The Sun. — London, England, 1850-06-27 00:00:00

LIT RAT URE. ANNE DI SART. A Tale qf Every day Life. 3 Vo/s. During the reign of Queen Victoria our literature has been most appropriately adorned by the natees or the masterpieces of a grslaxy of auteoresses. Inso much has this circumstunce been observable, that some of the most judicious critics of our geeeratien have not shrunk from suggesting thee the honours ef the Poet Laureate:hip should, te t only in commemo ration of that fact, hut also in compliment to her Most Gracious Majesty, be bestowed on a lady pecu liarly qualified to grace as well as to be graced by the wearing of the hay garland, that lady being no other than the wife of the bard of Paracelsus. Look ing at the various departments of art and letters, it i 3 in truth remerkable to detect; the distinction attained through the mere display of large and beautiful ca pacities by women of masculine genius though of ieminine gentleness. While we have had occasion to regret the departure of such writers as Jane Austin, and Maria Edgeworth, and the Countess of Blessin;:- ton ; though we have had reason to lament the disappearance of Anna Maria Porter, of Felicia Hernans, and of Letitia Landon—we have had at the same time ample reason to felicitate ourselves upon the survival of other female authors of distinguished excellence, and upon the rise o: yet more into a repid and auspicious celebrity. Assiduous application has failed to exhaust the powers of the lively and obser -*int Mrs. Gore, of the shrewd and sarcastic Mrs. Trollope, or of that accomplished Miss Mitfard, whose effusions have ever combined the morality of Mrs. Hannah Moore with the fascinating simplicity of Mrs. Barbauld. Among the historical labours of en epoch rendered illustrious by the contemporary research of such annalists as the rhetorical Macaulsy, the impar tial Lingard, the erudite Hallam, the indefatigable Prescott, the sedate Turner, and the comprehensive Alison, there has been awarded a lofty niche for the elaborate and elegant compositions of Agnes Strickland. Among brilliant dramatists, such as Talfourd, and Lytton, and White, and Knowles, and Lovell, and Marston, and Jerrold, and Bourcicault, a high and conspicuous position has been awarded to the intellect of the dramatist of the pas sions the eloquent and emotional genius of Joanna naillie. One of the most exquisite of living lyrists— even with Tennyson still in his maturity, and Proc ter yet in the autumnal mellowness of his reputation —is a lady graced with a name doubly poetic, Eliza beth Barrett Browning. One of the greatest fa vourites of the population, so rendered by her homely and heart-born ballads, is Eliza Cook. One of the most felicitous of our cccasional versifiers is unques• tionably Frances Brown. One of the most earnest and imaginative of our poatic idealists is the Honour able Mrs. Norton. In the histrionic art our fair countrywomen are nobly represented by Helen Faucit, and in the pictorial art by Miss Setchell, while, as a delineator of the fruits and flowers of the earth, Mrs. Margetts has drawn inspiration not sparingly from the genius of the inimitable Lance. From the highest to the lowest department of intellectual excellence, among the competitors for popularity, not the least noticeable, or the least entitled to et - morn:um, are those ladies whose love far the true and the beautiful has sur passed their terror of the supercilious designation of blue-stockings. But if the eminence acquired by the women of England, in the several walks of art or literature above enumerated, has been in any de gree remarkable—h has been singularly surpassed by the success of those numerous aspirants for renown who have assumed tLe literary ma quern. as nevel ists. Among these must he mentioned some of the most promising authors of our generation, who, if not possessing to the full the strong objective fancy of Mrs. Radcliff, or the irresistible hilarity of Madame de Sevigne, or the inexorable propriety of Mrs. Caapone, or the virile judgment of Madame de Steel, have yet displayed, to a suprieing extent, resources of invention, felicity of humour, directness of purpose, and keenness of observation. Foremost among these are the author of " Jane Eyre," and the author of "Emilia Wyndham," both works of singular vigour and ability, the intellectual productiveness of the writers of which has been further severally illustrated, the one by " Shirley," the other by the " Wihningtons." even with such masters of fiction amongst U 3 as Charles Dickens and Bulwer Lytton, and with such a multitude of gifted and agreeable romancists as James, Lover, DieraeF, Tc,eckeray, Jerrold, Smith, Chamier, Ainsworth, Lever, Collins, and Warburton, the vigorous capacities of such romancists as Currer Bell, and the author of " Two old Men's Tales," are of a, kind neither to be disparaged nor overlooked. Another female writer, whose abilities must entitle her to he enrolled ultimately among those distinguished predecessors, has - just appeared in the person of the author of " Anne Dysart." Another female writer, we say, because it is impossible not to recognise in this " tale of every day life" a woman's tact, a woman's sagacity, a wo man's clearness of perception, and a woman's gen• tleness of sentiment. The story, although vigorously Written, the incidents, although powerfully conceived, the characters, although boldly and nervously sketched, are, nevertheless, all of them, manifestly the emanations of a feminine fancy. We must ac knowledge, moreover, to having been fairly charmed throughout the whole perusal by that freshness which 1 is alone attributable to the unhackneyed verve of ca -1 pacities neither worn nor j tided by previous employ ] went. The narrative is of the simplest construction ; the tale is, as the second title imports, one of " every day life ;" the personages introduced by it to our ob servation, are the men, women, and children We see around us continually, creatures of flesh and blood—of generic characters generally, though some times of peculiar and individualized idiosyncrasy. What ie, perhaps, the most prominent excellence in our authoress is her shrewdness of observation—a shrewdness which, aided by considerable piquancy of style, satirical without being ill-natured—enables her to limn the imaginary persons of her history with astonishing vividness. From epitomising the plot by dry and needless analysis we shall abstain yet more sedulously than ever in the instance of " Anne Dy sart," seeing that the work, as a first work, demands More than ever such abstinence from premature dis closures. Besides, it always appears to us that the scheme of a fictitious narrative, though eminently interesting in -a novel, is indescribably tedious if abbreviated to a mere enumeration of Particulars in a criticism. What we feel ourselves alone justified in specifying directly as worthy of notice in a fiction I,lse the present are, the principal character, the conspicuous incidents, and the manner in which both characters and incidents have been delineated. Here, therefore, we are com pelled to avow at once that, while thus restricting ourselves within a narrow compass we are embarrassed by the multiplicity of things upon which we are soli citous to comment at least in a few cursory but earnest observations. Anna Dysart herself, the heroine of the story, is a charming portrait of the daughter of a Scotch clergyman, thrown suddenly by the death of her last surviving parent into the society of a little town in Northumberland. Her brother Prank, a student in the Scottish metropolis, divides With her the fascination of the reader's attention, the interest of the fiction fluctuating between the town of Lorlington and the city of Edinburgh. Mrs. Nat Wilson, the aunt of Frank and Anne, and the spouse of poor Nathaniel Wilson, with all her Unconscionable niggardliness and meanness, her par simonious dulness, and painstaking mediocrity, is pencilled with wcnderful force of colouring and out line. ft is a picture of domestic meanness as bril liant as one of the gems of Hobbima. Of the family f the Greys we can think and speak only with the fullest satisfaction, forgetting their egotism in their Suavity, and their coxcombry in their benevolence. Charlotte Grey, the patronizing and voluble blue stocking, is admirably described with all her merits and all her weaknesses. Frederick, though a little too much of the " pet parson," secures our kind regard, and his sister Beatrice, notwithstanding herinanity, obtains in some sort a share in our sympathies. Of all the abominable beings in the whole book the most abominable is that exceedingly explicit and tautolo gical Mr. Shield, who would be altogether an un mitigated prig but for his being at the same time a Most intolerable bore. 7.he wealthy merchant's fa rally of the Dysarts at Edinburgh contains just such another nuisance as Mr. Shield in the person of the heir to the property. Of Julia, the gay and the frivolous, we could speak in yet stronger terms of disgust but for a circumstance which the reader will discover towards the close of the narrative, by which our contempt is merged in commiseration. Barbara, her deformed sister, would, on the contrary, elicit from US our most genial eulogiums but for a certain repulsiveness about her which exists as it were in spite of the evident partiality of the authoress—beyond which the whole creation reminds us so strongly of poor Bumpy in M. Eugene Sue's Juif Errant as to deprive it in our eyes of the Merit of originality. Eleanor Glmme, on the other hand, is a character as original in idea as it is Masterly in execution. Her history constitutes a striking and beautiful episode, for a while diverting attention from the principal thread of the narrative. liindred in inanity are Mrs. Smith, her chaperon, and Mr. Hall, her suitor. One other of the principal Characters, not yet mentioned—perhaps altogether shout the principal character in the narrative —is Gerald Bolton. Conceived somewhat in the same Morose or eccentric school as the Mr. Rochester of "Jane Eyre," and the Mr. Danby of "Emilia Wyndham," this Mr. Belton of "Anne Dysart" ni.verthelets no transcript, but a creation