The Sun. — London, England, 1844-03-01 00:00:00

L i e gft! r eceipt by hi s Ri g h t Hon. Friend of this placard, it. James Grah am ) i mmediately called the chief tseu°r B of th e C rown together, and the Lord Chan 4tonce of Ireland and the Lord Lieutenant were directed ~Co tO proceed to ntiblin. In the meantime the ),,, n 't Placard had been issued, not altering the cha irger f the meeting in his opinion, but still so modify rtioBthe.elanguage in which it was called, as to require ortheeletiohn.at and the Government every precaution . and dis thi_yin their acts. The two placards, differing though did in terms, meant pretty nearly the self-same cytto g, and in his opinion it was mere quibbling to at to establish any difference between them. He was w y,Ted to treat one as he would the other. But not b qulg to be too confident in his own judgment, he im- Bay 1,4* transmitted the second to the Government, to 4there was that substantial difference between the 13 ,. that t h e eoneoctors of them w,,uld wish the on w ne ,t° believe. This placard reached the Hom . e-office ti elite 'i n neada Y , the 4th, the day on which the Lord e Lon ton f er ti a l tNl n d the Chancellor urere t w ii - r e e r t e i tol deliberation ear ; itli r l e ha f ,( l . 4s lll Eliot) , shoul e d e like 'to required what Honour ivoulekentleman opposite, what the country at . large P4t d oll 'ave said, if they had issued a proclamation to el 11 a meeting whose illegality they could not b eta Y establish ? (Hear, hear.) What would have i nto i:t.l of them to put cavalry, infantry, and artillery elleatisgtih.oeninagnd take possession of ground to hinder a held which might have been proved co.nt s)roge‘ ;fah the law?—(Hear, hear.) This w h •a e s h a a r h in e. r c're gw ai eetY, and he felt it as such; for, as ofb eth u, he had n o d ou b t i n his own mini of the intent .these„l, tb e Placards bei ng th e same ; st ill , what lie, in °Pini"'led ci rcumstances, had to ascertain, was the Mll e w hich 'th e l aw would attach to the second one. sitke`ar, hear.) The Government, however, came to the Illaelt,„Pnelusion as to the character of . the two meeting They determined that the intention of the l 'eeendg v as% not altered by the issuing of the Vtledh,,pacard—that, in their opinion, it was de 'lNA' • le gal- This circumstance detained the Lord andh,,ngat the Lord Chancellor until Thursday. By 114 41; 4 °I Thursday morning Lord de Grey wrote to di,, aY they would leave by the train that evening, t k eeti ll - fr eet4 d him, on the receipt of his letter, to call a 14151 11 1 0,°,f the chief persons of the Government. Un -1114,1 that letter did not reach him k - ":„ (Lord Eliot) t , r , the dise m b ar k at i on o f L ord de Grey on Fri rtetTng- A m eet i ng o f t h e pr i nc i pal off i cers of the %tit 'flt took place that evening, and the discre h byY Power which Lord de Grey had been armed _Nrt•,,tbe Government it was determined should be 1,7t1d1-I,_`"* Now, it was very easy to say a proclamation dr ivt ; up in ten minutes, but, in his (Lord ply an Pinion, all such documents, to be drawn pro e L.0,-) effectually, should be drawn thoughtfully. .48 E , P L —antation. was drawn up, and next . morning it t ;tota l t' r elr e ,► tted to the Privy Council, but it was nearly ie r "lelock before the members could be goetfetore b„!.or the purpose of signing it. It was two ‘tittTigniation was in the printer's hands. The . Hon. 40,01,4:tliant Colonel (Rawdon), in introducing his To k„,'''Prom r ead several letters, stating the time at which Z 41 6 1, I,:.,tnation was posted in the parts around Dublin, -- • ving from them an imputation upon the Govern eh j i : O wi he had two papers in respect to those letters i ti" l e o f . '„wished the House to pay attention to. The 4 ' ""e Gallant Colonel's evidence was of a nega- Eele lit • c , ter. His correspondents did not see the 10 i atl °r 1 Posted about. Now he had a return from of the'Gregor the head of the constabulary, and b ,7oe, l most honourable and able man that ever held kith this return be had received a map of the 4 t ,"kii s f u rtY miles round Dublin, marked with all the ti t , t rfkl Police stations. The return pointed to the 11, 4 grp, i. "° 4 B, and stated at what hours the proclama- — , L ed, and were spread around the country. A t , di LeY arrived at seven that evening; at Johns -1(14'It -hoar of 20 Irish miles, they arrived at the t.;:N4;4 l i st Bray, at five on the Saturday ' morning ; at C'4 ance Of thirty-one miles, before daylight % lt, !Iltludge, between seven and eight; and so on. In li4l 7 e-nte d Policemen were dispatched to between 60 itti t ell stations, Now, Hon. Gentlemen, in making dteta a f t g„e B against the Government for delay in the trOgr:„... ;lie proclamation, had invariably kept in t e hcin the important fact, that these meetings never t,i'qtrerZee till the afternoon. The placard ordering out I;rtltr t r i cavalry did not require them to muster at ) t ile — ti n twelve o'clock. _Therefore there was none Ilb oe — Tutar inconvenience that was complained of, nor tV 0 414 'Langer. Why, be (Lord E.) was himself there, -tons:Peak of his own knowledge to seeing the pro._ 404 the most populous and frequented parts of Vita h;., h e Proclamation was at the Corn , Exchange, ti t 'lol l , .ng criticised and taken to pieces there before was 'd 4 (If three ' 1 k —(Hear, hear.) Where th 'ter ° °c • .I N ttt th e ? Bon. niasse Ge e ntl a e l m w e a n s were constantly assert unarmed, and the Go ncoveredthe ground ; swere y at an early hour with .1 4 ,1-et 4 ey, and infantry, and had strong bodies Lrme t oloned in every proper place, and was it to be .741 )4 ,1 unarm e d people would attack ' them? Govern ht ; ta ken every precaution, and shown the highest ►p„,.,tottl'ir(Rear.) - Without disrespect, then, to anyone ,e h 4 ,: u is e ...ert that it was absurd to say that the people n any d: l ken possession of the ground, or that there lit (1 4 1 : 110 1 fli n ger of collision. The Hon. and Gallant I,,th:Y•yith,...awdon) had said that these meetings . w . ere lap: he (L;' , and that people had a right to petition. these rd Eliot) saw no safety-valves in such meet , ; and he begged to say that for the nine t. At t ?,*ha t e", g which they had been going on, no pe 1- (1, 0 ;9 It a •h fs Parliament had been adepted.—(Hear, it' Znruern 011:1 be remembered, too, that though . the Itb il t u ,l 4B no moral doubt of the impropriety and tl — "eY of these meetings, such were not the tte e U r",, Which they could constitutionally act. I•Or to th e they should have legal proof of their f "te1t,, 0 1114 t„, e Peace and good order of the country be ore st th e "v in a position to put them • down, or to ptroo *Volk Ite°breners of the meetings with atl.prosp t e o c the f Zllke.,',,ebelieved he might appeal with confidence 4 1 7N( 4 , :„ueneral for Ireland, whether or not thefirstbe t° th Was taken the moment the Governuiente It k i, A % 11401 evidence to prosecute the parties with h tio; t lt ,iltr ut ll llo time of the Clontarf proclamation there • :kito eu z e ase, but not such a case as to enable the k\t( ji,.ltotifiotithtaticti,otnhotoetrntananwkde the steps afterwardsthey ther did take. topics, as there diverge into g occasions for doing so. 1 1 ,7s k t CA P .) lie would not go into the other charges 41 k ,- eh.'" e rnment.—(Hear, hear.) lie had c0n ,1110414 4 strictly to the Clontarf proclamation, and Kti43snre the House, notwithstanding all that Itcltoa said to the contrary, that there had been no " 4 -(ly a t he part of the Government to entrap the I,.ffotOtirr--„,,ear, ear •) He did not believe any danger t likattti e - ' n to any * individual from the issuing of the s r'e ; and und er th ese circumstances, he did notllb,ernbss'as e Was calledupon to express its censure of ale rt "'L e nt in th e way asked for by the Hon. an d owl er. it tB would support the motion of the Hon. 11• 84,4eniber He deprecated the course that "'Pict' wh ' 5 4 —Pted byMember, e Government towards Ireland. en G vern r,1 44. , the present . o ment came into &kit i04.402' Peaceful and quiet, and what was its N me tlitt tt r ? The acts of the present Government the feelings of the people of Ireland from s f , ti l% 4 4 LlVeliser:ltAN CRAWFORD could not allow some !xtions of the Noble Lord to pass un ilhiPdt! ~1 °.,ad complained of this subject being t :tth, - 04t e. -r ; at the present moment, after . a nine te his (Mr. S. Crawford's) opinion, h Oa_ 'XL now been properly raised and properly de ti,_Vbitted- grievancesof the people of Ireland ought 1 % N ever and over again till they were redressed. t, ‘ ." tl t f , l4 t;_e_,illeeting at Clontrf was illegal, because that the parties evere to assemble in a tVv it ,V array He denied that such a pro- Qi qu 'en B bL e g'al, and he did so from precedents that took '° in Ireland. When the Orange pro rol/4),A ittrreil y;Ptlitr in Ireland, the party appeared in tell t e s , y . carried arms, and shots were fired, ,a.,,ineetings were not deemed illegal. The 14440 bid bee that that he did not believe that a . single 7ey o ,„ ' 4 got up at these meetings—was he in orterday when the Hon. Member for Cork Pl lit la d • th d enl by ?—(Hear hear.) He would lok titl 'tit t : ts d c l l e de L s` s uppor i t m to the motion of his Gallant oPoiht,"°Ped that other motions would be made 1 4e,. 74 titu t . of the late proceedings. He hoped that t, ra rif f r„ of the lawyer would take notice of the . pro -I to tehirish Attorney-General, and the insult 441' liieet . - go Bench, thereby attacking the liberty to;jti YteetietiP°CHE would. support the motion of his ir, k ,t 4.4 similaron the broad principle that they had not kfT, as the measure towards Ireland in the pre -4• 1 0 ;!Iited • L'eY would, under similar circumstances, * "yes "'wards England. He would not attn.. Nlsz 4 „, 414° the Government • but the effect of their tfi'leteY to lead to the Worst of consequences. kkt:,potthue herd must know that the publication of their 1 ) 6 , 4 14 1 ;1h ti u n ti Vess aided by Mr. O'Connell, would have IVA 1 4 1 . 