The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-27 00:00:00

LITER.; ÜBE

THE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON.
By W. HARRISON AINSWORTH.
Mr. Ainsworth has certainly struck upon a rich
vein in his new serial story now appearing from
month to month as the feature in Bentley's Miscel-
lany. His latest instalment, the one adorning the
March number of that popular periodical, is the
very best that has yet made its appearance. The
occasion described is still the Lord Mayor's-day in
1761—exactly a hundred years ago on the 9th of
last November. The romancist is yet in the midst
of his radiant description of the pageantry and
pomp attendant upon that antique ceremonial. Sir
Gresham Lorrimer is surrounded, as usual upon
these occasions, with all the civic splendour inciden-
tal to the instalment of the chief, magistrate
of the City of London. His generous nature
shines out more and more delightfully upon us.
And we appreciate his good qualities all the more
from their contrast with the petty foibles, and
vanities, and littlenesses of all kinds distinguishing
th'e rest of the family, with the single exception of
his youngest and favourite daughter. The incident
of the dilemma into which the Lady Mayoress is
plunged, all of a sadden, by reason of the extrava-
gant height of her preposterous head-dress, is most
humorously imagined and describtel. It is not,
however, in regard to tl:e minor characters of the
story, such as the vainglorious Queen of the City,
that the principal interest of the tale will be
found to consist —at any rate in the
present instalment. It is rather in the
vivid revival by Mr. Ainsworth's luminous and
skilled pencil of a whole century since, with all its
forgotten fashions and habits, and with all its
extinct historic personages. One after another
appear upon the scene the young King George 111.,
then in his twenty-third year, and but newly seated
upon his throne—his young bride, the Queen Char-
lotte—the then still well preserved Princess Dowa-
ger of Wales, the King's mother—her arch favourite,
the unpopulat Earl of Bute—and in the midst of a
crowd of other celebrities, the paragon of the age,
the cynosure of all eyes, the idol of the
whole people, the future Earl of Chatham, then Mr.
Pitt, known to all Europe, loved by all England,
under his magnificent title of the Great Commoner !
The description Mr. Ainsworth gives of this illus-
trious man is so really admirable in every point of
view, that we here give it by way of quotation.
Here, then, is Mr. Pitt—" the mightier father of
the mighty son !"
" S, me description must be attempted of the personal ap-
pearance of one of the first of England's statesmen, and in-
comparably her greatest orator, though we despair of giving
an idea of that marvellously expressive countenance, cast
in the preudest mould, and stamped by the loftiest intelli-
gence—the magnificent brow, made marble pale by constant
thought—the eagle eye, that penetrated the vet y soul of him
on whom it fell—the aquiline nose—the haughty lips, which
could give vent to such a flood of eloquence as none other
ever poured forth. These were his lineaments ; but to judge
of their full effect, you should have seen them kindled by
the fiery soul within, the eye flashing lightnings, the lips
breathing scorn, and every feature impressed with the
thought to which the eloquent tongue gave utterance. You
should have seen his tall majestic figure, thin and wasted
by the cruel malady to which he was a martyr,
reared to its full height—have marked his tiatrician
look and deportment, his dignified and appropriate
gestures—and above all, have listened to his won-
derful delivery—grand, sonorous, impassioned, persua-
sive, menacing, terrible—thunder not more awful than his
loudest and deepest tones. ' England,' said Frederick the
Great, speaking of Pitt, ' has at length brought forth a man.'
Nature, indeed, as we have just endeavoured to show, had
endowed the Great Commoner with her richest gifts—a
stately person, a noble countenance, an eagle glanse, and a
magnificent voice, susceptible of every variety of intona-
tion, persuasive in argument, terrific in invective."
As a contrast to this portraiture, take the follow-
ing rapid but vivid sketch of
THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND.
"Attired in a magnificent military costume, and wearing
the blue riband and a star, the hero of tulloden looked
painfully ill, and as if his days were numbered. At this
juncture he was slowly recovering from a severe paralytic
attack, which for a time had deprived him of the use of his
limbs, and he had ether bodily ailments besides. With
difficulty, and only by the aid of two servants, had he been
got into his coach. Naturally harsh and repulsive, his fea-
tures were now swollen and distorted, the mouth being
drawn down on the left side, while his bloodshot eyes and
truculent looks seemed to justify the epithet of 'the butcher,'
bestowed upon him for the severity with which he had
treated the unfortunate Scots during the rebelli n. The
Duke was not popular with 'the multitude, and very few
cheers greeted him as he entered Pall-mall. Evidently
offended at the sullen silence of the throng, and with the
looks almost of aversion cast at him by some of them, he
scowled fiercely around, and threw himself back in his
carriage."
As a token of how well the romancist is up in the
mere " costume" of the period, take this brilliant
little pencilling of a balcony-full of great people a
hundred years back in Pall..mall.
" At the corner of St. James's-street a balcony was
erected, which was filled with well-dressed personages of
both sexes—beaux, young and old, in flowered velvet, or
cloths trimmed with gold, not of the dusky and monotonous
hues now in vogue, but of every variety of tint, rich bro-
caded waistcoats, perukes of every possible shape, high
foretops, pigeons' wings, bobs, bags, flat-ties, and Rawil-
lies. These gentlemen were too well bred to remain covered
in the presence of ladies, but carried their three-cornered
laced hats under their arms and trifled with their snuff-
boxes and clouded canes, though some of the more elderly
among them protected their hands from the cold by muffs.
Here also the female fashions of the day were fully exhi•
bited—sacques of silk and satin of all the colours in the
rainbow, tabby sacques, white and silver sacques, pink-and-
white-striped tobine sacques, and brocaded lustring
sacques, with a ruby-coloured ground ; fly-caps, Mecklen-
burg caps, Ranelagh mobs, turban rolls, and ' heads' of
the astounding size already described."
The description given at the close of the last chap-
ter us yet published of this most interesting story
about" The Lord Mayor of London," giving an
account, as it does, of the Banquet itself, whets one's
appetite rather than satiates it, and renders the
reader curious for the "pippins and cheese" that
are doubtless to follow.

