The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-23 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 23, 1855.

LITERATURE.

A Month in the Camp before Sebastopol. By a

Non-Combatant. Longtua,n.
This highly-interesting work is the narrative of
the adVentures of a traveller, who, being desirous
to inform himself of the real state of things at the
seat of. war, and having a month of leisure, be-
took, himself to the environs of Sebastopol, where
he acquired all the, information he so pleasantly
gives us. The work of a spectator of these stir-
ring scenes, and the description of camp life by
one whe has really tried it, will at once excite the
reader's attention.. It is written in a lively and
graphic style, in the form of letters to a friend,
who appelrs to have somewhat ridiculed the au-
thor's adventurous expedition. The following is a
description of a Sunday church service in the open

institutes which shall be both true and reasoned,
and he does not regard success as impossible.
Having exhibited thus far the general views
of the writer, we may now stat that in the
scheme or institute submitted in this volume to
the public these views are endeavoured to be car-
ried into effect, and while far from disclaiming its
beingpretensions to both true and reasoned, the
author rests ite claims to consideration rather on
its being .a system of demonstration than a system
of truth. He then proceeds to state that his sys-
tem will be found of a very polemical character,
the reason of which is a philosophy only exists to
correct the inadvertencies of man's ordinary think-
ing. This system, antagonistic to natural think-
ing, is also, he alleges, antagonistic to psycholo-
gical doctrine, which he broadly affirms does all in
her power to ratify rather than correct the inad-
vertencies of ordinary thought. What philosophy
has to do is negatively to correct these inadver-
tencies and to refute psychology, and positively to
establish truth in their place. This being the
work of the philosopher, how does the author of
the "Institute " set about it ? He lays down ne-
cessury truths and laws in distinct propositions, '
facing each in a counter proposition the contra-
dictory inadvertency of ordinary opinion, and
plays them off against each other in order to elicit
and establish truths. The propositions and their
demonstrations constitute the text or staple of the
book, and are the " Institute of Metaphysics."
Each proposition is followed by a series of obser-
vations and explanations, in many of which we are
shown the points where the lesser controversies of
philosophy deviate from -the main stem. The
" Institute" is divided into three main sections :
—the epistomology, or theory of know,ing ; the
agniocology, or theory of ignorance ; and the
ontology, or theory of being. On the matter of
these sections we have neither time nor space to
comment. We can only submit the following
statement and notice of the doctrine of "innate
ideas." " Rightly understood the doctrine of
innate ideas is merely another form of expression
for the initial principle of these Institutes. From
an accurate observation of the fact in regard to
knowledge, we learn that every cognition, or per-
ception, or idea, consists, and must consist, of two
heterogeneous parts, elements, or factors, one of
which is contributed from within, belongs to the
mind itself, and hence is said to be innate ; the
other of which is contributed from without, and
hence may be said to be extranate, if such a word
may be coined, or of foreign extraction. . . .
The circumstance, then, above all others to be
attended to in coming to a right comprehension of
the theory is, that the word innate is never to
be understood in reference to ideas, but only in
reference to a part of every idea, and that neither
is the word foreign, or acquired, or extraneous,
ever to be understood in reference to ideas, but
only in reference to a part of every idea. There
butara
every thus
snoinnate ideas and no extranate ideas,
idea of cognition has an element which
is innate and an element which is not so ; every
cognition, in short, is both innate and extranate—
is a synthesis constituted by
an ct priori and an
d posteriori part. This consideration, of course,
fixes those elements (when considered apart from
each other) as necessarily unknowable and contra-
dictory." Mr. Ferrier, who, by the way, is severe
on Reid, is Professor of Moral Philosophy and
Political Economy, St. Andrews.

