The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-03 00:00:00

" THE OATH.
•
" You shall swear by Custom of Confession,
That you ne'er made nuptial transgression ;
Nor since you were married man and wife
By household brawls or contentious strife,
(
Or otherwise at bed or at board
Offended each other in deed or word :
Or since the parish clerk said Amen
Wished yourselves unmarried again : ."'
Or in a Twelvemonth and a Day
Repented not in thought any way;
But continued true and in desire
As when you joined hands in holy quire.
If to these Conditions, without all fear,
Of your own accord you will freely swear ;
A whole Gammon of Bacon you shall receive,
And bear it hence with love and good leave ;
For this is our Custom of Dunmow well known :
Though the pleasure be ours, the Bacon's your own.
"No Brawls. No Regrets. No Transgressions. Con-
stant Love and Devotion. Twelve Honeyed Moons ; and
One Day over, to make all sure. The conditions were so
hard, and so little applicable to the cases of married folk in
general, and those of Dunmow in particular, that they
were never accepted. "

The United Service contains the first three Chap-
ters of " A French Account of the War with
China," by A. Haussmann, an Attaché to Monsieur
Lagrene's embassy in China. The introduction of
opium into China by the English—its baneful
effects on the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire—
the consequent opposition of the mandarins to the
poisonous traffic, from which the war originated—
are plainly and soberly related • and the perusal of
M. Haussmami's narrative is worthy the attention of
those of the rising generation, to whom the Chinese
war is but a matter of history.

Sharpe's London Magazine.—The present num-
ber contains two very beautiful engravings. The
first is well known ; it represents a peasant girl of
Procida, and is taken from a painting by Leopold
Robart, of whose melancholy life a sketch is given.
The other is of the lower Lake of Killarney, from
a painting by T. Creswick, R.A. There is the
first part of a story by Mrs. S. C. Hall, and a ro-
mantic and mysterious tale entitled " Some Pas-
sages in the Life of Richard Sydney," is also com-
menced. There is a lively notice of Thomas Moore's
Memoirs, and a botanical article on the Flora of
Sikkim—Himalaya. " The Vigil of the Dead," a
poem on the eve of the eighteenth of November,
has some pleasing verses :
" Ours is a time of mighty change ;
Thrones tremble, empires rise ;
Vast new-born worlds are springing up
Before our wond'ring eyes ;
And things we cherished in our youth
Have lost their ancient ties.
What England's future fate shall be,
Is still a hidden mystery;—
Who dares to lift the veil ?
Yet if, when enemies combine,
She has one head, one arm like thine,
Her spirit will not quail.
" How shall we build thy monument ?
What temple shall we raise,
On this our verdant island home,
To testify thy praise ?
The brazen tablet will corrode,
And sculptured stone decays,
No matter—when the earth and rest
Blend with the atoms of thy dust,
Thy name shall live in story,
And the young mother teach her son,
By the bright fame of Wellington,
To emulate his glory."

The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical lie-
view.—The reader is informed, in the preface, that
this is the commencement of a new volume to the
long series of this publication. It is observed—
" That which is to follow shall not lack improve-
ment, if that can be effected by zeal and good-will.
We, for our parts, albeit nearly a century and a
quarter old, are, as yet, unconscious of any winter
of the mind or body ; an eternal spring seems to
be our possession and, with the aid of our friends,
and the help of our subscribers, we hope to devote
it, for centuries to come, to the amusement and in-
struction of mankind." The first of the contents
is, " King Charles the First in the Isle of
Wight." A book has lately been published,
giving, for the first time, the letters of
that monarch during the year of his detention
in the Isle of Wight, and after he was seized by
the army at Newport. In the article entitled
" Farinelli and Pompadour," a most minute com-
parison is entered into concerning these celebrated
characters, suggested by Maria Theresa having ex-
claimed, " I have stooped to flatter Farinelli, why
should I hesitate to praise Pompadour !" It is
truly observed that her remark was unjust in the
extreme, since no affinity can be traced between
an honest man who supported himself by his
talents, and the unworthy mistress of the king. A
very interesting description is given of Farmelli's
musical powers which were remarkable : it appears
that he was able to sing three hundred notes with-
out drawing breath. Few other vocalists have
been able to accomplish more than fifty under the
same conditions. ' A Journey from London to
Paris in the Year 1736," shows the different man-
ners and customs of a century ago. In the " Wan-
derings of an Antiquary," we are presented with
" A Visit to the Hill-Entrenchments on the Borders
of Wales, which affords a great deal of local infor-
mation.

