The Press.
London, England, 1853-06-25 00:00:00

FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE.

Tuesday, June 21.

BANKRUPTCY ANNULLED AUGUSTINE llyt.t.r.rri, of
the West India Dock-road, Limehouse, rnsitugany merchant.
BANKRUPTS--Tnommt WAraos, of King's Lynn, Norfolk,
PINHORN CAPEL,OI Witham, EMMA, druggist
—Jolts Scorr, of Tichbourne•street, Haymarket, hosier—
RICHARD WILLIAMS, of New lirentford, boottnaker—Wmukaa
Wool), of Ortuid Junction-terrace, Edgware-road, stationer—
RICHARD Plus. of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, corn
dealer—Jon HROADIIIHMT, late of Longten, Staffiirdshire,
earthenware imuntfacturer—Rictinu I'IKE, of East Stonehoutir,
Devonshire, butcher—Wm. CONWAY, of Plymouth, builder—Wu.
ELI.ISON, of Alauchester, grocer.

SCOTCH sEquESTRATIONS—Jourt Smtrii Arum, of Glam•
gow, goods finisher—Joim WHAMOND, of Invergowrie, Dundee,
merchant—Ww. Du's Man, of Dundee, baker—lion. JAIIEI4
tiINCLAIN of Edinburgh, commission agent.

Friday, June 24.

BANKRUPTCY SUPERSEDEU.—RonanT 110RNER, l'all-
ma 11, Reclined victualler.
BANKRI/PTS.—lxtot BARFAM, FRANCESCO FOIIZANO,IIIIII
BASSANI) BEROAMANCHI, Orr ville•ntrent, Hatton-garden, wood
cavern and modellers.—Lnctan Fiptcrait, Mangum. Devonaltire,
limm•draper. WILLIAM RILEY, St. Ilelen'ti, glans imundar.
Mier. —.11)1IN KNliittr, Tenter House, It4N•h4lide, bleacher.—
FRANCIS ItSIIISsoN,
!Amu:heater, merchant.

THE LONDON SHERIFFS for the ensuing year
were elected yesterday at a Common Hall of the
Livery held for that purpose in the Guildhall. The
election fell upon Messrs. Turnley and Shepperson.
Sir J. Key at the same time passed through the
form of re-election as City Chamberlain. It is
stated that this is the last year in which the
Chamberlain will continue the (for many years)
custom of treating the freemen to beef and beer ; his
salary being fixed, and the Corporation having to
bear the expense, it will be discontinued.

THE RUSSIAN ARMY, according to a Warsaw jour-
nal, consists of 72 regiments of infantry, divided into
32 battalions, and 24 regiments of cavalry of 192
squadrons : the artillery consists of six corps and
690 guns. The total number of the active army is
290,000, without counting the reserve. The reserve
is composed of six divisions of infantry and six bri-
gades of cavalry, and forms a force of 140,000 men,
without counting the pulks of Cossacks.

NEW FREE TRADE.—EQUAL DUTIES.
DEAR Me. Pries,—l have dropped behind "the
age " somehow, and can get little help from my ac-
quaintances to make up my leeway. When I make
signals of distress, they clap on all canvas, and serve
me out with shot from a stern-chaser, as if I were an

enemy and not a well-meaning slowcoach. Now, Mr.
Press, I observe that you are not so very much before
me in this terrible race with the "Spirit of the Age,"

and you may possibly have a little sympathetic kind-
ness, and may not be indisposed to tow me on a bit.
I want to understand the principles of "Free Trade,"
and " No Proteetion:*" No intertwines with industry
or with the public tastes," and to easprebent tin
development of these principles in the practises of
the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
I find by reference to his list of pampas* &dim
that he means to protect British eoleeig Miss. ad
British colonial butter, and British colonel Awes.
and British eggs, and British ginger, &c., &c.; and
that he intends to direct the public taste towards
tamarinds, olives, and citron (in salt), by withdrawing
all duties on importation of them.
He seems to be of opinion that apples, medlars.
&c., are better for public morals than pears and
quinces, as he charges 2d. per bushel on the im
portation of the former, and Bd. per bushel on the
latter. ()ranges sod lemons he deems four times as
bad for the public digestion as apples, and marks his
official sense of the dirrerence by a duty of Bd. per
bushel. Nobody can blame him for thinking nuts
and walnuts bad things for children, and old gentle-
men disposed to gout, and therefore we can't °Neat
to is. per bushel on them. But I protest against
3s. Rd. per bushel on prunes, when everybody, including
the Chancellor, knows perfectly the medicinal value
of the stewed article. Dates he may be right in discou-
raging with ss. per bushel ; perhaps he was thinking
of other dates which are unpleasant as reminiscences
I cannot, however, imagine the cause of his ill-will to
currants and raisins, or why he should in this current
year of this advanced century think it reasonable to
put a duty of ss. per bushel on raisins, and of 7s. Med.
per bushel on currants, passes my humble and
anxiously inquiring understanding.
Er vno diace owner. I can understand people
doing their best who profess to be guided by common
sense ; but the fruit of my investigation into this
matter is to be quite at a loss to discern the principle
of free trade, free industry, and free taste in these
arrangements. I can ask more when I discover a
kind instructor or a patient listener.
I am. yours respectfully, Mr. Press,
A WOULD-BF. CONRINTENT FREE-TRADEit.

