The Press.
London, England, 1853-12-24 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

these rules. When it becomes necessary to
sleep in unhealthy and feverish localities the
traveller should light fires, cover his head
while sleeping with a cloth, which acts as a
respirator, and smoke, if possible, while awake.
With these hints to guide him ho may not,
indeed, be wholly free from danger, but he
will have reduced to a minimum the amount
of dstnger undergone.
Mr. I'arkyus gives, in passing, his opinion
of Turkey and the Turks, dividing them into
two wholly distinct classes—those who have
adopted European ideas, and those who have
not. To the latter he shows a strong par-
tiality, and, we believe, not an unjust one. It
is a mistake, he argues, to judge of the Otto-
man empire by Constantinople, or to imagine
that all Mahometans have become effeminate,
drunkards, and apostates from their religion.
We note, nevertheless, that our author's eulogy
is limited to personal qualities ; whereas those
who most depreciate the Turkish character
principally assail the institutions and admi-
nistration of the country. Nor should Mr.
Parkyns' avowed predilection for IL low over
a high state of civilisation be forgotten. Here
is his description of the old and new school :

r mei r impel Turk: middle-sized ; of powerful flame;
blunt but sincere diameter ; brave; religious, sometimes
even to fanutienon ; cleanly, temperate, addicted to coffee
and pipes ; fond of a good blade, and generally well skilled
in its use ; too proud to Is, mean, cowardly, or false ;
generous to pnidigality ; and in dress fond of bright coloura
end rich clothing, of which he often wears three or four
suits at a time, one over the other.—Cieilined Turk : under-
sized ; of delicate frame; polite, but insincere ; not over-
ir.tve ; often boasting of atheism ; neglecting the ablutions
of his religion, partly because the Franks are dirty, and
partly because his new costume won't admit of them ;
given to Cognac and cigarettes; fond of a showy sheath if
a " militaire," or of a pretty cane if a civilian ; no pride
whatever, but lots of vanity ; possesses no Oriental genera
sity ; and for dress wears a frock-coat, stays to give a
small waist, a gay-coloured " gent's vest," ditto ditto inex-
presaibles, often of a rather "loud railway pattern," and
strapped down very tight, so as to show to advantage the
only distinguishing Orimital features which remain to him
—a very crooked pair of legs; his " ehaussure " consists
of ft pair of French grey merino " brodequins " with patent
leather toes; his headdress is a ridiculously small red
skullcap, worn at the back of the head, and often containing
a small piece of looking-glass, whereby on all occasions to
arrange the rather unruly coarse hair it frequently covers.
Straw-colour Naples imitation gloves, at two dollars a
dozen, and an eyeglass, are generally considered as indis-
pensable parts of the " getting up ally Franca." In point
of manners, the lowest real Turk is a nobleman; the best
of the Europeanized lot is barely a gentleman.

As an old campaigner in the East, Mr. Par-
kyns had ample opportunities of observing
the tricks played oft along the overland route,
on his unsuspecting countrymen. At Alex-
andria be purposely disguised himself in the
dress of a newcomer, for the amusement of
hearing the uncomplimentary remarks of his
attendant donkey-driver. The practical joke
stu after a titilure or two :

At last I bethought me of the veil and umbrella dodge,
and having equipped myself altogether d l'Anglaise (that
is, with shoes instead of brodequins, a straw hat instead of
a cap, and a thick stick instead of a cane), I addressed a
boy, beginning my conversation (as all Englishmen are
supposed to do) with a strongish expletive, and continuing
my inquiry in very bud English, as all Englishmen do, in
the idea, I suppose, that, because the natives speak a
broken language, they will digest it better if broken up
ready for their use. the bait took, as the buy's answer
convinced me. " Here, master, you one very good jackass."
We went a long ride down to Shoubra gardens (I was then
at Boulac), and the boy kept up, with the gravest possible
face, a desultory conversation of the following nature.
(N.H. Tho words in italics are supposed to be said in
Arabic.) The donkey stumbles. " You boy, your donkey
not good at all !" " Yes, master, him berry good, better
than his rider." "Go on fast !" " Yes, master (a-a-a—
with a dig causing a wriggle)"—[to ass] : "Get on,
Christian, son of a Christian, ridden by a Christian,--ass,
son of an ass, ridden by an ass,—Ktkfir (infidel), son el a
Kektir, ridden by a Kfklir.- And then perhaps he would
amuse himself and the passers-by with a roundelay of the
following signification :

" Nusserini, kelb °wan!,
Akal el kelwa, wa khallini—
Aho, el kusserkni.
" Christian, blind dog,
Ate the sweet thing, and left me—
Here he is, the Christian."