4 'g. And all this risk was incurred on Wet te r ga-sconade put in the Nation newspaper i r it li gn * 4 esti blOOkhead The Right Hon. Baronet \ 'Ma a well a • /iti. to „ 3 any man, that there were such Vti.P4t tound in every party. The Right . th,'Y "" Borne brainless blockheads about him t i ," 11 1t1 ' And what was to be done with them ? 4 not r t k ,sl's4 , ttn t he son with them—(Laughter) —and yet risko o f involving the country in a . ci_vil he ti t k 4 a, foolish thing, not done ostensibly, 111 0 1 ) , nwl edged b the party. He felt ptr incidentally 1;'0 1 Pe r erahl y ()Wally discussing a question t(toce threadbare ; at the same time kt Z*ll',, e _ h at'n„, ° .f, the question was not lessened N,'`„tirt h "' tve r ' e 1, t oe could assure the House that li ‘ V .,,ll. : rt hitilf- In g press the Irish question on the 5 4, 14 4 , 40 48 w un.se. and of the people of this cou . ntry, jo tirt h i n t , earted and disinclined to do it as ,so c r , l 4 4 ,i g e t th e ir world. But he felt bound to say that p g sti e h un . and Gallant Officer was quite right ; 5 41 4 ' 5 N i" 3 olv ei 11' question before the House. The t y tit: 4%1478011 into this —that the Government te,'') . .4 l .,:ent ura t :hat, in similar circumstances, they ,k 4 c 'ertai d° in England.—(Hear.) What- O i l' °I N et of IP b °,. dY, then agitating the repeal of k ,,ht ti l t et tie ed, th at warhnament might adopt—of this he f ' 5 g‘• t atl'ver might be the number o "I'they wld t o , 1.01,2, 11 discussion in England, without, at least, t ni Ir m ore of th Ot h. Nio eland e forms of law than they had 11, : t ts, n 'tand . th (i lear-) It was this neglect of ct eti •Le Kni co,ntemptuous treatment of this 'iP,,,trtl„(4lß t e Peaf et ? 1411..ngland, that made him a firm vq 1 „4,44 s aw ; 11 , 1 , 1 d he should continue to be ti h `Lth e il d itaq th Z. „lo'-ngla.nd one measure of justice '+‘ WOle 8 41 this country. He thought, 1 11 1 1 1, :i Of t "t " there was but little chance of thi n n Aiand • • hI 3 Iri s h forcing the Government • th 11_, question; and having that 1:1 at still Ittl " a 's , in • b ut one course to It ea , et ien spite of the threats of Iltitinti of en to continue then gitation th peal 4) as long and as ardently as he ' ll l l 4l 444 '4 9g tag c9lll3Uttlti9lll 4 He hoped that the Right Hon. Gentleman would in future pay some rqgard to the Constitution, such as it was, in Ireland, and not again step beyond its limits. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the House divided. The numbers were— For the resolution Against it Majority against the resolution ... —2B COMMONS AND LAND INCLOSURE. Lord WORSLEY rose for the purpose of asking leave to bring in a Bill to inclose commons and land held in common, and in so doing it was not his intention to do any thing which would interfere with the rights of the poor. It was his intention that sufficient ground should be left for the recreation of the poor. An erroneous impression had gone abroad with respect to the subject, but his opinion was, that if the management of waste lands were put into the hands of a board properly con stituted, the result would be that the poor would find employment for eight or ten years in break ing up the land and inclosing it, and after this was done, that they would be employed in cultivating it. If this Bill passed, many persons who were out of employment at present, might obtain work. This was not only his opinion, but it was also the opinion of many persons possessed of much experience on the subject. But it might be said, if those lands were ca pable of improvement, why had not parties come to Par liament for power to inclose them? But the fact was that the expenses of obtaining an Act of Parliament for the purpose were so great that no person would be found willing to incur the expense. That was the rea son why they did not apply to Parliament on the sub ject. He had received a letter from a gentleman in Nor folk, stating that 1,713/. 17s. were expended in pro curing an Act to inclose certain waste lands in that county. If there bad been a Commission, this might have been done for less than 500/. He had a return showing the amount of waste lands in England and Wales, but it only referred to those places to which the Tithe Commutation extended. The summary of the return showed that out of 6,718,523 acres in England there were 1,358,419 acres common or waste land. In Wales, out of 1,897,502 acres, there were 501,815 acres common or waste land, a great portion of which might, under proper management, be brought under cultivation. Ho was yesterday in the county of Surrey, where he was told that there were 6,000 acres of waste land. He did not mean to say that the whole of this was capable of cultivation, but a great portion of it was. He would not only give fair portions of the waste land to the poor for the purposes of recreation, but also he would give them a right of pasturage. It appeared by the evidence given by Mr. Mott before the Committee which sat last session, on the allotments to labourers, that not only was there a vast extent of un inclosed land, but that it also might to some extent be properly cultivated. The Noble Lord then referred to the evidence of Mr. Hibbert, of Yorkshire, on the same point. His opinion was, that great advantage would be derived by the poor from the employment given to them in bringing waste lands under cultivation. If the first expenses were got over persons would be ready to invest capital in cultivating the land. Mr. Mott stated in his evidence that in Lancashire there were 2,000,000 acres of uncultivated land, and he gave an instance of land ..sup posed to be incapable of producing any crop, which was so cultivated that it was surprising how much it pro duced. He said that if 30!. were spent upon bringing an acre into cultivation it would, when improved, be worth 50/. What he proposed was, that there should be Commissioners appointed as Inclosure Commissioners, and that those persons should be the Tithe Commission ers ; but he would have no objection to leave with the Government the appointment of the Commission. He also proposed that if two-thirds of the parties who had an interest in the common land, or the land held in common, should wish to have it inclosed, an Assistant Commissioner should be sent down to inquire into the expediency of it who would take into consideration not only the interests of the landholders, but of the local in terests and the advantages to the neighbours of the land for recreation and other purposes. If he were of opi nion that it would be advantageous to have the land in closed, he should so report to the Commissioners, and the day would then be appointed for holding a meeting, when the claims of the parties would be heard; and after the different claims were heard, a cer tain time and notice would be given to enable the parties to object. He then proposed that if one fourth of those interested objected to the inclosure they should petition the House, and give notice of their intention to the Commissioners, and no proceeding should be taken till six weeks after the House sat. He proposed that the Commissioners should report twice a year, as to the progress they made with regard to en closures ; and the Reports should be laid before Par liament within six weeks after the sitting of Parliament. He thought that would prevent any hardship being done to the poor. This would give the House the power of taking steps to have the land inclosed, and it would prevent parties from making objections merely for the purposes of delay. He had endeavoured to shape the Bill in such a way, that its provisions would not inter fere with the rights of the poor; and he endeavoured to have their rights respected, at the same time that it would be fOr their advantage to have the lands in closed, and also for the advantage of the proprietors. He also proposed, that they should have a certain number of acres left them for recreation. The Bill was nearly like the one which he had introduced last session, but he thought it right to extend it more, because much inconvenience had risen in consequence of power being given by certain general and local Acts, which in some instances were not carried out at all, and in some instances were unfairly carried out. The Noble Lord concluded by moving for leave to bring in a Bill to facilitate the inclosure and improvement of commons and lands helds in common ; the exchange of lands, and the division of intermixed lands ; to provide remedies for the defective or incomplete execution, and for the non-execution of the powers of g en er al and local inclosure Acts, and to provide for the revival of such powers in certain cases. Mr. AGLIONBY seconded the motion. Colonel SIBTHORP regretted that he should con sider it his duty to oppose this Bill from the outset. He had great respect for the Noble Lord's desire to support the agricultural interest of the county of Lincoln, and of the country generally, but when he looked at this Bill, containing 140 clauses, which would affect the country in a spirit of innovation, he must offer it his most strenuous opposition. At the present day there was a dangerous tendency to adopt innovations, such as railroads—(A laugh)—and there was the Reform Bill, which was an innovation that nearly revolution ised the country. One of his main objections to this Bill was, that it was of too general a nature, in his opinion, however highly be might think of the character and motives of the Noble Lord, to be brought in by any in dividual Member of that House. He (Colonel Sibthorp) was as willing as any one to make sacrifices for the good of the country, and even if he thought railroads advan tageous to its welfare he would support their construc tion. But this was not a measure that would benefit the country. Why not, he asked, let her Majesty's Govern ment, with all their liberality for the people introduce a measure of this kind ? He, as well as other Honourable Gentlemen, felt for the poor, and therefore it was he opposed this Bill. For why should they deprive them of those commons where they enjoyed inno cent pastimes and open air ? He also objected to the measure on the score of its coffin.. into existence a host of Commissioners and clerks, and thus furnishing grounds for a system of jobbing. The Noble Lord might say, why not allow the Bill to be in- troduced and read a first arid second time, and that then, in Committee, its provisions might be well and fully considered? But he (Colonel Sibthorp) had sufficient experience to know the evil of introducing an injurious measure of that sort. Vires acquirit eundo. Many a wicked man, if hanged in time, would have been saved the commission of many crimes . —(Laughter.) He should certainly oppose the motion. Mr. TRELAWNY supported the motion. He stated, however, that he did so in the hope that a pro vision might be introduced in a future stage of its pro gress, which would secure to the poor all the rights which they possessed, and leave them sufficient land to enjoy themselves.