Report of Twenty-one Years' Experience of the
Dick Bequest. By Allan Menzies. Black-
wood. _ . _

The above bequest was designed for elevating the
character and poSition of the parochial schools and
schoolmasters in the counties of Aberdeen, Banff,
and Moray, and the present report, the third
issued, got up at the request of the trustees by
their clerk, has been put in circulation partly with
a view to the benefit and improvement of the
teachers and others, but mainly to describe the
object of the trustees in the management and dis-
tribution of the funds, and the cause of that suc-
cess which, we aro happy to find, has attended
their administration. This would appear to be a
gc. e : The following
"A. high moral tone is essential to the design of the
duo recognition of the requirements of the scholars,
and the possession of a mode of supplying them a
creditable knowledge, in short, of the general sub-
will
jmecet tealnvdithscgieennecreal
ocfontecaucrhrehni
school as a seminary of moral training. The key-note
of the morality of the school is the moral tone of the
teacher. If that indicates a wieral feeling not sensitive
—not nicely scrutinising anything that does not assume
the garb of undisguised vice—not shrinking from moral
defilement in a classical form—even winking, it may be,
at a conventional trenching upon the outworks of purity
in langdage, which, although formally correct, is yet
tainted with impurity in its origin and its suggestions—
then will the seeds of corruption germinate quickly, and
spring into rank and luxuriant growth. On the other
band, it is a beautiful spectacle, not to the view of the
world surveying the surface, bat to those whose inte-
rests and opportunities induce and enable them to ex-
amine the inner life of a school, to observe how impurity
shrinks and hides its face when the moral tone of the
master is clear and decided—the ineral tone, not in ex-
hortation and reproof merely,' 'bat cleolarini, itself in his
whole bearing and 'conduct--espeeially in uncensoion:
indications that vice and falsehood are evidently regarded
as things not to be suspected. The pupil is thus taught
not so much by injunction, as by infinitely more power-
ful influence, which strengthens his principle by a tacit
appeal to his conscience, and brings into active energy
the feeling on his part, that what is expected of hint is
the practice of that truth and purity to which his heart
does reverence."

Knowledge is Power. By Charles Knight. John
Murray.
A valuable work ; one which young men enter-
ing on life especially should purchase and road with
lewbe found a comprehensive
of the productive forces of
modern society, and the results of labour, capital,
attention.butn o t
too
Here
miute will
skill, and this presented in a very attractive
manner. The notion which deters many from the
n
study of political e conomy, viz., that it is neces-
sarily dry and uninteresting, is shown to be a
creature of the imagination and not a reality. The
book is really interesting. Charles Fox even, who
said he could not understand Adam Smith, would
have found no difficulty with its contents. It is
founded on two little works written by the author
more than twenty years ago, and extensively' cir-
culated. One of these, " The Results of Ma-
chinery," was published in connexion .with the
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge at
a‘period of great national alarm, when the agri-
cultural labourers of the southern districts were
led to acts of violence by a blind rage arising from
a mistaken dread of injury to their interests from
the use of a novel power. "Now," the author
remarks, `"'that spirit is happily passed away ; a
spirit of knowledge has arisen, and we are told, by
an unquestionable authority, that labourers them-
selves begin to regard the tedious work of
the flail as too irksome. The same class that
in 1830 broke the threshing machines." Of
course, in remodelling this part of the present vo-
lume, it was necessary for Mr. Knight to urge now,
as he did then, the evils of hostility to machinery.
Ike has, therefore, employed himself more satisfac-
torily in anticipating its more complete union with
skilled labour, as the triumph of the productive
forces of modern society. In the other work upon
which the present volume is founded, "Capital and
Labour," the argument of the general subject—the
production of wealth—is here carried forward, and
the general relations of capital and labour in the
distribution of wealth are not overlooked, as the
mistakes about production have yielded in a great
degree to improved education ; so Mr. Knight,
not unwarrantably, feels confident these which be-
long to distribution also will yield to the progress
of information. Knowledge
is power, and, on the
right appreciation of the principles which govern
society there can be no doubt will depend much of
the security and happiness of our own and the
coining time. This fact gives the volume before us
a value, and its lucid and popular style renders its
circulation among the young desirable. It is em
bellished with a great number of new woodoutr,
illustrative of mechanical inventions.

