The Sun.
London, England, 1853-07-28 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, JULY 28, 1853.

LITERATURE.

,L3ITARE MARKETS.-(TIIIS DAY.)

BRITISH RAILWAYS.

Notes and Narratives of a Six Years' Mission,
principally among the Dens of London. By R.
W. Vanderkiste, late London City Missionary.
Third edition. Hamilton and Adams, Pater-
noster-row.
The motto for this work is ably chosen.
" Are they not men, though knowledge never shed
Her quickening beams on each neglected head ?
Are they not men, by sin and suffering tried ?
Are they not men for whom the Saviour died r
The author truly observes, that to the mass of the
higher and middle orders of England, it is yet an
arcanum where the lower orders reside. The de-
tails given of some of the dens and abodes of misery
are awful, yet the worst is obliged to be suppressed,
or the book would be rendered unfit for general
perusal. Some of the accounts are awful, and the
horror is increased by the reflection that it is in
the vicinity of our own dwellings—in the same city
of which we are the denizens—that these miseries
are endured, these sins committed, and these suf-
ferings witnessed. It would be well if many of
those who are now devoting their time and spend-
ing their money for the benefit of those in foreign
lands would turn their attention to their own
country in the first instance. In these pages they
will learn that it is not necessary to cross the sea
in order to find the wicked to reform, the ignorant
to teach, and the afflicted to succour. To all who
take an interest in their own countrymen, we re-
commend this work for an attentive perusal.

The Travels of Rolando. Second Series. By
Anne Bowman. Routledge.
This work is a continuation of the " Travels of
Rolando," which is deservedly a favourite with
children. The authors professes herself to be one
of those children, who, when Miss Aiken's trans-
lation of the original work first appeared, were dis-
appointed at not knowing .the conclusion of that
adventurous history. Having had much experi-
ence in the literary tastes of youth, she has fur-
nished the present generation with a satisfactory
end to the search of Rolando. The present series
conducts the reader to districts comparatively un-
known, though full of interest, carrying him from
Baalbec and Bagdad (the memorable city of the
Arabian Nights) to the shores of the Arctic Sea
and the mandarins of Pekin. The volume is sure
to be a favourite with the young, not only because
it is the long-wished-for conclusion of an interest-
ing story, bat because tales of adventure and travel
always fascinate youth, as the almost universal ad-
miration of " Robinson Crusoe" testifies. It pre-
sents an additional attraction by possessing nume-
rous illustrations.

The Philosophy of Atheism Examined and Com•
pared with Christianity. Hall and Virtue.

This volume consists of a course of lectures de,

livered at the Mechanics' Institute, Bradford, by
the Rev. Mr. Godwin. At the request of those
who heard them they have been published and
distributed to a large amount.
The benefits must be great to the labouring
classes from having the opportunity of hearing
sound, practical, religious information. It is gra-
tifying to learn, from good authority, that these
advantages have not been thrown away, and that
the constant support the indefatigable lecturer
met with was totally unexpected by his opponents,
and proved of good service to the cause in which
he was engaged. At the conclusion of the lectures
the author announced it to be his intention, from
that time, to retire from active exertion. These
words were among his last remarks :—" Ln thus
taking my last farewell, allow me to bear my
humble but decided testimony to the truth and
value of that religion which I have recommended
to others. It has, for about sixty years, been my
light and comfort. It has been the guide of my
youth, and is now the support of my age. To its
salutary influence I owe it that my early manhood
was rescued from folly, and my feet guided into
the way of peace. Through a tolerably long life it
has been my solace and my joy ; from it I have de-
rived my highest happiness and my best support.
In retiring from such a work no one can feel that
his labour has been thrown away, or that his zeal
has been without profit."

A Summer Search for Sir John Franklin. By
Commander E. Inglefield. Harrison.

This is an interesting account of a voyage to the
Polar Seas, in the Isabel screw-schooner, 149 tons,
in the year 1852. The author is one of those who
believe that Sir John Franklin, if not found, can
at least be followed ; and although forced to return
last year, his greatest wish is to be allowed next
year to follow up the discoveries he has made.
The narrative possesses great attractions for the
lovers of adventure, and will enable those con-
versant with the subject to form a judgment as to
the possibility of ultimate success. Notices of the
botany of those regions, by Professor Dickie, and
by Dr. Sutherland, the surgeon, on the meteoro-
logy and geology, are added, with a new chart of
the Arctic Sea—the scene of so many perils and
adventures. The illustrations are numerous ; one
of which, representing the Isabel caught in the
" pack" of ice, gives a vivid idea of her dangerous
position.

