The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-04 00:00:00

RAILWAY REFRESHMENTS.

There are a good many things in England that disgrac,
the nation, and make us, or ought to make us, ashamed of
ourselves. There is the Haymarket at night, and there are
the people who playfully spend their leisure hours in heaving
a succession of half bricks at their wives. Bat, in one way,
there is nothing so disgraceful to England as the arrange-
ments at railway stations for what are termed refreshments.
The peculiarity of this national blot is that it is very definite,
very patent, very annoying, and easily remediable. No
human wisdom or efforts have as yet succeeded in cutting
to the root of the evil that fills the Haymarket. Acts of
Parliament have been passed, and passel in vain, against
that cruelty to children which does not awaken the resist-
ance of parents. Very brutal men, very drunk, with half a
brick near them, cannot resist the presence of a mark so
convenient, so patient, and often so aggravating, as a wife.
But it is absurd to suppose that there is in any deep cause
or any profound social disease at the bottom of the contri-
vances of these wretched places. The English mind, though
slow to effect its purposes, could surely, if it tried, get rid of
the monstrous mismanagement which presides over all the
details of the system. Squabs of pork pie, offered without
the slightest reference to the season, old jam three-cornered
puffs, fossil sandwitches, sausages concealed in heavy
pastry, sugary brittle cakes, and packets of sugar plums,
hatchaacinpunpnpkyootopffbl.e
Asthe only things that inventive Englishmen might
coffeeace. tloins theaslol
tdh,
ows oe beverage,wretched
shouldti
cf
hat any
e d
bo
refreshment
glad stationto
o i
h nre
rooms
ormo fs ttt Englandaatt
we have visited, we have found a curious brown dilution of
chicory, or imitation of chicory,sold as coffee, for it is not
even good chicory. It is a liquid onlysobledoantesotafttihonesmaonsdt
bad hotels, and to make and sell it must
mournful and degrading of occupations. Perhaps it is too
much to think of tea. For even the bettneor class of Eng-
lish hotels a really decent cup of tea is unknown. We are
not sure that the people who, keep refreshment rooms know
what tea and coffee are. They probably think at
their
countrymen are born somehow to drink the imitation
chicory with which alone they are familiar. Now, in a n
na-
tion so rich as England, and where we persuade ourselves
that comfort is so well understood, it is disgraceful that a
traveller cannot get anything to eat and drink better than a
squab of pork. pie and a cup of imitation chicory. This mis-
management is disgraceful, because it is mean, and ignorant,
and barbarous, and because it wickedly causes much unne-
cessary discomfort. It is disgraceful, exactly as the old style
of Irish cottage was disgraceful. It degrades and annoys
everyone that has to do with it, and makes people satisfied
to give and satisfied to receive a mere cheat and imposition.

Advices just received from Bucharest give a rather
alarming account of the internal affairs of the
United Principalities. Prince Couza, harassed by the
parties which are struggling around him, in-
clines to nothing less than proclaiming himself
Dictator. This state of things is all the more
disquieting to the Porte, that it cannot, under
present circumstances, hope for any effective inter-
vention of the Powers at Bucharest. The Powers
for the present regard the affairs of the Danubian
Principalities as of only secondary importance.
The Bavarian Chamber of Deputies, at its last
sitting, unanimously adopted, notwithstanding the
opposition of the Minister of Finance, a proposition made
by MM. de Lerchenfeld and Barth in favour of henceforth
voting the budgets for a shorter period than six years, as at
present practised.
THE CHANNEL FLEET.—The Channel fleet, under
the command of Admiral Dacres, which arrived in
the Frith of Forth on Wednesday, has attracted immense
numbers of visitors from Edinburgh and Leith. In addi-
tion to employing all the available steamers in the Forth,
vessels have been attracted from the Tyne and from the
east of Scotland to engage in this profitable traffic. On
Friday, the Lord Provost, magistrates, and Council of
Edinburgh, and the Provost, magistrates, and C3uncil of
Leith, with the Foreign Consuls at the port, visited the
flagship Edgar and the iron-clad Black Prince. The Chief
Magistrates
and Corporations of both towns have invited
the Admiral and officers to dinner before they leave, and
there is to be a grand ball at Leith on Monday night. An
attempt was made by the Free Church Presbytery to get
the vessels closed against visitors on Sunday, but it has not
been successful. Hundreds of seamen are daily ashore in
Edinburgh and Leith, indulging in all sorts of frolics, but
keeping admirably within the bounds of good order. One
of them climbed to the pinnacle of the Scott Monument, on
Friday, on which he stood erect and cheered. His daring
and unprecedented feat was witnessed with perfect horror
by the people below.
THE LIBRARIES OF CONSTANTINOPLE.—It is per-

,aps net generally known tbatthecapital of Turkey
possesses a large number of public libraries, a general cata-
logue of which is now being made. According to an esti-
mate which is considered reliable, the total number of ma-
nuscripts thus catalogued will exceed a million. Unfortu-
nately, however, many of these MSS, have been so damaged
by lying in heaps in damp cellars or worm-eaten chests as
to be partially, and in some cases entirely, illegible. It is
also to be regretted that, until now, none of the treasures of
the early period of Byzantine literature, which it was hoped
would be brought to light, have been found. It has, on the
contrary, been proved that all the worke of those times,
which are known to have existed, have been ruthlessly
destroyed. The remaining works are consequently chiefly
in Arabic, or in other Semitic languages; but they form, on
the other hand, the richest collection of oriental literature in
existence. Ahmet Vafik Effendi, Subhi Bey, and other
Turkish men of letters, have proposed that this inestimable
mass of literary treasures be collected in one building, so as
to render it accessible to students engaged in historical re-
searches, and there is every reason to believe that this pro-
posal will be adopted, notwithstanding the opposition it has
hitherto met with. The first step towards the formation of
an Imperial library has already been taken by placing
40,000 volumes of good works, in various European lan-
guages, and which belonged to II Hami Pasha, in the Dar-
al-Fanoon, the building of the university. Orders have
been gives to increase this collection
consu considlt era ably so as
ch
to
create a tolerably complete library forto whi
the public will be freely admitted. Adding to such a collec-
tion the MSS. already mentioned, Constantinople would
be superior to any capital in a literary point of view, espe-
cially if by some lucky chance the plays of Menander, or
the lost books of Livy, or the remaining tragedies of
Xschylus, were suddenly brought to light from amidst the
parchments now being so carefully exam
mined.
A HUGE MACHINE. —A new stea dredger, No.
5, built by Messrs. Wingate a
chine of the ki plinths Co., of Glasgow,
and supposed to be the largest ma
world, has been started by the River Tyne Improvement
Commissioners in Shields Harbour. It is calculated that this
stupendous machine, when at full work, will lift 10,000 tons
of material per day. The machine, as now employed, works
admirably,' and is lifting an immense quantity of dredge per
day. The engine is of 50 horse power, nominal, and is cap-
able of being worked up to three times that power. There
are two ladders, each containing 35 buckets, and weighing
upwards of 100 tons. Each bucket weighs one ton and a
quarter, arid the ladders are calculated to operate in 30 feet
of water, and, when working at speed, will each fill a hopper
barge in from 60 to 55 minutes.
TWISLETON FIENNES.—The late Lord Saye and
Sele was a very eccentric man, and the greatest
were worthy of the days
o
Every country, every sea,
wase PficVusiret, eea 11.1 ioc fhuedshiosradniladel
ransackedi oigaibs a dinners
lu e.
tofind some new delicacy for
our British Sybarite. I remember, at one of his break-
fasts, an omelette being served which was composed en-
tirelyooft o
n , golden
andddrink
wou pheasants'would
egs I g
awful H
thado
behold.
very
These
n
absynthe and caracoa in
cs o
quantities
it
which were perfectly
stimulants produced no effect upon his brain ; but his
health gradually gave way under the excesses of all kinds
in which
he
man,indulged.buta fellow. I
He was a kind, liberal, and good-
natured very oddshall
never
the astonishment of a servantlhad recommended t
o forgethim
On entering his service, i
John made h
Fiennes was going out to dinner,s appearance as
if he had any orders. He received and asked his new master
" Place two bottles of sherry the following answer :
the day after to-morrow" by
my bed-side, and call me
Captain
Gronow's Recollections.
SERIOUS FIRE •
AND NARROW ESCAPE.—Be-

tween 4 and 5 o'clock this morning a fire broke out
in the workshops of Mr. Joseph Stokes, wholesale manufac-
turer of ice chests and baths, North-mews, John-street,
Tottenham-court-road, resulting in serious destruction of
property. It appears that a person living opposite Mr.
Stokes's workshops observing flames issuing from them,
gave an alarm, and messengers being sent to the different
engine stations, in a short time the engines from Wells-
street, King-street, Crown-street, and Baker-street, under
the direction of Mr. Staples, the foreman of the district,
and engineers Girard and Wilkinson, were on the spot, two
workshops, by this time, being on fire. While the fire was
raging, one of the firemen from Wells-street bad a narrow
.escape, having by some means fallen from the workshop
window. The firemen, aided by a good supply of water
succeeded in extinguishing the fire, when it was found that
two of the workshops and their contents, consisting of ice
chests, &c., in the course of manufacture, benches, ptroetsaisel;
and the whole of the tools of several workmen, but
destroyed. Mr. Stokes is insured in the Sun Firee-oreffiee,
the workmen are unfortunately not insured,
build-
them is consequently very serious. In an ad.)
o tlirough the
ing there was a large quantity of timber which, _ g
fire.
rinitnhge loss t o
exertions of the firemen, was prevented from in
A CHILD DROWNED IN
the coroner for
Yesterday Mr. J. Humphreys,
Lord Morpeth Tavern,
A WASHING TIM.—
Middlesex, held an inquest at the Lord
death of Isabella Mar-
garet Old Ford-road, Bow, relative
Diaper, aged hswtho died from drowning, The
deceased was left by mother playing at the back of her
momentary absence fell into a tub of
uently found the deceased im-
The mother au seq
water.
downwards, and when she pulled her out life
house, and duringl h 8 eti nrinit
rcersed head
promptly sent for, and used Dr. Marshall
.11arlljs system was apparently extinct. Mr. Brereton, the surgeon, of Old
rdrp '
m was
to restore life, but his efforts were in vain.
After some remarks from the coroner, the jury returned a
°
verdict of "Accidental death."