The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-01 00:00:00

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Denzil's History" is not yet completed, but still -f4 ;il'
romantic incidents before us. " Charleston uncb
is a sketch sure to meet with attention Ay
juncture. In conclusion, it states that the Fedet'tk .
commander is as far from the reduction of Charleston as heg,: a S
was a year ago. Old Sumter in its ruins is as strong as
ever. " Dreary Court Sky" is a very lugubrious effusion, '
suited to those who like melancholy verses. It is pretty in
its expressions, and the style is flowing. An article on
" Some Points of the Eton Report" concludes the number.
It advocates the study of elocution more particularly than
it is at present attended. It is truly said that "to be really
elcquent is in the power of few; but to say what one has
to say to an assembly fluently, intelligently, and not dis-
agreeably, is in the power of almost ev ry man who is not
a fool or a stammerer, provided he has learnt to do it.
English lawyers and actors can always do it, because they
have taken the trouble to acquire the art; very few other
Englishmen can."
TEMPLE BAR.—" The Doctor's Wife' is con.
firmed, and approaches the crisis of its narrative.
The transition stages of Isabel's mind are vary aptly
pourtrayed; and it is wry wall described bow the
studies to which the romantic and ill-disciplined
girl resorted had the cif, ct of improving her mind,
as well as serving as means her passing tiro
time. "It is irnp,iQsible to live in the constant com-
panionship of great writers without growing wiser
and better in their grave and genial company. Slow and
subtle is the influence that is exercised, unconscious the
improvement that is wt ought, but not the lees certain." It
seems sad to discover that just at the epoch when her mind
was forming and her judgment accepting commonsense no-
tions, that the temptation again assailed her, but such is
natural. Those who do not act on principle must expect
to meet with risks, when they feel safe; to encounter evils,
when they imagine they have secured themselves from their
approach. Painful as this story is, it is nevertheless im-
possible not to acknowledge its fascinating influence. Its
temptations and troubles are so naturally described and
faithfully depicted, that the reader may well fancy that a
page of real life is unfolded before him instead of an ima-
ginary chronicle aril a fancied portraiture of events. The
other two tales are 4L,,1t pit state of progression. "'Broken
to Harness" oontainsiome melancholy episodes in this inetal-
meat. The Churchills do not find that their new life is so
pleasant as they had pictured it, and Barbara's uncomfort-
able position may serve as a warning to those who under-
take more than they can manage. Kate Mellon is foolish
enough to give heed to slander, and seems in danger of be-
ing made the tool of a sharper. In " Paid in Full" Led-
bitter's designs are continued, and the plot is becoming de-
veloped. The adventures of Horace Bentley are very
amusingly chronicled, and his attempts at the part of a dra-
matist are most ludicrous. "In Church" is a peculiar sketch
in verse, which hardly befits thestyleof its subject as regards
reverence, and seems to make jokes on matters which should
be treated otherwise. " Victor Hugo on Shakapere" is
an article that is appropriate at the present time. It is
said in conclusion that it is well when the people of both
the countries of England and France are versed in the
literature of each, and best of all, that they should sincerely
admire and justly appreciate, in common the immortal
writings of Shakapere. "True to the Last" is a sketch of
a very silly young man who deserved the fate that he met
with. "Church-street," Liverpool, figures this month
among Mr Sala's " Streets of the World." It is sketched
in his usual racy style. Other subjects of interest com-
plete the varied contents of the number, amid which appear
" A Druse Funeral on Mount Lebanon," " Catherine the
First, Empress of Russia," and some expressive lines at
the end, " Traces on the Sand."
•
THE ST. JAMES'S MAGAZINE.—This is a better
number than usual of the St. James's being more
varied in its contents than is customary. The
story of the " Man in Chains" which has for the
last several months been the cheval de Waite, is
brought to a conclusion, and certainly the author follows
the sensational fashion of his time to the extreme. The
lovers of excitement cannot possibly find any fault with
these concluding chapters, which include the recovery of a
fortune, the loss of an old estate, a double forgery, and a
double murder. There are also some incidental circum-
stances which render these events still more extraordinary.
Thus, the estate which Lord Montalban loses proves to belong
to Silvester Langdale, his son-in-law, and this astounding
fact only becomes known in the court in which he is con-
ducting his father-in-law's case, in his capacityas barrister.
The particulars of the forgery are still more original, but
we will leave the admirers of the marvellous to discover
them for themselves. "Among the Hops" is the title of
a pleasant chapter on our English vineyards, which the
writer styles the most graceful of agricultural products.
The plant itself, which is generally supposed to be indi-
genous to this country, was, he tells us, brought from
Flanders at the beginning of the sixteenth century, but it
has certainly naturalised itself since that time to very good
purpose. A paper on poor "John Clare," whose story is
one of the most mournful chapters in literary history, is
well worth reading, and is written in a kindly and appre-
ciative spirit. It is to be hoped that patrons and poets
will alike tabs warning—the one of the difficulty and dan-
ger of transplanting a man from his native :There, and the
other of the fickleness of popular favour, and the transient
nsture of fame so easily won. The "Records of en Old
Police Court" show some entertaining varieties of felon
life, and "Art in Aid of Beauty" gives some directions to