THE TAX ON SUCCESSIONS.
Sir,—l do not pretend to understand budgets in
general, but there is one part of Mr. Gladstone's
which has so completely puzzldi me that I should
very much like to hear it explained, if it can be.
One of Mr. (I.'s pleas for extending the legacy
duties to land is, as I understand, to balance what
he considers the unequal pressure of the income tax
on professional men ; but at the same time he in-
tends to use the revenue gained from the legacy
duties to abolish the income tax entirely. What will
he do with the legacy duties when the alleged be
quality they are to counterbalance is removed ?
Apolog►sing for troubling you with a foolish goes
tion, ►f I am wrong in my facts,—] remain, sir, your
obedient servant, TYRO.

yittraturt.

Three Toler. By the Countess d'Arbouville.
Translated from the French by Maunsell B.
Field, M.A. New York : Harper and Co.

Tins is the first collected edition we have met
with of the deeply-pathetic tales by the
Countess d'Arbouville. In their anxiety to
gratify the American appetite for fresh fic•
Lions, the transatlantic) publishers seem in
this instance to have got the start of our
London dealers in cheap literature. As
the name of the accomplished authoress of
these tales is new to many of our readers, we
cannot better introduce her to their notice
than by quoting a passage from Biackwood's
Magasuee in which the Countess d'Arbouville
is thus referred to :
In the year 1543 a fimey fair was held at Paris, lot the
benefit of the sufferers by en earthquake in the island of
(ifelsefe. The patronage of the Queen of the French,
*WM fib the strong empathy awakened by the catastrophe,
filled the blamer with a p throng, delighted to combine
aimusessent with clarity, and to chaffer for baubles with
aristocratic saleswomen. Amidst the multitude of tasteful
trifles exposed for sale was a contribution from Queen
Marie' Amelie—flfty books, printed at the royal press and
ideputly bound. They were fifty copies of a volume eon-
taitnng three charming tales, and soon it was whispered
Hutt no others had been printed, and that the author was a
lady of rank, distinguished for grace and wit, but whose
literary talents were previously unknown, save to a limited
circle of discreet and admiring Mends. At the Queen's
request, and at the voice of pity, pleading for the unfortu-
nates of Point-1-litre, she had sanctioned the printing of
fifty copies: these taken, the types had been broken up.
Ruch rumours were more than sufficient to stimulate curio-
sity, and raise the value of the volume.

Increased celebrity was given to the volume
in consequence of rumours that the Duchess
of Orleans had a claim to the authorship. The
real authoress, however, proved to be the
Countess d'Arbouville, the wife of the lieute-
nant-general of that name, granddaughter of
Madame d'Houdetot, and niece by marriage of
Monsieur de Baranto. From such connec-
tions it would not have been too much to have
expected great literary ability, and it is rarely
that our expectations have been so fully re-
alised.
We best characterise the Countess d'Arbou-
ville as a fictionist in saying that the volume
now before us equals in merit the " Two Old
Men's Tales," the first and finest production of
Mrs. Marsh. As a mere storyteller the Coun-
tess d'Arbouville is not so practised as Mrs.
Marsh, but she excels in a lyrical utterance of
emotion, and picturesque felicity of descrip-
tion, while in the rhetoric of her composition
she has a proficiency worthy of her country-
women, Madame do Stag and "George Sand."
As far as our space will allow we will present
some portions of " Christine Van Amberg,"
the first tale in the volume, to enable our
readers to judge for themselves. The story is
laid in Holland, and opens with this vivid
description of local scenery :

The sun rose—not brilliant and radiant like the sun of
Spain or Italy, when his bright etlldgence, glowing over
the horizon, recals suddenly to life all that breathes ; when,
his golden rays mingling with the deep blue of a southern
sky, everything seems IWI of sap and vigour, as if light
produced life ; the sun rose over the cold land of Hollins' ;
the clouds separated to allow the passage of a pale light,
without warmth and without brilliancy. All nature passed
insensibly from sleep to waking, and still continued torpid,
when no longer slumbering. It was life In silence. No
cry, no song of joy, no flight of birds, no lowing of herds
salute the day. On the summit of the dykes the hears
of reeds bend to the breeze, and the sea-sand, sweeping
over this weak obstacle, falls upon the meadows and covers
their verdure with a moving veil. A river with yellow
waves, heavy with the slime of its banks, flows on quietly,
without energy, and without love, towards the ocean which
awaits it. From afar, its waters and its banks appear of
the same colour, and only present the aspect of a sandy
plain, except when, a ray of light flashing upon the wave,
some silvery
tieisarkles reveal the river's course. Boats
heavily &vigil pass along, towed by a team of horses
who plunge their clumsy feet deep in the sand, raise them,
plunge them again, and advance without haste to their
journey's end, apparently unconscious of fatigue. Behind
them a peasant walks with his whip upon his shoulder ; he
pays no attention to the river which flows by, to the ani-
mals which are towing, nor to the boat which follows ; he
walks, and, to reach his destination, makes use of nothing
but perseverance.
Such is not the general aspect of Holland, but such is
one of the corners of the picture which strikes the weary
rye of the traveller when he journeys over the north of that
country ; which seems, more than any other, charged to
make respected the cosoloood et tied to the sea ; " Thou
shall pv farther 1"