The Sun. — London, England, 1817-12-20 00:00:00

LI rEitA rr NEvtzw. , (FitrSl A CofiRZSPONDEN'T.) THE BIBLIOGRAVIIICAL DECAMERON: 3 'vas. goo. Dy the Rev. T. 'F. DIEWIN. In calling th'e attention of anr, Readers Ikthis Avorrk, kt ' hi ch r typographicalsbeauty, and splcn 'donr a'gritpliicAecoration,ha's seldom beet' equal `led, certainly never surpassed, we 'cannot retrain from expressing our adthiration of the taste and jadgment of its author.; but, more particularly, of 'that ardoor and enthusiasin for the peculiar Depait s anent of titerattire which he so successfully cul tivates, and Which could have led him to undertake the publication of such a work as this, entirely at Ilk owl) risk nod expence. To this circumstance, however, is the uncommon elegance of these yo 'Tomes, perhaps, to he attributed. Having said thus much of the manner of Mr. Ikatita's Wolk, we come next to its matter. As the title informs us, it is " Ten days' pleasant Discourse upon nated MSS., early Engraving, Typography, and. " Bibliography ;" thus forming, as it were, a brief but uninterrupted view of literature and subjects intimately connected therewith, from• the earliest period of its' revival up to our own times. The first day*: Discourse is devoted to an account of the more rare and curious illo tninaled MSS. in Eur'ope, but particularly in Eng ' land, with specimens of the art of design as dis playe:l in some of the latter, and, considering how much the author was necessarily restricted in his limits, he has shewn, in this part of hiswork,; much curious research, and created the subject in a manoer highly creditable to his taste, his in dustry, and his talents. Some of the embellish ulents are of Uncommon beauty. The second - and third days comprize a history of the rise and progress of Engraving, as seen in some of the earliest productions of the press, with unmerona specimens frOm Missals and other re ligious Manuals, from •Romances, History, and Works of Sciences—This is followed by a history of Printing.from the earliest time up to the pre sent day,, which occupies the fourth, fifth, siztfe and seventh days; - the illustrations and de corations introduced into this disision of the Book, are exceedingly numerous ; many of them are very curious; while the information conveyed upon subjects connected. with the revival of Let ters, and the more remarkable productions of the first Prioters, is of the most valuable description. We have our doubts whether Mr. Mama has acted wisely, in entering so much at length into ' an account of the Fe'sent state of the Press'in. England :—We think there is a good deal here that might have been left to other times, but as he thought fit to enter on this subject, we think should base been more impat tied, and at the saine,titne more genersl, and have given a true acetiiitteof the actual state of printing in the • United Kingdom at the present time. The 'eighth day is upon . Book-binding, ancient and modern ; this is certainly a subject . on which little eras to be expected tiny way interesting there is, however, even bete, a good deal to amuse ; though, we confess, it appears to os that, the whole might have been, with more propriety, introduced incidentally in other parts of the Book. The account of. Book-auctions, in the• ninth .lay's Discourse; am( lie characters of lining pind deceased-frequenters of Book Sales, furnish many curious instances of the Comparative value of rare books at different pet iods, and the history of the sale and dispersioo of sonic of the must valuable private Libraries ver formed in this country. We are now arrived at the tenth" and last day's . Dialogue on Bibliographical Literature, and an ...account of the most celebrated Collectors and Li . bruits.' This ,is, doubtless, the best portion of Mr. D's ,Work.; much of the Biography is original, and several curious anecdotes of, and originallet terS from, celebrated Collectors, use now, for the first tiine, made public. With the exception of - the first and ninth days, all the others may be said ' to embrace subjects, in whieh, comparatively, few persons take any real pleasure ; but the mat: • ter of this tenth day will be found-highly interest ing by readerx of every description ; of the por traits -which decorate it, it is but with t 6 say that . they are equally valuable, many of them front' their originality, as well as from the exquisite style in which they are engraved, with the excep tion of the portraits of Mr. BULMER and Mr. l‘lmcitit, as they are certainly inferior to all the other. That of Mr. &Tema is not a likeness.