The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-11 00:00:00

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IThe hietory of the, world does not record instances 01
greater bravery or einiurenea than the :iattice of the
Alma, Inkerman, and Balaklava ; and where can v e
find more touchine proofs of stern fortitude and Christ an
resignation than those centained it: le.tere written fro,lr
•- the seat of war by men of ail grades (Cheers.) But a
few centuries ago the proudest nobleman in the lard
could hardly sign his name, but now those who at least
cannot read or Writes form the exception to the 'tile, and
there are men in this room who have more knowledge
than Plato, Cicero, or Socrates had. There is not one
here who does not know the blessed truths of religion,
while the learned whom I Dave referred to reasoned but
dimly of an unknown God. (Cheers.) There never w: I
i
a time in our history when so much depended on the (has
ratter and education of the youth of this country. I
think it was Mr. Disraeli who, on an occasion like the
present, said that the youth of nations are the trustees
of posterity. They are specially so at this time ; and if
improvements in liberty of sentiment have distinguished
the first half of the present century, and the same pro-
gress be made through the last, mankind will be ele-
vated to a pitch of civilisation which it is scarcely pos-
sible to have been anticipated. It rests with the
youth of tl.is country to determine whether those
mighty changes shall be for good or for evil—whether
they shall tend to the benefit or deterioration of the
country. It depends mainly on the education which
the youth of this country receives whether this country
shall rise or fall in its position among the nations
of the earth. But wherever these institutions are
established an e -ucated man can be in no want of
innocent as well as wholesome amusement. There is to
history, however an "lent, that books will not teach him ;
there is no country, however remote, that books will
not bring before him ; no dis-iovery that books will not
convey to him ; no a.t or science that books will not
disclose clearly to him. ( tpplause.) I believe that the
progress of every class depends much on each other, arid
that, as the poorer and the middle classes rise in know-
ledge and civilisation, so will the tipper classes find them-
selves obliged to keep their reletive position, and main.
tain that superiority and rank which ignerance and bad
conduct would inevitably lose for them. We all know
how many humble men have risen fr .ii, obscurity to be
the ornaments of tae bar, the pu'rdt, and the Senate,
and who have gained for them-elves that worldly immor-
tality which ruere wealth and rank can never appreaeb ;
and allow are to take this oppertnnity of impressing
upon my you iger fellow-countrymen whom I see here
that with the advantage afforded them their destinies
lie very much in their own hands. Get ins, I know, of
the highest order is rare, but men have risen to eminence
without that, and there are few who are not able to attain
to fame and position wee will resolutely determine to
make the best it e of those abilities with which Providence
has endowed th m. (Cheers.) After the eloquent dis-
sertatietis to which I have adverted, arid r,,rii.!ulsey
that 'rem the Duke of ..A rtyyll, it is unneree sa'-y fa- we
to go into the subject , f the di Brent branches of litera-
ture placed here for the choice, of the :tu lent, even if
I considered I were capable of i_siving an advice. I
can only say to you, neglect no study which either time
or :delay will enable you to melee, Give up nothing
as hopeless because. it requires se, ious comideration arid
is difficult to understand. Avoid licentieus and inflam-
matory publications, which I believe are strong in tho
bands of the spirit of evil; and, above all, study the
tenets of morality and of our holy religion, which not
only show the way of iininortelity, but are the surest
guides to temporal prop rity. (Cheers ) I have hitherto
addressed myself almost entirely to ehese who, to a cer-
tain extent, are dependent on the baeuity of others. I
trust I may be pardoned if I turn for a moment to those
by whom that bounty can be well afforded. I address
myself to the rich merchants wii ) have given Glasgow a
name celebrated over the world. I would ask some of
those who have raised themselves from obscurity by
their energy, talent, and integrity to look back to the
ti.ne when they, too, perhaps, were struggling under
privations and want of gotel and wholesome instruction.
I would ask them to rime nber the thousands of their
fellow-citizens who at the pre eat day are similarly
situated, and to remind them that by affor log the
means of instruction they may perhaps raise many
youths in after time to the same position which they
themselves now occupy, and by the withholding of which
they may he doomed to a life of misery. I would ask
them to remember that it is not only the tall chimneys,
the extensive manufactories and the broad streets that
constitute a city's greatness ; it is not because it can
boast of a rapidly-'ncreasing population, of a commerce
that has extended almost beyond precedent, of riches
that are wafted over every sea from States in which she
free acquired the greatest fame ; vice and misery, we are
bound to helieve, exist in every great city, and in none,
I fear, snore than in this ; mere almsgiving will not stop,
but, I fear, increase the evil. Full occupation will not
stop it ; it is only by educating the people that you can
permanently reform their lives and improve their condi-
tions, and I call til- oa the rich and the influential of this
city to put their shoulders to the wheel, to leave no stone
unturned, to leave no means untried which are calculated
to have the effect of providing good and adequate in-
struction for the poorer fellow-citizens. (The to)1e Earl
sat down amid eclthu•,iastic applause.)
The LORD-ADVOCATE, who was received with cheers,
proposed the following resolution --" That institutions
founded with a view to advance the education of the
people,. aredprovitle them with the means of pleasantly
and profitably occupying their lei-eire hours, are descry-
ing of patronage and support." His Lordship delivered
a highly effective address, which was repeatedly ap-
plauded.
Sir M. S. STEWART seconded the resolution, and it was
carried unanimously.
Professor SWINTON proposed the second resolution --
" That the Glasgow Athenxum being specially instituted
to furnish the means of self improvement to young men
engaged in mercantile pursuits, it is incumbent on them
to avail themselves of the advantage it affords."
Mi. ALEX. HASTIF, M.P., seconded the adoption of
the resolution, and congratulated the directors of the
/Wien:turn on the very excellent and splendid meeting
which had taken place that evening.
ProfeFser &emit moved the third resolution, which
was as follows ;—"That, in addition to the mere direct
advantages resulting from literary institutions, they ne-
cessarily tend to elevate the taste of their members,
, and lead them to an appreciation of the high and enno-
bling influences of literature, the fine art=, and science."
The learned Professor, in the course of an eloquent ad-
dress, remarked that it was literature and not science
that cultivated men's humaeity. Too much time and
attention was given to politics and money-making, anti
too little to the study of literature. Men who could
keep their souls in their shops for six days, and go once
a-week to church, were very shabby Christian.. He
urged them to study literature, and get out of their shops
and expand their human souls.
Professor NICHOL seconded the resolution, which was
unanimously approved of.
Mr. WALTER BUCHANAN moved—" That, as the mer-
cantile, manufacturing, and commercial progress of a
city like Glasgow is materially influenced by the infor-
mation and intelligence of its citizens, the Athenamm
possesses peculiar claim; on the community at large,"
which was seconded by Mr. James Goirlay, and unani-
mously aepopurionvet
Sir ALISON, in moving a vote of thanks
to the noble chairman, observed that his lordship was
no stranger to that city. He had been known in early
life as the restorer of ancient chivalry (applause). and
recently as the intrepid and able advocate of Scottish
rights, and he was also the able advocate of mental cul-
tivation and the elevation of the people. After a few
other eulogistic remarks, Sir Archibald concluded by
proposing a vote of thanks to the chairman, which was
responded to with acclatnation.
Tho CHAIRMAN, in brief terms, acknowledged the
compliment, and the proceedings terminated.

