The Sun.
London, England, 1839-06-27 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND ETHICS, sr
ISAAC WATTS, D.D., Selected and Arranged,
with a Memoir of the Author, by JOHN 12 MILES,
Author of " Scripture Geography." Tegy and Son,
London.
This is an excellent selection from the works of this
voluminous, agreeable, and Christian writer. It
consists chiefly of discourses on the most important doc-
trines and tenets:of Christianity, and the consolation
which pure and undefiled religion affords in health,
in sickness, and in death, together with extracts
from his " Ethics," the great object of which is to paint
virtue in the most attractive colours, and make vice
4ppear dark and unlovely. The works of Watts are
known to every English reader, and it might almost
appear a work of supererogation to quote them ; but
the following extract contains so much good sense, and
shows a mind so imbued with the virtue which it incul-
cates, that it cannot be too often placed before the eyes,
not of the proud only, but of those who, either as re-
gards mind or property, are superior to their neigh-
bours :

" HUMILITY.—This is a lovely virtue. It is beautiful and
becoming for a man to divest himself of all affected gran.
deur, and not to exalt his head above his neighbour. 0
that we were all clothed with humility. It is an ornament
that becomes sinners well.
" How unlovely a carriage it is to boast ourselves of any
superior quality we possess, or to assume lofty airs,
because we have more money than our neighbours
To aggrandise ourselves in our own esteem, in our own
language, in our behaviour, because we fancy ourselves to
be better dressed, or better fed than our fellow-creatures,
and if we have a little honour put upon us by the provi-
dence of God, it is a criminal vanity for us to grow haughty
and insolent upon that account. lam in pain whenever
I hear a man treat his servant as he treats his dog, as
though a poor man were not made of the same clay, nor
born of the same ancient race as his master—as though
Adam, whose name is Dust, was not our common father,
or a lord had not the same original as other men.
" Hew graceful and engaging is it in persons of title
and quality to stoop to those that are of mean degree, to
converse freely at proper seasons with those that are poor
and despicable in the world—to give them leave to offer
their humble requests or sometimes to debate a point of im-
portance with them. Not all the dignity of their raiment
can render them half Po honourable as this condescension
does; for nothing makes them so much like God, the high
and holy one, who inhabits eternity, stoops down from
heaven to visit the afflicted and to dwell with the poor.`
In these times, when such a heat has arisen about
education—when the Church claims the superintendence
of the education of the youth of England—and when
some of the heads of that Church, and many of the in-
ferior Clergy, are verging towards Puseyism, or Popery,
it may be interesting to point out, on the authority of
Watts, the course which the same Church pursued
more than a hundred years ago, as a warning and an ad-
monition for the present day. At, that period the Clergy
of the Church were strongly imbued with hatred towards
the Hanoverian succession, and in favour of the Stuarts, so
bigoted to Popery ; and, as appears from the subjoined
statement, endeavoured to take advantage of their po-
6ition, and instil into the minds of youth their treason-
able and all but Popish doctrines. About the year 1728,
a strong feeling prevailed in favour of charity schools—
particularly among Protestant Dissenters. The Church
followed the example, as she does now, and many institu-
tions were formed by persons of the Established Church,
to which several Dissenters subscribed largely ; but at
last they found by sufficient experience that the children
were brought up in too many of these schools " in prin-
ciples of disaffection to the present Government, in bi-
goted zeal for the word CHURCH, and with a violent
enmity and malicious spirit of persecution against all
whom they were taught to call Presbyterians, though
from many of their hands they received their bread and
clothing." The attempt to convey a political bias to
the popular mind under the mask of charity was hap-
pily discovered, and the exposure served to place in a
stronger light the claims of the Dissenters to the gra-
titude of the Monarch as his stanchest adherents, and
to his protection from the repeated persecutions of the
dominant hierarchy.
The Memoir of the Author is drawn up with care,
and the more important incidents of his life are selected
from the best authorities. One of these authorities is
Milner, and he mentions with proud satisfaction, in al-
luding to the vast sale of Watts' Hymns, that the most
popular books in the English language have proceeded
from the pens of Non-Conformists, and in proof of this
he instances the " Pilgrim's Progress"—the " Saint's
Rest," by Baxter—the " Rise and Progress of Reli-
gion," by Doddridge—and the " Robinson Crusoc" of
De Foe.