— Neither our limits nor our inclination will allow us to say more of the merits of this. Work; though we must remark here, that, when be adopted the colloquial form for Iris text, the author should have hestoweil a little more pabis 'upon it ; it is • quite evident throoghout the whole of it, that he ,has not paid soffieient attention to the language of his•Litedoetitors. To this observation it will prithably be replied, that it was ooly intended as . a vehicle for the notes ; but this plea can afford no excuse whatever ;—the title, of the book is • Ten days' pleasant Discourse, &c., and he ought to have given the dialogue more importance thau it now possesses —Bat rota ithstanding this de fect, Mr. DIEDIN has in this Work given to the public such a Mass of curious attd valuable infor mation'on the subject on which he•profesSes to treat, as has never been equalled in this' or any •other country, in 'the •same We'are not •ignorant that there are many peraons,who are dis posed to hold pursuits like these very - Cheap; but, without attaching more impoerance•to Biblicigra .phy than it is cot itled to, we are n o t of th is n o no.. bes;•there is much more respired in a writer of -this 'class titan many are (baptised to admit . ; the Scholar who can see nothing excellent but what is to be found in the pages of Csreece'or or what is founded on theirmodels,satid who is, at all times, but too prtnse to underrate the ta lents of every on-e. who-is not as deeply versed in classic lore as himself, should not forget that it. is to the invention olprintiog, and to the learning and the indostry cif many of its lost prolesstirs, o a r h e is indebted" for, the preservation. of every thing lie dOilds, at VHS day, most valuable ;—a that he oho devotes his time to the history of Stich uteri sod labours, and traces this art from its first rude-essays to its present state of perfection; so far horn <misapplying his talents, is pursuing a course which gives him substantial chit ons upon the gratitude of every friend to Literattne. _ _ 'SPAIN AND HER COLONIES. (Cputihued froirt Pie ()wirierly . lii .'reviewing the events of the revolution in South America, we cannot omit to notice the re cent death of General Miranda, the author and the leader of tile first attempt to obtain its poli tical freedom; and it js impossible to mention circumstances attending- his death, without expressing the feelings of disgust and indignation, 'which in every civilized country they cannot fail to excite. Betrayed by a treacherous atilierent to the Spanish General with whOin he raid conducted a -formal - capitulation, and in defiance . bf this treaty '((vhieh contained on the. one :tide an e tc -, knowledgment of the anthority of the CoilLs, and on the ()di:A. a complete,amnesty 'w all per sons in his army, nit bout exccp l lol), he Was COll V e yell to Spain, and after a rigorous confine ment of tour years, he expired ic. the pistol Of La Caraca, near Cadiz. We have been informed, but we trust that our information is incorrect, that his domestics were prohibited by the monks and clergy of the place •in which -he died from giving the common tokens of respect to his re mains, and that. his effects were burnt, with every mark of ignoMinY and contempt. Miranda un doubtedly possessed nue characteristic, perhaps the most distinctive of a superior mind,--that of having selected an elevated, and, in his opinion, lin useful object of ambitious pursuit, and of having devoted, with steady perseverance to the successful attainment of it, his faculties, his for tune, and, his life. His sincerity in the cause which be : had undert a ken c a nnot be questitined, for the last exertion be made for its success, and which terminated in his own captivity and ti,eath, was made against the advice of his wore prudent friends ; when the affairs