The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-28 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY, SEPT. 28, 1863.

Earlßuss-ELL has just now, through the medium
of .a pretty long speech, been delighting the natives
of Perthshire, down at Blairgowrie. His Lordship
is tolerably certain, however, through the medium
of that very same speech, not so much to delight, as
firmly and rather blankly to astonish the natives of
every other part of the three kingdoms. We may
take even the plaudits won by the eloquence of the
noble orator from the assembled tenantry at Blair-
gowrie, so indicative far more of their satisfaction
at having so important a member of the Cabinet as
the Foreign Secretary to listen to, than of anything
like a deliberate coincidence of theirs in the opinion
expressed by him in the course of his harangue.
Conning the speech of the noble Earl, under the
influence of no such purely personal and compli-
mentary feelings, that is, as one among a throng of
feasting tenants down at Blairgowrie--reading the
noble Lord's Address to that tenantry, now that it
comes reported to us from a distance, in cold blood,
in plain legible black and white, we can only
marvel at the rashness (in many particulars) of
an oration which does really and truly ap-
pear to us to be quite as much a mis-
take on the part of Earl RUSSELL as his
notorious despatch a few months back in regard to
that tedious Schleswig Holstein Difficulty. Here
—in this speech of Lord RUSSELL'S yonder in
Scotland—the blundering appears to us to have
about it a twofold hardihood. The daring
rashness of the remarks uttered by the Foreign
Secretary, both in regard to the Steam Rams and
in regard to the Federal Government, surpasses
anything in the way of blundering rashness ever
yet ventured upon, even by Earl RUSSELL. Heart
and soul we go with the noble lord, of course,
when he contents himself with denouncing, in lan-
guage worthy of him as one of the younger asso-
ciates of WILBERFORCE and CLARNsON, the hideous
abomination of Slavery : when he said, " For my
part, 1 consider that it is one of the most -horrible
crimes that yet disgraces humanity." But when
Earl illistitta, goes on to argue that England for
the most
Plttt, that is to say, the vast majority
of the people se this country, are in favour of the
Northern Government, rather than in favour of the
Southern Government, that Englishmen as a body
sympathize more with the Federals and less with
the Confederates, We
can only admire the wilful
effrontery with which notorious facts, demonstrative
of exactly the reverse, are
coolly set aside as of no
earthly consideration whatever. It is true that in
the very laboured argument in which Earl RUSSELL
put forth this astounding declaration, he strives,
very speciously, to affect an appearance of conspicu-
ous impartiality. But nothing less audacious than
what we have said is the conclusion he eventually
arrives at. A conclusion, nevertheless, a, we all
know full well, utterly baseless and insupportable.
Again, when Earl RUSSELL talks, as he talked on
tiaturday to the convivial tenantry at Blairgovvrie,in
reference to those seizure of the steam rams with the
outlandish Egratian nauase (misnomers now in the
strictest sense of the word, seeing that the PitduA
of that African province of the Turkish EmPti° ib
no longer to be the purchaser) down is rsir. LAIRD'S
shipyard at Liverpool—. h w en Lord RUSSELL talks,
as he Milked on Saturday, in reference to that little
trari,aetion, certain, at least, we
may be of this, that
he was "counting without his host t"
lt was
speaking of what the House of Commons would
do its such and such a contingency, without
the
smallest assurance in the world that they would do
anything whatever of the kind. "Everything,' he
said, " that the law of nations requires, everything
that the present Foreign Enlistment Act requires,
I am prepared to do, even if it should be proved to
be necessary for the preservation of our neutrality

that the sanction of Parliament should be asked to
urther measures that her MAJESTY'S Ministers may

still add." The present Ministers of the Crown may
" still add,' whatsoever they in their collective wis-
dom may deem fit and proper, right and necessary.
But—whether Parliament will sanction anything
of that kind when added—that is quite another
matter ! . That, at least, remains to be proved—next

se s sion !