—(Hear, hear.) Lord J. MANNERS also supported the motion, re serving to himself the right of opposing the Bill in its future progress, if the equitable rights of the poor should not be secured to them.—(Hear.) Mr. S. CR.AWFORD said he - felt himself called upon to oppose the introduction of the Bill. From the ex planation of the Noble Lord it appeared that the Bill did not essentially differ from the Bill of last year.—(Hear.) He (Mr. S. Crawford) was of opinion that no lands should be inclosed without provision being made for affording allotments for the labouring classes. He thought that was a most essential element in their pros perity.—(Hear.) The recommendation of the Allotment Committee was not to be disregarded. It was contained in these words:—" The Committee recommend that in any general, or even private Inclosure Bill, which may hereafter pass into a law, facilities should be given for guarding allotments." The Committee also stated that the allotment system had proved a powerful means of improving the condition of the agricultural and manu facturing population; while in many cases it had been the means of reclaiming criminals and reforming the dissolute. They ought not to consent to the inclosure of any land without considering whether this object was sufficiently kept in view by the framers of the Bill; and though the Noble Lord said he would agree to introduce a clause for this purpose rather than lose his Bill, it was sufficiently evident that he was not favourable to the insertion of such provisions. With regard to play-grounds for the working classes, he (Mr. S. Crawford) despised the idea. If they gave the working classes allotments of land, they would care little about play-grounds. They would then be provided with pleasing occupation when discharged from the labours of the day, and at the same time they would be relieved from the necessity of applying to the parish for relief when deprived of employment. Considering, therefore, that the great object which ought to be kept in view was not contemplated by the Noble Lord ; and, considering that every Inclosure Bill which had passed that House had given a monopoly of the rights of the poor to the rich, he should oppose the Bill until he should be convinced that full provision had been made in it for securing to the poor generally those advantages to which they were justly entitled.—(Hear, hear.) Sir CHARLES BURRELLL said it appeared to him that, according to the laws of England, no one had a right to take from one man the rights which he pos sessed, and give them to another. But he thought that the present Bill would be beneficial to the poor them selves. The cultivation of waste lands would afford em ployment to numbers and be beneficial to the country at large. He thought that in times when they were called upon to repeal the corn-law, on the ground that the sup ply of wheat was at present insufficient, every facility should be given for carrying out the objects of the Noble Lord.—(Hear, hear.) He should certainly vote for the introduction of the Bill. Mr. BRIGHT said that he looked upon this Bill with considerable suspicion, which was not diminished by the circumstance that it extended to 144 clauses ; but on the ground that Hon. Members should haw an opportunity of examining its provisions; he should support - the mo tion of the Noble Lord. He had been much pleased to hear the allusio❑ of the Hon. Baronet, the Member for Sussex, to that great constitutional principle, that no man's property should be taken from him, and given to another. He trusted that at a subsequent period of the session, when the proprietorship of land was the subject of discussion, the Hon. Baronet would keep that princi ple in view. Colonel SIBTHORP withdrew his opposition to the motion. MAGAZINE DAY. BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE. Major Harris's late work on the highlands of iEthiopia forms the subject of a criticism, or rather essay, in this Number ; the writer has skilfully ex tracted all the most relishing passages in the Major's volumes, and produced a very readable article. Speak ing of the prospects of African discovery, he tells us that it is not likely that that great continent will ever be extensively explored, unless it be entered fawn-the Abyssinian side. " All attempts" he adds, "to enter it by the western coast have failed. The heat, the swamps, the rank vegetation, and the unhealthy at mosphere, have proved insurmountable barriers. The north is fenced by a line of burning wilderness. But the east is open, free, fertile, and beautiful." This is a suggestion well worth being attended to, should a taste for exploring Africa again find favour in the eyes of our enterprising travellers. " A Word or Two of the Opera-tive Classes" furnishes us with - some amusing particulars respecting some of the most eminent execu tioners and dancers —strange conjunction !—ofthe past century. But singularly enough, the writer makes no mention of Samson, the expertest and politest ex ecutioner on record, who went through his trouble some duties so scientifically that it must have been quite a pleasure to have been guillotined by him. There were three, we believe, of the name, but the elder brother was the Samson. He invariably made a most deferential obeisance to his victims before proceeding to business, and sometimes even offered them a pinch of snuff; but 10, before they had time to sneeze, their heads were rolling in the basket ! If a man is to be beheaded, it must be a great comfort to him to be beheaded by one who understands and practices the gentilities. Speaking incidentally of the fame acquired by opera-dancers, we are told that it is often as " European, nay, as universal," as the fame won by a Wellington, a Talleyrand, or a Met ternich. This is but too true, and what is worse, it is a truth as old as the hills. As in past, so in present times, the world neglects its instructors, and pays court only to those w h o amuse i t. A learned and philosophic Coleridge dies in comparative neglect and destitution, while a Taglioni lives in affluence, is patronised by mighty Sovereigns, courted by rank and fashion, and sees all her movements chronicled from day to day, just as though she were a crowned head! Truly, this is a great encouragement for people to wear away life in the effort to instruct their fellow-creatures ! " Belfront Castle" is an agreeable tale, illustrative of some of the social enor mities of those days of chivalry which Burke has praised so highly. " Free Trade and Protection," contains a diverting theory or two. The Roman empire, it seems, fell a victim to the destructive prin ciples of free-trade! The mistress of the world might have been alive to this day, had she been go verned by a monopoly Executive, with a Peel at its head; but she chose to put faith in Cobden and Bright councillors, and the consequence was , t h at she went off in a gallopping consumption. The irruption of the Goths and Vandals, the luxury and recklessness of her patricians, and the slothful, degenerate habits of the vast mass of her effeminate citizens—no longer what they were under the Republic, or the earlier days of the empire—these combined circumstances had nothing to do with the matter; Rome died of a free-trade in corn ; and the inference which Blackwood would wish to establish is this—that England will die, too, if she wantonly exposes herself to the same mortal malady. " A Roman Idyl" is a more chaste and thoughtful poen' than is usually to be found in magazines, and accordingly we subjoin it Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. At a subsequent period of the evening - Lord WORS LEY brought in the Bill, which was read .a first time, and ordered to be read a second time on . Wednesday week. PRISON DISCIPLINE (SCOTLAND). The LORD ADVOCATE moved for leave to bring in a Bill to,amend the law with respect to prisons and prison discipline in Scotland. He stated that previous to 1839 the laws of Scotland relating to prisons and pri son discipline had been very unsatisfactory. The prisons were not fit for the reception of any human beings; and there was no sufficient security for the safe custody of the prisoners. The expense, both of erecting and main taining the prisons, fell exclusively upon the Royal burghs, and the consequence was that very inadequate provision was made. In 1839, a statute passed, to im prove the then existing state of the law. That statute had been in operation ever since, and it had caused a great improvement in the discipline of prisons. There was a general Board in Edinburgh, for the manage ment of prisons, and they reported annually on the subject. Their reports were most valuable documents. They showed. that the new system had in general worked admirably ; but, of course, some defects had been found in it, and to remedy those defects was the object of the Bill. The report of last year stated that the system had been in