The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-13 00:00:00

LITERATURE,

Essays upon History and Polztics. By J. E. Kebbel,
of the Inner Temple, barrister-at-law. One vol.
Pp. 403. Chapman and Hall.
Essays and reviews are now prominent features
in the literature of the day. Conspicuous among
many similar volumes now before us is this very
ably written work of Mr Kebbel's, which is prin-
cipally devoted to political subjects. The opening
paper is on Lord Macaulay, and the particular fea-
tures of his eloquent style are very happily de-
scribed and discriminated. While admitting, of
course, Macaulay's great Whig predelictions, Mr
Ktbbel remarks that nature had intended him
for a Conservative, but accident had made him
a %Vhig, premising that " his (Macaulay's)
political principles were almost exactly the
same as Burke's." Very different is the
estimate of the Poet-historian of " St. Stephens"
when in his tribute to Lard Macaulay he describes
him—

"As unlike Burke as mind could be to mind,"

And then. alluding to his Whig predilections,
observes—

" Nor Burke nor Brougham to Whigs we wholly cede,
For Brougham has strayed from, Burke renounced their
creed ;
But this bright partisan was all their own,
His pomp of laurel in their soil was grown
To guard their strongholds ho directs his toils,
And to their tombs he dedicates his spoils.''
As a specimen of Mr. liebbel's very analytical
criticism, let us take the following passage from
his anicle on Mr Gladstone—

It is a curious piece of inconsistency in Mr Gladstone's
character, that with all this mental perversity, he is, if we
mistake not, a timid rather than a confident politician. He
sees prinoiplea with great distinctness, but wants the moral
firmness to act upon them. He is, like many very
logically-minded men, suspicious of his own intellect. Ho
is afraid to trust to it, and places himself in the hands of
other people in every way inferior to himself. His sword
is mo sharp that he is afraid to use it for fear of cutting his
fingers. So he borrows, we suppose, the blunter weapons
of his friends. Metaphor apart, Mr Gladstone evidently saw
clearly enough one time that it was his duty to join the
Conservative party under Lord Derby. But when that con-
clusion threatened to separate him from his friends, ho
shunned the responsibility of acting upon it. He could
not believe he could be right. All reason certainly was
for it. But were not people sometimes the dupes of reason ?
Was it possible that this plain and straightforward course
of conduct was also the right course ? Was he not deceiv-
ing himself ? So the goldea opportunity was lost. And
then Mr Gladstone did exactly the same thing over again,
only positively instead of negatively. As he had dis-
trusted his own confidence in Lord Derby, so he resolved
to distrust his own want of confidence in Lord Palmerston.
He had been heard to say he was the most unprincipled
Minister he had ever known. But still people must not
trust too much to their impressions. He preferred the im-
pressions of two other gentlemen, and if he did wrong in
joining the Cabinet, why then he persuaded himself that
they were to blame and not he.

Mr Gladstone's oratory is what we should expect from
his character. He is a true orator, and he therefore never
fails to persuade us he is in earnest. lie is listened to with
pleasure, for he has all the graces and refinement of an ac•
coreplished English gentleman, He is brimful of those
allusions which the House of Commons still loves. He
speaks with sufficient bonhomil and good-humour. His
elocution is nearly perfect; his argument, as may be sup-
posed, is always admirable; and when the subject suits
him, he can rise to a high pitch of eloquence, grave and
severe, extremely dignified and effective. But he does not
penetrate his audience. He is seldom interrupted by great
bursts of cheeriag. He never speaks with the weight of a
man who has a party at his back ; and he speaks as if he
felt this.

Mr Disraeli is also considered at some length, and
the present conditions of
"Party"
form the subject
of some very interesting remarks.