The programme of the party of progress in
Prussia that has lately been issued appears
to be very excellent in its way, and it
would be well if there were any chance
of its being carried out. It comprises many im-
portant points, and seems to take in all really essen-
ial changes. The first item mentioned is cne of the
chief improvements needed at the present time—
" complete liberty of the press, and consequently
the suppression of the decree of the end of June."
If there were any chance of this saving clause being
carried, there would be comparatively little to de-
sire for the country that is now so painfully and
precariously situated. In nothing did the Ms-
MARK Confederation so prove their falsity to the
obligations impossd on them as in this particular
of the press. " Presentation of the law on Minis-
terial responsibility prescribed by the Constitu-
tion," is the second point mentioned. Certainly
it is very much needed, since the present ad-
visers of the Crown arrogate to themselves the
same divine right as that enjoyed by their Sove-
reign. They ignore the claim of anyone to criticise
their conduct, and refuse to render an account of
their actions to the most influential persons. The
third proposition is to establish the "effective re-
cognition of the right of the Chamber of Deputies
to control the expenses of the Treasury.'' w
', This
iis
a noticeable plan, and points to a reform
is loudly called for. The manner in which the
finances of the country have been conducted is
really reprehensible, and
mustit eventuallypvroes detrimental
nothing but confusion, while
to the nation. In fact, the chief off ce oftphaeCham-
ber is set aside altogether. are
The
precluded from exercising their rights, and they
are, as a body, compelled to stultify themselves.
It Is high time that the representatives of
the people should no longer forego their principles,
but perform the duties they owe to themselves
and their country. "Reorganisation of the House
of Lords" is the next thing mentioned. This
would doubtless be a very desirable arrangement,
as the whole of the political fabric in Prussia is
in great need of reconstruction. "An army founded
upon a popular basis,with a two years' service." This
is to serve as a check on the arbitrary notions of
the KING, and the unconstitutional doctrines of
his Ministerial advisers. The ninth and last pro-
vision, is a "German Parliament freely elected by
the nation." If this were carried, it would be
indeed a desideratum. The programme of the
party of progress is a well-considered proposal,
and a complete exposition of the wants of the
nation. That it, or some such alterative measure
is required is without doubt, but that it will be
put into practice is quite another affair. The spirit
of intolerance appears to be rampant in high quar-
ters, and everywhere the arbitrary schemes and
the despotic plans that were promulgated in the
summer are being put into execution. Thus we
hear that during the last few days additional
warnings have been given to various newspapers; a
pamphlet on the Constitution, end the law on the
Press has been confiscated. Also, at the request of
the Government, the police at Leipsic "have con-
fiscated a number of weekly journals published
there." All these things prove that some change
is imperatively called for, and that the counsels that
prevail at Berlin are about as mischievous and im-
politic as they can be. It is stated that soon after
the opening of the Diet the documents relating to
the German question will be laid before it. There
is not likely to be much gained by this, because
whatever good propositions are made by the Diet
are certain to be overruled by the authorities.
The KING'S answer to the Frankfort Assembly is

now naturally the subject of much speculation. It
is said that the Government complain, inasmuch
that the project of Austria in regard to reform was
only communicated to the KING after the letters of
invitation had been sent to the other Sovereigns.
This is a very extraordinary excuse, because great
pains were taken to inform King WILLIAM of the
new proposals. The fact is that there is no one so
difficult to teach as those who do not wish to learn,
and who are predetermined not to put the know-
ledge they gain to any profit to others, to in-
crease thereby their own stock of wisdom. They
assert that Prussia and Austria should hold an equal
rank in the Directory. This might be desirable if

practicable, but all must admit that the chance or
opportunity of so doing has been wilfully cast aside
by the KING and his infatuated advisers. The
Ministry propose to the KING to " refuse his adhe-
sion to the actual project, and to enter into negotia-
tion with his confederates." All this sounds very
fine, but it is in reality little else than clap-trap to
cajole the other States, and make a specious sem-
blance of assiduity before the people. The begin-
ning and end of all these projects is Ministerial
Conferences. This wonderful arrangement is to
furnish a sort of Deus ex Alachina to extricate the
Sovereigns from their embarrassment, to give im-

provements to the States, and to bestow benefits
upon the people. These beneficent results might
be more likely to loom in the distance if the prime
mover or special originator of the whole man muvre
were another and a better man. The shadow be-
hind the throne flings its sombre gloom, and caets
its dusky hue over promises that shine so brightly,
and the hopes that speak so fair. It seems useless
to augur any advantage that may accrue to Prussia
until a change comes over the spirit of her dream.
In the meantime it seems safe to predicate that
little or nothing can be looked for in the way of
amelioration until the affairs of Germany are ar-
ranged in a more concise and connected form. At
present there are too many pioneers of progress,
but they seem to find it difficult to collect sufficient
followers.

Among the numerous harvest celebrations and
agricultural meetings which have taken place
within the last week or two there was no especial
feature in the dinner given at Watton. Norfolk
has been blessed with a full share of the abundant
harvest, but happily, good crops are not this year
such exceptional possessions as to call for any
special remark. The address of Mr. G. W. BEN-
TINCK, one of the county members, is, however,
well worth reading, and has some claims to
distinction less as a triumph of oratory than
of i
corung from the lips of one of the staunchest
members of the Conservative party. The
purport
of his speech, which he prefaced by
obberving,
With dry humour, that it was his in-
tention to say something disagreeable, was the
attitude which it would Income the agricultural
'interest to assume with regard to the vexed ques-
tion of Reform. Without expressing an opinion as
to the expediency or necessity of introducing a
Reform Bill, he reminded his hearers that they had
been told on high authority that they were to look
forward to the speedy discussion of fresh measures
of Reform. When the question came to be dis-
cussed, he advised them to bear in mind that the
principal grievance in the country was the want of
proper representation of the rural uistricts, and
that this Want he attributed in a great meacure to

