The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-26 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The Isthmus of Panama. By Chales Toll Bidwell,
F. R. G. S. British Vice - Consul at Panama.
One vol., pp. 419. Chapman and Hall.

Like Punch's famous advice to persons about to
marry—" Don't !"—is Mr. Bidwell's counsel to
would-be visitors to Panama. "He who visits the
isthmus of Panama," he tells us, " must not aspire
to great enjoyment, intellectual or physical, present
or future. The attractions of the place to visitor or
traveller are few indeed." " Those are," he adds,
" more fortunate who may study the country by
their own firesides." To such Mr. Bidwell here
presents a most attractive history of an unattractive
place. " Would that I could write," he exclaims,
in his introduction, " as the Panama newspaper
boasts to do—
For the cause that lacks assistance
For the wrong that needs resistance,
For the future in the distance,
And the good that I may do !"
We are glad to find Panama so well off in the Press
department! Without aspiring to similar excel-
lence, the author of this elaborate volume has, by
the help of a light and pleasant style, well selected
extracts from Irving, Warburton, Prescott, and
others of the best writers on Columbus and America,
added to copious and authentic informa-
tion respecting the Panama of the present
day (gathered from his own experience as vice-
consul at Panama), furnished the reading
public with a very delightful book on a
somewhat unpromising subject. During a recent
visit to England, the writer (fresh from Panama
himself) was astonished and amused at the ignor-
ance of his countrymen upon that, to him, familiar
topic. " One gentleman, a member of Parliament,
inquired, with perfect innocence, whether Panama
was one of the Northern or Southern States of
America, and how it would probably be affected by
the unhappy quarrel between the States !" With
Mr. Bidwell's volume, in easy access at the library,
no such ignorance need any longer be lamented.

Characters and Criticisms ; a Book of Miscel-
lanies. By James Hannay. One Vol., p. 323.
Nimmo.

The articles in this volume are singularly various
in character, and all of them, as the author's name
may testify, sufficiently interesting and attractive
in manner and material. Plutarch and Thackeray,
Sir Ralph Abercrombie and Lord Amberley, Cap-
tain Speke and Tom Duncombe, we cite as a few
specimens of the diversified character of the bio-
graphical criticisms, while among papers of a dif-
ferent class are " a Letter to an Administrative
Reformer" (breathing a spirit somewhat akin to
Lord John'Manners's too famous lines on " The old
Nobility"), Dutch Presbyterianism," " the Scottish
New-Year's Day," " Changes of Name and Sur-
name," "The Irish Abroad," "The Scottish Sunday
Question," and many more than we can enumerate.
While the political opinions advocated by Mr.
Hannay will not find favour with all readers (our-
selves among the number), his agreeable style, and
the interest of the subjects he has selected, render
his book an agreeable acquisition to the Travellers
Library.

71w History of a Bit of Bread; being Letters to a
Child on the Life of Men and Animals. By Jean
Mae 6. Translated by Mrs. Gatty. 2 vols.

Saunders and Otley.
Taking a Bit of Bread for his theme, M. Jean
Mace has, in a series of interesting letters, initiated
the children of France into all the mysteries of anato-
mical nature, both with regard to men and animals.
The first volume is devoted to man, and describes
all the marvels of the human form—the band, the
tongue, the heart, &c., with chapters on atmo-
spheric pressure, animal heat, the composition of
the blood, &c. Vol. 2 gives similar elaborate and
interesting information regarding the various mem-
bers of the animal kingdom, from mammalia
to fishes and reptiles, to which is sub-
joined some particulars on " the nourishment
of plants." M. Mace's work has been adopted by
the University Commission at Paris, among their
prize-books, and has reached an eighth edition.
Mrs. Gatty has introduced it in a most pleasing
and attractive manner to the English Public, and
the two volumes, which are issued together or
separately, will, we doubt not, prove instructive to
the youthful learner. Although written in the
form of " Letters to a Child," both the subject
and the mode of treatment are far above the
understanding and appreciation of any children
worthy of the name. As the Teetotaller refused to
drink his friend's health at the expense of his
own, we are inclined to think that any un-
happy precocious infants to whom this Bit of
Bread may be prematurely administered will
assuredly become acquainted with the mysteries
of the physical organisation of man and the in-
ferior animals, to the manifest deterioration of
their own. To our thinking children had better
illustrate by example rather than demonstrate in
theory the great laws of nature,—physical orga-
nisation and animal vitality.