of distinct and even insulated individuality. Tae powerful touches of nature with which his rugged but sensitive character has been portrayed redounds very highly to the credit of the head and the heart of the authoress. Saveral of-the scenes ie hieh M. Bolton appears are reused, especially it, regard to the dialogue, with much genius: his love Passages are depicted Ns ith exceeding grace, pathos, and delicacy ; and the noble and magnanimous ten- THE SUN, derness concealed by him under a grotesque and almost repulsive bearing encircles him at last with the halo of the rer,der's . sympathy and admiration. Here and there the minuteness of description i car ried by our authoress to an extent but little short of being ludicrous, as where she informs us very seriously (Vol. 111., p. 326) of Anne's coxtume at her marriage—she " wore a gown of violet co lour; d silk with a velvet trawle of the same hue, trimmed with fur, and a rice straw bonnet, with a white veil !!" Surely this is nothing less than the pretty garrulity of a lady-ti.ritr ? Sometimes again our fair novelist is guilty of little anachronisms, as where, tnwe.rds the conclusion of the tale, she says (Vol 111., p. 192)—" She found Mrs. Dysart's carriage and a :-ervant waiting for her at the coach office—for I am writing of ten years ago, when tha.e was no railway in bcotiand, except that between Edinburgh and Glasgow"—and yet (forgetting that she is still writing of " ten years ago") she says shortly afterwards (Vol. 111., p. 202)—" In the evening, although the guy season had long been over and the town was almost empty, the latter, in c o ncert with her mother, generally contrived to assemble two or three young persons to have a little music and a polka." Ten yol.rs ago that bewitching dance was not in existence. Apart, however, from a few inter mittent blemishes scattered through the volumes, " Anne Dysart." appears to us to be a novel singu larly deserving Gr commendatior, auguring largely for the future popularity of its intelligent and accom plished authoress. THE TARAN TAS ; Travelling Impressions of Young Russia. By Count Solliegub. Vassilv lvanovitsch and Ivan Vassilievitsch, two worthy Russian_ gentlemen, says the preliminary advertisement to the " Tarantas," are anxious to avoid all such inflammatory and dispute-provoking topics as politics, either fo::eign or domestic ; but they believe that the social system of that considerable member cf the European family of nalions which is called Russia, is as interesting as it is little known and un derstood in this country, end they further believe that they are better able to act as interpreters or showmen of their father-land, than are any of those foreigners who have hitherto attempted to get behind the scenes of that mighty and important theatre. The " Tarantas," the:; . efore, professes to be a Russian's tra velling impressions of Russia, and bearing this in mind, its readers will be continually astonished by the impar tial and even criqiell spirit by which it is animated. The Tarantas it4elf is n huge, unwieldy, but very commodious vehicle, which transports its owner Vassily Ivanovitsch (an old.fashioned country gentle man), and Ivan Vassilievitsch (a member of Young Russia returned from a European tour), from Moscow to Konn. Ivan carries in his hand a blank volume, to record his travelling impressions, but his journey, full of hicidents as it i•.s, is, nevertheless, to him pro ductive of continual disappointment. The chief fault we can find with the little volume is its very light and superficial character ; but this was, perhaps, acs writer's object when he en.. titled it "Travelling Impressions." Instead of descriptions of seen and manners we find only brief units and passing allusions, its pictures of social life are shadowy glimpses or bare sketches. Tnis peculiar style has, nevertheless, its advantages. Vague and incidental as is its mode of affording in formation, infOrmation is, nevertheless, afforded. Among the most effective descriptions of Russian life is the following melancholy picture of RUSSIAN LUXURY. " I was compelled by a stupid presumption to imitate the luxuries of others, not at all regulating them by my means. This is as universal fault in St. Petirsburgh. Lite there is like: fireworks, much brilliancy, much smoke, and after a while nothing is left. Every one dues his utmost to surpass his neighbcur ; every ot:.e is a cop::istt : oi:e class copies the oth-r, poor people copy the rich people. The one who is not weissihy assumes the appearance of wealth, and gets ruined; the one who is rich offers co much to luxury that, he inevitably gets ruined too. It i•emnii us if our nobility was seeking po verty; and, indeed, see what different things have ren dered themselves as it,clisFero Wile for us, as bread and water; fur instince., the crowd cf our hou=e-serfs, the legions of men in Everizo, a major-lomo, stewards, but lers, sortie thirty or' forty men in all; then our mansions, with drawing-roc ms, dining-halls, studies, dancing salons, our coaches-and-four, opera-boxes, dresses, cards. In one word, I must say that, in S. Peersburgh, luxury is the first necessary ot life. People there think first of what is not necessary, and then ot what is; tnere'ore you every dig see noblemen's es tates sold under the auctioneer's hammer. And then what passions rise from a discordance between income and expenditure; to what doleful scenes they lead in families.; what a itumbeir of persons have for ever lost both the quietude of their conscience and their self esteem and honour. Life in the capital, hke a deluge, carries away with it every one, everything, without giving you even time to see your position." And here, by way of contrast, is a sweet glimpse of A HAPPY HONE. "Everything in the house of Ivan Vassilievitsch's friend was comfortable, though simple and unpretending, but the smallest trifle was distinguished by nn artistic selvction; every tb Jig reflected the indescribable light of the presence of is 5 oung and beautiful woman. She wel comed Ivan Vase itievitsch with a smiling friendliness as if she had Icaown him for many, many years, and he stopped in devout admiration betoro her. It teemed to him as if tilt then he had never seen a woman. She was not beautiful with that beauty that troubles the passionate dreams of youth; her whole being was an ideal of the highest. peace, of the most poetical quietude. Her soul looked through her eyes— her heart spoke through her lips. Her child-like featur es expressed such a kind-heartedness, such profound and holy lore, that any man in looking at her must involtentarily become a better man! Two rosy-checked children, at the view of the stranger pressed their curly little heads to her knees. Ivan viewed this picture as if it were a relic, and he felt that he had before him the brig 3.test illustration cf the highest reward for man's toils, I abours, and sorrows. How long he stopped before this scene he was unconscious; he did not hear a single sword that was said to him, but his heart felt wider mad wider, all his feedngs concentrated themselves into one of quiet beatitude, all his thoughts into a prayer." In the chapter entitled "Merchants" is recorded a curious scene at a tavern, where some merchants are regaling, themselves on the, apparently, favourite Russian beverage, tea. An individual hearing the euphonious name of Potapitsch enters the room, in quires if one of the merchants is going to Ribua, and on being answered in the affirmative, consigns to his charge more than five thousand roubles, to be paid to some one residing at Ribua, without, to the estonish ment of the civilized Ivan, even asking for a receipt. On the stranger's departure, the inquiring Ivan can not resist demanding of the merchant if the owner of the money is a relative or intimate acquaintance, and then naively asks—" but how is it that he did not ask you tor a receipt for the money ?" The other merchants laugh, and the one concerned gets into a passion. "a receipt !" he .cried . out furiously ; " a receipt. Iwoul d havebraken his jaw with his own money had he dared to ask me for a receipt. I have been a merchant now more than fifty years, and I have never yet been insulted by being asked to give a receipt." In matters like this the writer of " The Tarantas" has exhibited with happy effect some of the peculiar, and in some cases praiseworthy, cha racteristics of his countrymen. Brief as is the jour ney, and trivial as are the events which it reveals, a trip by the Tarantas will be found by all who choose to essay it both a profitable and pleasant pastime. PUNCH VERSUS HUMBUG. A delightful sarcasm, both pictorial and literary, is given in the columns of our droll contemporary, Punch, of this morning. Fain would we transfer to our impression the larga wood-cut, most grotesque and humourous, pourtraying my Lord Ashley and my Lord John Russell as Puritans—the latter ex claiming, with the genuine nasal twang of the conven ticle—" Verily, Brother Ashley—between you and me, and the Post—we have made a nice mess of it." Gladly, too, would we give the sketch of the " Puritan Penny Postage Stamp" with the initial letters in the corners, C—A—N—T. We must content ourselves with transcribing the following facetious para graphs : LORD SACKCLOTH-AND• ASLILEYS. \VDEREAS,-011 consideration of our desire to com memorate the pious services of our dear cousin, the Member for Bath, and hereto:ore known 34 LORD A s BLEY,--• It is our pleasure, that, in consideration of our dear cousin's succesful attempt to shut up, put down, and otherwise confine and castigate Sunday, that he shall henceforth assume the title and name of— LORD SACKCLOTH AND ASHLETS; And further, that he shall be empowered to quartcr a cinder-sieve with his armorial bearings,—a cinda sieve with a pilgrim's shirt of sackcloth proper. Given under our hand, at our Office, 85, Fleet-street, June 24, 1850. PUNCH. CONVERSATIONS OF THE SUNDAY-BOUND LETTERS. — We have received a communication, signed " St. Martin le-Grand," of so wonderful a nature, that if it had come from anybody but a saint, and from any saint but St. Martin-le-Grand, we should never have believed it. St. Martin avers that the letters detained in a provincial letter-box have been, in the interv a l b e t ween Satur _ day and Monday, owing to the stoppage of postal communication en the meanwhile through puri tanical legislation, so impatient of the delay, that they could not contain themselves, and have been ac tually heard to compare notes. He gives the follow ing as a few out of many of their conversations:— To letter A—which excites attention by heaving a deep sigh, as if from the heart of the writer—says letter B, " What are you about? You seem very sentimental; and you tire sealed with a heart skewered on an arrow." ~ An!" replies A, "I am addresaed by a poor mad head over ears in love, to the p o or o: youn his a g fellow, lected to ffections, who has unaccountably neg answer his last six billets. He writes to say that he will destroy himself unless he hears from her by return of post. What is your news?" "Mile?' answers B, " why, rather ulgeot, I should say; tnit tly Ciii ,, — ' Your ;46i,ec has Lad a fresh attti.ck —put yourself into a postchaise and come up instantly it you want to see him alive.' " " Anything particular ?" asks let t" C of letter D. "No," answers D. "rua only LONDON, from a wife who writes to tell her husband that au execution has been put into their house in his ab• series, and that he must return home directly, and not wait till the next day, or their goods will be all sold off at a t)ss, and she and her children turned into the street." "My tidings," remarks C, " are of some little importance." " Mo I should judge," observes E. " from your liltck. si al." " They are these," says C:—'" Dear Tom,—Your poor uncle Las died sud denly. Ho named you as his heir. Come up instantly, or tr at old woman will make away with everything in tie house.'" " And I," says E, "am to a surgeon of Bartholomew's, new in the country, begging him to come up instantly, as the danger is imminent, and a patient's only chance is an operation." Saint Martin-lc-Grand says, that such news as that above instanced won't keep, and osoiht cot to be kept even on Sunday; and we would take the word of bt. Martin against that of St. Ashlsy, or St. Plomptre. HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE. The eighth repre!entation of La Tempesta took place on TUesday evening ; the house was again crowded in every part, and the furore excited by its performance was as intense as ever. Madame Sontag was in exquisite voice, and sang the music deli ciously. In her rendering of her "aria d'intrata" on Tuesday night she surpassed herself ; never has such exquisite delicacy of execution been displayed as she displayed on that occasion ; her concluding cadenza was the most wonderful, and at the same time roost delicate and most perfect piece of florid execution ever attempted, and excited rapturous applause and an unanimous encore. Car lotta Grisi, as Ariel, was the most fascinating of sylphs. We have heard it objected to Scribe that he has made the part of Ariel a dancing instead of a singing part, as it is in Shskspere. With all due deference to these hypercritics we contend that Scribe is right, and is more Shaksperian in his treatment of that subject than are his would-be critics ; Ariel is a light and airy spirit, and Shakespere- evidently intended to draw a marked distinction between the sylph Ariel and the human beings of the drama, such a distinction as should at once mark that Ariel was of a distinct and different nature from that of the beings by which he is sur rounded. This distinction Shakespere has marked by making Ariel sing whilst all the other characters speak ; but in opera, where all the characters sing, it became necessary, in order to preserve this distinction between Ariel and the human actors in the drama, that Ariel should not sing, and therefore has M. Scribe acted most judiciously, and in a true Shaksperian spirit, in nicking the part of Arial a mute pantomimic part. With such a poetess (for that is the proper title to apply to her) as Carlotta Grisi the part of Ariel is infinitely more effective than it could have been rendered by the utterance of any articulate sound. Her expressive gestures and her graceful abandon are far more effectively eloquent than would be any uttered language. La blache, magnificent Lablache, was as Caliban "great, glorious and free ;" his dancing is of its sort as won derful as that of Carlotta, and Parodi was as usual encored in the Brindisi. The choruses were beau tifully rendered, and the performance of the or chestra was perfect. La Tempesta is to be repeated to-night, and on Saturday Bellini's 1 .11Iontecchi ed I Capuletti is to be produced for, the rentree of Gardoni. ST. JAMES'S THEATRE. M. Lafont took his benefit here last night, and ap peared as Jean and as the Chevalier de St. Georges. As the gent subsequently transformed into the gen tleman, in the first piece, and as the all accomplished mulatto in the last, he was equally at home. He was excellently supported in the last piece by Madlle. Nathalle, whoie Madame Presle was a perfectly graceful piece of acting. The house was crowded. MUSIC HALL, STORE-STREET. Mrs. Alexander iv e wton, the deservedly popular vocalist, gave her annual concert at the above hall last evening. We have remarked in her since her debut a constant and steady improvement, with which we are glad to find a gradually increasing fame has kept pee. Her performance of last evening betokened still further progress. In the duet, "Da quel di," the aria, "U Luce di quest' anima," and a duet by Rossini, she showed her mastery over the difficulties of the modern Italian school ; whilst trios by Cimarosa and Cherubini enabled her to display musical feeling and knowledge of a higher order. When we add to these the pretty Scotch ballad, "An' ye shall walk in silk attire," and state that she sang it very sweetly, we believe we shall have suffi ciently established the versatility of her talent. To Miss Ransford and Miss Leslie, who appeared on the occasion, we can also give a word of encouragement. They both possess excellent means, which time and study properly employed and applied may enable them to turn to great account. The other vo calists were Misses Poole and M. Williams, Mdlle. Zimmerman and Madame Mactarren, Mr. Henry Drayton, Mr. B. Frodsharn ' Mr. Whitworth, Mr. Bodda, and Herr Mengis. Miss Poole's rendering of a ballad by Mr. Maynard elicited a rapturous encore ; and Miss Williams in a song composed by her brother, and Mr. Bodda in Rossini's " Largo al factotum," received the same compliment. Mr. Henry Drayton, one of our basses, was loudly ap plauded in Meyerbeer's " Piff-paff," and Mesdames Macfarren and Zimmermann, together with Messrs. Whitworth, B. Frodsham, and Mengis, likewise came in for their share of approbation. The instru mentalists were Miss Eliza Ward (piano), Signor Giulio Regondi (concertina), Mr. Richardson (flute), all of whom acquitted themselves very satisfactorily. M. de Kontski, the violinist, also performed on the occasion, and received a hearty encore in the popular " Carnival of Venice." POPE PIUS THE NINTH AND THE CATHOLICS OF ENGLAND. An influential meeting of Catholics was held on the 25th inst., in Windmill-street, for the purpose of taking into consideration the address of the Catholic Bishops, published at their annual meeting in London, calling upon the clergy and laity of England to purchase a superb remonstrance or ostenseriuro now in England as a present to his Holiness Pope Pius the Ninth. Amongst the gentlemen present we noticed the Hon. C. Stoner, the Rev. Thomas Rooker, D.D. and president of the Catholic Colleges of SS. Peter and Paul, Prior-park, the Revs. J. O'Neill, J. Barnher; Messrs. Amherst, Bag shaw, Mostyn, Palmer, Ryan, Wallis, Dearsly, The Right Rev. Dr. Morris, D.D., was called to the chair. Mr. Dearsly, in proposing the first resolution, said his Lordship would be aware that the Bishops at their annual meeting had called for the zea lous co-operation of the Catholics with them in show ing sown mark of sympathy w ith the Holy Father in the many sorrows nod afflictions which had lately visited his Holiness. To that summons he, in common with Catholics in general, responded with the most cordial enthusiasm. England might , not do so much as other countries, but she would do to the uttermost. The testimonial which they were abot.t to present would, he hoped, in the language of the Bishops, speek of the ; " faith and the zeal and .the devotion" of the EngliSh Catholics. He believed there was not a city, town, village, or hamlet, but would vie with each othei in a noble rivalry In this good cause. An at tempt to describe this superb ostensorium would be impossible. Its value was unknown. The late Bishop Baines, so much lamented, and whose exquisite taste and judgment in all things relating to the fine arts, originally brought it from Rome. It had been designed for the Basilica of St. Peter. It contained 1600 1 precious stoned. Its weight in gold and silver they might imagine when he stated that it stood four fret and a halt in height. There was but one place in the world fit fur it, and that was St. Peter's, where it would be in harmony with everything around, and, by its ac cumulations of riches and beauty, centre every eye and every heart on the Holy of' Holies. It was most gratifying to him to know that this movement emanated from the Bishops, and that it had the full sanction of that revered and eminent prelate Dr. Wise man. Mr. Dearsly then moved " That the sum of 1600/. be raisad to purchate . the ostensorium as a present to the Pope, on such occasion as the Bishops may deem fit." Mr. Wallis seconded the motion. Carried unanimously. On the motion cf Mr. Amherst, seconded by Mr. Palmer, a committee was appointed. Mr. Bagehaw then pro posed, and Mr. 11) an re:tonded, that his Lordship ehould communicate tho resolutions of the meeting to the Right Rev. Nicholas Wiseman, D.D., V.A.L.D. Mr. Barnwell was appointed treasurer and Mr. Palmer secretary pro tem. A vote of thanks was passed by ac clamation to the Chairman. This being the first occa sion of a similar nature since the Reformation the utmost enthusiasm seemed to prevail. SUSSEX HALL, LEADENHALL-STREET.