of VeneZuela, his nit tire country, were in the most desperate condi.; tion, and. when the cause itself, for which be made this sacrifice,. vas .not less endaoikred ,by the treachery of its professed advocates, than by the sttperior forces of the Spaniards. An imp Ar-, tial observer of his career in America willdiseover the taint of Jacybinical.principles which he hid contracted in the service of•RevOlutionary Fronce. He displayed them in his own cOnotry by an awk ward imitation of the worst forms of the very worst times of the French assemblies. ln t i de saute school, and amidst the contentions of rival commanders for the supreme power of the Re public, he acquired the habits of irregular ambi tion, which exposed. hint to the jealousy and sus picion of his countrymen ; which sullied the 111.0- tives of his conduct and checked the career of his success in a cause of which his talents, his know ledge, and his experience, would hate entitled him to be a leader. It i s with pain that we have remarked the pe culiarly lawless and sanguinary nature of the war in all the Z.,pAnisli colonies. No civil war of an cient or modern 'times can altoiil a parallel to these atrocities; .and the.cruelties of the Indian allies in the war of North America, exaggerated as they were by writers on both sides of the question, would sink in the comparison. Not Only the common and conventional laws . Of Da -1 ions, but the common feelings of human nature, are outraged and despised,—the murder of pri- SolletS, the perfidious violation of tieaties„ the unprovoked massacre of defenceless inhabitants, seem to hiue hcen the ordinary resources of war to both the contending parties. We have seen a proclamation published by General Bolivar, at Oeu»ire, in July, 1816, in ‘vhien he cOrumands; ' that no European tipaniariJsball be pt-,t to death, excepting in battle ; that to those who shall sur render pardon shall be given, though Spaniurds and that the war of death shall cra v e.' For the honour. of mankind, to be hoped that he will . persevere in hunranizing the mode of warfare, in which the belligerents had indulged their irritated passions. But it must be observed, that the ex ample of humanity would have come with a better glace from those, whose obvious policy it is to conciliate, and who lay claim to a higher degree of civilization. It would have becOme the mo ther country to .practise, in America the laws of civilized war, which she has learnt in Europe. To attempt an historical narrative of the events of the war, 'would be to hazard our own cha racter for veracity :—for stick are the acrimony and violence which pervade the official docnmen:s on both sides, so completely have their contra dictory relations succeeded in Perverting or ob scuring the truth, that we cannot pretend ,to more than to sketch an outline of such recent transactions as are too notorious to be concealed, and too authentic to be misrepresented. From the articles in ,Mr. Thompson's transla tion of Aleed&s Dictionary (in which ,the impar tiality of the narrative is not less to be admired than the variety and accuracy of the general in forinafion), and from the Outline of the Revo lution in Spanish America,' a correct .notion of these events en a late period may be collected. The latter work is evidently written by a person who haS enjoyed access to the best sources of in formation, and has . .probably been himself en gaged in sonic of the transactions which he has -(kscribed;—the,general bias of the author is in tarour of the colonists, but lie does not endeavour . to conceal the miscondnct of their leaders, to magnify their victories, or to diminish those of the Spaniards. The provinces Of Venezuela and of New Gra-. nada have constantly preserved some connexion in their operations, though governed by separate and independent congresses ; they • were entirely tree, until the earthquake, which in Match, 1612, destroyed the towns of La Guayra, ;Merida, and carachS ; and tinder their. ruins crushed many thousands of the inhabitants, and buried the stores of arms and ammunition destined for the service. of their arillits. This tremendous calamity oc- curved on Holy Thursday ; and the impression, which one of the most solemn rites of the Ca tholic religion mak cs 7 at , all times on rite supersti tions population of the Spanish colonies, Was-ag gravated by the recollection that it was the anni versary of their revolution. Of this circumstance the priests in the interest of the. Royalists took advantage, and contusion and despondency wrn e introduced into the affairs. of the republic. 