operation four years, and that experience had proved the soundness of the system upon which it was founded, at the same time some imperfec tions might be pointed out. A Bill had been introduced last session to remedy those inconveniences, and for af fording additional facilities for improving the manage ment of prisons. The measure which he was about to propose was essentially similar to the measure of last year, and its objects were to remedy those imperfec tions and to afford those facilities. He would not weary the House with details, but would content hims e lf with alluding to two points. Since 1839 there had been a new census, and as the contribution of each district towards the expense of maintaining these prisons was regulated by the amount of population, it was necessary to have an enactment authorising the authorities to take the last census as the basis for the assessment. It was also ne cessary to remedy some imperfections in the plan at pre sent used for the transmission of prisoners. The Bill, therefore, contained provisions fur the better removal of prisoners. The Bill was, in fact, the same as the Bill of last year, with some few alterations. Mr. WALLACE would not propose the amendment of which he had given notice. He had now on the paper a notice for the appointment of a Committee to inquire into the subject, and he thought that would be a more convenient time for discussing the subject of prison dis cipline in Scotland than the present. He should not, therefore, oppose the motion of the Learned Lord Advo cate. He believed the system of prison discipline had been greatly improved in Scotland since 1839. The motion was then agreed to, and the Bill was brought in, and read a first time. AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS. Mr. M. GIBSON postponed to that day fortnight the motion of which he had given notice for this evening on the subject of agricultural statistics. The remaining Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned at a. Quarter before Eleven o'Clock. LIVERPOOL GRAND STEEPLE CHASE. (FROM OUR TURF CORRESFONDRST.) WEDNESDAY NIGHT.—The disappearance of the frost,, and the favourable state of the weather, this morning, suc ceeeding to several hours of heavy rain, removed all appre hensions of a postponement, and enables us to state, not only that there was an excellent show of company, but that the gratification afforded by two very sporting races was un alloyed by accident, wrangle, or mismanagement; still, in speaking of the numbers present, we are forced to admit that the variable state of the weather in the early part of the week prevented hundreds from the metropolis and other distant localities from risking an expensive, fatiguing, and, it might be, bootless journey, and that the assemblage in consequence was somewhat below the average. We men tion this with regret, from a knowledge that the lessee's heavy responsibilities in the shape of rent, money given to be run for, and incidentals, must of necessity make any falling off a matter of serious anxiety. The start for the principal event was fixed in the cards at two o'clock, but as the precision observed at the legitimate races is not looked for in sports of this description, it was nearly three before the horses were in the starting field. Until the stated period for starting the weather had been favourable ; the sky then became over- ! cast, and just before the race commenced the rain set in, accompanied by a mist, that rendered it next to impossible to distinguish the colours of the riders a quarter of a mile from the stand. For this reason we shall make no apology for confining ourselves to an! official return of the starters and their riders, and a brief general " idea" of the manner in which the race commenced, progressed, and terminated. Handicap Sweepstakes of 20 sous. each, 10 ft, with 100 added, the second saves his stake. (41 subs., 19 declared.) Mr. Quartermaine's Discount, lOst 12th (Crickmere 1 Mr. S. Crawfurd's The Returned, 12st (Scott 2 Sir T. 11. Goodrick nd Tom Tug, lOst 71b (Rockley 3 Lord Maidstone's Cmsar, list 101 b (Barker 4 The following also ran :—Mr. Ekins' Peter Simple, 12st 121 b (Frisby) ; Mr. Millbank's Robinson, 12st 71b (Parker) ; Lord Maidstone's Wiverton, 12st 41b (Oli ver) ; Mr. W. Scott's Heslington, 12st (Mr. IV. Benett) ; Lord E. Russell's Lather, 1 Ist 21b (Ball; Sir J. Gerard's Louis Philippe, list (Co w ell) ; . Hollinshead's Little Peter, lOst 121 b (Day) ; Mr. Moore's Nimrod, lOst 101 b (A. M'Donough) ; Lord Sefton nd. Ma rengo, lOst 101 b (Brotherton) ; Mr. Kennedy's Teetotaller, 10st 71b (Sharkey) ; Lord G. Bentinck nd. the Romp, lOst 71b (Byron) ; and Sir W. M. Stanley nd. Charity, 10st 71b (Powell). Betting-5 to I agst Marengo, sto 1 agst Discount, Bto I agst Heslington, 8 to 1 agst "iViverton, 12 to 1 agst Charity, 14 to 1 agst Robinson, 14 to I agst Nimrod, 15 to 1 agst The Returned, 20 to 1 agst Louis Philippe, and 25 to 1 agst the Romp. Oh ! blame not, friend, with scoff unfeeling, The gentle tale of grief and wrong, Which, all the pains of life revealing, Yet teaches peace by thoughtful song. The landscape round us wide expanded As ere was heard the name of Rome ; And Rome, though fallen, our souls comm an d e d, In this her empire's earliest home. Her brightness beamed on each far mountain, Her life made green the grass we trode, Her memory haunted still the fountain, And spread her shadows o'er the sod. Her ruins told their tale of glory, Decreed to that eternal sky ; And through that ancient grove, her story With sibyl whisper, seemed to sigh. The pile her wealthiest mourner builded, In glimpse we caught through ilex gloom— Metella's Tower, by sunshine gilded, That beams alike on feast or tomb. And on this plain, not yet benighted, 'Mid awful ages mouldering there, Young hands in new-blown flowers delighted, Young eyes look'd bright in sunniest air. Till we, Viterbo's wine-cup quaffing, Which fairer lips refused to grace, Could win by jest those lips to laughing, And veil'd in folly wisdom's face. But say, my friend, thou sage mysterious, What nymph, what muse disown'd the strain Which bade our heedless mirth be serious, And woke our ears to nobler pain ? That region grave of plain and highland, With Rome's grey ruin strewn around, Is not a soft Calypso's island, Nor fades at Truth's evoking sound. High thoughts in words of quiet beauty Accord with visions grand as these, And song's imperishable duty Has holier aims than but to please. By word and image deeply wedded, By cadence apt and varied rhyme, To rouse the soul in sloth embedded, And tune its powers to life sublime. - - No sooner were they all fairly off, than Tom Tug, emerging from the crowd, took the lead at a middling pace, attended by The Romp, The Returned, Lather, and, after the first three or four fields, Discount, Heslington, Wiverton, Cnsar, and a ruck of horses lying up. Except that Peter Simple found his way into a ditch, nothing occurred to give variety to the race until they reached the hurdle fence that inter sected the line a few strides below the artificial water jump. It was taken first by Tom Tug, followed by The Romp, at the next moment by The Returned, and afterwards, in quick succession, by Lather, Heslington, Discount, &c. ; in nearly the same order was the water cleared, without a mistake, except The Romp, who fell on her knees, but recovered her self in an instant, and without losing her place. Tom Tug went on with the running to about the fourth fence, which he refused, and The Returned was left in advance. Tom, however, speedily resumed his position, and was first in the throng up to the lane ; here he was joined by The Returned, The Romp, and Caesar, and the four raced together nearly abreast along the lower end of the course. Discount, who had waited on them, then drew upon them, and getting up inside as they entered the straight running, passed them one by one, was ahead at the distance, and, improving his advantage every stride, passed the winning chair at least 20 lengths in ad vance. The Returned headed Tom Tug at the distance, and beat him for second by about a length and a half. Caesar was six lengths behind, and was placed fourth; Lather was fifth, Marengo and The Romp next, but all beaten off a long way. Most of the others were pulled up some distance from home. Charity fell after jumping the water, and Lather broke down near the end. These, and Peter Simple's mistake at the ditch, were the only casualties. We should state, in conclu sion, that the ground run over was precisely the same as last year, with the exception of the walls, for which a hurdle jump was substituted ; and that the rain en Tuesday night had made it very heavy. The Champion Hurdle Race Sweepstakes of 10 sovs. each with 50 added ; the second saved his stake. Two miles. (11 subs.) Mr. Raworth's Chance, aged (Bradley) I Mr. W. Scott's Heslington, 6 yrs (Oliver) 2 Mr. Milbank's Robinson, aged :—M (Parker) 3 The following were not placed r. Dauber na Baronet, 5 yrs (Thomas) ; Mr. Ekins' Peter Simple, aged (Frisby) ; and Mr. J. G. Watson's Mudlark (Brotherton). Betting— Even on Chance ; sto 2 agst Heslington ; and 4to 1 agst Robinson. Peter Simple made all the running to the last hurdle but one, at which he was passed by Heslington and Chance, the horse leading ; the mare, however, was well in hand, collared him at the last jump, made him safe at the Stand, and won cleverly. Baronet and Mudlark were beaten off several lengths, Match, 300, h ft, Lord Maidstone's Wiverton received 120/. from Hon. S. Herbert's Arctic. By loftier shows of man's large being Than man's dim actual hour displays, To clear our eyes for purer seeing, And nerve the flagging spirits gaze. By strains of bold heroic pleasure, And action strong as thought conceives, By many a doom-resounding measure That best our selfish woes relieves ; By these to stir, by these to brighten, By these to lift the soul from earth, The poet dares our joys to frighten, And thrills the dirge of lazy mirth. Ye Ruins, dust