—A concert took place here on Monday evening, for the benefit of Miss Hinckesman, at which many of her pupils sung for the first time in public, and their performances did ample credit to her as their teacher. Besides these, several old public fa vourites took part, such as Miss Poole, Mrs. A. Newton, Miss Norton, Miss Lizzy Stuart, with Mr. Leffler, Mr. Bodda, and Mr. Frederick Chatterton, the harpist. The programme contained selections from the most eminent composers, and the artists acquitted themselves in their usual excellent man lier. There were several new songs, composed expressly for the occasion, sung by the young ladies. The first is quaintly entitled " Strawberries," by Lee, which Miss Rose Braham rendered worthy the author's reputation. The glee of "Blow gentle gales" was sung by Misses Poole and Stuart, with Mr. Bodda, very effectively; but the solo song that met with the best reception was, "Come off to the moors,' sung with excellent feeling and judgement by Miss Stuart, which pleased the audience so well as to cause an encore. '['his young lady is improving rapidly as an artist, and bars pro mise of a prominent position among the native vocalists. The-hall was well filled, and an agreeable evening, full of intellectual enjoyment, was appreciated. Such eons certs cannot be too often repeated, enabling, as they do, such talent to be listened to at such modsrate prices. We feel the neglect of others toward:l ourselves; hut we do not even suspect our neglect of tbcm. cook's Joirnal. THE GREAT CENTRAL GAS CoNsumEns Com- PANY'S BILL.—The above Bill came before the Standing Orders Committee of the House of Lords yistorday. Mr. 1. -) Ariatnenta - ry ng t ni fir the promoters. ' Thfir Lordships having duly considered the provisions of the Bill, declared the standing orders to have been complied with. The Bill WAS unopposed in this stage of its progress. POST-OFFICE SUNDAY LABOUR. (From the Times.) The late precipitate proceeding with respect to the Post-office may lead to consequences not expected by those who acted upon the accidental mejority of the House of Commons. A grave question has arisen as to the legality of the order lately issued, and the courts of law may probably be called upon to decide the point. A, mere resolution of either House of Parliament has not the force of law, end we must recur to Acts of Parlia ment to ascertain the powers of the Postmaster-General and the Crown with respect to the delivery of letters. The question may, indeed, ho tried in various modes, and Oe only persons likely eventually to profit by the re striction now imposed are the lawyers. Important letters being delayed or delivery of them refused on the Sunday, an action may be found to lie against the per son refusing or detaining them, and the inconsiderate conduct of the Government may thus lead to almost in terminable litigation. It ought to be recollected that the business of delivering the letters of the community is a case entirely exceptional. The community, speaking by Parliament, has determined both to impose upon the Government the obligation of receiv ing, collecting, and delivering letters, and to prevent all private persons from in any way sharing in the lan- 1 soiess. For reasons parily of finance, parily of a social character, a complete monopoly bas been established. The Postmaster-General has been made " a corporation" _ . for this purpose; a certain fixed s um or c harge has been settled to be paid by those who send and receive letters; and heavy penalties are imposed on those who shall pre sume to interfere with the duty of receiving, collecting, and delivering them. Fur many years the chief consi deration of the Government in this matter was the sum collected; the tax was the thing regarded. Security, indeel, seemed to En increased by the Government tak . . ing upon itself the duties of the Post-office; certainty also appeared more likely of attainment in consequence of the same proceeding. But many circumstancem have occurred to shake the public confidence as to these sup posed advantages. All unity and precision and security are likely to be lost, if the late proceeding is to be taken as a precedent. The merest accident will hereafter have fatal sway over our most important interests; and ore great advantage derived from our advance in art, and in our commend over the powers et nature, will have to be struck out of the account to be - made of the benefits derived from the exist erica of society. The people of this country are, we re joice to believe, an eminently pious people. But their piety is not always a reasoning and rational piety. They are not unapt to permit their common sense to be sur prised by interested professions of peculiar excellence, and to be thus led to sactifice the substance and true merit of piety for mere outside observance. An imperious de sire to compel others to obey our own peculiar opinions and rules of conduct is but too often the real motive leading to an unnecessary strict observance of the letter, in place of the spirit of the law; and of the molement in the country which eventually led to tho late resolution of the House of Commons, the greater part was the re sult of mere personal interest, and a mechanical obedi ence to mere outward forms. Of the multitude who signed petitions for the abolition of Sunday labour in the Post.offiee, a very , large majority acted without any real consideration of the consequence. The mere signing one's name was deemed an easy way of escaping remonstrance and importunity, as well as of earning a character for piety. Little atten tion was paid to the motives of those by whom the majority of the petitions were concocted, and signing the naene:was generally believed to be all that would occur. The first stir was made under a misapprehension. Those who were unwilling to have a Sunday delivery of letters in London (which was never contemplated, in fact, by anybody) did not fail to take advantage of the feeling which they found general in the metropolis, and the cry was raised, Why not make the whole country like London? Why need there be a Sunday delivery in any part of the kingdom? Two °lessee very distinct in their character, and as to the objects which they had in view, were active on the occasion ; and proved, what experience has, indeed, but too often shown, that en active, persevering, and interested minority will generally obtain their object in spite of the tame Opposition of an apathetic majority. All persons con• +meted with the delivery tf letters, and more especially those who receive a fixed salary, had a powerful interest in diminishing by one-seventh the labour for which they were paid. To grace and cloak this mere sordid inte rest, they dexterously put forth their demand for an un employed Sabbath. They asserted that from being mcupied during the Sunday they were unable to attend their religious clutter, and prayed Parliament not to per mit the continuance of so grievous a wrong. To an ap peal of this descripion Parliament and the country were I , tnxious to lend a willing attention, and all must wish that every facility should be afforded in such a matter. But works of necessity must still be performed; and of the Lheusands who signed the petitions presented to Parlia ment there are few who relieve their own servants from every duty beyond what absolute necessity remands. The ordinary work of every household is performol, though it includes many more than mere acts .4* necessity. Food is prepared; carriages and horses ire employed; visits are made and received. Some there may be, but still a minute fraction of the whole commu nity, who restrict materially the duties of their house meal servants on a Sunday. But take these with all 'heir s;ricteess, and much that is mere superfluity will still be found to remain. A crust of bread and a glasz plain water are sufficient healthily to sustain a healthy person for a single day. Fire need not be lighted ex .:ept for purposes of warmth—for the purpose of prepay tug food it is wholly unnecessary. The very persons Nho claim exemption in this case because of the restric tion upon their time for religious observance deal. we are Prepared to w.sert, with the time of others, as re gards themselves, in a far different spirit. They who have servants command their services. They who have the means of bu) ing enjoyment spend their money to purchase the voluntary service of others to that end. But who shall say that the transmission of some letters on the Gunday is not a work of necessity? Mid if we allow it in any case, we must allow it in all, for no cl,scrimination can be made. We have now before us many complaints of the misery which this restriction has already inflicted. One case is an instance of most 'grievous misery, most wantonly in dicted. A mother lies dangerously ill on the Saturday, many of her children are absent, and she, believing her end near, wishes to gather round her bed of el( ath the children from whom she is destined soon to part for ever. No letter can be sent. The family is net in affluent circumstances, and the children are scattered. To send For them is impossible. This is no fancied case. The proof of its afflicting reality is now before us. In an other instance the circumstances are different, but the suffering is nearly equal. The child in this case is ill —additional advice is wished for. Again the family is not affluent—and without greater, and for the parents almost impossible, expense the advice desired cannot be obtained. The great mischief of the matter id that the evil thus falls chiefly on the poor. The rich man, whether as respects his pleasures or his wants, is able in most cases by his wealth to obtain what he desires. Servants are dispatched, arrangements are predetermined, and at an increased cost the thing is done. But as respects the very end sought to •be ob tained by this restrictive system, that is wholly frus trated. Sunday labour, instead of being diminished, is greatly increased; while the good which that labour effects is materially lessened. The same train that car ries one messenger would carry thousands of letters. The train Ira eels, all the servants needed for it are em ployed, but only the rich man's