The Sun.
London, England, 1852-07-26 00:00:00

LITERATUR

)1,7 T C

'ND AND OTHER POEMS. By John

Clark Ferguson.
The success of Mr. Fergwou's former work, "The
Pleasures of Music"—a work which, he tells us in
his preface, has gained for him the acquaintance of
the Prince of Novelists," has encouraged him to
Make a second venture. The posms contained in
this little unpretending volume are of a most graceful
and pleasinc, character, anti will add to the popularity
of their author.

RIDE THROUGH THE NUBIAN DE-
',CERT. By Captain W. Peel, R.N. Longmans.
It the name of its author in the first instance at-
tracts attention to this little unpretending volume,
the frank and manly tone in which i; is written, and
the genial spirit by which it is throughout pervaded,
will not fail to rivet the interest of the reader, and
to win for the writer very general sympathy and
regard. The eight chapters contained in this
volume, the brief length of which will
disappoint many, are, we learn from the preface, a
literal copy of the journal kept by Captain Peel
during his travels. " The limit of those travels," he
further observe,4, " was Labeyed, the capital of Kor-
unfan, where I suffered so severely Sion Saar uud
ague that it obliged me to return. I arrived there
'l°oa after the close of the rainy season, in the pride
af
health, and confident of success, but three weeks
ter left, a pale and sickly shadow, with all my
thoughts brought down as to how I should save my
myself."-
who was suffering still more severely than
"lyself:"- These misfortunes are the cause of the
abrupt termination of the travels. Instead of selecting
specimens from these delightful pages, which abound
With anecchres and with information, we advise our
readers to turn to the book itself, end we assure then)
that,
having made the acquaintance of Captain Peel,
that will thank us heartily for the introduction.

CATACOMBS OF ROME. By C. Mac-
farane. R .
It is stated at thel
commencementoutledge of this little work
that, besides the Rome upon the earth, there is
another Rome under the earth. This mysterious
_eation well deserves attention ; it was dedicated to
et he church, there the early Christians withdrew to
acape persecution and perform their worship un-
molested ; there they interred their mart) re. The
eepitaphs and inscriptions found in the catacombs are
given at the end of the book, which are very interest.
g to peruse; on the whole, a very good idea of
atte
to
Subterranea" may be formed from reading
ntively this volume.

