The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-25 00:00:00

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ME SUN, LONDoN, FRIDAY EVENING DECEMBER 25, 1863.

IZINAHAN'S LL WHISKY v. COGNAC
BRANDY.
This celebrated Old IRIS II WHISKY rivals the finest
FRENCH BRANDY,
It i Pure, Mild, Mellow, Delicious, and very *Wholesome.
Sold in Bottles, 3s. Sd., at the Retail houses in London ; by
the Agents in the principal towns )0 England ; or wholesale
at

Naval and Military Intelligence.

to two causes. Yesterday there was a dead calm, while on
the previous day there was a strong breeze, and yesterday
also, an increased number of revolutions was got out of the
engines as compared with the revolutions on Wednesday's
trial. The speed trials having been concluded, the ship was
next tested in making circles with half-boiler power with
the following results :—Helm hard a-starboard, angle of
rudder 281 deg, turns of wheel 4, half circle made in 3 min
3 sec ; full circle made in in 6 min 28 sec ; revolutions of
engines, 44 to 38; helm hard a-port, angle of rudder 221
deg, turns of wheel 3, half circle made in 3 min 39 sec; full
do, 8 min 34 sec; and revolutions of engines, 46 to 44. The
starting gear of the engines was severely tested yesterday,
and worked in the most satisfactory manner. The engines
were stopped dead from the time of giving the order in ten
seconds; started ahead again in ten seconds, and started
cans tgeirnne
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fleeted credit on the eminent firm that constructed them,
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-1! --