" That's a very nice song: what does it say ?" " All 'bout
master and donkey, berry good. me behind, with stick,
make 'm go; master give me shilling me sing hint song
again !'"l'hen he would perhaps give the donkey a spiteful
dig under the tail, thereby eliciting a kick. while' at the
same time he' would express a wish tin Arabic) that the
stick in his hand were a khasoug t or impaling-post 1 dedi-
eated to the especial elevation of the ass anti his rider.
So we went on for a long time. ( the parts of the conversa-
tion I have selected are the few which wont' bear printing
in English), till at last, as fortune would have it, I was
reeo,,nised by a Turkish Mend of mine, who addressed me

SATURDAY,

in Arabic. Not wishing to appear to cut him, I answered,
but first got a good hold of my follower, which intertupted
him in a most benevolent expression of the kind manner
in which he would like to treat all the members of my
tinnily, enumerating each one in succession from my great-
grandfather and his respected lady downwards, and inter.
mingling them in a most facetious manner with the ancestry
of the animal 1 bestrode. " You would, would you, You !MI
ftr a deg!" said I, turning round, and seizing him : " and
now that 1 have you in my power, what shall I do with
you r
- -

The di.nownent may be guessed—the hid."
entreaties, the travellers atfreted wrath and
real amusement, and the scene closing with
double " hashish."

Much has been said, and something done,
in this country in favour of Abyssinian mis-
sions, having for object the establishment
there of a purer faith. Mr. Parkyns readily
allows the necessity of moral improvement,
but doubts the efficacy of the means used.
According to him the missionaries have
gained few proselytes except through appeals
to interest; have raised suspicion, offended
the prejudices of the people, and thereby con-
fined them in their singularly narrow-minded
and bitter bigotry. Honourable exception is
made in favour of Samuel (iobat, now Bishop
of Jerusalem. We concur with the author in
thinking that a moral and intellectual influence
must first bo created by those who aspire to
teach ; anal that mere religious preaching,
apart from this, is apt to excite only ridicule
and contempt, if it does not promote persecu.
tion,

Next to the preservation of health, the first
concern of a traveller is the reception he
meets with from those whom he visits. And
here again, though but incidentally, Mr.
Parkyns gives judicious warning to his suc-
cessors in travel :
Many travellers adopt the practice of taking a soldier
from the chief or king of the country in which they may he
travelling, to ensure them a hospitable reception in the
villages where they may be obliged to lodge. Many also,
thus provided, affect a harsh demeanour to the natives,
demanding lodging, food, &c., in the most peremptory
manner. Now this, in my opinion, is a plan not at all to
be recommended. In the first place, it often leads to a
intro&

quarrel, which is a disagreeable .oduction into a village,
and not a likely one to obtain for a traveller what he ought
so much to court if he wishes to study the manners and
customs of a people—their good will and confidence.
Secondly, to have an Amhara soldier with you. or in fact to
be supposed to have anything to do with the camp or
people of Oubi, is no recommendation to the confidence of
the Tigreans ; nor is it at all a likely means to induce them
to (-yen their hearts, or let their feelings, especially on
political subjects, be known to you, by thus appearing be-
fore them under the protection of and accompanied by a
soldier from the household of their tyrannical usurper
Thi►dly, " Every man's house is his castle." I should
very much dislike any one's forcing himself into my house,
against my will, and am disposed to act generally on the
principle of " Do unto others as ye would they should do
unto you." Travellers should learn, like Itasselas and
Nekayah, "to understand that they have for a time laid
aside their dignity, and are to expect only such regard as
liberality and courtesy can procure." There's nothing
like a civil tongue and quiet unpretending manners to get
on in these commies, as I suppose in all others. On my
arrival at a village I have always found it the better plan
to do as native travellers would—wait under a tree till some
one asks me in. This is generally soon done, though a
little patience is sometimes needed. People often gather
round yon to look at you, and occasionally make rather
personal remarks, though generally they are very civil.
Only answer their questions good-naturedly, and take
pleasure in making yourself agreeable, which you will find
will become a habit, and you will become welcome every-
where. I don't think it necessary to mention, as some
travellers do, every place. I slept in, and what I was fed
with every day, but sometimes 1 must be allowed to do so,
hoping that a few instances of the way in which I was
treated, without any bullying on my part, may induce some
future traveller to think like myself, that it is not absolutely
necessary to enter forcibly into other people's houses, or to
demand as a right the supper which one ought to receive
with thanks if voluntarily given. What right has Onbi to
make his peasantry feed me or any one else? They pay
their taxes, whether or no : and if he were generously dis-
posed towards strangers, why does he not supply them at
his own expense? 1 have said a good deal on this subject,
because I have not only heard people express their opinion
that force, or rather authority, was necessary for a man to
make his way in some countries, but I have even seen
similar opinions published.

