The Press.
London, England, 1854-06-17 00:00:00

SECOA'D•CLASS WOKINOIIAM STAKES.

Brocket
hider
Ten ran.
MEMBERS PLATE.

Little VIM
Nicotine 2

Eight ran.
SWEEPSTAKES 20 SCWS.
Bonnie Mort► walked over.

Mn. W. SEYMOUR BLACKSTONE, descended, it is
said, froM the eminent judge, and formerly member
of Parliament for Wallingford, appeared on Thurs.
day at the Insolvent Court upon an application for
discharge from Oxford prison. His case bad been
appointed for hearing so far back as November,lBs2,
but the insolvent then did not appear, having gone
to the Continent, but had subsequently returned and
been arrested. His debts were considerable,
amounting to 24,0001., of which, however, 9,0001.
were " without consideration." He stated that he
had accepted vast numbers of bills, many of which
he entrusted for discount to parties who never ac-
counted for the proceeds, although he was after-
wards sued for their amounts. His property at Wal-
lingford was sold in 1845 to a relation. The ease
occupied the court for many hours on Thursday, and
was only partially heard when the Commissioner ad.
journed the sitting.
AN IRISHMAN " WITH A GRIEVANCE," named Luke
Clarke, described as a labourer, was charged at
Westminster Police Court on Thursday with threaten-
ing to shoot Mr. Roebuck and Sir George Grey. Mr.
Lucas, M.P. for Meath, was the chief witness against
the prisoner, and deposed to an interview in which
Clarke complained of his sufferings and wrongs,
which be believed that Mr. Roebuck and Sir George
Grey ought to have found means of remedying, and
wound up by declaring that he would buy a pistol
and shoot them both. Mr. Roebuck, on being sworn,
said that he was really apprehensive of personal in-
jury from the defendant. Clarke made a rambling
defence, setting forth that he was a respectable and
much-injured man, whose case Mr. Roebuck bad
taken up in 1851, and had given him to understand
that Sir George GI ey would interfere in his behalf,
but that both gentlemen had deceived him. He was
ordered to find bail to keep the peace for twelve
months, and committed to prison in default.