QUARTERLY RE VIE W—No. 127.
Murray, London, 1839.
Mr. Prescott's history of Ferdinand and Isabella—
one of the ablest historical works that have appeared of
late years—furnishes the text of the first article in the
present number of the Quarterly Review—an article
which is written with singular spirit and eloquence, and
with a thorough understanding, and hearty love, of
the subject. In the course of it, we meet with several
clever sketches of character, foremost among which we
may place the account of the famous Ca7dinal Ximenes,
of whom Robertson, in his Charles the Fifth, has given
us merely a meagre outline. Columbus also is a well-
drawn portrait, not adding much, it is true, to the
amount of information we already have on the subject
of one of the master-minds of the fifteenth century, but
detailing facts in a very picturesque, and even dramatic,
manner. The following is the Reviewer's account of
Columbus's first great expedition. It is a graphic and
spirited piece of writing :
Columbus returned to Court, rejected but not dejected;
his earnest self-confidence, if it could not ensure convic-
tion, obtained respect from Isabella ; there seas a sympathy
in their kindred minds ; she supplied him in the meantime
with a home and maintenance. After seven long >ears of
hope deferred, the good Prior comes in person to plead
his cause. Isabella is convinced, while all around are in-
credulous—she pawns her jewels to defray the expedition.
We have stood upon that bridge at Pines from whence
Columbus, retiring for ever, was recalled. At the age of
fifty-seven, and older than mere years, he prepares for the
voyage : in these days of a north-western steam trip, we
cannot understand what must have been the awful launch-
ing into the unknown deep, which no ship had traversed,
from whence nought but tempest.wrecked fragments had
drifted back. They embark in open-decked caravels ; the
desponding crew bid the living world farewell—they ven-
ture on the waste of waters ; the trade-winds, which waft
them rapidly from Europe, seem to oppose return; the
needle, their only guide, varies ; clouds assume the shape
of headlands; the mirage of the deep mocks their land-
sick eyes ; they mutiny, when on the verge of the dis-
covery, from intense nostalgia. Columbus had set his
life upon the cast; another day of trial is granted. Ile
keeps the night-watch, for he has forgotten sleep ; when,
sweeping the horiron, his anxious eye first catches the
flicker of a light—'tis land. To him was reserved the first
sight of his new world, the eternal monument of his fame.
The great ocean secret was now solved ; the rising sun
revealed verdant isles sleeping in innocence and beauty on
the crystal waters; the despised foreigner in one moment
was worshipped by his mutinous crew as a demigod; they
fell at his feet, now the dispenser of honour and fortune.
The characters of Ferdinand and Isabella are brought
out in glowing colours ; but the Reviewer is rather too
indulgent to the latter, and seems to look on her
sanction of the atrocious Inquisition—one of the great-
est and most wholesale curses that ever yet afflicted
humanity—as quite a venial error, to be overlooked in
consideration of the sincerity of the Royal bigot. So
was Ravillac sincere when he murdered Henry the
Fourth of France, thinking thereby that he was ad-
vancing the hest interests of religion, yet he would be a
venturous historian who should attempt to justify the
regicide on that account. The sagacious and reflective
character of Isabella, who in many instances showed
herself in advance of her age, leaves her, in our opinion,
without excuse for her conduct as respects the Inquisi-
tion. The last sad years of her heiress Jane are thus
described :
Poor Joanna La Loca, Crazy Jane, the heiress of
Isabella, was born to vast dominions and slender intellect.
Her cloying fondness for her handsome husband defeated
itself; Philip had mi.rricd for her kingdoms, not her per-
sonal charms, and (like her niece, our Mary) she was by
nature melancholy and ungracious. lie became wearied,
neglectful, and, by insensible degrees, unfeeling his un-
disguised infidelities alienated her affections, without de-
stroying the abstract remembrance of her former love.
