The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-25 00:00:00

through my teeth, and I awoke. I felt very unhappy, and
I began to cry; the girl had vanished, but my teeth were still
in great pain. The door was open, and there cs a light
in the room, and on looking round I saw these:' ant stand-
ing by my side, offering me something in a cup. I said,
' Thank you, Ido not want to drink.' He r ied, If you
do not drink, your teeth will continue to pai ou; so I took
the cup and swallowed the contents, which tasted to me
like some sort of wine. In a little while all my limbs began
to feel very heavy ; my hair seemed to me like trees, -my
arms and legs like mountains, and I laughed excessively
at nothing at all. Then the man brought some bul-
lock's-dung and burnt it in the fire, and while it was
smouldering, he laid three eggs upon the embers ; gradually
the fire faded, and at last went quite out, leaving the
blackest darkness in the room ; thick, and it seemed to me

almost palpable, was this darkness. Presently 1 saw some-
thing moving in the ashes, and the three eggs appeared
glowing with a red light, like rubies. One of them rose in
the air, and gradually expanded, opening out into a large
ardent ball, in which I saw many countries, and kingdoms,
and peoples. 1 gazed attentively on this wonderful picture
for a time, and then it gradually faded. The egg remained
for some moments, still burning in the air, and revolving
rapidly, and at last fell down on the ashes. Again the same
thick darkness filled the room, but soon the second egg rose
from the fire-place as the first had done, and burned with
the same red light. It expanded, and I heard a fearful noise
as of loud thunder, and in the luminous ball I saw again
many countries and people, but the latter were all dead.
Suddenly they all arose, and began to dance ; some of them
thrust out their tongues, others looked very angry, and
others were crying. I was all this time unable to stop
laughing. Then I saw scenes of war ; all the people in the
mysterious landscape began to fight, shooting and stabbing
one another with great fury. This picture vanished
slowly, and the egg, alter mining for some time in the
air, fell down and left me in the terrible darkness. Once
more the red light appeared in the ashes, and the third
egg rose and expanded as the others had done. Another
scene presented itself. I looked upon the most beautiful
jungles and gardens, just such forests as I had passed
through, and suddenly the landscape was enlivened with
troops of beautiful girls dancing and singing together,
and drinking wine—amongst them I spied the same
damsel of whom I had dreamed. She moved as if to speak
to me, and I heard her companions ask her who I was,
He is a poor stranger boy,' she answered, with an accent
of pity. I sprang forward to embrace her, but the servant
man seized my arm and held me back. I struggled hard
to get free, but he cried, ' Take care, if you go near her you
will be mad till judgment-day, and never leave the jungles.'
' Who are these beings ?' I asked. He told me they were
creatures summoned by the arts of the naked men; and if
any one touches these beings he will be mad till the end of
time. It is best,' he said, to turn away from their en-
chanting looks, or you will love the spirits and lose your
reason.' By this time the scene was beginning to fade;
the beautiful maid slowly retired, bidding me adieu as she
went. I felt some pain to see her go. The globe then
began to revolve, and finally fell, leaving me in deep dark-
ness."

Ten Years in the United States. By D. W. Mitchell.
Smith, Elder, and Co:, Cornhill.

Strongly opposed to President Lincoln's Government,
and believing that the cause of progress will gain by the
secession of the South, the author of this volume has pro-
fited by his ten years' residence in America to collect a num-
ber of facts and statements bearing upon the causes of the
present struggle, and of coasiderable interest as showing
the working of the democratic form of Government. Still,
the observations are not new. They simply confirm the
views which the most sensible Englishmen have enter-
tained respecting the " States;" and they accord in
all essentials with the opinions which this journal has
consistently expressed. Thus the author, whilst sy mpa-
thising with the South, by no means defends slavery in the
abstract, Ha accepts it as an ugly fact, to be made the best
of. He considers that the negroes, as a class, are incapable
of self-governmont, and that they are,Upon the whole, well
cared for and well treated in the South ; whilst the North
on the contrary, not cnly looks upon them with hatred and
contempt, but would be glad to be utterly rid of them by
any means, however violent, even to the extent of hounding
them on to massacre their masters, that it may have an excuse
for massacring them in turn. The extreme Abolitionist
party he considers mischievous fanatics ; and whilst admit-
ting the accuracy of the separate incidents in Mrs. Stowe's
" Uncle Tom's Cabia," he considers it utterly false as a
whole. The most mischievous political party in the North
he considers to be the Irish. Courted by the rival candi-
dates for power, and animated by the most rancorous hos-
tility to this country, they have contributed, more than any
other section of " United States" citizens, to demoralise the
lands of their adoption and embitter its feeling towards us ;
and the author wisely suggests that it would be far better if
they expended their superfluous energy and their political
influence to introduce among themselves a little social re-
form, for in the Irish slums in New York all the worst
features of the worst dens in London seem exaggerated in a
tenfold degree. But, as regards dirt, something is due to
the influence of the Roman Catholic religion. The saints
and hermits of old were notorious for their contempt of the
decencies of life. The odour of sanctity is a sufficiently
suggestive phrase. Even now on the Continent cleanliness
seems by no means allied to what is there looked upon as
godliness ; and Rome, with the finest supply of water of any
city in the world, is almost destitute of baths. But to return
to the " States." Corruption, it seems, is not the exception
but the rule. Every man has his price and considers him-
self aggrieved if he does not get it. If needful a Legisla-
ture may be bought almost in the lump, 'Vote by ballot is
a farce, and the worse men grasp the best places. Such in
brief is that pleasant state of things on the other side of the
Atlantic, which the Manchester school would fain introduce
among us. To those who may still have faith in the efficacy
of a Republic we recommend a perusal of this volume, of the
contents, of which we offer the following specimens: