The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-01 00:00:00

able than thus to stroll at leisure in such delightful spots,
and the chronicles of such adventures possess also an at-

traction and amusement. The style in which this is written
is light and flowing, and well adapted to the subject. The
account of the " villages which of old were cities" is very

good, and it is curious to dwell on the details presented,

and the remarkable inscriptions met with on old monu-
ments and in ancient churches. "Blondes versus

Brunettes" is an entertaining paper that criticises the
French work on this subject, and the world is advised to

make the most of its fair denizens, since they are passing
away as a race, and will leave no likenesses behind. The
consequences of this change are thus strikingly put forth.
The ,fair are tuining dark, the dark are becoming black,

and thus within a given time all mankind will be reduced
to the condition of negroes, and then the devil alone will
be painted as a blonde. "David Chantrey" is continued,
and presents a striking scene, in which the two young men
who were engaged in the fight of last number's instalment
are introduced. It is a satisfaction to find that David is
disappointed at the result of his untimely escapade, for no
one can sympathise with one who depends on brute strength
to explain his arguments. " Calcraft's Calling" is an article
that is sure to attract notice at this juncture ; but the
opinion expressed that there must be an abolition of capital
punishment now is an erroneous one, for the interests of
society demand its retention. "Land at Last" is continued
in some exciting chapters. " The Streets of the World"
take us across the Atlantic again and land us in Canada
East. Various other articles complete the contents of this
number.

THE SHILLING MAGAZINE.—" Phemie Keller"
increases in interest as the story goes on, and is as
well written as ever. The young belle of the Cum-
berland valley takes farewell of her old home and
its quaint surroundings, and comes forth into the
world as the bride of the wealthy Captain Stondon.
Phemie's future, however, is not well assured, and there
is a tinge of sadness running through her history as if its
close were not to be as bright as its beginning. The other
tale, " The Wild Flower of Ravensworth," is less pleasing.
With more passion it has less feeling, and the relationship
of hero and heroine is from the first unsatisfactory. Sir
John Bowring contributes the first part of a paper on
"Education in China," which he is well qualified to write.
He gives us much interesting information respecting this
industrious people, among whom literature ds very highly
valued. " Every family in China," says Sir John Bow-
ring, "is ambitious that one at least of its members should
obtain literary eminence ; to accomplish this object every
sacrifice is made, every exertion called into action." When
success is achieved, all his family and most distant relatives
feel personally honoured, and look up to the fortunate
hero as a kind of oracle. Printing, after a certain fashion,
existed in China many centuries before it was known in
the West, and in some of their teaching they are not be
civilised nations. This is especially the case with
arithmetic, in which the decimal principle is extensively
adopted, the decimal numbers being used more commonly
by the Chinese than by any other people. Unfortunately
the learning of all kinds is chiefly by rote, and is never
applied to practical purposes until the days of scholarship
are over. A paper on " Mad Dogs" deserves to be read
with great attention for the careful description which it
gives of the preliminary symptoms of the terrible disease.
If these were more generally known many lives would be
saved, as the animals attacked could be immediately de-
stroyed, while much unnecessary alarin would be saved,
and many dogs who are wrongly denounced as mad would
escape persecution :Charles Knight, whose name is a suffi-
cient recommendation to any article, gives us the second
instalment of an intereresting account of "Jacob Tonson
and the members of the original Kit Cat Club." Other
papers of various merit complete the number.
MACMILLAN'S MAGAZINE.—Mr. Ludlow intro-
duces us to the first part of " A Gallery of
American Presidents." He begins, of course, with
the first and greatest, and leads us from Washing-
ton to Van Buren, giving us outlines of the policy
and the career of Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe,
author of the famous " doctrine," Quincey Adams, Andrew
Jackson on the way. The article is well written and
full of interest, especially since Englishmen are not so
familiar with American political history as they should be.
Mr. Gallon has a second paper on "Hereditary Talent and
Character," a difficult subject, which he discusses very
fully and sensibly on the whole. " From Bristol to Caer-
leon" is a pleasant paper, but an essay on "Negro
Suffrage," however just in principle, reads almost like a
mockery when we remember the miserable condition of
claimants for the franchise. "The Dove in the Eagle's
Nest" proceeds with undiminished interest. It is evident
that the first Baron Eberhard, Christina's husband, has not
perished as was supposed, but is detained in captivity. The
terrible old baroness is dead, and Christina is free to visit
her dear Ulm, with her two tall sons. The story is fresh
and novel, and the authoress seems as much at home in the
wild life of mediaeval Germany as in English parks and
pleasances of the present day. The other story of " Cradock
Nowell" is also continued in its accustomed rather discur-
sive fashion, and this month it records a terrible and un-
expected catastrophe.
LONDON SOClETY.—Lore=_and fashion form the
staple Itly serial, which 'is as
bright as the season. Its illustrations are as nume-
rous and as clever as usual, and we may especially
mention " Georgie's First Love Letter," drawn by Miss
Ellen Edwards, which shows great talent in the fair artist.
The story which it illustrates is a genuine love story,
though the scene is laid in England at the present day.
What is to become of the charming young heroine whom
Miss Edwards shows us, unless, indeed, the " faithful and
true" lover return, Claude Melnotte fashion, is difficult to
foresee. A dissertation on the merits and demerits of
Five o'clock Teas concerns the denizens of the West-end,
and "The Playgrounds of Europe" is the title of a very
readable paper, which is just now not inappropriate. The
London Opera Directors are continued, and this sixth
chapter is adorned with a portrait of Catalani. " Wanted
a Curate" is a tale that gives a semi-comic, semi-tragic
account of a clerical dilemma. " Steamboat Characters,"
" The Holiday Season," and " Flirtation Corner," are
among the best of the remaining articles.
THE SIXPENNY MAGAZINE.—A new story, called
" The Fatal Legacy," is begun in this number, and
it shows how a sudden acquisition of wealth renders
a united family miserable. " Popular Physiology"
is continued, and contains useful information, while a
paper on the "Medicinal Effects of Water" gives some
startling revelations of the ancient mode of surgery. " The
School of Experience" is a story with a moral, and is more
likely to do good than the very didactic essay on the
"Conduct of Life." There are plenty of other topics, and
'act, fiction, and verse are agreeably blended.

