The Sun. — London, England, 1844-04-01 00:00:00

MAGAZINE DAY. BLACK WOOL'S MAGAZINE. discussions inOns the House of The r ecent I rish " 1; Com mons form, as might be expected, a prominent subject • of consideration in the present Number of this Ma gazieee.' The article, lik e most art i c l es o f a s i m il ar nature in. Blackwood, is full of fallacious statements, 41'41.is p l enteously endowed w ith i m p u d ence —t o a f ee indeed th at renders it positively amusing. s, the writer gravely assures us that the last ( Governm ent h ad just the same power to redress the ' wrong s of Ireland, as is possessed •by the present ; • though it is notorious that the Whigs could seldom se cure a majority of even nine on Irish questions, while , the Tories boast of one just ten times as nurneroui . Again, with equal gravity, he states that " the bias of the gentry - and of the aspiring of all ranks is •tofwards Protestantism" contemptuously regardless . i l h the 'well-known fact that the proportion of Ca olis to Protestants in the sister-country is at this Inninent far greater than it has been for the last 141rlar ed Years! On the subject of the recent State 'tsar" in Dublin • this eeckles3 Tory par 'tsar" is not merely entheisiastic, but breaks out par to such bursts of rhapeodical frenzy as would justify tile application. 4 yee prosecut'ein as A strait-waistcoat. He describes "the mightiest of spectacles which hurnan.graeideur can unfold!" and adds, "the trial was made, reade r ki ': and with what perfection of success the de, for let us remind him that the perfec 'ion we we 'sneak' of lay as much in the manner of the trial as in its result—in the sanctities of abstnence,in the in forbearance to use any one of the many decent a d ' i ati tales in the reverence for the sublime equities a "v l' The "holy forbearance" of the Crown was certainly exhibited in a moat unequivocal fashion, by theißt. striking off of the ten Catholic jurors ; and, as for the sari s sanctities of abstinence," who does not remember eed, when, iners?aeliaciteinivi7:l3enis "abstinence" which the Attorney .endicator a in his official capacity as chief end euardian of the law, he sent a chal -1,1 ge tole P -orth the,. lab el - el% gibbon ! But the article is scarcely it is re . - labour of re first to last, refutation ; fur, from . which Pelete with misstatements and contradictions, 3"° are put f ort h with a free-and-easy indifference, once • s ° ' 4Y. in . the most i n t rep id e ff ro ntery. Horace 4 , po g ke f of the fi rs t nav i gator as b e i ng a man ;cased in les triple brass ; " h a d t h e poet li ved i n t h ese "Ss, he would have f oun d i n the writer of these arti n " Ireland," an i nd i vidual possessed of quite as nnuch brass as the earliest mariner. The "Pirates of 7S!lia" is a wild melodramatic tale, whose scene is "laid in *Venice, in the earlier part of the seventeenth cetiti trY• The " Sl ave T rade " is a painful document, draw n , u clergymanp from. materi a l s f urn i s h e d b y nn English , who w as hi mself on board a cru i zer that h undred an d B capturedaßrazilian slave •ship, w here not le ss than f o ur • iwer e n sevent negrces, nien, women, andchildren, found chained together like dogs, in a cabin • I . "; I.Yth* : seven feet l ong , an d th ree f ee t an d a h a lf e r — e g h ,_ Al, ettliii occurred under the vertical sun o f th e 5();In•u Pmst .Iti '" Moslem Histories of Spai n " we fi n d curious particulars respecting the Arabs of Cordova, one of whose most eminent rhetoricians re leosseesed, it seems, an " ocean of language. " What qt tasure this man would have been to the Tories in the Rouse of Commons, who so often find it neces nary to follow the example of their chief and talk against time! - Th e " B r i t i sh Fleet " is a biographical Memoir of the lat e E ar l S t. Vi ncent, who, though wall his just i n hi s con d uct towards the officers under 'is co mmand, was no t a l ways so, for he once refused yin b appointment to a "f avour i te " C apta i n, because he h een guilty of the crime of matrimony, he him self having perpetrated the same act not two months befbmous eeT he bi ographer's description of the fa ' battle off Cape St. Vincent is very Spirited and graphic, and will remind the reader of some of Southey's sketches of naval actions in his ." Life of Nelson." The " Me moirs of a Statesman" fall off in interest this month. We have far too much of the prison of St. Lazare, and the hero's adventures therein. " Two Nights in Southern Mexico" impress us with a very vivid notion of the pleasures of travelling in that paradisaical re gicul• The writer describes himself as forming one o f a party who journied a hundred mil e s f rom M ex i co u gh a Country rarely " trodde n b u t by na ti ve feet,' and in the course of this agreeable expedition, I le w e e half suffocat e d b y f ogs, bi tten to with i n an "as of his life by muequitoes, cuffed and clawed and Pinched by a drove of gigantic apes, frightened out of his wits by a thunder storm, hurled headlong from ad h i s wits - gave way beneath him, and all but f hf clw e n ed in a mountain torrent which took charge o • s ending Pleasant twe g person ! variety this for two of°; iri travelling ! We - subjoin the author's accou the attack s made on him by the musquitoes and apes durin g his bivouac in a low valley : a "t w as somewhere about midnight when I s w i was fwaltened by an indescribable sensation of oPPres'ito C r ' the surrounding atmosphere. The air seemed s „ a rt 2 longer air, but some poisonous exhalation thathad , --- ",`AerlY arisen and enveloped us. From the rear of the - " v ale in which we lay, billows of dark mephitic mist we re rollin g forward, surroundin g ' us with their baleful Influence. It was the vomito prieto, the fever itself em bodied in the shape of a fog. - At tile same moment, and while I was gasping settle open nle, for breath, a sort of cloud seemed to and a thousand stino.s, like red-hot '' e edleS", Were ru n into my hands, face, neck—into t ' every part of my limbs and body that was not triply guarded by clothing. I instinctively stretched forth my hands and closed them, clutching by the action hundreds of 'enormous mosquitoes, whose droning, singing noise now almost- deafened me. The air wa s li terally f i lled by a dense swarm o f t h ese insects • their repeated and venom 'and • and the agony caused by It was a perfect plamue of Egy pt ' bable sting s was indescri • mock was slung some ten g ; I heard tongue . Rowley, whose ham him kier(l yards mine, soon gave from and swearing, with a vigour ;ndandplunging, spluttering ludicrous under energy that tvould have matters were ju s t a ny other rnotnent ase circumstances ; but then too serious for a laugh. At that guish as I scree a scream of such terror and an .women . never heard before or since—a scream as of evithii i i l inf their houtofagony and extreme peril, sounded and I ( 1 17 ntiCes of us. I sprang out of my hammock, darted ! did sO, two white and graceful female figures Vl Et _ .. or rather flew by me, shrieking—and oh !in ,: heart -reading tones —for ' Socorro ! Socorro ! Par in . 1 Help ! help !" Close upon the heels of the nTes, bounding and leaping along with enormous which and springs, came three or four dark objects, resembled nothing earthly. The human form :!hoe; certainly possessed ; but so hideous and horrible. ._,..u.nenatural and spectre-like was their aspect, that their Jun o it encounter in that gloomy ravine, and in the almost darkness that surrounded us, might well have Rowley the strongest nerves. We stood for a second, thes este .„ a nd myself, paralysed with astonishment at restored'en-0 appearances ; but another piercing'scream h ad eith er to us our presence of mind. One of the women white h er tripp e d or fallen from fatigue, and she lay a wa s i,.: 4e aPt upon the ground. The drapery of the other le h t w the clutch of one of the spectres, or devils, or rushed? ever they were, when Rowley, with a cry of horror star forward, and struck a furious blow at the mon te wit h his muchetto. At the same time, and almost 'C' „ ' 'Tilt knowin g how, I found myself engaged with o T h °t4 T er of the creatures. But the contest was no equal our : ' ll vaM did we stab and strike with our machettoes ; b • n'Tq•aennists*ere covered and defended with a hard oo r ttlY hide, which our knives, although keen and ens ha ll great difficulty in penetrating ; and on the arn 3 -an ti we found ourselves clutched in long sinewy nails we.re 6, ternairating in hands and fingers, of which . th , e felt attire a; sharp and strong as an eagle's talons. e creat ure - horrible claw s strike into my shoulders as the bales in t h e e , , me, and drawing me towards him, pressed beettel hi me, of a bear ; while his hideous half-man hie 1 keenvisage was grinning and snarling at me, and wiviirsgi,... W. h.ite teeth were snapping and gnashing e. inches .Of ray, face." In th e pilreaNTZE r. 8 MiSCELLANY. don Li fe ~ 414 chapters of his " Physiology of Lon sUbjett 4 j. u. r ti Murray, while discoursing on the justice tO the e i A n ns, talees the opportunity of doing Most o r i g i nal .riunortal George Robins, by far the sho uld ge l ll l lllB tionably of the day, and who unques- Mr. H urne , s „, N have et , t)e .eupied a foremost place in lone. 6 beeri familiar - Spirit of the Age." We have great m aster of the with the advertisements of this . astonishment at the Rt.odigality of descriptive, and have been lost f i l invention splendid imagery and wond t ar m u . r °ll cannot, sa .vention that characterises them. puree out f 3's the old proverb, " make a e silk a sovv's ear but Scott of. a George—the "Walter of thi s Ueetion_eers—eis a. , proof of the utter fallacy adag e , he e au nuanuf - 1 16 y a single flourish of his magic pen eert , hors actn ee a palace out of a pig -stye; con wane c -pond into a translucent lake do ted with e " 4 and, bordered with fragrant shrubs and flowers ; of s e c ."