The Edinburgh Beview . No. 233. Longman.
It is very seldom that an inteil!gent and culti-
vated reader takes up a number of the fflinburgh
without finding something to interest and atiTriet
him. The ability which is brought to the discus-
sion of the subjects, whether classic, political, social,
or literary, is always of high order; and wLen
some great question has been agitating the public
mind during the quarter, we naturally turn with
interest to the new number of the great northern
serial, sure to find it discussed with vigour and in-
telligence within the magic blue and yellow cover.
In the present instance, the affair of the Trent, has
so often occupied our attention in these columns that
we need only commend the article on " Bellige-
rents and Neutrals" for the moderation of its tone,
and the clearness and force of its arT:uments. An
essay on Professor Thomas Muller's receni
ctures
on the Science of Language will interest
philologist. A subject of greater practical impor-
tance is, however, discussed in the article on
" Wrecks, Lifeboats, and Lighthouses," which is
founded on those startling returns which of late years
have impressed the publii mind with a sense of
the frequency and fatality of our marine disasters.
We have often called attention to this subject, and
are glad to see-that several important contributions
to the Lifeboat Fund, testify the increased appre-
ciation of the services of the National Lifeboat In-
stitution. Much, however, remains to be done,
and the urgent demand for harbours of refuge on
some parts of our coasts is still unresponded to.
With regard to one, important cause of wreck and
damage, it is remarked in the article before us that,
notwithstanding all precautions, the increased num-
ber and rapidity of maritime communications, the
multitude ofsteamers running with prodigious speed,
and too often the recklessness of seafaring men who
know their losses are covered by the insurance, have
increased the number of collisions to a lamentable
and disgraceful extent. After remarking that
from the experience of the last 11 years, we may
justly conclude that we have in our seas and chan-
nels no inconsiderable portion of the total wrecks
of the world, the writer goes on to cite some inte-
resting statistics which have been already pub-
lished, but cannot be too generally known :
We learn that during the period from 1852 to 1860 in-
clu-ive, without comprehending the Channel Islands,
1,820,062 voyages were made by British ships, and
389,616 by foreign ships, that is, in all no less than
British ports. This very lare tofal mus o ylou y -
2,209,678 voyages were made in the last nine years
efrom
prehend a principal portion of the voyages pert ormed on all
seas.
In such a number of voyages we should be prepared,
from a consideration of the ordinary perils of marine travel,
to expect no small amount of disasters ; yet our expecta-
tions would fall short of the actual amount authentically
reported, for in the nine years just passed, from 1852 to
1860 inclusive, the casualties which happened to British
ships were 8,660 in number; to foreign ships, 1,676; and
consequently to both 10,336. That more than ten thousand
disasters should have attended the voyages of the last nine
years will, doubtless, appear to all readers a very remark-
able and melancholy fact. It is a fact which not only has
never before been brought under public notice, but also one
which upon other than special authority would hardly be
received as entitled to credit. Such, however, is the un-
deniable truth, which may be rendered still more striking
by showing the rate per cent. of these calamities in relation
to the number of voyages accomplished. This rate is as 1'
in 210 for British ships, as 1 in 232 for foreign ships, and
as 1 in 213 upon the total.
Of the whole nine years alluded to, the year 18.59 was
signalised by the maximum of wrecks and casualties includ-
ing collisions, the total number being 1,416; but the year
1860 was not far behind its predecessor, as its black record
to
bears the number 1,379. Whether it be owing the in-
creasing vigilance of the reporters and the more vigorous
use of ample means, or whether we may ascribe it to the
actual increase of the calamities themselves, cannot be de-
termined, but the fact is plain, that instead Ofdm
as the years advance, there Is a considerable annual frig-
crease in the number of wrecks and casualties from the year
1855 to 1860.