their own lack of determination in making them-
selves heard. The rural districts had, he declared,
every right to be represented, on the grounds alike
of wealth, numbers, and intelligence. "There is
no other great commercial industry," says Mr.
BENTINCK, " which, when its interests are at-
tacked, does not bind itself together and fight its
own battles with vigour and resolution." He
appealed to the assembly whom he was ad-
dressing, to say whether such was the
course pursued by the representatives of
the rural interest, and loud cheers marked their
coincidence in the opinions of the speaker. Mr
BENTINCK reminded them that the burden of taxa-
tion pressed with heavy and unequal weight on the
agricultural districts, and this is certainly an evil
which, if they were more efficiently
represented,
they might in some degree see mitigated. The
truth is that the farmers have been usually far too
busy in opposing the first whisper of reform to pro-
vide with proper prudence for their own interests.
The possible evils attendant on the train of reform
were eagerly insisted upon by interested de-
claimers, who, with ready volubility, exaggerated
every drawback and doubled every disadvantage.
The real importance and benefit of securing an en-
larged and unbiassed representation were left un-
heeded, and it was found too late by the Tories and
their supporters that by their perverse and obsti-
nate opposition they had left the whole game in the
hands of the Whigs. Since the days of the great
Reform Bill the electoral position of the agricul-
• tural population has been a frequent subject of
comment, but little has been done in the way of
substantial improvement. Yet no class stands in
cgrreeaastienrgLienetdel lofpoliticalintelligence
and
reorganisation. The in-
public spirit among the
rural population generally, the gradual dying out
of old and obsolete notions, all point to the ad-
vancing claims of our agricultural districts to a
better and fairer representation. Where steam comes
in prejudice generally goes out, and the application
of art and science to the cultivation of the soil and
the gathering in its products are fast combining
the once antagonistic interests of town and country.
There is some hope for the farmers, judging from
the past, when the party which they are generally
supposed to favour comes again into power; but
they, in common with the rest of us, had better
expect little " from the veteran reformer Earl
RUSSELL," unless they wish for disappointment,
The liberal public have neither forgiven nor for-
gotten his refusal to allow the DERBY Reform Bill
to pass into committee, followed as it was by a
total abandonment of the subject when the virtu-
ously indignant Opposition changed sides with their
rivals. Some cynics might suggest that the reason
for refusing the much-maligned Bill to run the risk
of improvement was the fear of having any Reform
at all, since, judging by the subsequent conduct of
Lord JOHN and his colleagues, an amended repre-
sentation was what they most dreaded. But what
matter ? The great. Reformer of the house of
BEDFORD has reaped the reward due to his disin-
terested and patriotic labours; and he is taking
good care, by the manner in which he is conducting
the foreign affairs of the nation, to distract men's
minds from the remembrance of his past doings.
COVENT GARDEN THEATRE.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

[REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.]

THE WEST INDIA, MEXICAN, AND
PACIFIC MAILS.
SOUTHAMPTON, SEPT, 28.
The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company's ship
Tasmanian, has arrived here with the above mails,
112 passengers, 3,528,372 dols. in specie, of which
60,403 dole. are on account of the Mexican divi-
dends, and 1,700 plckages of cargo.
The Tasmania left St. Thomas's on the 13th inst.,
and experienced strong head-winds to the Western
Islands.

The steamer Darien, from Liverpool, arrived at
St. Thomas's on the 6th inst.
General Forey and M. de Saligny had been re-
called from Mexico by the French Emperor.
General Bazaine had taken command of the
troops. The French forces, 1,200 strong, took pos-
session of Tampico on the Bth August.
The expedition against the Government of Presi-
dent Juarez had been postponed until after the
rainy season.

President Juarez was in San Luis, Potosi, com-
bining his troops, in order to resist the French.
The exportation of specie had been forbidden
from all towns occupied by the French, but large
consignments are shipped by way of Mansancello.
The rebellion in St. Domingo has resulted in a
large sacrifice of life and property.

The Dominican refugees attacked three garri-
sons, destroying them by fire, and murdering all
the sick in the hospitals, sparing neither women

nor children.

Porto Plata was invaded by the insurgents, but
they were ultimately driven out by troops who had
arrived in a Spanish steamer.
Large bodies of troops have been despatched from
Havannah and Porto Rico to put down the
rebellion.

The dispute between Bolivia and Chile remained
unsettled, Chile was still occupying the disputed
territory.

A steady business was going on at Valparaiso,
Exchange on London, 441 d to 45d.
The news from the West India Islands is unim•
portant.

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 28, 1863.

LITERATURE,

The Manual of Dates, By George H. Townsend.
London : Routledge, Warne, and Routledge.