?Ks-44;
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[PRICE 4D. STAMPED SD•

GLASGOW ATRENJEUM SOIREE.

On Thursday night the third grand soiree of the Glas-
gow Atheucum was held in the City-hall. The doors
were thrown open at 7 o'clock, and before 8 the spacious
place of meeting was crowded in every part by a bril-
liant assemblage of ladies and gentlemen. At that hour
the chairman, the Kul of Eglint'in, appeared upon the
platform, and he was received with loud and reiterated
cheering.
Among the gentlemen on the platform were the Lord
Provost, the Lord Advocate, Sir Ai-Ail/alit Alison, Pro-
fessor Swinton, Professor Blackie, Sheriff Bell, and the
Rev. Norman Macleod.
The national anthem having been sung by the company
upstanding,
The CHAIRMAN said—Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot
but feel that, meeting on this occasion with such an as-
semblage of the talent, wealth, and respectability of
Glasgow, I am placed at a considerable disadvantage,
more particularly when I call to mind the briiliant ora-
tions which have been made to you from this chair, and
the genius and eloquence which have distinguished those
who have preceded me in addressing the members of
this Athenream. (Cheers.) When I remember the mag-
nificent oratory which I had the gratification of listen-
ing to from the learned and highly accomplished noble-
man who reflacts honour on the ancient line from which -
ho is sprung, and whose native-both eloquence and
rare talents as a rising statesman are the theme
of universal admiration----of course I need not say
that I refer to the Dake of Argyll—(cheers)—when I
remember that at the opening of this institution you had
displayed the unexampled hum( ur and high genius of
the inimitable Dickens—(cheers)—and know also that
upon other occasions similar to this you have been pre-
sidtd over by such men as the great historian of Europe,
whom I now see near me—(cheers)—and Mr. Sheriff
8,11, whose vigorous eloquence none can have listened
to without pleasure—(cheery)—and when I know that
I am about to be followed by such a man as the Lord-
Advocate—(cheers)---a man whose character and talents I

