The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-09 00:00:00

men, there, are fiends—the prison cells are dangeons
—the handcuffs, chains and slavery—every Bour-
bon Turnkey is a Jonathan Wild—the unhappy
ex-King FRANCIS 11. is a sort of a combination of a
CALIGULA and a Duke VALENTINO. We ara tired
to death of it. Surely having long since written
(as he has) a ponderous pamphlet upon the subject,
setting forth all his views, in terms the most extra.
vagant, and with a colouring the most exaggerated,
Mr GLADSTONE might at last consent just to leave it
alone. The Bourbon Government at Naples is over
and done with—the banners of VICTOR EMMANUEL
float over the palaces of FRANCIS ll.,—the whole
thing as it was is long ago past and gone. At
the very least, Mr. GLADSTONE might have con-
smited to abstain from reviving thin dreary old
tale that has years and years back so palled upon us
by repetition, when he had to talk—if he could only
somehow have contrived to do so for once ( just by
way of a change)—only agreeably—as he ought to
have done, for example, last evening in the presence
and hearing of a venerable legitimist as illustrious by
reason of his years, his gifts, his virtues, and his
achievements as M. BERRYER. Otherwise than
momentarily by this one incident nothing whatever
occurred last evening to mar the harmony of the
proceedings—proceedings as delightful (we are
certain of this) to the hosts, one and all without
exception, as to each one among their distinguished
guests, from the illustrious Guest of the Evening
downwards—proceedings, moreover, that cannot
but be long looked back to si ith equal gratification
by our French neighbours and by ourselves.

It must be a great relief to an orator when he can
occasionally depart from the routine of politics and
discourse upon those subjects that are congenial to
the taste of the thoughtful and refined. The
hackneyed phrases and stereotyped ideas can then
be exchanged for the free flight of fancy, and the
full flow of eloquence. Mr. GLADSTONE was able
to enjoy this rare opportunity of what the French
call delmernent, on Monday evening,when he made
his address at the closing of the North London
Industrial Exhibition. The right hon. gentleman
evidently entered fully into the spirit of his subject
and the impressive character of his harangue suited
alike the scene before him, and the opportunity
that called it forth. Perhaps it is upon occasions
like this that the masterly style of his eloquence is
displayed to fall advantage, and the force of his
rhetoric attains the height that is due. The occa.
sional acerbity of expression and the momentary
irritation of manner that sometimes mar the effect
of his speeches when in his place in the House, are
necessarily banished from a scene like that of
Monday, when he meets his fellow-men to dis-
course upon subjects that carry one away in
thought from the discords and strife that embitter
existence, and develop the highest sentiments and
sympathies of humanity. It is very interesting at
all times to dwell upon such a theme as this Exhi-
bition, and it is instructive and important to con-
sider the evidence thus afforded of the elevation of
the character and condition of our working classes,
Such a thing was unheard of in generations back,
and it is pleasant to speculate upon the vast
changes wrought by the spread of education and
the culture of the mind. Despite many drawbacks
Ind obstacles, the ameliorating process has gone
on, and it is not too much to say that this Exhibi-
tion, closed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on
llonday, has been a landmark by the wayside, to
"Mich others may pint as a record to succeeding
times of the skill and prowess of our own. Apart
from the technical affairs of such an arrangement,

t is encouraging and elevating for our workmen
.nd artisans to meet thus, face to face, with the

4reat intellects of the day—with the mighty men
in the fields of intellect whose names were but

known to their forefathers, but whom they can
mingle with on more equal terms—fellow-labourers
in the work of human progress, alike awaiting the
fall fruition of their toil in the harvest that shall
be reaped in the infinitude of hereafter.
Nlr GLADSTONE properly pronounced the scene
before him to be " emphatically the festival
triumph of labour."- Such it was, essentially and
entirely one of those bright spots which greet the
traveller by the wayside in the fresh beauty of un-
sullied nature, or gladden the heart of the pilgrim
in the desert with the sight of trees and the sound
of water. Tae right hon. gentleman made an ap-
propriate allusion when he said that their Minister
of Finance appeared before them with the glory of
a surplus in hand. It is in every way satisfactory
that the success of this Exhibition should have been
so undisputed, for it silences the cavils of doubters,
And extinguishes the objections of those who
attempt to put down such undertakings. In every
sense of the word the doubts of the hesitating have
seen exchanged for conviction, and the experience
of time has proved the force and truth of those
who undertake to prepare and to arraign the whole
thing. Very true and very encouraging were the
words of Mr. GLADSTONE on the importance and
dignity of labour. He said that on this " busy
teeming earth" there was no place for the idle
man, and fully carried out his high and :holy
meaning in this impressive passage, " Labour is
the universal lot of man, and those who
endeavour to escape from it, and to con-
vert into a period of mere enjoyment that
term of existence which has been given us for
exertion and for discipline are recreants to their
own destiny, and to the law under which they live."
Such is true philosophy and wise teaching; the
motto Laborare est orare can never be too fre-
quently or forcibly impressed upon the mind, and
those who regard work in its true light will recog•
nise that, if its first infliction was to be the doom
of sinful man, yet by its characteristics and capa-
bilities, it embled the fallen nature, in a manner,
to rise again, and seek the perfection of its final
state. It is an especial advantage for those who
are immersed in toil and traffic to have some other
objects of interest above and beyond those which
chain them down to their daily routine, and it is in
this light that such a thing as this Exhibition must
be regarded as a benefit and a blessing to the care.
worn and weary labourer in the great highways of
this workaday world. It raises his mind, elevates
his ideas, and ennobles his existence, putting into
his head and heart the stirring principles of pro.
gress and the refining notions of culture ; while it
gives to honest toil en honourable position in the
sight of man, and sheds on his path the light re-
flected from above, that beams upon those who
have done their duty in that state of life u
which it has pleased GOD to call them
Mr. GLADSTONE did not exaggerate the importance
of these elevated occupations, when he said that
I‘ it was only a mind that drew its fire from heaven
that could find amusement in productions of such
a nature after the exhausting effects of daily toil."
It has also been of great importance that this
Exhibition has afforded an example to others of
what they can do, and thus been of signal benefit
in many respects. As Mr. GLADSTONE observed,
this sign of social progress may well teach "self-
reliance" to those immediately concerned, and also
to others ; this is alone an acquisition of immense
value, because nothing good or great can be:achieved
or attained in its absence, and it is the mainspring
of all excellent and enduring works. Very different
from the paltry ',feeling of vanity or the empty