../. 4 . re „ up a noble mansion fit "for the resideece ti ya 4 " .e -, e P. f in a spot, where to the dull, unimagina tuneble3 do° matter-of-fact nothing is visible but a 1i . r.. .,... wn cottage, with an imperfectly developed ra:ltemi house attached to it ! Then, mark the necro ie powers of his to ! With what exquisite Ne. wed-freedom purling streams and winding rivers flow in SMALL CAPITALS through his advertisements; .. • 4 an.l, stately palaces rise in all the dignity of italics, ,witn.nothing wanting to reader them absolute perfec q_°nt but the smallest possible outlay of money! It 4 _ B , a . remarkable fact that " hard and soft water" _a°,ound in all the " premises" which George . is corn estateed to dispose of; the rents, too, of the e; are invariably paid with punctuality ; the itteate is peculiarl " favourable to longevity ;" andmoonlight falls there Y • , ells there with a softness and a beauty " 5 . 4 1 1 ,.en as are witnessed in no other part of Christendom. 7!' would not wish to alarm the modesty of this fund heing—inen of genius arerdways shy and bash li.,_ hut . we would humbly venture to suggest it to ,le Robin s that he owes it to his own fame to repub -Ish his advertisements in one or more volumes, in order that remote posterity may know of what bril nantflights .of imaination the nin e t een th century Ras ..- ,eapable. The " "Fortunes of the Scattergood t rul y" impr ove as they proceed, because the author p, ore to hi s own resources, and less to an imita -o°n.ofm Dickens. The scene of the first representa -4 ( if Mr. Glanalvon Fogg'e melodraa - at a mnor , e atre is adroitlyeand• humourouslym touched toff. , ; M editation s at a Kitchen Window by a Hungry "et" is a smart, good-humoured poem, whose cha- aster is sufficiently indicated by it 3 title. In " Noctes Nectarz, , , , ," a dialogue between two thirsty souls, Cantab and a whiskey-drinker, we detect here and there the jovial, off-hand manner of rather Pron s . The "Gaol Chaplain" is somewhat dull and prosy this month, We quote some remarks- on print-shops, from the " Physiology of London Life" : "Stop here—let us take a lesson in the fine arts at one of these gorgeous print-shops—take care or your pockets and flatten your nose against the middle of the window. No one heedlessly passes the print-shops ; a look at them costs nothing, and there is always sour thing to please. The wealthy and great go inside the shops, pay for prints, and possess them ; the vulgar and penniless stay outside, criticise the engravinje, and enjoy theth ; so trivial, after all, is the difference between the man who has money and the man who has it not. The sporting print-shops attract us ; one sees what is going on it the hunting world, without crossing a horseback or going to MAton. There they are—magnates of the chase, in hunting panoply, their dogs, horses, and the whole materiel of the chase. Next the eharacatures while away ten minutes not without much risible emo tion ; the inimitable H. B. puts forli all his pewers of humorous ridicule to amuse us wayfarers of the street-s; Brougham the Proteus of poThicians, ;s pulled into ludi crous postures by a string in the heeds of the Duke of Wellington ; Palmerston, as Cupid, Mows bubbles, that, as he blows them, break into empty air ; Peel, as :Plue ton, drives his triumphant chariot, oblivious of the melt ing influence of the sun of public opieion. Our rulers are, by the pencil of this witty artist, made ridiculous, and we laugh cootentedly, in the coleidence of our own security. At Ceck-pur street, the Haymarket, Bond • street, and Pall-na 11, we have eisplayed before us the classical engravings of the day. Hele, Turn , r's extra ordinary and incomprehensible experiments in colour, resolve themselves into subiect, awl become legible un der the hand of the translator. The exquisite dogs of Landseer, Kith their human faces, are dispersed upon the wings of the multiplying press. Raphael and Cor reggio live over again in the soft, luscious, lithographic productions of the German school of engraving ; Fanny Elssler, Dumilatre, Taglioni in their chosen yrs, bound through the sustaining ether; Wellington, in dresses he roic and academc, as like and as unlike himself as it is possible for the same man at one and the same time to be, smiles and scowls upon the adaring sp.Ttators ; Peel's bland, immoveable, and gentlemanlike features are not wanting. We see in the windows of print-sellers what a nonentity is fame. Here, in the evanescence of a transitory popularity, statesmen have their places in the windows, as on the Treasury Bench; when they are in Opposition, they are deposed froth the post of honour in the centre of the printseller's window, and stowed away, no longer marketable, in the unenviable obscurity of the portfolios in the back-shop. The grave has hardly closed on the remains of a royal duke, or other illus trious personage, than he lives again for the mob of gazers at the print-shops, and continues offered for sale until some other great personage appears, whose linea ments-become, in life or death, saleable commodities. Even kings are treated with hardly more ceremony, by those great potentates of Cockspue 7 -street and Pall-mall. His Majesty of Prussia frowns upon us in all the dignity of his huge moustache, for a week or ten days after he has quitted our shores, when he is deposed from his window, and Espartero reigns in his stead. Queen Christina puts the Regent out of countenance, and the window, and Narvaez or Bravo, or whoever is upper most for the day compels her Christian Majesty to re tire into the back-shop, and waste her sweetness in a portfolio. 'The print-Shops, properly regarded, are not mere galleries of the arts, but popular pictorial histories of England, the Continent, and, in a word, the world." TAIT'S MAGAZIA-E. Mrs. Gore—one of the most prolific as she is one of the most brilliant novelists of the day—here re sumes her story of " Blanks and Prizes," which is more remarkable for the ease and vivacity of its style, than the freshness or the individuality of its character. Doctor Poddles is a passable portrait, but the rest of the personages have few, if any, strong distinctive peculiarities. " Music" is, as the author justly calls it, " a rhapsody," rather than a poem. The lines are slovenly, and the sentiments much too exaggerated in their character. A " Summer at Port Philip" gives apparently an impartial account of the present state of things in that remote colony, where, we are told, " the possession of five thousand pounds enables a man to make a rapid fortune." Not withstanding this statement, we should conceive that a man with such a sum in his possession would act far more wisely to turn it to account in his own coun try, than to speculate with it in such a distant, half formed colony as that of Port Philip. " Sketch of the Irish Great Debate" in the House of Commons last month is moderate in its tone, but so:newhat heavy. A few apt sketches of character, which might easily have been introduced, would have added greatly to its interest. The writer justly observes that the political and religious temper r.f the House is much improved of late years, and that angry bursts of bigotry and intolerance are no longer received with favour. We quote the following passage from a read able essay entitled "A Gossip on Sensuous Influences." The reference in it to "Napoleon and the village bells of Brientz"—it should have been Brienne—is taken, word for word, without acknowledgment, from the " Old Manor House"—a story which appeared in Blackwood's Magazine some seven or eight years since " Beethoven loved to wander forth by himself. The hollow meanings of the coming storm, the whistlings of the agitated trees, the flowing stream, the gushing waterfall, the song of birds, the hum of voices, and the thousand things which fall upon the ear, filled him with delight, and imbued him with those wild and wondrous combinations which astonish and please every lover of music. The grand compositions of Ilandel were sug gested by the hum and noise of London, as he himself states in a letter to Lady Luxborough; while Gluck, the composer of the operas, Artaxerxee," Demetrius in Venice,' and The Fall of the Giants,' was accus tomed to have his pianoforte carried, on a fine clay, into some beautiful meadow, fancying himself more capable of composing when under the influence of flowers and sunshine. Sarti, the Imperial Chapel Master at St. Petersburg, loved the mysterious gloom of a badly lighted room; and the eloquent Bossuet, and the no less brilliant Curran, prepared for their oratorical display by wild and extemporaneous airs on the violoncello. Music is a sensuous influence which powerfully excites the mind; even the philosophic Bacon found his ideas more rife, and his capacity for writing increased, by having an organ played in the adjacent room; and, happily, music is not limited to the pealing tones of the organ, the soft breathings of the lute, the stirring appeals of the trumpet, or the lively strings of the violin—there is music in the passing breeze and gushing rill, in the song of birds and hum of bees, and in the village bells, as they echo along the plain; and even on the battle field has their influence been felt: for who forgets the