ed to speak, having
--.Y Edward 11.
and Co.
Commissioner of Crown
Lands in New South Wales? and
Australia and its Gold
171:;:erladnas . 14
gives an account
ohvisernment the sum
subject on which
ofthai
esrgmgobrliyadnvetedhnsiet.si
important dis-
covery himself the first to draw attention to the vast
eT theh is
authorrwe coernHki ts
yeloavciteeurailes, a
of 10,0001. He takes a brief review of the disco-
very of gold from the earliest
gold fie
he
des
received
eAi
vuesdtr
farloi am.
the r
at
ages, commencing
with the classic authors, giving an account
of the
Spanish conquests in America, and the quantities
of gold extorted by Pizarro from the unfortunate
Inca of Peru. The narrative of the discovery of
gold in California is as follows :......
" Captain Suttor had received from the Mexican Go-
vernment a very large grant of land, I think 60,000
acres, on condition of his settling there, and introducing
agriculture, and endeavouring to civilise the Indians in
his immediate vicinity. He chose or his site the spot
where now stands the city of Sacramento. There he
built the fort, and, from the first, succeeded very well.
His land ran baek from the river to the spurs of the
Sierra Nevada, where there was a'bundance of timber.
" In 1848 many Americans came overland to spy out
the country and settle in it, which induced Captain
Suttor to erect a saw-mill, for the purpose of supplying
the newly-arrived emigrants with timber, and probably
of sending some to Monteray also. For this purpose he
required an engineer, And hearing of one Marshall, a
person from New South Wales, at St. Diego, Captain
Suttor sent for him, and gave him the needful instruc-
tions. When the works were so far advanced as to
I How the mill bein4 Pet goings it y_r_as cliscover3l that the
- *

rice was not sufficiently deep ; whereupon Marshall
ordered the Indians to dig it deeper. Whilst this was
in course of doing, the water being very clear, Marshall's
attention was attracted here and there to several bright
specks, which he could plainly see at the bottom of the
water. These he at first took up, carelessly, between his
thumb and finger, and threw away again, tkinking no-
thing of the matter. Next morning, however, he saw a
great many more specks, some much larger than the
others; and imagining thatit might be gold, he collected
some dozen of scale-, which he forthwith took to the
fort, where he found the captain at tea. Anxious to
know the captain's opinion, he at once produced what
he hr I found ;—and gold it proved to be. Now,
amongst the newly-arrived emigrants, there happened
to be an old Georgia gold-miner, who, when he heard of
the discovery, hastened off with others to the spot, made
a cradle, and set to work. Many others did the same.
Thus commenced gold digging in California. The
Georgia miner taught the people in the first instance
how to obtain the gold by washing, but for which, in
all probabil;ty, notwithstanding what had been found of
it. the story of its discovery might have passed away
and become a mere idle tale, like that of the shepherd who
found gold near Wellington, in New South Wales, 13y ears
ago; for neither Captain Sutter nor Mr. Marshall knew
how to obtain it except by picking it up with their
fingers.,'

The author having come to the conclusion, from
various reason:, that gold mines existed in Aus-
tralia, set out from Sydney, and travelled to Guy-
ong, in whose ne;,ghbourbood he was to make the
first experiment. The particulars of his expedition
and its success are thus related :

"After resting one day at Guyong, on the 12th of
February I started thence, accompanied by young Lis-
ter. Our course- was down the Lewes Pond Creek, a
tributary to the Summer Hill Crock, which again is a
tributary of the Macquarie River. After travelling a
distance of about 15 miles, I found myself in the coun-
try that I was so anxiously longing to behold again.
My recollection of it had not deceived me. The re-
semblance of its formation to that of California could not
be doubted or mistaken. I felt myself surrounded by
gold ; and with tremulous anxiety panted for the moment
of trial, when my magician's wand should transform
this trackless wilderness into a region of countless
wealth.
" Still one difficulty seemed to present itself. 'there
had been an unusual drought during the summer, which
was now drawing to a close, and the creek, where we
then were, was completely dried up. My guide, how-
ever, in answer to my inquiries, told me that we should
find water lower down ; so, following its course, we
soon fell in with some rocks which contained a sufficient
supply.
We new turned out our horses ; and seated ourselves
on the turf, as it was necessary to satisfy the cravings of
hunger before I ventured on my grand experiment. Had
that failed, but little appetite for-food would have been
left me.