of empires vanish'd, Ye mountains, clad with countless years, From your great presence ne'er be banish'd Sad songs that live in earnest years : Sad songs, the music of all sorrow, Profound and calm as night's blue deep : Accurst the dreams of any morrow When man will feel he cannot weep. BENTLEY'S MISCELLANY. This periodical reached us at so late an hour yes terday that we have scarcely had time to do more than just glance at its cont ents. It is, on t h e w h o l e , an amusing Number, and opens with Alb er t Smith's story of the " Fortunes o f t h e Scattergood F am ily," which, so far as it has y e t proceeded, is an improve ment on his former tale. The description of Mr. Glenalvon Fogg's Coburg melodrama, and its re hearsal at the theatre, i n th e presence of the enrap tured author, abounds in sly touches of humour, which are the more effective inasmuch as they seem to be based on truth. There is also a spirited sketch of a young boy's first day at a public school—an im portant epoch in their lives which few school-boys ever forget. "Eve of St. Andrew" refers to the pe riod of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, when all Ger many was in a state of high political ferment, and secret political societies were spreading in every di rection. The heroine of the narrative is Herman Muller, an enthusiastic young German, who falls in love with Louise Palm, the d a ught er o f the President of one of the societies in question: Now it chanced that the father of this girl, though a staunch patriot, was also a confirmed monomaniac, and this malady showed itself in the strange means which he adopted for procuring rare editions of old books. lie would call at the house of some gentleman or lady who he understood had a rarity of this sort, and, while en gaged in conversation, would suddenly knock their brains out with a nice little hammer, which he always kept concealed about his person, and then walk coolly off with his treasure, as if nothing of moment had happened. He had thus dispatched several respectable gentlefolks without creating the least suspicion, for no one supposed that so staunch a patriot as Palm, and one too so gentle in his nature, could be a wholesale murderer ; when unfortunately one fine day he took aim at the skull of a Countess, whose back was turned towards him ; and being dis covered in the act by Herman Muller, who happen e d to be entering the room at the moment, he was o f course arrested, found guilty, and decapit a t e d. B y a note attached to the tale, we learn that it is strictly founded on fact—another striking illustration of Lord Byron's famous adage, that truth is stranger than fiction. The present part of Mr. Fisher M urrav ' s " Physiology of London Life" opens with a descrip tion, as minute as an auctioneer's catalogue, of the first day of term in the - London law , courts, and closes with a story illustrative of the troubles and difficul ties and vexations that beset the path of the y oung and briefles s b a r r i s t er . The-- "Death of Joachim Murat" details the last days of the late ex-King of Naples --Napoleon's brother-in-law, a brave, gene rous, but rash man, and the finest cavalry officer in Europe. M e l anc h o ly as was his fate, we can hardly say that it was altogether unmerited, for Murat had in succession betrayed all parties who trusted him; and was warned beforehand what would be the con sequence should he again set foot on the shore of Naples. But he disreg a rded the well -meant warn i ng , and rushed headlong on his destiny. Th e " G ao l Chaplain" relates an interesting anecdote of the late Edmund Kean, which we subjoin : " As to Kean, his transit from the depths of obscurity and penury to fame and wealth was almost instanta neous. Poor fellow ! I have seen him at various phases of his chequered career. At Exeter more than once I have been a spectator when he has played in his finest style to a house that had not five pounds in it. Sadly and Amongst the company present were the Earl and Countess of Sefton, Lord De Tably, Earl and'Countess of Eglintoun, Lord and Lady Craven, Lady C. Towneley, Lord Curzon, Lords Macdonald, Maidstone, Cosmo Russell; Sir G. Hous ton ; Honourables Stanley Fitzroy, F. Craven, Captain Stan ley; Sir W. M. Stanley, Sir R. Brooke, Sir H. Brownrigg, Sir F. Bathurst; Messrs. Payne, Errington, J. Stanley, Mill banke, F. A. Millbanke, Bagge, A. Graham, J. Bell, J. White, Mare, Heywood, Blackburn, &c. &c. The Waterloo and most of the principal hotels are full ; but time will not admit of our giving a list of their visitors. BETTING AT THE TALBOT. CHESTER CUP. 10 to 1 agst Sir Robert 20 to 1 agst Tacita—taken 14 to 1 agst The Prior 30 to 1 agst What 15 to 1 agst Cattonite 40 to 1 agst Arnagill—taken 20 to 1 agst Pharaoh 27 to 1 agst Alice Hawthorn 20 to 1 agst Freedom 50 to 1 agst Vakeel—taken. ___ DERBY. 13 to 2 agst Ugly Buck—t. 20 to 1 agst Forth's lot, bar Leander—t. 33 to 1 agst Lord Exeter's lot—taken 40 to 1 agst Saddlebow—t. 50 to 1 agst Theseus—t. AIN SWORTH' S MAGAZINE. Mr. Ainsworth's story of the " Court of Queen Anne" makes rapid progress. In the chapters before us we find the Duchess of Marlborough's influence fast verging to its extinction—dimmed before the rising star of Harley and his wily confederate, Mrs. Masham. There is a spirited scene between the Duchess and her Royal' mistress, at which Harley is present, when the antagonist parties abuse each other in good set terms, and with a heartiness of hatred that reminds us of the famousdispute between that spotless couple, Peachem and Lockitt. The supper-party at Mr. St. John's is less cleverly ma naged. All the wits of the day, the Congreves, Steeles, Addisons, Vanbrughs, &c., are in atten dance, and their - persons are described with the minute accuracy of a hue and cry placard ; but their conversation is a mere non-entity—without life, hu mour, raillery, or .knowledge of any kind. They eat abundance of good things, but they say none. "A Demon's Mirror" is an ingenious piece of diablerie, to which a useful moral is attached. A young man, by means of a magic . looking-gl ass g i ven hi m b y an accommodating fairyrienabled to see into the h ear t s of all his friends. Of course the sight i s one more edifying than satisfactory, for while words of honied softness are on the lip, hate, and jealousy, and spite, and a thousand bad passions are rankling in the heart. The writer closes his legend with this serviceable ex hortation—" when you "are tempted to hold the mirror too near to the hearts of those you wish to love, rub off the quicksilver." The "Death of the Pauper Peasants" Ls one of the numerous imitations THE CURRENTS AT CAPE AGULHAS.--A bottle, containing the following, was picked up near the mouth of the Kaffer Kiul River, Cape of Good Hope, a short time since :—" Barque Maria, Sproule, from Batavia to Cowes, thrown overboard 20th July, 1843, lat. 35. 23. S., lon. 20. 54. E. Should this be picked up by any one, for the exten sion of our knowledge of the currents of the ocean, they will please to make it known." A difference of opinion exists amongst nautical men, trading to the eastward, regarding the current abreast of Cape Agulhas, but it has been ascertained from captains who have long traded on the eastern coast, and who have had very frequent occasions to notice the current, that it generally runs westward on the edge of the bank all the way from Port Natal round the Cape. Close to the shore there is often a reaction, and there are also eddies formed, which are apt to mislead strange vessels in coming too near in. NARROW Escarz.--Last week, as a commercial traveller was proceeding in a gig from.Punkeld to Blair gowrie, when about half-way, he discovered, through the twilight, a woman sitting at the roadside, partly enveloped in the rapidly falling snow. On speaking to her, and receiving no answer, he alighted, and found she was senseless through the extremity of the cold. He humanely lifted her into the gig, and took her to the nearest public-house, where the usual restoratives in such cases were used, happily with effect. On recovering, it was ascertained that she had been round the neighbouring country, selling small wares, &c., and being fatigued, had sat down to rest herself, when a stupor, as often happens in similar cases, came over her, which would most probably have ended in the sleep of death, had she not been thus providentially discovered.—Perth Journal. THE SUN, LON-DON, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 1, 1844, sorely dispirited did he quit it. At Drury, after his . hit, I have stood behind the scenes, and have witnessed Peers and Members of Parliament rushing to his dressing room to express their unbounded delight at his perfOrm ance ; and have been amused more than once by seeing members of the committee of management jostling against each other, in their eager haste to present negus, lemon ade, and orgeat, to the favoured and flattered actor. And mine was the sorrow —saddest spectacle of all l—to view him in his decline. He was crossing the Tyne, a few miles below Newcastle, in a steam ferry-boat, that plyed between the opposite shores, so contrived that a carriage could be driven on and off it without requiring the oc cupants to alight. A large, heavy travelling-chariot drew up; and in it sat a thin, feeble-looking, little man, muffled up in cloaks and fur. With the face I was sure I was familiar. I bent forward, and caught the profile. It was Kean. A woman of colour sat by his side. On the cushions and floor of the carriage were strewed va rious play-books ; torn, dirty, dogs'-eared, and disfi gured enough. He was to act that evening in a neigh bouring country town ; and thither, impelled by old as sociations, I followed him. Alas I gazed on a wreck —a premature but thorough wreck. Voice, memory, strength, all were gone. The box I sat in was near the stage—too near—it commanded so completely the exit and entrance of each actor as greatly to dispel the illusion. But on that night