" 'rime," according to Hooker, " is the measure
of the motion of the spheres." The definition is a
perfectly accurate one in its peculiarly limited form.
Our clocks and watches merely record the earth's
rotation on its axis ; our annals register the pro-
gress of events according to the number of revolu-
tions made by this planet around the sun. If the
earth were to rotate more rapidly, our days and
hours would be shortened with all the pleasures
and the sorrows which they contain; if it
traversed its orbit more swiftly, every year
of man's life would thereby be shortened,
and our days and years might be gradually and
imperceptibly abbreviated. Of course astronomers
would soon find it out ; but the unastronomical
portion of the human race might lose a large frac-
tion of their time without knowing anything about
it. "Geometry," Faye Sir William Hamilton) (cis

the science of pure space : algebra is the science of
pure time." In time and space all human beings
live : they are the dimensions of our existence.
And, as humanity wants nothing more than the
abstract, the science of space adds to geometry geo-
graphy. Similarly, chronology is a supplement to
the algebra of time. As every nation has its geogra-
phic boundaries, so almost every race has its special
epoch. The Hebrews, with unparalleled sublimity,
start from the warld's creation ; we are now in the
year 5684, according to their :reckoning. Rome
sturdily fixed the building of the city as the first
day of its calendar—as if the world had nothing
worth record before the great esylum arose on the
seven hills. The birth of Christ has fixed the point
of departure for all Christian nations, and the flight
of the false prophet for all 'Mohammedan. Of course
the most simple and philosophical commencement
would be the very beginning of humanity, if only
chronologists could agree as to the precise date of
this occurrence; but, as the different dates assigned
vary over a period of more than 3,000 years, it is
vain to attempt a chronology on this prin-
ciple. A." Manual of Dates," like Mr. Townsend's,
is of infinite value to the author and to the student,
and should be on every library table. It enables a
man instantaneously to verify or rectify his ideas.
It is the key to history. One's recollection of a
particular period, with all its prominent
dramatis persona, is revivified by a single re-
ference. You have in such a book the very
essence of history and geography—ay, and
even of politics because these things are
inseparable from chronology. A chronological
manual ought not to be an encyclor wile, yet must
in some degree partake of that character. The
compiler is only bound to deal in dates, but, com-
passionating his readers he sometimes expands
into definitions. Consequently a book of this
kind is very interesting to read, apart from
its value for reference; and, as Macaulay re-
marked, that his favourite resource on a rainy
day was Johnson's falio Dictionary, we may be for-
given for suggesting that Mr. Townsend's "Manual"
would serve admirably for a similar purpose. It is
impossible to open it anywhere without meeting
information that the reader has either forgotten or
had never known. The compilation of this work
must have been immensely laborious. It contains
959 pages, of which about 40 are index. It is
easier to judge the contents of such a volume
from the index than from the cursory examina-
tion with which a reviewer must necessarily
content himself. The iadex is in treble columns,
each column containing between 80 and 90 entries;
and of these columns 171 are devoted to the statutes
of England. More than six are given to sieges, from
Abbassabad to Taragoga. Sea fights, from Abydos to
Zuyder Zee, occupy about a column and a half. Bat-
tles, as might be expected, take far more space; they
monopolise more than 15 columns, between Abancay
and Zpyt. And here let us pause to show a collateral
use of such a work as this. Let the reader honestly
say whether he knows anything about the battles of
Abancay or the battle Zyp—the Alpha and Omega
of Mr. Townsend's series. Where were they
fought? When were they fought ? Who were
the commanders-in-chief ? Who beat whom ? Those
pedantic examiners who puzzle the unlucky young
gentlemen who are candidates for the civil service
would be enabled to perplex their victims far more
thoroughly by using the "Manual of Dates!'
There are many points in this work which deserve
special commendation. Let us take the wants of
the political student. He requires to refer to the
Administrations of Great Britain. Under that head-
ing he finds them tabulated from Godolphius' in
1702 to Palmerston's second in 1859. Each is de-
scribed under its own special title. Take those which
had queer sobriquets. There is the " Broad Bottom"
Ministry, with Mr. Pelham at its head, both
First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of
the Exchequer, and seven dukes among his
subordinates. There is the " Long-lived "
Administration which held office for two days in
1716. There is " all the talents"—Canning's felici-
tous nickname—which had in reality only one able
man among its members. All these we find care-
fully registered by Mr. Townsend, with sufficient
explanation in each ease. Indeed, if we found any
fault with this book, it would be that the descrip-
tive or explanatory [part is more complete than
could fairly be expected in a manual of chronology.
This is a fault on the right side, so long
as it does not lessen the number of
purely chronological references which the work
contains;: andithanks,to the industry of the compiler
and the liberality of the publishers, it appears to us
that the number of entries is far greater than in any
other chronological dictionary which we have en-
countered. Editorial labour has been admirably
supplemented by typographic arrangement while the
excellence tboth of paper and type deserve high
prise. The compilation of a work like this must have
been a weary task; but Mr. Townsend will, we
hope, find some reward in the consciousness that he
has furnished all who write and all who read with
an invaluable and indispensable chronological
menus!.