Never was caution more needed; for English-
men, wherever they go, whether in an Austrian
passport-office or an Abyssinian village, are
apt to think that foreigners can understand
no language except that of bluster and
threats. Even where, as in British India.
absolute submission to their will might
disarm rudeness, it is still the same : admired
for energy and " pluck," we are hated for our
contemptuous disregard of the feelings of
other races.

DECEMBER 24, 1853.

Abyssinian customs, laws, religion, dress,
&c., are described in these volumes with a
minuteness of detail, and at the same time a
vivacity of description, which not all writers
can combine. Mr. Parkyns forms a tolerant
but somewhat low estimate of the national
character. lie describes the race as not only
barbarous, but scarcely retaining any trace of
their formerly MO state of civilisation ; in-
tonsely superstitious; profoundly ignorant ;
vain to excess ; excitable, but easily ap-
peased ; not unmindful of the obligations of
an oath ; never disposed to break one, except
under strong inducement; gluttonous and
debauched, yet strict observers of fasts ;
hardy in physical constitution, but rather
cowardly in tight. The same description.
however, can never hold good of an entire
people. The Amhara soldiers and towns-
people, to whom the above sketch applies, are
the worst of all ; the peasantry of Tigre, if not
more enlightened, have fewer vices. Their
religion is an extraordinary jumble of eere-
monies borrowed from different nations. Two-
thirds of the entire year, 260 days out of MIS,
is kept as a fast ; and this restriction is by no
means nominal, since on such occasions all
food is prohibited until lute in the afternoon.
Neglect of these rules is regarded as infidelity,
and held in abhorrence. But, en reranehe, the
number of feasts is also large, and many of
them are celebrated with every possible kind
of mirth and jollity. Drunkenness at one of
these is no disgrace, and often the priests are
as bad as, or worse than, their neighbours.
Other rites which they practise have a Judaic
origin. The churches resemble tabernacles,
there is a " Holy of Holies " and an ark,
persons held to be in any way polluted are
forbidden to enter even the court ; all living
creatures suitable for food are divided into
clean and unclean, according to the law of
Moses ; while they have borrowed from
Mahometanism the custom of killing animals
after a rule, turning them towards Jerusalem
instead of Mecca, pronouncing over them a
tOrm of words, and cutting their throats.
Native saints exist in almost uncounted num-
bers ; and the record of their wonderful works
is not exceeded in absurdity by any similar
collection belonging to any Church. Among
popular superstitions the most usual is that
of demoniacal possession, manifested in fits
resembling epilepsy, but accompanied by
various extraordinary symptoms, which,
though creating suspicion of imposture,
baffled ingenuity to detect. The narrative of
these is interesting, but too long for extrac-
tion.

The country vaguely called Abyssinia now
consists of three principal kingdoms, Amhara,
Tigre, and Shoa ; the second lying nearest the
Red Sea, and the last far down to the south.
They are independent of each other ; governed
by kings, or head chiefs, whose supremacy has
a feudal character, but who exercise an autho-
rity much more limited than that to which
they lay claim. Civil wars are frequent ;
government is irregularly carried on ; taxation
arbitrary ; and a police can scarcely be said to
exist. Murder is severely punished, if the
murdered person have powerful relations ;
otherwise it passes with little notice. The.
Jewish and Mahometan system of retributive
punishment is in full force; the representa-
tives of tho dead man, however, may, with
their chief's permission, accept a tine in lieu
of blood. This is a relaxation of the law,
which in strictness ordains that the slayer
shall be put to death in the same manner as
he slew, and with the same weapon which he
himself used :

To exemplify this custom :—Two little boys were playin
in the woods near a village. Wandering about, theychanced
to see a tree called " owleh," on whose branches was a
quantity of ripe wild fruit. The fruit is notvery delirious,
not more so than the hips and haws found on our h 4 dgei ;
yet any one who can remember the pleasure with which in
his boyish days these berries were collected and eaten will
excuse our young It( roes when I relate how, having looked
upon the fruit, they longed for it. But, though the " owleli"
is not usually of very large growth, still the lowest branches
were above their reach. To climb the tree was an arduous
task, for these children were lint of the ages of eight and
live. The temptation. however, proved superior to the
obstacles, and the elder boy with some difficulty succeeded
in reaching the desired object, Higher and Weiler he
mounted, till at last he stood on a bough from which he
eonld gather the best fruit ; and then with what feelings
of joy and pride at his superior age and powers did he help

THE PRESS.