'Ali , randa, having been appointed dictator, was, after a brave and skilful resistance, obliged to propOse a capitulation to the Spanish General Munteverde, . . • , • .. . •by which the constiottion propose r' for'Spatn b y the Cortes was accepted for Venezuela. Caracas wbh izt conStlint.nce posses-it'd by the' Royalists', islth the rest Of th'e pro‘inces; and Mir,inda hitn'seif, betrayed to the Bpaniartis was imprisoned and soon atterwiada conveyed to Spain. The Royalist's conducted themse'l'ves in VunezuelA with a degree of severity and impru dence which could not long he tolerated. Drin sinton iiidivar, who had been one of the deputieS front the colonies to England in )810, ,having raised army of less than a ilionSand men in New Granada, after several successful . hattie's with the Royalists, eptered the town of Caracas, as a deliverer, on the 4th of Atti. , ,'ltst, 1813.—T0 a reader, accnstoined CO "contemplate the inytiad3 which have been arrayed against each other in the wars of Europe, tiothutg can appear more singu- Lir and sit iking than ILO eontpast , between cite in significance of the means, aad the magnitude of the objt:cts in dispute in South America, as well as the immen3e•extent of the regions which ate the seat of the'se diminutive campaigns. Mira). continued. to attack with success the remaining forces of the Royalists, and having of fered the resignation of his authority into the hands of a Representative Assembly, was by them fOtmally appointed the sole dictator. In order to recover their superiority, the Spaniards had re- . CoMse - to the desperat e an d i n d e f ens ibl e measure of a.general liberation and arming of the slaves; and by these means raised an army, or rather an armed rabble, of above seventy thousand men, by whom Bolivar was beaten in a general action at the distance of fifty leagues from the capital. He had comudtted the fault of dividing, his army, al ready inferior in numbers to that of his opponents. The Spanish General Bores occupied Venezuela in 1814, and Bolivar flex! to Carthagena, which city General Murillo, who had arrived from Spain with ten thousand men (the only considerable expedi tion that Spain has been able fo send to America), besieged in the summer of 1815—and took, after an obs,inate resistance of . tour months, in the course of which a great part of the defenders bad ,perished by lamina. ' Bolivar, with the assistance of 'Brion, a naval officer, and a man of considerable wealth, and of Qeberal iNl‘Gregor, who had served in the.Euglish army On the Peninsida, directed another expedi tion the Royalists in Venezuela ; which, though be Was himself defeated, has partially suc ceeded. The loyalists .appear to be still in pos session of the principal towns, but great part of the country is occupied by the Independent ar mies or roving bands of Guerillas, 'They have also, under McGregor, occupied the island of Amelia, which coot aidS, an excellent harbour, and affords them -an easy Conitunnication with their friends 11l the United States. Tim island of Mar ita, and Part - or the prtivlbe,eS of (iumana and Maracaybo, are in their'poWer, and Bolivar was 'at the date of the last accounts, still at the bead of affairs. The pi'orinc6 composing the Viceroyalty ni New Granada, after violent civil contests, had established a systein of general federation, and appointed Nttrino General of their forces, united . to oppose the Royalists, who had exasperated the whole country, by having, upon the capture Of Quito, pct to death one in every five of the inha &knots, by whom it had been defended. Norio° wavtor sonic time victorious, but was at length taken prisoner in. June; 1814 the cause which had prospered by his conduct and talents wpr materially depressed. The Congress - of New Granada, not dispirited by failure, employed Bolivar in December, 