The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-10 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Charles Dickens's New Serial Story.
Our• Mutual Friend. By Charles Dickens. No, 4.
Chapman and Hall.

A wonderful number is this Number Four of
" Our Mutual Friend." It is subdivided into
three chapters. The Eleventh being descriptive of
"Podsnappery !" The Twelfth revealing to us
what the Honest Man himself evidently regards as
the sacred droppings of " the sweat of his (the
honest man's) brow !" Chapter the Thirteenth
recounting with all the vividness ef reality " The
Tracking of the Bird of Prey !" To which of these
three subdivisions of the August instalment of
" Our Mutual Friend," we should have to give the
palm were we required to do so, we hardly know
—and we say this, moreover, after having read
them through (as, in truth, wo usually do in regard
to these green numbers) twice consecutively. Pod-
snappery, we may be certain already, is a phrase
that will stick. It is a something distinctly
generic. In its way, too, it is in a
certain sense socially, as a thing generic, here in
England, one almost, we might say, among our
National Institutions. Podsnappery, in effect
something we have known, every one
oe us, more
or less intimately, all our lives.
And yet it is a
something, too, for all
'Let, that, until now, has
remained altogether nnnottesd_at any rate wholly
undescribed—euntil at length, in one of his happy
moment:, of observation, Mr Dickens has "earned the
len.; of his marvellous camera upon. it, hitting it off
in its every shade and outline to a very hair,
to the 'veriest nicety ! The precise flourish
of Mr. Podsnap's arm, sweeping everything
behind him, and consequently clean out of ex-
istence—don't we recognise it upon the instant ?
The "young person," again, she who is described
—in a sense wholly opposite, of course, to that
which might be implied by any slangular applica-
tion of the phrase—she who is referred to, as in a
msiner " all cheek"—a human institution perpee
tually liable, so to spesir, to burst into blushes at
any or indeeu at no provocation—are we not in-
timate with her long ago as a sort of social riddle
of the Sphinx, defying ail attempts at any rea-
sonable solution of it? "There appearing to be
no line of demarcation between the young person's
excessive innocence, and another person's guiltiest
knowledge!' The deliteation here of all the perfectly
new and yet leerfectly familiar forms and hues of
Podsnatee ery is thoroughly enjoyable and laughter-
. ,
ene-sing. The Company, the Plate, the definition of
the Fine Arts according to the rules of Podsnappery
—the irresistibiy ridiculous application of that de-
finition to the quadrille figures as danced in the
Podsnap drawing-rooms—pl. Getting up at eight,
and shaving close at a quarter past; 2, Breakfast..
ing at nine; 3. Going to the City at ten; 4. Coming
home at half-past five; 5. Dining at seven, and
the grand chain l"]—the "furniture walk,"
like a " revolving funeral," after the perform-
ance of the Podsnap quadrilles—the " haunch of
mutton vapour-bath"--the " bathers " in it—the
" well-conductell automaton " who is hired to play
the pianoforte—the Foreign gentleman who is
treated like a deaf child—who is talked to about
London Londres London "—who is told " We do
not say Ozer, we say Other—the letters are T and H,
their sound is th, th ! " The rash gentleman who
startles everyone at the dinner table by essaying to
talk to this unfortunate Foreigner, with a sudden
" Esker "—and then stopping (with the eyes of all
Europe upon him)--" lie, oui," says the foreign
gentleman, so addressed, "Est-ce que? Quoi,
done ? " Nothing earning of it, however,
even under that embarassing encouragement—
the gentleman with the lumpy forehead who
has cried ".esker" finding nothing more than "esker"
behind the lumps, and so lapsing into silence. The
fun of all this, the extravagant humour of it, dis-
cernible at every minute touch in these wonderful
little sketches from the life at the hands of our
master...humorist—we commend not with words,
but with laughter. The very arrival of " the
Nutmeg "—as though it were a cannon-ball
bouncing open the drawing-room door, and so dis-
solvheg the preceseion of bathers in the midst of
their funereal walk among the furniture--tide very
arrival of " that fragrant article, dispersed through
several glasses of coloured warm water," rises,
as one may say, to the dignity and importance
of an event in the records of Podsnappery ! Won-
derfully different in every way is the account sub-
sequently given in this number, of the way in which
the already tangled skein of the plot is beginning
to be rapidly, yet further and more inextricably,
tangled together. The character of the whole story__
according to our estimate, meaning that most de-
lightful fellow, the nonchalant Barrister Eugene (a
perfect original and a perfect gentleman !)—eB here
brought out, more vividly than ever, to view, and is
already taken to our hearts, permanently, as one
among the very best of Charles Dickens's creations.
" My respected father," otherwise M. R. F., sounds
military, says Eugene, " and rather like the Duke
of Wellington"---" Without lime my existence
would be ursilluminated by a ray of hope"---" Two
burglaries and an assassination under the meaner,
circumstances"--" In reply to the question of my
honourable and gallant friend, I can have no hesi-
tation in replying (it not being inconsistent with
the public service) that those accents were the
accents of the T'other Governor"—any one who
has read this new number of " Our Mutual
Friend" will recognise as reminders of the in-
imitable touches of quiet humour imparting a very
charm to that delightful character—Eugene!
Happily though Marcus Stone augured by his ar-
tistic pencilling of the first illustration in No. 1.
"The Bird of Prey," he has been getting, since then,
simply worse and worse as an illustrator of Dickens,
vice Phiz and Crnikshank--the most characterless
among all his embellishments to "Our Mutual
Friend" being these two vapid woodcuts in
Part 4, entitled respectively " 'Waiting for
Father" and " PodenaPPB7'n