himself, and throw down a aupplv to his little
Hut Kite n ill have a fall !" anti whether in this ease it
was brought shout by the Itough's breaking lit Iti,4
slipping 1 VIIIIIItat well remember; lan. hone% el' 1t %nay
have been, the adage 1.r0%t4 true. Juni down edllle our
climle•r right on the head, and nearly down the throat, of
his little t.tauratle, who happened at that moment to be
standing with up turned eyes and expectant mouth, waitiftg
a fresh shower of the golden ls•rries. The elder lad got
up unhurt beyond a few bruises; but, to his horror, his
friend rose not from the ground. Ile shook him, spoke to
him. pinched him; but all itt uo purpttse, The bilk fellow
was dead
The elder child. shcks'il mid frightened at hat ing so ate
wittingly eamsed his eotortoiiiit's death, nu► blubbering
home, and told his mother all about it. The still.% got wind
in the village, and the parents of Ole iltVellSed Chad brought
limn,. the body, and set up leading and I 'sting over it.
Moreoveronalling would satisfy them but that the elder
boy should Is' put on trial ft n• his life, as having been the
cause of the other's death. This they urged in the hope,
no doubt, of a compromise in money from his family, or,
in other words, making the best they possibly could of a
bail business.

'l'l►r trial was long; but after tumuli exami►uttion of the
ilitlerent hooks, and many opinions taken of the wi,o..t
men in the eountry, it was ulti►uately rourlad►vlthat of a
truth the boy washy law guilty i,fileath.

lint how was. he. to he ? 11'hy, of course its he
had killed the other : so, in fact, the sentence was, that the
dead boy's brother should climb the tree and tumble down
on the other's head till he killed hint. This, however,
did not snit the deceased's mother's feelings : t thought
she, " I
consent to
this, INTIIIIpti my other boy may die,
ur injure hituselj in his fall more than him whom he has
to kill." No Nli preferred letting the culprit on. to risking
the life of her only snrviving son.
This story may appear a caricature. All I
can say ill
favour of 'ts credibility is, that I heard it. related by a highly
respectable individuid, in a large ',arty. where I was the
only man not an Abyssiniim mill the only person who up.
geared to clonsider it us at all impri•balde.

Debts and arrears of taxes are frequently
recovered by torture. In cases of political
rivalry, as also of robbery and violence, muti-
lation is inflicted ; the criminal losing his
hand, his foot, or his eyes. lint, as compared
with other• se►ni-savage eo►u►tries, Abyssinia
does not present the spectacle of either a •ery
bloodthirsty community or a rely oppressive
government.

The Youth a►►d Wonothhood fg. Mien Tyrrel.

London : Parker and Son.

Tuts work, in one volume, by the author of
"Brampton Rectory" and "Compton Merl-
vale," is a religious novel, but the plot is so
slight and simple that it would have been
better to omit it, and to have given the matter
of which it is the vehicle of introduction in
another form. That matter is a discussion or
the doctrines of the Evangelical party, awl of
those views which are entertained by Pro-
fessor Maurice and others. The author evi-
dently inclines towards the latter, but he
writes so calmly, fairly, and dispassionately,
that those from whom he differs will have no
cause to complain of his exposition of their
opinions and description of their practices.
Apart from the doctrinal and controversial
ingredients in the volume, many subjects air
treated with a good sense which all can
acknowledge :
" Yes, I feel what you say to lbe true," said Mr. liar.
gnaw. " I shall do what I eau; have kentres in the
distant hamlets, and so on."
. . .

" There was a g►eat 114.1,1 said at tone time," ssid Helen,
"about building a eh►ucl► at Longtield. .Ir. Nelson
said it was time when a dissenting chapel was built
there."

" I should have rather thought," said Dr. Randolph,
"it watt time when there was no place of worship at all."
" But a church," said Mr. Ilargreave, "would 111V1slye
the very difficulty you were speaking of—the necessity of
having a full liturgical service—and would not be likely to
rival the meeting in the affections of the poor."
"Just so. When shall we lay aside our hypocrisies and
jealousies, have a single aim, and go straightforward and
wisely to it ?"
_ _

Again, speaking of young persons who have
injured their mental health by close attention
to works in which the abstruser questions of
theology are discussed, tho author says :

Those hooka may have their use, and eapecially to
those who have to be the guides of others ; though, in my
opinion, they are very likely to nip religion in the bud, by
directing upon it the cold blasts of suspicion. lint, at any
rate, they are ahnost as unfit for the study of at young and
inexperienced Christian, or fur any 0111, of a tender and
scrupulous spirit, as medical hooks, full of the marks of
disease, for the study of a nervous invalid.
Those who read books for entertainment
only need not open this, though, from a few
slight sketches towards the close, it is evident
that the powers of the author to discriminate
and describe character and incident arc mini-

eient for the production of a novel. Such has
not been his object in the work before us. It
is a theologieal discussion, in which vexed
questions are treated without ilittilenillee. and
views front which the author dissents stated
not unfairly.