1814, to compel the province of Cnndinamarca, with the capital Santa .Fe•di Bogota, to submit to their form of government. In this object he succeeded the - Congress proceeded to hold their sit tings in that ckipitaL The troops of New Granada were then employed by Bobviir in reducing Car t h0... - ,ena,.of,Which,t he Governor, Castillo, resisted his supreme authority: While : the armies were fighting for this point of civil dissension, Morino arrived, to whom both parties , were obliged to surrender. Pursuing his sticcesß, Morillo captured Santa . F 6. in June, 1816, after a spirited resistance of the Independents. From the intercepted dispatches of this General-to the Spanish Government (for they ate not oil f abyications) , it is evident that in many of the provinces of New Granada 'the war is still carried on against Spain, that the spirit of independence is nu where destroyed, and that on-;, less Spain is able to supply her armies with con stant reinforcements, they will soon be nnegnal to resist the Guerillas by whom the country is over run. (To be continued.) A letter, from Godalt»ing, dated yesterday, says, " A .report has just reached us this evening, that further light has been thrown on the subject of th e late horrid murders of Chennell and his house keeper, at Codalming, by the disclosure of a wo man ‘l - ho cohabited with Chatcrott, Otte of the prisonecsconunitted on suspicion of that atro cious crime ; but we are not at present enabled to state any further paiticulars, tor - want of posi tive information." BoxEßs.—The coaches to town, on Thnrsday, 'Or cr e It - mdetl with milling itmotturs, from Norwich. Both Painter and Sutton attract much of the gaze of the town ; the Black's .beast} is tied up; a►nd it presents the severe marks of J'ainter's prowess. The two fighting men, amid Oliver, Ilnrnier, and remain at Norwich, on a sparring excm sion. On Thnrsdaymorniing was un fort omit ely drown- ed.at Reading, WILLIAM RLANDT, Esq. an Alder man of that Borough. Ile went, according to his custom, to bathe, early in the moining, alone, and it was suppoSed that he was seizNl with the cramp, and unable to avail of hi, $h ill in swimming. Ile had twice been, chief i‘l..!gistrate of Reading.' whs 'in the sixty-seetind year of his age. Remarkable instances of Loge - rity.—ln the pa rish of lislidealowor, Dl'lmf:ies-shi,"e, there i:; in the possession of Mr. ARCHIBALD 107ING, firmer, Fedling, dice marts, whoSe united ages make seventy-five years ; a shepherd's dog sixteen ; and a hen, stilt laying eggs, fifteen yens old.; ' T ' lli - V - ifiSi i'V • ik "I' • R'LL IGENCE. CAMBRIben; ngt. iloisean prize for the present year is'adjimdged to . Mr. john'Weller, li. A. of, Enommantlei Colleg`e, tOr his dissertation ou " Time rrohable CallSrS , of mite apparent neg lect with syhich some celebrated writers of -It2i tiquitY treated IV! Christian Religion." The trillarving is the subject of the Jiulseart liriie 116:ertation for OM ensuing year :--'"rite peohable influenee of the Revelation upon the writings of . time. fleatimn Philosophers and the morals of time Heathen World." • • subject of the.ErigliSh Poem for thc.Chan 7 cellar's third gold-wed:l! fUr the ensuing year " Impel ial add Papal • The Rev. Richard DulE6l,, ALA. Fellow of St, John's College, aod'Alinistcr of St. Edward's; in this town, lids lately been appointed a Sctrro ga t e for the Arclideacoury of Ely. The Rev. Daniel Cress Well, M. A. Fen* of Trinity College, is presented to the perpetual Curacy of Great St. Mary's parish, in this town, Vacant by the death of the Rev. Thomas Qautley, The Rev. John Flailstone,, M. A. one of the Seniors of Trinity College, is presented to the Vicarage of Tiurnpington, in this cr)unty, vacant by the death of the Rev. Thos. Heckford. The Re,v. Thcnnas Carr, M. A. Fellow of Tri nity College, IS presented to the Vicarage of Shudy Camps In this comity, vacant by the cession of the Rev. Mr. Hailstone. The Rev. John Lowthian, M. A. Fellow of Trinity College, is presentee) to the Vicarage . of Keilington, in . Yorkshire, vacant by,the cession of the Rev. G. F. Tavel.