Dwellers on the Threshold; or, Magic and 3fagi.
clans, with some Illustrations of Human _Error
and Imposture. By W. H. Davenport Adams,
author of " Scenes from the Drama of European
History," Two vols. Maxwell and Co.
Mr Davenport 'Adams has selected a very attrac-
tive theme
for his researches. The history of
human error and imposture—
"Beloved as Fable and believed as Truth"—
is a fruitful subject for the meditation of the wise
or the amusement of the curious, and Mr Adams
has taken a very comprehensive range, beginning
with the early magicians of Chaldea, giving ela-
borate histories of the great imposters, Parocelsus,
Cornelius Agrippa, and the rest, glancing at
witches, dreams, omens, and ordeals, down to
the theories of Mesmer and the curiosities of animal
Magnetism. Speaking of the earlier charlatans,
Mr Adams, very judiciously alluding to the latent
truths veiled beneath their mysteries, has
happily designated them "Dwellers on the
Threshold of Science." Hence the very felicitous
title of the work.
Recognising therefore "a soul of wisdom" in these semis
poetical follies, I have ventured to regard th 3 mediaeval
philosophers as Dwellers on the Threshold of Science ;
admitted, indeed, to a glimpse of its wonders—contused
and perturbed with that delightful vision—but unable to
pass into the temple. In a time of darkness and ignorance
they were never faint of heart; they suffered neither perse.
cution to daunt, nor poverty to overwhelm them ;,but
pressed forward with resolute courage to gaze at wisdom
from afar iflunhappily forbidden to enter the holy of holies.
It ill becomes us then, in an age of fuller knowledge and
greater opportunities, to cast indiscriminate ridicule upon
the labours of those who so painfully toiled in what they
believed to be the path of truth. They were not only the
pioneers of science but too often its martyrs.

Among the curious historical facts with which these
fabulous records are illustrated, we may cite the
following, which will be surprising to many:—

JUDICIAL COMBAT.

The appeal to judicial combat was only abolished in Eng-
laud as late as 1519, although it had been practically cbsp-

fete for three hundred years. But in 1817 a man named
Thornton was accused of having assassinated a young girl,
tried, and acquitted. The victim's brother, returning soon
afterwards from a long voyage, took proceedings for a new
trial. The accused then (fierce] to exculpate himself by
single combat, as the statute authorised, and the judges
wore constrained to recognise this mode of defence. The
combat was on the point of taking place when the appel.
lant reflecting that if he was conquered he would be put to
death, and that his defeat was probable, owing to the
strength and vigour of his opponent, declared that he
abandoned his appeal. It was in consequence of this sin-
gular transaction that Parliament, in 1819, abolished this
rag of the feudal law.

The Antediluvian history and IVarrative of the
Flood. By the Rev. E. D. Rendell, of Preston,

1 vol., pp. 31. Second Edition. F. Pitman,

Setting out with the comfortable assurance that
the general acceptation of Scripture History is fal-
lacious Mr. Rendell has very considerately bestowed
upon us a correct interpretation of the sacred narra-
tive. He does not, however, give us any ground for
believing in his individual infallibility. Mr. Ren-
dell is evidently looking forward to a new reforma‘
tion, for example, he tells us—" Amidst those con-
troversies of the Establishment, Nonconformists
have been advancing in liberality and learning; but
the Roman Church, which never changes, has been
looking on with rejoicing, and congratulating her-
self that she has the ability to settle all such mat-
ters by means of her authr:gity—that is, to silence
inquiry without exr,
lianatin, and punish doubt
with the fears of anathema. Nevertheless, the
troubles to 7rnich we have adverted have more or
less infested every branch of the Church, nor are
they yet allayed; quietude is not to be mistaken for
peace—the fermentations are still going—purifica-
tion will follow. Those difficulties are in the hands
of a wise Providence, and they may be viewed as
storms which lend to clear the atmosphere, and open
out a bluer aky and a brighter sunshine. We think
there can be no doubt in the minds of those who ca
take note of the signs of the times, that there are
some new and beneficent influences at work, de-
signed to bring about some new perceptions con-
cerning the Word, and thus to enable the Church
to ground its teachings upon a firmer and more in-
tellectual basis than any it has previously enjoyed.'
In this "more intellectual" development, we pre•
some that the Rev. Mr. Rendell will take his place
by the side of Bishop Colenso.