"My guide went for water to drink, and, after making
a hasty repast, I told him that we were now in the gold
fields, and that the gold was under his feet as he went to
fetch the water for our dinner. He stared with Were-
dulods amazement, and, on my telling him that I would
now find some gold, watched my movements with the
most intense interest. My own excitement, probably,
was far more intense than his. I took the pick and
scratched the gravel off a schistose dyke, which ran
across the creek at right angles with its side ; and, with
a trowel, I dug a panful, of earth, which I washed in the
water•hole. The first trial produced a little piece of
gold. Here it is !' I exclaimed ; and I then washed
five panfuls in succession, obtaining gold from all but
one.

"No further proof was necessary. To describe my
feelings at that eventful moment would be impossible.
What I said on the instant—though, I must admit, not
warranted as the language of calm rnflection— has been
since much laughed at. And though my readers may
renew the laugh, I shall not to hesitate to repeat it, be-
cause, as it was the natural and impulsive expression of
my overwrought feelings at the moment, so is it the
only account I can now give of what those feelings were.
" I exclaimed to my guide, is a memorable
day in the history of New South Wales. I shall bo a
baronet, you will be knighted, and my old horse will
be stuffed, put into a glass-case, and sent to the British
Museum.'

"At that instant I felt myself to be a great man. I
was as mad, perhaps, at the moment, as Don Quixote
was his life through ; and, assuredly, my companion was
as simple as Sancho Pauza—for the good youth after-
wards told me, he expected I should obtain for him the
honour I had promised.
" On our return that night to the inn at Guyong, I
wrote a memorandum of the discovery, which I after-
wards gave to the Colonial Secretary, as a memorial of
the great event."

brief history of the discovery of Australia itself
is given, and an. account of its various discoverers.
The description of the different methods of work-
ing for gold is curious. The writer also gives his
opinion on the land question, and an interesting
account of the rise and progress of the colony.