THE NAVY.
As stated in The Sun of yesterday, the attempts made
at noon on Wednesday to launch the iron frigate Achilles
were unsuccessful, in consequence of the tide not rising
sufficiently high in the dock to float a vessel of her tonnage
and dimensions. Shortly after 11 o'clock p,m., she was
found to be afloat, and, after waiting some short time longer
for the tide to rise sufficiently high to enable her to clear
the blocks, Mr. Lang, the master-shipbuilder, gave direc-
tions for her to be hauled out of the dock in which she has
been constructed into the harbour. Five steamers, which
had been in waiting some hours with their steam up, im-
mediately took her in tow ; and, the capstans being at the
same time manned, the Achilles was successfully floated out
of dock into the stream. As soon as she had cleared the
dock a mishap occurred which created the greatest alarm
for the safety of the ship. Near the entrance of the dock
there is a bank of mud and sand, and in consequence of the
length of the time the Achilles has been in dock, and the
impossibility of removing the caisson this bank had in-
creased in extent, At the moment the Achilles cleared the
dock the tide, which at that part of the harbour is always
of great force, caught her broadside, and forced her round
on the sandbank, where she grounded. At this time the
tide had ceased flowing, and the most lively fears were en-
tertained that with a falling tide it would be impossible to
ease her off. Notwithstanding the united exertions of the
five steamers, the Achilles at first defied all attempts to
move her, and it was only by the exertions of several hun-
dred men, who manned the capstans in the floating shear-
hulk in the middle of the harbour, and the full steaming
of the tugs, that she was ultimately got safely off the bank
and moored alongside the Chatham hulk. Toe Achilles is
the first of the large iron vessels, destined hereafter to
take a conspicuous part in our future navy, which has
been built at a Royal dockyard—the whole of the squadron
of ironclads now afloat, including the Minotaur, Warrior,
Black Prince, Defence, Sec., having been built for the
(government ail private establishment. This' experi-
ment, therefore, on the'part of the Admiralty of construct-
ing iron vessels at the public dockyards is watched with the
keenest interest. Notwithstanding all that has been said
to the contrary, the Achilles has been built more expedi-
tiously—everything taken into consideration— than any of
the squadron of ironclads which have preceded her. The
order for building the Achilles, together with the sheer
draught and drawings, arrived at Chatham dockyard in the
month of April, 1861. It was not, however, until the Sep-
tember following that the first iron plate for the vessel was
laid in the dock, the interval between having been taken up
in preparing and fixing the enormous machines required for
bending, slotting, and otherwise preparing the armour plates
and other portions of the iron work for a ship of the dimen-
sions of the Achilles—not a single machine for iron ship-
building being at that time in the dockyard, Shortly after
the commencement of the Achilles active operations on that
vessel were in a measure suspended, in consequence of an
order from the Admiralty for the construction of the iron
clad frigate Royal Oak, which was built, completed, fully
equipped, and sent to sea from Chatham in 18 months. The
first armour plate was bolted to the sides of the Achilles on
the sth February last, and since then she has received up-
wards of 1,200 tons of armour plating, the Achilles being
the first iron vessel launched with the whole of her armour
plating complete from stem to stern. The dimensions of the
Achilles are slightly in excess of the Warrior, while her
length is only a few feet below that of the Minotaur, re-
cently launched from the yard of thel hames Ironwork Com-
pany. She is 385 ft 9in in length, 581 t 31in in breadth of
beam, and her burden is 6,080 tons. Instead of being covered
with armour plating only on her broadsides, as is the case
with the Warrior, Black Prince, and Defence, the Achilles
carries her shield plates right round the ship, from stem to
stern, the total number of armour plates bolted to her sides
being 336. Notwithstanding the additional 500 tons of plat-
ing she carries, as compared with the Warrior, she has a
light, buoyant appearance in the water, and although a dis-
placement is calculated at nearly 10,000 tons, her launching
draught was only 20ft and a few inches. The whole of her
broadside plates are 41in in thickness, and are of rolled iron,
from the Parkgate Works, Yorkshire. Towards the stem
and stern the plates have a tapering form, until a minimum
thickness of 2 lin is obtained. The plates under the counter
and buttock are of this thickness, and were manufactured
by Messrs. John Brown and Co., Atlas Works, Sheffield.
The operation of bending the plates to fit this portion of the
exterior of the frigate was attended with considerable diffi-
culty, in consequence of the peculiar shape of the rounded
stern, and taxed the skill and ingenuity of all concerned.
For a length of 200 ft on each broadside the armour plates
are carried up to the floor of the fighting or weather deck,
An armour plated bulkhead, one of which is placed fore and
aft, runs across the gun deck, and consequently encloses this
portion of the vessel, in which nearly the whole of the guns
are placed, as a shot Fred battery, the armour bulkhead
preventing the fire irom an enemy's guns raking the vessel
fore and aft. On each side, fore and aft of the armour bulk-
heads, the armour plates are only required to be carried as
