The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-07 00:00:00

THEATRE.

HER MAJIESTY'S
LAST NIGHT.
TIIE OPERA SEASON POSITIVELY TERMINATES
TO-MORROW EVENING (SATURDAY).

CHEAP PRICES.
FREE LIST ENTIRELY SUSPENDED.
LAST NIGHT OF FAUST.
Titiens, Trebelli, Santley, Gassier, Giuglini.
TO-MORROW EVENING (SATURDAY), August 8, will
be presented (for the last time) Gounod's celebrated Opera,
FA UST.
In the course of the evening, the National Anthem.
Conductor, Sig. ARDITI.
Restrictions to Evening Dress not enforced. Commence at
Eight o'clock on each evening.
Prices :—Gallery, 2s ; Pit, 3s ; Boxes, is ; Dress Circle, 7s ;
Orchestra Stills. 12s 6d; Private Boxes from Half-a-Guinea
upwards ; Pit Tier Boxes, to hold four, Two Guineas.
Bo .c-office of the Theatre (under the superintendence of Mr.
Nugent) onen daily from Ten till Sx. Tickets also to be ob-
tained, on the evenings of the performance, at the special
WE es open at the entrance of the Pit and Grand Tiers.

THE DUKE'S MOTTO.
frUADREII AND SEVENTY-THIRD NIGHT,
and Last Two Nights of the present Season.

ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE.-
Under the Sole Management of Mr. FECHTER.
Last Two Nights of the present Season.
THIS EVENING, to commence with an Original Sketch,
entitled A SUDDEN ATTACK. Messrs. Shore, Garden,
H Widdicomb, Miss Henrade, and Mrs. Lee.
After which, at a Quarter-past Eight, the Romantic
Drama, in Three Acts, and Pr3iogrlle, entitled THE
DUKE'S MOTTO, by Paul Feval and John Brougham.
The principal character will be sustained by Mr. Pechter,
supported by Messrs. J. G. Shore, G. Jordan, J. Brougham,
H. Widdi3ombe, F. Charles, Garden, Raymond, DaWson ;
Misses Carlotta Leclercq, Kate Terry, E. Lavenun, and
Elsworthy. Doors open at 7, commence at half-past.
Acting-Manager, Mr. H. Barnett.

NEW THEATRE-1W YAL, ADELPHI.—
Sole Proprietor and Manager. M?. B. Webster.
THIS EVENING, THE IRISH TIGER.
After which, at Eight o'cloek, a new drama, entitled THE
HAUNTED MAN ; OR, T E GHOST'S BARGAIN, in
which will be exhibited Professor Pepper's adaptation of'
the Great Spectral Illusion. Messrs. J. L. Toole, R. Phillips,
Sefton. C. J. Smith; Mrs. Alfred Mellon and iss H. Simms.
Followed by
IL a new Burlesque, entitled ILL-TREATED
TROVATORE. Messrs. Toole, P. Bedford, R. Phillips,
Eburne, C. J. Smith, Romer ; the Sisters Nelson, Carry and
Sara, and bliss K. Kelly.
Commence at 7.

ROYAL STRAND THEATRE.
Manager, Mr. W. H. Swanborough.
To-NIGHT WHILE THERE'S LIFE THERE'S HOPE.
Messrs. W. H. Swanborough, Parselle, Vollaire, G. Honey ;
Misses Ada Swanborough, L. Thorne, F. Hughes, 3landerB,
and E. Bufton.
Followed by (19th time) THE MOTTO, "I'M ALL
THERE." Messrs. Honey, Turner, E. Danvers, Collier,
Clifton ; Mesdames Ada Swanborough, F. Josephs, Maria
Simpson, Wallace, and Jenny White.
To conclude with KEEP YOUR TEMPER.
Commence at 7.

THE THIRD EDITION OF " THE SUN,'
Containing the Latest SPORTING INTELLIGENCE,
can be had Every Evening of
G. R. GLENIE, NEWS AGENT,
No. 4, Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park.

The Weather—Sun Office, Aug. 7, 1863.

THERMOMETER.

•
This morning ......
This day at Two o'clock
Barometer-29.90.
Wind..-S.-W.; cloudy, with slight rain.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
THIS DAY.—Morning, 7h. 33m.—Afternoon, 7h. 59m.
To-moßmw.-Morning, Bh. 30m.—Afternoon, 9h. 10m.

Utto

LONDON, FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 1863.

