The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-18 00:00:00

THh SUN. LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, NOVE NIBER 18, 1803.

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, NOV. 18, 1863.

According to the advices now brought to us from
the American seat of war, almost simultaneously, by
..-Etna and the Damascus, events, there, at the central
point of all, really do appear for once to be very
imminent. The last date brings the tidings from
New York down to the 9th of November. According
to which latest intelligence, the Federals under
General MEADE had at length advanced in earnest
against the Confederates under General LEE.
The latter having had his forces previously
diminished by 30,000 men, and being
consequently enormously outnumbered, the
telegram says " overwhelmingly outnumbered,"
had been couipelled there and then to hurry back
across the Rappahannock, before the general ad-
vance of the main army of the North, leaving, as
he did so, several cannon, and as many, it is
said, as nearly two thousand prisoners in the hands
of the Federals. This occurred, it should be borne
in mind, on the Saturday. Upon the following
day, the Sunday that is, the Federals is their
turn also crossed over the Rappahannock, the
confederates falling back before them towards
t-:4lpepper. While these movements were being
nlade respectively by the two opposing Com-
Zat llt .
4ers-in-Chief—with regard to General BURN-
rentristanCeS were falling out, as it happened,
quite differently. Two of his advanced positions
had fallen into the possession of the Confederates,
and,
with
those two positions, the half of two regi-
ments there
stationed. President DAVIS was re-
ported to have 3
to have p'lBt then visited Charleston, and
was known ronDanced it impregnable. Fort Sumter
according to the last accounts, not to
have succumbed, til
, forces
General THOMAS's erroneously intimated
were no less certainly
eart
known togas still in a
perilous situation at
Chattanooga, y
the
Confederabard by still steadily
holding their position at
Lookoutoman,
Mr. s
Mountain. Such
in brief was the general situation. In the midst of
which that amazing little
1E 'v Am), was,
to express the thing accurately, deli;
.
ws
nga peace
speech through the war trumpet.
assert-
ing quite confidently, in this speech, his
Conviction
that there could be no peace until Mr. LINCOLN
was President of the whole United Staten-_~more
it—Re-United Stateaccurately to put s! Mr.
tiEWARD (wonderful man while asserting this,
remarking that he himself anticipated (so likely;)
the early submission of the insurgents,
" when"—this being the last nasal twang
from the Federal Stump at Washington—
" when there would be peace, and the angels in
Heaven might tune their harps to the symphony of
such a peace ! " What was that
preposterous
Haymarket
ejaculation nightly convulsing the
audience with laughter during the whole of last
season, otherwise during the long triumph of
Mr. SOTHERN as Lord DUNDREARY what
Was that utterly ridiculous ejaculation marking
one of the most telling exits of our American Cousin,
" Played by Mr. BUCKSTONE ? It is alone appli-
cable at the tail of this celestial rhodomontade of
\
SEWARD. That same amazing man (Mr.
SEWARD), Mr. BUCKSTONE, could alone cap with
another such ejeculation as that of his well-re-
membered " 7e-rusalem !"

The news from New Zealand is now looked for
with an interest not generally attaching to colonial
intelligence. The war, which seems
now to be
regarded on both sides as a final struggle between
the natives and the settlers for supremacy, has not
advanced much further since the receipt of our last
advices, but nearly the whole of the tribes are now
involved in the struggle. With the exception of
the tribes living north of the Auckland isthmus and
a few chiefs among the southern districts, all the
native population has risen against Euglish rule.
Many of them have entered the lists Irom fear of
the Waikatos. who are the ringleaders, since they
suppose that if the Waikatos succeed in t; le struggle
they would exterminate all who bad refused to