messenger proceeds upon nis journey. The messenger of the poor man—his un expensive letter—is stopped, and hearts may be wrung, Trepsreble wrong may to inflicted, and the poor pre 'ence for which all this evil has been accomplished has not the grace of being even in appearance what its Authors desire. We assert, without fear of refutation, that the restriction on the Post-office, instead of di etching, must of necessity greatly increase Sunday labour. (From the Chronicle.) XL:Asters and their partisans seem t o b e ex t reme l y delighted at the notion of the annoyance and incon venience which the country has begun to suffer from the weekly obstruction of its postal communications. They appear to regard it quite as a feather in Lnrd John Russell's cap, that the House of Commons, of which he is the official leader, has blundered into an absurd and mischievous decision, the consequences of which are likely to be intolerably vexatious. "People are already finding out the effect of this measure," was the boastful exclamation of the Chancellor of the Exche quer, not many nights ago, in answer to a remonstrance against the stoppage of the Sunday deliv er y of news papers; and be evidently much enjoyed the thought of the thing turning out many degrees worse th an h e h a d himself predicted. It is regarded as particularly good fun for the Government that the Sabbatarians themselves have been among the first to cry out, and that they have not blushed to denounce the "animus" app aren t i n th e new regulations—the said animus being as nearly as possible identical (minus the murk) with that which has marked their own fanatical agitation. On the whole, it seems to be assumed by Ministers, that the worse the new system works for the country the better it is for them, and that every fresh develop ment of the oppressive consequences of this nuisance redounds somehow to their credit. For our own part, however, we doubt whether the public will let the Government off so easily. All this would be very well if Lord John Russell had been under any real compulsion to accept, as final and authoritative, the result of a chance vote in the House of Commons. We can enjoy the laughable fright and mortification of the too successful Sabbatarians as heartily as our neighbours; and if it had been absolutely necessary to give these agitators their own way, we could have borne a good deal for the sake of seeing folly and fanaticism work out their own cure. But th ere was no such necessity. The vote in question was but one out of some half-dozen or half score occ a si ons (we have long since left off keeping an exact account) on which, in the course of the present session, Ministers have been outnumbered by an adverse majority of the House of. Commons; and h a d th e y been really in earnest in resisting what Sir Charles Wood calls " an exceedingly great hardship and inconvenience to all classes, and especially to the poorer classes," they would have found a way of reconciling constitutional propriety with common sense and public convenience. The plsin fact is, they have deliberately chosen to maks the very worst of this business. Totally regardless of all considerations except their own official convenience, they hare eagerly seiz:d on what they thought a good opportunity for " giv.eg a Jerson" to their supporters. It is a selfish end shabby policy, and we are much miss taken if the issue dons not prove far from satisfactory to its inventors. It will not Le by any means to easy as Ministers imagine, to persuade the country that the whole and solo responsibility of the late vexatious lone vetion rests with Lord Ashley and the House, of Com mons, and ti.at none of it devolves on those who have dis played so lad, cerous au enter's.) in "carrying out" a scheme which they never miss an opportunity of denouncing. Peo ple are not used, in this country, to see great and sudden RSDAY EVENING, JUNE 27, 1850. changes in the organization of public departments— changes which interfere with their daily avocations and enjoyments, which derange their calculations, and which may even ruinously depreciate their property—made at the mere flat of a single branch of the Legislature, without notice, and with scarce'y a show of discussion. It may, as Sir Charles Wood averred on Tuesday night, be strictly legal (though many doubt it), but it is cer tainly. unusual, and contrary to all the analogies of our social and political system; and the public will be slow to believe that anybody is real'y answerable for a little revolution of this sort except the Government which has wilfully, and even ostentatiously, allowed the nuisance to take its own course. It is no business of ours to defend the Sabbatarien zealots from the censures which their folly deserves ; but Ministers may be assured that, when the consequences of the recent change shall have somssvhat further developed themselves, it will not he the majority of ninety-three that will have to bear the chief blame. What those consequences are likely to be, we shall, it may be feared, soon have ample means of judging. On Tuesday evening Lord Brougham men tioned the instance of a death which bad occurred within the previous day or two, in consequence of the new re gulations rendering it impossible to call in medical aid by letter; and though it will doubtless be said that the case was an " isolated" one, it unfortunately happens that" isolated cases," of one sort or another, constitute no small part of every man's life. Liability to " isolated" emergenciee, whether of a personal, a pecuniary, or a domestic nature, is a fundamental condition of human existence; and nothing is more certain than that, in every considerable town in Great Britain, scores or hun dreds of instances will arise every Sunday in which im mediate communication with a distant locality will be a mutter of life-and-death urgency. Of course we do not mean to say that the new regime, if allowed to be come permanent, will be very frequently productive of extreme and fatal consequences, as in the case adduced by Lord Brougham. People will soon learn to understand the thing, and, so far as may be, to accom modate themselves to it. Necessity is the mother of ins cation. The proprietors of the London weekly jour nals have already, as our readers are aware, made ar rangements with at least one of the great railway com panies, which will tend to avert the threatened confis cation of their property; and there can be no doubt that it will be perfectly practicable, with a little time and experience, to organize a machinery adequate to the supply of other social wants besides the craving for " la test intelligence." Country traders, who have bills fall ing due in London on the Monday will find means of transmitting cash on the Sunday; and urgent family tei3sives will, we may be sure, neither be kept back till the critical moment is passed, nor be carelessly flung into -the receptacles where everything lies " unsorted and untouched." We may say, in general, that (after a while) there will be a universal Sunday "collection awl delivery" of all letters—except those of the very poor— which are worth being done up in string and brown paper, and charged as "parcels." In a word, the most notable and conspicuous results of the present delectable device for promoting Sabbatical religion will be (should the thing last long enough), to make a considerable hole in the Post-office revenue—to levy a vast amount of private taxation on all classes of the community except the poorest—to inflict on them a cruel and exasperating hardship—and to add enormously to the amount of Sunday labour throughout the country. We take it, however, to be impossible, practically speaking, that our experience of this absurd and fantastic innova tion will be sufficiently protracted to produce a tithe of the social and moral mischief with which it is fraught. Mr. Locke has given notice of a motion, for the 9th of next month, which will bring the whole question once more under the consideration of the House of Commons ; and what ever Ministers may or may not do towards extricating themselves from the very discreditable position which they have assumed, there are, we trust, independent Members of that assembly who will take care that the matter shall at least undergo one night's thorough and searching discussion. The issue we can scarcely re gard as dubious. Lord Ashley himself must, we should imagine, be already somewhat sceptical as to the moral operation of a system which tends to identify the very name of the sacred day with unwonted wed odious social restrictions ; and we cannot but believe that very many among his recent supporters will have perceived, on cooler reflection, that the decorous and religious ob servance of the weekly Christian holiday has nothing to gain, but everything to lose, from that sort of fanatical exaggeration which invariably ends in an anti-religious reaction. (From the Cork Examiner.) The fanatics of Sabbatical labour must apparently be satisfied with having annoy el the public for an exceed ingly short space of time. Their success has excited universal outcry through England. Lord Brougham de nies that it is legal for the Government to carry out the new regulations, the Post-office being a means of taxation, which they have no right to abrogate or lessen; and the Marquis of Lansdowne promises to take the point into serious consideration. The Chancellor of the Exchequer confesses to a malicious satisfaction at the in convenience to which the public have subjected them selves; indeed, it is doubtful whether the testy indi vidual is not more pleased at the consequences of the vote in the Commons, than angry at its having been adopted against his advice. Lord John Russell agrees in the opinion of the Chancellor, with rogard to the change being unadvisable. Meanwhile, the Times spends the opposition to the measure of the last body of the English classes. The anxiety of Ministers to see the House of Commons retrace its steps is not at all ac cepted as an excuse for their complying with an address voted in such a way. The Spectator says their " con duct presents a case of the most naked mala fides — that it is grossly unconstitutional,' and