its position was invaluable to me. It enabled me to watch my former favourite closely and throughout. Whenever he quitted the boards it was in a state of thorough exhaustion. But every gesture was most anxiously observed. His com panion, the woman of colour, was in close attendance on him ; had evidently her fear as to the result of the even ing, and gave him continually small quantities of what appeared to me, strong spirit-and-water, as a temporary but fatal stimulus. I could have ch o k e d her, ' cried Pounce, 'for her assiduity!' The play was the Iron Chest, and he, of course, Sir Edward Mortimer. Long before it closed he was voiceless from exhaustion.' " Fit subject,' said for the moralist ; health, talents, energies, all profusely drawn upon, and all pre maturely spent !' " I would do battle with ye on that point too,' cried Pounce ; but time presses. In truth everything con nected with that man was unprecedented, and out of course. His friends, his haunts, his hosts, all were ro mantic and •ut of keeping. Was there ever anything so droll as the contrast afforded to him and his habits by his host, Miss Hake, the little feather-dresser, with whom he lodged at Exeter ? Imagine a punctilious, pre cise, correct, and rather timid old maid, of a certain age, of very staid demeanour, and matter-of•fact habits. Imagine her, I say, the host of an erratic genius like Kean ; and yet he lodged with her for a very con siderable period. She, staid and timid as she was, liked him, and they parted with reluctance and regret.' " Droll enough, certainly I' " ' And instructive ; for it showed the power possessed of kindlino , strong feelings of personal attach ment at a period when those prepossessions must have been wholly disinterested.' " NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. Some sensible remarks appear in this Number headed " The Censorship of the English Drama," which, as the majority of our readers know, is a power delegated to the Lord Chamberlain and his deputy, the Licenser. The remarks have been sug gested by the singular circumstance of a new comedy in five acts, " Richlieu in Love," having been for mally prohibited by the officials—after it h a d been accepted by Mr. Webster, and advertised to be per formed at the Haymarket—on the plea that "it was unfit to be represented, because it was calculated to bring the Church and State into contempt!" As we have not seen the piece, we cannot, of course, under take to say how far this plea is tenable or otherwise; but who can possibly imagine Church and State to be in danger of being blown to atoms by a broadside from a Haymarket come d y ? The idea seems to us pre-eminently absurd, and could only have insinuated itself into the imagination of a man blest by Provi dence with the very thickest of skulls. The writer of the remarks who tells us that he has read the pro hibited play, expressly states that no man in Eng land, except the Licenser himself, could point out a single passage, situation, scene, or combination of any kind, which bears such a construction as that, on the pretext of which this play has been sentenced to per petual ostracism from the stage. If this be really the case, the sentence of prohibition is as arbitrary as it is ridiculous ; but we are not at all surprised at it, for Shakspeare has long since assured us that— " Man, vain man, Dressed in a little brief authority Plays such fantastic tricks before high Heaven As make the angels weep." In the " Letters from Hong-Kong and Macao," we find some diverting characteristic sketches of Chinese customs and manners. The Chinaman is, it appears, as proud of his tail, as an opera-dancer of her heels, " and a very favourite mode of punishment used by the English was to cut them off, when the poor curtailed Celestial went away as disconsolate as the fox in the fable." The Chinese are also great be lievers in omens ; " like our forefathers," says the author, " they associate misfortunes with the appear ance of comets, and pay no slight attention to all signs and wonders in the sky. The Governor of Canton, when I arrived there, was in deep mourning for an eclipse of the Emperor's sister, the moon !" " Many Happy Returns of the Day" is a gracefully versified poem, from the pen of Miss Eliza Cook. " Enquire Within ; or, the Confessions of a Key hole," contains, inter alia, a satirical sketch of that very common character, a confirmed invalid—one of the most teasing and irreclaimable of bores. In general it may he taken as a rule that all " confirmed invalids" are as tough as whipcord, and—to use a genteel expression—" stick like bricks" to life. If they happen also to be annuitants, the, are, as a matter of course, immortal, like Godwin s St. Leon —the first annuitant on record. Mrs. Trollope's long-winded goi d s for by u glad wt to meet t m eeo n to with again, who, in the " Lord of Thoulouse," exhibit s h is o sto r ry itas of t t e h . e " mr B e ut are e' is so worldly comic humour to great advantage. This Lord, and his friend the Marquis Rigmaree, are anxious to see how their respective spouses—both of whom are prim and pious ladies—are getting on during their absence • and accordingly they go to consult a con juror, Who delights their optics with the following most edifying spectacle : He takes from a shelf, and he pops on his head, • A square sort of cap, black, and turned up with red, And desires not a syllable more may be said ; He goes on to mutter, And stutter, and sputter Hard words, such as no men but Wizards dare utter. " Dies mies !—Hocus pocus— Adsis Demon ! non est jokus ! Hi Cocolorum !—don't provoke us ! Adesto ! Presto ! Put forth your best toe !" And many more words, to repeat which would choke us.— Such a sniff then of brimstone !—it did not last long, Or they could not have borne it, the smell was so strong. A mirror is near, BA lf un y td o a u u ,ca p ysi r s i ata e ss e gk d sat, it( s ibh u sf ! i rf h : diyn a grp o o: n uun e nnrd i d n osa: a tmyt d oh r ue r dw i on n ro g dt - s r s e ao o yf m tiht here, wasesr ee So large and so clear, ' e d r, ear ; Till at length as the gloom On its broad polish'd surface began to appear. And the Count and his comrade saw plainly before 'em, The room Lady Isabel called her " Sancta; um." They start, well they might, With surprise at the sight, Methinks I hear some lady say, "Serve 'em right!" For on one side the fire Is seated the Prior, At the opposite corner a fat little Friar; By the side of each gentleman, easy and free, Sits a lady, as close as close well may be, She might almost as well have been perch'd on his knee. Dear me! dear me! Why one's Isabel—she On the opposite side's La Marquise Rigmaree To judge from the spread On the board, you'd have said That the parge quarree had like aldermen fed, And now from long flasks, with necks covered with lead, Theywere helping themselves to champagne,white and red. Robbing and nobbing, And nodding and bobbing, With many a sip Both from cup and from lip, And with many a toast followed up by a " Hip!— Hip!—hip!—huzzay!" —The Count, by the way, Though he sees all they're doing, can't hear what they say, Notwithstanding both he And Mar-quis Rigmaree Are so vex'd and excited at what they can see, That each utters a sad word beginning with D. that have recently appeared; of Mr. Hood's " Song of a Shirt." It .is by Miss C am ill a T ou l m i n, w h o shows herself a melodious versifier, if not a decided poet. " A Jar of Honey from Mount Hybla," is from the pen of that veteran essayist, Leigh Hunt, who observes, in reference to the earth quakes that are of such frequent occurrence in the neighbourhood of .Etna—" Perhaps the most touch ing of all the consolations to be met with in the his tory of those catastrophes, is the testimony they bear to the maternal affections. The men who perish from the overthrow of houses are said to be generally found in attitudes of resistance; the women are bent double over their children." " Oriona and Vespe rilla" is a fairy tale, told with feeling and fancy, though we fear it is not calculated to suit the mat ter-of-fact tastes of the day. The adventures of some town-bred thief or knavish adventurer, with no more sentiment in his composition than a leg of mutton, would be far more likely to be popular. " John Manesty, the Liverpool Merchant"—poor Maginn's last work of fiction —turns out as we anticipated, not withstanding his piety, to be a notorious and blood thirsty pirate. As a proof of the affectionateness of his nature, the worthy Liverpool saint makes this ugly confession to his own son. From the entertaining " Elliston Papers" we quote an illustration of the generosity of this versatile actor. He had won large sums at hazard from a young man, and thus wound up the night's proceedings " Will you for five minutes resume your seat?' said Elliston, solemnly—' we must not part yet. They tell me I am fond of long speeches, but I will be brief, for our time is so. I have told you I must have further— better security for the work done to-night—l am not satisfied. But in the first place here'—(continued he, in the tone of one calmly determined)—' here, Mr. L—, is the cash, and the whole amoun t o f w h at I have this night won from you; and that we may proceed without fear of retracing a step, I seriously pronounce, no power on earth shall induce me to retain one guinea.' " L— gazed, in speechless attention—he knew not the nature of his own emotions. " This has been a long sitting,' resumed Elliston— has broken deeply into our rest, but it shall close to our comfort—to our happiness, if you but permit it. Mr. L—, you are far from a state of health—perhaps not a long-lived man; think how little time, therefore, could be given to reflection, even were the whole amount so devoted. Do not despise the admonition of even an erring man; and let not pride, that pitiful illusion, be the last cheat to leave you barer than poverty. Never,' (concluded he, with great energy)—' never will I touch again one farthing of this sum—it is yours, or