high as the floor of the main deck. The Achilles is pierced
to carry 46 guns on her main deck, with four Armstrong
pivots fore and aft on her weather deck, but it is probable
that her armament will not exceed, in the aggregate, 34
guns.. Her port sills, which are enclosed with gun metal
lids, are very small, their dimensions being 3ft Bin. by lft
llin. On the inside they are embrasured, which will enable
the guns to have a play of at least 90 deg. in each direction.
At her load draught of water her port sills will be 9ft Sin
above the water. The Achilles is constructed with two hori-
zontal keels overlapping each other,with avertical keel 3ft 6in
in depth, and a box keelson, 2ft 6in deep above the water-
tight bottom. This form of construction, while it lessens
the chance of accidents to her bottom,will also enable water-
ballast to be added so as to alter the vessel to any trim,should
that hereafter be necessary. The Achilles is constructed
on a two -feet flatter section than the Warrior, which enables
her engines and boilers to be placed lower in the vessel.
This will very materially lessen any attempts to roll, which
will be still further prevented by two bilge keels, 12ft apart,
running the whole length of her broadsides, on each side of
the hull. In solidity of parts and strength of materials the
Achilles is believed to surpass every iron ship yet con-
structed, no expense either of time, labour, or outlay having
been spared by the Admiralty to render her in all respects
perfect. In proof of the enormous strength with which
every portion of the mass of iron and timber which form
her hull have been put together it may be mentioned that
on being launched the most accurate tests failed to detect
any " break," even to the minute fraction of an inch, in
her. For a length of 220 ft, her sides are 3ft lin in thick-
ness, which is made up of 14m of iron rib-framing, the iron
skin plates three-quarters of an inch in thickness at the
stoutest part, 18in of teak timber planking, and finally the
41in armour-plates. In the remaining portions of the stem
and stern the thickness of the sides gradually lessens, until
a minimum thickness of lft llin of iron and teak is ob-
tained. The large iron ribs are each 3ft Bin apart, and be-
tween these are numerous smaller frames, the whole of
which are riveted to the vertical keel. Binding the whole
together in one solid mass of iron work are 12 longitudinals,
r e
means of tfhethveeisrsoeln.
Additional strength is also obtained entire
by
sdiexckonbeeaamchs,swidheichrucnanrirnygthe iron deck plates. On the main
deck the beams are lft 4in in thickness, on the lower deck
lft 3in, and on the upper deck 121 in. All the decks are ex -
ceedingly lofty, the height from the lower deck to the main
deck being 9ft 2in, deducting breadth of deck beams, that
from the main to the upper deck 7ft 10in, and the height
from the floor to the lower deck beams 21ft. At present it
is undecided whether she will be fitted with a rifle tower on
her upper deck. In order to move such an enormous mass
through the water at a speed of at least 14 knots, equal to
16 statute miles per hour, the Achilles is to be supplied with
engines of 1,250 (nominal) horse power; but, in reality,
capable of being worked up to double that torce. Her engines
are being now fitted on board by Messrs. John Penn and
Sons. Her screw is four-bladed, and in consequence of there
being no screw-well to the Achilles it will not be possible to
lift the propeller during the time the vessel is not under
steam. She will be fitted with four masts, and, as these are
intended to be square-rigged, the Achilles will spread an
enormous extent of canvas to the wind, although it is pro-
bable that her rig will detract from her steaming qualities
as much as a knot an hour. There is stowage on board for
about 1,000 tons of coals, which will be about sufficient for
10 days' consumption, constant steaming. The stem of the
Achilles projects but a short distance beneath the water, so
that it is not probable she will ever be re, ed as a steam ram.
Shortly before the top of the flood yesterday the Achilles
was taken in tow by the Adder, Bustler, Locust, Monkey,
and Sheerness steamers, and removed to the moorings pre-
pared for her near Folly Point, at the entrance to the har-
bour. With eight men at the wheel she was found to answer
her helm quickly, and altogether was es manageable as a
vessel of ordinary dimensions. The Achilles is to be pre-
pared for sea with all despatch, but at least four months will
elapse before she will be ready to hoist the pennant.
The iron frigate Hector completed her official trials at
Portsmouth yesterday, and to a certain extent redeemed her
character for speed, which was considerably damaged by the
result of her full •power trial on Wednesday. Owing to the
speed attained on that day being only 11.448 knots, and
therefore under the stipulated contract speed of 11.75 knots,
it became necessary to give her a second trial at full power,
and four runs were accordingly taken at the mile as a com-
mencement of yesterday's trial. The mean speed given by
these runs was 11.843 knots—a gain of 1-10ths of a knot over
that exhibited on the previous day, and just enough to meet
the contract rate of speed. The four runs with half boiler-
power which followed on the full power runs gave the ship a
speed of 9.782 knots—a result as satisfactory as the increase
of speed with full power. In her half-power rate of speed,
however, the Hector is also behind the Royal Oak, the lat •
ter ship having realised with half-power 10.140, knots. The
increase i& the lector's speed yesterday way be assigned