SeltnibAi,

LOSS OF THE EUROPA " TRANS--'.PORT.
TUE destruction by fire of the Europa transport was
telegraphed to Lloyd's on Thursday. The catastrophe
occurred oh the 31st ult., when the vdfearsyosemfolrwptrhyetooEffoutbasthtiai
wSchiellnycelsslehse,
sianildedaboonutthe2oop
reravioiluess
With three officers and sevent, cavalry soldiers, with
their horses, from the Ist division of the Inniskilling
Dragoons. Colonel Moore sailed in the transport
and the crew numbered thirty-five officers and men.
bnrelosnegrginegantotst,
htewterloovep,manend, woman
perished By the accident Colonel Moore, Veterinary Surgeon
Kelly,
fo
the orew. Full details have been received at the
Admiralty in two letters from Captain Carnegie, of
H.M. screw-frigate Tribune. His despatches are
dated Jtine 2 and 5 "at sea," the Tribune being on
her voyage to join the Black Sea fleet. He writes :
" June 2.—Abort 7.30 a.m. on June j smoke was dis-
covered in the N.W. from the mast-heads, which was per-
ceived to arise froM a vessel on fire. 'the ship's course
was immediately altered, and at 0.15 a.pa. we had ap-
proached sufficiently near to make out a large ship burnt
down to the water's edge abaft, with the bows only re-
maining above water. At 9.40 a.m. she suddenly went
down, and shortly after 10 a.m. our boats were hoisted
out and lowered, and commenced a minute search
amongst the floating spars and wreck, which was con-
tinued until 5 p.m., without finding any vestiges of crew
or passengers. The weather was fine, the sun bright,
and the horizon clear in every direction for many miles,
but no boat was visible from the mast-head before or
after the vessel went down. The sea was covered with
charred timbers, hen-coops, floating hay, casks, and iron
tanks containing biscuit. The contents of the latter re-
mained on fire for some hours after the ship had dis-
appeared. The presence of a cavalry detachment was
manifested by picking up a trooper's stirrup, and a pair
of fatigue-trousers, in the pocket of which was found
a purse containing some English money. The stem of
the ship appeared to have been blown out ; and the fire
must have raged most fiercely in the after part, for the
mizenmast was burnt to a cinder, whilst the foremast was
comparatively uninjured by fire. Finding no appearance
of any human being, and no relics of the boats, I felt
disposed to think that the crew had made their escape
in them, or had found their way on board some other
vessel.
" June 5 —On the morning of the 4th, when about 120
miles north-west from Cape Finisterre, we had the plea-
sure of receiving from the British brig Clemanthe, Lieut.
Black ( Admiralty agent), the master, two of the crew, and
eight privates of the Ist Dragoons, in the Europa, and
later in the day, from the Prussianischooner Kennet Kings•
ford, and the British barque Maranon, three officers, thirty-
five non-commissioned officers and privates, one servant
and two women, with four officers and twenty-eight seamen,
belonging to the Europa—in all eighty-five, of whom
seventy-seven are on board this ship, and eight on board
the Sir Robert Sale transport. 1 regret to add that of the
number originally embarked in the Europa, twenty-one
have doubtless perished ; two officers (Lieutenant-Colonel
Moore and Veterinary Surgeon Kelly) are amongst the
missing, and six non-commissioned officers, ten privates,
two of the ship's company, and one woman, have shared
the same fate. The greater number of these were washed
away from the wreck of the masts, to which they had
clung, but Lieutenant-Colonel Moore remained at his post
to the last ; and, having repeatedly declined to leave the
burning vessel until all his men bad been safely removed,
was at last driven into the mizen channels by the violence
of the flames, and there unfortunately perished.
" From the concurrent testimony of those left on the
burning wreck from 11.30 p.m. of the 30th ult. to 2.30 a.m.
of the Ist, it would oppear that the conduct of the master
(Mr. Gardner) was marked by great coolness and intre-
pidity throughout these trying hours : he was the last man
to quit the wreck, and, had his zealous endeavoursto main-
tain order and save life been as ably seconded by his ship's
company, there can be little doubt that the list of casualties
would have been reduced.
" It is my Intention to disembark the crew and passen-
gers at Gibraltar, provided the governor sees no objection.
Some of the soldiers are suffering from burns and bruises,
but none beyond the reach of ordinary medical treatment."
The Europa belonged to Mr. Somes, the great
shipowner. She was valued at 15,0001., and had
been insured for 10,0001.

FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE.
Tuesday, June 13.
BANKRUPTS.—SsmrEL POTTS, Hove, Sussex, carpenter--
GEomis BUTLER, Nicholas-lane, Lombard-street. auctioned—
JotiN ALLEN, Courthorpe-terrace, Bermondsey New-roam
an
ickd
York-place, Kent-street-road, grocer—Wm. SPELLER, ars-
road West, Paddington, builder—Wm. ADAM, Great Timer-
street, and Lloyd's, City, merchant—THOMAS ROBINSON WARP.
Wiebeach St. Peter's, Cambridgeshire, scrivener—Joint GREAT.
woon, Birmingham, confectioner— THoMAS STONE JISSLET,
Tiverton, Devonshire, grocer—OBADIAH WILLANS and HENRY
RAWSON, Leeds, cloth merchants—JAMES RANKIN, Liverpool,
clothier—Room BAucL.Av, Liverpool, commisiden agent—Wm.
WILKINSON BAWLING, SAMUEL BAWLING, and JOHN BAWLING,
Manchester, curriers.
Friday, June 16.
BANKRUPTS.—PETER THOMSON, ilirchimlane, City, mer-
chant—JAmEs HOPE, Burnley, Lancashire, grocer—Enwtw
ASHLEY, Manchester, sinallware manufacturer ;titmice
WoDRALL, Bolton, manufacturer—ALFßED Buusows, Stockport,
silk manufacturer—l'wEnEmcs GEORGE RICHARDSON, Commer
cial-road, timber merchant—JOHN TODD NIERRICIC, Hereford-
road, builder—LATIMER ALLEN, Peterborough, carpent
THOMAS BURTON, BURTON, IfllKley, bUBJCP—BICHARD GoULSTON
WOLLASTON, Bishop's Castle, Salop, surgeon—ROßEßT MASON
Louth, innkeeper—JOHN COURTIS, BOeTILISIOD, Devon, growltlca,tup Bsciumr, Liverpool, currier.