The Necessary Existence of God. By William
Gillespie, of T orbanehill. Fourth Edition. One
vol., pp. 483. Houlston and Wright.
One of the most remarkable essays of modern
times, " The Constitution of Man," has for many
years been printed and published in a very cheap
and popular form, the original cost of this same
popular edition having been defrayed with funds
provided by the bequest of an enthusiastic admirer
of George Combo's undoubted masterpiece. Re.
markable beyond all question though the merit of
that performance as a literary production, it has
upon it unhappily the taint peculiar to an argument
,:haracterised throughout by a flagrantly deistical
tendency. The philosophy there taught though
trembling like Hamlet's " twixt heaven and earth"
tends in no way heavenwards. It is on the con-
trary and in the strictest meaning of the phrase, of
the earth, earthy. The thoughtful essayist who
therein weighs in the balance so many of the awful
problems of the universe, dropping them one by one
into his own ingenious little scales and testing
them as it were by the rules of avoirdupois, looks
to life here—(as the deadening result of all
his inquiries)—as the "be all and the end
all," as a mere fitful and fleeting series
of perishable phenomena. In his specious exami-
nation of theology, so to speak, through the dull
material spectacles of the phrenological theorist,
George Combs seems to us to have borne a certain
resemblance to those fantastic and eventually deis-
tical anatomists, who at one time, as one might say,
set seriouely to work to discover the soul in the
pineal gland I That mysterious little central core
of one of the most complicated portions of our human
structure, that, an anatomist of large experience
in the dissection-room once remarked to us, he had
often crumbled between finger and thumb, always
with one result, that of a gritty gravelly sensation
—as though this idly dreamt of seat of the soul
were, mere peculiarly even than any other part of
our anatomy, of the earth earthy ! Precisely of
that character is the result, so far as our own sensa-
tions on reading the famous essay can be tersely
described—precisely of that deadening, disappoint-
ing, earthly character is the effect produced
by a perusal of Mr. Combe's " Constitution of
Man." Instead of enabling him to soar to
any great philosophical altitude, it leaves
its reader in the end most miserably grovel-
ling in the dust. Reading it, and it alone—sup-
posing, that is to say, that there were no higher,
or purer, or more elevating philosophy to fly to—
we might adopt at the close of it the epicurean
phrase of the people of old, " Eat, drink, and be
merry, for tomorrow we die." An enthusiastic
admirer of a very different production, indeed—this
remarkable essay upon, or inquiry into, or, may we
presume to say, demonstration of " The Necessary
Existence of God," has, iu his turn, and far more
philanthropically than the late Mr.Combe's admirer,
provided funds for the issuing from the press of a
cheap and popular edition of the work—the very
edition here under notice ! Upon the head of the
title page, it is calledßafter the name of this enthu-
siastic friend of Mr. Gillespie's),"The .RasselEdition',
—Mr. James Russel, junior, of Arnotdale, being the
individual referred to. Half way down that same ar-
resting and attractive title page, it reads rather oddly,
a most, one might say, indecorously (remembering
the awful problem of his inquiry)—when we find the
author's name, there, indicated asWilliam Hony man
Gillespie, Esq., of Torbanehill. As incongruously,
the " Esq." appears there, as though it were en-
graven upon a tombstone. Of the production itself,
as a philosophical inquiry into what might be de-
fined as, in truth, the one supreme problem of the
universe, Lord Brougham, in his Discourse of " Na-
tural Theology," declared emphatically—" I con-
sider Mr. Gillespie's book on the argument, a priori,
a valuable addition to science of Natural Theology."
Remembering which notable opinion, it is no mat-
ter of surprise to us to find here that " The Russel
Edition" of Mr. GiUespie's performance, the fourth
edition which has just now been published, has
been appropriately inscribed by the writer to the
learned and philosophic ex-Chancellor. The late
Sir William Hamilton went even farther than
Lord Brougham, when pronouncing his com-
mendation, for he said, with yet greater
emphasis of praise, " I do not, I can assure Mr.
Gillespie, mean to flatter him, in saying, I consider
his work, on the Necessary Existence of GOD,
among the very ablest specimens of speculative
philosophy which this country has latterly ex-
hibited." High commendation, indeed, coming
from the lips or rather from the band, from the
mind or rather from the conscience, of such a man as
the late Sir William Hamilton. It is an effusion
thus remarkable for its ability, that Mr. Russel, of
Arnotdale, has munificently contrived to place here
at once (through this edition of it) within reach of the
general community, The argument therein under-
taken by the author of the book, is one lying at the
root of all religion. It is one coming home, there-
fore, to the heart and soul of every believer alike, of
the philosophical inquirer of every denomination.

