The Sun.
London, England, 1838-12-01 00:00:00

BENTLEY'S MISCELLANY.

We need say nothing of " Oliver Twist," which we
suppose will be brought to a close in another number or
two, because we have already noticed it in its collected
form, in three volumes. " Walter Childe" is a continua-
tion of a lively poem, in the Beppo metre, and is remark-
able for the frequent ingenuity of its rhymes. " Parisian
Cafes" is an interesting article, sufficiently explained by
its heading, from which we learn that a nian named
Eugene is the best billiard-player in Europe ; and also,
that the age of chivalry is for ever past in France, inas-
much as the poor women are compelled to do all the
household, and other drudgery there—that is to say, to
clean boots, harness coach-horses, carry, loads, keep hotels,
stand behind counters, let out newspapers, sell tobacco,
and officiate as box-keepers at the theatres! From all
tins we deduce the highly ingenious and original inference
that women are infinitely better off in England than in
France. " Gonello" is a melancholy tale of a jester,
simply and pathetically told in verse. " Anecdotes of

tar;_ .
Service," furnish us with a touching incident on the
subject of a veteran soldier's death-bed. The " Double-
bedded Room" is a story whose close has the rare merit of
coming like a surprise on the reader. The commencement,
which is lively and graphic, hardly prepares us for the
tragic conclusion. " Uncle Sam's Peculiarities" give some
amusing details of boarding-house chit-chat in New
York. Yankee pretension is most felicitously shown
up in this smart series of dialogues. " The Stage
Coachman Abroad" is an article written something after the
manner of Boz. Jehu relates in the first person, and in his
own peculiar dialect, the odd adventures that befell him in

the course of a tour to the Netherlands. " The Claqueur
'System" is a sprightly, anecdotal article from the pen of
Mr. Hogarth. " Peter Punctilio" exhibits some smart,
and even witty dialogue. The author is Mr. Mayhew.
We subjoin a poem, entitled the " Supper of Bacchus,"
which is a sprightly allegorical conceit, and might have
been penned by old Etheredge, Suckling, or any other of
the wits of Charles the Second's days : •

THE SUPPER OF B.ACCHUS.
Venus and Bacchus of a night
Sat tete-a-tete to sup together,
The fire beside them blazing bright—.
'Twas in December's chilly weather.
Love chanced just then to pass with Mirth,
Two friends as true as Tom and Jerry,
Whose motto from their very birth
Was, " Hang old Care, and let's be merry."
And when they saw the light above—
I give their very words, like Flaccus,
" Ho ! Mirth, my gay old boy !" cried Love,
" Let's stop and have a glass with Bacchus."
" By Jove !" said Mirth, " I 'm rather dry,
And this vile rain is deuced unpleasant;
His wine's superb—and you and I
Could relish it, I guess, at present."
They call'd, and Bacchus ope'd the door,
And when they enter'd, lock'd it after:
Mirth set them soon in such a roar,
That Venus nearly died from laughter.
They sang and joked the goblet o'er,
And ne'er more fun the veil of night hid;
For never yet assembled four
Whom song and frolic more delighted.
Old Care, towards morning, loudly knock'd—
He heard their sport, and thought to mar it;
But Bacchus, who was then half cock'd,
Upset him in a butt of claret.
O'erwhelm'd beneath the crimson tide,
In vain he sought for help around him—
" Come drink, old fellow !" Bacchus cried,
And in the rosy nectar drown'd him.
And since that hour the sons of Care,
Remembering their sire's immersion,
A lasting grudge to Bacchus bear,
And hold his wine in like aversion.

THE ASIATIC JOURNAL. Allen and Co.

In consequence of the strong and general objections made
to the tone of an article which appeared in the last Number
of the Asiatic Journal, entitled " Russia, India, and Eng-
land," and which was well calculated to impress ill-informe
people with a conviction that we have nothing to fear from
the designs of the Autocrat, in the East, we are favoured
this month, with another article on the same subject, which
may be described as an attempt to unsay all that was previ-
ously said, under the veil of explanations and qualifications
of certain misunderstood passages. Such articles are sel-
dom satisfactory to any party, and in nine cases out
of ten, only make bad worse. We are disposed,
however, to class the one before us among the
few excepted instances. The " Seat of War in
Cahool" is a well-digested, instructive article. The " Penal
Code of British India " is concluded in this number, and
from the pains bestowed upon its annotation, we would
recommend its re-publication in a separate form. But to
the general reader, the most entertaining paper in this
Number is the very animated biographical sketch of the
Sheikh Dulloo—the Robin Hood of India. Moralists
may talk as they please of the effects of education, but
somehow or other, we never fail to find that scamps and
scape-graces always obtain more than a due proportion of
the sympathy of the " reading public." The monthly
notices are very numerous, well-selected, and generally
interesting.