THE REFORM LEAGUE.--The executive committee
of the above league met at their rooms, 8, Adelphi-
terrace, Strand, on Friday evening last—Edmond Beales,
Esq., president, in the chair. The minutes of the last
meeting having been confirmed, the secretary read the cor-
respondence from Glasgow, Neath, Grantham, Notting-
ham, Brighton, Chester, Southampton, Poplar, Plaistow,
Plymouth, Bishop-Auckland, and Caine in Wiltshire. The
secretary brought up a preliminary report of tho sub-
committee on the conference, containing suggestions as to
the time when the conference shall be held, persons
eligible to attend its sittings, the principal topics to bo
discussed, a plan of organisation, the public demonstration,
and the deputation to the Prime Minister. Some discus-
sion having taken place on the above suggestions, the re-
port was referred back to the sub-committee, to be presented
in a more complete form at the sitting of the council. In
accordance with a previous notice of motion, it was re-
solved—That the secretary present a weekly account of
income and expenditure to the executive committee. It
was;also resolved—That secretaries of branch associations
be instructed to secure halls or rooms for weekly lectures,
under the auspices of the league, and to make such other
arrangements as may bo necessary for their success. A list
of lectures to be furnished on application to be secretary.
The secretary reported the opening of a new branch at
Paddington on Wednesday evening last, and successful
arrangements with the Nottingham Reform Union.
MR. SALA IN GLASGOW.—Ulysses has yielded to
the syrens. Despite the pious horror with which
Scotland has hitherto regarded the poets and philosophers
of Hampstead Heath, we learn that she has invited ono of
the cockney school to teach in one of her own temples.
What would Christopher North say to the following para.
graph which we quote from the Reader ?—"Mr. G. A. Sala
will deliver three lectures at Glasgow, towards the close
of September and the first week of October, on "Three
Phases of Civilisation : the United States, Mexico, and
Algeria.' Knowing, in common with the rest of news-
paper readers, that Mr. Sala had remitly been photograph-
ing the people of America in the midst of war,' Mexico,
and Algeria, the directors of the Glasgow Atheneum ven-
tured to suggest those countries as the subjects of the
lectures. This was readily agreed to, with the addition
of the general title given above. We understand that these
lectures aro to be delivered exclusively in Glasgow."
NEW MODE OF PREVENTING THE Cow DISEASE.—
An Edinburgh paper says :—" We may mention that a cow-
feeder in Thorneybank, one of whose cows was yesterday-
observed to have gone off its food, was at once despatched
to the islaughter-Lowe and killed:"

finirt t-
Etrtilbr
. -

Foreign Courts.

BERNE, Aug. 23.
A letter received here from Frauenfeld says :
" Yesterday afternoon (Sunday) the Emperor and
Empress, accompanied by the Grand Duke of Baden
and the Queen of Wurtemberg, made an excursion
upon the Bodensee, from which they returned to
the Castle of Arenemberg at six in the evening. His
Majesty telegraphed to the singing club of Stock-
born, which speedily attended and sang several
songs, and was then hospitably entertained by the
Emperor. The Imperial pair leave this morning
for Lucerne, intending thence to ascend the Righi,
or pass into the Bernese Oberland over the Brunig.
The Empress is said to have a great desire to see
the mountains."

PRINCE MICHAEL OF SERVIA.—The reigning
Prince Michael of Servia and his wife the Princess Julia
have separated by mutual accord. The Prince has had no
children by his wife. The Princess Julia, formerly Coun-
tess Hunyady, will take up her residence at Vienna, where
the arrangements concluded with Prince Michael before
the separation will enable her to maintain a large establish-
ment. The Prince Julia is aged 28.
The Duke of Somerset arrived at his official resi-
dence at the Admiralty, Whitehall, yesterday, from accom-
panying the fleet to Cherbourg and Brest.

