The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-17 00:00:00

DOCKS.

London, 731
Victoria, 100

MISCELLANEOUS.
Anglo-Mexican Mint, 18 1
Australian Mort. Land and Finance, lira., 2 i
British Indian Tea, lirn., 5;
Canada Company, 75
Crystal Palace, 331 ;
Ditto, pref., 1131
Crystal Palace, 6 per cent. perpctl. deb. 1121
Discount Corporation, limited,:lol
Egyptian Commercial and Trading, lira., Si
English and Australian Copper, 2
Gen. Credit and Finance of London, Rm., 7 1 7
General Steam Navigation, 281
Hudson's Bay, 171
International Financial Society, 121 1 12
Joint •stock Discount, Um., 63,. a
London Financial Association, Rm., 261 6
London General Omnibus Company, 213 3
London Provincial Marine, 21 3
Mercantile Credit Association, 8
National Discount Company, lira., 21 i 11; 11; 12
National Steam Navigation, Pan., 57 4
North British and Mercantile Insurance, Una., 201
Ocean Marine (Insurance), 181
Peel River Land and Mineral, 431
Peninsula andpriental Steam. 71 8
Rio de Janeiro City Improvements, 261
Ditto (4), 41
Royal Mail Steam, 86 5i
Societe Financiere d • Kgypte, lira., 4;
Universal Marine (Insurance), lira., 5} a

LITERATURE.

English Writers. The Writers before Chaucer, with
an introductory sketch of the Four Periods of
English Literature. By Henry Morley. One
vol., pp., 778. Chapman and Hall.
Mr. Morley has undertaken an ambitious task.
He has, as he reminds us, attempted to tell " with
something of the sustained interest of national bio-
graphy, the story of the English mind. When the
first pages were written" he goes on say, " it seemed
possible to do this by illustrating main principles
with little regard to completeness of detail. But
detail is the life-blood of all healthy generalization,
and it was soon found that more blood must run
through the body of the story if there was to be
any force at all in the expreesion of its character.
To a larger scale therefore the work has now been
planned, but it will be strictly limited to three
volumes, each complete in itself, with an Index."
The large and elaborate scale on which the work
was ultimately planned is evidenced by the goodly
volume now before us, in which after 700 pages of
minute analysis and careful research we only arrive
at last at Chaucer, the father of English verse.
Truly Mr. Morley with an over attention to detail
has fallen into the error of so many historians and
narrators who, deeply impressed with the importance
of the theme on which they are engaged, think it
necessary to begin as the saying is even " before
the beginning." The size and elaboration of this
work will, we are inclined to think, deter many
from undertaking a close scrutiny of its pages;
those who venture to do so will admire the pa-
tience, and perseverance, and editorial discrimina-
tion of which it affords such praiseworthy evidence.
As a work of reference for the book-selves it will be
found invaluable, while the two following volumes
which are promised will of necessity possess greater
attractiveness for the general reader than can be
claimed for these introductory chapters. Mr. Morley
returns thanks to his fellow•ptudents in the evening
classes at King's College, Who, representing " the
quick-witted intelligence of the great middle •class
of English society, bring unflagging energy to
studies of their choice." In all his deep and widtly-
diffused investigations, Mr. Morley recognises in
the writers of the past, even in periods of remote
antiquity, the English mind predominant through
all our literature. His own work is in itself a his-
tory and an evidence of some of the noblest charac-
teristics of the theme of which it relates.

A Box for the Season : A Sporting Sketch. By
Charles Clarke, author of " Charlie Thornhill."