Who will venture to take the initiative? That
still continues to be the mot du jour in regard to
the Polish question. Earnestly united, at heart, in
their sympathies with the Polish insurgents, and
in their antagonism to the Russian rule as exercised
by cheer brute force, the on-looking nations of
Europe still shrink, one and all, from evidencing by
their acts the sincerity of that sympathy and the fer-
vour of that antagonism. Singly, any one of the chief
amongst them might venture to cross swords with
the Autocrat. Leagued together in this eminently
noble and most generous cause, the leading States
of Christendom might readily enough present to
view a warlike front, before which the legions of the
Czar might well find reason to recoil. The aim
of any war just now in behalf of Poland, of the re-
establishment of the Polish nationality, is in itself
essential good. The opportunity for such a war is
strangely tempting at this present moment. The
people of France are yearning for it. The cordial
good wishes of the people of England are
fervently with the Poles and against the Russians.
The Emperor NAPOLEON at all times regarded as
eager for war somewhere, if only to keep his enor-
mous army employed, if only to dazzle the millions
under his sway with the splendour of ne iv victories
won by his Imperial eagles, it matters comparatively
little where or over whom, if only, in fine, to keep
up the prestige of triumphs achieved by the Napo-
leonic regime, the Emperor NAPOLEON IIL,
thirsting, according to these synical critics
of his reign, for those conflicts which, it
18 hinted, are essential for that reign's
continuance, conspicuously among all the despotic
rulers of the day, is now, more than ever he has
been Yet, not only in want of a war, but peculiarly
well prepared "
diti • for it. Already the Mexican expe-
crim"eals:ei:pneadll! accomplished. The memory of the
and further away is
perpetually slipping further
matteraY'from the short-sight of France in
all such
away into there, it is slipping further and further
nearly one Whole dote perspectiveof a past of already
dition, about the :cede. As for the Italian Expe-
chance be atte y utmost that could by any
mpted
initiator of Wars,
as
the there, even by so daring an
seem to have been done _Third NAPOLEON would
NAPO
the Emperor LEON 1
io,nbg since. At Solferino
full well why, " even at the
back recoiled," he knew
made," recoiled immediately f sound himself had
victory at Solferino, back, b
itte r the crowning
improvised place of rendezvous withttoh hise
discomfited
suddenly
Emperor of AUSTRIA—at Villafranett.
afterwards accomplished by the Pied All thatmontese was
Go-
vernment, as is well known, was--in spite of his Iva_
perial MAJESTY'S programme for the Roman
penin-
sula! The absorption of the Duchies, the
disintegration of the Pontifical States, the • daring
seizure of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies by that
most audacious adventurer of modern times, who, it
ought never to be forgotten, was repudiated on his
setting forth by the Government of King VICTOR
E3I3IANITEL, and only recognised as the precursor of
the KING when Naples and Sicily had actually
passed into his possession. The Mexican Expedi-
boo virtually accomplished, the Crimean Expedi-
tion long since past from the view of France, the
Italian Expedition within a few months of its com-
mencement, and increasingly ever since then com-
plicated, for Catholic France, to a state of utter im
practicability—A Polish Expedition now holds
forth its attractions to tne French people
and to the EMPEROR himself with a fascination
of opportuneness all but irresistible.

Yet, with his hands free for the undertaking of new
exploits, with his Mexican anxieties, but yesterday
so urgently pressing upon him, to-day so entirely
dissipated, NAPOLEON 111., whatever may be his

eagerness for war under ordinary circumstances as
a source of glory to himself and of strength to his
dynasty, and, consequently of hope and of good
fortu.ne almost indescribable to his son, evidences at
this juncture not one jot less reluctance than any
one among the most prudent and peace-loving con-
stitutional statesmen of England having a seat in
Lord PALMERSTON'S Government. This exceeding
reluctance to take the initiative in the declaration of
a war against Russia, in vindication of the rights
and liberties of Poland, being, in point of fact, com-
mon, at this moment, to all the rulers, whether
Statesmen or Sovereigns, of each of the Great
Powers of Christendom. The one consideration
constituting, in very deed, the while, the
sole source of this reluctance, so common to
them all, "to each and every of them," being the
profound sense in the heart and conscience of each
not of the hazard, great no doubt though that
hazard is, but of the enormous and all but over-
whelming responsibility ! For—the time has long
since past by when a war in Europe could by any
possibility be a merely partial or a strictly local
war. Whenever this next European War—a war
that sooner or later is quite inevitablteb,stehxetqeuutesetfiiotns
now in regard to it being simply as to
does come at length, as come
postponement—whenever thisfonreaxut Eabusroolpuetealny War
deud
the very elements now
certainty it must and wbirll, ooadnd iugthbavtemr
aouredovaegritoautt of
agitating
more wholewll of
provethe
beyond principal
States or
0 lessf
Christendom,profoun d l
all manner of doubt, as we took occasion
to remark in these columns but very recently, not
only a General War, but a war of Principles. It
is the responsibility of this indefinite expansion of
the war, when once commenced—beyond the limits
of Poland Proper, beyond those of the more isolated
question of revivifying the Polish Nationality, and of
securing anew the perpetuation of its independence
—it is appreciation of this immense, imminent, and
expansive responsibility which causes the rulers of
the nations of Europe to decline, as yet at least, the
tempting opportunity —to take the initiative !
Nevertheless, at any moment the initiative
may be taken. By whom As at once the
most far-seeing, the most daring, the most
ambitious, among all the Sovereigns, States-
men, Diplomatists, Warriors, Optimists, Innovators
in Europe, the Emperor NAPOLEON 111. again fixes
upon himself, but this time more absorbingly than
ever, the eager attention, the breathless expectation
of all Christendom.

The Prussians do not seem to have learned their
lesson so well as their KING would have expected.
The utmost discontent and uncertainty prevail con-
cerning the state of affairs. The mortgage business,
which is generally very flourishing in Berlin, has
been stopped by the hesitation of capitalists to
embark in any speculation at this juncture. This
has caused great loss to many, since, in consequence
of the stoppage to business, three hundred houses
are to be taken and sold by public auction. Of
course so many going to the hammer at once will
greatly deteriorate in value, and hence the proprie-
tors will be ruined entirely, and the mortgagees
will sustain heavy losses. It is also expected that
many more such disasters will speedily occur, and
in the new quarters of the town entire streets will
be sold. It is not to be wondered at that great dis-
content should prevail in consequence of all this,
and it is reported that the state of the public mind
is getting worse daily through these scenes of irri-
tation and annoyance. A significant fact is men-
tioned regarding the funeral of Prince FREDERICK.
The Town Councillors who were invited to attend
refused, being determined to ignore Court events
altogether until after the reception of their late
address, which complained of the violation of the
charter. All over the country there have been
violent addresses to the KING. The most decided
in its tone is one from the Town Council of Stettin,
which complains of the Government forbidding
the transmission of a paper of "constitutional im-
port" to the KING. This address is most strong
in its language, and bitterly complains of the new
course taken by the KING and his Ministers. In
the first place complaints are made as to the con-
duct of the principal officials who had deterred
them from sending their address to the KING on
the subject of the constitutional innovations, and
the " calamitous consequences" that resulted there-
from to trade and every branch of commerce. Then
they proceed in plainer terms to state their opinions,
the first of which declares that " there never was