JUNE 17, 1854.

Nittraturt.

Memorial 4 •of the Life of Amelia Opie. By
Cecilia Lucy Brightwell. London : Long-
mane.

FgVI things more strikingly distinguish Eng-
lish society than the variously-marked cha-
racter of life in provincial districts. The
spirit prevalent at Devonshire is almost
alien from that existing in Yorkshire ; and in
each of the towns of Liverpool, Bristol, Leeds,
and Birmingham even a superficial observer
will recognise a number of dissimilar types.
Norwich is especially peculiar in the tone of
its society, as modified by its ancient tradi-
tions and modern developments. Its inhabi-
tants think highly of themselves, and they
have uo small reason for being proud of the
intellectual cultivation among some of their
private circles and the activity of their mer-
cantile classes. We speak by the card when
we say that amongst the earliest and most
effective supporters of the Crystal Palace of
1851 the people of Norwich were honourably
forward.

For the last three or four generations the
Alderson connection has ranked very high in
Norwich. The late Doctor Alderson, like his
father before him, was much respected for his
accomplishments and worth. His nephew
graces the bench, excellent at once as a jurist
and a classical scholar, and possessed of no
little wit when the ancient tongues are made
the vehicles of his humour. One of the cou-
sins of Mr. Baron Alderson was Amelia Opie,
once a popular novelist, and with virtues far
superior to her literary merits, although the
latter were considerable. Her life is the sub-
ject of the volume before us; and not a few
will be interested in reading about one whose
" Father and Daughter" drew tears, in " days
of auld lang syne," from many eyes unac-
customed to the melting mood.
The daughter of Doctor Alderson, Mrs. Opie,
in early life, married the painter on whose
name her pen assisted to confer a wide cele-
brity. London society being opened to her,
she saw with interest many of its passing
notorieties, and viewed its external aspects
with the lively curiosity of a provincial ob-
server. Her letters in the volume before us
remind one of the pages of Moore's Diary, in
being catalogues of " high people " with whom
the writer came into transient contact; and
hero and there we are treated to some very
readable and graphic passages. In skilful
hands the materials of the volume might have
been rendered very effective ; but Mr. and
Miss Brightwell are not practised in author-
ship, and the work is crude and fragmentary.
Its transitions are abrupt, its statements are
often incomplete, and there is no attempt to
estimate the talents of Mrs. Opie. Of the
most peculiar incident in her life, the adop-
tion of the principles of Quakerism, we do not
obtain a satisfactory account; and there are
many phases of life at Norwich left unde-
scribed, though the writers of such a work
might have introduced them naturally, and
interested the reader in describing them.
As the volume must be read for its original
letters, its quality will be best shown by ex-
tracts. Before selecting some passages we
may cite the following sketch of Mrs. Opie's
appearance late in life, as some of our readers
must remember her, on her visits to London
during the May meetings :

She was of about the standard height of women; her
hair was worn in waving folds in front, and behind it was
seen through the cap, gathered into a braid ; its colour
was peculiar—'twist flaxen and grey; it was unusually fine
and delicate, and had a natural bend or wave. Her
Quaker cap was of beautiful lawn, and fastened beneath
the chin with whimpers, which had small crimped frills;
her dress was usually of rich silk or satin, often of a fawn
or grey colour ; and over the bust was drawn a muslin or
net handkerchief in thick folds, fastening into the waist,
round which was worn a band of the same material as the
dress; an apron, usually of net or muslin, protected (or
adorned) the front of the gown. Her feet, which were
small and well formed, peeped out beneath the dress. On
her hands she wore small, black, netted muffatees (she
sometimes repaired them while talking to her friends),
and the cuffs of her gown were secured by a small loop at
one corner, which she wore passed over the thumb, so as
o prevent them from turning back or rucking upon the
arla ; her figure was stout, the throat short; her carriage