anecdote of Napoleon and the villagebells of Brientz?' Ile was riding late one day over a battle field, gazing, stern and unmoved, over the dying and the dead that strewed the ground by thousands round abeut him, when, sud denly, " those Evening Bells" struck up a merry real. The Emperor paused to listen: his heart was softened— memory was busy with the past: he was no longer the conqueror cf Austerlitz, but the innocent, happy school boy at Brientz; and, dismounting from his horse, he seated himself on the stump of an old tree, and, to the astonishment of Rapp, who relates the circumstance, burst into tears: Our gossip, a thing of shreds and patches,' is too long to tell of young Fergueson's early wonder at the power of the lever, and his thus acquired 'fondness for Natural Philosophy, and of other like sensuous influenees which have lit up a love for specific pursuits; but we cannot forego to speak of the influence of scenery on the mind, by pointing to the death of the restless Rousseau, who, a few minutes before he breathed his last, spoke thus to his wife:—' Be so good as to open the window, that I may have the pleasure of seeing once more the verdure of that field. How beautiful it is! How pure the air! How serene the sky! What magnificence in the aspect of nature! Look at the sun. whose smiling aspect seems to rail me hence! God himself opens to me the bosom of hi. peternal goodness, and invites me to taste and enjoy, at last, that eternal tranquillity which I have so long mai so ardently panted for.' It was on the Lake of Geneva that Byron com posed the most beautiful portions of Chile Harold:' the soft beauties ( f the place seemed, fur a time, to woo him from the reckless career he too much loved." AINSWORTH'S MAGAZINE. Mr. Home, the author of the " New Spirit of the A g e," a work just published, is most mercilessly lashed by a critic in this Magazine for presuming to sit in judgment on his contemporaries. He has, it seems, been guilty of the crime of overrating some living writ -rs and underrating others—a heinous atrocity, for which he ought to have known that he would be sure to bring a hornet's nest about his ears. We have not yet read his work, and cannot therefore undertake to say how far the present severe strictures on it are just or otherwise; but if it be really true, as Tait asserts, that he has placed Dickens as a no velist above Cervantes, Fielding, and Scott, he has shown bow utterly unfitted he is for the task of dis criminating and dispassionate criticism. Boz is by many degrees the first writer of fiction of the day ; there is no one who even approaches him in the power of delineating every-day life and character; but, to compare him with the creator of the brave, self denying, high-minded Don Quixote, who even in his wildest flights of eccentricity never once loses his hold on our veneration with Fielding, whose quiet strength and grace of style, various scholarship, and constructive faculties are so remarkable—or with Scott, that unrivalled master of the picturesque, whose rare fancy, humour, invention, learning, are only equalled by his banhommie, knowledge of the world, and intimate acquaintance with those hidden springs which set the puppet man in motion ;—to compare Dickens with these consummate novelists, for the purpose of setting him above them, is to push the language of panegyric into downright absurdity. Boz can depict all that lies on the surface of character with infinite facility; he can unmask a common place hypocrite ; place before us with startling truth a vulgar ruffian, or a pert Cockney coxcomb ; and throw wonderful life and exactness into ordinary dia logue; but here his power stops. He cannot pourtray man in the more elevated phases of his nature ; he be to the low Dutch s ch oo l o f ar t ; an d longs essentially when he attempts a flight above this, he makes as sorry an exhibition as Phaeton did, when he essayed to drive the chariot of the sun. His archness, humour, and worldliness, though limited in their r a n g e, a r e admirable; he hits descriptive faculties, too, o f no ordinary excellence ; but we must protest against his s - litiment, which is too apt to run into flowery mawk ishnes,s, as when he represents the idiot Smike dying to soft mule, amid visions of angels and spring dai sies ; attributes to the gin-drinking Miss Nancy the finest and purest sensibilities; and converts a kind hearted little girl into a paragon of impossible per fection.. The " Hermit of Cripplegate" is a tale by Charles Oilier ; it is told with vigour and simplicity, and turns upon the novel fact of a gentleman having shut himself up in solitude for forty years, in conse quence of his life having been attempted by his own brother. To make his seclusion more complete he se lected London as his residence ; and there was wis dom in his choice, for under circumstances of poverty and affliction, there is no solitude so complete as that of a crowded metropolis. In the present chapters of " St. James's," the trial of political strength between Marlborough and Harley is represented in Mr. Ainsworth's most effective manner. In the amusing " Elliston Papers," the editor places before us sundry specimens of the poetical addresses that were written for the purpose of being spoken on the opening of Drury-lane in 1312. Among the unsuccessful corn petitors we find the name of " Joseph Hume." Surely this cannot be the great financial oracle of St. Stephen's ! We all know that he is a perfect master of numbers, but we never yet' heard that they were tuneful ones. The " Suppressed Comedy" gives a pathetic account of Mr. Bell's sufferings and lamenta tions in consequence of the abrupt withdrawal of his Mothers and Daughters. This play being highly successful and much belauded by Mr. Bunn, that high-minded manager, with a magnanimous disre gard to his own int , 'rests, " above all Greek, above all Roman fame," withdrew it from the stage after the first night of representation, and it has never since been permitted to tickle the midriffs of a Drury-lane audience! This conduct on the part of the lessee is • really most inexplicable, but we fear the mystery will never be cleared up till that great day when the secrets of ail hearts shall be revealed. A " Jar of Honey from Mount Hybla," is one of Leigh Hunt's light, graceful essays. Alluding incidentally to the Sicilian fountain of Arethuse, be tells us that it is now a public wash-tub ! "To what base uses may we not return, Horatio!" Conceive a set of squat, red-armed washerwomen ducking dirty shirts and collars in the fount beloved of the Muses ! Of course, there is a mangle close by. The subjoined sketch of the Rape of Proserpine may perhaps amuse our readers : "We have kept the most beautiful of the Sicilian mythic stories to conclude with—for such, doubtless, is the Rape of Proserpine. It is full of the most striking contrasts of grandeur and beauty; both heaven and hell are in it—the freshest vernal airs, and the depths of Tartarus; and the hearts of a mother and daughter beat through all. It is a tale at once of the wildest preter naturalism and the most familiar domestic tenderness. The daughter of Ceres is gathering floWers, with other damsels of her own age, in the Vale of Enna, intent upon nothing but seeing who shall get the finest. Sud denly, in the midst of the violets and jonquils, a clang is heard like the noise of a thousand caldrons—the earth bursts open, and a rapid, majestic figure appears, like a swarthy Jupiter, who, sweeping by Proserpine, whirls her with him into his chariot, and prepares to rush down through another opening. The nymph Cyane has alone the courage to bid him stop, and ask him why he dares to take away the daughter of Ceres. He makes no answer, but, knitting his brows like thunderbolts, smites the fountain over which she presided with an iron mace, and dashes down through it with his prey. It is the King of hell himself, tired of celibacy, and resolved to have the fairest creature on earth for his wife. The cries of Proserpine become fainter as the earth closes over them—but they have been heard by Ceres, who comes, with all the speed of a divine being, to see what is the matter. She can discern nothing; the tranquillity of the scene is restored—Cyane has melted away in tears. The goddess seeks everywhere in vain—she travels by day and by night, lit by two flaming pines from Mount Atna. At length she learns who has got her daughter, and, by the intervention of Jupiter, Proserpine is allowed to come to earth and see her. The mother and daughter are half drowned in tears, half absorbed in delight, and Jupiter would prevent their separation, but is not able—for Proserpine has eaten of a fatal fruit, compulsory of her continuance with Pluto, and all that can be done is to stipulate for her being half a year with her mother, on condition of her being a geod wife during the other half. Ceres makes a virtue of the necessity, seeing that her daughter is married to the brother of Jove—and Proserpine is content to divide the throne of Tartarus, and walk in gardens of her own, splendid, though underground. The ancient poets made these gardens consist of all the flowers which she had been accustomed to gather in Sicily." FRASER'S MAGAZINE. Notwithstanding its Toryism, which is notoriously of inveterate character, this Magazine speaks out on the subject of " Lord Ellenborough and the Affairs of India" with a boldness, and even fierceness, that could scarcely be exceeded by the sourest member of that unhappy party whose hard lot it is to sit striving on the Opposition side of the House, uncheered this, their s' , ason of