Les Noces de la Lune: Legende d Outre-illonde.
Par le Chevalier de Chatelain. Bvo., pp. 23.
Basil Montagu Pickering.
Taking as his motto for this graceful poetic trifle
(more than which it affects not to he) half-a-dozen

MOLDO-WALLACHIA,

lines by Theodore de Bauville, the central couplet
of which is simply—
" Son 6.flae s'4leva de tout sa hauteur,
Par la creation juiques au Createur "

the Chevalier do Chatelain, familiar as he is with
every nook and cranny of the great composite
Temple of our English Literature, cannot bat have
been conscious, while pencilling down those six
lines upon the fly-leaf of his brochure, that the
couplet we have quoted above is but the feeble
echo of Pope's renowned and familiar line—
" And look thro' Nature up to Nature's God I"

Hardly is this, however, the way to do it ! Sin-
gularly accomplished and clever though the Cheva-
lier is, as we have often had occasion to indicate in
these columns, we hardly care to see him playing,
so to speak, a sort of poetic game of cup-and-
ball with the planets and their satellites.
He has his purpose, as the reader will
readily enough discern on running glibly through
these three-and-twenty rhythmical and melo-
dious pages ; and that purpose, that idea which
he is bent upon expressing, he does express
prettily enough and humorously even be it said,
through the medium of what may be called a
rhyming jeux d'esprit. It may appear to the
author himself probably on our part as little batter
than mere over-fastidious hypercriticism, when we
say, but say it we must, nevertheless, that the regions
of astronomy seems to us, by reason of their su-
blimity, to be altogether inappropriate as a field or
medium for a seriocomic jeux desprit, even
though poetic in its character. The writer seems
to reveal himself to us here in the very act of taking,
not as having taken, but we repeat, as, in the
act of taking the step hinted IA by Napoleon
when talking to the Abbe du Pradt after the retreat
from Russia. His feet, his poetic feet that is, are
upon either side of the dread boundary line. Yet,
for all that, the trifle is welcome toque, if only for
inasmuch as it is the medium of apprising us of the
fact that our gifted and indefatigable author has
now in the press—appropriately in anticipation of
the 23d of April, 1864—his version, in French, of
" Hamlet ; Tragedie en cinq actes de Shakespeare."

TO THE EDITOR OF " THE SUN."

SIR,-The proceedings of Prince Ceuza, the Hospodar
of ➢loldo-Wallachia, having recently called forth the interfe-
rence of the representatives of the Great Powers at Constan-
tinople,it is:only natural that Englishmen,who paid CO dearly
for the " pacification" of the Principalities some years since,
should inquire what acts of the Hospodar have provoked a
remonstrance from the Great Powers. •

The condition of the Greek monasteries in Moldo-Wal-
lachia was one of t ipse causes of domestic dissension
which had furnished an excuse for foreign interference,
and was, therefore, submitted to the consideration of the
Conferences. These monasteries were founded at different
periods within the last three or four centuries, by men who
wished to provide for their compatriots and co-religionists
harbours of refuge, so to speak, where they may receive
religious and secular instruction, and where what remained
of the learning of the East may be still preserv_d. Num-
bers of young men are brought up in these establishments,
and, after having passed through a certain course of
study, are sent at the expense of the institution to the
different European capitals, to reap a more abundant
knowledge. Considering the abnormal condition in which
the Christians of the East have been placed during so many
centuries, we cannot overrate the services which these
monasteries have rendered to Christianity and civilization.
These monasteries are constantly spoken of in despatches
and public documents as the " dedicated convents,'because
their founders, in the spirit of the times in which they
lived, had submitted them for special purposes to a certain
authority. They were for the most part dedicated to the
monasteries and churches in the Holy Land, such as the
Holy Sepulchre, ica., and are known collectively as the
Holy Places.
Between the Egumenes or heads of the Greek monas-
teries, and the Governments of Moldavia and Wallachia,
differences have for some years existed; and, in order to
adjust these disputes, it was decided at the Paris Confe-
rences that arbitrators should be chosen by each party, and
the points in dispute submitted to them. Should the arbi-
trators not agree, an arch•arbitrator must be chosen, and if
the parties interested should not be able to agree upon the
choice of each arbitrator, then the Sublime Porte, in con-
cert with the guaranteeing Powers, was to elect such arbi-
trator. These conditions are laid down iu the 13th Proto-
col of the Paris Conferences, and are alike binding on the
representatives of the monasteries, the Hospodar, and the
Great Powers.

But how has Prince Couzs acted ? Unmindful of hir
obligations to the guaranteeing Powers that in 1859 recog-
nised his double election, he has set at defiance the proto-
cols of the Paris Conference, he has sequestrated the re-
venues of the Greek monasteries, he has interdicted the use
of the Greek tongue in the public worship, he has ordered
the judges not to allow the advocates of the monasteries to
plead their cause at the public tribunals, unless aided by
the officers of the Crown ; and, finally, in the Juno of the
present year he issued an ordinance by which the sacred
vessels, and vestments, and documents of the converts were
seized.

When we remember that, some fivs or six years since,
Prince Couza was plain Colonel Couzl, and when we see
him thus defying the authority of his Suzerain, the Sultan,
and the Great Powers of Europe, ono is tempted to think
that his draught of kingship has been too much for his
reason. When remonstrated with, he coolly declared that
his sequestration of the monastic revenues was "definite."
The Great Powers have expressed their determination to
carry out the conditions of the 13th Protocol of the Paris
Conferences.--I remain, sir, your obedient servant,

A LOVER or FitEEDom.

