The Sun.
London, England, 1837-12-20 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

THE MINING RE VIEW, No. X.
London, Simphi►: and Marshall.
This practically useful periodical to all to whom
the knowledge of geology, mineralogy, and metallurgy,
is an object of importance, is conducted by Henry
English, the able editor of the " Mining Journal."
Most of the articles are contributed by gentlemen
distinguished by their scientific acquirements, and all
members of different learned Societies.

FINE ARTS.

AGES OF FEMALE BEAUTY.
Tilt, London, 1837.

We have here a handsome collection of engravings,
from drawings by the most eminent masters, illustra-
tive of the different ages of female beauty, from the
period of infancy down to that. of extreme old age.
The idea is an ingenious one, and the execution is
not unworthy of it. " Infancy" is represented by the
figure of a rosy, chubby little child, who is lying fast
asleep in a light shell, which is floating over the quiet
waters. This engraving, which is well handled by
Ryall, has attached to it a poem by Barry Cornwall,
remarkable for the ease and melody of its versification.
The " Maiden" is a half-length figure of a very
lovely girl, who seems all peace and beauty, like a
rainbow. The countenance is thoroughly English,
and full of the sweetest and gentlest expression. The
" Coquette" is not so much to our taste ; it is coarse
and masculine, with a dash of vulgarity in the fea-
tures. " The " Bride" represents a young pensive
brunette, dressed out in a profusion of Brussels lace,
and waiting apparently the approach of the bride-
groom, who is to conduct her to Church. Hope,
fear and timidity seem struggling for the mastery in the
the expression of her countenance. The " Mother"
and the " Widow" are both clever engravings, but
there is too great a sameness in them. The " Old
Lady," as a work of art, is the best and most carefully
finished in the volume. The lights and shades of the
sunken face are discriminated with great skill. Of
the prose and poetical illustrations to the different en-
gravings, the best are the two poems descriptive, one
of " Infancy," the other of the " Widow."

MORPET H.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sett—Concoiving that some explanation is required re-
specting the manner in which we are now charged for The
Sun Newspaper, I take the liberty most respectfully to
apply to you for information in this matter, leaving entirely
to your own discretion the form in which you may think
proper to grant it.
When the price of the Paper was seven pence, we were
charged 91. 4s. per annum ; and now, when the price is
five pence, instead of being charged about 6/. 125., as we
ought to be, wo are are called upon to pay 71. Ga. per an-
num. We—and I express the opinion of several others,
as well as my own—we think there is something wrong
here : wrong, because a large portion of the benefit in-
tended by the Legislature to be a public one has been ar-
rested at its source, and applied to the aggrandisement of
a powerful act interested party.
Comparing the old stamp with the new, five pence is as
good a price to the Proprietor as seven pence, and " a
little more ;" and if not content with this—if still further
demands are to be made upon us by the Fourth Estate, we
ought not to be surprised at being again threatened with an
issue of unstamped Newspapers, nor allow ourselves to be
shocked at the late alarming deficiency in the revenue de-
rived from the sale of stamps.
To ask for the insertion of this letter would, I am aware,
be asking too much. Tile matter is, however, in this neigh-
bourhood, beginning to be seriously thought of ; and I beg
to assure you that your explanation will be looked for with
some degree of interest.—l remain, Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
A READER OF THE SUN NEARLY
TWENTY YEARS.

[We have no objection to insert our Correspondent's
letter; but perhaps lie is not aware that the Post Office
charges a halfpenny for each Newspaper put in after Six
o'Clock : and as probably our Correspondent receives the
late edition of The Sun, the extra charge is thus ac-
counted for.]

Mr. O'Connell arrived in town this morning (Sa-
turday) in excellent health and spirits.—Dublin Pott.

Died, at his seat, Brynkinialt, North Wales, on
Thursday the 14th instant, after a lingering illness, the Right
Hon. the Viscount Dungannon, in the seventy-fifth year of his
age. His Lordship is succeeded in his title and estates by his
only surviving son, the Hon. Arthur Trevor, one of the repre-
sentatives in Parliament for the City of Durham, now Viscount
Dungannon, in the Peerage of Ireland.

Friday night an inquest was taken at the Hope,
Lisson-grove, on the body of Elizabeth Scafton, aged 83, who
died in a miserable back kitchen in Stephen-street, Lisson-
grove, from exposure to the sold and want of proper neeessa-
series of life. A verdict was returned to this effect, and the
coroner censured the conduct of the parish officers. Another
inquiry took place at the Paradise Tavern, Rotherhithe, on
the body of a fine little girl, six years of age, the daughter of
Mr. Melby, a respectable carpenter and builder of Rother-
hithe. It appeared that the child had gone into her father's
counting-house, in which there was a ship's stove, and had in-
advertently removed the blower. The current of air instantly
carried her pinafore to the fire, and her clothes became ignited.
After some delay she was rolled in a carpet and the fire extin-
guished, but death ensued from the injuries she sustained.
Verdict—" Accidentally burnt to death. "•

On Saturday, while the servants of Mr. Roberton
were engaged in deep ploughing a part of the farm of Friars,
in the neighbourhood of Kelso, the plough employed for that
purpose struck against some obstacle, at the depth of about
eighteen inches from the surface. On examination it turned
out to be two ancient brass pots, apparently Roman, in a very
perfect state of preservation, excepting that one side of the
larger one, within which the smaller one was placed, had been
slightly broken by the coulter of the plough. The pots are
of excellent workmanship, and of a handsome and elegant
form. —Kelso Chronicle.

A very important work, we observe, is on the eve
of publication—Tun PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE
CELEBRATED SARAH, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH. It Will
give, no doubt, considerable insight into the secret history of
the Whig Government of the reign of Queen Anne, so famous
not only in the annals of England, but of Europe.
" MARY RAYMOND," the heroine of Mrs. Gore's
new novel, has been felicitously defined as the Desdemona of
private life; just as the heroine of " Stokeshill-place" was de-
scribed as the Cordelia. These two sketches form a charm-
ing addition to the female characters created by our modern
novelists. We should say that Margaret Barnsley was a
model for daughters, and Mary Raymond the perfect picture
of a wife.

The reign of the French Monarch, Louis XIV., was
one of the most splendid and eventful ever known in modern
Europe. His Court was never equalled fur its brilliance, either
in wit or gallantry. The time of Louis Qultorze was the Au-
gustan age of France. For statesmen, he had Mazarin and
Colbert—f,r warriors, Conde and Turenne—for men of letters,
Corneille, Racine, Molicre, La Fontaine, and others ; while
the women who moved in his splendid circle, included the
Duchess de la Valicre, Mesdames Montespan, de Maintenon,
Sevigne,,Fontanges, &c. No reign was so fruitful in curious
and piquant incidents; and we are therefore glad to see that
Mr. James, the popular author of" Richelieu," " Darnley," &c.,
is about to publish a Memoir of the Court and Times of the
Grande Monarque.