gloom, by the slightest prospect of again basking in the sunny paradise of office. Not only is his Lordship accused of a " bad temper," " haughty disposition," and " insufferable self-con ceit," but Fraser deliberately adds that, " by the pe culiar constitution of his mind, he is quite unfit to be 'entrusted with the chief management of the affairs of India!" His proceedings in Sinde and elsewhere are then canvassed in a strict, minute spirit of inquiry, and a verdict of unqualified condemnation is pro nounced upon all of them. Poor Lord Ellenborough! He seems doomed to find opponents among Tories as well as Whigs ; and, as if he had not quite enemies enough already to contend against, he has contrived, according to Fraser, to render himself obnoxious to the entire Council of Calcutta, by designating them as " old women," and the Lord Bishop as " the greatest old woman of them all l" This, it must be confessed, , is black—the Bishop will no doubt think it Atheis tical—still, we hope the Governor-General is not ' wholly without the pale of pardon, even though he may have presumed to question the absolute wisdom of a Calcutta Prelate. " A Fine Day in the Strand" is a hackneyed subject, dressed up with tact and adroitness. The historical and other associations connected with this great thoroughfare are touched on lightly and pleasantly, and with a gusto that would have gone far to win the heart of old Johnson. Other quarters of London possess their local peculiari ties, but the Strand is cosmopolitan. Regent-street is the favourite r esor t o f w hi s k ere d d an di es, and foreigners who live by their wits—Chan cery-lane, of grave, fox-like lawyers—Cornhill, of shrewd, flinty men of business—Paternoster-row, of publishers, on whose shelves slumber, in unmo lested serenity, innumerable unsold copies of Mr. Robert Montgomery's poems—but the Strand is the resort equally of all classes. Here may be seen at some hour or other of the day, Peers and pickpockets, authors and actors, men of fashion and men of busi ness, lawyers and politicians, to say nothing of a stray bishop or two looking as sleek and comfortable as cows in a clover field. To our thinking, the Strand, with its constant bustle, cheerfulness, and endless variety of objects, is the place of all others best suited to the tastes of the genuine Londoner. The " Luck of Barry Lyndon" is the continuation of a tale by Titmarsh, and is penned in a spirit of acute observa tion and racy humour. In the notice of " Mrs. Grant of Laggan and her Contemporaries," occurs the follow ing remark, which we notice for the purpose of pointing oat its inaccuracy :—" The most celebrated authors of our country have been silent and embarrassed in ge neral society." Now the very reverse of this is the fact. Burke was notorious for his colloquial powers —Johnson spent at least one half of his life in con versation—Coleridge and Scott were unrivalled as talkers—Burns fascinated all who met him in the social circle—Sir James Mackintosh owed half his fame to his conversational abilities—Sheridan softened even attorneys by his flow of wit and humour—Moore, when in the vein, talks quite as well as he writes —Professor Wilson, it is said, even better—and we all remember the panegyrics lavished by his contem poraries on the free and easy chit-chat of Ben Jon son. The truth is, a full mind must relieve itself in some way or other ; this is one of the primary neces sities of its nature ; and conversation is the easiest and pleasantest means it can adopt of pouring forth its stores.' Doubtless " a still tongue maketh a wise head," but such wisdom is of the lowest order, being nothing more than a man's own consciousness that he possesses a dull, dry, unimaginative, and scantily furnished intellect. Be sure that no one maintains a reserved demeanour in company who has ought to say worth listening to, unless, indeed, he has been a re cluse half his life. In nine cases out of ten, the pos session of a faculty implies its exercise. We subjoin from " Military Tableaux" a graphic sketch of Napo leon as he appeared at the battle of Wagram : " As the feeble remnant of our regiment was formed in line, only fifteen yards behind where he had stationed himself, I was for several hours enabled to observe the man who then wielded the destinies of Europe in his own grasp. He was surrounded by a numerous staff, and at tended by ten or twelve orderly officers; who, drawn up in line, stood motionless within reach of his voice. On the right were the guards in close column, and with ordered arms; their artillery was on their right. As we were nearest the Emperor, we looked upon ourselves as his personal guard on this occasion. He wore, as usual, his grey great•coat over the plain uniform of the chasseurs of his guard; rode a small white Arabian, and held a light riding-whip in his hand. His face, while we could ob serve him, betrayed none of the emotions he might be supposed to feel at such a time, but seemed perfectly calm and collected. lie listened quietly and attentively to the reports brought him, and issued all his directions in a similar manner. If he had an order to send, he called loudly, Officer d'Ordonnance e when the orderly officer who hapened to be on the right of the line, in stantly came forward as first for duty. Having given his order in a slow and deliberate manner, the Emperor added, Repetez: If the officer had not seized the exact meaning of the words, he repeated them over again, add • ing, as berore, ' Repetez ? if satisfied that their import was fully understood, he briefly said, • Allez,' and the officer instantly started off at the best speed he could command. That under_ the empire French horseman ship *as as indifferent as ungraceful is sufficiently well known to all who recollect the French cavalry of the period. " By degrees our station ceased to be secure; from the first, and as long as the battle, though raging fiercely along the whole line, had Item:lined stationary, we had received an occasional shot from the batteries near \Vagrant, which lay exactly in our front. The success of the Austrian right wing, however, brought us shot from the left; and they continued to advance even from the very rear. Several shot struck among the guard and round the ground on which the Emperor was sta tioned; but he never moved from a post whence he had Ilse whole battle-scene spread out like a panorama before him. He was, indeed, as little disturbed by the reports from his marshals as by the shot of the enemy: the news that ' the Austrians had turned the left wing of the army,' that they had defeated the corps stationed to protect the bridges,' seemed to make little impression on him; though it greatly disquieted the officers of his staff. Only once I observed a striking change in his manner. He had desired an orderly officer to bring up the sixty pieces of fight artillery of the guard, and the forty extra pieces attached to the same corps; . ' and as they did t not immediately arrive, he rode impatiently along our front, striking his boot with the riding-whip, and repeatedly taking snuff." THE ARTISTS' GENERAL BENE VOLENT INSTITUTION. The Twenty-ninth Anniversary Dinner of this ex cellent institution took place on Saturday evening, at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen-street, when upwards of 200 gentlemen sat down to dinner. Sir R. 11. Inglis, M.P., presided. The dinner was of the most excellent description, and the viands, of which there was no scarcity, vied with all former at tempts of the proprietor of this establishment to give satisfaction. Sir R. Inglis and the members of the Committee entered the spacious hall about half-past six o'clock, immediately upon which the demolition of the good things of this life commenced. The cloth having been withdrawn, the Benedictus wa: sung in excellent style by Mr. 'l'. Cooke, Master M‘Dermott, and Messrs. Hawkins and Broadley. The health of the Queen was then drank with four times four, amid great cheering. The CHAIRMAN then proposed the "Health of the patron of the institution, Prince Albert."—(Cheers.) He believed that his Royal Highness was not only one of the patrons of the arts, but was one of the most enlightened artists of the present day.—(Cheers.) " Long life to the Queen and the Prince." The CHAIRMAN then proposed the " Health of the QueenDowager."—(Cheers.) Her Majesty, from the first to the present moment, had exhibited the proudest specimen of every domestic and social virtue —(Cheers)—and since she had been withdrawn from public life by a calamity that all must deplore, she had shown herself the most strenuous supporter of every charitable institution throughout the country. —(Cheers.) There was no case of misery ever came before her Majesty that she did not immediately take into consideration, and give relief. The toast was drank amid much cheering, with three times three and one cheer more. The CHAIRMAN then proposed the " Health of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and all the Royal Family." He trusted that what the Edwards had achieved in war would be an example to his Royal Highness in later times to adopt by the means of peace.—(Cheers.) The CHAIRMAN then proposed the " Army and Navy," which was most enthusiastically drunk, amid great cheering. The CHAIRMAN then proposed the next toast, which might be considered the toast of the evening—" The prosperity of the Artists' General Benevolent Insti tution."