Notes aiirl Narralires if a Six Years' Mission,
principally anion!, the Vein off LovioN. 13y
It. NV. Vanderkiste, late Landon City Ilia
sionary. !minion : Nisbet and Co.
Tilts book bears on its litlepage a guarantee of
authenticity, in the obey uuel occupation Of
the writer ; remarks on the physical
and moral condition of the labouring poor are
all the 11101.0 Valuable, because imeoloured with
the slightest tinge of political bigotry, and not
indicating a greater degree of sectarianism
than seems inseparable from the missionary
elntnteter. As a " missionary" Mr. Van-
derkiste's chief object is to illustrate the state
of religious opinion ; but he avoids the error,
common to so many religionists, of neglecting
as beneath notice those conditions of mental
and bodily health without which, taking men
in the mass, moral improvement is not to lie
looked for. The duty of the City missionaries
lies principally among that class to whom,
from the very repulsi‘enems of their habits, a
kind of mysterious interest attaches. Savages
in the heart of a civilised community—lawless,
amidst all the means of enforcing law—home-
less, in the densest and most extensive cone, •
lion of human homes that mankind has ever
seen—ignorant, idle, and oftentimes ferocious,
in a metropolis famous through the world for
industry. order, and intellectual development
—they metmee us With a peril of which we
have witnessed the reality in other countries
—enemies of civilisat• , because civilisation
has done nothing for them. One of the West
initialer missionaries reports that he has
" seen as many as forty policemen beaten out
" of the coulrt in which they had attempted to
" secure a prisoner:" and, to Alr.Vanderkista's
knowledge, " twenty policemen had been most
" severely handled whilst securing two pri
" miners." Of the Clerkenwell dimtriet, ut
which our author's labours lay, the following
description is given :

Formerly a large 'soli of this di-triet was culled
"Jack Ketch's 11'arreti," from the fact of tho number of
persons who were hung at Newgate from the clouts and
alleys, especially at the period when I/. *totem were in eh,
culatifill, and forgeries so co . Aged men, who were
formerly %%titillation in this localitr, Line described to me
the desperate 144.1104 which were formerly enacted. Tho
disturbances which occurred welr of so desperate cha•
rtteter that from thirty In forty eimmtublessonia be marched
down with cutlasses, it being frequently impisosible for
officers to net iu lons berm, or unanned. Thy must
extrisordinary (+smilers lived here.

Much has been done by the new police, the
inefficiency of their predecessors, the %Idyll
men, having been one principal cause of tho
impunity of crime. Mr. I'anderkiste hints that
this inefficiency was not altogether disapprovi'd
by their superiors:—

" Vim tow, Mir," Maid an 11111 wet elinlllll to tee, "there
ain't H/1 cum otrisi at between the old eharlejs and these
new pain.. If it watchman brought many pmaple to the
watehlionse he'd get a hint (pm understand me) not to
make himself quite 1.1 Immy.'"flie cost of prosecutions to
the county was considered, and, unless it watt 141 me very
daring offence that hall been eommitted, little effort ap-
pears to have been made to apprehend offenders. Ms
used to relel of some inebriated ruffian knocking down
twenty or thirty watchtnen as fact as they came up It in
quite tree that many men employed were old, or feeble, or
defieient in stature or physique, and easily knocked down,
but there can he no doubt also but that watehmen who
were said to be knocked down frequently tumbled down.
They had their orders not to put the county to needless
expenses for prosecutions. Under the present improved
system the very reverse is the fact, and no pains are spared
to detect and bring thieves to justice.

But, though law may preserve outward order,
it can do nothing more. The criminal classes
may be ICMI4 dangerous than formerly, owing
to the more vigorous repressive measures em-
ployed ; but the reformation is external only,
nut real and individual. Mr. Vanderkiste given
a striking testimony to the advantages of early
education in prmlneing habits of 111.1.141Vy and
good living. although it is filirrcnu►rk flint
the children whose desire of !owning led them
to seek instruction in youth are those most
likely to develop into industrious orderly men,
irrespective of the nature of the teaching gives
at 5(110(1