Mr. J. H. Foley, RA., has nearly completed an
equestrian statue of Sir James Outran, a sitting statue of
Sir Charles Barry, a monument in memory of the late
General Bruce, and a statue of Fath:tr Di-thew. He has
received commissions for two statues of the Prince Consort
--QAQ for Dirnalpglaain, and anotiler for Cambridge.

Canal L___tto
klatnifar

THE QUEEN IN SCOTLAND.

BALMORAL, Shpt. 25.

The Queen, accompanied by the Princess Louis
of Hesse and Princess Beatrice, and attended by
Baroness Schenck, drove to the Linn of Muick.
Prince and Princess Louis of Hesse dined at
Abergeldie Castle, attended by their suite.
The Right Hon. William Gladstone, Chancellor
of the Exchequer, has succeeded Earl Russell in
attendance on her Majesty.

Sept. 2G.

The Queen, accompanied by the Princess of
Wales, Princess Helena, and Princess Louise, drove
to Loch I,:allater yesterday afternoon.
Prince and Princess Louise of Hesse, Prince
Alfred, and Prince Arthur, attended by Baroness
Schenck, drove to Loch Bullig and rode back.
Prince Alfred dined at Abergeldie Castle.

Their Serene Highnesses the Prince and Princess
Edward of Saxe-Weimar arrived in town on Saturday, from
visiting the Earl and Countess of Chesterfield at Gedling
Lodge, Nottinghamshire.
The Prince of Sciara has left the Brunswick,
Jermyn-street, for Paris. _

His Excellency Baron Gros will arrive at the
French Embassy to-day, to resume his diplomatic duties.
The Duke of Beaufort has been receiving a select
party at Troy House, Monmouthshire, during the past
week. The party separated on Saturday.
The Earl of Chesterfield arrived in town on
Saturday from Gedling Lodge, Notts. The countess is
staying at Bretby Park, Derbyshire. _ .

Lord and Lady Foley, accompanied by the
Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, have arrived at Worksop
Manor, Notts, from Scarborough.

The Lord Chief Justice of England, Sir Ales-
Cockburn, is detained in town by indifferent health, other-
wise the Chief Justice would have left for Scotland.
'fliE KNIGHTS OF THE GARTER.—The banners
and achievements of his Royal Highness Prince Alfred and
the Earl Grey have just been placed by Sir C. Young,
Garter, in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. It is understood
that there are now two stalls vacant by the deaths of the
Marquis of Lansdowne and the Marquis of Normanby.
THE HEALTH OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN.
—His grace slept a good deal on Saturday morning. In
the early part of the night he was restless. In other
respects there is no change.

ThE SHAKSPEARE TERCENTENARY.—This week's
additions to the National Shakspeare Committee
show that the proposal to do honour to Shakspeares
memory is steadily gaining favour in the three chief capi-
tals of the United Kingdom. From Edinburgh the Lord
Provost sends in his adhesion ; the Rev. J. R. Ingram,
LL.D., is the newest representative of the sentiment ani-
mating Ireland ; and the accession of Mr. Alderman Besley
to the Committee indicates the feeling of the City of Lon-
don. The Rev. Canon Miller, D.D., the Rev. John.
Stroughton, V. Henry Blaauw, Esq., and Dudley Costello,
Esq., have also enrolled themselves amongst the kromoters
of the movement.—Athencelon.

THE ORIGIN OF " MASANIELLO."—" The cele-
brated Bigottini, ' the Marie Taglioni of the first
Empire,' made her supposed last appearance for some
charitable purpose at the Grand Opera in Paris in 1826.
The general enthusiasm was enormous, and, of all specta-
tors, Scribe was the most ardent admirer. He then be-
thought himself whether he could not write something
for her in which her wonderful mimic pcwers might appear
in a still more brilliant light; and tkus came to make the
heroine of a new libretto entirely dumb, so that all her
sentiments and emotions must be expressed solely by her
face and movements. Auber surpassed himself in the
music."

THE TEMPLE CHURCH, the exterior of which is
greatly improved by the addition of the conical roof to the
" round," is having other improvements extended to the
interior in the way of decorations. It is expected that
these works will be completed, and the church re-opened
on Sunday next, the 4th proximo.
THE CITY SHERIFFS.—Messrs. Nissen and Cave,
the City sheriffs for the ensuing year, were sworn into
office today, in the Guildhall, before the Lord Mayor and
Court of Alderman.

The eighth season of the Royal English Opera,
Covent Garden, under the management of Miss Louisa
Pyne and Mr. W. Harrison, will commence on Monthly,
October 12. A new opera, by Mr. W. V. Wallace, entitled
" The Desert Flower," will be produced.