—(Great cheering.) It was perhaps pre sumptuous on the part of one who appeared for the first time among them to attempt to state the merits of the object they had in view; but when he re collected that out of 8,6001. a -year they had relieved 860 cases of distress, he could not but f ee l gra t e ful and delighted at the course they were pursuing. From the funds they had obtained they had in fact relieves poverty and distress.—(Hear, hear.) The Present institution was not one of those which was supported by the great body of the people, but it was kept up pre-eminently . by the artists of England— (Cheers)—and such being the case, they had not only a claim on those who were the supporters of the arts in England, but on those who supported them abroad.—(Hear, hear.) While this institution had been enabled to give so much relief, it had considered not only the ease of the receiver, but the giver.— (Cheers.) The instances which he had brought before that meeting he hoped were sufficient to prove Hon. drunk amid con cluded by proposingthat the institution ranked high among th e institu tonsofthecountr country. The The toast, which was much cheering. Mr. H. S. THORNTON proposed the next toast, which was " The Health of the Chairman." It had been his happiness to know the Hon. Gentleman from his earliest infancy, and, from that time to the pre sent, he had.ever found him a supporter of the Fine Arts.—(Cheers.) The toast was then given, and drank amid loud plaudits. Sir R. INoms returned thanks, and, in doing so passed a high eulogiut - n upon Sir Martin Archer Shee, whose health he proposed, and which was drank most enthusiastically. The following toasts were also proposed and drank : —" The Commissioners for Protecting the Fine Arts ;" "The British Institution, and other Societies established for the Promotion of the Fine Arts ;" " The Artists' Annuity and Benevolent Fund ;" " The Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, Directors, Honorary Se • cretary, and Officers of the Institution ;" The Ladies ;" " The Stewards and the Stewards elect." We cannot conclude this notice of the dinner without expressing our admiration of the manner in which the musical department was conducted. It is only necessary to mention that Mr. T. Cooke, Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Hobbs, Mr. Broadley, Miss Alley maine, and Master M‘Dermott, were engaged. Sir R. Isionss, before quitting the chair, stated that the subscriptions for the institution amounted to upwards of 5001.—(Cheers.) The Chairman having retired, the hilarity of the meeting was kept up to a late hour. The following were some of the most important per sons present:—T. Phillips, R.A., T. Uwins, R.A., P. Hardwick, R.A., C. Barry, R.A., Charles Land seer, A.R.A., Thomas Webster, A.R.A., Thomas Creswick, A .R.A., Sir W. Ross, R.A., P. M`Dowell, A.R.L., C. R. Cockerell, R.A., W. Tite, Andrew Robertson, W. Brcckedon, H. Corbould ; and, among those who may be classed as subscribers, we have been enabled to collect the following : :British Institution, fourth donation, 501. Sir George Hayter, fourteenth donation, 10/. Richard Cook, Esq., R.A., eleventh donation, 51. ss. Robert Burfield, Esq., 51. ss. Sir G. T. Staunton, 51. Lord Bexley, third donation, .5/. Sir John Swinburne, thirteenth donation, 101. Duke or Sutherland, eighth donation, 101. 10s. Duke of Northumberland, twelfth donation, 10/. 10s. Benjamin B. Cabbell, Esq., nineteenth donation, 51. ss. Lady Chantrey, third donation, 20/. T. Phillips, Esq., RA., twenty-sixth donation, 51. ss. J. H. Mann, Esq., sixteenth donation. 5/. ss. Sir W. Ross, R.A., fourteenth donation, 51 ss. Gee. Jones, Esq., R.A., twenty-second donation, 51.55. C. R.. Cockerell, Esq., R.A., twentieth donation, 51. ss. Sir M. A. Shee, P.R.A., nineteenth donation, 51 ss. S. Jones Loyd, Esq., third donation, 10/. W. Wyon, Esq., R.A., sixth donation, Si. ss. H. S. Thornton, Esq., 10/. Charles Barry, Esq.,. R.A., sixth donation, 5/. Si. Henry Graves, Esq., seventh donation, Si. ss. In this list we have doubtless omitted many Yalu able contributors. The meeting then adjourned, after spending a most delightful evening. We must not forget to say that the arrangements on behalf of all parties were ex cellent. PRINCE ALBERT.—The Princess Alice returned to Dover yesterday morning, bringing back Captain Seymour, Sir Edward Bowater and Colonel Bouverie only accompany ing the Prince to Germany. The Prince was received at Ostend by the King of the Belgians. His Royal Highness, after passing the night at Ostend, left yesterday morning at half-past six A.M., for Brussels, by special train, and it is ex pected he will reack Gotha by to-morrow (Sunday), where he will remain a few days with his brother and the other members of his family, and thence proceed to Coburg for the arrangement, it is said, of some important business. The Prince will return to England on the 11th of April ; and the Princess Alice is ordered to be at Ostend on the 10th, to bring him across. The King of the Belgians is expected to land at Woolwich on Monday.—Dorer Chronicle of Saturday. DRURY LANE THEATRE.—An extension of only three nights leave of absence has been granted to M. Duprez, and he consequently appears here on Monday next, in Guil laume Tell. Although the fact is not set forth in the report of the Commissioners, we are enabled to state that it is in tended to give the public a footway of 20 feet in width from "Whitehall-place, to Westminster-bridge.--,Observer. MALTA, MARCH 17.—MELANCHOLY AFFAIR.—OR hursday week last the English brig Chieftain, Captain Reay, arrived here from Spalatro, bound to Hull, with a cargo of bones. The.object of her putting in here was to be enabled to change her crew, by the advice of her Majesty's Consul at Fiume, they being in a high state of insubordination, as also to obtain a legal opinion as to the consequences of ? a fatal circumstance which recently occurred, in which the captain is .the actor and of which the following is a narrative : Whilst loading at Spalatro the crew, which had been on shore, returned in a state of intoxication. Between ten and eleven r.m., the master was aroused by the carpenter (a man byjthe bye of very questionable respectability, who requested his immediate attendance on deck to silence the people who were in a state of mutiny. Reay put a pair of loaded pistols into his pocket and went on deck. Here the circumstance, which cost a man his life, becomes involved in obscurity. The carpenter, the only person who appears to have the slightest knowledge of the fact, himself one of the principal rioters, swears that the captain levelled his pistol at the cook, and shot him. The captain was arrested and tried, and though not positively acquitted, the proceedings were, ac cording to the law of Austria, suspended, for want of suffi cient evidence, and the man released from durance. The question is, will the criminal courts at home take cognizance of this offence? Of ourselves we are unable to answer the question, but should lean to the opinion that the unhappy man has nothing to fear, even if they should do so ; for it is a remarkable fact, that the whole crew, although mutinously disposed, declared, when on their oaths, that the treatment experieaced by them from Reay on every occasion was kind and indulgent—thus leading to the conclusion that the unfortunate tragedy was purely accidental. The vessel has sated for Hull. EMBANKMENT OF THE THAMES. The first Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the most effectual means of improving the metropolis, has just been laid before Parliament. It is a very lengthy document. The principal part of the Report refers to the Thames embankment, of which the following is an outline. The Commissioners say " We have been induced to present a detailed re view of the very voluminous evidence and the great mass of professional opinion which we have collected with reference to an embankment of the Thames, by the conviction that we could not, by any more sum mary exposition of it, have done justice to the im portance of the subject itself—to the various and ex tensive interests connected with it—to the high cha racter and station of the eminent professional gentle tlemen from whom we have derived so much valuable information (most readily and unreservedly afforded), and also to the authors of the several plans which we have considered in comparison with each other. We have observed with great satisfaction the al most unanimous concurrence in opinion, upon all the main topics to which our inquiries were directed, amonc the scientific and practical gentlemen thus consulted; and it was with a corresponding confi dence that we finally came to the following resolu tions : 1. That it appears to the Commission that the pre sent state of the river Thames above London-bridge is such as to render highly expedient the adoption of some proceedings for remedying the existing defects, and fbr preventing the further deterioration of the navigation. 2:That, for securing these important objects, an embankment of the river would be the most effective measure. 3. That, though a general embankment between Vauxhall and London-bridges appears to be highly expedient, yet that . it is most urgently required on that portion of the Middlesex, or left bank of the river, which lies between Westminster and Black friars-bridges. 4. That such an embankment might be advanta geously combined with the formation of a carriage and foot line of communication between Scotland yard and Blackfriars-bridge, whereby the great ob jects of public recreation and health would be pro moted, and considerable relief be given to the existing insufficient thoroughfares between the eastern and western districts of the metropolis. 