despicably shabby ;" and the whole press, without exception, merely varies the terms of condemnation. From all these indi cations, we give the new regulations a very short time longer to live. The best, because the shortest, argument on the question is, that the stoppage of the postal de livery really tends to increase the amount of labour on the Sabbath. This has been over and over again de monstrated. Within the limited range of a single per son's acquaintance, and on the first occasion when the obnoxious regulations came into force, we have known an extent of trouble taken with communications, almost equal to that of all the persons engaged in the heal post-office. Ono fact is stronger than a column of logic. We give the following illustration of the new Post-office rule. A farmer in the county gaol for debt, had his bail papers sent up to Dublin. They were examined and found all right. They were transmitted to Cork, and reached here on Sunday morning. From the non-de livery of letters, he was kept a prisoner till to-day, thus suffering a whole day's incarceration that might have been prevented. __ (From the Scotsman.) The chief effect, as yet, of the remarkable postal change which came into operation last Suedey, has been a great outburst of bitter abuse against all coecerned in it, coming from those who have been silent or very cautious end gentle in the previous stages of the ques tion. Every morning the Times (which we take only its conspicuous among a large number) comes out firmer and fiercer, and with fresh specimens of the op pressions and absurdities arising out of the new system. ishat the complaints area just and the specimens feir there is no doubt ; and even in our own much smaller sphere w e have already evidenced that, as we have al ways maintained, the change will not only inflict great incenvenietce and cruelty, but, without that inconve nience and cruelty being thereby removed in the more claanint class of cases, will greatly increase the amount of Sunday labour. The very first Sunday's experi ence has caused requests to be made to us from various districts to enter cn arrangements by which, through means of parcels, &c., the paper:, may be ob tainable as hitherta when the readers pay their Sunday visits to the places where (no anomalous neighbourship) the church and post office stand t( gather; and there is no doubt that arrangements of that kind, nut only as regards despatching, but, in the case of papers published early in the week,as regardareceiving also,will,be,adopted, and to some extent are already adopted, by the chief portion of the newspaper press. The proprietors of the London Saturday papers are already far advanced with preparations for a Sunday delivery in a large number of places by means of private messengers, and a pressure, the success of which seems considered certain, has been commenced on the English railway companies, to • induce them to esteblieh a Sunday precis delivery. Our advertising co lumns also bear evidence already that the coffeehouse-keepers and others of the same class even in Scotland are calling new machinery into operation in order to obtain their supply of papers. These are spe cimens of the remedies resorted to in one department alone—whence inferences may be drawn as to what will be the amount of labour called into existence to provide remedies in all the other departments, as well as of the amount of cruelty inflicted and of indignant feeling en gendered in those numerous and various cases (the cases of individuals as distinguished from trades or communi ties, and the poor as distinguished from the rich) in which the wrong is irremediable. The Times of Mon day incidentally makes the following allusion to the mode in which last Sunday was spent in London, the city to which the advocates of the prohibition of intercourse are so fond of referring in example:— The railways could not supply trains fast enough for the multitude pressing into the metropolitan stations, and by the time a regular train had got off there re mained enough for a supplementary special. The river, which had not erased to flow, presented a similar spec tacle; and as no air was to be got in the streets, it was a comfort to think of the several score thousands who in haled it, not quite pure perhaps, but still in motion on the Thames. We never remember to have seen so com plete a turn-out of the population on the pavement as there was in the evening, just as the air out of doors was beginning to be cooler than within. We must add that we saw a good many reading their newspapers, which they did with the look of men exercising a privilege, and resolved to keep it if possible." This indicates two of the peculiarities connected with the case of London, to which we have occasionally ad verted. The one is that, besides an amount of Sunday business happily unknown either in Scotland or the pro vincial towns of England, London, with her shut Post officc, is on Sunday the most jaunting and pleasure seeking town in the kingdom. Of course, we do not adduce these things as cause and effect, but only as coincident, and as having a bearing both on the motive under which the Londoners keep their Post-office shut, and on the assumption of the Agnawites that ehutting it throughout the kingdom would produce better Sab bath obsere ance. The second peculiarity in the case of London indicated above, is that, in so far as she ha: her copulation concentred, and is rather the giver than the receiver of intelligence, she is much less de pendent on the Post-office than any other district is. For instance, London is nearly as populous as all Scotland, but it is very easy to see tee; difference as to the necessity of Post-off ce csmeaunication between a population crushcd tegv:et-r yen twelv;_. square !bites, and one spread over more mall 30,000 square nailes--hetvieen a popula tion, the members of which, any Sunday, at almost any hour, can reach one another, in person or otherwise, within a few minutes and at a trifling cost—and an equally numerous population, the metnterth or which are se'dratcd by scores and hundreds of miles, and perhaps by shut railroads and horse!ess highways. Thus, we see that, while the new papers belonging to ell the rest of the population were, lest Sunc'ly, lying locked up in boxes, the Londoners not only had theirs carried and received, but employed themselves in reading them. The sum of the matter is, that, in a multitude of matters London is, so to speak, self-contained and self-supplying, while all other places are dependent on such arrangements as that of which they have been this week deprived. Oddly enough—eu oddly as to be worth mentioning—just when those who were silent or timid before are Leginning to speak out, our respected contemporary, the Mercury, who has hitherto borne well his share in the battle, seems rather inclined to " ring in." He " would wish the experiment fairly tried," and always " thought it well worthy of con sideration." In the case of such conversions or waverings, experience has led us to the suspicion, never yet wrong in any instance where inquiry has been made, that the convert's practice had become lax just when his profes sions had become strict. Fur instance, a reverend doctor in this city, who used to write very strongly against the stopping of Sunday trains, lately came out very furious on the other side—just at the time that he had shifted his residenee several miles out of town, and teken to driving its and out every Sabbath-day. Similar is the case of the Morning Herald, which he.s of late *be come quite enthusiastic against every species of " Sab bath labour "—and whose printers and all connected with it labour every Sunday as long and as hard as they do every Monday. It is nothing of this kind we intend to allege against cur friend's con sistency (though he may feel a little frightened) —we mean to confine ourselves strictly to the question in hand; and, doing so, we point out his announcement to his readers that, in consequence of that changw in the Post-office of which he declares in favour, he will hereafter get them news by means of Sunday parcels! In profession he says, "We wish the experiec,ent tried;" in practice, he says (like many others of the few who approve of this experiment), "but we shall take pre cious good care you shall not try it on us." It would relieve much perplexity were our contemporary (to whom we speak in rcsrect and amity) to explain by what process of moral reasoning he arrives at the con clusions that it is right that the Government should pro hibit the carrying, sending, and receiving of letters of affection and leanly, necessity and mercy, mayhap lite and death, and that it is right also that he should cause parcels to be cent, carried, and received, to facilitate the dispatch of his secular business. To THE HONOURABLE THE COMMONS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND IN PAR LIAMENT ASSEMBLED. The petition of the undersigned Proprietors and Editors of London Newspaper, and Contributors thereto, and other persons employed thereon, Humbly bhoweih, That, on an Address, supported by ninety-five mem bers of your Honourable House, and which, by the rules of that House, could not be again considered before it was presented, her biology, by the advice cf her Mi nirterr, has prohibited the delivery of newspapers on Sundays by post throughout the kingdom. That your petitioners thereby hare been suddenly and without notice grievously injured in their property and cc2upation. That the liberty of the press has hitherto been con sidered the first bulwark of British freedom, end that its uses have hitherto been considered of paramount value and importance, and that, therefore, any unneces sary interference with its operations is the most unbear able of oppressions, and the most galling of insults, that can be offered to the people, or their habitual informants, instructors, and defenders. That her Majesty's Government, in suddenly acting upon the resolve of an accidental majority, by stopping the delivery cf the post on Sundays without taking means to consult the real sense cf your Honourable House, has abandoned its duty and despctically trifled with tLo