The Roving Englishman in Turkej. Routledge.
The " Roving Englishman" has already made
the acquaintance of a large number of readers,
partly through the medium of Household Words,
and partly from the collected form in which his
sketches subsequently appeared. The present
volume is reprinted in part from the serial men-
tioned, but a great portion of it is original. It
gives a very lively and amusing description of the
sights and scenes of an Oriental neighbourhood.
The account he gives of an auction, which is taking
place in a crazy shed outside the town, presents a
vivid picture of the laisscr caller manner in which
the Orientals conduct their affairs. After having
disposed of some trifling article, the auctioneer
desires repose, and sending for a nargilly, ho joins
in the general discourse. Tao whole company,
says the author, presenting a picture sufficiently
striking and characteristic ; they have entirely
forgotten why they assembled together, and are
idling their time in that slothfulness which is surely
the root of all evil, and from which springs as cer-
tainly- nine-tenths of their national disasters. Ile
contemplates them for some time, and notices my-
sterious boys pulling about the things which are a
bankrupt's property :
" For the rest, I begin to understand also that the
auctioneer is not likely to resume his labours for the pre-
sent ; the talk will go on till dinnertime ; then the
talkers will disperse. To-morrow it is the Greek feast
of the Forty Martyrs ; on the following day it is the
festival of Saint Somebody ; the next day it is the
Turkish Sabbath (our Friday) ; the next it is Satur-
day, the Jewish Sabbath ; then comes Sueday ; no-
body likes to do anything, particularly on Mon-
day, while Tuesday any Wednesday are both saints'
days ; on Thursday everybody will stay at home
sobering, and then again follow the three Sun-
days ! By this time I know very well that everybody
will have forgotten all about the sale, just as much as
if it had been an affair of the last century ; should they
remember it, I am not quite clear that the matter will
be mended. The bankrupt's (roods are in a ruined shed ;
they will not be locked up, they will be nailed up. To-
morrow morning, or the morning afterwards, the shed
will be found open ; something will be said about a
robbery ; this will supply a great deal of energetic talk,
and afford an excellent opportunity of abusing the
Turkish authorities."
The author has a very lowopinion of the Greeks,
of whom he gives a number of sketches. Their
duplicity, falsehood, and cunning appear almost
hopeless. Nothing. can bo clone with them with-
out the influence of fear ; they are not amenable
to kindness, for they do not believe in it. Of
course, never telling the truth themselves, they
never trust others ; and this state of things is very
awkward and disagreeable to those not accustomed
to such crooked ways. Our traveller is of opinion
that much good might be done by reforming our
embassies.
" Let our caladu's be chosen from men who have -al-
ready distinguished themselves, and perhaps need a little
repose ; from our rising barristers of acknowledged abi-
lity, who might study foreign laws from so advantageous
a position, and who, by comparing them witk our own,
might often introduce most important ameliorations on
their return. Let us now and then send an eminent
physician, longing for a year's travel, to inquire into tire
treatment of diseases abroad. Let us send sometimes an
engineer, an artist, a skilful soldier who has drawn all
eyes upon him in our Indian wars, whose opinion might
be of untold value in time of war, and who might pick
up a thousand improvements for our army which escape
the flying visits of royal dukes ; or an author, who is a
national honour to us, and whose genius fills the world.
"Let us be represented abroad as we really are, and
in our best colours—not as a nation of mountebanks
and fiddlers. Let us have really respectable embassies,
which may help to advance the progress of science and
civilisation all over the world; which may carry the
healthy genius of our land from one hemisphere to
another, and bring us back numberless benefits in re-
turn. We might thus lay the salaries of our servants
out at precious interest.
"What stores of useful information—not only to the
Government, butt to the public—might be gleaned by
really able and useful men attached to our diplomatic
establishments ; by draughtsmen, surveyors, engineers,
physicians, soldiers, lawyers, and scholars.
"Our embassies might be much more numerous than
they are. At Paris, Vienna, Constantinople, Berlin,
Naples, Madrid, we could hardly have too marry clear-
headed hard-working men ; while such a farce as our
missions at Hanover, Stuttgardt, Dresden, &c., ought
to be done away with at once ; their places to
supplied by charges d'alraires with 1,0001. a year, not
too proud to attend to their business.
His description of life, and the value of
general articles in Constantinople presents som
novel ties
:
"The fact ix, that, to a man who has not really some-
thing to do, who is not doing it all day long, so as to
be absolutely indifferent about all other things, Conetan-
tinople is most intolerable, and most other Turkish towns
are worse. There arc no theatres or public amusements,
nothing but the weariest Italian opera ever dreamed
of by a hypochondriac ; it is dark, and cold, and
dirty, and filled with noisy young Porotes, who
are all in love with the Prima Donna (usually 48), and
show it with an intemperate indiscretion almost worthy
of a British ambassador. There are no, exhibitions, no
field sports ; there is nothing at all, in fact, but anti-
quity-hunters in difficulties, and a few noisy parties of
young men ; with all this I suppose Constantinople is at
this moment the most expensive place in all Europe to
live in, none but;the most favoured of the cousinecracy of
_