5. That by the adoption of the general principles of embankment presented in the plan of Mr. Page, or plan B (with certain modifications whi c h h ave been suggested, and others which may be suggested here after), there is reason to expQct that the great public benefit of the improvement of the river, and the ob taining a new line of communication, may be ac quired without detriment to the trade now conducted on the Middlesex shore. 6. That the Commission, being disposed on these grounds to recommend the adoption of this great me tropolitan improvement, will proceed forthwith to ascertain as nearly as it can be done the probable ex pense of carrying it into execution ; and also to in quire in what manner the fundi required for the pur pose may best be provided, so as to press with the least possible weight and inconvenience on the in habitants of the metropolis and its environs. In pursuance of these resolutions, it became neces sary for us to place ourselves in immediate communi cation with Mr. Page, and to direct his attention to such modifications of his plan as had occurred to us in the course of this inquiry. These modifications, however, necessarily involved many deviations from the estimate already before us, and we directed, there fore, that further and detailed estimates might be pre pared and submitted for our consideration. The nature of these modifications will be best explained by reference to the appendix. They involve, as will be seen, in principle, no departure from Mr. Page's original plan. The estimate based upon the plan originally pro posed comprised an embankment and roadway between Blackfriars and Westminster-bridges, on the northern shore of the river, 40 feet in width, and varying from 3 feet 6 inches to 10 feet above Trinity high-water mark, with carriage -road, footpath, balustrades, &c., from Middle Scotland-yard to Blackfriars-bridge. The whole outlay upon this portion of Mr. £ Page's plan would have amounted to 192,728 Add for gas-fittings, lamp-posts, irons, &c 2,450 195,178 Add for contingencies, 10 per cent 19,517 214,695 The further estimate which Mr. Page was directed to prepare and lay before us, was to comprise an em bankment and terrace 20 feet in width, from West minster-bridge to Whitehall-place, and 50 feet in width for the remainder of the distance, varying in height from 3 feet 6 inches to 10 feet above Trinity datum ; and to show the relative expense of construct ing these.-Ist. With brick walls faced with granite; and, 2d, With brick walls and granite dressings only. The following was the result:— For an embankment and terrace 50 feet in width, and varying from 3 feet 6 inches to 10 feet in height, having brick walls and a facing of granite £366,409 For a like embankment and terrace, having brick-walls, with granite dressings only As the mode of connecting the general line of the proposed embankment with the frontage of the pre mises now occupied by the residents in Privy-gardens, and also with that of the Temple-gardens, may be subject to modifications of various kinds, with a view to meet the convenience of the respective parties, the foregoing estimate maybe affected by the ultimate de termination respecting these portions of the work, probably so as to diminish the cost of it the public. We have adverted to the manner in which the funds required for the improvement in the City of London, connected, more or less, with the approaches to London-bridge and also the great a lter a ti ons more recently sanctioned by Parliament, and now in pro gress, have been provided ; and although it may not appear strictly a part of our duty to accompany our recommendations of such further improvements as may appear to us to be the most desirable by sugges tions of pecuniary resources for defraying the cost of them, we trust that we shall not be considered as transgressing the limits of our commission if we sub mit to your Majesty our views of the means which appear to us the most readily available, and with the smallest degree of pressure and inconvenience to the inhabitants of the metropolis and its vicinity, for the immediate object of our present report, and also for some of those further improvements which it will be our duty hereafter to submit for the approval of your Majesty and of Parliament. We have stated that the coal duties of Bd. per ton in the port of London are now charged until the year 1862, with the improvements already made or in pro gress. The whole rate of duty upon this article, as now collected, is ls. 3d. per ton ; viz., Bd. charged as before mentioned, 4d. received by the Corporation in lieu of certain ancient rights and interests, and ld. also collected by them for compensation to be paid to individuals, and other expenses incidental to the coal market, on the occasion of the new regulation of the coal trade under the Act of 1831. It is estimated that the charges upon the last-men tioned duty of Id. per ton will be extinguished in about three years from the present time. Such being the existing state of these duties, it is our opinion that it may be advisable to augment the total rate of the tax collected from 13d. to 18d. per ton ; making the duration of the whole contempora neous with that of the duty of Bd. per ton as above mentioned—excepting, of course, the duty of 4d. per ton belonging to the city of London, which is permanent. By these means there would be at the disposal of Parliament for metropolitan improvements and more immediately for that which is the subject of our present consideration, the produce of a duty of 6d. per ton until the duty of hi. per ton, appropriated to the coal market, is set free, and of d per ton for the remainder of the term. It is estimated that the annual amount would be, in the former case, 54,8751. and in the latter, 65,8511. We are anxious that your Majesty should be assured that we should not lightly recommend even this comparatively inconsiderable augmentation of local taxation, nor without a careful consideration of the interests of that great community on which this additional temporary burden would be imposed. We should not, indeed, venture to offer this suggestion except under the strongest conviction that benefits much more than equivalent to the sacrifices thus pro posed would result from the adoption of the plans now submitted for your Majesty's approval. The la bours of successive Committees of the House of Com mons who have pursued elaborate inquiries, and have expressed decided opinions on the subject, have spared us the necessity of setting forth in detail the grounds upon which we consider that an addition to the coal duties is (within certain limits) the most equitable and the least burdensome mode of providing for im provements of this description ; and we therefore cannot hesitate to recommend it as the best resource for the accomplishment of a measure having for its object to secure to the metropolis the advantages of an improved and better regulated navigation of a great portion of the noble river which flows through it, and calculated at the same time to contribute largely to the convenience, the recreation, and the health of its inhabitants. The principles of Mr. Page's plan are distinct in character from those of Mr. Walker, and in some re spects opposed to them. It proposes an embankment with side channels, the embankment of itself forming a continuous public terrace. Assuming every abstrac tion of tidal water from a navigable river to be inju rious to the navigation below the locality of the em bankment, by depriving a portion of the river of its scour, Mr. Page proposes-Ist, To avoid encroaching upon the capacity of the river for the reception of its tidal waters, and to make the prevention of encroach ments, at any future poriod, as far as practicable, a leading feature ; 2dly, To leave to the wharfingers and others interested in the trade of the locality the possession of their present accommodations on the river shore ; and, idly, To provide increased facilities of communication between the east and' west end of the town by a public road constructed in the river. The details of a plan professing to be founded upon these principles must, it is obvious, be far more ex tensive and complicated in their character than those of any plan based upon an alternation of solid em bankments and recesses only. A river wall inter posed between the navigable channel and the shore must have openings to afford facilities of intercourse between the two. The position of these openings would form one subject for inquiry; their width an other; the facilities of access at different states of the tide another. These openings could, of course, be passable only by bridges ; and those bridges, in ac cordance with one of the leading principles of Mr Page's plan, should be of sufficient width and height to admit of the accustomed traffic of any locality at any state of the tide. On the other hand, Mr. Page's terrace was to pass under the respective bridges which connect the Middlesex and Surrey shores of the river ; and hence it would appear impossible to satisfy one of those conditions without conflicting, in some measure, with the other. Another point, the importance of which was not to be overlooked, was the convertibility of these side chan nels into docks or floating basins. The treatment of this question involved the discussion of locks, their position, their capabilities, their size, and their probable cost ; the relative advantages •of tidal docks and floating basins, in reference to the trade and the navigable interest of the river ; the su pervision necessary to the regulation of either : their respective tendencies to silt, and the facilities for cleansing