The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-03-17 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE BRITISII PRESS.

March 16, 1826.
Sit —The ability with which your Paper is conducted, and the
general accuracy of its statements, have given me great confidence
in your judgment and discrimination. I therefore exceedingly re-
gret that you should have admitted the unjust and nulicious attack
on a highly respectable silversniith, which appeared in your co-
lumns of yesterday. With that gentleman I have had no commu-
nication, and I is.Nsure you that a love of truth, a desire to rescue
the innocent from unmerited reproach, are the only motives which
Induce me to request the insertion of the following statement :
When the Archdeacon retired from the arduous duties of St.
Martin's, the Gentlemen who composed the Vestry resolved una-
nimously to present their revered Pastor with a piece of plate, as
a token of their unfeigned regard. The proposed amount was tot-
mediately collected amongst themselves, and a deputation appointed
tce make the necessary purchase. Knowing that Mr. T— dealt
largely in the kind of article they wanted, the deputation waited on
him, and inspected many superb pieces of exquisite workmanship,
but the most attractive object was a second-hand salter of immense
weight, and a model of perfection both in design and execution.
The Gentlemen knew it was aceond.hand, and only regretted that
the price exceeded their subscription, or they would have preferred
it to any other. In order to meet the wishes of the deputation, and
to add to the testimonies of esteem which he had manifested for
the Archdeacon, Mr. T— with that liberality which has always
distinguished him, voluntarily made a sacrifice, and reduced the
price, so as to meet the liniitei subscription. Thus It appears that
the Gentlemen knew the plate to be second-hand, and purchased it
as such.

The plate was presented to the Archdeacon ; but in accordance
with the proverb, " that two of a trade seldom agree," there were
some narrow-minded men in the parish, who either envious of the
prosperity of their neighbour, or from want of better employment,
took the trouble to trace this second-hand plate to its successive
owners, and triumphed in the discovery, that iu the mutations of for-
tune it was once touched by unholy hands. This report was indus-
triously circulated, and some one more malignant than the rest sent
an anonymous letter to the Archdeacon, which caused immediate in-
quiry. On application to hit. T—, he proved most satisfactorily that
the salrer was purchased amongst other second-hand silver at apsblic
sole in the ordinary course of business, and not at the place mentioned
in your Paper. These are the facts of the ease; and surely it is un-
reasonable to expect, that a silversmith should be called upon to trace
the pedigree of second-hand silver. In many cases this must be
impossible, and it would be equally unreasonsble to expect that
he should ascertain the moral chsracter of every individual through
whose hands it may have passed ; nevertheless it is for this omis-
sion, from this want of power beyond his reach, that an attempt is
made to hold up a highly honourable man as a disreputable
tradesman.

The article of which I complain is evidently the production of
two persons, for no one who is master of the felicitous style in
which the communication is made, would so far degrade his pnwm
as to he the originator of such false accusations. It is this latter
I complain of, and it is impossible to imagine that any other feeling
than rooted hatred or deliberate malice actuated him; bat those who
are more immediately concerned will no doubt treat such malignity
as it deserves. VERITAS.
P. S. The plate presented to the Archdeacon by the parishioners
was rot even in contemplatation till the Vestry set the example.
*„." We can easily excuse the seal of Voila+ on behalf of his
friend. It may be some consolation to him to know that though
we treated the incident to which he refers as somewhat ludicrous,
as in truth it was, yet we never for a moment considered the slightest
imputation of a want of integrity as attaching to Mr. T— in
the affair.

