The Sun.
London, England, 1865-07-24 00:00:00

A Walk Across Africa ; or, Domestic Scenes from
my Nile Journal. By James, Augustus Grant.
Vol. 1. Pp. 447. Blackwood.
This volume is appropriately dedicated to theme'
mory of John Harming Speke, as a record 44 of mail
happy days spent together" by his fellow traveller
and friend, Captain Grant. Having contributed
botanical drawings and meteorological registers
to Captain Speke, the author of this volume
never dreamt of any separate publication of
his notes. Ills friends, however, having
wisely judged that:his descriptions of domestic,
scenes in Central Africa might be acceptable
to the public, have induced him to bring forward
this very interesting volume, which relates chiefly
to the ordinary life and pursuits, the habits and
feelings of the natives, and the products of the
country. Captain Speke himself urged upon his
friend the advantage of publishinghis experiences--
his letterto that effect being here introduced, and the
readers of this " Journal," with its very original
and surprising incidents and adventures descriptive
of places hitherto unmentioned and people hitherto
unknown, will have cause to rejoice that the author
followed the advice so judiciously given.

Cornwall and its Coasts. By Alphonse Esquiros,
author of " The English at Home." 1 Vol. pp•
304. Chapman and Hall.
While inquiring into the wonders of foreign
scenery, we must not forget the beauties of our
own land. All who wish for a pleasant summer
excursion should follow Mr. Esquiros in 111$
agreeable examination of the south-western coast
of England. The descriptions are lively and
animated, and the chapter on Lighthouses full of
considerable interest.

Court Etubr.
L. Ir 13,

HER MAJESTY.

OSBORNE, July 22.
The Queen, accompanied by Princess Helena?
drove out yesterday afternoon.
The Countess of Gainsborough was in attend-
ance.

JULY 23.
The Queen drove out yesterday, accompanied by
Princess Helena and Prince Albert Victor.
Divine service was performed. at Osborne this
morning by the Rev. W. L. Onslow, chaplain of
H.M.S. Racoon, before her Majesty, their Royal

Highnesses Prince Leopold and Princess Beatrice,
and the Ladies and Gentlemen in Waiting. Princess
Helena and Princess Louise attended the service at
"VVhippingham Church.

The#Prince and Princess of Wales.

PENZANCE, July 24.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess
of:Wales, after spending Sunday at St. Michael's
Mount, landed here to-day, and received an address
from the corporation. They will proceed to the
Botallack Mine, which the Prince desires to inspect,
and will then visit the Land's End, leaving to-morrow
for Falmouth. Their Royal Highnesses are expected
to visit Perranporth.

Departure of the Queen of the Nether-
lands.

On Saturday afternoon the Queen of the Nether'

lands left London on her return to Rotterdam, after
a visit to England of nearly a month's duration.
Before leaving Claridge's Hotel, where her Majesty
has resided during her lengthened stay in London,
many of the nobility called to take leave, and 00
passing to her carriage—an open barouche drawn
by four greys—the Marchioness of Ely and Lord
Llanover bade adieu to the Queen, and the noble
marchioness presented a beautiful bouquet. Having
thanked Mr. Claridge for the comfort experienced
and the attentions received during her stay, her
Majesty, who was accompanied by the Prince of
Orange and the Netherlands Minister, was quickly
conveyed to Woolwich, where the Cyclops, a stoutly-
built Dutch steam frigate, commanded by Captain
Casembroot, was lying alongside the river wall of
the arsenal.

Although it was understood that her Majesty was
travelling incognito, preparations but little short of
those made for our own Queen on similar occasions
had been made to receive the royal traveller. There
was no guaril of honour, but scarlet cloth was laid
down at the approach to the pier, and the gangway
leading to the vessel was decorated with the usual
profusion and variety of flags. Commodore Dun-
lop, C. 8., commander of the Woolwich Dockyard,
Commander Towsey, and Commander Biddlecornbet
masters-attendant of the yard, with Mr. Parkyno
acting superintendent of stores, were in attun"
-1- -

dance, wearing their full uniforms. Hex
Majesty was conducted down the gangwaY
by Commodore Dunlop, and on reaching the deck
of her vessel a party of Dutch sailors drawn up on
deck, armed with muskets and fixed bayonets, pre-
sented arms, and the officers saluted. As soon so
the Queen was on board preparations were made t°
start the vessel. Her Majesty thanked the conuno"
dore for the attentions shown her, graciously ae"
cepted a bouquet from Mrs. Claridge, took an affeo-
tionate leave of the Prince of Orange, and, having
bowed repeatedly to the demonstrations of farewell
made by those who were present, the Cyclops was
towed into the stream by the Monkey, and in a feW
minutes was on her way down the river. It was
anticipated by Captain Casembroot that Helvoct"
sluys would be reached about 2 a.m. yesterday.

lowing appropriate quotation from a poem by Sir
Charles Hanbury Williams :
" To please the noble dame, the country squire
Produced a tea-pot made in Staffordshire!
So Venus looked, and with such longing eyes,
When Paris first produced the golden prize.
Such works as this,' she cries can England do ?
It equals Dresden, and excels St. Cloud.
All modern China now shall hide its head,
And e'en Chantilly must give o'er her trade.
For lace let Flanders bear away the bell,
In finest linen let the Dutch excel ;
For prettiest stuffs let Ireland first be named,
And for best fancied silk let France be famed ;
But thou, thrice happy England, still prepare,
Thy clay, and build thy fame on Earthenware."

The Business of Pleasure. By Edmund Yates)
author of " Broken to Harness." 2 vols. Chap-
man and Hall.
" All is not gold that glitters!" To administer to
the " Pleasure" of the few is the "Business," to°
often the arduous ill-remunerated " Business," of
the many. Such is the argument which has induced
Mr. Edmund Yates to devote his lively pen to the
delineation of some of the under work of society--
the clock-work which keeps the brilliant machine
in motion—the ravelled ends of the tapestry which
more than the gorgeous pictures on the other side
are the amazement of all visitors of the Gobelins•
" It may," says Mr. Yates very gracefully in hi°
introduction, " arise from the fact that I spring
from parents who, by profession, were, according
to a generous act of Parliament only recently re-
pealed, set forth among their fellow-men as'rogues
and vagabonds ;' but one of whom certainly used
up his life, and died at an early age, from his un-
ceasing labour in a popular, an honest, an intellecl•
tual, but a Parliamentary-despised calling. It maY
be that in my own career I have seen that those
who made it their business to amuse men in their
leisure had very often a much more difficult and
always a more thankless task than those who coped
with men in their active work." From some such
causes Mr. Yates tells us ho has long felt that the
" butterfly" notion in regard to the ministrants of
our Pleasure is a mistake ; and, in pursuance of
this idea, he determined to give specimens of
the inner life of some of those establishments
where Pleasure is carried on as a regular Business.
Among these sketches are animated descriptions of
" Cremorne Gardens," " The Greenwich Dinner,
" Riding London "—Cabs, Omnibuses, Parcels
Deliveries, and Pickford's ; "My Newspapers
giving full details of the working of a newspaper
office, with sundry sketches of London men and
manners, written in that pleasant lively style fami-
liar to all admirers of the ' brilliant author of
" Broken to Harness."