The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-17 00:00:00

FRANCE,

BOURSE, Jan. 16.—The market has been firm,
but without any material change, Threes, for the
Account, being now at 67f. sc. Mobilier has im-
proved to 965 f. Railway Market quiet, but firm.
The market became weaker towards the close, and
left off as follows :

41 per Cents 95
Do. end month —
3 per Cents. —
Do. end month 66 90
Credit Mobilier
Do. end month 952 50
Bank Shares 3480
Credit Foncier 1280
Roman 73 50

Italian Loan 65 40
Do. end ntonth 65 45
Ditto Threes —
New Mexican

Russian —
Austrian
Spanish Threes
Home Debt
Deferred

RAIL'

WAYS.

Cash. Acct.
Orleans
Northern 997 50 ... 997 50
Lyons and Mediterranean__ 922 50 ... 926 25
Southern 578 75 ... 578 75
Western 542 50 ... 545
Eastern
Sardinian 3lO ... 310
Austrian
Lombard 542 50 ... 542 50
North of Spain 355 ... 355
Saragossa 420 ... 420
Ditto to Barcelona — ...

LITERATURE,

-_-40,-- -___-

The Temple Anecdotes.
Invention and Discovery. By Ralph and Chandos
Temple. One vol., pp. 438. Groombridge and
Sons.

In the modest form of a prettily gilded gift-book, a
really noble enterprise—as it appears to us—has here
been commenced. Merely as the work stands now
before us, in the guise of this single volume, it may
take rank among the Curiosities of Literature. But,
excellent-though the book under notice is in itself,
it is chiefly noticeable as a precursor of other and
kindred volumes that are to follow it. It is especi-
ally acceptable as the first in a long procession.
And as such we cordially welcome it. We at once
accord to it a place—and an accessible place too—
upon our bookshelves. Before placing it thus, how-
ever, we have more than merely dipped into it here
and. there. We have thumbed it industriously—
taking it up again and again, and hardly ever putting
it aside for a while without reluctance. For, in
point of fact, what is this First volume of " The
Temple Anecdotes ?" It is—simply to ex-
press it as a mere matter of fact—an
anecdotal record of the Fairy Tales of
Art and Science ! It is, in other words, an epitome
of the foremost among the marvels won from
the arcana of Nature by Modern Discovery and
Invention. Without even looking at the Letter-
press, anyone may recognize the fact that the Book
is precisely as we have just now said that it is, upon
a cursory glance at the twelve or fourteen woodcut
embellishments scattered through it. Arkwright's
termagant wife, in one of those illustrations, has
just destroyed the models of the machinery
by which that humble barber was enabled to leave
off shaving his customer, for a penny—winning up-
wards of eight millions sterling, and becoming
eventually famous as Sir Richard Arkwright the
millionaire ! James Watt, in another, is represented
as a little urchin chalking a geometrical figure upon
the hearth=stone. Professor Schonbein, of Baden,
in another, is shown igniting his gun-cotton upon
the palm of the late Prince Consort. M. Villeme,
in another, is depicted in his studio practising his
almost miraculous art of photo-sculpture. Turn-
ing, however, from the mere illustrations of the
volume to the enthralling letterpress, it is surprising
to note how much profoundly interesting and valu-
able information has not only been here compacted
together by the Brothers Temple, but rendered
delightfully readable into the bargain by the
manner in which the facts collected together have
been recounted. From the contents of this one
volume the reader learns, among other wonders of
a like extraordinary character, how it was that
James Hargreaves came, in 1767, to invent the
" Spinning Jenny !" How Sir Richard Arkwright
contrived his " Spinning Frame !" How Samuel
Crompton hit upon his ingenious notion of the
" Mules !" Now we read of Thomas Turnbull's
happy thought of first having paper " hot-pressed !"
Now of Humphery Potter's marvellous finishing
touch, as one may say, to the invention of the Steam
Engine of Newcomen—by means of which last
touch, in fact, the Steam Engine first of all became
Self-Acting! Valentine Haiiy, now, charms us into
attention by his beautiful invention of raised print-
ing for the Blind ! Now we learn, from the history
of William Lee's ineffectual courtship, how that in-
genious wight came to think of his wonderful con-
trivance of the ." Stocking Frame !" Another
while, as we turn the pages of this curious
book, we follow in fancy, into the streets
of London, in 1786, the adventurous Jonas
Hanway, who then first had the courage to unfurl
an umbrella over his head in this our metropolis !
Thirty-four years later, namely, in 1820, we are in
imagination by the side of Daniel Krafft when he
first snapped a phosphorus match successfully.
Here, again, we learn, turn by turn, how Robert
Burford, in 1787, first came to paint Panoramas—
how Colonel Colt, in 1835, first invented
Revolvers—how Elias Howe, in 1841, first invented
his exquisitely ingenious Sewing Machine—how,
in 1842, gutta percha, as a new material for manu-
factures, was first discovered by Dr. Montgomery.
The Brothers Temple, moreover, relate to us, here
briefly but with sufficient detail for the perfect com-
prehension of the story, how, in 1807, Pall-mall
was first lit by coal gas, thanks to the perseverance
of Mr. Winsor. They tell us how the first con-
triver of a pianoforte was Sebastien Erard (who
died at Paris as recently as 1831), the son of a
cabinet-maker of Strasbourg. Alois Senefelden's
accidental discovery, in 1817, of the art of Litho-
graphy—M. Daguerre's first disclosure to the world
in 1839 of the marvels of Photography—Dr. Simpson's
benign discovery, in 1847, of the pain-destroying
influence of Chloroform—these,
again, are among the
enthralling themes here descanted upon by the coin-
pilers of this charming first volume of " The Temple
Anecdotes." As a repertory of anecdotal history,
the collection thus inagurated will take its place,
we may already rest satisfied, with The • Percy
Anecdotes. After " Invention and Discovery" will
come in due course, " Enterprise and Adventure,"
" Humanity •and Benevolence," " Integrity and
Patriotism," "Trial and Perseverance," &c., &c.,
according to the announcement made through the
prospectus issued either by the compilers themselves
or by the publishers. One improvement alone,
we here feel called upon to suggest as worthy of
attention in the subsequent volumes of the series,
namely, that of a more accurate arrangement, par-
ticularly in regard to the numbering of the pages, of
the Index to the miscellaneous contents of " The
Temple Anecdotes."

A letter from Drontheim, in Norway, states that
up to the commencement of the present year the tempera-
ture there had been unusually mild, no cold being felt nor
any snow fallen, and the thermometer stood at from 4 to 6
degrees above freezing point.