41'IRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
tnllMEs.—we have all of us been sufficiently read)
isPuint out with painful minuteness the mischances
~.'"elt have befallen those ninety gentlemen whe in
"46 followed the fortunes of Sir Robert Peel, and gave
1,1! the blessings of cheap bread and commercial freedom.
maeY have been almost es ranch reduced by a couple of
cfestians as a crack regiment which has served with
tstiection through two bloody and desperate cam-
Paigas- Three-fourths of the officers are gone, and the
flink and file are scanty and disorganized. How well
i'lves Whig end Tory moralised over this spectacle!
eat. excruciati g pity—what tardy admonitions—
have
serice—
they not lavishedn on these victims of popular
p
we had almost said of national ingra!itude.
nut while thus intent on the misfortunes of one devoted
party,
it
seems hardly to have occurred to these discria
is urinating critics that what has happened to the Peelites
tlecindeyeia symptcna ''E what is taking place more or less
.„. . y with regard to Whigs and Tories themselves.
At ts a very noticeable f
nearly concluded, tion, now
relative proportions of different parties,
the result. of
diminish
rhoim ill
iesch-
, .5, not so much to alter. the
The
parties, as to
strength which the '
*ands which bind them can
put forth, and loosen the
Whig, Tory, and re,.. together. The division into
exhaustive one, and the present is felt to be no longer an
ably Swelled the present election has consider-
/acne of thete number of those who come under
1111. parties weak, denominations. The election found
To begin, as in andd has left them weaker.
peelers of
her
muty bound, with the sup-
the happine in -,,jesty's Government. Having
e .ss rasa cases to sit for very snug counties,
n. our which the " vile rabble" is effectually excluded,
Err for still an
e _lv . ugger boroughs in which its voice is utterly
g!el? erless, the supporters of the Derby Ministry have
,pnerally contrived to get re-sleeted. But for this privi-
ralesee they have had to pay a heavy price. The men, the
er e aggregate of human beings, are there, but the prin-
?rPl e, the invisible essence which held them together,
413 evaporated, and the attraction of cohesion is dis-
-BCA lved. A party they may still be called, but they have
8
tt batituted names for things and persons for principles,
an d await the first rough shake to scatter tLeas abroad
!? unite no more, at least under their present colours.
41zotection was the soul which informed this mass, and
ntiless a substitute can be devised as tangible, as level to
the meanest capacity, as comprehen,ible by the selfish
'lc d shortsighted among us, the mass is destined to re-
main soulless. With toe Whigs the principles remain
and gather strength, but the men ahem we identify with
them are rapidly disappearing. Lord Jobe Russell. Lord
`ceps:lour, Sir Francis Biriug, Sir Charles Wood, and
-kr. Labouchero, have indeed contrived to weather the
storm, for it would be strange it the veteran statesman
of the noise of Bed.'ord, the eldest sou of the Duke of
Somerset, and tee) of the connexions of our wealthiest
merchants, could not find rest for the sole of their foot
amid the Parliamentary deluge. But these euccesses
have not been purchased without a dismal list of casu,l-
-- The Parliament which is now nearly , l d
completed
ete
must make up its mind, as best it ma , to dispense with
the services of Sir William Somervi
Lewis, Sir William Gib.ion Craig, .ISitir.
e.aMr Cornewall
Stewart, Mr. Parker, Sir John hoMill q.i_erw, Admiral
Sir David Duridas, and last, tu04,4 Mnot.
least,llatchell,
George Grey. Nor can we say that those who re Sir.
hold a position in the eye of the couetry 'shish qualifies
them fur the reconstruction of the party thus di,mally
thinned and shattered. Lord Jebel Russell, if not
exactly magni nominis umbra, is forced to refer very far
back, indeed, for popular achievements, and while the
Principles of Lis first Reform Bill have every chance of
being greatly extended, and the commercial policy
which he maintained is sure to be carried cut, he is so
far from being able to enlist new support that he cannot
even command a personal followieg, or exercise suffi-
cient influence over the country to obtain the return of
his ancient friends and devoted adherents. Lord Grey
would never be tolerated by any Government except as
Secretary for the Colonies, and iu that position he has
become absolutely impossible, nor is it very probable that
the nation willever demand the restoration of Sir C Wood
to the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer. We think that
the elections have pretty well dispelled the fear which
:lurked in many minds of a rec tns'ruction of the Whig
Party on its old exclusive and dyna,tic principles. While
men are entering Parliament without a single tangible
Terofession except their willingness to support Lord
Derby, others are starting in public life advocating
almost all the principles of Lord John Russell, but care-
fully guarding themselves from expressing any intention
of tie,htiug under his leadership. The name of the dead
Sir Robert Peel has yet a charm; the name of the
living Lord Derby is nil that his party has to cling to;
but the name of the great Whig leader conciliates few
sllpporters and enlists no proselytes. This is no new
tl,ing. For the second lime in twelve years we see the
Whig party in a state of disorganization and dtssolu-
-40)11, and in both cases this result was preceded by a
phenomenon of a precisely similar nature. For all
seritial purposes there is a complete historical parallel
b.nween the la 4 years of Lord Melbourne and Lord J.
:Itssell. In bath cases the party has outlived its strength,
g 3 prestige, and its popularity. Growing narrower and
ntirrower as it grew weaker and weaker, the charmed
circle of Whig connexion occupied less end less
space in the public eye. In both cases the Government
wets content to live on sufferance. The squabble about
the Bedchamber ladies preventsd Sir Robert Peel, and a
welt fotaided distru,t of h. •prevented Lord
la owl party
Derby, from se.ziae a -
(Ince until a year after the W-igs
had t.").ecoMe ucapable of holding it. In both cases there
was a warning and a resp opportunity ' weed
incapacity and to enlist Re'
an to out
tthe warning was disregatr_aeilable talent. Ia both cases
Inowerlsss to keep out its ne d
*Aristocratic connk-xion—
leant egeinst its friends. enemies,—was a wall of ada-.
were relied on as a means
the
th instsnces measures
wantonly v` elfin, (I, eta the bring back popularity so
reform of 1841 and the futile real!y sound conareereisl
Were alike incapsbls of conciliao toJal reform at 1852
by inaction, cheated by incapaein` a p«ople wearied
the incongruous mixture of ari.sj
nand disgusted by
llesa with liberal professions. If ot-iria,tic exclusive-
Was even feebly reeenstrucald in 1846 Whig party
owieg, as 0.,,,.. body Icnt,Wi, to it fluene,s, tk' is, was
ternal, end from the period of its return Patei'Y cx'
steadily reknied every means of strengtheni'.'g-c'' it
tatt.itid averting the, desiny which has again overial4"iiti
-t.l d Lord
, John Ru.sell enlisted all the avaijoi-
sttoretinirn of his p,rty, anti proposed measures re,poe,icl
little ' feelings
of the country, there woutd have h. ee
menne°,.ceiat'i 'CI tr public write rs to speculate ou the
conducted' which the opposition to I. end Detby is to be
.or Lord
position leader. Derby would h• been snit an o
~..., have.op_
men so entirely blir"'de cannot, however, suppose that
cept the lo:son cony' to their first warning would se-
wer() prepared tondo`e bY the seeond, and eve nif they
hope to have ti k) the Whigs can hardly
third opportunity of thesame twelve Years a
cfLcive opposition ruining themselves. If an
ie eves w4s it (re ro no:,(;a11Y to be organize[;—and
141"
___,:, re"oestru e! I then now—the irksome
0. I win not du 1.4 "rll the I must be submitted
•
ekter, whoo'er he may be, to,

• • :- "
•
' -- -
- • .
. ()is.
/Jai/.
These poems, s.ay r r
s the autho in
have been published at intervals dui his preface,
upv;ards of his
a period a tw9ity years. In 1829 his first poem,
"Destiny," app=ared "pul,lish<A anonymously
by one who livt.d .lone and pi,..esed none ot the vaotages of literary trienOhir, the author could
ad-
hard;, have been surprised had it sunk at ono:, into
oblivion ; it happPned, however, to attnot sufficient
attention to urge him to
Fels,vere." The rtsul!s of
that perseverance are the volumes now before us,
which will be perused with interest. The subjects of
twiny of the poems are of a serious nature, and maycf them lir? in a dramatic form—" Destiny" hPing drama relating to CAn in his wandering;
Deluge" is the subject of another draum. Shorter
and " The
poems, on a variety of subjects, are contained in their
volunies--volumes which, without obtaining fOrht
author very high rank as a poet, ,bound with pas-
sages revealing profound thought.