The Saints of Salt Lake are discussed, and a com-
parison instituted between Captain Burton's clever
narrative and M. Jules Remy's recent account of
his visit to the territory of Utah. It is amusing to
learn the view taken by the saints of the probable
issue of the present struggle.
113, a grimly r wi—tteA We We ere informed that the pro-

sent American troubles are not only signs of the just
vengeance of God, but the vis ble preparation for the uni-
versal ascendancy of his chosen people, The North and
South will (pally decline in wealth and population by
m, ens of this internecine war, till the appointed hour when
tue Saints shall arise in their unexhausted vigour, and
marching eastward repossess the land of their fathers, re-
build the temple of Nauvoo, and establish, amid the ruins
of th© follies and crimes of generations, the millennial
America of restored humanity. In the meantime Utah,
unceasingly replenished from the populations of Europe,
and affording the only possible asylum to the victims of
American confusion, will stand apart, the witness and in-
strument of the Will of God.

Discouraging as the present aspect of affairs is to
American well-wishers we fear the Saints' general
anticipations will be shared in by few. It is justly
observed, elsewhere, in this paper, that " the
weakest believer in the progress of mankind
can show no examples of the permanence of a
system founded on a descent in the standard of
morality deliberately adopted." A cordial tri-
bute to Mrs. Norton's poetical talents accompanies
a very favourable criticism on her new work, The
" Luly of La Garaye," in which the elevated tone
of thought, and the mournful pathos of the poem
receive deserved commendaticn. An able sum-
mary of the state of affairs at the opening of
George the Third's reign, is given in an essay
founded on Mr. May's Constitutional History.
The narrowness of the King's mind, and the ob-
stinacy of his determination, are dwelt upon, and
the source of the discontent of the people and the
difficulties of the Administration are rightly traced
to the infatuation of the monarch who set out on
his career with the deliberate intention of turning
the nation backwards, and of undoing all the work
that had been done in 1688, and of sacrificing the
gains bought at a dear price by Crown and
reople in the great Civil War. An essay on
" Felix Mendelssohn," one of the most fortunate,
as well as one of the most gifted of men, is full
of interest. It is justly observed that, "Among
the histories of hope deferred, of powers wasted,
of faculties half developed, of passions forced into
preternatural activity, which the biography of
musicians includes, the virtuous, brilliant, and suc-
cessful career of Felix Mendelssohn stands alone
and apart." Alas that a career so favoured by Nature
and by Fortune should have been so brief ! That
"the blind fury with the abhorred shears" should
have " slit the thin spun life" when the great
artist's powers had barely reached their full de-
velopment. But, as the writer observes, if Felix
Mendelssohn died in early manhood it was in the
meridian of his fame) and the public success and
private happiness of his life was such as is seldom
granted to mortals ; most rarely of all to those
favoured children of genius, whose keener suscepti-
bilities render them more quickly sensitive to
sorrow at the same time that the elevation of their
powers renders them a mark for the attacks of
envy and prejudice.