proerty and interests of your petitioners. That the amount of Sunday labour which will he oc casioned by the efforts of the newspaper proprietors to protect their property will be threefold that sued by the new regulaions. Ti at the stamp-tax on newspapers has been vindi cated us giving the privilege of transmission by post, and that to make this privilege available to one class and to deny it to another is an act of tte grossest fiscal in to tee. That the circulation of newspapers on a Sunday is a civilizing uct, meritorious to the highest degree in a free nation, where every individual is supposed to take the part of a lrteman in public affairs, and where this day is the only one that affords to many of the industrious classes the opportunity, by perusal of the public prints, to inform themselves of their duty as citizens. That the business to be transacted by a great number of ind►viduals in the course of the ensuing week is ne cessarify regulated by the information as to markets cud otherwise communicated by the weekly papers on the Sunday. . _ That the Post•effico is a close monopoly of the most essential means of communication, which monopoly can only be justified by its rendering the most complete and equal service at all times to all parties who rcquiro iti agency. _ _ - ".11a - t to make this great public institution subservient to the stctarian opinions of any body of individuals is an usurpation of the rights of Government and a per version of its duties. That your petitioners, who are as anxious as any other pt.rsons, whatever may be their religious preten sions, to give the full enjoyment and repose of one day in the week to the entire people, feel that this can only be done by a moderate sacrifice of the convenience fur some hours cf the few to the many, and that if this truth be not admitted, no one has a right to claim any ser vice of any kind upon the seventh day; and that this principle should be strictly applied to all ranks of men by stringent legislation. That your petitioners believe the new regulations of the Post-office to be a violent inroad on the liberty of conscience, a mere pretence as to the effect it professes to produce, the precursor of a series of absurd and cp• pressive measures against the civil and religious liberty of the people; an act unwarranted by the practice and faith of civilised Europe—a deprivation inflicted by a higher class upon an humbler one, end a measure so totally unworthy of the Government and Legislature of this country, that it could only have been carried by the surprise of a single vote. Your petitioners thi refore humbly pray of your Honourable House to rescind the resolution which led to the late Address, and to enable the Government to resort to the former usage in this behalf, And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will every pray, &c. THE CLERGY AND THE SABBATARIAN FRENZY. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SETA. FIR,--1E is well known that great numbers of the clergy are, on principle, opposed to the recent change in tne bundey postal. arrangements. The rational and Scriptural views of Archbishop Whately and the late 1)r. Arnold, with reference to the Lord's dey, are ac cepted by hundreds even of those who would feel some difficulty in subscribing to the opinions of Owe great and learned men on some other subjects. Why, then, do not those who believe this recent change in the Post-office to be repugnant alike to common sense and to Christianity, step forward boldly and aid tho efforts now making to procure a repeal of this most offensive regulation? For my own part, I have done and shall do all that is in my power to point out to the people the cruelty, injustice, and, above all, the utterly un- aristian nature of this proceeding, convinced that in ro doing I am but acting in perfect consistency kith nay duty as a clergyman and as a Christian, in resisting the attempt to impose upon the English people a Judaical observance, of the Sunday, and so to deprive them of "that liberty wherewith Christ has made us free." Nothing, as it seems to me, can be more self-evident to any unprejudiced student of the New Testament, than that the attempt to stop all postal communication un Sunday is an act of tyranny and oppression, for which no warrant whatever can be found in that Holy Book. Is it conccivable, that He, who so severely rebuked the hypocrisy cf those who would have prevented Him from healing the sick on the Jewish Sabbath, would sanction a measure which will prevent the son from hastening to the bedside of the dying parent, and keep thousands racked with the agony of hope, deferred through the long hours of a day which onght to be so far as may be, for contemplation on sacred things, and for holy Christian enjoyment? I perceive that the same party, whose efforts have procured from a weak and reluctant;Ministry the perpe tration of this outrage on religion tied common sense, are now actively employed in circulating petitions against the admission of Jews into Parliament. I can imagine nothing more absurd than this. Why, Sir, if they are so fond of Jewish ordinances, should they so strongly object to Jewish Legislators ? I enclose my address, that you may know that my signature is not a reigned one, and rvith my sincere nii,,hps that your exertions in the cause of religious liberty may be soon crowned with success, I am, sir, your very obedient servant, A PRESBYTER OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. [ADVERTISEMENT.]--BOTANIC WATER AND shaving tliin BEARS' GREASE.—When the hair is becomingtheand head, fall ingead off, the only effectual remedy, besid e is the use of the two above-named articles, applied alter nately, the botanic water to cleanse the roots from scurf, and as a stimulant, and the bears' grease as a nourisher. If any further evidence was requi re d of the virtues of bears' grease for renovating and preserving the hair, Mr. Catlin's account of the quantity used, and the length of hair obtained by some of the North American Indians, would be a sufficient answer.—lloss & Solis, 119 and 120 Sishopsgate-street, London, who first introduced the use of bears' grease in this country, and wh o f a t an d kill t h e an i ma l s , recommend the public to purchase none other but with their names and address printed on the pot, or the chances are their obtain ing a spurious article. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—WheeIer's General London and Provincial Newspaper-office, Manchester. —B. Wheeler begs to inform his friends and the public, that in consequence of the alteration in the Post-office regulations, he has made arrangements to receive Bea's .Lift in London, and other Lon don Saturday and Sunday newspapers at the earliest hour possible on the Saturday, so as to be delivered in Manches ter the same day, and also to forward them to the neigh bouring towns on the Saturday.—Exchange Arcade, /dun cheater. [ArivEitTisEmENT.] —Bell' s Life in London.—ln consequence of the new postal arrangements, a portion of the publication Gf this journal will take place before a o'clock on Saturday mornings in time for the morning mails and early railways. To insure the insertion of advertisements in Bell's Life, they Ehould be sent to 170, Strand, early on Friday afternoon. The average sale of Be'i's Life exceeds 28,006. THE BRIGHTON PAVILION.—The Surveyor to the Woods and Forests gave the Commissioners of Brighton possession of the Pavilion estate on Wednesday last. BrightOn Guardian. THE FLUTE. The flute, which was the most popular musical instru ment of the ancient Greeks, and has remained popular up to the present time, has lately undergone a revolution At the be,;inning of the last century it was but a com mon whistle. sounded like the modern flageolet, and termed flute-a-bee. It had no keys, and could produce only the diatonic scale. The German flute, which sup planted this feeble instrument, wets equally liinited in it►s range of notes, but had a more sonorous tone. The in creased cultivation of instrumental music, and the de mands of the modern orchestra, whetted the invention of the emineat performers upon the instrument, and pro duced ultimately all the notes of the chromatic scale. The notes of the original diatonic scale, however, being imperfect, these additional notes, which were obtained by keys, were still inferior, and thus the flute, like all the fingered wind instruments which were similarly cir cumstanced, remained proverbially false in intonation. These defects., however, having proved too gross for mo dern ears, the last twenty years have produced a flute tuned according to equal temperament, and a ith tones of an equally resonant quality throughout the entire re gister of t►he instrument. One of the most active movers in this direction was Boehm, of Munich, whose suggestions have been adopted, not only en the flute, but the oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. Messrs. Rudall and Rose, who introduced the improvements of this gentle man to the English litre player, soon found two classes of objectors to them—one consisting of those who were indisposed to make certain changes in the manipulation which w, re required in playing upon the flute which went by Boehtu's name, and another class comprised great numbers who, having adopted the Boehm mode of fingering, found it more difficult of execution than their old method. In this dilemma Messrs. Rudall and Rose made numerous experimental flutes for different in ventors, having for an object to reercere-these obstacles to the free progress of the amelioration of the instru ment. But it was not until they met the flute as planned by Mr. Carte that they were fully satisfied. The patent of Mr. Carte extends to two flutes, which are contrived to meet the objections of the two classes of persons re ferred to; one flute combining the principle of equally distributed holes, with the exact fingering of the old flute, and the other having the same perfection of tone and intonation, with the fingering somewhat changed, but affording a facility of execution that is something extraordinary. GRAND SWIMMING MATCHES. Last evening the first swimming matches of the Hol born Swimming Club