a country so despotically governed as to make a
prayer a crime." Most truly is it declared that a
Government cannot condemn itself more effectu-
ally than by preventing the voice of the people
reaching the throne. Then they proceed to show
that it is in vain that the " art of subtle inter-
pretation, which has been powerful enough to
make the constitution no constitution," is employed
to regulate the authority of municipal boards. It
is in vain they go on to say that the Government
declare that "as a municipal authority" they have
no right to take cognisance of political matters.
Surely this sentence in the address is suffi-
cient to impress the most wilful as to
the temper they are producing among the
people by their rash experiments and arro-
gant assumption of authority, without law to
give it sanction, or reason to render it excusable :
"Never was there a time in Prussia when the KING
did not graciously condescend to hear the prayers
of towns, districts, and even individual subjects."
King WILLIAM has fallen low indeed in his own
estimation, and the opinion of his advisers, if they
think it unsafe for him to hear what is said of his
policy. That there is mistake, indeed, when its
occupier must shut out the world from his sanctum,
and refuse to listen to warning, expostulation, or
remonstrance. The Town Council of Stettin have
come forward boldly to vindicate their rights, and
they could not have done it in a more effective
manner, or with more zeal and assiduity. They
say that hitherto no constitution was needed to
give them the privilege of addressing their KING,
but that the right of petition has been expressly
granted in the charter to every Prussian and every
corporation in Prussia, and "it is we that are the
municipal corporation of Stettin,' they finally de-
dare. They very truly remark that it is the business
of him to whom the prayer is addressed to say
whether or not he will grant it, and that never
before has an official prejudiced the Royal
:lodgment so far as to announce the
impropriety
of a prayer before it is pre-
sented, but such a thing has n3w taken place.
"Nothing
could have tended more to provoke the in-
indignation of the right to sends people than thus to ignore the
ddresaes to the Crown." This insult
to the corporations
coming after the harshmea-
sures adopted in high
ten times worse, and quarters will make matters
general disturbance. pave the way perhaps to a
stating that the constituTtion hhe address
concludes by
that it is their duty to ii •as been broken, and
painful feelings animating the inhabitants of the
town at the existence of an unconstitutional Govern-
ment, and the pernicious consequences of it for
Stettin." If words mean anything the sentences of
this address can bode no good for the existing
state
of things, and may portend ominous events for the
originators of that policy. It is 'deny by the
Prussian law to declare that the KING acts in ac.

rnE SUN, LONDON,

cordance with a Government who have broke the
constitution, so that these men have not hesitated
to run a great risk rather than to keep silent
when their liberties were at stake, and
the honour of their country was com-
promised and its rights emperilled. Things
do not promise well for King WILLIAM just
now, and it is not to be wondered at. Prussia
has been too long in the ranks of enlightened na-
tions for people tamely to submit to such a system
as has lately been inaugurated for them. They do
not wish to stultify themselves in the presence of
the nations of Europe by giving in a willing adhe-
sion to the dictates that deprive them of their liber-
ties, deform their laws, and altogether completely
change the style of their Government. Political
privileges are worth too much to ba sacrificed with-
out an effort to save them, and no people that has a
spark of national spirit or an iota of national inde-
pend ei
mnwcphe willoe stshi
whether
ye i
Prussiate
ol yield
othe
r foresee
ies t tamelyhtoe e
be h
end
dw
poi tlfuno
allgu t a st
ruggle.
It
plunged into
this
ndtiosetoh
discon-
tent, Ihtetonrits;ors of a revolution, or gradually to be sunk in
the scale of nations, from a free State to a country
that is governed despotically. The only solution
that would maintain peace, restore order, and give
general satisfaction is one that does not seem at all
likely to occur, namely, the prospect of King
WILLIAM resuming a wiser course of Folicy, and
listening to the advice of those who would counse
a happier course of action.