She shed no tear at his untimely death ; but sank into a
moody imbecility, Soothed by music alone, all her occu-
pations were merged in watching the remains of her hus-
band. She had formed a vague idea, from some monkish
ale,
that he would be restored to life--and fed on a hope
which, if realised, would have converted passive sorrow into
active misery. She travelled by night, in order that no
female eye might behold the coffin. On one occasion,
having entered a monastery, as she supposed, upon find-
ing it to be a nunnery, she hurried out into the open
country, encamped, and during a storm, when the torches
were extinguished, opened the coffin to verify the existence
of the mouldering corpse—jealous as when, full of beauty,
it was her life and joy—' A sad remembrance fondly
kept.' She obstinately declined all state affairs, which
were carried on in her name. She pined sullenly, and,
never telling her grief, for forty-seven long years immured
herself in a convent, dead to the world, watching from her
window the coffin of her husband, which was purposely so
placed in a chapel.
Alluding incidentally to Mr. Prescott's opinions re-
specting chivalry, the Reviewer observes, " We differ
entirely from his view of the empty decorations, the
stars and garters of an order of nobility. Such empty
decorations appeal to that desire, which is instinctive in
the good, to be pre-eminent among men." This is
sheer sophistry—or rather an ingenious begging of the
question. Great men are not spurred on to great deeds
by the hope of obtaining stars, garters, and such like
showy baubles, but from a lofty wish to leave an un-
dying name behind them. Vanity and self-conceit may
be delighted with the distinction of a bit of riband at
the button-hole, or a coronet on the brow, but real
magnanimity is quickened to exertion by a far worthier
ambition. Conceive Milton " scorning delights" and
" living laborious days," with no other aim in view than
the privilege of wearing a garter round one of his knees!
The Earls of Bath and of Chatham were much greater
men as plain Messrs. Pulteney and
Pitt ; and Lord
Brougham, we doubt not, has lived, like them, long
enough to regret that he ever hid his head in a coronet.
It was not the desire for a star or a garter that won the

battles of Blenheim or Ramilies, for Marlborough,
who had the true elements of greatness in his
nature, was made a Duke against his inclination,
well-knowing !hat he was quite as renowned without,
as with, the ducal dignity. The Reviewer's opinion
is, on the whole, favourable to Mr. Prescott's history,
but he objects to that gentleman's would-be witty
notes, which he insists arc exceedingly vapid, adding,
with singular elegance of expression, " notes intended to
enliven the somewhat unavoidable gravity of history
must be neat and terse ; they should run by the side of
the narrative like some mountain streamlet, the cheer-
ful, fresh companion which borders the dry high-way,
where the sparkle of wit, like the sun-beam, may dance
lightly on the crisping ripplets, gladdening but not
overpowering." If Mr. Prescott have failed in the
task of annotation, he has at least the conOlation of
reflecting that a far greater historian was equally
unsuc-
cessful. The notes to Gibbon's " Rome," which are in-

:ended by their epigrammatic point to relieve the.

solemn, uniform pomposity of his text, are but very so-so
matters, mistaking obscenity for wit, and affectation for
sarcasm. It was his admiration of Voltaire's light,
terse, sparkling style, that seduced the staid Gibbon
into this folly, who, though a master of grave, formal,
and, apparently unconscious irony, .was every way dis-
qualified for the brilliant, rapier play of wit. The
greatest fault we find with the article on Mr. Prescott's
history, is the exceeding tone of adulation in which the
Reviewer alludes to the aristocratic classes. He speaks
of them with awe, as if he esteemed it the most glo-
rious earthly distinction to be one of the patrician fra-
ternity. Thus be commiserates America in the most
condescending style possible, for being " unfortunately
deprived of the high-standing example of an order of
Nobility !"—unhappy wretches, what morals can our
transatlantic brethren possess under such untoward
circumstances'—and speaking of titled drollery, falls
into raptures with the " light, hair-trigger repartee, the
brilliaecy of high-bred pleasantry." The exact amount
of splendour which " patrician pleasantry" developes in
private society we cannot undertake to specify ;
this, however, we can say without fear of con-
tradiction—namely, that when permitted to escape
in the form of a Parliamentary speech, a pamphlet,
a novel, or an article in the " Keepsake," it is apt to be
of the dullest and tritest character imaginable, made up
almost exclusively of conventional common-places unintel-
ligible ten miles be)-and Hyde Park Corner. "
Poems," is a brief, favourable notice of a little volume
which we reviewed some mouths since in The Sun.