join them. The agents of the Maori King are
actively engaged in endeavouring to shake the
allegiance of those tribes that still remain faithful
to our rule, but as yet unsuccessfully. The confis-
cation of the lands of the hostile tribes is at present
the chief question of the day, and the colonists are
almost unanimous in desiring the threatened seizure
to be carried into effect. It would certainly be an
effectual mode of punishing the rebels,
and would
give a double security to the colonists by replacing
those treacherous neighbours by armed Europeans,
es ell qualified to hold their ground. Excellent
and effectual as this mode of dealing with the
Maoris might be in some respects, there are unques-
tionably some difficulties attending it, as it will be
an awkward matter to confiscate the property of
the guilty parties without inflicting some hardships
on neutral tribes who have either stood aloof from
the contest altogether or ranked themselves on our
side. The native tenure of land is unfortunately
very intricate, and its possession is a point on which
the Maoris are peculiarly susceptible. Still, not-
withstanding all these drawbacks, there is no ques-
tion that the confiscation of many of the native
lands is an act not only advisable but necessary to
the preservation of the colony. It is proposed to
form a chain of military settlements throughout the
principal native districts, each settlement consisting
of 100 men. This dispersion of European forces
throughout the country will serve more than any-
' thing else to check the plots and conspiracies of the
natives. Any combined hostile movement on their
these
twill be rendered quite impossible by means of
watchposts. When the war is at an end the
occupants of these outposts will be employed in the
construction of roads, connecting one settlement
with the other, and breaking into the heart of
those native wilds, whose intricacies have proved
the best protection to the natives. That the Go-
vernment have pretty well determined upon the
measure of confiscation is shown by their promising
volunteers grants of land in the Waikato district.
The description given of the native position
shows clearly the extreme difficulty which
there is in dealing with them on their
own ground, more especially as, however
much inferior to Europeans in open fight, they can
offer a desperate and prolonged resistance when
safely entrenched. They are at present encamped
upon a hill sloping steeply towards a river's bank
which only offers one spot for landing, being very
much broken. On either side the hill is defended
by impenetrable swamps, while the opposite bank
is also too swampy for the planting of cannon. In
the rear are more swamps, streams, and forests,
described as forming a perfect labyrinth, so that it
will be admitted that the position has been well
selected. Notwithstanding the network of swamp
and forest, however, it is considered most probable
that General CAMERON will endeavour to take the
position from the rear. He is bridging the rivers
and making other preparations, with a view to an
assault on Meri-Merl, as the locality of the encamp-
ment is called. The engagement will be a severe
one, as the natives muster in a force, it is said,
amounting to near 2,000 men. These are armed
with muskets, provided with every description of
projectiles, and a striking proof of the ingenuity of
the natives, and their readiness of resources, is given
by an incident connected with the question of am-
munition. They were greatly in need of percus-
sion caps, and altogether at a loss to supply
the deficiency. But necessity is the mother
of invention, and before long a native woman was
found endeavouring to purchase a large quantity of
brass eyelet holes, such as are used for lacing, with
the object, it was discovered, of converting them
into percussion caps, by means of a common lucifer
, thrust firmly into the hole ! It will not do to de-
spise these antagonists, as though, of course, in-
ferior to European soldiers in action, they cannot,
from their quickness, invention, and skill, be classed
among the general order of savages. Our British
soldiers are too apt to underrate them, as was proved
the other day, when a party at work in the woods
very imprudently piled their arms up and left them
unguarded. As might have been expected, the
natives took advantage of this oversight to possess
themselves of the guns. Such occurrences, it is to
be hoped, will teach our men a very necessary lesson.
A bushman would not have left his guns without
a watch. To miscalculate your enemy's power of
resistance is a very common and a very serious error,
and it is one into which British forces, not well versed
in the character of the -Maoris, are very likely to fall.
It is a mistake, too, which may be made by civilians
as well as by military men, and those who anticipate
that one battle, however sanguinary, will terminate
the war will probably be disappointed. The natives
will, no doubt, as long as possible, avoid a pitched
battle, but will try to maintain a guerilla warfare,
harassing the English, and murdering the outlying
settlers. It is a grievous hindrance to the otherwise
thriving fortunes of the colony, for although the
settlers have responded nobly to the appeal of the
Government, the call to arms of every male capable
of bearing them must press heavily on the resources
of a young settlement. The arrival of reinforce-
ments from India is eagerly looked for, and great
expectations are excited by the proposed employ-
ment of the Sikhs, who are considered peculiarly
well fitted to deal with the Maoris. Australia, as
we anticipated, has come boldly to the rescue, and
the chief object of interest in certain districts is the
equipment and departure of the volunteers for New
Zealand. The offer of land in return for military
service was an excellent thought, as it not only
affords a powerful incentive to the volunteering
spirit, bat it serves to people the country with those
best qualified to protect themselves and the settle-
ments. A thousand of such men are now, we are
told, on their way from Sydney, and many more are
needed and may be looked for. The next mail will
probably bring us news of the attack on Meri-meri,
and 1
„„",",,
we hope chronicle a decisive success on the
Part es the
brave and much enduring settlers.
Tie