Dovsa, M•aest 1.5.—11 is Serene Highness Prince
Itererbary embarked for Calais this morning on board the
King George passage vessel, under a salute from the guns
at the Hi ights. His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, his
Excellency the Hon. Colonel Cathcart, and the Marquis of
Aylesbury, arrived at Wright's Hotel last night ; the two
latter sailed in his Majesty s packet the Fury, for Calais,
and the former in the Monarch this morning for Boulogne.
No arrivals to-day from France.
Sir W. Congreve is at Berlin, making preparations for
lighting that city with gas.
The late Colonel Stanhope has left one son, who, in ad-
dition to what his father will have left him, at the death of
Lady Banks (the widow of Sir Joseph), will come into pos-
session of the Lincolnshire Estate, worth, it is said, about
20,0001. per annum.
Miss Macauley is giving, her " Dramatic display of the
varied style of Recitation, to crowded audiences at Bath,
where her talents and amiable character have deservedly
made her a great favourite.
We leant that it is not true that Mr. Macready has had
a relapse, or that his state of health will at all interfere
with his profession, as stated in a paragraph copied from a
Country Paper. He was advised by his physicians to
renounce his country engagements; but a very recent letter
from him states, that his health was almost completely re-
established, and that he should resume his engagement at
Drury-lane immediately after Easter.
We arc sorry to learn, that Mr. Charles Phillips, the
Barrister, is dangerously ill, at Shrewsbury, of an in-
flammatory attack. He is not expected to live.—An Even-
' ing Paper of yesterday says, " Mr. Phillips was taken
dangerously ill at Worcester, but we are happy to hear he
is so far recovered that it is expectedr he will meet the
Judges at Shrewsbury to-morrow."
E. C. Haethopp, F,sq. of Four Oaks, near Sutton
Coldfleld, and Charles Shipley, Esq. of Co'cabin, have
11 consented to officiate as Stewards at the next Warwick
Races.

The name of Major-General Sir George Leith, Bart.,
was by accident omitted as having attended his son Mr.
Leith at Aylesbury, when the parties concerned in the
recent melancholy occurrence at Eton were put upon their
tr;al.

Yesterday, a Court of Directors was held at the East
India House, when the ship Dukc of York was taken up,
aud consigned to China direct.