Britain, none but the closest connections of the very
finest old Whig families, who have the very warmest
berths under Government, at all make head against the
expense of it. Coals are more than eighty shillings
per ton ; corn has been recently imported from Eng-
land ; houses cost more than in Belgravia or May
Fair : the price of clothes is fabulous.
" The commonest necessaries of life have risen to a
price which is the dismay of every one. My dinner, a
slice of fish and a chop, with a pint of beer, costs me ss.
a day, without the waiter; my breakfast, a couple of
eggs and two small rolls, cost me exactly 1/. 12s. a
week ; tea, butter, and sugar, are extra. Common
French wine costs nine or ten shillings a bottle (at
hotels) ; the Broussa wine costs about 3s. 6d. ; but it is
not good the second day after it has been opened. The
wages of servants are in the same proportion. I have
half a servant, which costs me about 31. a month, and
the gentleman who has the other half of him pays
more. Grooms' wages are about five pounds a month :
horse-keep dearer than in England : furniture bad, in-
elegant, and expensive. Nearly everything, however,
being imported, and most of the tre'lee;nen nly corning
here for a few years, to make money enough to set up
Europe. there is little need to continue the catiloc,bue.
I paid eight shilliagg the other day for a pair of glove,
and forty-two francs for a ruling-•.vilip that would have
cost about five r,hilling-is in London or in Paris. One
hotel-keeper Old me that he had made twenty thousand
'pounds within the part year : another :aid this was not
true; but they must be almost coining money, for they have
it ail their own way; and at any of the good hotels it is
quite a favour to get a place at the dinner-table though
the cost is considerably more than at the hotels in Paris,
and would kill a German Gastiaiitit on the Rhine with '
sheer envy."

This very entertaining volume of sketches suc-
ceeds in portraying vividly Oriental life and man-
ners, and in conveying a clear idea of the customs
of the people. Respecting Greece, and the Greeks
too, much information may be obtained ; and the
readers will probably coincide in the hope that
" the Englishman " may rove yet further, and give
us the result of his wanderings in a similar
volume.

Tit for Tat. 13ya Lady from New Orleans, U.S.

Clarke and Beaton.
This work is intended as a match for " Uncle
Tom's Cabin," in which intention, we may be al-
lowed to say without prejudice, it -very signally
fails. If the good old rule be true, that the party
who first loses their temper in an argument be in
the wrong, then certainly Mrs. Julia T has a
very bad case. It is intended to revenge the
" insult" offered to the proprietors of the Southern.
States by Mrs. Stowe, and the object is thus ele-
gantly set forth :—" However abundantly the Eng-
lish aristocracy may choose to moisten their French
cambrics over the tinsel pages of an American
romance, the facts contained in the following pages
will prove how much more ready the Britishers
are to shed tears over our faults than to attempt
the more Christian correction of their own." This
Christian correction Mrs. T— has kindly under-
taken for us, and very strongly sets forth how
much worse it is for crime and ill-usage to go on
in opposition to the laws, than "in accordance
with the laws of our land." The great point of the
book is the chimney-sweeping, and it is somewhat
curious to notice how often the authoress alludes
to the "slavery," cruelty, and injustice of such
cases. No doubt grave faults exist in the execu-
tion and evasion of this and similar laws, but we
maintain that to have a law against them is some-
thing, and that we are more likely to amend such
evils by courting inquiry, and having Parliamen-
tary committees on the subject, than if we shut
our eyes to facts, declared everything we had ever
said, thought, or done on the subject the best that
could be said, thought, or done, and lectured our
neighbours. How proving us in the wrong, proves
the slaveholders in the right, it requires perhaps
American logic to explain. But why should this
attack be made on us ? It was an American, not
an English lady, that produced Uncle Tom. Had
not the fair authoress better lecture her own coun-
trymen and women first ? It is to the credit of the
Americans that so many of them see plainly the
right ; and, as an eminent writer has observed, it
is impossible to 'change on such a subject. No
conscientious person ever became converted by the
advocates of slavery. They may uphold it because
they have grown up with it, and have never rea-
soned on the subject ; but if an enlightened Euro-
pean were suddenly to stand forth as its advocate,
what should we think ? No doubt the present
writer considers herself triumphantly revenged
for the blow her cause received ; but the day of
enlightenment is coming, though slowly, when we
may hope to see her and such as her confess their
mistake. Till then let us not emulate their acri-
mony, but pity their error, while we despise their
arguraent s.

Ruth Hall. A. Tale of the Present Day. By
Fanny Fern.