810

The writer has pursued most extensively a system of in
fpury, sad the result has been that in the of ver)
nearly all those iwmins alto have been observed battling
nobly with the tremendous difficult of extteme p4lverty,
and maintaining a degree of miler, cleanliness, and cod. a
%Attu after spiritual life, only to bo seemed by great and
incessant exert , it has been disesneresl that in very
nearly all the eases the ',soh-4 had in
.vllUth Idt
some National, or Iniosh, or other charity ,chart.
Our author reekons that in his iiihtriet
Clerkenwell "not more than one-third of the
" adults can read at all, and not .e than
" one-sixth Coll read tolerably." The propor-
tion of those who can write is, of course, 1111141•11
smaller. The utter ignorance of the Men 111141
women whom he undertook to teach was not
always easily detected, it being their habit to
assent to all that was said, as though with full
comprehension. Moral tuul physienl degrada-
tion, as might be expeeted, go together. In
Bethual-green the average age of gentlemen
residents was ascertained to be •11, that of the
working population only M. Of this early
mortality great part arises from neglect and
insufficient maintenance in ittlititey ; much
Mao from intemperance, which is itself a re-
sult of foul air. foul water, and want of proper
food. The deficiency of accommodation 11)r
the very poor is likewise a most serious evil.
Metropolitan improvements sweep away whole
districts of misentble !poises, and replace them
by others of a better claims. But these latter
are of emirs(' unavailable to the ejected tenants
of the rookeries, who are thus turned adrift
into the streets, unless some special provision
be inside for their reception.

1111 r. Vimilerkiste's work contains two vain-
able chapters on " Intemperance" and" The
Criminal Population," results of the for-
mer may be summed up ill a small compass :

I hare studied this saltjeti intensely fur many years—
phymilologically, mentally, and the
lowest depth of this curse to I'm nation, and to the world,
I Mal I hare yet to &theta.
)'min all I 11111.4, 11.1141 and seen. lam compelled toe -
eille with the generally-received opinion that we are et the
most drunken people on earth.

This view is supported by individual in-
stances and statistical details—by the fact that
MOM public-houses exist in I.ondon slouc—
hy the statements of Lord Slisftesbury. as
Chairman of the Commission of Lunacy, that.
three-fifths of the insanity existing in this
estuary is created by intemperance—and by
the well-known eitlenhition that a larger sum
is paid away annually for strong drinks than
the entire public, revenue of the country. The
autlnir argues strongly for "total abstinence"
ass the only efficacious remedy ; yet iteknow-
itsiges that of those who hike the pledge many
rs.inisio, and that promises made in moments of
s,xeitenasitt ?mil enthusiasm are not always to
be relied uteme,
As respects general morality, the state of en-
tire '):lasses in Lonibm may )w regarded as one
.4' repressed rather than refiwined
number of bad characters of both sexes
known to the 'mice, says Mr. Vanderkiste,
exceeds itotoll. Profeshig thieVt'sare rarely
reclaimed; their best I'llllllee is in gaol, where
and teaching are coupled with an
enforced sobriety. But to make prisons avail-
able as reformatory institutions there must be,
during confinemest, a careful classification of
pffenders, HMI t which IS 'veer MOM 11111101illIlt
tome provis' for employing them on the
expiration of their sentence. Many a fl`loll
left gaol full of resolutions of amendment
who has subsiluently yielded, less to tempta-
tion hi the ordinary sense of the word. than to
the sheer necessity whirl% drove lino haek to
erhne, in the absenee of honest employment.
It. is noteworthy. as bearing OH this subject,
that the period of life at whirls the grmtest
strount of crime is committed falls between
I . end years, nearly one-lom•th of the en-
thr rriu,inal population being comprised
within those limits of time. 'raking the na-
tion generally. we find that only one-tenth of
its inhabitants at any given period fall within
those years. In this single statistic is com-
prised ra 1014111' VOllllllt` of traehing. What
might not be done for offenders still so young,
And how long might not the consequent de-
(Tense in our criminal returns become?
space fails us for hirther extracts ; but the
work itself is worth perusal.

THE PRESS.

Once arm. a Time. By Charles Knight. Lon-

don: Murray.
EvEnvainot has a kind word to say of Mr.
Knight, and verily, if we were commentators
on Shakspeare ourselves, we eould not find it
in our hearts to say a harsh thing of one with
so many claims to the friendly regard of the
public. Honourably known in literature by his
own meritorious writings. his mune is " popu-
lar" in the worthiest sense. lie was the first
to give readers books that were both cheap
and good, as distinguished lioni that flood of
" cheap and nasty " literature which vulgarises
iu place of elevating, and corrupts instead of
refining. Many of his opinions may appear to
us heterodox, but he has never intruded them
with sectarian rancour. We will not, however,
be satisfied with him until he gives us some
noire of his own personal recollections. The
publiention of that periodical in which limed,
and Maeaulay. and so ninny others, showed
their youthful powers, must have many agree-
able and curious anecdotes worth narrating.