ABYSSINIA.

-

The France publishes a letter from Count R.
Dubisson, dated Wolkait, in Abyssinia, April 16f
giving an account of the position of Colonel Came-
ron, the British consul.. It states that the consul,
after having for 18 months been led like a wild
beast at the suite of the Emperor Theodore, with
an iron collar round his neck, and his right arm
chained to the left arm of an Abyssinian, has been
finally imprisoned at Magdala, near Debra Tabor,
with other Europeans, among whom are two French-
men named Bardel and Mabkeler, and some Ger-
mans. The Emperor, it is added, has refused the
numerous applications made for the consul's release,
and his last answer was—" If the English want
Mr. Cameron let them come, and seek him." The
correspondent of the France is of opinion that the
Emperor is so exasperated that it is to be feared
that Colonel Cameron's head and those of the other
prisoners will be struck off should any serious attack
be made on the Emperor's dominions. He adds,
that a statement made in Europe of a prohibition
against foreignersvisiting Abyssinia on pain of death
is not correct, ache and other Europeans are living
there unmolested. The letter is interspersed with
everal grandiloquent sentences. After recording
the treatment received by Cameron, he writes :-
-" All this while a shameful death has been con-
stantly hanging over Mr. Cameron's head, and the
British cannon is mute. ' Rule Britannia' does not
wake the echoes of the Abyssinian mountains, and
the flagrant insult is yet glaring in the face of the
first nation of the world. One is astounded to think
that the insulted party is England, and the insulter
Theodore." He says there is another cause for the
King's anger besides the unanswered letter to the
Queen of England. When speaking with an Abys-
sinian prince, after his first brilliant reception at
Theodore's Court, Consul Cameron expressed his
opinion too freely respecting the King's policy, and
the prospects of the King as compared with his
enemies. Count Dubisson adds :—" Did the talkers
go further ? In presence of the great misfortune
which has happened to Mr. Cameron, I shall be
silent on that head. Suffice it to say that, when
the consul returned to the Emperor, the angry
countenance of the latter presaged a storm. Ser-
pent !' muttered Theodore ; but, being too cunning
to allow it to be supposed that be was afraid of a
plot, or gave himself a thought about hisvanquished
enemies, he dissimulated the real cause of his rage,
and the representative of England was arrested and
loaded with irons, on ;the pretext that he was re-
sponsible for the insult to the' Emperor by the
Queen."

NEW ZEALAND.—A private telegram from Auck-
land, New Zealand, dated 23d May, was received yester-
day by Messrs. Shaw, Saville, and Co., announcing that
the ship Winterthur had arrived safely With emigrants a
that port.