mre as much as any man can do, although I have
801:11 !what, ?bused some of the duties of his office---(it
laws)—when I know all this I cannot but feel that any
attempt at oratory on my part must be met almost with
distaste. Still Ido not respond with the less :alacrity to
your call when I now redeem the pledge which I was
upon a previous occasion inevitably prevente I from car-
rying oat. (Hear.) Believe me, it is not to gratify any
feelings of vanity—it is not t atify any love of or at ny
or public display, that I have come here to-night. There
is no man to whom such teings are less pleasing. I come
here because I feel it to be the duty of every man who
wishes well to his country to support such institutions as
this, and still more because I feel it to be the duty of
these whom Providence has placed iu high station, and
who have been blessed with the advantage of a liberal
education. (Cheers.) The reasons for getting up these
institutions are so well known over the country that it
is really hardly necessary for me to state the object of
this Athenxinn. I believe it is impossible for me to
put it in better or more c eaciee terms than the words
which accompany the report. These are these :—" The
object of the institution it; to place within the reach of
the public the fullest and most recent information on
all subjects of general interest, whether commercial,
literary or scientific ; to provide an agreable place of
s ,rt in the intervals of business ; to excite, espe-
cially among young men, a taste for intellectual and ele-
vating pursuits ; to secure the means of its gratification
by afferdieg the utmost facilities for systematic study in
tt e various branches of useful knowledge, and to coin
bine these with opportunities for the enjoyment of invi-
gorating exercise, and improving and refining relaxa-
tion." I feel that after that statement it is unnecessary
for me at length to descant upon the objects of your in-
stitution. I rejoice to find that it has met with great
success, and that the number of members is continually
increasing. When I say, however, that the members
are on the increase, I cannot help expressing a regret
that the persons for whom this institution was got up—
I mean the young men of Glasgow, those engaged in
mercantile and mechaeical pursuits—have not ;availed
themselves of its benefits to the extent which could have
been desired. I sincerely trust that this night will be
the prelude to a better state of things, and that it will
go forth to the young men of Glasgow that they cannot
do better for themselves—that they cannot better avail
themselves of innocent amusement, combined with in-
struction that leads to happiness, than by joining this
institution. (Cheers ) There is one part of this in-
stitution which is perhaps lest known, and conse-
quently less appreciated, than the rest—l mean the
gymnasium. It is an old adage, All work
and no play waist s Jack a dull boy." I know, from my
own experience, that I can go to work with redoubled
activity and clearer head if I have had good, healthy ex-
ercise beforehand. But, ladies and gentlemen, if the
arrangements of the Athenmennwere to be the only
means of instruction afforded to the poorer and middle
classes, I should say they were vain and inadequate—
they are only auxiliary, at the same time highly useful.
As the infant school is to the child, as the academy is
to the boy, as the University is to the youth, so is the
Athenmum to the grown man, opening its doors not only
to those who have hitherto been uneducated, and afford-
ing them an opportunity to rise from their ignorance,
but also to those who wish to preserve that which they
may have already learnt. (Cheers.) It is in great and
populous cities that these institutions must prove highly
useful, because in them men are subjected to tempta-
tions of every kind ; and if we do not provide for them
healthful and innocent recreation, inevitably they must
fall into sin and vice ; if you don't provide innocent
recreation and wholesome instruction they must fall
into dissipation, vice, and immorality ; and I believe
that no means are better calculated to wean them
from bad lahits than to prove to them that the
acquirement of knowledge is not only power, but also
pleasure. It is by this Athenmum that uneducated men
are afforded an opportunity of placing themselves ou
a level with those who have enjoyed greater advan-
tages in early life, and by it ()comparatively educated men
may raise themselves to the highest branches of know-
ledge. By such institutions knowledge may be diffused
among all classes of the community, nod through their
instrumentality I hope that immorality and drunken-
ness may speedily be repressed. (Great cheering.) There