The Earl de Grey arrived yesterday at his house
in Carlton-gardens, from attending in the suite of the naval
squadron to Cherbourg and Brest.

Lord Lyons does not leave for Constantinople, to
enter upon his diplomatic duties as ambassador, until the
week after next.

Prince and Princess Vogorides have left town to
spend a few weeks at St. Leonard's-on-Sea.

His Excellency the Turkish Ambassador left the
Turkish Embassy yesterday to join Madame Musurus and
family at St. Leonard's.
THE ROYAL MAUSOLEUM AT FROG3IORE.—The
works of the royal mausoleum at Frogmore, the burial
place of the Prince Consort, which have been in progress
since the laying of the foundation stone by her Majesty,
on the 15th of March, 1862, are gradually verging towards
completion. The walls of the interior are adorned with
coloured marbles, which will be combined with frescoes
and other decorations.

THE ALBERT MEMORIAL CHAPEL WINDOW,
WINDSOR GASTLE.—Several of the cartoons by
Messrs. Clayton and Bell, of Regent-street, from which the
mosaic pictures of the sovereigns of England are to be ex-
ecuted by Dr. Salviati, have, it is understood, been for-
warded to Venice. On the arrival of the mosaics in Eng-
land they will be placed in the panels of the interior west
wall, and will form a work of splendid and georgeour
decoration. One panel, representing King Henry 111., has
already been placed in the chapel, and has an excellent
effect.

Death of Mrs. Fraser, Mother-in-Law of
Hugh Miller.

(From the Inverness Courier)

In our obituary this week will be found an announce-
ment of the death of the above lady, which took place *t
Drummond, in the vicinity of Inverness, on Friday last.

Mrs. Fraser was great-grandchild to the celebrated John
Hossock, Provost of Inverness, about the days of the
" Forty-five," and afterwards styled the Sir Robert Wal-
pole of the North, from the able assistance he afforded to
the Lord President Forbes in guiding and ordering matter)
after that unhappy period. Without his advice, the Presi-
dent especially, left it as his dying injunction to his gout
" to do nothing."
Provost Hossock married one of the Cuthberts of Castle-
hill, and by her had two daughters, one of whom married
Phineas Mackintosh, of the Kalachies in Strathdearn,
Ness-side, and Drummond, near Inverness. He purchased
the estate of Drummond from the Town Council of Inver-
ness, and built the house upon it about the time of the
birth of the lately-deceased Mrs. Fraser. Dying childless'
the bulk of his property went to his nephew, Mackintosh
of Holm.

Hossock's other daughter married the Rev. Murdoch
Mackenzie, of the High Church, Inverness, one of tho old
family of Redcastle. These were the grand-parents of the
deceased lady.

Mrs. Fraser was possessed of uncommon powers of mind
and memory ; perhaps no one had a more accurate know-
ledge of the origin and genealogical history of the various
families about Inverness. There were of course many in-
teresting reminiscences connected with her own famil}'•
Among others, it is curious to know that her mother
opened the first Northern Meeting in a minuet with her
cousin, Mrs. Davidson, of Cantray (Mary Cuthbert, of
Castlehill). It was in religious matters, however, and
especially those connected with the first spread of Evan-
gelical truth in the Highlands, that the traditional know-
ledge and memory of the deceased were most remarkable.
From her own lips her son, the Rev. Thomas Mackenzie
Fraser, formerly of Yester and Singapore, now of the
High Church, Geelong, gathered those interesting
memorials of the olden time, "Muckle Kate," Th•
Soldier of Fort George," &c., which have become so popular
in the form of tracts. Her son-in-law, Hugh Miller, refers
to her, though not by name, in his story of " The Young
Surgeon," as she through whose instrumentality that re-
markable young man was led to abandon his wild and
reckless life, and made a true disciple of the Cross. MMrs•
Fraser herself was early brOught to a knowledge of
the truth by the preaching of the Rev. Dr. Payne, of
Kiltarlity—a very dear personal friend—and was enabled
through a long life to hold fast the profession of her faith
without wavering, and to give ample testimony,during her
last trying illness, of the power of faith in the Redeemer
to support in a dying hour.