affair of •
the Africa has caused considerable
confusion in
many quarters, and been the means of
occasioning much
diversity of opinion among those
who are connectedth naval matters. It is doubt-
less a hard thin
fora man of Captain STONE'S
reputation to be
planed n so k awward a position—
to have his conduct thei
nhiect of inquiry, and to
encounter the adverse opinionof his judges. Yet,
granting all this, it seem, that
the decision of the
Court is a correct one. Too much en care and caution
cannot be adopted in cases where life is at stnke,
is risked, hesideß
rnportant in-
at
enrde swt shacti eh
opmroepybeeritng
mixed up in th,
transactions.
Of course there are many captains who do
the same
continually, and in most cases escape any serious
consequences ; but that does not sanction the fact of
carelessness being inexcusable, d of inadvertency
causing the most serious risks to those committed to
the care of the commander of the vessel. The habit
of proceeding at the ordinary rate of speed without
being certain of the distance from the land is a
very dangerous practice. It is of no avail for the
masters of vessels to quote precedents, for what may
be all right at one time is not sure of being so at
another, and no tediousness of examination, and no
time spent in detail, should be regarded as unneces-
sary care or overdue caution. It is the ordinary
custom with men in dealing with effas.rs of any
moment to select such cases as have proved to be of
some
serious nature as examples .f)r future prece-

dent and warning. Of course by this means many
notable instances of dereliction of duty are passed
over, because they have not produced casualties, and
thence escape detection. This seeming anomaly it
is very difficult to avoid, and perhaps it is idle to
expect that it can be done altogether. There is
one thing to say, that the more stringent the
conduct, and the more severe the penalties of the
Court, the greater chance is there that some de-
terring influence be interposed and some restrain-
ing power put upon the future arrangements of
those captains who are entrusted with so grave
a responsibility. Taking all things into consi-
deration, it must appear that the adjudicators in
this case had no other alternative than to inflict a
stern sentence. They had to take cognisance of a
breach of discipline, and to consider what amount
of blame attached itself to one who, vested with
authority and charged with responsibility, had in
some measure failed in due care, and exhibited
a recklessness that cost dear to many, and might
have proved fatal to all. Considering the points
of the case, then, it appears that no other than
an adverse decision could have been come to, and
if so the penalty inflicted is not such a severe
one as some would make out. It wodld be a
want of respect for the importance of the service,
and a condoning of injuries inflicted on the vital
interests of the community, if any one acknow-
ledged act of carelessness was indemnified as a
single false step passed over in a slurring or
smuggling manner. Baneful as this most untoward
event must be to the friends and well-wishers of
Captain STONE, it must be borne in mind by
them that those whom they regard as cruel judges
are in a very difficult position. It would not do
for them to shirk inquiry, or to alter their deci-
sion, because the character of the individual ar-
raigned before them was of the highest order, or
in consequence of the accused party possessing
vast talents and great experience. It is theirs to take
cognisance of facts and note actions, and then to de-
liver a fair and impartial judgment. The conduct of
officers, the due attention to the regulations of the
service, the safety of thousands, the welfare of pri-
vate interests, the claims of mercantile property, all
call for, and claim some sure and steadfast promise
of inflexibility and decision, It seems, therefore,
very uncalled for that so much opposition should
have arisen in consequence of the decision in the
case of Captain STONE. Neither of the two attempts
made to reverse the finding of the Court and to
reinstate the accused in his former position without
any delay, ran certify that ho is innocent of the
accusations that have been brought against him.
Reference to past merit and previous services is not
a valid reason, nor does it furnish a sufficient excuse
for reversing the decrees of those who have atten-
tively considered the question, and judged according
to the best of their ability. It is begging the ques-
tion to declare that a fault must not be visited with
grave consequences, because the offender has
previously been expert in his profession and suc-
cessful in his ventures. Without doubting the
accuracy of the testimony brought forward on be-
half of Captain STONE, or questioning the correct-
ness of the flattering opinion pronounced upon his
services, it must be stated that the conclusion de-
duced by the petitioners does not follow from their
premises. if he made two hundred voyages with
success, and then from want of due care failed in
achieving the like happy result on a subsequent
occasion, those who suffer by the mischance,
andithose who sit in judgment on the affair, do
not concern themselves with the many but
with the one. It has been shown that
due precautions were not adopted when circum-
stances called for them, and that at a perilous part
the accused party did not slacken his speed nor
" use his lead." Surely, from such well proved
statements the Court were right in coming to
their conclusion, and it is to be regretted that
so much bitterness has been excited, and so
much censure directed against its finding. It
was the more incumbent upon the judges of the
Court of Inquiry to exercise a strict supervision,
because many serious evils have occurred from want
of care on the part of captains. In the case of the
" Orpheus," which was wrecked on the Manakau
Bar when starting on her voyage to England, the
fault was with the captain, who had neglected to
provide himself with a pilot, which was an indis-
pensable precaution to have adopted in so dangerous
locality ; also in the melancholy affair of the loss
of the Anglo Saxon great censure was attributed to
the captain, inasmuch as he did not slacken his
speed nor adopt due precautions. It is, therefore,
easy to understand, and not difficult to explain how
and why the finding of the Court in the case of
Captain STONE should have been what it was, but
it is not al ways possible to convince people of the
necessity of strict investigation, and extreme mea-
sures, when their feelings are concerned and their
interests involved. Those who adjud:cate are, how-
ever, to be pitied if, when they do their best, they
meet with misrepresentation, and are vilified when
they deserve appreciation. The cause of truth, and
the claims of society, are best vindicated when those
in authority go on steadily and securely, looking
neither to the right nor to the left, hut persisting
in their straight line of inquiry, and acting there-
upon to the best of their endeavours, and with
honest purpose and upright minds. Misrepresen-
tations always await those thus circumstanced, and
their decisions must often cause disappointment,
but individual feelings must succumb to general
good, and particular ideas cannot be suffered to in-
terfere with the carrying out of public claims, and
the representation of the interests of the com-
munity. These must reign paramount, or all trials
would become a mockery, and justice a byword and
a reproach.