In the lull of political strife resulting from the
suspension of the discussions at St. Stephen's
our statesmen find time to turn their attention to
rural and agricultural matters. The member of the
Lower House meets his constituents, and tells them
of the great things he and his party have done in
the course of the session, the mistakes the Minister
has made, and the probable turn events will take
during another campaign. The landowner visits
his estates, takes part in cattle shows and agricul-
tural meetings, and tries to convince his tenants
that he has not lost his interests in crops and
shorthorns while descanting on the American War
or denouncing the atrocities of Russia. A member
of the Cabinet has just given substantial evidence
that the cares of State have not succeeded in dim-
ming his agricultural knowledge and the interest
he takes in the cultivation of the soil. At a recant
banquet given by the Highland and Agricultural
Society of Scotland, the Duke of ARGYLE, as chair-
man, delivered an address which is full of sound
sense and interest. He remarked in the course of
it that the progress of agriculture was more
dependent upon such societies than the purely
speculative sciences. The experience of a single
individual working in his laboratory or workshop
might, as he showed, affect the industry of the
world, and the same might still more be said
of the casual ideas and suggestions which lead
D a k occasionallye nf
A ARGYLE
our a
said
rtehaatte shte discoveries.had bn
ebeen
toldby Thea
distinguished Scotchman, Mr.JAmEs NASMYTH, that
the idea of his great invention—the steam-hammer
—occurred to him while sitting by his own
fireside one evening. He was so confident of its
success that he wrote by the next post to secure
the patent, though the idea had never assumed a
practical shape. Such confidence and such rapid
results do not belong to the world of agricultural
science. " The very shortest time any important
experiment in agriculture can be tried in is at least
one revolution of the seasons; and there are in-
numerable conflictions arising from varieties of
soil and climate which tend to confuse experiments
in agriculture—so that generally one experiment
cannot be successfully tested except in a long
course of years." The existence of societies which
called each man's individual experience into an
aggregate helps very much to assist the develop-
ment of agricultural science and to hasten the
conclusions it arrives at. What one man's experi-
ence affirms another cohtradicts; and it is only by
weighing the two together and seeing wherein they
differ, what peculiarities of soil, climate, or treat-
ment
have effected the experiment, that sound
information can be arrived at. Agriculture, too,
is a science of a peculiar nature. The manufacturer
or the merchant's wares are ready evidence as to
the nature of his mode of conducting business. They
bear his name as guarantee ; and if there is tiny
peculiarity in the process of manufacture he is
generally the first to make it known. A farmer's
business, on the contrary, is carried on in some
quiet rural spot, and the success or failure of his
mode of treatment does not get much beyond his
own immediate neighbourhood, unless, like Mr.
MECIII, he carries out new schemes on a gigantic
scale. The owner of Tiptree Farm, however, can
scarcely be taken as a specimen of the agricultural
interest generally, and more especially of that part
of it which the Duke of ARGYLE was addressing
at the recent assembly. "We fully agree with the
noble duke in thinking that the existence of a great
central society linking itself with local societies
throughout the kingdom, having annual
shows and assemblies offering prizes for the
encouragement of agricultural science, and includ
ing in itself the men who are governed in such
science, is of great national value. As the noble
Duke observed, the power which man possesses of
influencing the productions of nature is truly one
of his most marvellous gifts, and the further our
knowledge extends the more widely can we exert
that power, and the more we learn how much
depends upon its proper exercise. The tendency
of the lower and coarser kinds of herbage to usurp
the grounds and smother the better and more
valuable grasses has been proved both by the
scientific theorist and the practical agriculturist.
The incidental confirmation of Mr. DARWIN'S asser-
tion by Mr. WILSON'S knowledge is another proof
of the importance of iaducing our tenant farmers to
embody the results of their experience in treatises
which may serve to give others the benefit of what
he has learned. A farmer who had paid but little
attention to the cultivation of grasses could not fail
DtoAßb.we
Isstr,uscktheaotryfininditnhge
recordstheof Mr.
substantiation of the
WILSON'S
experience, and the scientific naturalist and the
tenant farmer thus confirm and enhance the value
of each other's information. " The practical far-
mer," says the Duke of ARGYLE, " finds it perfectly
true that in the struggle for life it is the great
object to give the advantage to those kinds of
grasses which have been found to be of the finest
and most nutritious quality; and that the slightest
carelessness ea the part of the husbandman may for
years destroy a valuable pasturage. This is a de-
partment of agriculture to whaieuhaitohtehenrocboleundtruikees
attaches very great importance. In the growth of
unpeevreiro re to ours, but we are
whose
bh
ne
sa
et
advantagsayses
e
"year by year is
immensely superioasrhreailnsi what

becoming more and more the staple of the British
farmers--the green crops and the feeding of his

stock," and in this direction no rivalry is to be
feared. In conclusion, the Chairman paid a well
merited tribute to the enterprise of the Scottish
farmers, alluding to instances which had come
within his knowledge in which tenants had

expended several thousands on their farms in the

course of a few years. Such examples are
praise-
worthy, and tend to give a stimulus to th.l better
cuitivation of that which has been happily said to
combine the elements, of an art, an industry, and a
science.

ftiimminia

IDAY EVENING, AGGIUST 7, 1863.

LITERATURE.

BALZAC.

Iceland : its Scenes and Sagas. By Sabine Baring-
Gould,"Al.A. One vol., imp. Bvo., pp. 447. Smith
and Elder.

" Farewell heat and welcome frost," exclaims the
author with the " Merchant of Venice," and very
heartily does he enter into this aspiration. The
record of this recent visit of Mr. Baring-Gould to
Iceland fills a most goodly volume, of handsome
appearance within and without, copiously illustrated
with most beautifully-coloured sketches. The his-
tory of the traveller's adventures is narrated in the
most animated and delightful manner possible.
Never before, assuredly, did such an ungenial theme
evoke such glowing descriptions !—never befo:e did
such an unpromising expedition produce such feli-
citous results ! "My object in visiting Iceland,"
says Mr. Baring- Gould, " was twofold. I purposed
examining scenes famous in Saga, and filling a port-
folio with water-colour sketches." Both these ob-
jects have been most satisfactorily carried out, and
the full benefit of the result is at the service of the
reader. The legendary tales or sagas of the North,
are, for the most part, possessed of a singularly
romantic interest. Some half-a-dozen of these
venerable fictions are here presented to us in a
most attractive guise. Interesting as they are,
however, they would possess a higher value in our
eyes were we assured of their absolute identity
with the originals. Mr. Baring-Gould tells
us that the alterations he has made are very
trifling--if so, they had better have been
entirely omitted. The illustrations are many
of them very felicitous. We obtain from them
a vivid idea of the picturesque character of
this land of " mountain and flood." The music of
many Icelandic hymns and ballads is continued in
this very interesting and marvellous volume, and
some curiosities of the Icelandic language, from
which we learn, among other things, that our
English word " gammon " is a derivation from the
Icelandic `• Gaman," to amuse !

Recollections and Anecdotes : being a Second Series
of Reminiscences at the Camp, the Court, and
the Clubs. By Captain R. H. Grenow, formerly
of the Grenadier Guards, and M.P. for Stafford.
One vol, pp. 232. Smith and Elder.
Those who are familiar with Captain Gronow's
former volume will not require much recommenda-
tion to induce them to renew their acquaintance
with his very delightful gossip. The anecdotes
contained in the volume now before us are as diver-
sified in subj,Tt as " the Battle of Waterloo," and
" Sally Lunns ;" Mademoiselle Mars" and "Lord
Althorpe ;" " Revolution of 1848 " and " Snuff-
taking," 84C.; while the style throughout is lively
and amusing. In his portraits and sketches of his
friends and acquaintances, Capt. Gronow is almost
as happy with his pen as the subject of one of
these sketches (Count D'Orsay) was with his pencil.
Here, for example, is Captain Gronow's descrip-
tion of—

career.