and keeping them free from mud, furnished further subject for inquiry, and the Commissioners are compelled to add for much conflicting opinion. After adverting to these points they come to the most important—the difficulty of entrance to the side channels from the river. The number, position. and dimensions of these, they say, might be modified at almost any period previously to the commencement of the works, and we confined ourselves, therefore, to points less susceptible of modification. Mr. Hay, a lighterman, observes, " I think Mr. Page's plan is the bist I have seen, and if a project of that kind is to be executed, I have never seen any equal to it ; but, if the river is narrowed, the tide will go up with greater velocity. We have great difficulty now in bringing up our craft. Now we can bring up to the wharfs, and bring up in a recess, and get out of theovay ; but I doubt whether we can ever bring up of all when the tide is running so hard as it would. Still Mr. Page's plan is a very excellent one ; I have seen no thing equal to it, if these difficulties of getting in at the openings can be done away with." On being further questioned whether his objections would equally apply to open entrances, he replied, "If there is a plan intended to be carried into effect on the river, there cannot be a better; but I fear when we come to the openings the tide will carry us by." Mr. Lucey, also a lighterman, apprehended no difficulty whatever ; referring to the entrances of the London and St. Katherine's Docks, he depended upon the eddy to assist him, and gave his reasons for that dependence. Mr. Taylor thought there would be be no difficulty, " unless the speed of the tide were very m uc h i ncrease d . I n the flow of the tide it would then require some very experienced bargeman to bring up, and ring -bolts or piles must be resorted to for the purpose." Assuming an increase of 15 per cent. upon a velocity of three miles an hour, he anticipated no difficulty whatever. Mr. Harvey had conversed with an intelligent lighterman, and inferred from the same causes, that admission would be more difficult. Mr. Pocock adverted to the increase of existing difficulties, since the removal of Old Lon don-bridge, and was also of that opinion, attaching little importance to the drift or eddy anticipated by Mr. Lucey; and Mr. Peache, referring to the fact that a great portion of the craft were worked by only one man, considered that there would be diffi culty, in such cases, in getting in without further as sistance. Looking to this question as one having rather a practical than scientific bearing, the opinions of the engineers consulted were, perhaps, not unexpectedly , discordant. Mr. Hartley and Mr. Cubitt, disapprov ing of the particular entrances shown in plan B, were nevertheless of opinion that there would be no diffi culty in designing entrances such as should afford entire protection against strong currents and high winds; the first, however, saw no necessity for locks, the second admitted locks in deep recesses. Mr. Gordon also was of opinion that there would be no difficulty, thought the gates in the plan " judiciously placed," and recommdnded the addition of others. Mr. Rennie observing that " all the entrances to the various docks at present on the river are occasionally affected by currents and high winds," assumed that " a careful observation of the prevailing winds would determine their position." Mr. Giles, that " they would be affected by the same causes, but that these would not impose greater difficulties than exist at the entrances of the various docks on the river, and which might, by the means resorted to in these cases, be overcome." On the other hand, Mr. Macneil was of opinion, that "these entrances would impose difficulties and obstructions such as do not now exist at the en trances to the various docks or wharfs on the river;" and Mr. Rendel, " that they would be difficult, if not dangerous, except for an hour•and-a-half, at most, before and after high and low water," The experience of Captain Maughan may, here, be again of service in elucidating a practical question. To questions whether the entrances should be at right angles with the stream, he replies, " As regards facility of entrance, I think that is of very little im portance. The craft will have to stop outside first of all, and if there is no tide, which I apprehend there will not be, close to the embankment wall, they will go in as they like ; I do not think the stream will run rapidly close to the terrace, so as to prevent the easy ingress of barges." He apprehended no difficulty in getting in, no pressure of the tide upon the vessels at the entrances. In his letter he observes, " The diffi culties which have been raised about entrances at right angles I confess I cannot understand ; they ap pear to me very much exaggerated. With a floating platform or dumb-lighter, and piles driven down at proper distances to check the barges, any lighterman could pass in his craft, even should the stream run up rapidly outside, but which I very much doubt its doing, as stated in my evidence. INCENDIARISM.--On Thursday night, about a quar ter-past ten, a wheat rick, the property of Mr. John Harris, at Abbey Farm, Little Marlow, was discovered to be on tire. An alarm was immediately given, and the engine from Mar low was shortly in attendance, but notwithstanding the rick was consumed. It contained about seven loads. By the exertions of the neighbours of Mr. Harris, further damage to the adjoining ricks was prevented. Tho constable of Little Marlow apprehended James Holbrook the same evening. The prisoner underwent an examination on Friday before the magistrates, and was committed for trial. On Saturday* the following notices of robberies were circulated and inserted in the Police Gazette :—At the pit entrance of Drury-lane theatre, the Rev. R. A. Bolder, of Gower-street, of 151. in 5/. Bank-notes, endorsed with the name " Evans." Mr. Edwin Thomas, of Globe-fields, Mile end, of his watch, &c., at the pit of the Pavilion Theatre. Mr. Wilson, Portugal Hotel, Fleet-street, of a gold oval brooch, a pin and a gold signet ring at the Victoria Theatre. Mr. Brown, of Narrow-street, Limehouse, of his watch (maker's name " Oliver, Falmouth,") at the Garrick Theatre. Information was also given, that Mr. Thomas Bayne, of 13, Tower-street, Westminster-road, was robbed at a public-house in Holles-street, Soho, of a tin case, six 501. Bank-notes (Nos. 93,768, and following numbers to 93,773), a 101. Bank-note, and a moleskin bag containing 271. in gold. REVIVAL OF THE CENTRAL RAILWAY.—We un derstand that, since the agitation of the rival lines of railway to Chatham, a number of influential gentleman have had it in contemplation to establish a company, to continue the line that may be selected by Parliament to Chatham through the central parts of the county of Kent, as far as Dover. We doubt not that this scheme will meet with the cordial support of Sittingbourne, Faversham, Canterbury, the Isle of Thanet, and other places which have at present no direct communi cation by rail with the metropolis, or have been omitted in the existing schemes of railways. And it is not unlikely ge neral support would be given to such a railway, as it would be by far the shortest and most direct line to the Continent. —Canterbury Journal. On Saturday a Commission of Lunacy was opened before Mr. Commissioner Barlow, at the King's Head, Egham, to try the state of mind of Mr. A. M. Woolhouse, formerly holding a commission in her Majesty's 68th Regiment, but for some time past an inmate of Sir John Chapman's lunatic asylum, near Egham. The commission was supported by Mr. Collins, of the Chancery bar. No opposition was offered, and it was clearly established that Mr. Woolhouse was wholly incapable of managing his own affairs. The jur y re turned a verdict " That the insanity had commenced from the Ist of August, 1837." AFFLICTING AND FATAL ACCIDENT.—One of the most afflicting accidents which we have ever had the sad opportunity of recording occurred on Wednesday, in the neighbourhood of this town, and has cast a gloom, not only over the extensive circle in which the victim of this appalling visitation moved, and spread the lustre of the most amiable of virtues, but among every class of society, rich and poor, which had the good for tune to be acquainted with the admirable traits of her highly exalted chara c t er . Th e d ecease d was w if e o f John Tuthill, Esq., of Rapla, the mother of a numerous and interesting family, and sister of Mr. Justice Jackson. She breakfasted as usual on Wednesday morning with the family party, Mr. Tuthill and her five sons—and proceeded up stairs soon afterwards, to a room in the utmost story, in which she was about ordering some repairs. Nothing more is known of her until her lifeless corpse was discovered, in about half an hour, in the area bruised—her hair dishevelled, and the back part of her head broken in by the shock it sustained in contact with the ground. It would appear that she fell from the window of the rocm to which she had gone, into the area, a height of about GO feet—and that death was instantaneous. No one witnessed the accident. No one can conjecture how it occurred, except that the lamented lady over-reached, and losing her balance, was precipitated below. Mr. Tuthill was the first to discover the lifeless body in the area; and it is needless to remark that the poignant sensation which he endured can be more easily ima gined than described. An inquest was held on the re mains in the course of the day, by James Carroll, Esq., and a verdict according to the circumstance was returned. —Tipperary Vindicator, '7 • • THE FACTORIES BILL DIVISIONS ANALYSED. Government. Lord Ashley. No. 1. Monday, March 18 172 181 - 2. bitto 3. Friday, March 22 ...... 