Trifles for Travellers. By Robat Henniker, M,A.
Pp. 150. Murray and Co.
Whether the third word of the title of this
volumette refers to Travellers on the Road of Life
who may be in quest cf a few apophihegms,or to mere
everyday Travellers by Railway who are in quest
of a little light reading with which to wile away
the tedium of a long journey, there is no chance
whatever of uncertainty in regard to the meaning of
the first word of the title, namely, " Trifles." Ana
it is a phrase that is here not only perfectly com-
prehensible, but precisely applicable. The con-
tents of the little book are, to a t, just that—
viz., the merest Trifles. They are so many literary
waifs and strays (trom the same pen all of them)—
collected together, for the nonce, from such out of
the way corners as an odd column here or there in
the dilnwick Mercury. Added to this, they are, in
one sense, about all things in general, and yet, in
another, about nothing at all in particular. If there
is wisdom in them, it is certainly la sagesse en pan-
loupes. The costume of the writer is a sort of
scholarly deshabille. There is a taste of Greek
upon his title page and a flavour, too, of Latin.
He deals here, moreover, in the body of his tiny
work, with not a few old saws, applying them
sometimes rather aptly by sundry modern instances.
The Trifles of Mr Henniker are at any rate of this
value, that they are hardly to be described as—
unconsidered. They are sometimes well thought
out, and are--some of them at least-wintheir little
prattling way, entertaining.

Select Anecdotes, from Various Sources. By J. S.
Laurie. Pp. 243. 'Thomas Murby.
Another charming little volume has here been added
to a delightful series, oee that we have already bad
seven good reasons to commend under the title of
" Laurie's Shilling Entertaining Library." These
seven good reasons being the issue in the series,
one by one, of pocket editions of-1. Robinson
Crusoe-2. Christmas Tales-3. History of the
Plague 4. Guiliver's Travels —5. Sandford and
Merton 6. Evenings at Home 7. The Swiss
Family Robinson. Added to which seven rare old
favourites, very pets of little books as they are--we
have hen?, in the eighth instalment of the series,
these "Select Anecdotes." And even now—" there
be pippins and cheese to follow," as Sir Hugh
Evans says, while standing with his table napkin