it con sumes this night before your eyes. Now for the security I ask—give me the honour of a man you will never play again.' " The accents of the young man failed upon his lips, but the tears rolled down his cheeks, and his frame drooped by exhaustion. " Alas! alas!' sighed he, after a labouring pause. ' How am I humbled! In the sense of my own worth lessness, and before the generosity of this man, how am I humbled!' " Humbled!' cried Elliston, with energy—' humility! —why, how, is this, when I had hoped on both sides for exultation? Exultation, I confess it, on my part, that I had been able to achieve a substantial good, and exul tation, still greater on yours, that you had secured the moment whilst it yet remained, to make peace with your own conscience. Will you give me the word of a man?' " Yes; and before God, my witness—' " No—no—not that!' interposed Elliston. I have no right with such a bond; and believe me, my friend, if the deliberate word of a deeply impressed mind should ever submit to dishonour, a more solemn contract would yet live to be despised, whilst the penalty would be mul tiplied a hundredfold. Give me but your word—your word of honour.' " Such was the generous appeal, awakening, as may be imagined, th e l ong a b use d an d paralysed energies of the poor youth to whom it had been addressed. It was not made in vain; and the security which our hero had so warmly sought, was given with all the impassioned evidence of sincerity. "Elliston was of a temperament fully to enjoy that sublimation of delight, which such an adventure was so calculated to produce. His end had been accomplished; for when again visiting (strange and inconsistent as is the nature of man) the old scene of riot and dissipation, he discovered his friend had returned no more, but had been recalled by his means to the timely task of binding up a wounded conscience, he felt a sense of happiness far surpassing any amount of his varied life. But strange and inconsistent, we repeat, as man's nature is, Elliston himself still continued to visit Blackfriars as usual, so that all traces of the past scene were soon lost in the mazes of the hazard-table." FRASER'S MAGAZINE. Unlike the rest of the world—that is to say, the London world, which was the only one recognised by Selwyn and Horace Walpole—we have never yet seen the celebrated danseuse, Fanny Elssler, which we are somewhat disposed to regret ; not that we would care to give even the lowest coin of the realm to see the most accomplished dancer that ever stood on one leg, like a stork, for half an hour together on the boards of her Majesty's Theatre, but that we have missed seeing a lively, intelligent, and we may add, witty young woman, who writes with remarkable grace and fluency, and, by the arch bonhommie of her manner, imparts an intere s t t o th e ver i est tr ifl es. Fanny Elssler's "Letters from the United States," which are continued in the present month's Fraser, are indeed full of vivacity ; and the little way-side sketches of character and manners that she,intro duces, are as relishing as that famous French sauce with which, an enthusiastic gastronomist once ob served, a man might digest his own grandmother. Our fair letter-writer was by no means slow in de tecting the social eccentricities of Jonathan, which must have caused her infinite diversion ; but she touches on them in such a laughing, good-humoured spirit that the most touchy Yankee cannot possibly take offence. On her arrival at New York,, true to the professional instinct, she of course hurried to the theatre, where she saw Forrest in one of his best characters, and thus records the impression which he made on her :—" Never in my life did an actor in spire me with deeper admiration ! Mr. Forrest has ardently studied the mysteries of his most difficult art. A more refined and accomplished artist I have never seen, and he gives a tint so natural and familiar to his lifelike creations that you are seduced into utter forgetfulness of the actor. It is idle to attempt a description of his classic attitudes, his noble gait, his distinct enunciation, and, above all, of the fine dramatic expression he gives to every passion of the heart--every working of the mind.' Ardent as is this eulogium, we subscribe to every word of it. We had ourselves the good fortune to see Mr. Forrest, when he played at Drury-lane some years since, and shall not readily forget the strongimpression he made on us in Othello—that impressive character, all whose leading points Mr.: Macready disguises with such curious and diligent pertinacity. We quote Fanny Elssler's account of her first appearance before a New York audience, which she seems to have looked forward to with the most unaccountable misgivings : " I trembled in every limb with apprehensions I could not control; I had hardly strength to walk upon the stage. The curtain rose, and breathless silence pre vailed; the music struck up, and the moment came, and I appeared. The scene that ensued beggars description. The whole house rose, and such a shout ascended, as stunned my senses, and made me involuntarily recoil. Men waved their hats, and women their handkerchiefs, and all was inexplicable dumb show for several mortal moments. I stood confounded, and tears streaming down my face. Order at length restored, the dance began. How I went through it I know not ; I was scarcely conscious of what I was doing. I felt only one dreadful sensation of a great weight being attached to my limbs ;oras if palsy had stricken them. But I must have danced as I hope never to dance again. I was encored to the echo, and in a few moments recommenced amid the most cheering applause. A vaudeville suc ceeded, and I retired to get ready for the ballet. I was not curious to know the feeling of the house, for I feared it must be unfavourable. I began to warm to my work, and my ambition awoke. I resolved to make some desperate efforts before I yielded to the struggle. I soon learned that such a state of feeling prevailed as had been calculated on. Great confusion of opinion and impression, perhaps some disappointment, but just that blank state of mind that I might hope the most from. This roused my soul to action, and I longed to be at them. As I dashed in for the ballet, the sensation was hardly less strong than at the first. My appearance in feminine and coquettish attire seemed more in harmony with their expectations, and they evidently liked my looks. A loud murmur of surprise and intense satis faction rose on every side, and gave ins a stirring im petus. It is not for me to say what I did, or how I did it, but never was I carried so resistlessly along on a buoy ant tide of feeling that bore me quite away. I danced without effort, and even Katty applauded some of my feats. The most deafening exclamations of delight broke at rapid intervals from all parts of the house, till they lashed themselves into a perfect tempest of admiration. Never before did I behold so vast an assembly so com pletely under the sway of one dominant feeling, and so entirely abandoned to its inspiration. The curtain fell amid a roar that sounded like the fall of nighty waters, and that quickly brought me before them. Their ap plause was perfectly frantic." " A Summer Hour in Pope's Garden at Twicken ham" is an imaginary conversation, a la Landor, be tween Pope, Bolingbrok e , Arbuthnot, and Swift. The dialog ue i s tolerably characteristic, with this ex ception, namely, that the great poet is made to allude too frequently to his edition of Shakspeare—an _allu sion which he always .carefully shunned, knowing how signal had been his failure as a commentator. Swift's terse, dry manner is well conveyed, but we could have spared some of Bolingbroke's verbal exuberance. -In "Military Tableaux' we find a stir ring account of the approach of the French to Mos cow, and their despair on the conflagration of that city. By the writer's account, who was a Prussian hussar, the invading army must have been in a sad state of disorganisation even on their first entrance into the territories of the Czar, and the infantry were distinguished by nothing so much as their dexterity in stealing the horses of the cavalry. It is a curious circumstance that the Cossacks took such a fancy to the showy Murat, that they never attacked him with out first saluting him with loud cheers! The "Luck of Barry Lyndon," is a clever, desultory story, from the pen of M. A. Tit mars h, to whose sprightly pen also we are indebted for a poem, entitled "Car men Lilliense." The "Memoirs of Prince Metter nich" are, at best, but prolix twaddle, a portion of which is taken without acknowledgment from Mrs. Trollope's sketch of the Prince in her " Vienna and the Austrians." The "Turret-Clock" is a wild tale of the melo-dramatic class. TAIT'S MAGAZINE. Our Radical friend Tait has no very sanguine hopes for the present session, which he seems to think will end, like so many of it's predecessors, in smoke. " Save on Irish affairs," he says, with a distrustful shake of the head, " the pre sen t, it may readily- be inferred, is to be another do-nothing, or stave-off ses sion. This is apparent, not only from past experience,' and the the utter inanity of ;the Queen's speech,. but from the declarations of Sir Robert Peel, prompt and explicit, for once, on the absorbing subject of the corn laws, and the equally significant hints, or indications, of Lord John Russell on the same subject." " Strife and Peace" is a review, accompanied with numerous entertaining' extracts, of Frederika Bremet's last Swedish novel. The "Flight for Freedom," sug gested by Miss Martineau's account of the flight of slaves from the United States to Canada, contains some vigorous lines, but, as a lyric, it wants conden sation. Mrs. Gore continues her; story of "Blanks and Prizes," but—a fault not usual with her—is a little too long-winded in some of her dialogues, which do not hear sufficiently on the leading incidents of the narrative, but are introduced as if to fill up space. "Australian