The Reviewer's praise is great, but not undeserved.
" Oliver Twist" is a lively, off-hand .aort of criticism
on Boz's, as yet, ti:tf d'alare. The incidental hits,
in the course of this notice, at the st,,:ooth, con-
fectionary style" of our fashionable nova'lists, at as ap-
posite as they are pointed. Not less clever are the
Reviewer's sarcastic allusions to those fribbles amort.
the middle classes—things of double-distilled, qu'n-
tessential gentility—who object to Oliver Twist that
it is " a low book." Terence's sentiment, " homo sum,
nihil humani a me alienum puto," is a noble answer to
readers of this class, and may well console Boz for
their vulgar objections. " Popish Persecution in the
Tyrol," though there are passages in it in which we
coincide, yet breathes much of the fierce, intolerant
spirit that characterised the Quarterly Review in the
days of old Gifford. " Russia, Persia, and England"
is an elaborate essay, whose object is to show that from
the professions of the Russian Government we can de-
rive no security for the future. This article is ingeni-
ously argued, and states, after narrating at some length I
the late affairs in the East, that if we assert the good
faith of the Emperor and his Cabinet, we must deny his
authority, and even his influence in his own empire, and
regard his opinions and the professions of his Cabinet as
inconsequential, and that if we attribute to him autho-
rity, we must question his good faith. " The House-
hold and the Ministry" is a long story about nothing.
The hacknied cry of Bedchamber influence, &c., is
again raised, for no other reason, that we can see, than
to comfort Sir Robert Peel and the Tories in their pre-
sent affliction. This is amiable, but truth should not
be sacrificed, even to promote a benevolent end. Well
aware that facts are against him, the Reviewer has re-
course to all sorts of evasions and perversions, which,
however they may tell with his disheartened party, will
be received with contempt by all other classes of the
community. We have read this sophistical diatribe
with some attention, and can honestly say that it seems
to us to have neither beginning, middle, nor end. It is
as rambling, incoherent, and illogical, as one of Lord
Stanhope's best speeches. Of the two remaining ar-
ticles, the most interesting is " Sporting in Southern
Africa," which teems with exciting incident.

scientific improvement, will enjoy a rich treat to-morrow,
The admirers of genius, and the friends of
at Willis's Roc,ms. Master Bassle will exhibit his extra-
ordinary powers of memory to a numerous assembly, in
the presence of his Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex.
The following is the testimony borne to the merits of
Master Bassle by Dr. Macfarlan, of Glasgow :
" College, Glasgow, Nov. 29, 1838.
" Having had repeated opportunities of witnessing the
Mnemonic performances of Master Gustvve Adolphe
Bassle, in both the city and College, I feel coned on to
express the admiration and astonishment in7pirid by the
extent and accuracy of his memory. The readint:” and,
precision with which he answers an immense variety'
Historical, G cowaphical, Chronological, and Numerics.
questions, are truly wonderful, and indicate the possession
of a method of recollection not usually known, and pro-
bably peculiar to himself. The success which has attended
his efforts in the cultivation of his powers in this depart-
ment, appears to involve results far more important then
the gratification of even an enlightened curiosity. In a
scientific point of view, they seem calculated to throw light
on sonic of the most striking operations of the human
mind, and it is not at all improbable that the application of
his method, when explained, may lead to important disco-
veries in the art of voluntary remembrance.
" D. MACTARLAN, D. D. Principal of Glasgow Col."
The Duke of Wellington s Campaign in the
Peninsula is most graphically described by Lieut.-Colonel
Landmann, the celebrated engineer. Under the title of
" Picturesque and Historical Observations on Portugal, '
he describes, only as an eye-witness can describe, the
whole of the series of splendid victories achieved by the
British Army under the Duke of Wellington. The work
is most elegantly got up, and embellished with 7.5 most
beautifully coloured plates. It should be on every Eng_
lishman's drawing-room table, and its price being only
five guineas, must secure it an extensive sale.

EXTRAORDINARY PASSAGE FROM DUBLIN.
—llcr Majesty's steam boat the Merlin made the passage
yesterday from Dublin in nine hours and forty minutes.
His Danish Majesty's corvette Flora, C. C.