The stone having been laid with the usual formalities.
The Lord Mayor then addressed the assemblage as fol-
' lows :—Fellow- citizens, already you have placed me under
many obligations to you. I owe you much, because you
I have bestowed much. Highly as I prize the many favours
hitherto conferred upon me, I value the trust reposed in me
this day as the highest honour of them all. lam proud of
this day because I recognise in it tie dawn of a new era in
the history of our country. (Loud ches2rB-) I am proud
of the people—the virtuous, the peacer;bier and the
civilised people of Ireland, for they have proeeed fa the
world by their conduct to-day that the principles
and teachings of their great leader still guide their
counciis and still direct their movements. (Cheers.)
The vast assemblage of this day, recalling as it does the
monster meetings of twenty years ago, augurs well and
hopefully fur the future. The eitizens mingled with the
people from the proe;inces, who same in myriads from the
north and south, and from the east and west, obedient to
the magic sound of one word, and animated by one elec-
tric feeling—that word, O'Connell; that feeling, grati-
tude. (Loud applause.) The people have met to hundreds
of thousands, not for the parpwe of paying homage to
some renowned adeniral—not for the purpose of perpetuat-
ing the fame of some general—of one of whom it was
truly said—
" Whose game was empire,
And whose stakes were thrones;
Whose table earth,
Whose dice were human bones."
No, but you have come here to offer the tribute of a nation's
homage to a chieftain who successfully led the Irish people
through blocdlesa victories and to peaceful triumphs, who
laid the foundation of whatever we enjoy of civil and reli-
gious freedom, and upon whose banner we may read the
following lines :
" We want no aid to barricade,
To show a front to wrong;
We have a citadel in truth,
More durable than stone."
(Cheers ) We aro hero tc-day assembled in vast numbers,
as of old, without the least infraction of the law, and with-
out disturbance and disorder of any kind, thus exhibiting
a living testimonial to the genius and teaching of our de-
parted tribune—of him whose potent voice so often roused,
and whose wisdom so long guided our nation through many
struggles and to wan), triumphs. (Oheers.) Emancipation,
civil and religious liberty, proudly and nobly emblazon the
scutcheon et O'Connell; but that which was the dearest
wish of his heart, as it was the chief aim of his liee, re-
mains yet to be inscribed on his shield—need I say that I
allude to the legislative independence of his native coun-
try ? I congratulate you upon the success of this day's
great demonstration. (Hear, hear.) It reflects the highest
honcur upon the different bodies that took part in it, and
it endorses the words recently spoken by the Lord Chief
Justice of the Queen's Bench, that our population, city and
country, presents a marvellous immunity from crime and
disorder (hear, hear), I may venture, then, to suggest to
you to return to your homes in the same good order and
good fellowship. Remember that sobriety, unity, andlfra-
ternity are the characteristics of a great, brave, and gene-
rous people (hear, hear.) Remember that, in laying this
first stone, W 3 renew our pledges to be faithful to the prin-
ciples and teachirg, of O'Connell. If this be cur resolve, it
we act together es one mass, we shall lay the foundation of
a regenerated and prosperous country (loud cheers.)
The assemblage then separated.

,
'L, I
karkillat

hER MAJESTY.

OSBORNE, August 9.
The Queen arid Princess Louiee walked and drove
yesterday.

Mr A. Helps arrived at Osborne, and had the
honour of dining vith the Queen and Royal

The Prince of Wales, attended by the Earl of
Mount Edgcumbe, Lieut. General Knollys, and
riltT3r Teesdale, went to the Licensed Victuallers
Asylum, near the ad Kent-road, yesterday morn-
ing, and inaugurated the statue of the Prince
Consort, recently erected '-ta the grennds of the
asylum, of which ho was patrol.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge
visited the niece and Princess of Wales at I‘l%ri4
borough House,
Mr Shepard had the honour of submitting his
breechlcek rifla to the inspection of the Prince of
Wales.

Her Majesty and the younger members of the
royal family will take their d ‘parture on the 28th or 29th
inst, for Edinburgh, on their way to Balmoral, where the
Queen and Court are expected to remain two months.

Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess
of Wales will leave Marlborough House this evening for
Abergeldie Castle, NB. Their royal highnesses are ex-
pected to remain in Scotland from six weeks to two months,
and then take up their residence at Sandringham.
The Duke of Wellington is expected to reach
Carlogie, his shooting-box in the Highlands, today. The
noble duke will entertain the Lord Chief Justice cf
Eng-
land and a large party at his shooting quarters in Scotland
during the season.
The Earl and Countess Russell and family Will
leave Pembroke Lodge, Richmond, in a few days, for 1,17°.
burn Abbey, Beds, where the noble earl and countess will
receive a succession of friends.

The Eon! of Aberdeen has arrived at Haddo
House, Aberdeenshire, where the noble earl will probably
stay several months.
The Countess of Powis'and Lady Lucy Herbert
leave town to day for Powis Castle, near Welshpooli for
the autumn,
The Earl and Countess of Lincoln have returned
to town from Brighton.
Vricount and Viscountess Stratford de Redc
and the Hon. Misses Canning have gone to Wilton House'
near Salisbury, on a visit to Lady Herbert of Lea, boaire
leaving for Gotland.