8, GREAT WINDMILL-STREET, W.
()hserve the Red Seal, Pink Labe], and Cork branded
"Kinahan's LL Whisky."

NoncE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the
WELLINGTON is CLOSED for repairs, &c., and
will be RE-OPENED on THURSDAY, the 31st December
next, at 5 o'clock p.m,
By order,
JOHN CATES, Manager.
The Wellington, t. James's-street.
Entrance, 60, Piccadilly, W.
December 25, 1863.

HE VINTAGE WINE COMPANY
Supply the Public, at a small advance on wholesale
Tces, with every description of Wines and Spirits. Terms,
;ash.
THE VINTAGE COMIDA. SHERRY .. at 18s. per doz.
THE VINTAGE CH AMPAGNE.. ...... „ 275. „
THE VINTAGE CLARET • , 1 a. 9,
THE VINTAGE PORT from 20s. „
Medical and Clerical Testimonials, together with the Illus-
trated Vintage Almanac, containing full detailed Price List,
post free on application.
Four Dozen Wire sent Carriage Free.

and if the Hector is not a 12-knot ship the fault lies in the
form of her hull, and not in her machinery. There can be
doubt that another half knot might have been added to the
Hector's speed had she sat more by the stern, but there
exists an almost insuperable difficulty in the way of bring-
ing her further down by the stern at the present draught of
water in her heavy and overhanging buttocks. We have
drawn comparisons between the speed attained by the Hec •
tor and Royal Oak, both ships being equal in tonnage and
horse power, and if their respective draughts of water on
their day of trial is examined, it will be found the Royal
Oak was trimmed considerably more by the stern than the
Hector. The draught of water of the Royal Oak forward was
23ft bin; aft, 25ft 7in. The draught of water of the Hector
was, forward, 24ft liin ; aft, 25it 4in. The Royal Oak
was in commission on the day of het trial, and had,therefore,
all her seagoing weights on board. The Hector has yet to
be commissioned and receive her crew, her provisions, am-
munitiun, and a quantity of sundry stores. She will, there-
fore, be still deeper in the water when she goes to sea than
she is at present. As, however, she had a large number of
shipwrights and mechanics at work on board her during
lier trials these men, with their tools, may be taken as re-
presenting half the weight of her crew. The ship returned
into Portsmouth harbour on concluding her trials, and
again made fast alongside the dockyard. The 31st inst is
the date fixed for the completion of bar outfit by the ship-
wrights' department. During the 9 months she has lain at
Portsmouth an immense amount of work has been done on
board under the supervision of the master shipwright, Mr.
Cradock, and all has been done well and regardless of cost.
The Mutine, 17 guns, corvette, Commander William
Graham, arrived at Spithead yesterday morning from the
Pacific, and received orders to proceed to Woolwich to
dismantle and pay out of commission. She brought home
18 military and naval invalids, who were transfered to her
Majesty's ship Victory by the Pigmy steam tender. The
Mutine was expected to sail from Spithead for the Thames
last evening.

14, Bloomsbury-street, 4 d ,ors south of
New Oxford-street.

T" E 0 XFOR D,
R, OXFORD STREET, W.

TO-MORROW, will be performed Selections from the
rollowing Operas, viz., THE SLAVE, and CLARA, the
MAID of MILAN, by Sir H. Bishop; also, from LA FORZA
DEL DES I INO— Verdi ; by the following talented artistes .
—Misses Russell, Townley, Fitz Henry, W almsley, Tyrrell,
and Ellison ; Messrs. Green, Huish, Kimberley, Stuart, &c.
Also, Solos on the Violin by VIOPTI COLLINS, the
celebrated English Violinist.
Flute by Drew Dean. Pianoforte, Miss Bryant.
And the marvellous instrument, the ORCHESTRAL
PIANO, by Herr SCHALKENBACH, the Inventor. -
Comedy, by UNSWORTH ("or any other man "), Eugene,
W. Randall, W. T. Critchfield, T. Maclagan, and the marvel-
lous Gymnast, J. Henderson.
In rehearsal, and will be produced on Christmas Eve, sup-
ported by the entire company, a new and original ('antati,
entitled King Christmas," written by Litchfield Moseley,
Esq., and composed by W. Meyer Lutz, expressly for the
establishment.

Yesterday the shipwrights at the dockyard commenced
laying the keel of Mr. Reed's new ironcased frigate Lord
Warden, which is to be constructed beneath No. 7 shed.
The following are the principal dimensions of the Lord
Warden :—Length between the perpendiculars, 280 ft length
of keel for tonnage, 233 ft Ilia; extreme breadth, 59ft tin;
breadth for tonnage, 58ft ; depth in hold, 20ft 9in.
The dockyard and the whole of the naval establishments
at Chatham were closed yesterday afternoon at 1 o'clock,and
business will not be again resumed until Monday morning,
the time being up by the men working ovt.r hours.
The finding of the general court-martial recently held at
the Royal Marine Barracks, Forton, on Capt. W. Cosser,
Paymaster of the Portsmouth Division, on charges of frau-
dulently appropriating about £7OO of the public money in-
trusted to his charge, having been confirmed at the Admi-
ralty, was yesterday promulgated at the head-quarters of
the division. Capt. Cosser is cashiered, and his sureties
are ordered to refund the sum mentioned.