LUTTRELL OF ARRAN. By Charles Lever.
No. IX.—The sudden friendship which springs
up between our old friend Grenfell, the
practical, selfish man of the world, and young
Adolphus Ladarelle, the banker's son, and would•
be man of society, is well sketched in the present
number. Each endeavours to work out his own plans by
the aid or at the expense of the other, Young Ladarelle,
in fear that old Sir Within Wardld will marry his ward,
and probably cut him out of the Dabradern estate, seeks
advice and assistance from the retired retailer of fish-sauce,
who in his turn, to serve his own ends, proposes to carry off
the young lady, and unconsciously su zgesta employing ono
of her own relatives to perform that friendly office, Their
plans are, however, frustrated for a time by an accident
which happens to Kate while riding, and which threatens
her life. There can be no doubt now of Sir Within Wardle's
affection for her, which is well described in the interview
between the old diplomatist and the physician, when the
feelings of nature burst through the trammels of etiquette,
Kate, however, will not die at this early stage of the story :
too much hinges upon her fate for such a contingency to
be probable,

THE BRITISH ARMY AND NAVY REVIEW. No. 2,
—The second chapter of the narrative of Lee's
second year of campaigns in defence of Richmond,
chronicles the events of the first and second days
of Gettysburg, and gives a useful resume of the
state of affairs. It is followed by an article on that old
standing grievance, Army Prize Money, which opens by
saying, very truly, that ' Prize money is a subject on which
justice has long been denied to the army." The writer ex.
presses a hope that the report of the Commission lately
inquiring into this matter may be accepted as an augury
of better times. We trust so, for reform is much needed. The
average period of distribution following the most important
captures of the last 50 years has been five years and a halt,
while nine or ten years' delay is by no means uncommon,
and in one instance—that of Burmah—eleven years elapsed.
An article on "The Navy as it is" is worth reading. It
remarks upon the marvellous changes which have taken
place of late years, since steam and the screw propeller have
changed the face of the navy. In the old days ships of war
were apparently, as the author says, designed to be boxes of
guns. One architect went so far as to design a ship of
war to carry 170 guns, with a tonnage under 3,000; but
the largest ships actually built and in use were 120 gun
three-deckers of 2,600 tens. Another article, on a naval
matter, "Tao English and French Dockyard System" has
some sensible observations on our management of affairs.
It is remarked that the unsatisfactory condition of the
English dockyards is due to " the absence of causes of
sufficient power to demand remodelling." This is rather
an obscure way of stating the case, but the severity of
some of tho censures is not altogether misplaced, There
are other papers on matters connected with the two
services, and the number, though not equal to the first,
is of a fair degree of merit.
QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF THE INDEPENDENT
ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS, MANCHESTER UNITY.
Edited by Charles Hardwick.— This serial con-
tains many subjects of interest, and, although it is
professedly for a special class of readers, it will be found
that it contains much to attract and entertain the general
community. There is a great variety in its contents, and
the most diverse tastes can be pleased in its pages. Great
care is taken to meet all the requirements of the day by the
publication of scientific and learned papers, as well as by
those of a lighter style. There are some original verses by
Eliza Cook, a fact which speaks for itself of the style of
poetry which is met with in this quarterly. On the whole,
there is every reason to expect that a continued success
will attend this magazine.

THE ST. GEORGE'S MAGAZINE, No. 1. Hall and
Co.—The first number of a new magazine has some
claim upon public attention, and also upon critical
forbearance. The opening part of the St. George's does
not impress us very favourably, but it is got up in gold
style, at the favourite price of a shilling, and may pro-
bably find admirers, for it partakes largely of that sensa-
tion element which is now so popular.
THE .ECLECTIC.—?he _Eclectic has some readable
papers on matters of general interest among several
devoted to theological and controversial topics.
The most interesting is a criticism giving copious extracts
from the poems of Lord Houghton.
THE SIXPENNY MAGAZINE.—We have here the
usual plentiful allowance of tales, sketches, and
lively papers. "A Dark Story" is tragical enough
for the lovers of the horrible, while " Earnest" is a leaf from
the narrative of the American War which doubtless carries
with it tragedy, romance, and farce by the hundred, could
we know all its secrets. "Barry O'Byrne" is continued in
its usual style.

THE ALEXANDRA MAGAZINE..—This little periodi-
cal devotes itself to the interests of womankind, end
endeavours to counteract some of the established
failings and deficiencies of feminine education.

NE\VTON'S LONDON JOURNAL enters upon the
world of politics in discussing the disappoint-
ments and achievements of the session. It has besides
its customary information on all matters connected with
patents and patentees.

THE BOY'S OWN MAGAZINE. THE BOY'S
MONTHLY MAGAZINE.—Mr. Beeton has long been
an established purveyor for this class of readers,
and these two little serials staunchly keep up his reputa-
tion by their Elia' in adapting themselves to the taste of
their juvenile readers. They are respectively sizpenee
and twopence, so that different classes can obtain them.

THRASHING A SEDUCER.—Two labouring men,
named William Wainer and William Eastgate, were
charged before the county magistrates at Boston, on Wed-
nesday last, with committing a violent assault upon Francis
Marlowe, cottager, The defence was that the complainant,
who is a married man fully 50 years of age, had seduced
the daughter of Wainer, a girl only 14 years of age. A few
days since he was caught by Mr Ellis, farmer, with
whom the girl now resides, prowling about his farmstead,
and Mr Ellis, knowing his vile object, gave him a good
thrashing and kicked him off his grounds. On Saturday
the father and seducer met, and the conversation fell on
the subject of the poor girl's wrongs. The father chal-
lenged Marlowe out to fight. Marlowe slunk out at the
back door. Wainer followed him, accompanied by Last-
gate, his brother-in-law, and a fight took place on the
highway, in which Marlowe received a severe
beating. Tho bench said they must not allow their
feelings to overpower their sense of justice. The
father had no right to take the law into his own hands.
If Marlowe had wronged him the law would provide a re-
medy. Under the circumstances, however, they should
only inflict a fine of ls. and 17s, costs. The information
„zgainst Eastgate was dismissed, at complainant's cost.
Severe' gentlemen who were in court immediately sub-
scribed and paid not only all the defendant's expenses, but
presented him with a trifle to reimburse him for his day's
labour.—Stamford Mercury.
A fire occurred the day before yesterday at the
cotton-spinning mills of MM. Derly and Chosboix, at
Bellencombre (Seine-Inferieure), and, in spite of all the
efforts of the firemen, they were almost destroyed, The
machinery and buildings were insured for 400,000 f,

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

[RETJTER'S TELEGRAMS.]

AMERICA.

QUEENSTOWN, AUG. 13.

The extra steamer Westminster from New York,
arrived here at 6,15 a.m. this morning. Sho landed
22 passengers, and proceeded at 6.30 a.m.
Her news has been fully anticipated.

SPAIN.

MADRID, August 13.

The Noticias states that in consequence of a
Conference at the Ministry of War, Oviedo has
been assigned as a residence for General Prim;
dating from the 13th instant.
The Madrid journals confirm the exactitude of
a statement which had been made of the expected
arrival at Madrid of the Caevalier Facie, as
Envoy of the Emperor of Mexico. He will pro-
ceed immediately to La Granja to deliver to the
Queen an autograph letter from his Sove-
reign. The Marquis de la Rivera has been fixed on
to represent Spain at the Court of Mexico, and he
will leave very shortly. The Diario Espanol an-
nounces that the Libertad and the Iberia are to be
prosecuted before a military tribunal for seditious
publications. This is thu first time that the press
has ever been subjected in Spain to such a jurisdic-
tion.