ladies as to the choice of colours, many of which are,
we fear, too elaborate to be impressive. There are several
other tales and sketches, besides various poetical contribu-
tions of no very high order of merit.
MACMILLAN'S MAGAZ —" The Hillyars and
qe Burtoos" still occupies the prominent place in
Macmillan. As the reader might have inferred from
the last chapter, old Sir George has died intestate, and
Erne Hillyar is consequently turned adrift upon the world.
He resolves to share the Buttons' fortunes, and to go with
them to Australia, but Emma, whose conduct appears to be
extravagant and unreasonable, objects to such a course.
Mr Maurice, whose name is better known as a theologian
than a politician, discourses about carruption at elections,
and plainly tells us that a good many very respectaLle
people are guilty of exercising illegal influence, directly or
indirectly. The Editor's Recollections of Dead Men
whom he has known are this month especially interesting,
for they recall Dr Chalmers. Another literary portrait is
given us by Mr Dioey, who portrays Nathaniel Hawthorne
with a careful and discriminative hand. He was, according
to tilts writer, quite out of harmony with his people and his
time, belonging rather to that Pace of scholars and philoso-
phers who love to dream in their studies than to the hard
bustling business world of the United States. "How he
ever came to have been born in that bustling New World
became, from the first moment I knew him, an increasing
mystery to me. If ever a man was out of his right ele-
ment, it was Hawthorne. He belonged indeed to that
scattered Shandean family who never are in their right
places wherever they happen to be born—to that race of
Hamlets to whom the world is always out of joint any-
where." The portrait thus drawn is not a pleasing one,
though probably lifelike. "A Son of the Soil" proceeds
with interest, though it is rather diffuse ; and " The Last
Days of Sonderborg" gives a description of the quiet home
lila of the little town a few days before its bombardment.

The National Association for the Promotion

of Social Science.

The National Association for the Promotion of Socia 1
Science will hold its eighth annual meeting in the city of
York, from the 22d to the 29th of September, under the
presidency of Lord Brougham. His Grace the Archbishop
of York is one of the vice presidents, and also the president
of the education department. The Right Hon. Sir James
P. Wilde, Judge of the Probate Court, presides over the
department of jurisprudence. The other chairs have not
yet been filled up. The council of the associate have found
it necessary, owing to the annual pressure of business, to
adopt new regulations. In each of the departments, now
ments
PRUDEN CE.
reduced to four, three special questions are put, and u day
is to be devoted to the discussion of each, the voluntary
papers being read and discussed on the remaining dips. The
following are the questions for the several depot
SPECIAL QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION IN ;WO

1. Are the laws of real property in the Oren parts of the
United Kingdom respectively, in their substance and ten-
dency, suited to the present condition of Society ? and, if
not, bow should they be improved P 2. On what principle
criminal cases respectively ?
should the law deal with the questions of responsibility and
mental competence in civil and
3. Whether any, and what, oashorations can be introduced
into the institution and oonduct of criminal prosecutions ?