PIIIIE,VO 1.(1G Y.
[We were reluctantly obliged to omit the following ac-
count of Dr. SPUItZIIEIM'S Lecture in our Paper of yester=
day, from the want of r00m.3
Dr. Sri: fume' m commenced Lott night his first Course of Lec-
tures at the Crown and Anchor. This being the first Lecture, may
be regarded an merely introductory, and as paring the way to the
ultimate objects of investigation. He began by explaining the oh:
ject of Phrenology, and its usefulness. He expatiated upon its
utility to the medical profession—to the improvement of philoso-
phy—too the advancement of education—and to the perfection of the
arts of mutation, as ailied with sculpture and portrait painting.
That a perfect acquaintance with the functions of the brain is of
the greatest importance to the physician is manifest, because until
he is enabled to discover the influence of the ntenfal upon the roi--
pores! frame, his treatment of the maladies of either can be guided
by no sound principles; for, as the diseases of the body deptnd
essentially on the condition of the mind, all medical science Must
be defective and indeterminate in proportion as the functions of
the brain are imperfectly known ; since it is only as they are un-
derstood correctly that any just intirences can be drawn, of ap-
plied in the way of remedy to the disorders which ensue from their
morbid action. It is well known in how great a degree those
disorders which are called Nervous in females are occasioned
by the passions and affections of the mind.—by love, jealousy, dis-
appointment, and by the various other causes wt,feh disturb its se-
renity, and consequently derange its functions. The sudden ex-
cess of joy or grief, though opposit.: affections of the mind, produce
the same result ; and, in some instances, where the individuals are
strongly susceptible, produce sudden death, which sufficiently de-
monstrates the action of themint: upon the corporeal frame.
The importance of Phrenology in reducing the philosophy of the
mind to an intelligible system, and placing that system on a basis
that cannot be shaken, it would be superfluous to dwell upon.
Doctor SPURZHEI SI completely refuted the vague speculations
upon which all our metaphysical treaties on the mind have been
hitherto made to rest. It has been treated by the Metaphysician as
a single power, generating ideas in • mysterious manner, and pos-
' sealing/acuities inexplicably contained in the brain as a grotto!
mass. But all their language on this momentous subject has b-en
confused, their terms are incapable of any positive practical appli.
cation: the instant you attempt to apply their doctrines to any
useful purpose. either in the conduct of education or in the inter-
course of common life, they are found to be mere theories that can
neither be traced to any intelligible origin, nor employed to any
useful end. But the Phrenologist can assign a distinct meaning to
the terms he adopts, he can refer his language to specific facts, and
an illustrate its meaning by actual experiment ; it thus enables
every one to judge for himself how far the principes of the science
are sound and its reasonings correct.
The Doctor dilated on the fundamental utility of the science as
the basis of education, and of all those Institutions which are in.
tended for the moral improvement of mankind; and we are quite
satisfied that lie is borne out by experience to the full length of his
conclusions. It is a fact which forces itself upon the observation of
all, that some persons are endowed by nature with extraordinary
faculties; that some have a facility of acquiring certain arts in
which others, with their utmost labour, can never excel. The
science of Phrenology enables us to perceive by thc external con-
formation of the skull what faculties, passions, and propensities,
are possessed in • greater or less degree, and consequently which
of them it would be important to exercise and cultivate if defec-
tively developed, and which to regulate and restrain if they are
naturally too energetic. What is there in the metaphysical Treatise
Of the Mind that can enable us to do this' Phrenology unfolds all
those faculties and powers of the mind upon which education is
destined to act; and to all therefore who have the managemtnt of
youth, and to whom the formation of the moral character of the
rising generation is entrusted, it becomes a science of the very
first importance.
The Doctor very ably enforced the neer sity of this study to por-
trait painters and sculptors, and there is certainly no class of per-
suns to whom, professionally, it can be more essential. He pro-
ceeded to show how grea ly the expression of character depends en
the conformation of the head. We all express ourselves imper.
ceptibly in language warranted by actual observation, when we say
an elevated mind, as contrasted with a low mind; which infers an
opposite character and opposite qualities. No artist ever painted
the S•LVATOR MUNDI with a low forehead, nor JUDAS IS-
C•Illor with a high one, he would perceive, without being a Phre-
nologist that the former would be destitute of all mental energy;
that the latter would display an elevation of character ; and that in
both the external form would denote the reverse of what he in-
tended to describe. The JUPITER of thc anCienti was always
' sculptured with a head the conformation of which was Full of na-
tural majesty. The Doctor, while speaking on this subject, re-'
marked with great justice, that the ancients never gave to a Gla-
diator the same formed head as to a priest, but preserved almost
invariably • consistency between the external form and the actual
character. He produced a bust of the Vex us cat 31enlets, and
remarked that, notwithstanding the extreme beauty of her face, the
' smallness of the head and its outline indicated great imbecility.
We are disposed, however, to think, that the sculptor might, in this
instance, have considered the smallness of the head as in
keeping with the delicacy of the entire form, and that he wrought his
model without regard to the relation between intellectual and personai
perfection. It Is certain, however, that portrait painters have
bestowed their attention much too exclusively on the face and the
features; they havebeen, the the most part, satisfied with obtaining
the likeness in as far as it depended on the mere countenance, with-
out considering how much its character depended on the exact
delineation of the form of the head, and the accurate outline of
every part above the rye-brow, as well as beneath it.
We regret that our time will not permit us to enter equally into
detail on the remaining topics which this Introductory Lecture em-
braced. We shall take sonic nature opportunity of investigatirg
them, and the evidence on which they are founded.
In the subsequent part of the Lecture, Dr. SPURZUEIM expa-
tiated on the influence of temperaments on the mental functions ;
and showed clearly that they do not produce either determinate
feelings or intellectual powers, but merely impart to then more
or leas energy.
He proceeded next to show that the ancient doctrine, that the
viscera are the seat of .the feelings, is refuted both by comparative
anatomy and by practical experience, as idiots are often found with
the viscera perfect in all their functions, and performing all their
operations with the healthiest regularity.
He refuted the objection, that the brain is not the organ of the
mind, because it acts in many instances with full activity, after
severe wounds have rendered it necessary that a considerable por-
tion should be taken away ; and that in many cases of water on the
brain, the brain is absorbed by the water, while a considerable por-
tion of intellect is manifested by the individuals thus respectively
affected. But Dr. S. clearly demonstrated, that the same set of
functions being developed on both hemispheres of the skull, those
on the one side might be injurednr removed,while those on the other
side remained entire and with their energy unimpaired ; as an in-
dividual in like manner, who had lost one eye or one ear, would
still preserve his sight and hearing, through the medium of that
which remained ; and that with respect to hydrocephak he denied
that the water had absorbed the brain in any instance in which
the active manifestations of mind remained ; but in all such cases,
without • single exception, • quantity of brain is always found
below the lymph, and that were it otherwise the infallible result
would be utter idiotism.