A LOST HEIR.—A paragraph in an Australian
newspaper lately appeared, headed " Wanted, a
Baronet," the paragraph being an advertisement for a Mr.
Hughes, who by the death of a relative had come into a
baronetcy. The lost heir has been found near Ballarat. The
Ballarat Star says :—" A gentleman of Cardigan, on read-
ing the paragraph, at once remembered where the baronet
was located. He proceeded to Bunker's Hill, and there
discovered the person so long sought after in a very poor
and miserable position. Ile narrated to him the object of
his visit, and showed him the paragraph wherein it was
stated that he had become the lucky heir to a baronetcy
and considerable landed property. Sir Frederick was by
no means astonished, as ho was fully aware that, sooner
or later, should he not die before the late holder of the
property, he would fall in for it and the title. The change,
however, is a welcome one, as it appears that Sir Frederick
when plain Mr. Hughes followed the humble avocation of
a woodcutter at Bunker's Hill, and while felling a tree one
day it toppled over sooner than he expected. and, falling
upon him, broke ono of his legs. This accident has ren-
dered him a cripple for life. While confined to bis bed the
family fell into very distressed circumstances, and until last
week his wife, now Lady Hughes, was in the habit of re-
ceiving outdoor relief from the Benevolent Asylum. Being
a person of superior education she opened a school at
Bunker's Hill, and by this means was partly enabled to
support the family."
THE ALABAMA.—The Hiawatha (Flindt), ar-
rivedat Colombo, Ceylon, on the 2d ult., from Ganjam, re-
ported haying met the Confederate steamer Alabama in the
Bay °' Bengal, she signalled her, and immediately on re-
ceiving an answer set sail with all steam on hoisting French
colours.

haie.e, just outsideat
A few days ago duel took place in the Junfrau•
com-
batants were a student and
were pistols. The first
HbnadeWitanatoilrlead.obfy
tßheeriolfini.cerTbhraokeeo:llhe-
military officer. The weapons
student's thigh bone. Nrae(,lioes in a dangerous state,
anti indeed is not expected to
The cause of offence
twhaesthat student,at a
accidentlyprom e nadke
ncoocireedr tiivihseerea ao officer,o u
tinot his mouth,
passing by
nee challenged by
and, not apologising instantly, Was at
the offended youth,

LATEST MTELLIGENCE.

[AEITTEP.'S TELEGRAM.]

SPAIN.

MADRID, Nov, 14.