Several of these papers have alrea►ly nl►-
peared in House/mid 11-ords and other I►ublica-
tions. They may be classed on the huukshelves
along with " Essays and Anecdotes." Some-
times they are critical, and occasionally they
are fanciful. Often instructive, they are ge-
nerally amusing, and they lire never dull.
The parts of them which we have read with
most pleasure was his own original gossip
about " l tld Windsor," and his graphic pic-
ture of the good old King. From his "1 irst
Stel► into the World" we take the following
I►icture of a journn►list fi,rty years since:—

In ti11...011y 1).11 I stepped for a misidli or two
out Of OW little world in wide!' I had liven living, to come
Mee to fare with great public things. I hail it friend who
was the editor IMO daily 111.1111/11111.1's, 111 1 1111 l -Mug and an
evening. What It wonderful 1111111 I thought him ! I see
him 101 w, as I often saw him, sitting in his lack office. in
it dingy ilressing•gown and mishisrn beard, dashing oft' his
leader t'or the evening paper. At twit o'clock he dressed.
and he kindly took the yiiittli 11'11111 the CI iiiiitly with him
fur a walk through the Strand, and along tite null in the
park. The park wits a queer itufashioneil !dace then, with
11 11/11g dirty pond where Charles ii. fed his ducks—no
Omani ions—no gravelled walks—iiii gas lights. lint we
walked happily enough ; and kind friend told fnnlly
Irish stories, and instable anecdotes of Mr. slierithui and
Mr. l'isingailoy, with whom he belisti.il 1111 intimacy, Yet,
isf the real lift. 1014 suit 111' knew sty little, although he
wag the editor of two daily papers. To edit a paper then
was not very difficult. Many of the thousand complicated
social and eonune reiul questions that have grown up
during slur long peace were then scarcely known. Pinta•
mental y reform wits a 1111'11111. If the war was
blamed, no one (gash' uphold Napiiiisin. The tome of the
piper %%114 settled by the toile isf the party. There were
very nirely expresses from great provincial towns—mid
their local intelligence 'nosily hit to their own jour-
nals. Intertiffirse with foreign states Was almost impossible,
except thrsiugh the I iliveniniclit messengers; mid they
went mid came at the cost of seto,nl Ltuadred PIMMIS
journey. My gussil friend's intellect was not gictitl tasked.
W rem we lind taken our aalk he had a comfortable dinner ;
dnitik a bottle of port. sistilet. .s two ; laud it nap in his
chair midistmited by they havkitry.coaciirs in the Strand;
at nine o'clock strolled down to the House to know what
"14 going wrote his morning lender, mod went to bed
in ter, &went time.

We prefer those portions of Mr. Knight's
authorshil► which deal with fiu•ls rather than
fancies. His imagination. though active, is
deficient in vividness. and some of his " pic-
tures" arc wanting in the magic of illusion.
But he is certainly both an interesting and
instructive writer.

Rditke's Ilidory of &Trio. Translated l,y Ms%
Alexander Kerr. To which is added the Slaw
Provinces of Turkey, rhietly froth the French of
Cypriot Robert. London: 11. iLltohn,

THE accomplished lady to whom we are indebted for
the jpresentation of Professor Ranke's wok on
Semis to the English public k fairly entitled at this
appearance of a new edition to withdraw those ex-
pressions of mistrust which accompanied the
edition of Isll. A general consensus of critical
opinions has since teSlitiell to the fidelity and
elegance of her translation, while events now
transpiring invest her performance with increasing
interest and importance, The present volume con..
tuns the addition of a sketch of the insnmeetion in
Bosnia, with an account of the I'4lave Provinees of
Turkey, chiefly, as its titlepage describes, from the
French of eyprien 'Robert, the Professor of slave
Literature in the College of France. To this
appropriate combination is appended an index,
which the former volume wanted, and which extends
to twenty pages.

SATURDAY

The Knot 0. To-day, and a Hand to Undo It.
London : Seeleys.
A Pitorosii. to encounter the propagandism of Rome
in England by the creation of a Church Reriral
society on comprehensive principles and au elaborate
scale. The details of its proposed organisation are
set forth at considerable length. The style of the
book is succinct and eloquent, and its publication
opportune as an evidence of increasing vigilance and
au earnest of the growing zeal with which Pro-
testantism is preparing to encounter its foe.

l'arliamentary Aforno. A Letter to Richard Free-
dom, Esq., on the Re-distribution, Extension, and
Purification of the Elective Franchise. By a
14:rising Barrister. London: Ridgway.