COUNT D'ORSAY.
He was rather above six feet in height, and when I first
knew him he might have served as a model for a statuary.
His neck was long, his shoulders broad, and NI aist narrow,
and though he was perhaps somewhat underlimbed, nothing
could surpass the beauty of his feet and ankles. His dark
chestnut hair hung naturally in long waving curls; his
forehead was high and wide, his features regular, and his
complexion glowed with radiant health. His eyes were
large and of a light hazel colour, he had full lips and very
white teeth, but a little apart; which sometimes gave to the
generally amiable expression of his countenance a rather
cruel and sneering look, such as one sees in the heads of
some of the old Roman emperors. He was wonderfully
strong and active, and excelled in manly exercises. He
was a fine horseman, a good swordsman, and a fair shot.
I knew him intimately, and saw a good deal of him. He
had an amusing naiveté in speaking of his own personal
advantages. I remember on one occasion, when about to
fight a duel, he said to his second, Monsieur D—, who
was making the preliminary arrangements, "You know,
my dear friend, I am not on a par with my antagonist : he
is a very ugly fellow, and if I wound him in the face, he
wont look much the worse for it ; but on my side it ought
to be agreed that he should not aim higher than my chest,
for if my face should be spoiled ce serait vrainment dom-
mage.' " He said this with such a beaming smile, and
looked so handsome and happy, that his friend, Monsieur
D--, fully agreed with him.
Here, again, in a few lines, is a very effective por-
trait of—

The great enchanter was one of the oiliest and commonest
looking mortals I ever beheld; being short and corpulent,
with a broad florid face, a cascade of double chins, .and
straight greasy hair. The only striking feature in that
Friar Tuck countenance was his eye; dark, flashing,
wicked, full of sarcasm, and unholy fire.
It is hardly fair, perhaps, to take exception to the
labour of one who has strived so successfully to
afford his readers amusement, yet some of the anec-
dotes here collected, although very well for collo-
quial gossip, are hardly worthy the honour of print .
ing for publication.

Natural _History and Sport in Moray. Collected
from the Journals and Letters of the late
Charles St. John, Author of "Wild Sports of
the Highlands." One Vol., pp. 325. Edinburgh,
Edmonston and Douglas.
The editor very truly remarks in the preface to
this work, that no encomium of his could so
effectually recommend this volume to a large class
of readers, as the knowledge that the text consists
entirely of the observations and notes of Charles
St. John—" a name dear to the lovers of Nature
and manly sport." To all such, this new volume
will be right welcome, and will prove a rare treat.
These " notes" are arranged according to the
months of the year—thus, for January. we have an
account, among other things, of wild ducks and
their habits ; in February, we read of the activity

and earning of the Roebuck ; in March, we learn
about Swans, Wild and Tame, Trout and Pike, &c.,

but the list is far too numerous to particularise—
containing all the denizens of field and flood, together
with the birds of the air frequenting the North.
In Augmt, of course, we have an interesting account
of the Grouse, from which we select a passage as
one the theme of which renders it just now particu-
larly appropriate :
The rage for grouse-shooting, at present so great, is not
. .

likely to change, like many other fashions. The fine air,
the freedom, the scenery, and all the other agrements
acompanying this amusement must always make it the most
fascinating kind of sport in the way of shooting which the
British isles or indeed almost any country can afford. The
bird, too, in beauty and appearance is not to be equalled,
In fact, as long as grouse and heather exist, and the nature
of man is imbued with the same love for sport and manly
exercise as it now is, grouse-shooting will be one of our
favourite relaxations from the graver cares of life.

Although, like others, I am excessively fond of this sport,
yet I care little for numbers of slain; and when following it
independently and alone, am not occupied solely by the
anxiety of bagging so many brace. My usual plan when I
set out is to fix on some burn, some cool and grassy spring,
or some hill summit which commands a fine view, as the
extremity of my day's excursion. To this point, then, I
walk, killing what birds come in my way, and after resting
myself and dogs, I return by some other route. Undoubtedly
the way to kill the greatest number of grouse is to hunt one
certain tract of ground closely and determinedly—searching
every spot as if you were looking for a lost needle, and not
leaving a yard of heather untried. This is the most killing
system, as every practised grouse-shooter knows; but to
me it is far less attractive than a good stretch across a
range of valley and mountain, though attended with fewer
shots. I am also far more pleased by seeing a Mace of
good dogs do their work well, and exhibiting all their fine
instinct and skill, than in toiling after twice the number
when hunted by a keeper, whese only plan of breaking the
poor animals in, is to thrash them until they are actually
afraid to use half the wonderful intellect which nature has
given them.
The grouse (Lagopas Scolicus) is peculiar to the British
islands. There is a kind of grouse in Forway which nearly
resembles it, but is sufficiently unlike and distinct not to be
confounded with it. The grouse needs no description, its
general appearance being known to all. It would be diffi
cult to describe the plumage exactly, as scarcely any twu
grouse of mature plumage are quite alike. They vary from
every shade of reddish brown to nearly black. The
plumage of the young bird is generally much the same in
all specimens, but after their first moult thisdifference of
colour takes place. The colour and markings of the eggs
are equally varied. Notwithstanding the immense numbers
killed by gun, net, and snare, not including those which
fall a prey to crows, hawks, foxes, and other vermin grouse
are still numerous enough to be a source of great profit in
the way of rent to the proprietors of the heath-clad moun-
tains of this country. Tbat they are not already extinct in
most districts is owing, I truly believe, to the preservation
carried on by those who rent the shootings.
The nest of the grouse is placed in a tuft of heather ; it
contains from eight to ten beautiful eggs, spotted and
marked in manner characteristic of the bird itself, though
differing very much in colour. They ale thickly spott..d
with reddish brown of different shades, The old birds are