This is a very interes[in,, story. Its authoress
is already well known to the reading public by the
publication of several little sketches and short nar-
ratives ; but this is the first long composition on
which she has ventured. It is successful in what
it undertakes to achieve—the details of a gifted
being struggling with hard and bitter circum-
stances. Forsaken by her own family, and mo-
lested by her husband's relatives, a widow without '
a friend in tho world, her young children crying
for bread, and her former acquaintances innorin,
her existence, Ruth Hall had a dreary time of it
indeed, and truly exempliffed in her career,
"They learn in suffering what they teach in song."
It would have been sad enough to know that while
her writings were arousing interest and exciting
sympathy through the length and breadth of the
land, she was almost starving, and her children on
the brink of death from sustaining sufferings and
privations unsuited to their tender years ; yet the •
severest trial, the wormwood mingled with the
gill, was to feel and think that her relations were
in luxury, and left her to perish. At last, how-
ever, she was triumphant, and many who had ad-
mired her for some time contrived to make some
more advantageous plans for her benefit. It is
satisfactory to meet with the difficulties into which
the cruel grandmother and crafty brother aro
plunged at the end, when Ruth is discovered to be
the successful writer, and their sot in society,
before whom they have tried to appear grand and
circumspect, overwhelm them with awkward ques-
tions as to why they had let their relative remain
in such distress and obscurity. Their unkindness
was forgotten by Ruth, who gave them up, as sho
had been given up by them. Sho left the world,
which had been so hard to her, and which now
offered her the chaplet of fame, to mourn at tlio
grave of the husband of her youth. It was a
respite to her to have leisure to weep. " Hushed,
holy, and unprofaned was this Satiba,th of the
dead."

Yet she had much to be grateful for, and as she
looked at the grave she remembered that, if she
were summoned away herself, other friends would
protect her children than their cruel and natural
guardians. "As the carriage rolled from under the
old stone gateway a little bird startled from out
its leafy nest, trilled forth a song as sweet and
clear as the lark's at heaven's own blessed gate.
Accept the omen, dear Ruth, said Mr. Walter,
life has much of harmony yet in store for you."

Who's Who in 1855. Seventh Year. Baily

Brothers.

This is a very useful publication, there being in-
formation of the most varied kind. An almanack
is given, a list of the Members of both Houses with
their political bias, the number of registered elec-
tors, &c. ; also those of the Privy Council in Eng-
land and Ireland. The Directors of the Bank of
England, the Police Commissioners and Magis-
trates, the Judges, &c., are ketified, and innume-
rable items of intelligence are conTeyed to those
who seek details on the public institutions, offices,
and appointments. A valuable work of reference
is thus presented, and those wko peruse it atten-
tively will estimate the vast amount of labour and
research that must have been expended in its
compilation. This is the seventh year of its exist-
ence, which circumstance proves that it has given.
satisfaction hitherto by its skilful arrangement and
11 multifarious subjects.

Wearyfoot Con
By Leitch Ritchie. Rogue.
This is an :nntteon.
resting and. well-written story,
r°
relating the struggles and adventures of an unaided
youth to obtain an independence in London. He
is discovered in the mist on Wearyfoot Common,
and adopted by Captain Semple, a kind-hearted
and simple-minded. man, who affects great rough-
ness and severity of deportment. Tho course of
events, though not depriving Robert Oaklands of
his patron, prevent him from assisting him in his
establishment in life, and Robert betakes himself
to London to discover if, on the Wearyfoot Com-
mon of world, he can find any path that will lead
him to competence and distinction. His adventures
are various, the most remarkable being his acquaint-
ance with Sir Vivian Falcontowor, and his daughter
Claudia, a very uncommon young lady. At length
he succeeds in his endeavours, and obtains his well-
merited reward. The moral of the story is excel-
, lent ; it shows the success of perseverance and high
principle,. The characters are very diversified and
well drawn. Robert is a very attractive hero from
his straightforward and resolute disposition, aLd
' his nobleness of mind and superiority to the acci-
dents of birth and fortune. Sara, the niece of his
protector, is also a very charming heroine ; and the
old. captain himself, with his apparent fierceness
and. real kindness and gentleness of heart, secures
the reader's interest. His sister is almost teo stiff
and sententious to be natural. Claudia Falcon-
tower is the character of the book—that is to say,
she is the most peculiar and original portrait ; hub
sh e-
she tioeS ncot awaken the intemt, though also