Ties pamphlet is evidently the well-considered pro-
duction of a gentleman whose opinion is worth
having- and, though too sweeping in its proposals for
the disfranchisement of old and the substitution of
new constituencies, is in many other respects
adapted to explode the pretensions of a clique to
tinker the representation in accordance with their
democratic tendencies. We may quote, for instance,
the following on the intended extension of the
franchise in counties :

" I will now proceed to the extension of the snBi•age in
comities, where 1 shall he more laid. It is a mistake to
suppose that our fonlathers ever intended the county
filmehise to be in any way analogous to that of boroughs.
I should not allude to this were not proposals constantly
made to reduce the qualification in counties to the sante
amount us in the boroughs. To do this would altogether
destroy the equilibrium MO wisely established between pro.
petty 311111 hcis. originally all the freeholders who
attended the count• court voted for knights of the shire.
Cut upon a petition of the House of Commons, wade
A.ll. 1 13(1, the statute Is Henry 0, e. 7, limits the election to
freeholders isissessing foily shillings. The same statute
made it necessary that the knights elected 10110111 d be resident
in the comities for which they we►Ye returned, which
provision was, however, finally repealed by the I 4 lico. 3,

The principle of its being essential to tt comity voterto
ha►e am interest in the land was recognised even in the
alteration made by the ltefarw Hill, which admitted copy
holders, long leaseholders, and yearly tenants to the amount
to the privilege of voting. We do not find in any
scheme of reform advanced by N. nu, or the more zealous
refitment of that pe►iod, any proposal to confound the
counties with the boroughs in one common plan for ex-
tending the suffrage. ( See 11) yin's Political Papers, tol. iv ,
p. l Vt.) They appear always to have recognised and vet
quieseed in the constitutional rule of a qualification in the
countiea distinct front that annexed to the boroughs, not
from any superiority of the one over the other, for a mem-
ber of Parliament when once returned for any place what-
ever, however small, has a vote as powerful and influential
as that of him► who represents the metropolis of 011rettnntry,
lint because' the knights were supposed to represent a
different class of men, viz., those engaged in sgricultmal
pursuits."

Errors in India and at Howe. Ty William David

Braid. London: T. Scott.
Tins pamphlet, though written with fair average
ability, comes too late to be of service. The interest
excited by Indian affairs was never more than tem-
porary, and has now again given way to the accus-
tomed apathy and torpor with which such subjects
are received. Sir C. Wood's bill is law, and, until it
breaks down in the working, there is little use in re-
newing the war so lately susperded. Mr. Braid,
however, possesses a knowledge of his subject which
may render him hereafter a useful champion. Ile
has brought to light at least one grievance overlooked
among the variety of topics treated in last summer's
desultory debate, and it is best stated in his own
words

'' lu inquiring into facts let us commence with the con-
dition of the liyots. The pivots are the cultivatma of the
soil, and tire compelled to pay shut is called a water fee,
levied by the 4 invernment for the repairs of tanks to pre-
serve the 1114.1t1P4 of inigntion. To this water fee there is
no complaint. Hitt when the tanks have for years fallen
into th,l'HY- slid lire "littered "WIC", it isnormalto "1414
that strong warmers will exist II hen the Ryon+ Mid that
the money paid as a water fee is not auvlied to the putp4.se
fur which it is collected, and that they are compelled to do
nearly all the repairs at a further expcuse, that is to say,
independent of the tax the pivots are forced to make these
repairs out of their omit pockets within a small outonut
of the east of putting the tanks in use.
When the means of irrigation are obstructed, aslant' inlay
occults when the floods of the monsoon 'Villa choke and till
up the channels with sand. the Ryots are forced to leave
their habitations, and travel many miles :•, dear out the
channels. without I-vet-hilly. any emolument. Upon their
indicating an amitill1111Cl• tof a refit-al to go, a heavy tine is
indicted. and, notwithstanding the payment of the fine,
they tire than comisdleil to pureed to the distance and
perform the work, II gh they have to pay for additional
labour at biome in eonsequenee of their absence. The Tek•
silthus Who conduct this business are invested with magi?,
feria! authority. and lit their pleasure take the IlyAs from
plaee to place, far distant from their thaws, using theta
tt alt !vein oevetity. until the poor Bytom bututilititely buc•
mull to their dogmatical commando."

Kite if
sikider hit.

July 2,

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Nov. 11 ..
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Nature of beekion.

speeial Appeal Suit decided
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suit remanded to original tour
snit n•mandrtt to Chill court .
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stilt remanded to Conn
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ilvetery of Court, 1111.10 W rt.VVII•44
liner tw•o remand.. In It 4 14
tool 1$ II