very attentive to, and careful of the young brood, and re-
main with them till the following spring. On the approach
of, and during wet and rough weather, grouse pack, as it is
called, that is, assemble in large companies, They art 3
then very wild, and ic is quite useless for the sportsman to
follow them. His best chance of filling his bag on these
occasions is to pay no attention to the " packs," but to
hunt for scattered single birds and pairs, a few of which
are always to be found, When the heather is wet it is also
of little use attempting to shoot grouse, particularly at an
advanced period of the season. The 12th of August is,
generally speaking, too early to commence regular grouse-
shooting. The 24th would be a better day to appoint. The
early period being only fit for those who shoot for the news-
paper, as certain sportsmen seem to do whose names appear
every season as having murdered some marvellous number
of grouse on the 12th. One grouse in October is a more
satisfactory prize to the real lover of grouse. shooting than
12 can be on the first day of the season. By October the
grouse, instead of being, as in August, a half-plumaged
and often half-grown bird, is one of the finest and most
game-looking birds in the world. Since my recollection
of grouse they have very much changed their manner of
feeding. The small crops of oats which year after year
encroach on the moor lands have taught these birds to
appreciate corn as their food instead of the tender heather
shoots on which formerly they fed. Now, instead of find-
ing the crop of the grouse full of this latter food you find
that they have been feeding on oats like a pheasant or barn-
door fowl. As long as anything is to be found on the
stubble the grouse come from long distances every evening
and morning to feed on them. Early in the season, too, they
feed in great numbers in the standing corn. Great num-
bers are destroyed by means of snares in the corn-fields,
particularly while the sheaves of oats are left on the
ground.

It is often asserted that the black game drive away the
grouse; but I am not at all of that opinion; I do not consider
that they at all interfere with each other. The same de-
scription of ground is not liked by both kinds of birds.
The blackcock prefers rocky hill-side, with plantations and
boggy pieces of ground, clothed with coarse grass and dif-
ferent kinds of plants; while the grouse delights in wide
open tracts where the heather is not too rank, and where
there is plenty of young heath, on the shoots of which they
can feed. Burning the heather judiciously and at proper
seasons is of great service to grouse, as it gives them heather
of different age—the young to feed on, and the older parts
for shelter.

Not the least attractive chapter of this delightful
work is the memoir of its author, a memoir filled
with most interesting details of his happy but brief

The Reason Why ; Physical Geography and Geo-
logy. :With numerous illustrations. Houlston
and Wright.

Messrs. Houlston and Wright are indeed bene-
factors to those "children of a larger growth,"
whose very natural and very laudable cariosity is
constantly inquiring after the Why and the Where-
fore, in all around them. Many of their recent
publications have abundantly ministered to this
craving for information ; and now, in the one newly
issued, we have " upwards of eleven hundred rea-
sons explanatory of the physical phenomena of the
earth, its geological history, and the geographical
distribution of plants, animals, and human families."
Eleven hundred questions andanswersl We can open
any page at random, and demand the most abstruse
information. " What causes the trade winds," &c.
The most interesting portion of the work is perhaps
the conclusion, that, viz., relating to the different
divisions of the human family and the distribution of
the animal kingdom throughout the world. Numerous
pictorial illustrations increase the value and add to
the attractive character of these descriptions, which
will be especially welcome to young readers.
Indeed if such a store of information does not prove
generally welcome and attractive, is would surely
puzzle even the compiler of this collection to explain
The Reason Why.

THE WENTWORTH PEERAGE.

The first holder of the Barony of Wentworth, as is re-
Ated by the London Review, was one of those worthy per-
sons who in the time of the eighth Henry passed from the
rank of country gentleman to that of a magnate of the land.
His coat showed that he was a cadet of the house of Went-
worth Woodhouse, from which in after days sprang the
great Lord Strafford. He has been said to have been a cor-
dial Protestant, and it is certain that he got some Church
lands. It was probably as a safe politician that he was, with
five other new peers, summoned by Henry to the Parliament
which met in the twenty-first year of the reign. No formal
record of the creation of these six barons exists, and the fact
is inferred from the entries in the Journal of a session of the
same Parliament held five years later. What is more im •
portant with reference to the present claim is that these baro-
nies are held to be descendilde to heirs female as well as heirs
male—in technical language, to heirs general of the original
barons. The consequence is that except two which un-
luckily came to grief at a very early date, they may be said
to be indestructible. Occasionally they fall into abeyance
when two or more sisters succeed as co-heirs, but an abso-
lute extinction of the whole issue of the parent stocks is
almost impossible. The first Lord Wentworth had a troop
of sons and he was succeeded in 1550-1 by his eldest, a
second Thomas. The second baron was as prudent as his
father, but on one notable occasion he was not so fortunate.
He duly witnessed the will of Edward )71. giving the suc-
cession to Lady Jane Grey; as duly he went over to Mary
on the death of her brother, and he carried out the whole duty
of man by sitting in judgment on the degraded favourite,
Dudley the Duke of Northumberland. Such a faithful ser-
vant deserved to be made Governor of Calais, but then
unluckily he lost it. We are accustomed to look upon poor
Mary's despair as the passionate outburst of an intensely
morbid woman ; but in tact the fall of Calais raised a storm
of indignation throughout England. We may conceive the
feeling by imagining the rage which would be felt against
the commander who should lose Gibraltar in a war with
Spain. Professor Goldwin Smith's voice might be heard
piping above the storm that the loss was a gain, but the com-
mander might think himself lucky if he escaped the
fate of Byng. England had held Calais more than
two hundred years; its possession was the symbol and
justifi3ation of the style King of England and France and
the quartering of the French lilies; when it was lost,
the process of English law was strained in a fashion
that can only be paralleled in Sir Bulwer Lytton's " Strange
Story." An indictment was found against the Lord Went-
worth, in his absence, for having traitorously surrendered
the town to the French king; his estates were sequestered,
ana his goods were confiscated. He did not return to Eng-
land till the death of Mary, when he was formally tried by
the Peers and acquitted. He lived to sit himself in judg-
ment on the Duke of Norfolk, and to marry his son to a
daughter of Burleigh. An insignificant third baron begot a
fourth, who was one of the most gallant supporters of Charles
I.; the Earldom of Cleveland marked the King's sense of the
loyalty of his subject. The Earl served the son with the same
zeal that he served the father : he fought at Worcester, and,
though upwards of sixty, he is said to have come to the
battle after twenty-one days' continuous hard riding. The
gallant cavalier had an only son, who died without male
issue in his father's lifetime, so that the earldom became
extinct with the first possessor, but the barony descended
to the son's only daughter, a Henrietta Maria, a god-daugh-
ter of the Queen. The fair Henrietta was loyal after the
fashion of the restoration. The worthless Monmouth deserted
his Scotch wife, the Duchess of Buccleuch, the patroness
of the " Last Minstrel," for the charms of the Lady Went-
worth. With api evision of the doctrine of elective affini-
ties, for which he is rarely credited, he obstinately refused
to acknowledge, when in the Tower, the criminality of the
connection, and—as even the divines of that age had limits
to their complaisance—he went to the scaffold without
the last sacraments of the Church. Let it be said
to the grace of Henrietta that she did not long survive
her lover, but died unmarried in 1686. The barony went
to her aunt, the only daughter of the old cavalier, anti
after passing through two more females, was carried to the
family of Noel of Kirkby Mallory. In 1745 Sir Edward
Noel took his seat in the House of Lords as Baron Went-
worth ; but his only son died without male issue, and the
barony fell into abeyance between a single daughter,
Judith Noel, who married Sir Ralph Milbanke, and
the issue of another daughter, Sophia, who had been
married to Lord Scarsdale. The issue of Lady Scarsdale be-
came extinct, in 1856, by the death of the late Lord Scarsdale,
and the abeyance terminated, the inheritor of the barony
being Anne Isabella, the only child of Sir Ralph Milbanke
and Dame Judith. Anne Isabella Milbanke was the wife
of THE Lord Byron (to use the language of a witness on
Monday) ; and, es all the world knows, the only issue of her
unhappy marriage was Ada, "bolo daughter of my house
and heart," the late wife of the present Earl of Lovelace.
The only surviving son of Lord Lovelace now claims the
barony of Wentworth.