Two more gunboats are to be built at Sydney, New South
Wales, for the service of the New Zealand Government.
Admiral Sir William F.Martin, K.C.8., has been awarded
a good service pension, vacant by the death of Admiral Sir
Henry W. Bruce, K.C.B.
Lieut. J. P. Cheyne has been appointed one of the Limits.
of the Royal Hospital, Plymouth, vice Malone, deceased.
The following appointments have been made at the Ad-
miralty :—Commander John 0. Hopkins, to the Royal Oak;
Lieut. Alfred A. Hanson, to the Tamar; Robert Jackson,
master, to the Lyra; John H. Pellay, naval cadet, to the
Royal Oak; Horace G. Baker, naval cadet, to the Gibraltar ;
Francis J. L. Blackwood, naval cadet, to the Revenge; Rol-
ston C. Bloomfield and Clifton Lewes, naval cadets, to the
Phoebe; Arthur H. 0. Lowe, Alexander J. Mackenzie
Harry L, Ros, Herbert S. Taylor, and Norman C, F. G.
Uniache, naval cadets, to the Marlborough ; Henry H.
Boteler, naval cadet, to the Curagoa; W. V. Bayley, mid-
shipman, to the Salamander; James 0. Burgess, midship-
man, to the Curagoa; Francis H. S. O'Brien, midship-
man, to the Lyra; Wilfred W. Glanville, Robert B. Maco-
nochie, and Henry H. S. O'Brien, midshipmen, to the
Lyra; Robert Edwardes, surgeon, to the Lyra; 'William
H. Clyma, paymaster, to the Indus; Robert Drummond,
chief engineer, to the Indus, for the Topaze, when the
latter ship is paid off; Matthew Blank, assist.-engineer to
the Fisgard, as supernumerary and granted two months'
leave; Charles H. Fauvel and William Jennings, assist.-
clerks, additional, to the Fisgard; Lieut. J. B. Warren, to
the Orontes ; Lieut. J. C. Best and Lieut. G. B. Reed, to
the Lyra; W. B. Walpole, midshipman, to the Geyser; E.
M. Stone, paymaster, to the Colossus ; C. J. Martin, pay-
master, to the Active ; Charles W. Harris, paymaster, to
the Implacable ; B. W. White, paymaster, to the Boscawen,
Edward B. D'Arcy, second master, to the Ferret ; Robert
Towers, second master, to the Dee; J. M`Hollingsworth,
acting assist-surgeon, to the Cumberland ; Joseph Jolliffe,
acting engineer, to the Lyra ; John Muir and J. J. White,
assistant engineers, to the Lyra; Thomas B. Moody and
Alfred B. Scott, master's assistant, to the Dasher.

ARGYLL ROOMS, Windmill-street, Hay-
market.
NOTICE. —M. JULLIEN'S PROMENADE CONCERTS
will be continued nightly at the above elegant rooms.
Admission ls.
Conductor— M. JULLIEN.
Solo Performers—Messrs. Mosca, Tyler, King, M‘Kenney,
Sloman, Progratski, Baker, &c.
Manager, M. GRENET.

29, GEORGE-STREET, HANOVER-SQUARE.
THE LONDON ANATOMICAL MUSEUM.
Open daily from 10 till 10. Lectures at 4 and 7
o'clock. Where may be seen the Astecs ; Bushman and
Wife; Julia Pastrana and Infant; Eng and Shang, the
Siamese Twins; and upwards of 3,000 Models, Natural Pre-
parations, &c. Egyptian Mummies, unwrapped, 4,000 years
old. Admission, One shilling (tor Gentlemen only).

S ORTHAND.-PITMAN'S PHONOGRA,
PHIC TEACHER. a ; free by post, 7d.

SHORTHAND.-PITMAN'S PHONOGRA.
PHIL MANUAL. Free by poet, le. 6d.

QH 0 R THAN D.-"PITMAN'S PHONO
GRAPHY forms an exceedingly efficient —probably
the MOST efficient—system of Shorthand that exists. Sir
Rowland Hill.

BEAUTIFUL WOMEN.—Alabaster Powder,
and the Magnetic Rock Dew Water from Sahara. Cir-
cassian Bloom. Arabian Soaps, and Alabaster Liquid. These
costly and inimitable toilet preparations render the hair,
teeth, and complexion beautiful beyond comparison.—Can be
had only at Madame RACH EL'S, 47A, New Bond-street,
where she can be consulted daily. All communications are
strictly confidential.

EXTRAORDINARY OCEAN STEAMING.--The late
extraordinary passage of the Inman Company's
steamer City of New York, commanded by Capt. Kennedy,
has created quite a sensation in nautical circles in Liver-
pool, and the abstract of her log, which was posted in the
Liverpool Exchange Newsroom on Tuesday, was a source
of interest during the day. The distance travelled each
day by tb.e City of New York was so great and so regular
throughout the passage, that we consider a synopsis of the
log worthy of perusal :—From the day (12th inst.) she left
Sandy Hook, until noon the following day she steamed 254
miles; on the 14th, 330 miles; 15th, 320 miles; 16th, 306
miles; 17th, 311 miles; 18th, 321 miles; 19th, 323 miles;
20th, 318 miles ; 21st (to Fastnel Rock), 254 miles--arriving
at Queenstown at 11.30 a.m. of that day. The mean time
of the run from New York to Queenstown is tight days
nineteen hours, being the fastest ever made by any screw
steamer.