is one thing in these institutions which should not be
lost sight of—l mean the total absence of all party and
sectarian differences, which are not only incompatible,
but unnecessary to the wellbeing of them. But when I
say that all religious and party differences should be ex-
cluded from these institutions I am far from wishing to
advise the members of them not to take cognisance of
any of the great political and international movements
that may from time to time occur. (Cheers.) I should
indeed regret, for instance, that any member should
fail to take an interest in the mighty war with which
Europe is now convulsed. I should regret that any
member of these institutions failed to glory in his
country's complete success. (Cheers.) Such a theme
as that should be encouraged and, although I well
know that I am now in the middle of one of the great
commercial cities of Europe, and war is always hateful
and peculiarly oppressive, I know that there is not one
here who has not resolved that so far as in him lies
this war shall be carried on firmly and resolutely to a
glorious conclusion. (Great applause.) I know that
this is a topic foreign to the peaceful object for which
this meeting has been convened ; but I trust that I may
be pardoned for alluding to it, Linable as I was to attend
a recent great demonstration which took place in
this city, and for assuring you, on my own part, that,
anxious as Jam, in common with every hurnaneman,that
the sanguinary struggle in which the three greatest na
tions in the world are engaged should be brought to a
'weedy termination, I am equally anxious that no peace
shall be concluded which will not have the effect of secur-
ing the permanent tranquillity of Europe. (Cheers.)
The noble earl, proceeding to contrast the amusements
of the Athenreum with the false allurements of the pub
lic-house, said. the frequenter of the former does not re-
turn home with bleared eyes, throbbing head, and reck-
less heart ; for him there is no wife waiting in dread
misery for the curse or the blow of him who should' be
her natural protector; for him there are no children cry
ing bitterly for sustenance, the means of providing which
have been spent in the dramshop or the brothel ; his
eyes may sparkle, but it is with new-born knowledge,
and his heart beat with feelings of exultation and hope.
(Hear.) His home may be humbler, but it is not the
abode of vice—his means may be scanty, but they
are
spent on proper objects; On return to his borne here-
parts happiness and instruction. Perhaps at the elh
mourn he may have learnt something to enable him to
rise in his calling—perhaps to overcome some didffi sculomety
which had impeded his progress—perhape solve
doubts under which he ,laboured on religious belief—
perhaps made someresolve to avoihde returns in future errors into
to his loved
which he had been ensnared, and
ones, eager to impart to them the happiness and the
knowledge which ho had learned at the Athenmum.
(Applause.) And now let nie argue the merits of the
Athenmum, merely on the ground of expediency. The
Government of this country has long since abandoned,
and as long as a constitutional monarchyNvhetheerxifsotrs
gitoondevoerr
Can again become, an oligarchy.
evil,• the power of the masses is becoming stronger
forau and
stronger every day. Well, if the people aro exer-
cising greater influence over the decisions of the Legisla-
ture, and consequently over the destinies of the empire,
some say that the line of policy has been too rash ;
others say that it is the only form of government corn-
patible with the age, and that it tends to keep down in-
dividual domination. Whatever may be the views enter-
tained on that point, all must acree that those who have
the most influence should be well educated. We should
give the people education, teach them the holy truths of
Scripture, open to them the instructive page of history
exhibit to them the marvellous discoveries of science,,
and I, for one, do not fear that influence, and shall not
oppose it. (Cheers.) It is of no use for alarmists—who
would, if they could, attempt to stop all education what-
even—it is of no use for them to say don't over-educate
the people. I say you cannot over-educate the people
the danger lies in an imperfect education or the want of
it altogether. You may cram the bead of a dull boy of
the upper c'assss with Lain and Greek, who is useless
for eny purpose, but you cannot over-educate the men
who is to t ril for his bread ; and if the
sated, the evil counsellor or the fiery people aro edu-
demagogue at once
loses his power which ignorance alone can give him.
(Great cheers.) Are our artiz ins, because they are
better educated now than in former days, less able