4. Ditto (Tellers included.) In each of the four divisions I l4l voted uniformly with Government 1(1 ) Conservatives a 4 )( Liberals. 6 'Cn e s er v 139 voted uniformly with Lord Ashley 'r't t L o i bra ls. ativa No. 1. No. 2. Govt. Ashley. 141 139 Govt. Ashley. Throughout Not again 5 5 Absent, No. 2 only Ditto 3 and 4 Govt. 1,2, 4, Ashley 3 1 Govt. 2, Ashley 1,3, 4 — 1 12 23 1 - 1 - 155 163 No. 4. Govt. Ashley. 141 139 No. 3. Govt. Ashley. Throughout NU again 1 Absent, 1 and 2 3O 30 Ditto 2 Govt. 1,2, 4, Ashley 3 Govt. 2, Ashley 1,3, 4 — 1 Absent 1,2, Govt.4,Ashley 3 4 172 181 30 30 13 13 190 183 The peculiar votes Were— (Those to whom t is prefixed are Conservatives.) Government—Nos. 1,2, and 4. Lord Ashley --3. W. Aldam (Leeds) Government—No. 2. Lord Ashley—l, 2, and 4. J. Collett (Athlone) Absent-1 and 2. Ashley-3. Government-1. t M. Archdalf (Fermanagh) W. Ewart (Dumfries) J. Martin (Tewkesbury) t G. Palmer (South Essex) On the first division, and not again— With Government. Lord Ashley. Bellew, R. M. Barclay, D. t Dick, Q. Bulkeley, Sir R. B. W. t Master, T. W. C. t Chapman, A. Paget, Lord W. t Round, C. G. Scrope, G. P. Sturt, H. C. On the second division, and not again— ' Hastie, A. On the third division, and not again— Jolliffe, Sir W. On the fourth division, and not again— t Shirley, E. J. (Warwickshire) Absent on the second division only, otherwise uniformly voting with— Government (13) Fielden, W. Hastie, A. Langston, J. H. Leader, J. T. t Mackenzie, T. Mildmav, H. St. John Neeld, joseph t Pollock, Sir F. t Reid, Sir J. R. Tancred, H. W. t Trench, Sir F. t Vivian, J. E. Wall, C. B. Present on the first night, voted with— Government (12) Bowring, Dr. Dawson, Hon. T. V. Dennistoun, J. t Duffield, T. Elphinstone, H. Hobhouse, Hon. Sir J. C. Hume, Joseph Manners, Lord J. C. Norreys, Sir D. J. - I . Owen, Sir J. Pattison, J. Shelburne, Lord Lord Ashley (13) Bannerman, A.• Browne, Hon. W. Dalryinple, Captain t Douglas, Sir Howard t Eaton, R. J. Hall, Sir B. Hatton, Captain V. t Marton, G. t Miles, P. W. S. t Smith, Abel Standish, C. Staunton, Sir G. T. t Stewart, John tbsent on the second, but had Lord Ashley (23) t Astell, W. Byng. Hon. G. S. t Cresswell, B. t Duncombe, Hon. H. t Emlvn, Viscount t Gladstone, Captain J. N. t Goring, C. t Grimston, Viscount t Hayes, Sir E. t Hope, Alexander t Legh, G. C. t Lowther, J. H. t Maxwell, Hon. J. P. Murray, Alexander t Newport, Viscount Paget, Lord Alfred I' Pennant, Hon. Colonel Russell, Lord John Smith, Right Hon. R. V. t Smollett, A. f Trotter, J. Vivian, J. H. t Wortley, Hon. John Absent on the first night ; present on the second. Voted with Government (30). Voted with Lord Ashley (30). t Allix, J. P., t Adare, Viscount f Arbuthnot, Hon. H. t Adderley, C. B. t Bailey, J. Aglionby, H. A. t Bell, M. f Baskerville, T. B. M. t Blackburne, J. I. Berkeley, Hon. (Glouceo t Buller, Sir J. Y. Butler, Hon. Col. t Cartwright, W. N. Carew, Hon. R. S. t Charteris, Hon. F. t Colvile, C. R. Currie, R. Denison, W. J. t Follett, Sir W. t D'lsraeli, B. t Hamilton, W. J. Douglas, .T. D. Hayter, W. G. $ Egerton, Sii P. t Heathcote, Sir W. t Fellowes, E. t Irving, W. t Ferrand, W. B. t Lascelles, Hon. W. S. Fitzroy, Lord C. Marjoribanks, T. Grosvenor, Lord B. t Maunsell, T. P. t Halford, Sir H. Morrison, James Heathcote, G. J. Ord, W. t Hervey, Lord A. t Powell, Colonel Howard, Hon. E. (Mor t Rous, Hon. Captain peth) t Russell, C. f Knight, F. W. t Seymour, Sir 11. Macaulay, Rt. Hon. T.B. t Sheppard, T. Macnamara, Major t Stuart, H. f Mordaunt, Sir J. Villiers, Hon. C. f Newdigate, C. N. t Waddington, H. S. t Newry, Viscount Ward, H. G O'Connell, D. Wrightson, W. B. O'Connell, M. J. t Yorke, Hon. T. E. Scholefield, J. Stanton, W. H. PARLIAMEN TAR Y DIVISIONS. (From the Votes and Proceedings of the House if Commons.) FRIDAY, MARCH 29. SUPPLY. Motion made, and Question proposed, " That the Order of the Day for the Committee of Supply be now read:"— Amendment proposed, to leave out from the words " That" to the end of the Question, in order to add the words " it is indispensable to the maintenance and extension of the Trade of this country, that those Duties be repealed which press on the raw materials of manufacture, especially the raw materials of the woollen and cotton trade : " That it is expedient also that those Duties be greatly re duced which press on articles of interchange in return for our manufactures ; especially such articles of interchange u at the same time concern the subsistence of the people ; bein&(besides corn, which is the subject of superior and separate considera tion) such articles as tea, sugar, coffee, bacon, butter, and cheese : " That it is expedient that those Duties also be greatly re duced which, by their amount, encourage smuggling ; being at once injurious to the revenue and dangerous to the morality of the country ; such as the Duties on tobacco, silk goods, and foreign spirits : ~ That whatever temporary deficiency of Revenue be caused by such reduction ought, until the Revenue regain its former amount, to be sustained by the property, and not by the trade and labour of the country," instead thereof :"—Question put, " That the words proposed to be left out staid part of the Question :" The House divided:— MAJORITY—AYES, 87. Allix, John Peter Gaskell, J. M. Masterman, Jahn Arkwright, Geof ge Gladstone, W. E. Meynell, Captain Baring, W. B. Goulburn, Henry Mundy, E. Millet Baring. F. T. Graham, Sir James Nicholl, Right Hoe: Bentinck. Lord G. Greene, T. Norreys, Lord Blackburne, J. I. Gregory, W. H. O'Ferrall, A. M. Boldero, Henry G. Grimsditch, Thomas Paget, F. Borthwick, Peter Hardinge, Sir H. Pakington,'J. S. Batfield, Boriah Heathcote, Sir W. Patten, J. Wilson Broodier, Henry Heneage, G. W. Peel, Sir Robert Bruce, Lord Ernest Hodgson, Richard Peel, Jonathan Buckley, Edmund Hogg, J. W. Plumptre, J. P. Buller, Sir J. Yards Hope, Charles Polhill, Frederick Clerk, Sir George Hope, G. W. Pringle, A. Clive, Viscount Hornby. John Rendleshara, Lord Copeland, Alderman Inglis, Sir It. Round, John Corry, I L. Jermyn, Lord Smith,Rt.Hon. T.&C Cripps, W. Jolliffe, Sir W. Somerset,.Lord G. Damer,:Hon. G. Kemble, Henry Stanley, Lord Darby, George Knatchbull, Sir E. Stuart, H. Denison, E. B. Law, t harles E. Sutton, Henry M. Dickinson, F. H. Lawson, Andrew Trench, Sir Frederick Douglas, Sir C. Lincoln, Earl of Wellesley,iLord C. Duffield, T. D. Lygon, Hon. Gen. Wood, Colonel T. Egerton, W. T. M'Geachy, F. A. Yorke, Hon. E. T. Eliot, Lord Mackenzie, T. Young, John Escett, Bichkam M'Neill, Duncan Fitzmaurice, W. Mainwaring, T. Flower, Sir James Manners, Lord J. French, F. March, Earl of Fuller, A. E. Martin, C. W. TELLE 15 Fremantle Sir T. Baling, Henry MINORITY—NOES, 24. Bowring, Dr. Mite-We, Henry Trelawny J. S. Bright, John Mitchell, T. A. Walker, R. D Brotherton, J. Morris, avid Warburton, Henry Duncan, George Napier, Sir Charles Ward, H. 0. Feilden, J. O'Connell, M. J. Williams, W. Forster,:Matthew Plumridge, Captain boike, R. H. Gibson T. M. Scholefleld, J TELLERS. Hutt, W. Strickland, Sir G. Swart, W. Johnstone, Alex. Tancred, IL W Hume, Joseph RAILWAY BUSINESS IN PARLIA. M ENT. FRIDAY, MARCH 29. Guildford Junction Railway Bill, read a third time and passed. Norwich and Brandon Railway Bill, read a third timo and passed. Midland Railways Consolidation Bill, report considered, amendments agreed to, and Bill to be engrossed. York and Scarborough Railway Bill, read a third time (Queen's consent signified), and Bill passed. Delabole and Rock Railway Bill, order for reading the Bill a second time read and discharged, and Bill withdrawn. Delabole and Rock Railway, No. 2, reports from Select Committees on petitions for private Bills and on Standing Orders read, and another Bill ordered to be brought in by Sir John Yarde Buller, Mr. Pendarves, and Mr. Trelawny. Newquay Harbour and Railway Bill reported, and re-com mitted to the former Committee. Taff Vale Railway Bill, read a second time, and committed and referred to the Committee of Selection. South-Eastern, Canterbury, Ramsgate, and Margate Rail, way Bill, reported, and report to lie on the table and to be printed, Lord Denman, in his charge to the grand jury, at the Essex assizes, said—" I cannot but think that a much higl.er duty than that of inflicting punishment upon crimes, rests upon all concerned in the administrationofofjuscritimcee, and a that we ought to look rather to the prevention the salvation of those unhappy individuals, before they have fallen to that dreadful state 61 degradation calculated to lead to crime. I allude now to the general education of the peo ple ; and although we have to lament that the well-inten tioned efforts which have been made by the Government have not been crowned with success, I think we must still look for the time when the public institutions of the country . shall provide a good moral and religious education for our in.- creasing population." GOOD OLD AGE.—Since the 16th December, 1843, to the 25th March, 1844, twelve individuals have been in terred at Ripon, and one at Kirkby Malzeard, whose united ages amount to 1,125 rears, viz.—Widow Brown 82, Mary Tuting 83, Widow Whittaker 84, George Wharton 112, Ben amin lle,arnley 84, Widow Pickersgill 90, John Rudd 70, Isabella Brown 84, Widow Smith 90, Miss Clough 95, Wm. Myers 90, Richard Johnson 85, Lawrence Nelson 76.—TotA 1,125. . THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY MORNING, APRIL 1, 1844.