THE OLD-ESTABLISHED
BROMPTON GENERAL REGISTRY
OFFICE FOR SERVANTS.

(UNDER DISTINGUISHED PATRONAGE.)
MRS. DONO VAN, 56, BROMPTON-ROAD.
Families requiring Servants are respectfully sot cited to
apply, there being always a large supply on the books.
Applications for Servants during the past year, 1,760.
Lists of Servants forwarded on application.
Office Hours from 10 till 4 daily,
Yearly subscribers of One Guinea supplied with every clas
of Servants free of extra charge.
Upper Servants; ss. ; Under do., 28. 6d.

cIPECTACLES.—The Patent Newly-invented
I►.~_J Tinted Spectacles are patronised by the majority of the
Nobility, including Viscount Palmerston. They afford extra-
ordinary relief to weak, dim, and detective vision.—S. and B
SOLOMON S, Opticians, 39, Albemarle-street, Piccadilly.

ALEXANDRE DUMAS IN A COURT OF LAWS—An
odd trial has recently taken place—in which the
plaintiff was M. Alexandre Dumas, the defendant M, Lopez
_ _

BANKRUPTCY AND COMPOSITIONS.-
Mr. WETHERFIELD, Solicitor, 35, Moorgate-street,
City, PRACTISES in COURT, and effects PRIVATE
ARRANGEMENTS with creditors, without publt3ity.
Charges, the lowest possible, payable by instalments. Coun-
try cases economically conducted.
N.B.—DEBTS recovered on commission, free of law costs.
Divorce and Probate business conducted at moderate ex-
pense.

—the latter having represented at the Theatre Belville a
play purporting to he by himself and the said M, Dumas
conjointly. The novelist has sued him for stating what is
untrue and calculated to make his reputation cheap. The
defendant put in the manuscript of the piece—signed, in-
contestably, by M. Dumas. But here the matter by no
means came to an end. As counter-check, it is now stated
that the play is simply an exercise in translation from the
German, made some years ago by M. Dumas, the piece
being " Die Abendstunda" of Kotzebue ; and that the
manuscript, little cared fbr, and mislaid, had straggled,
somehow, into the possession of M. Lopez., who has appro-
priated it in the obnoxious manner complained of.

TEA.—MOORE BROTHERS respectfully inti-
mate that their New Prospectus is now ready. They
especially recommend their improved Family Tea, reduced.
Souchong reduced to 3s. 6d. ; mixed Assam re-
duced to 3s. Bd. ; and the finest Assam, reduced from Is. 4d.
to 38. lid. per lb.
MOORE BROTHERS, 35, London-bridge, City, E.C.

KEATING'S COUGH LOZENGES.—Statistics
show that 50,001 persons annually fall victims to Pul-
monary Disorders, including consumption, diseases of the
chest, and the respiratory organs. Prevention is at ,)11 times
better than cure ; be, therefore, prepared during the wet and
wintry season with a supply of KEATING'S COUGH
ImZENGES, which possess the virtue of averting, as well as
of curing
a cough or cold ; they are good alike for the young
or for the aged—they soothe bronchial irritation ; and for im-
proving the voice, the preacher, statesman, singer, and actor
have long patronised them.

" St. Paul's Cathedral, 30th November, 1849.
" Sir,—l have much pleasure in recommending y our lozenges
to those who may be distressed with hoarseness. They have
afforded me relief on several occasions when scarcely able to
sing from the effects of catarrh. I think they would be very
useful to clergymen, barristers, and public orators.
1 am, Sir, yours faithfully,
" THOMAS FRANCIS, Vicar Choral.

"To Mr. Keating."

Prepared and sold in boxes, 1s lid, and tins, 2s Od, 4s 6d,
and 108 6d each, by Thomas Keating*, chemist, &c., 79, St.
Paul's Churchyard, London. Retail by all druggists and
patent medicine vendors in thc. world.