cites the attention ; and though one may easily
believe in the powers of fascination ascribed to her,
her lonely and unloved position is not to be won-
dered at. We could have wished that Robert had
owed his anal good fortune to other means than
those of Claudia and her father. It would have
been more consistent with the moral of the story,
as well as more probable ; for Government appoint-
ments are not so readily bestowed on the unknown
and untitled. If Robert had more directly achieved
his own fortune it would have better carried out
the idea of the triumphant results of indomitable
perseverance. The story originally appeared in the
pages of _Household Words, and we aro sure all who
read it there will be glad to see it again in its pre-
sent form.

The Second Edition, of the New Practice of th,s
_High Court of Chancery. By Henry Jarman.
This work will prove a valuable addition to the
library of the lawyer. The author has ably arranged
his work, which presents at a view the various pro-
eQedingi in a suit now requisite to be taken under
the new r,ystein. The present edition contains
much important practical information, and includes
the :•tatiate conferring indemnity on executors in
the administration of assets with the several trus-
tees, and Charitable Trust Acts, and the decisions
there-under. Mr. J,irman has also judiciously
added a masterly treatise upon miscellaneous sub-
jects of practice, comprising the proceedings relat-
ing to bills of discovery, foreclosure, interpleader,
specific' performance, issues at law, and special
cases, besides a copious index and a variety of other
useful natter, eminently calculated to assist the
practitioner or student in the discharge of his duty.
The work throughout has been executed with
great care and ability, and we commend it to the
notice of our professional readers.

Literary Papers. By the late Professor Edward
Forbes, F.R.S. Lovell Reere.
A. melancholy interest attaches to this selection
of papers from the Literary Gazette, owing to the
premature decease of the gifted and highly-distin-
guished author. The selection, however, does not
need any extraneous aid, haying originality of
thought, humour, and kindliness of tone, with
other obvious merits, to recommend them. They
consist chiefly of reviews of works on natural his-
tory, of books of travel, and of narratives of ex-
ploratory expeditions.

Familiar Pablo. By Miss Corner. Dean and Co.
Miss Corner is well known to all juvenile readers,
both from the numerous histories sbe has written
for their benefit in a lively and interesting manner,
and also from the treasured fairy tales she has
arranged for them in a new dress. The present
work is " ineasy language, suited to the juvenile
mind," and in large type, with the advantage of
being illustrated by Alfred Crowquill and J. North-
cote. Some are in prose and some in verse, all
with one moral, some with two or three. Fables,
it is well known, are always favourites with chil-
dren, and the present collection is not likely to
prove an exception.

The Zoist.—The January number of this into-
resting magazine is characterised, like the rest of its
predecessors, not only by zeal, but also by original
thought, research, and acute observation in the
development and defence of Cerebral Physiology
and Mesmerism as a true science, from the accept-
anco of which great advantages to the human race
must infallibly ensue. Among the more attractive
papers—we mean to the general reader—are,
" Phrenological appreciation of the character of
Alexandre Dumas," by M. A. Castle, M.D., of
Montmorency, near Paris, and two or three
medical cases communicated by Dr. Elliotson.
One of these is of interest to a largo and
emphatically dependent section of the commu-
nity. It is the " Cure of a Ganglion of the Knee,
or of a case of Housemaid's Knee, with Mesmer-
ism." This disease has justly been regarded as for-
midable by those liable to it, many losing their
1 situations, and always occasioning prolonged in-
convenience, danger, and suffering. In May the
application to Dr. Elliotson was made, and in No-
vember no remnant of disease was discernible,
though the case was an aggravated one, and mes-
merism could not be employed for a month after
it was ordered. Wheli it is remembered how vio-
lent and how unsuccessful the treatment of the dis-
ease formerly was, the great value of Dr. Elliotson'e
treatment will be recognised.