The Corresponclenc;a of to-day say's :—" The re-
ply given by the Spanish Government to the letter
addressed by the Emperor Napoleon to the Queen
of Spain upon the necessity for assembling an
European Congress, confines itself to manifesting
the same earnest desire as the chief of the French
Government to clearly define rights, and make all
possible efforts to assure the peace of Europe. With
this sole and exclusive object, the Spanish Govern-
ment will not consider it inexpedient to send a re
presentative to the Congress projected by the Em-
peror Napoleon."

PORTUGAL.

LISBON, Nov. 17.

Senhor Antonio Joee de Avila has been appointed
the delegate to be present on the part of the King
of Portugal at the Paris Congress.
A friendly compromise between the Government
and Mr. Lindsay is reported,

FRANCE AND RUSSIA.

PARIS, Nov. 13.

The statement published by a London paper that
Baron de Budberg had stated to 111. Drouyn de
Lhuys, as Prince Gortschakoff's reply, that Russia
would participate in the Congress, but not until
after the pacification of Poland, is entirely un-
founded.

LITERATURE,

Aytoun's "Lays," Superbly Illustrated,

Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers, and other Poems.
By William Edmonstoune Aytoun, D.C.L. With
Illustrations, by Joseph Noel Paton, R.S.A.
One Vol., pp. 268. Wm. Blackwood and Sons.
As a rule, it is only the truest poetry that comes
to be thus magnificently illustrated. Occasional
exceptions there are to the contrary. But even
then, according to the whimsical old saying, those
very exceptions to the contrary have actually their
advantage, for inasmuch as they serve to " prove
the rule," meaning by that, of course, to point or
emphasise it. An accomplished banker, for example,
like the late Samuel Rogers, gifted by fortune with
wealth, and by nature with refined tastes at once
in art and in literature—one of those happy-go-
lucky Coquetters with the Muse who can jot
down their rhythmical fancies, so to speak, upon
bank-notes, and have them bound afterwards,
if they so please it, in lieu of morocco, in
cloth of gold—a man thus gracefully endowed
in intellect, and bountifully in means, may, just for
once in a way, for the gratification of a personal
whim, afford the world the wonder, and him-
self the luxury, of causing the publication of a
very indifferent, comparatively speaking a posi-
tively insignificant, poem, in one of those sump•
thous editions that ought to be reserved solely
for the real treasures of poetic literature. Of this
violation of the fitness of things, "Rogers's Italy,"
the resplendently illustrated edition of it, that is,
may be regarded as perhaps the most striking ex-
emplar that could be particularised. " Very pretty
poetry, Mr. Pope, but not Homer," was the cynical
sneer addressed to the translator of the "Iliad"
and the " Odyssey." " Very pretty versification,
bat not poetry," might certainly have been ad-
dressed to Mr. Rogers, on the earliest issue of
his maundering rhymes about that beautiful
land which ought to have been regarded by
him as under a kind of literary taboo (at any
rate for writers of his calibre), after the wondrous
completion of Childe Harold's "Pilgrimage.°
It was, at the very least, a preposterous misap-
plication of one art to another, to the extent of an
extravagantly disproportioned adornment—the
lavishing, upon a literary nonentity like "Rogers's
Italy," of those lovely engravings from sketches made
by the first artists of the day—one of them J. M.
W. Turner, the first artist of any day as a land-
scape painter—embellishments suitable, by reason
of their exceeding beauty, for the decoration alone of
one of the world's greatest masterpieces! Very rarely
again, a mistaken popularity will lead to a some-
what similar result, as in tho instance of an ele-
gantly embellished edition published a few years
since, of Mr. Tupper's Proverbial Philosophy. Re-
verting to our first remark, however—as a rule, it is
only the truest poetry that wins for itself the glory
and honour of these superbly illustrated editions—
editions that, coming to a poet in his own life-
time, must be to him the realisation of a sort of
Euthanasia. Here, in this magnificent edition of
Professor Aytoun's "Lays .of the Scottish Cava-
liers," is a precise and veritable case-in-point.
For here are, in very deed, the true ingots or
doubloons of poetry, rung out with the
genuine ring, in these_resounding verses—the mere
artistic adornment here " is but the guinea stamp,"
the noble text of the book itself is "the gold for a'
that !" Coming in any shape, or in any size, or under
any aspect—how the true poetry, like the true gold,
is ever sure of its welcome among the children of
men, the whole world knows. " Professor Aytoun's
Lays of the Scottish Cavalers" were thus welcomed
years ago, when published for the first time, at un-
certain intervals in the pages of Blackwood's Maga-
zine. Eventually, when the series had been brought
to a close in 2laga, they were collected together and
reissued from the press, in that collective form, as a
separate publication. Since.then, in various shapes
and sizes, they have passed through several large
editions, and have all the while widened and
widened in their popularity. Finally, as if to
crown the long-recognised fact of their success,
as if to give at last some fitting honour to the
great Scotch ballad-writer's reputation, they ap-
pear, so to speak, in this magnificent apparel,
the poet's singing robe receiving at length, as it
were, the significant symbol of the purple hem.
Here, at any rate, the adornments and decorations
are not misplaced. " The Execution of Montrose,"
as sung by Professor Aytoun, has long since assumed
its place among the national poems of Scotland.
"The Heart of the Bruce," as chaunted by Aytoun,
is one of the cherished gems of Scottish Literature.
" Edinburgh after Flodden," as recounted by him,
is hardly to be thought of, is certainly not to be
read aloud, by any patriot Scot, without tears, those
tears-of-sound at least called so exquisitely, les
larmes dans la vaix. In how many of the " Lays
of the Scottish Cavaliers" may we not recognise
readily enough, upon casually turning over these
same thickly-gilten leaves, richly bound, exquisitely
printed, and still more exquisitely embellished—
line after line, each of which has already grown
into household words, by reason of a general appre-
ciation of their intrinsic worth, those "jewels five-
words long," as the Poet-Laureate has quaintly
but beautifully called them, " that on the
stretched fore-finger of all Time sparkle for ever !"
Familiar wises for example, in these noble Lava,
such, let us say, as-
4, They knew so sad a messenger,
Some ghastly news must bring,
And all of them were fathers,
And their sons were with the King !"