The Doctor touched upon several other imponsat topics, to
which we regret that our limits will not permit us even briefly
to advert.

RUSSIAN TRADE.

By s Manifesto of his Imperial 51ajesty the Emperor of Russia,
dated the 16th December, 1824(0.8.), the duty on the importation
of foreign salt in the ports of Livonia, Esthonia, and Courland,
and the city of Nal-itches been reduced 10 copecks silver per pood,
via.:—instead of paying as heretofore 35 copecks silver per pood,
it will pay 25 copecks silver per pool.
In the port of St. Petersburgh, those in the Government of Arch-
angel, and on all the line of the land frontiers, the old duty on salt
remains as before.
(Signed) A. DE DURATCREFSKY,
Russian Consulate•Uen.
29, Great Winchester•street, March la, 1826.

It is reported dim eves in ecclesiastical
quarter some relaxation of Anti-Catholic feeling has taken
place.— Everting- Paper.
The High Bailiff of Birmingham has paid over the sum
of VOL for the Spanish and other refugees, from that
opulent place.
It is whispered in the literary circles that Lord Byron
was thwarted in his patriotic proceedings in favour of the
struggling Greeks by the Honourable and Gallant Agent
of the London Committee. That the disagreement, how-
ever it may have originated, was of some moment, may be
inferred from the alleged production on a particular occa-
sion, of pistols, as the " only peacemaker" betwyen the
Noble Poet and the Honourable and Gallant Colonel.—
Hellish Traveller.

On Friday last Robert Maydwell took his trial at Lin-
coln Assizes, on suspicion of having, on the Vtith of Feb.
182 k, murdered Francis Smaller, at Bostic:. 'l'here being
no evidence whatsoever to criminate him he• was acquitted.
lie was also charged with the murder of Mary Ann Hat-
tenborongh, at Boston, in the same month, but no bin
having been found against him, he was immediately
liberated. _ _

The following letter is addressed to the Editor of a
Morning Paper :
" A shocking accident has juts( occurred, which has terminated
in the death of • member of this University. Mr. Downmg, of
Lincoln College, was rowing • skiff up the Charwell, in • very
narrow part of the river, where be was met by a skiff on the re-
turn, and through some mismanagement the boats struck. Mr.
Downing. being unprepared, was precipitated from the boat, and
being unable to swim was, lam sorry to say, drowned. Two or
three skiff, were within sight, but of no use, for the unfortunate
young man was drowned long before they could arrive. After
a while grapples were obtained, sad after remaining nearly two
hours in the water the body was found, and conveyed on a hurdle
to the Port Mahon public-house, but life was quite extinct. 1 an,
sorry to say this is the third accident which has occurred through
&kitting during the last three years. It is worthy of remark that
they have all happened in the same term every year.
" Yours, " S. H. P.
" Pembroke t:ollege, 0100, March 14, 1024."