At the Croydon Assizes yesterday a printer's
engineer, named Myers, recovered damages from the Great
Northern Railway, £1,660, as compensation for injuries he
received in January last, in a collision at Knottingley, on
the line belonging to the defendants.
AIR. JOHN BRIGHT, ALP, IN SCOTLAND.—
We (Caledonian Mercury) understand that Mr. John
Bright, M.P., has been residing for some time past at
Amulree, which is situated about mid-way between Crieff
and Dunkeld, in the Perthshire Highlands.

The Stampa of Turin states that Sir James Hud-
son has been recalled from that capital. The approaching
departure of this Minister has caused, says the journal from
which we quote, a painful impression in Turin, where he
was much esteemed. If it be true that Sir James Hudson
has really been recalled, his loss will no doubt be much fat
by many of the leading statesmen of Turin. Sir James was
one of the closest friends of the late Count Cavour.

remains !

I,to

HER MAJESTY.

-

OSBORNE, August 6.
To-day is the anniversary of the birth of his
Royal Highness Prince Alfred.

The Queen drove out yesterday with Princess
Louise and Prince Leopold.
Viscountess Jocelyn and Lieutenant-Colonel Du
Plat were in attendance.
Princess Helena rode on horseback, attended by
the Hon. Horatio Stopford.

The Prince and Princess of Wales.
EDINBURGH, Aug. 6.
The Prince and Princess of Wales arrived at the
Waverley- bridge station at 20 minutes before 8,
and were received by the Lord Provost, magistrates,
staff officers, and others, with the band and a guard
of honour of the 92d Regimen t. They drove rapidly
in a carriage and pair through densely crowded
streets to Douglass's Hotel, in St. Andrew-square.
The way was lined with military. The Prince and
Princess met with a cordial reception, and appeared
at the window of the hotel in answer to the calls of
a vast assemblage in the square, The evening was
beautiful.