JEAMES ON THE CONTINENT.—They keep early
hours at Frankfort. My first night there, I thought
that, after an early supper, I would go out and see the towrt.
However I discovered, at an incredibly early hour for a
large city, that there was no town, that the town had shut
up and gone to bed. Returning disconsolately to my hotel,
I was struck by a majestic figure, placidly standing before
the gate. For a moment I was uncertain, but then the
truth flashed upon my mind—that look of calm superiority,
that unruffled equanimity, those fixed features, that ele-
gantly-turned calf, it was, it must be—The British Flunkey.
Meeting on foreign soil, I addressed some remarks to hitar.
The magnificent creature deigned an affable response'
" You are in service here ?" " With Lady --," wao
the answer. " Where have you been travelling ?" " Don't
know." " What is the name of the city where you aro
now ?" "Don't know." With feelings of deep awe, I
respectfully wished him good night.—From London ,Society
for October.
AMERICAN MAIL STEAMERS DUE AT LIVERPOOL
THIS WEEK.—The City of New York, from New York ou
the 19th, and the Nova Scotian from Quebec, on the same
day are both due to-morrow (Tuesday) ; the former at
Queenstown, and the latter at Greencaskqe. The Cunard
steamer Scotia is due at Queenstown on Yriday afternoon
next, with dates from New York to the 23d inst.
RENEWAL OF GARROTTING.—On Saturday morn-
ing, about three o'clock, a most cowardly and sav-
age attack was made by three men upon a young man
named Joseph De INlarooff, a printer, in the employ of
Messrs. Elliot, of New Oxford-street. It appears that he
was returning home from his work about the above-men-
tioned hour that morning, and when in the neighbourhood
of Coal-yard, Drury-lane, three men rushed out of a pas-
sage, and immediately afterwards Marooff felt himself st,lized
by the back of the neck by a man, who nearly stranvled
him ; in addition to this, another of the men hit him 0.
tremendous blow in the abdomen,which deprived the vietbn
of his senses. On recovering he found he had been robbed
of all the money in his possession, some 305.; at the same'
time his coat and waistcoat were torn to rags. Information
of the outrage was given to the police. It was noticed by
Marooff that one of the men concerned was blind of one eye.

`yw
rHE CIRCULATION OF FRENCH CLASSIC LITERA-
TURE.—The following curious statistical items,
respecting the number of editions issued of the French
Classics in France, are taken from the authentic: in-
formation furnished to the "Commission of Literary and
Artistic Property," by M. Imhaus, late Directeur .de l'lm-
primerie et de la Librairie. From 1714 to 1840 the separate
works of Voltaire reached the high figure of 428 editions ;
while of the complete works, in France, England, and Hol-
land, the editions were 61. From 1840 to 1862 the as verrage
number of the partial editions of Voltaire's tragedies
or
historical works is 100; but of complete editions only three
or four have appeared during that period. The editions
of Corneille's chef d' our, es are innumerable; but
of complete or selected editi.ns only fifty editions
were issued up to 1830. Of the " Theatre Classique°
of Racine 25,000 copies are annually struck eff-
His separate works have, up to 1835, been printed in 48
library editions—his complete works in about 70. Moliere's
" Classical Theatre" appeared in 20,000 copies annually ;
his separate works in 70, and his complete works in 150 edi-
tions. CrC:billon's separate tragedies were issued in about 15
editions, the oldest of which dates kora 1707 ; Ducis's
reached 25 or 30, The complete works of Crebillonhad 35 edi'
tions, and those of Ducis 20. Of " Telemaque" there are
printed about 10,000 copies a year. From 1700 to 1830
less than 95 editions, some of great value, were issued-
Some copies are sold at about 2,000 f, Massillon's works.
comprising all his sermons, have had about 25 editions. Of
his " Peit careme,” his separate sermons, and some of bis
funeral orations there are issued about 5,000 or 6,000 copies
annually. Montesquic's " Grandeur et Decadence deg
Romaine," which went through four editions during hi'g
lifetime, has had about 30 since his death, and an immense
number of copies are struck off annually. The " Esprit des
Lois" cut through 20 editions with an enormous number Of
copies; the " Lettres Persannes" had 25, the miscel-
laneous works :30, and the complete works 35 editions•
The complete works of Pascal have only had 10 edi-
tions ; but certain illustrations have considerably added
to their sale. From 1710 to 1835 the " Feriseesi
went through ten editions; and since. then they haver
gone through 10 or 12. 3he " Lettres Provinciales" J'34
about 40 editions, besides the 12 t clitiona of the Latin IPl•ns-
lation, the first of which dates 1653. The dramas of
j3lect
marehais have produced, separately, 40 editions.
works bad about seven or eight, and his comPlet:. Nv:-"the,
about 15. La Sage's novels had 100 editions, joilou-n
theatre6
Spanish, Portuguese, and other translations.
went through 40, and his select or complete wor.ks through
literary, an.d
10 or 12. The different philosophical, politics],
other works of Rosseau have gone through about 155
late or selected
tions, including the translations. His comp
works went through from GO to 65 editions. Florian'
Fables, mostly stereotyped and with illustrations, have had
more than 130 editions. Lafontaine's Fables, with about
10 editions every year for the last 200 years, have thus
reached the figure of about 9,000. Of the Coates there have
appeared nearly 50 editions of
_real value, The piracies,
with or without engravings, are 11:111111:49rOie;