Sketches" consist, this month, of a memoir - of a notorious bush-ranger, Jackey Jackey, who, a few years since, kept the -neighbourhood of Sydney in a constant state of ferment. He was said to be the most dexterous thief that had ever figured in New South Wales—a most exalted eulogium, when we remember how many first-rate conveyancers have taken up their compulsory residence in that classic region of more than Spartan integrity. In his facility of breaking from - prison, Jockey surpassed even our own Jack Sheppard, so dear to the susceptible souls of modern novel-readers ; and once evaporated from Goulburn gaol, under circumstances so extraordinary, that we cannot forbear from giving his biographer's account of the incident : " He broke twice out of the Goulburn gaol, then reck oned one of the strongest fastnesses in New South Wales. The second occasion, was, perhaps, the most extraordinary case upon re c ord. T w o a rm e d men slept, one outside the door of the cell, and one inside; both of whom affirmed to the day of their death, that they never heard a stir or motion during the night; and when daylight arrived they found him gone. The floor of the cell was paved with heavy stone flags; and Jackey Jackey had, some time during the day; -when the eye of the gaoler was off his motions, loosened the cement and mortar around one of these flags, and let himself down to the cell underneath, which was tenanted by a felon. They contrived to cut the iron bars of the window; and as it was only about ten feet from the ground, there was no difficulty in reaching it in safety. Jockey Jackey then reascended to 'his own eell, and awaited the dark ness of midnight, with a beating heart. The soldier wh6 was in the room had no idea that Jackey Jockey could escape but by the door. His orders were imperative, on no aoeount to take his eye off the person of Jackii Jackey; but, at times, sleep overcame the poor fellow, and he leaned against the door upon his iirelock, and slept soundly. When Jackey Jackey was certain that he was asleep, he set to work, and, with as little noise as possible, let himself down to the cell beneath. The two worthies knocked out the irons, and descended. *Rickey Jackey caught the sight of a soldier approaching has ; tily to see what the noise was, and sank flat on his &e r g on the ground. The other fellow bad his feet just touching the earth, when the report of the soldier'spiece was heard, and he fell, quivering on the ground, within a few paces of the spot where Jockey Jackey still lay. Jackey Jockey now crept along the ground for a great distance. There was a great noise about the-spot where his companion had fallen; lights began to stream aboixt, and the guard was called out. Jockey Jockey made one bound forwards, and reached the forest. The soldier inside heard the noise; but his orders were not to leach the spot; and he kept watch, with commendable care, over the camp-bed, where Jockey Jockey ought to have been reclining, until the light of day showed him it was empty. He then gave the alarm; for as the felon had firmly secured his door inside, in case of Surprise; and as all was right, by the soldier's account, in the room of 'lackey Jockey, no person had suspected the fact that Jockey had escaped them. The poor soldier was tried by a court-martial, and sentenced to be shot. This reached the ears of Jackey Jackey; and the night be for the day appointed for the execution, he broke into the place of his confinement at Goulburn, with a picked company, and released him." Jackey Jackey was, it seems, originally a gentlemai) brought up in the f a hionabre society of the metro polis ; he was clever, witty, " a crack shot, and a capital billiard-player ;" but—great, geniuses being always eccentric—it came to pass One day that he signed a friend's name to a bill of exchange, in con= sequence of which he was introduced to the special notice of twelve gentlemen and a judge, who hap pened to be sitting together in the Old Bailey, and the ,latter of whom informed him, with true official politeness, that he must be prepared to depart, at her Majesty's expense, to Botany Bay. He did so, and the very first result o f h is a r riv al in that polished colony was, that the Governor lost his watch and seals, and that several respectable indiiiduals found themselves minus their purses and pocket-books. Ak Jockey Jockey, however, is now dead, we trust that Botany Bay will sleep in safety. DUTCH MAIL. TYE HAGUE. FEB. 25.—1 n tfie sitting of the Second Chamber of the States General on Friday, the debate on the project of law respecting the extraordinary tax on property was continued. Messrs. Backer and Enschedy defended the project of law with much talent. The latter stigmatised, as they deserved, the culpable means that are employed to excite public opinion against a measure, the object of which was salutary. M. Backer properly reminded the Chamber of the fact, that the tax in question was for merly levied in Holland on several occasions, under cir-• cumstances much more unfavourable than at present ? In fact we have before us a calculation made in 1843, which shows that the extraordinary taxes laid on Hot. land, during the 16 preceding years, amounted to the sum of 360 millions of florins. In Saturday's sitting four members spoke against and three in favour of the law. The debate was adjourned to Monday the 26th. THE HAGUE, FEB. 27.—The debate vas continued yesterday evening, and will be further continued this evening. His Majesty's steamer Bromo is to leave Helvoetsluys in the beginning of March, on a voyage to Java, and thew to Japan, with presents for the Emperor of Japan. HAMBURCIL FEB. 23.—The latest accounts from Stockholm are of the 16th instant. It is to be re gretted that the bulletins of the King's health seem only to indicate the constantly increasing debility of the august patient. They are as follow : FEB. 14, ONE P.M.—His Majesty felt rather well yesterday after the food which he asked for and took in small quantities. His sleep duringthe night was longer' and calmer than in any preceding night since he became ill. The place in the foot appears to indicate a com mencement of improvement. The 15th.—No change has taken place since the last bulletin. The night was tranquil, with about six hours' good sleep, but his Ma jesty remains faint. The 16th.—His Majesty slept last night as long and calmly as the night before, but his strength appears this forenoon to have diminished ra ther than increased." Dr. Hedren, Bishop of Linkoping, the King's . Con- : fessor, arrived here on Wednesday ; he received by ex press on Tuesday the order to come to Stockholm, and set out an hour afterwards with post-horses. DUTCH /UN DS.—Amerßanam, Faa. 27. Money. 81111. Actual Debt, 2% per Cent 54% 55 Ditto, ditto 5 per cent.: 100 100 Arnett Syndic, 4)4 per 94% 94 Ditto, ditto 8% per cant.... • 79% 18) Commercial Company , 4% 141% 142 Lean HO; S per con 99 99% Exchange on London, . 12 10 Two month44,, ql 12 05 Harnburgh, One month - 25- SI% Twornonths ..... 95 HA Dutch Papers, Feb. 28. BELGIAN FUNDl—Baussns, FEB, 25. Actual Debt, 2% per Cent, . . ........... 57 Rothschild's Loan, Five per Vent .. . . 10 5 74 Loan of Thirty Millions, F our per C ent... ...« 99 Thr per Thirty-seven Minim ee s, ditto 77 (1840)..«........... 107%. Loan of City, 1832, Four per Cent. ........... ........ « 1 - 034, Society of Commerce, Four and . a Half per Cent. Bank of Belgium, Five per Cent ... ...........«....„.. 65 Irsue of 1841—...... ..... "....".. National Society ..............».»....».«..».».»....»..... Exchane. - ••• „uange on London (short) .—Brussels Papers. Feb. 27. AUSTRIAN FUNDS.—VtErms, Fzs. 17. ' Five er Cents. Metalliques •11••••••••••••••••••.••••••.• 111 % Four per Cents. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• iOO% Three per Cents. 77% Bank Shares .. « _!«•••••••.•••••••• •••••• I ” illigemeine " ieitung, Feb. 20. r . TRYING AN EXPERIMENT.—MT. James Osbourne,, of Farndon-row, Newark, a native of the Emerald Isle, tried - 4 the experiment of cutting his throat on Thursday, the 15th.. instant, and after cutting through the fleshy part shouted out lustily for help ; and on his son-in-law's' answering, he found him bleeding very profusely, but in no immediate danger. He had in one hand a razor, and in the other a penknife • and it appears that he had met a disappointment which led him to make the attempt. His wife was confined to a sick bed, during which time he discovered a hoard of 1407., and this he placed in the , hands of a faithless companion named Childs, to accompany him to America. Childs was to lead the way to Gains borough, and Osbourne was to follow ; but Childs proved to beold enough to deCamp with the *hole sum, and poor Pat returned so chop fallen and chagrined that he ventured upon the experiment above stated. We are happy to say his life t is not in danger.—Stamford Mercury. • COURT OP SESSION (SCOTLAND).--.lllr. Wallace, M.P., recently moved for a Return of the number and names of the Judges of the Court of Session in Scotland who have. retired on superannuation allowances. It appears 'from this . paper, that six Judges have so retired within the last two .- years—viz., Mr. C. Hope, Mr. D. Monypenny, .Sir A. Camp--..: bell, Sir W. Miller, Lord Cranstoun, and Mr. A. Maconoclue. The present annual charge for the allowances granted to these ex-Judges amounts to 13,9501., of which Mr. Hope receives • 3,600/. ; Mr. Mony-penny, 2,400/. ; Sir A. Campbell, 1,9 - Sir W. Miller, 2,250/. ; Lord Cranstoun, 1,500_L anaA e l e • h Maconochie, 2,250/. No payment, however , t "of yet p been made to the last gentleman. The gross amount rlecB4e3i,vewdabsythe altogetherothße 92,357 E CAUTION, Ipfonstoiuteher3plsettit , December,a,thin: C A UTION, TO co wiry Frenchman, was recently caught by a crocodile of the ". Nile, and swallowed. " The poor animal," says a Fren c h " I journal, " died of indigestion !" u pro Tage d 7 ttsted press 0 an d i 05 roubl s hort n the ld be disa oat gill , the HO'