The Marchioness Dowager of Lothian and Ladl
Alice Ker purpose leaving town early next week on a tour
of visits in Ireland.

The Marquis and Marchioness of Westmeath
have left the Portland Hotel, Southsea, and have taken
residence on Clarence-parade, Southsea.
The Earl and Countess of Stradbroke are ex-
pected to arrive at Glensberry Lodge, the family seat in thq
county Waterford, from Henham Hall, 4Suffolk, to re*idG a
few weeks, as usual, on his lordship's Irish estate.

STATE OF TRADE.

MANCHESTER, Aug. 9,—,The market for shipping
yarns has been exceedingly flat, with little or no
business doing fur any quarter. To effect 551°
spinners would have to take lower prices. The
quietness of the Liverpool cotton market and the
dearness of money are among the chief causes as'
signed for this state of things by commercial men'
The failure of a London house in the East India
trade has no doubt added one to many
reasons for
caution among buyers. In home trade yarns bug'
ness has also been quiet. This flatness seems t°
extend to nearly all courts and qualities of Ya=n;
and Lancashire manufacturers have bought exceed-
ingly little this morning, There is a slight giving
way where cffers are made, but buyers appear to be
very chary about making offers. Advises from
Calcutta of July 16 speak of mule twist and gray
shirtings as improving, but in the present condition
of things here the news appears to produce lift e or
no effect, and business appears to be pretty nearly
suspended both in goods for home consumption and
for export. The cloth Market is quite stagnant. The
higher rates of discount prevent the possibility of
business just now even in the descriptions of cloth
for which the Indian advises are favourable enough
otherwise to induce it. Manufacturers are endea-
vouring to sustain prices because they see no prose
pest of cheaper cotton, and the quotations are much
the same as last week, though, probably, a little,
weakness would be found in cases were sellers 1301'
stocks ; but buyers era so little disposed even t°
inquiry that it can hardly be said there have been
offers of a nature to test prices. So far as bole
nese with India is concerned, buyers feel a
natural repugnance to discounting their bills at
10 per cent. in crier to lay out such dearly`
bought money in cloths at the high rates now
prevailing, and they abstain almost altogether
from inquiry ; so that the business of the day
in this description of goods has been almost nil.
The quotations of all kinds of yarn and cloths
made from good long stapled cottons was higher
at the beginning of the present month than it had
ever been before, even during the cotton falni":
and merchants hesitate about laying out their awrie:
in such high priced goods under present unfaveigr'
able circumstances.
LEEDS, 9th.—The markets in the cloth halls to
s
day have been of a moderate character, both as
regards the attendance of buyers and the aal°lltit 0L
business done. Considering the amount of 11
er"
e
seasonable goods in the coloured cloth hall, a to-
ably fair bulk changed hands, and late prices were,
well supported. In the white cloth hall a few good
parcels of hairlists, pilots, witneys, and. ether heavy
fabrics met with purchasers. The trade in tna
warehouses is reported to be generally quiet so far
this week, but the manufacturers keep in the same
state of cheerful activity which we have had some
time to notice. The wool trade is steady, and the
purchases at the current sales of colonial. wools ill
London are coming to hand. The condition and
quality of the wools are average. Prices are hate-
NOTTTNGLIAM, 9th.—'There was again a very
small attendance at this Exchange-hall to-day, and
the demand for lace yarns was decidedly slow, and
tile prices of last week were barely maintained.
Hosiery yarns have also given way slightly in pricd'
Silks about the same as neretofore. The demsl3,o
for brown nets was slow, but full late rates
obtained without difficulty.
ROCHDALE, Bth. —The flannel manufacturers
keep well employed, and for both plain and foci'
goods there is a steady demand, large bulks bellig
weekly delivered to order. To-day, however,
lat era
last
was not quite so much activity in /he market a-
week, which may partly arise frora the tighta°
n large/
the money market, and from the fact that 13-
stock of goods are offered, Prices r uled verYlords.
and in some instances the tendency was 11P
Wool
The Yorkshire goods continue to sell wel I.
eek,
market is without material change shwa last
and prices and demand are alike steady.