Instances, however, these, which it were idle here
to multiply. Hardly a page but yields them, some-
times even abundantly. It was a happy selection,
therefore, the one here made by the eminent pub-
lishing firm to whose enterprise modern literature
is under so many obligations—the distinguished
house to which we are indebted for the great
monthly magazine, Maga, as it is called par excel-
lence, for writers like Wilson, and Pollok, and Ali-
son, and Moir, for books like " Tom Cringle's Log"
and " Ten Thousand a Year "—it was an especially
happy choice, we say, that led the Messrs. Black
wood to the enterprise which has just now resulted
in this singularly beautiful volume. In the mere
getting up of the book even, the utmost care has
manifestly been taken—the effect of this care
being, we should suppose, all that the author
himself could well desire. The shattered
glaive upon the cover, the royal crown
above the thistle, the crossed claymores
interwoven with the scroll, bearing upon
it the haughty national device, Nemo me
impune lacessit —mere external decorations
like these evidence the delicate touches of grata
which have been applied, even in such minute de-
tails, to the accessories of the publication. The
embellishments scattered through the letterpress,
while of variable excellence, are almost all of them
worthy of the skilled pencil and imaginative power
of the eminent artist, Joseph Noel Paton of the
Royal Scotch Academy, from whom they have, nearly
all of them, emanated. Nearly all of them, we say,
because some few of the designs are from the hand
of Waller Paton. 48 indicative of the precautions,
taken by the publishers with a view to ensure these
designs of the Messrs. Paton being engraved upon
wood in the highest style of art, it will be as well
perhaps to give here the names of at least nine among
the engravers to whose cunning implements the ori-
ginal sketches have been entrusted o to wit—John
Thompson, W.J. Linton. W. Thomas, J. W. Whym•
per, J. Cooper, W. T. Green, J. Adams, E. Evans,
and Dalziels Brothers. The merit of the illustrations,
as we have said, is variable—as, indeed, among so
many, could alone in reason have been expected.
Several among them, however, are wonderfully
fine in their vigour and animation. About
the very finest in the book, to our fancy, being the
one at page 91, where the Warrior Chief on his
black charger fishes by at full gallop over the
heather, waving his brand, and crying out to his
followers, over his right shoulder, as he bids_ them
charge with him into the deadly strife ofZi
at
erankie ! Another lovely picture is pi
page 105 to the " Widow of Glencoe."
March
The pre-
e
fix, again, at page 85, to
of Dundee" is a worthy illustration‘Th to that moon-
fel chaunt of Aytoun. Montrose, in the tumbril or
death-cart, on his way to e xec ution, p. 34, haunts
on
casual glance at it. even after the most
the memory, as we read ,
One omission we cannot