came off at the National Baths, High Holborn. There could not have been less than 1,000 persons present to witness the race, one and all of whom were delighted with the admirable arrangements made by the spirited proprietor of the baths, Mr. James Hedgman, for their accommodation. The place was brilliantly lighted with gas for the occasion. At start ing the greatest excitement prevailed amongst the bet ters, 5 to 1 being offered against the favourite, Mr. Thomas Young, coming in first, or even second. The number of competitors for the medals, which were of massive silver, was seven. The distance in trial heats was four lengths cf the bath, and the grand heat six lengths. After a most severely contested struggle, as far as regarded the trial beats, Mr. Thomas Young and Mr. David Young, brothers, were announced by Mr. 11. Kenworthy, amid loud plaudits, the successful candidates for the prizes. By a strange fact it was quite a matter of chance which of the two brothers came in first, so equal) , were they matched. The six lengths of the bath were swam in the inceedible short time of two minutes and ten seconds. The race being ended, a sweepstakes was entered into—the first of course reaching the goal being George Pewters, the champion of England; Messrs. Robertson and Young folioaing close inhis wake. After a short interval Messrs. Henson and Kenworthy entered the water, and greatly delighted the company present by their extra crdinary featr. Much having been said about a late diver, at Bath, having pulled on a pair of boots while underneath - the water, Mr. George Pewters dived, clothes and all, into the bath, and before he went out he had succeeded in bringing him,elf to that state in which Dame Nature had introduced him to the world. Wo were, at the termination of the evening's entertainment, which seemed to have delighted all present, requested to state that Mr. George Pewters is open to swim any man from five to twenty miles for any amount. LATEST NEWS OF MR. LATARD.—Letters have been received from our enterprising countryman so late as the 10th of April, and dated from Arban, on the River Khabour. Our readers will remember that the last accounts from this quarter in the Literary Gazette mentioned Mr. Layard's purpose of penetrating into the Desert, which he has now done, and explored for three weeks, meeting with numerous traces of ancient population, though not so productive of an tiquities as was hoped for. His present site, however, is richer in archicologicat remains, and is important, as these are undoubtedly Assyrian, and thus establish the fact of the extent of that empire. Two winged bulls and other frag ments have been discovered among the ruins. The country around is described as beautiful. The meadows rich in herb age, and the banks of the Klialy.ur literally gemmed with flowers. Mr. Layard was desirous to examine this river to its mouth ; but the Arabs in that direction were hostile to those whom he ranked among his friends, and amid whose drome daries, flocks, and tents he was located. The sheikh and his ladies and all the tribe were kind and hospitable; and we trust arrangements may be made with the inimical parties wherever they interpose between Mr. Layard and his inter esting discoveries. In his letter, that gentleman says that he thinks Major Rawlinson wrong in some of his topography, and that the chronological deductions cannot as yet be con sidered settled.—Literary Gazette. SINGULAR WILL—We are informed that the late Miss Margaret Creak, of St. Andrews, in this city, whose death was recorded in our paper of June 8, has left a very singular will, and not so much property as is generally sup posed—not . mere than 20,000/. in value. She has left Is. each to such of her relations as choose to prove themselves so; a legacy of 201. to one neighbour, and 101. to another, and a few trifling legacies of 21. each. She has left 501. each to every honseless person in the country above sixty-eight years of age; and all her real estate to found an hospital for aged persons, the hospital to be built and the inmates to be hahited as directed. She then gives all her personal pro perty to a neighbour, who is appointed executor. It i 3 evi dent the terms of the will cannot be carried out—the pro perty being insufficient.—Norfolk Chronicle. Con FiilllNG.—Great quantities of cod continue to be brought ashore at Wick. In Shetland and Orkney the take is ,also abundant. Last week, in Shetland, the smacks did well. At Reawick the average was about 500— the highest the sloop Nymph, Captain Watts. At Walls, the average was 30C; highest sloop, 1,000. At Scalloway, average, 250; highest, COO. We have heard nothing from North Mavine. At Papa, the take for the week was More than the average of farmer years. In Orkney, the fisher men are paid at the rate of 4s. Bd. per cwt.—lnverness Courier. GROTTO -PASSAGE RAGGED INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.- The annual meeting of this institution was held yesterday, at the Marylebone Institution, Edwards-street, Portman square ; Lord Ashley in the chair. The chairman com menced the proceedings by stating that, however inefficient their efforts might appear to be, yet still they had realised in many cases greater results than could have been antici pated. When they looked upon the lawless class which they Lad to deal with, and the depravity which they had to contend against, they had every cause to be grateful for the benefits which many had derived from the institution of the ragged schools. The report being then read, stated that 35 boys had been boarded, lodged, and clothed in the Refuge Institution; 180 children of each sex, and 4',1 adults, had been under daily tuition; 70 boys had received instrw.:tion in various trades, and 25 of each sex had been provided with a daily dinner. A Sunday-school, with an average attend ance of 43, had been in constant operation; and a library and reading-room had been opened. Eight boys and three men had been sent to the colonies. The report was adopted, and a vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the business of the meeting. LOBSTERFISHING.—The lobster fishing has been prosecuted with great activity and most successfully on the shores of this county during the last two or three months. At Dunnet and Scarfskerry stations, where there are from sixteen to eighteen boats employed, the takes have hitherto averaged about 1,000 a week. Mr. Roberts, of London, fishes the whole coast from Cape Wrath to Hume, as also the Orkney Isles; and it is estimated, at a moderate calculation, that he expends in this one branch of industry alone, in this part of the country, about 3,004. during the lobster fishing season, which extends from the Ist of April to the In of July. The fishing on the south coast, from lima to Latheron, is carried on by our enterprising townsman, Mr. Gunn, merchant, Bridge-street, and a partner. They employ two boats, but they have not driven so Profitable a spec as Mr. Roberts has on the north coast.—Joh n 0' Groat Journal. SNOW IN JUNE.—On Saturday morning, between the hcurs of nine and ten o'clock, there was a slight fall of sleet and snow at Lincoln, sufficient to lie upon the flag pavement. The mornings and evenings have been very cold.—Boston Herald. SCoTTIsit HOSPITAL. —A quarterly court of the govcroo:s of this corporation was held y es terday afternoon, at their offices in Crane -court, Fleet , street, for the reception of the accounts and for other business ; Dr. Webster in the Chair. The statement of acc MID ts from St. Andrew's - day to Midsummer was read an d a pproved, from which it appeared that the total receipts during that time amounted to 1,912/. U s. 2d., of which 6011. 16s. was received in dona tions, and 384/. 16s. in annual subscriptions. The rest was c o ompos o e s d i t ofs,re nts, arebnalance f r om the last return and the interest n dep &c. The expenditure during the same period amounted to 1,684/. ls. 9d., of which upwards of 1,380/. was devoted to charitable purposes. A letter from Pr..lessor Donaldson, on the subject of the New Record offices, was read to the meeting, which stated that he had been in .communication with the office of Woods and Forests on the subject, and it appeared that a plan bad been determined upon much less extensive than that originally' contemplated, and which would only occupy ground be tween Chancery and Fetter-lane, without extending further eastward, so that the premises of the Scottish Corporation would not be required. A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the proceedings. THE BANQUET TO THE Ex-LORD MAYOR OP LONDON.—We understand that the dinner to be given to Sir James Duke, M.P., in return for his hospitable entertain ment to the chief magistrates of English and Scottish towns during his mayoralty, and which was agreed, at a recent meeting of Mayors and Provosts at Derby, to take place in Edinburgh, is fixed fur Thursday, the 11th of July, at six o'clock. The banquet will take place in the Hopetoun Rooms, and preparations are, we believe, to be made for a company of from 150 to 200.—Edinburgh Advertiser. THE ABODE or LOVE—WARM RECEPTION OP VISITORS. Five young gentlemen of Bridgewater, anxious for a peep into the mysteries of the Agapemone, proceeded. to that interesting establishment one day last week, and finding "no admittance except on business," commenced an attack on the outer gate with their walking-sticks, when, to their dismay, instead of the responsive expression of " Who is dat knocking at the door?" found themselves surrounded by awe of the brethren armed with hockey sticks and hunt ing-whips. One of the gentlemen, famed tor length of limb, an.de a rapid departure; the others received a sound thrash ing, and were told, with peculiar Princite politeness, that the :3 Lane fate would await them on a similar annoyance. ATIIOF•PIIEr. IC ITAYAIA EING.—A whirlwind visited hay-field on the farm of Lord Braybrook e , near Saffron Walden, on Tuesday, and rather astonished the troop of hay ,nah,:rs by hurrying off part of the material upon which they were labouring, carrying in it fantastic shapes over the tops of the tall trees, and depositing some of it half a mile off.—Essex