No IfoistE complete without a WILCOX AND Gißßs'
SEWING-MAOlliNt. Simple, compact, efficient, durable, and
noiseless. Warranted to fulfil all the requirements of a
perfect family machine. Prospectus freo on application at
No. 135, Regent-street, W.—CAnvT.]
THE YEAR'S GOOD WORK AT THE ROYAL ACA-
DEMY.—Even the Turner gold medal for landscape
has found in Mr Frank Walton a worthy winner. This
medal may be given every second year; but for six years
past no student has been thought worthy of so great an
honour. Equally, or even more, distinguished are Mr
R P. Spiers and Mr Frank nall, each of whom has carried
dl! four prizes, Mr Spiers has the gold medal of the Aca-
demy for a superb design for a palace—a silver medal—a
studentship
of 12:i a year, to be held for two years—and
1 copies of the Presidents' addresses. Mr Holl has the gold
medal for an historical painting, "Abraham Preparing for
'44erifice of his Son,' the silver medal, and two other
the ,--
and a prize of books.
prizes. Mr. Bu: ottained the gold medal for a group in
P. A. Hunt, to My G.
travelling arbsetru,
ssciulvlperturme,edtoatetwheerrewigthiveansetho o lisairrs hAi
to gr ,9. B. Long, to Mr
Smith, to Mr E. Evans, tp Mr J. B. Grahame, to Mr A, E,
/Fi.uslr.epadoytt,etro.
an allowance of £lOO, was awarded to Mr T. H. Watson,
. for au arcUitectUral drawing.
MrA CB.
studentship,
for one year, with

JILES JANIN AS A FEIULLETONIST—aceording to
Mr. Kirwau's estimate of him in" Modern France."
—There is, as it appears to us, in everything that he has
written, what has been well characterised a marivaudage
de bas stage.'' He seems always to wish to be saying things
uncommonly fine, witty, and clever, and to be fully per-
suaded that it is his duty not only to write, but to think,
differently from other people. To accomplish this, he per-
forms all sorts of mental gyrations and contortions, all sorts
of grey-goose antics. Sometimes he is seized with a forced
gaiety, which is, after all, but an abortive and lugubrious
hilarity; anon he assumes a melancholy which, if not sickly
and sentimental, is put on as a mask to suit the occasion.
Jules Janin is just the man who, for effect—to use the
phrase of Curran—" would teach his tears to flow deco-
rously down his cheeks; who would writhe with grace and
groan with melody." He has sought the pretty, as Lon-
ginus sought the sublime. He delights in in
para-
doxes, which he presents to you in ten differentathn
robe
sometimes all rude and naked ; sometimes withtnhedi,
with
of gauze ; sometimes painted, powdered, anc
seldom
deficient
flounce and furbelow to match. Janin is
mincing airs and
in delicate irony, but is always full of
But in his gallon
graces, and an esprit a-la-mode de Paris.
rth
" of bread after
of sugared sack,:there is but a hdpo
h,
teh he pours forth
all. In the stream of pet phrases:w
tenuity of idea. His style might
there is a tinyness if not a
saving to the Jiebats
be stereotyped. It would be a great
to have certain fond familiar words always set up, standing,
ingenious
fashions;
in case. Scores and scores of times, speaking of debutantes
he has said "Pauvre joine fille aux joues roses aux mains
blanches elle si pure elle Ei candide." Would he deecribe
an age or an epoch, here are his words ;—" Ce X.VIIIa
siecle en manchette, en dentelles, en talons rouges, en
velours, en paillettes, aveo cos ranches, son rouge, ce
XVIIIe siecle si fardeosi corumpu," &C. This carillon of
elic-clack, this fredon—to use a musical term—of phrases ;
this fioritura of variations and doubles, called by musicians
follia di Spagna," is very contemptible ; but it has had
great vogue; for the object of this writer is more to amuse
than inform the reader,, more to be playful than profound,
more to, be satirical than solid or satisfying. It is therefore
no marvel that Janin has many admirers and many imita-
toro, and is the rage of men, women, and children.

PRICE-
STAMPED --bd.

CRIME AND HYPOTHETICAL MADNESS.

The defence set up for Mr. Townley in the painful trial
which terminated last Saturday at Derby in his conviction
for the murder of Miss Goodwin, practically amounts (says
the spectator) to this—The prisoner's grandmother had a

brother of whose ten children five were insane, and another
brother one of whose children was insane ; also his grand-
father had a sister who committed suicide, and a first cou-

sin who died in a lunatic asylum. Hence, there is reason

to suspect that what is called the germs of insanity were in
the prisoner's constitution, and likely to be called into action

by any unusual excitement, This excitement occurred
when Miss Goodwin broke off her engagement with him in

order to marry another, and it took the form of a defined
theory that a young lady in engaging herself to a man
becomes his " property" in the strictest sense of the term
—property which he has a right to rescue, even at the cost
of her life, from the hands of another—just as he would
have a right to shoot his own horse if a highwayman were
making off with it. On this theory the prisoner not only
acted, but took his stand after the murder as ethically un-