but regret iu regard to this superb gitl-book—
the omission of yet one other embellishment as a
frontispiece. As a frontispiece to the work, it
should be said, indeed, there is no illustration
whatever—in itself, as it appears to us, a
curious oversight. But what more appropriate
illustration as a frontispiece could possibly have
been supplied to the edition, by way of completing
it, than a likeness' of the true-hearted poet, the
Author of these " Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers."
That, especially, we regard as an oversight—as the
one oversight in this highly elaborated publication.
Otherwise, as an illustrated edition of the Lays and
of the minor Poems, the book, as a gift-book, is just
" one entire and perfect chrysolite."

Naval and Military Intelligence.

THE NAVY.

Orders have been received by the authorities at Sheerness
dockyard that the Amphion, 35, screw steam frigate, re-
cently purchased by Messrs. Williams and Co„ is to be
given up to that firm, with her machinery and boilers. All
rigging and stores are to be returned to the dockyard.
The Caledonia, 35, screw iron-cased ship, 4,125 tons,
1,900 horse power, has been removed from her moorings
into the large basin of Sheerness dockyard, where a num-
ber of workmen have been placed upon her. She will be
brought forward with all despatch for the first division of
the Sheerness steam reserve.

A considerable portion of the granite sides at the entrance
to No. 2 dock at Chatham has been cut away in order to
allow of the Achilles being floated out without hanging at
the sides. The remainder of the dock entrance will be cut
away on the removal of the caisson, which will be taken
from its present position about a fortnight before the time
fixed for undocking the iron frigate. This arrangement
will entail considerable labour on the dockyard officials,
who, together with a staff of workmen, will be required to
attend at the dockyard both day and night, as the Achilles
will float on the rise of each tide, and will afterwards re-
quire shoring up every time she is lifted.

The iron ram Defence, 16, Capt. Augustus Phillimore,
got up steam yesterday morning in Hamoaze and proceeded
into Plymouth Sound, where she saluted the flag of Port
Admiral Sir Charles Fremantle.

The iron ship Black Prince, Capt. James F. B. "Wain •
wright, was removed yesterday from the Prince's Dock, in
Devonport dockyard, and placed in the stream in Hamcaze.

By the promotion of Capt. Charles Henry Mason Buckle,
C. 8., to flag rank, by the demise of Admiral Sir John
Gordon Sinclair, a captain's good service pension is placed
at the disposal of the First Lord of the Admiralty.
Major-General F. W. Hamilton, C. 8., Vice. President of
the Council of Military Education, resumed his duties on
Monday last, after a short leave of absence,

The following appointments were made yesterday at the
Admiralty :—Commander C. T. Curme to the Adventure,
vice Lethbridge, promoted ; Staff Commander John Stokes
to the Hydra; Lieut, Archibald L. Douglas to the
Aurora; D. H. Wilder, master, to the Aurora; the Rev.
J. J. Harrison, chaplain and naval instructor, to the War-
rior, vice Jackson, superseded at his own request; James
N. Dick, surgeon, to the Hydra; John Millard, second
master, to the Hydra; John J. Hayward, paymaster, to
the Hydra ; Harry J. Miller, master's assistant, to the
Wasp; Henry W. Andrews, assist.-paymaymaster, to the
Hydra ; John Weis, engineer, to the Wasp ; George Boyd
and James Murray, assist.-engineers, to the Wasp. 'rho
above appointments to the Hydra were made at Malta on
the 10th inst.

RAILWAY AND OTHER COMPANIES,

SOUTH-EASTERN.

The usual notices of intended application to Parliament
have been given by this company for power to extend the
Mid-Kent TUilway to Addiscombe-road, Croydon, and from
thence to the Caterham Railway. To make a branch from
the Tunbridge-wells direct line at Otford to IVesterham.
They also propose to make a branch from the Tunbridge-
wells and Hastings Railway at Battle to Eastbourne. To
make extensions to Cranbrook, renterden, Appledore,
Hythe, and Sandgate. To raise additional capital for those
purposes, and for the purchase of the Mid-Kent Railway.
Power to make working agreements with the London,
Chatham, and Dover Railway Company, and to dissolve
the Mid-Kent Railway Company.