Colonial and Asiatic Review.—" The Progress
and Prospects of Canada" is the first subject here
considered. It is maintained that great advantages
would accrue to the inhabitants, and also to our-
selves, from the introduction of railways. " The
Overland Route" describes the land from Bombay
to Ceylon in a very interesting manner, conveying
great information. " Head-Quarters and Manners
in the East" is concluded in this number. It gives
a lively, graphic sketch of Oriental customs among
the English ; but it is to be hoped that some
characters are a little exaggerated, as, if true, they
would inevitably disgrace, instead of elevating, the
British name abroad. In the remarks entitled
" Unrestricted Competition and the Injured Inter-
ests," the late policy of Lord Derby's Government
is deprecated, as far as it relates to the affairs of
the colonies, which it affirms they might have bene-
fited by adopting other measures. At the con-
clusion of this publication, " Colonial and East
Indian Intelligence" is given at great length, It is
asserted that the Australian and Californian emi-
grant; are in great need of assistance and protec-
tion, in consequence of the lawless depredators now
setting law and justice at defiance.

Newton's London Journal.
---This number co
tains, among others, the patent of S. Norris,
for the construction of railways, bridges &c.; and
that of J. Wragg for improvements in railway and
other carriages. Much attention seems at present
to have been directed to the important subject of
locomotion. Many other interestin also given. There are g patents are
, as usual, the two plates,
illustrating the improvements, which must be of
great assistance to the
clearer and more student, as they convey a
practical explanation than the
most elaborate description.

The Sporting Review
trait of the is embellished with a por-
celebrated jockey James Robinson, taken
from a painting by Hall of Newmarket, whose
career on the turf was brought to so untimely a
close by a fall from his horse at the first Spring
Meeting last year, which was occasioned by the
breaking of a stirrup leather ; his thigh was frac-
tured, which prevents his ever riding another win-
ner, and obliges him to retire, while yet in the full vigour of his career ; and a, plate, entitled ,' Who's
There ?" in which a terrier is depicted standing over
a dead rabbit at the entrance of its burrow.
life
and
performances of poor Robinson ; and some
svpeorsretisnogn
.ms,opntii monthly eanred?"
intelligence,'WaTh
com-
plete the number. ussutoarlie
cthintuheed

acres
of land
Peroßucladreill
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ii
.ttahii
sasaocr i
.:hutaihnt
ani
iseckineuagneeoaueowituriomins.::tocboodorOinknoaneg:i,onlpnorstheftacyohiestflin. hescatitestisohybicreyeuienicaminofgraaanytedlin;ivsutiptioneubdgsjeceildeytnisr.lhetho:it
FPoasrtmeerrosf'
New
eagazine represents a pa
forMpi
sasmdemßleiss"illf mgvtiaotclanh:
stones from seven to ten
which makes a saving of about 200 per cent. over
hand labour. The other plate isiiisoefevaaeresaholorirtanss-thgniriyied.bvye
bull, the property of Mwr.riTtehrosnicer:l3. One of
odtfamblaerbs'
the most important subjects treateadn
continued.—
Ladies' theiisesc on
Companion
agriculturalpa
etcientific
llep-knresoewnitis
us I
accounts
tterreaoi
gel
anuiltnectestess eßboyorfou
n Journalww Brown,
and
novel is commenced in the B ..t•
Jane Hooper ; and cc Harr It ish Journal by Mrs.
is continued.—Numbe arry Coverdale's Courtship"
dents describes b r ten of South African Inci-
Follet are ve ush-fighting. The plates of Le
amusing. rY elegant, and the general contents

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a continuation of " Young Tom Hall"—besiy
these and many others, the great feat-1140 \
the month is the beginning of a new *fa
by Harrison Ainsworth—a tale of domestic life i
Old England. We shall take another opportudirot r
,
when the story is further advanced, of commentin e
-... ;'•.
upon it more at length ;at present we will-con • , ,----__,_' _
...,,.
ourselves with saying that it begins admirably, . !): ""-:-1-l." ---..;:•
promises well. The story entitled " The litch 4 *l7: ''' "
of Bacon, or the Custom of Dunmow," is
founded upon an old custom very rarely
in these or any other times called into requisition,
as they say. Be that as it may, here is the formula
by which the claimants were catechised, anti in right
of which the hero and heroine of the story lay
claim to the Flitch of Bacon, according to the time-
honoured custom of Dunmow