DEATH OF AN ACTRESS.

Mademoiselle Julie, whose clotbolsolcatihige caught fire
a
edut thering
the Performance of the Good Woma
Plymouth Theatre, on the 20th uit ~expirwedho wonsSundayonly
rs
morning last. This ill-fated
)fthe " Fairy of the Lake"
young lady,
18 yea of age, bad t
assigned to her, and it wpat
was during the ballet which closes
the first act that the sad accident occurred. The back
scene reprroesented a fairy lake, in front of which was
of argand burners, with chimneys of green
glass, to impart that colour and to give a transparent
pa
p ace to the water. To hide the burners from the
aaudieenrcae, there was in front what is technically called a
"set," or ground piece, about 22 inches high, on which
the shore of the lake is painted. The corps de ballet stood
in two raves, four on each side, with scarfs which were
thrown up in the air, where, from their extreme lightness
they kept poised, and formed an arch, under which the
principal performer walked down to the front on her toes,
In order to obtain a greater effect, Mademoiselle Julie,
who did not correctly measure her distance, stooped
over the burners, when her green tarlatan dross became
ignited. 'Unconscioue of the fact, she made two or three
pas towards the audience, whose exclamation, " You're
on fire," she applied to something unbecoming about
her dress, which she modestly endeavoured to smooth
down, and then, far the first time, discovered her peri-
lous position, and rushed off to the wings. The scarf c
one of the young girls, Miss Rigging, took fire, but it
was let fall on the stage, or the calamity might have
been much wcrse, the whole corps having dresses of
very inflammable materials. Mr. Fox, Mr. WhiPPIeP
the surgeon of the tiSth Regiment, and Dr. Moore, werei
constantly attending the sick room, which was fireay..y.
ously supplied with every nourishment, and the ad.
Ilatchard, the Vicar of St. Andrews,
"se' dical atten•
ministered religious consolation.
dants ascribe death more to the shollcrkeeroorrathesunpeerrviiriasl
system than to the burns, which
young brother
character. Deceased partly supported a
of
her day and night
and their mother, who had
ibeenfo
family_ subscrip-
since the accident. On
, of the
tion has been commenced. Newcombe, manager of
gives 20/. ; Mr. Wigan
the Plymouth Theatre,dCaptain Goodridge, of the South
Olympic., Si. 3g. ; a
Devon Militia, has gathered about 71. Mademoiselle
Julio excelled as a dancer, but had considerable ability
as a performer ; the came from Exeter to Plymouth.
The accident occurred on the second night of her engage-
was for three weeks, when she intended to
t which
proceedmen to Dublin, where she had been engaged, onprofitable terms, to take the Part of Columbine.

TAKING IT COOLLY.—A Chinese legend records a
singular instance of coolness in a mandarin. When his
beloved Lee•Chee was, by a can stroke, reduced to s
heap of ashes, " Sweep away your mistress,".sahlf!he
dignitary to his servant, " and bring us clean P,P°s
The following shows the number of absentoflicerso
from regirnents in the Crimea, and the reasons
absence :—On leave on private affairs, ;
26"
on leave
retire, 7 ; on leave o❑ account of wounds, 101 ; le their
on account of ill health, 21G.

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