Manuel Pereira and the Sovereign Rule of South
Carolina. By J. C. Adams. Clarke, Beeton,

and Co.

The object of this little work is to show in what
an unjustifiable way the authorities of these states
in the south of America conduct themselves. It
appears that they arrogate to themselves the right
of imprisoning foreign seamen, and no appeals
from other governments can at all affect them.
The following extract shows the bearings of the
case, which are not generally known :
" The state, through its reserved rights of confederacy,
claims exclusive jurisdiction in the premises ; and thus
neither the Free States nor the British Government can
reach it through the Federal Power. With all its work-
ings before him, the author has exposed the machina-
tions of the law, and the mendacity of those who make
it a source of spoliation. He, as we are informed, was
editor of one of the leading Southern Journals, the
Savannah Georgian, during the threatened dissolution of
the Union in 1850 ; and was afterwards associated with
public affairs in Charleston, when the imprisonment of
' Pereira' took place, and took an active part in behalf
of the imprisoned."

Popular Economic Botany. By T. Archer, Esq.

Reeve and Co:

This is another of Messrs. Reeve and Co.'s admi-
rable series, which includes nearly all the divisions
of the scientific study of nature. The present work
is the first that has appeared devoted exclusively to
the commercial products of the vegetable kingdom.
The author was for twelve years employed in the
import department of the Customs, during which
period he had an opportunity of inspecting most of
the articles of foreign produce. He also formed
the collection of Liverpool imports, which obtained
the prize medal at the Exhibition ; and recently
he has been appointed collector of raw produce at
the Crystal Palace at Sydenham. It is from these
collections that the present work is illustrated. It
is in five divisions, all of great practical utility.
1. Substances used for food. 2. Products employed
in manufactures. 3. Miscellaneous products used
in the arts. 4. Materia medica ; and, 5, Construc-
tive materials. Not the least interesting portion
is that descriptive of gutta percha, which has be-
come so general, almost universal, in its applica-
tion. The preface justly observes—" Vegetable
products constitute nine-twelfths of the whole
commerce in raw produce, which employs the vast
mercantile marine of this great kingdom. They
furnish us with the bulk of our food and clothing,
our medicine and our building materials, and with
many other necessaries and luxuries. It may be
argued that most of the benefits we derive from
the vegetable kingdom have been discovered with-
out the aid of science. True, but is not this a
great and powerful argument in favour of the ap-
plication of scientific powers in this department ?
—for, if so much has been done without its aid,
how much may we not hope will be effected when
the principles of scientific research, which have
effected such miracles in every other department,
are brought to bear upon that of economic botany
_?
Had not a scientific and practical botanistdiscovered
the gutta percha, how many benefits would per-
haps have been lost to civilisation (unless some
other article supplied its place in the submarine
telegraph) ; and latterly, the investigations of
botanists have added hundreds of .
.articles to our
list of commercial products. What is still in store
for us we know not, but we are certain that vast
fields for discovery are still untouched, and remain
to reward the scientific investigator." The volume
is illustrated by twenty plates, and contains a great
variety of information arranged and classified, so
that it does not constitute an elaborate arid,
to the
incomprehensible botanical list,
concise account of great practical
but general
aplarienad ander ,
advantage and commercial interest.

ACCOMMODATION FOR THE PUBLIC.—TIIO unwilling-
ness of the proprietors of cabs to carry out the provi-
sions of the New Carriage Act has been seriously felt by
the proprietors of places of public resort in the suburbs;
but we are happy to say that, so far as a part of this
inconvenience is concerned, the directors of the Iron and
Citizen Steam-boat Companies have manifested every
disposition to remedy it, by placinrr additional boats on
the river during the afternoon, and also by having extra
vessels to return at night. The benefit of this increased
accommodation was felt last night, when thousands
availed themselves of this additional facility of returning
from Cremorne Gardens, which were unusually crowded
upon the repetition of the feted in aid of the Licensed
Victuallers' School.