The Wild Sports of India. By Major Henry
Shakespeare. Second edition. Smith, Elder,

and Co:

That Major Shakespear's work should lave been
favourably received by the public is nothing more
than was to be expected. An author who sets out
with the desire of imparting useful information on
a subject in which he is a proficient for the benefit
of tyros, rather than for the sake of writing for
writing sake, is guided by practical experience
rather than by the desire of producing a grand effect.
This with a man of Major Shakespear's knowledge
of woodcraft in India is certain to succeed. On the
publication of the first edition we gave a general
notice of the work, and called attention to some
passages remarkable for good sense and judgment.
Many additions have, however, been made in the
second edition, mostly relating to precautions which
it is necessary that the youngsportsman should avail
himself of when in pursuit of wild beasts. ghat in
the excitement of the chase a man will voluntarily
occur dangers to secure his game, which, on calmer
m9ments he would never dream of encountering, is
well known ; but why should not the hunter have
method in his madness as well as other people. The
ability to take advantage of the peculiarities of the
ground, how best to avoid or deal with an antago-
nist at close quarters and other expedients to be
made use of in cases of emergency, is a life assur-
ance of which the proprietor reaps the benefit in-
stead of his heirs. A careful perusal of Major
Shakespear's experiences and adventures will be of
great service to those who are about to visit Hindos-
tan and are partial to exciting sport, and highly
interesting to the general reader from the plain
straightforward and matter-of-fact way in which
he describes feats the most daring, and contretemps
the most unpleasant. The author, in his preface to
this edition, states that he has added considerably
to the details which may be useful to the sportsman
going out to India, both for his health, comfort,
and safety. He also reminds parents that by
those youths who take no delight in field-sports
his book will be laid aside like any other
s'ory book; while on the other hand the boy whose
mind is bent on encountering that which is excit-
ing ana dangerous, will not be restrained from
gratifying his desire by his ignorance of the
modus operandi. With the exception of these
general instructions being more complete, there
is little to be said of the present edition, in ad-
dition to what has already been said in a previous
notice. The description of hog-hunting is very
exciting, and the hints thrown out to the novice
are so placed in the narrative of various hunts,
that their value is felt at once. Major Shake-
spear was successful as a tiger hunter, and, as he
says of himself, was on one occasion instrumental
under Providence in destroying two man-eaters.
These are tigers which, despising inferior game'
devote all their energies to the destruction of the
human race. This class is, however, only excer
tional, and fortunate it is for the natives that it ig
so. The author mentions an instance of a tigress
who killed during three years the extraordinary
number of 114 individuals. She combined such
excessive cunning and daring that although hunted
by ma; .y experienced sportsmen, no one had th.e,
sajsfaction or credit of destroying her. At all
events, iitz body was never found, but she was
lost sight of,
and never seen or heard of more.
Major Shakespear gives a very reasonable ex-
planation for tigers becoming " man-eaters," which
like most of his arguments, is founded on natur
causes