MR. DAVID URQUHART IN SWITZERLAND.---A
correspondent of the Abeille de Chamonix writes
thus :—" At Saint Gervais I had heard that a rival of M•
M. Nicolai was building an amateur chalet on the plan of
the Melezes, between Forclaz and Prarion. I wanted to
see the chalet of Mr. Urquhart, about whom everybody iS
talking in the valley. For Mr. Urquhart has not come to
live on the Alpine mountains from mere curiosity. go
has taken on himself a noble mission ; his creative mind
has already laid out a garden around his chalet, where 11°
will try the cultivation of the kitchen garden plants of the
north of Eurape, a plantation of young trees where there
will be the cedars of Lebanon, the Wellingtonia gigantea of
Andes, and the rarest coniferous plants of the Himalaya'
Thanks to Mr. Urquhart, Prarion will have its acclimstisa-
tion garden, which will be as valuable for the mountains
as that of the Bois do Boulogne is for the plain. I can
predict that he will be successful, and obtain the gratitude
of the public. If I tell you that since his arrival IKr'
Urquhart has been a sort of providence to the poor of the
parish, you will not be astonished to hear that he 110 g
already won the sympathy of all. I leave you to judge if
my curiosity was not excusable. Heaven evidently did
not look upon it as culpable, for it was propitious to rae:
I had the good fortune to meet Mr. Urquhart at the chalet of
the Melezes, the honours of which he did with his natural
urbanity and gentlemanly courtesy."

ABD-EL-KADER AT BREST.—The latest account
from Brest up to the 23d inst. are satisfactory
The weather continues very favourable, its only fait
being that it was rather too calm for the second day °I
the regatta, which was Tuesday. Abd-el-Kader paid 01
formal visit to the French Minister of Marine on board the
ReMe Hortense, and was saluted by the guns of the Sol-
fertile and tho shore battery. The calm lasted till S p. 1134
and was taken advantage of for the races of row boats. .10
half-past 3 a smart breeze sprung up from the S.S.W4
and enabled the sailing vessels to make their way t°
the starting point, and take their turn in the regattP
Meanwhile Abd-el-wader visited the English and French
Admiral's ship. Each vessel when he left it saluted hie/
with 13 guns, the French flag run up at the mizen. A shot*
battery replied to these salutes. The Emir, who is alnio
a greater lion at Brest than the English fleet, returned al
shore and afterwards took boat again and went to the grey
dinner on board the Solferino. At night the weather Wg'
favourable to the illuminations and fireworks, which latter
were let off before the commencement of the theatrical per-
formances, got up with the assistance of Madame Cabe,:
Wertheimber, and Madlle. Broban. These performance'
went off with great éclat, the aspect of the theatre is dec;
scribed as superb, and the English officers as much pleased
to hear such good singers and actors. The day was a ver',
busy one, and everything went well. Not a single accident
on sea or on land took place on the 21st or 22(1.—Tiwei
Paris Correspondent.
BISHOP COLENSO. —We understand that til°
Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the li.rce;
Chancellor Wood, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, ..`4,0
Hubbard, and Archdeacon Halo, who are the defendeei:io
to the Bishop of Natal's suit to recover the arrears of
al
income, have put in their answer, and that the prineili)d..
grounds upon which they defend themselves for 135,
withil°
ing the bishop's income aro, that the clergy of the ce°ro,
refuse to obey him ; that the bishops at home have Pot
hibited him from officiating in their dioceses ; and t 4
the recent decision of the Judicial Committee of the Fri
big
Council has deprived him of all coercive power orer
clergy, and also relieved him from all metropolitical ju"ut
diction and control; consequently that the objects sougd,
by the subscribers to the fund have not been att Ine"i
It w'
The case will be argued after the long vacation. tigl
be gathered from the above statement that the substi3olli4
lino of defence is one equally applicable to all the co lot
bishops who have been appointed by letters
colonies possessing legislative institutions of their cove
Solicitors' Journal, Aug. 26.

t