—All the above are in the gift Of the Master and Fellows of 'Trinity College. NiErentirtwks. The Rei , . Mr. Mark, of RomaMirk A effected afternabri lecturer at the pails!' church of Tynemouth, vice the Rev. IV. Haqwell, (lec6.aBed. The Rev. Thomas Blackburn has been inducted into the rectory of CratOn, near IVakefitld, Void by the death of the Rey. --- Golding. This liiing is itt the gift of the Chan cellar of the Ditch) , of Lantaiter, The Rev. George Day was last week instituted to the vicar age of Eaton, in the county, of the city of Norwich; on the esentat ion of the Dian add Chapter. The Iter. John Dat•ison has been presented to the vicarage of Sutterton, near Boston, vacant by the death of the Bey: G. Hutton. ' • ' , • On the 17th ult. the Lord ,Bishop of Salisbury held a pri vate ordination, when the following. Gentlemen of this Uni versity were : admitted into Iroly Or ilitrs : . - Prie.s•is—Geuree Cookson, B.A. and James Birrow, of St. John's College ; and George Mackenzie, B.A. Trinity College. SPORTING ITELLiGEN& STATMIENT OF TIDE ODDS ON THE. DERBY ANii OAKS STAKES, i B.—Dv.c. 16. • DERRY. 9 to 1 agst Ailegretta. II to 1 agst Milton. 12 to t , agst brotlirr to Truffle. 14 to t agst •16 to 1 agst brothrr to Crecy. 20 to 1 asst 2i to I agaiost atty.ottivr. Bettitig on 11J1:1>crliy getting first. oAKS. R to 1 fig , t IS to 1 a..e,t Si.ter to Plover. 12 to 1 pei Pipe Juan. 13 tt 1 apina any other. T11': CFISCE. The tiaffield Hounds meet MOnday, at No Man's lAI4 Wednesday, at. Kennel, at eleven ; Saturday, Dec. 27, tit Brieket Wood, at half-past ten.---The East Essex Fox 116 unit meet .Monday, at - Boxted Hall: Friday, at Crouch Gree:rti Castle Heditigham.—l.ord Derby's Stag Hounds meet Tues day, at Walton Heath.-3. Maher4v, Esq.'s Fait Hound meet Monday; at the Fox,.,Kesfon& Wednesday, at Middles down; Saturday, Pro. 27, at Wariingham Common.—H.,lol - Esq.'s Fox Hounds meet Monday, at Box nes-day, at Out Wood; Saturday, Dec. 27, at Kennel.--Tbe Sanderstead Harriers meet 'Mondays, Wednesdays and '.4atnr-• days, at Kennet, twu miles distant from Croydon. Mr. GoDDARD has sold his ceYlrrtted horse Bobudil for 1250 gnineis to Lord LOWTHER. COURSE OF EXCHANGE, FRIDAY, DEC. 19. Amsterdam . ~ 37 6 B. 2 Us. Ditto, at Sight Amsterdam Ditto, at Sight Rotterdam Antwerp Hanibtirgli 94 6 24 Us. Altona .... : Paris, 3 Day's date Ditto Bourdeaux, ditto Frankfort on the Main - • Madrid Cadiz . Seville Bilboa • -Gibraltar Leghorn ... Genoa... 47 —Venice .. 25 Malta... ..49 --Naples Palermo • 'l24d. per Oz. • Lisbon Oporto - 59 • Rio-Janeiro • 65 Dublin.'. .. .....7j.....C0r1t....... 84 per Cent. Agin of t Ive Bank on Holland— 2 per Cent. Purtagal Gull, in Coin . / .4 0 6 per OZ. , Foreign Gold, in Bars 4 ' 0 6 Newl)4c!iloons .. Silver, in Bars . 0 5 Sk ' COAL MARKET,,DEC. J. Shipsat, Market. ' tibit)s soltl. Price. 21 --Ntwerrsttu:'...... • • • 71........415. 0(1. to 60s. C'S. 1] Suuderlancl .. 11 .... St3s. DJ. to 435. :' , l' . . Dint). Yester , la y, at Balsize-flonqe, Hanystemt, the 'Most Fro; nuttrabio the Mat chioties!: of Ormonete, wife 0106 Mat pis Ui 0191101114 e; in the 2 - Bth year of her age.. Ott the Stlt of .June last, in a gliirmish with the Pindarees, Livia-. .Wl'6:flirt:h.: of the.lsCuattalion; 14th MadraF. Nativc' Infantry. in the 20th year of h is age. Aso, Lieut. I I Ord Birch, of the 9lh Native Infantry, on the 20th of the save 'hunt h, at Madras, of a fever, in the lid year of his age, hro they to 4 he above. • • .0,1 th 17111 il)st. ofa eaneer,Julia, the wife txf Nlr..rfiato , ~ ilouav Dist, notch t esiwctril hp .all ltraccion..iotautwo Mrs. latlrvcll, of iVeRt Livid, near Milford, sikster to Liettte . wli , (;1111)5, Of the..3sth li.cgitorot of Foot, Do , the I Ith inst. ii 1 4 .11 102, in frail 11)cse5sion of her it' - collies . , Ales. Kftilth•ro.ter, • of Colts, near Witittlesea t till the three uiauth of ber I,ifu, enjoyed a most eNedient state health. LONDON: Peintrd 3. I. or No. 29, Gre 3l Ormnli-siren. (Zoi•en•sloare: and puirii,itoi b y Nv. SL;I:IPPS, of No. 7, S'orith Nloltois,-..t..eet, at'Tin Str 4 Office, No. 112, Strami; white Mee' tisetilerits, Ordog so Letters, &e. (vest-p.id) must be addressed. 1 i I 4.1 t mr) olit I Var ilryt of tl Purl bini in *gm be.tt its c year gild rior r pens fact Liar tfat Imp; Iteu FOB Lowe