assailable, refusing entirely to admit his guilt, and assert-
ing that both he and the murdered girl were much happier
for this fatal close to her departure from the contract. " I
am far more happy now I have done it, and I trust she is."
And finally, after some months of imprisonment, this ex.
citement took the well-defined and familiar form of belief in
an organised conspiracy against his (the prisoner's) happi-
ness and life, which is one of the commonest of all symp-
toms of both temporary and permanent nervous disease.
This is, we believe, the whole of the ease for Mr. Townley's
mental derangement ; first, a presumptive case is brought
forward to show that there were physical causes
at work far from unlikely to produce it; then it is
shown that, at least as a result of the imprison-
ment, nervous disease and illusion had probably
t
been produced, whence an inference is suggested that the
murder, which might otherwise have been due eithg to
criminal but sane perversity of the will, or to tte absolute
dominance of Mr. Townley's intellect by notions which left
his will no moral choice, no power of resistance in the matter,
was, in fact, due to the latter cause, which implies of course
irresponsibility; and this conclusion is supported by the
self-possession with which, in the first moment of the mur-
der, Mr. Townley justified his deed.
We suspect that the only point in this case which at all
affects the public imagination, is the proof that both in the
prisoner's grandfather's and in his grandfather's family the
tendency to insanity did, in fact, show itself decidedly. The
other evidence, which is extremely shadowy at best, would
only show that the excitement of the crime, of the suspense
of awaiting a trial for life, and of the melancholy incidents
of the imprisonment, had slightly strained a nervous sys-
tem never very tough or sound. But the vague physical
ideas which we attach t;) "hereditary seeds of insanity"
are to common minds much more impressive. They sug-
gest the existence of something like organic fungi in the
corners of the intellect which a momentary shock may

stimulate into sudden vitality till the whole framework of
the mind is unroofed—just as the tenderest plant pushing up
from the crevice in a wall will often rend the timbers and

unroof the masonry of the most solid building. Moreover,
the term " seeds of insanity" takes advantage of our

absolute incapacity to test the motive forces of
any other mind, and appears to suggest an easy
explanation (though it really only apologises for
not suggesting any) of eccentric actions that would
otherwise puzzle and baffle ordinary men. Instead of
thinking any more of the unintelligible action before us,
we think of the equally unintelligible actions of the per -
petrator's grandfather, and having got the unintelligility
two generations back, we feel absolved from the duty of
interpretation.
But the truth is, that to prove a possibility of hereditary
disease can only be of any value to the argument, where it
can be shown that that hereditary disease, if really active,
would account better for the facts of the case than any more
ordinary hypothesis. If a man were subject to hereditary
consumption, no physician would take that as the explana-
tion of an actual ophthalmia or rheumatism. This is alawys
forgotten with reference to violent actions like murder,
which, it is assumed, are more intelligible if supposed to
spring from a vague general cause like " hereditary in-
sanity," than from an ordinary special cause like jealous
passion and the theories which passion engenders in a
brooding mind. Now,where hereditary:insanityreallyabsolves
from responsibility for violence, it is, we conceive, usually
more easy to verify than any other moral cause of violence.
It may lead to violence in three ways—by generally weaken-
ing the moral judgment to a point obviously far below that
of average common sense, so as to leave little intellectual
moral control. Next, hereditary insanity may either render
a man blind to a whole class of real impressions which affect
other people, or, what is the same thing, the victim of a
whole class of false and delirous impressions which do not
affect other people, so as in either case to justify violence, if
only the world as it presents itself to the mind of the patient
were the world as it is, and, therefore, so as to exculpate
him iu his blindness or his delirium for using it. Finally,
without disturbing a man's intellect directly, it may subject
him to periodic maniacal impulses, which intoxicate for the
moment like a draught of spirits, and drive him on to specific
ends. In the first case, there must be a general decay of the
whole mental powers, and that cannot very well happen with-
out ample warning and plenty of subsidiary evidence. In
the second case, the specific error of conception, whether
blindness or delirium, on which the murder proceeded, must
be more or less distinguishable, if it is more than the most
random surmise. It is no more justifiable to plead gene-
rally a blind spot in the intellect as an excuse for murder.
without showing how it operated, than to plead physical
blindness as an excuse, without showing how blindness
betrayed the blind man into doing what he would not have
done if his eyes had been like other people's.