Marriage of Lord Alexander Gordon Lennox
and Miss Towneley.
Yesterday the marriage of Lord Alexander
Gordon Lennox, third surviving son of the late Duke
of Richmond, and Miss Emily Frances Towneley,
second daughter of Colonel Charles and Lady
Caroline Towneley, was solemnised according to the
rites of the Catholic Church. The nuptial cere-
mony was performed in the first instance at the
Church of the Assumption (formerly known as the
chapel of the Bavarian Embassy), in Warwick-
street, Regent-street. The Very Rev. Edward
Hearn, vicar-general, officiated, assisted by the Rev.
Thomas Flanagan, of Burnley, Lancashire. The
marriage rite was afterwards performed at St.
George's Church, Hanover-square, in accordance
with the ritual of the Established Church, when the
Rev. Alfred Lennox Peel, cousin of the noble bride-
groom, was the officiating clergyman.
The bride, who was given away by her father,
Colonel Towneley, was attired in a rich white glace
dress, richly trimmed with costly Brussels lace, the
headdress being a wreath of orange blossoms, and
a veil of Brussels lace. The bride wore a pearl
necklace and diamond locket, the gift of the Duchess
(Dowager) of Richmond; a pearl and emerald
brooch, given by her mother, Lady Caroline Towne-
ley ; and a bracelet with a choice crystal centre set
with emeralds and diamonds, by her father.
The bride was accompanied to the altar by eight
bridesmaids, namely, her younger sister, Miss Alice
Towneley, Lady Caroline Gordon Lennox, Lady
Blanche Craven, Hon. Caroline Stonor, Lady Cecilia
Molyneux, Miss Theresa Towneley, Lady Florence
Cecilia Paget, and Miss Lena Grenfell.
The bridegroom was attended by Sir Charles
Russell, who acted as " groomsman." The brides-
maids were all similarly attired in white, and each
wore a plaid scarf of the Gordon tartan.
A numerous assemblage of distinguished relatives
and friends of the Lennox and Towneley families
assembled at both places of worship, including
among others the Duchess (Dowager) of Richmond,
the Earl and Countess of Bessborough, Prince and
Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar, Lord and Lady
Camoys, Lord and Lady Cecilia Bingham, Lord and
Lady Norreys, the Duke and Duchess of Richmond
and family, Mr. and Mrs. John Towneley, &c., &c.
After the ceremony at St. George's Church the
principal members of the wedding party repaired
to the vestry, where the marriage was duly regis-
tered and attested, after which routine proceeding
the newly married couple and the company ad-
journed to Colonel and Lady Caroline Townaley's
house in Charles-street, Berkeley-square, where a
sumptuous dejeuner was given to a circle of upwards
of 100 persons, connections of both families.
Among the company who met at the dejeuner
were his Excellency Count d'Apponyi (Austrian
Ambassador), their Serene Highnesses Prince and
Princess Ed ward of Saxe-Weimar, the Duke and
Duchess of Richmond and Ladies Caroline
and Florence Gordon Lennox and Lord F. C.
Gordon Lennox, the Marquis of Anglesey and
Lady Florence Paget, the Marchioness Maria
of Ailesbury, the Marchioness (Dow.) of Lothian
and Lady Alice Kerr, the Earl of Abingdon, the
Countess Craven and Ladies Craven (2), the Earl of
Sefton, the Countess (Dow.) of Jersey, the Countess
of Sefton and Lady Cecilia Molyneux and Hon. R.
Molyneux, the Countess of Newburgh, the Countess
of Shaftesbury and Lady Victoria Ashley, and Hon.
Alice and Hon. Edith Jocelyn, Count Wimpffen,
Count Corti, Viscount and Viscountess Stratford de
Redcliffe and Hon. Miss Canning, Viscountess Grey
de Wilton, Lady Aveland and Hon. Misses Heath-
cote (2), Lord and Lady Cecilia Bingham, Lord
Henry Gordon Lennox, M.P., Lord George
Lennox, M.P., Lord and Lady Norreys,
Lady Mary Craven, Lady Seaford and Miss
Hardy, Dowager Lady Raglan and Hon. Cathe-
rine Somerset, Lord and Lady Camoys and Hon.
Misses Stonor, Lady Maria Molyneux, Dowager
Lady Shelly, Lady Howard, Lady Eveline de Burgh,
Lady Anthony Rothschild and Misses Rothschild
(2), Lady Harriet Ashley, Lady Arthur Lennox and
Misses Lennox (2), Hon. Henry Stonor, Hon. Mrs.
J. A. Villiers, Hon. H. C. Vivian, Hon. Mrs. and
Miss Heneage, Hon. Leopold Agap Ellis, Hon. F.
Bertie, the Right Hon. Henry T. L. Corry, M.P.,
and Miss Corry, Sir F. Johnstone, Sir C. Russell,
Sir Malcolm Macgregor, Sir Rowland Errington
and Misses Errington (2), Sir Laurence Peel, Mr.
C. and Lady Elizabeth Scrase Dickins, Mr. and
Hon. Mrs. Pereira, Colonel Farquharson, Colonel
Marshall, Major and Mrs. Mansfield, Mrs. William
Russell, Mr. Algernon Greville, Mr. Chaplin, Mr.
H. R. Grenfell, M,P., Mr. C. Pascoe Grenfell, M.P.,
Mrs. Lane Fox, Mr. Macgregor, Mr. Alderson, Mr.
Peaeocke, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Buckley, the Rev.
A. Lennox Peel, Mr. Percy Doyle, Mr. Earle, Mr.
Baldwin, Mrs. Charteris, Mrs. John Leslie. Mrs.
Hobhouse, Mr. George Russell, Mr. and Hon, Mrs.
Maurice Drummond, Miss Drummond, Mr. and
Mrs. John Towneley and Misses Towneley and
Mr. R. Towneley, &c.
At 20 minutes past three the happy couple took
their departure for Goodwood House, the seat of
the Duke of Richmond, in Sussex, to spend the
honeymoon.
The bridal presents were valuable and numerous.

The birthday of Prince Alfred—his Royal High-
ness having been born on August 6, 1844—was celebrated
at Windsor yesterday with the customary rejoicings.
His Royal Highness the Count de Flandres,
attended by Major Burnell and suite, have arrived at the
Clarendon Hotel from Brussels.

The Duke and Duchess of Richmond and Ladies
Lennox leave town early in the ensuing week for Gordon
Castle, Fochabers, N.B.

The Duke of Newcastle is fir the present sojourn-
ing at Ryde, Isle of Wight.
The Earl and Countess of Harewood and family
are staying at Harewood House, Yorkshire.
A SATING OF MONTROND'S, WORTHY OF
ROCHEFOUCAULD. " S'il vows arrive quelque-chose
d'heureux, ne manqucz pas d'aller le dire a vos amis, afin
de leur faire do la peine."—Gronoto's Recollections and
Anecdotes.

SHAKSPEARE'S HANDWRITNG.—His "mind and
hand"—his first editors put on record, to their own con-
fusion in all after-time—"went together; and what he

thought, he uttered with that easiness, 'that wee have
scarse received from him a blot in his papers." Yet of
all these precious, priceless MSS. not one solitary leaf

MOLIERE has been the subject of a great num-
ber of works of late, the last and best of thew being
"Les Recherches sur Mahe et sur sa Famine," by M.
E. Soulie.

GROWTH OF THE BRITISH MusEtTM.--From its
foundation in 1753 to the 31st of March, 1863, it is
calculated that the sum of £3,339,177 has been expended
upon the maintenance and collections of the British
Museum. The number of visitors to tha general collec-
tions at various periods of ten years apart will serve to
show the progress of the institution. In 1805 the visitors
34,409 ; in 1825, 127,643 ; in
were 11,989 ; in 1815, 1835,
289,104; in 1845, 685,614; in 1851 (the Exhibition year)
2,527,216; in 1862 (the International Exhibition year),
895,077.