The princess was attended by Lady Barring ton and the Hon. Mrs. Grey. Her Majesty is expected to arrive at the Castle to-morrow evening to dinner, and on Monday next the Queen will proceed on her journey to Scotland. The Princess Sophia of Saxony and suite have left Farrance's Hotel for Dover, for Dresden. The Prince Doria Pamphili and family hav e arrived at Claridge's Hotel from Boulogne. The Duke and Duchess de Chartres have arrived at Wilhelmsthal, in Prussian Silesia, travelling with th e Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar. The Earl of Wilton is to marry on Saturday nex t Miss Smith, daughter and heiress of the late Major Smith , of the Madras army. The marriage is to take place at St* George's Church, Hanover-square. The Earl and Countess of Carnarvon have left Thomas's Hotel, Berkeley-square, for Devonshire. The Earl of Dadley and friends have enjoyed excellent sport at his shooting quarters in Argyllshire. Lord and Lady Willoughby de Eresby are enter taining a succesaion of guests at Drummond Castle, Perth shire. The gentlemen of the party have had capital spor4 both grouse shooting and deer stalking. The Dowager Lady Wenlock left Berkeley-square yesterday for the Continent. Her ladyship contemplates a stay of several months abroad. Lord and Lady Kinnaird have arrived at Far' rance's Hotel from Rosaie Priory, Inchture, N.B. DEATH OF EARL BEAUCHAMP.—We regret to record the death of this venerable nobleman, who expired at his seat, at Madresfield Court, Worcestershire, on Tues day night. The noble earl had been some time suffering from severe illness, and expired in his 79th year. , A History of Great Britain, written in modern , Greek by G. Lampese, has been recently published. NEW HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES.—A. curious bong ' has been published at Leipsic by Mr. Liebach. Its title 1 0 "The Gipsies and their Language." It traces their 9P : f pearance in Europe, and g i ves an interesting description , the gipsy's character, morals, and manners. THE GUILD OF LITERATURE AND ART, Which . • has been hitherto prevented and hindered by the unfortunate wording of the Act of Parliament which gave r it a legal existence from getting into working order, has at last published its general balance sheet. From this it appears that the Guild possesses a clear capital of £5,323 to start with ; that it proposes to erect a number of free resi dences upon some land given by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, and that its transactions will be to grant pensions or dons' tions or free residences to members of its own body or their widows. The right of membership is obtained by the sub scription of an entrance fee of one guinea and an annual subscription of a like sum. Some complaints were afloat that the gentlemen who kindly volunteered to act in varioaa parts of the country for the benefitof the Guild had charged enormously for their expenses. These complaints turn ou t to be unfounded, for the expenses do not exceed the mode rate sum of a guinea a day each.—Examiner. THE REFRACTIVE POWER OF THE EYE. 11 °' cently described by Mr. Ciaudet, before the British Association. One of the most beautiful and extraordinary results of the structure of the human eye i 5 the considerable field of vision it embraces. The external objects which are represented on the retina are included in an angle much larger than one half of the sphere at the centre of which the observer is placed ; and from this paint of view a single glance encompasses a vast and splendid panorama, extending in a horizontal and vertical direction to an angle of 200 deg. To explain how the optical combinty tion of the eye can form on the retina an image of 200 deg., we have to assume that the rays of light in passing through the cornea and the crystalline lens are more and more re fracted in proportion to the angle at which they strike the spherical surface of the cornea. By this refraction the rasa which enter the eyes at an angle of 90 deg. are bent 10 deg.' and appear to come from an angle of 80 deg. Thus, when we are lighted by the sun, the moon, or any other light, it we endeavour to place ourselves in such a position that the front of the body should be on a line with its own shadow" and with the light which produces it, if we look straight before us we see unexpectedly with on e eye the light and with the other the shadow of our body ; and, although they must form an angle of 189 deg., they appear by the refraction to form one of onlY 160 deg. In fact, the light and the shadow do not seem to be connected at all—instead of being in a line, they appe ar bent to an angle. This curious phenomenon evidently proves that the process of vision is affected by the commo n law of refraction. So that, mathematically we see in their right place only the objects which reflect their light on the centre of the retina, and all the other objects are more and more refracted as they enter the eye in a more and more oblique direction. Therefore, the panoramic picture which is represented on the retina is correct only in the centre of this organ, and all the other parts of the picture are seen where they are not exactly. But this is no imperfection in the general effect, as it does not affect in the least the per ception of the picture; because, as we have only a distian t : vision for the parts which are represented on the centre 01 the retina, when we want to see the whole panorama we have to direct gradually the optic axis upon the various parts of which it is composed. By this means, and the rapidity of the motien of the aye, we have always a correct perception of the whole, and gradually we see every part of the picture in its true position. A FEW TALES FOR THE MARINES. -111 r , Benjamin Coleman, a merchant, h as publicly mad e th e f o ll o w" ing strange statements :—" On one occasion, Mr. F. w as seated at a whist-table, with his wife and two friends, whett the spirits pulled off his slipper, and carried it away. After making a vain search for it in all possible places, he Was directed to look in a leather bag which was lying in anotb.er room (the door being closed, and none of the party havinig moved from their seats), where it was found, the bag being locked, and the key in his pocket." On another occasion , according to the same authority, "A lady, paying a morn ing visit to Mr. and Mrs. F., was startled by the loudness of the sounds (raps), which obliged M r . F. t o ex pl a in the nature of these manifestations. She smiled, and said eh° was not a believer. The spirits, by the raps, said they would convince her, by taking from her an elastic armlet which she wore. Before she could protect it, it was gone, and they were informed that it was in Mr. F.'s cigar case, which was in his coat pocket. Ho opened the case and did not see it. ' You have deceived us,' he said, No,' w 364 the reply, it is there.' On looking again, and removing the cigarettes, with which it was nearly filled, the armlet was found, folded up, at the bottom of the case. The spirits then said that they had taken the other armlet, and that it would be found in a vase which was in the room. Mr, F. had to stand on a chair to reach the vase, and found the second armlet deposited there." Occasionally the Sp rite are as useful and obliging as the fairies of our child hood; for instance, when" Mr. F. was in the act of re moving a key from his bunch, tie accidentally slipped off a small gold ki y belonging to his wife's dressing case. Ting happened in the street, after dark, and half a mile from his house. On their arrival at home, Mrs. F. was cow• forted by the spirits saying, Never mind, dearest, we will find it, and bring it to you by the morning.' AccordinglYy , upon her awaking, another message was delivered by her faithful servitors, informing her that they had brought the k n the dres s i ng - ta b le ." Ander tieny: wohleiccho:j'ausr(f)Zud Yin with his inexhaustible bottle, or Herr Arr, the Chinese juggler, with his impalentents, are as hotting to these spreeish sprites of the spirit-rappers, .~..~