1 • THE MA.N-EATEIL.
The natives, who are very superstitious, consider that
the man .eating tiger that has taken up his abode near the
ofos sf
lt
yh
tigerseti or Deity, village, is an evil spirit sent to destroy them ; and they gips
l:
oiheoevkt ni
nisngetl
tvohe
ast
htueipt
rimesaotlshteealawuesillepisle
therefore quite impotent to destroy the animal; but let tie
thisebite s,ocamonui
dnr
becoming
that
a fit rm
theyl y b
aree -
there
and we shall not wonder that they are here aod
on;;, to be found, but that they are not much more :Mine'
I mug.
There is a class of Hindoos throughout all the '
villages it/
the Deccan, Nagpore and other parts of India, whose duty:
it is, in a country where roads are scarcely marked, and
inan_eaters,
paths during the monotaat or rainy season are obliterated,
to show the traveller from village to village on the journel
he is going. The 3 also carry baggage, &c., for which they'
receive some trifling remuneration. he other duties PO'
formed by this class are that of village watchmen, sweepers',
and clearers away of all animals that may die within the
village and its boundaries. Their caste is of course a veil
low one, and in most villages and towns where there
tare
e,
class, which is called the Dare class, is not permitted to re-'
any number of respectable Hindoos, or Mahomedans,
side attiong the other inhabitants, but ground is sllotted to
them outside the village; and this locality obtains theme
of the Darewarra.
Now, in recompense fdr their services as watchmen,
uides, and porters, as well as scavengers, they are allowed
certain grounds rent-free from Government; and this iv
regulated by their number and the extent of the groundsf
population, and wealth of the village. They have the ex-
clusive right over all animals that die within the limits of
their village, from whatever cause; these are their perqui-•
sites • and they eat indiscriminately ad animals, whether
they 'die from disease, old age, accident, or from the stroke
of the wild animal of the jungle. The village cattle,_ whed
ther buffalo, bullocks, cows, sheep, or goats, are taken out
to graze upon lands cc mmon to the village, under one or
owi
eteo
(h. theerdnsumraa
nil number
regulatedtwoa nirnal s ,herdsmen
andv:i
lae
village
ceohrp
price
siwchene pet.
orhreplraodyossk,
to
accordinglooking
gtheaf
thy are all brought back to the viltelgar
monly this grazing-ground is in a denseg
tigers, and, as a matter of course, cattle
village.
.ri
jseaacnvnogniolmwse
constantly
tra:t nkcsji.olg;eA:
by them. The gowlee (herdsman) is in no way r.
for this, he has nothing further
case in the village, and directly to do than to report tu,
rush the dares, whose
this kill is heard of 0"
' _,
the tiger, and secure the bod property it has become, to drive away
is lost, by their absurd rules, ; all claim to the slain animal
the animal; it has been his ,
.to the unfortunate owner ,_,_
aise.curing go
his animal taken o
the anini
killed ansi ' kismut (fate, destiny) to have
esfepostnedZ
The hungry d out of a hundred others.
dares will
into the
Ihe tiger,jungle to recover the body of a bullock killed bat
themselvest ,übtyotnoipeihtcehs
adnardkonhift ti: ag
fa:oil:ale
and this, indeed, is the best flesh they have'
bled by their butcher the tiger,oftentimes un
mauled, he not Navin had • o it.
g time to commence to eat
~.,
Now the • unfortunate tiger, da after day baulked of 11,'
food, after he has killed his animal,
becomes uncorarnott
hungry, and at length either watches the ghat (watering
place) where the women go down to wash and bathe, frona,
which he seizes his victim, or else he dogs the footsteps °I
the unwary-woodcutter, and- once having found out hog
utterly helpless n man is in his grasp, he becomes a con-
firmed man-eafer. ,
tiger can
The
.-
take a man in his mouth and carry him he
considerable distance, anal Constantiy the remains of
It;
body are not recovered; there are no hungry dares to te ,_
any interest in them. Injuries received by the tiger ill
conflicts with his own species, wounds from horns, lose °'__
1
the large fangs of the teeth, old age taking away the vit.?tv
of the animal, wounds from bullets, all these are causes
a minor degree of tigers becoming man-eaters; but it
to
10
my firm belief that the system of allowing the dates
carry away the carcass of the animal killed by the tiger
is the primary cause. It is all acknowledged right and
perquisite, agreeably to the village regulations up to thi
time. d
Many a bitter disappointment is the sportsman subjecte
te, who, having
• heard of the kill of an animal, perhaPs
several miles off from where he is, and hurrying his shilra,.
Fees (native hunters) rifles, and himself to the spot, with
the hopes of getting a shot at the tiger from behind a screen
when he comes to take his meal, finds on his arrival at the
village that the dares have carried off bodily the gara (killed
.
rid
animal) • had they left this, the sportsman would have
the jungle of that tiger.
The habits of the panther, Wild elephant, and