Baludan, Esq., commander, sailed from Leith Roads on
Thursday, on a cruise in the North Sea, previous to re-
turning to Copenhagen. The extreme politeness and
gentlemanly deportment of the officers of this fine vessel
will be long remembered and duly appreciated by the
numerous visitors who inspected her, particularly that of
Mr. Walterstoff, the First Lieutenant, whose urbanity
and kindness extended to the humblest individuals who
visited his vessel.—Edinburgh Advertiser.

THE CHARTIST WHISTLE.-An ingenious
little plaything under this name has been sold freely in this
town during the last faw weeks. It is made of tin, and in ,
the interior is formed a small reservoir fcr flour or ink, or
some other dust or fluid ; the blow-pipe communicates
with the reservoir, and of course the inexperienced ope-
rator t iis,
es uartete tmopreceive twli ethcontents ein hTi sh
ee yes
stthl
ee
itms
eol-f
is a practical joke, and a very good one. The ingenious
mechanic, however, who invented it, no doubt intended it
to convey an important moral lesson, viz that the leaders
of the Chartists are throwing dust in the eyes of their
followers, in order to secure sonic advantage to them-
selves. We understand one of the whistles was exhibited
to the bench of magistrates the other day. The name was
stated—but the modus operandi was not. One of the
worthy ju;tices, eager to hear the terrific sound, imme-
diately put it to his lips, and as quickly received part of
an ounce of flour in his eyes. It is unnecessary to say,
that the incident was too much for the gravity of the
Court, and it was some time before it could be sufficiently
restored to allow of a dignified procedure with judicial
business.—Bradford Observer.
On Saturday last Mr. Heweston, fisher, accom-
panied by Robert Taylor, went to examine his hang er
channel net, in the Solway Frith, and while thus engaged
they observed a large sturgeon swimming about ; they
waded in beyond the middle in the hope of throwing a
noose over so tempting a prize. In this they partly suc-
ceeded; but unfortunately the sturgeon, on finding itself
entangled, struck poor Taylor with such force that he in-
stantly fell, was carried away and drowned, before his
employer could render the slightest assistance. Next day
Mr. Heweston secured the same fish, along with a smaller
one. The larger one, when taken out of the water, mea-
sured
eight feet and a half in length, five in girth round
the thickest part, and weighed twenty-five stone. It was
retailed at the rate of 4d. per lb.---Dunfries Courier.
ESCAPE FROM NEWGATE.— On Tuesday
morning Elizabeth Norris, aged twenty, made her escape
from the gaol of Newgate. She was tried last Friday
and convicted of uttering base coin, when she was sentenced
to a years' hard labour in the House of Correction. It
appears that she availed herself of the bustle which gene-
rally happens during the session time, in visitinghours, and
slipped out of the Court, and being in her own clothes, and
most likely provided with a bonnet by some friend, she
made her exit with a crowd of visitors, without attracting
the attention of the turnkey at the outer wicket.
Last week, as a gentleman was fishing in the
Wye at Nlonnington, be perceived a very large salmon in
a shallow part of the stream, basking on the gravel; of
course be immediately hastened to secure so desirable a
prize, and managed to get hold of the fish, plunge his knife
into its back, and after a severe struggle landed it. The
salmon weighed nearly 301bs.—Hereford Times.
DREADFUL DEATH OF A CHILD BY BURN-
!NG. Tuesday night an inquest was held on the body of
Phcebe Hinds, aged eight years. It appeared that, on
Saturday evening last, about six o'clock, a great light was
,thpeall-ni
windowsallEast, and upon
of the Jews'
a neighbour, who lives immediately opposite, going to the
observedsynagogue,
t issue
s t. from Abs
n o Albans-place,
ep
a ofe e
first landing, he found the unfortunate child enveloped in
flames. She was taken down stairs, and with the assist-
ance of some persona who had gathered round, her clothes
were cut off. She was conveyed to the Charing-cross
Hospital, when it was found that her body was burnt in
every part, especially the back and chest. No surgical
aid was of the least avail, though all that could be done
was resorted to. The deceased was much in the habit of
being at the synagogue, playing with Mr. Kersel's chil-
dren, and the accident happened through the deceased
endeavouring to lift the kettlppe from the fire. Verdict-.
" Accidental Death."