The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-18 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SlR,—There is one point connected with the " War
Question," like many others on the same subject, en-
veloped in a cloud of mystery, which undoubtedly may
be highly proper in some cases, but which in my opinion
might, without detriment to the secret service, in this
case have official publicity given to it for the satisfaction
of the public, inure especially that part, whose nearest
and dearest interests are connected with it. I allude to
the provision made by the Government for the safety of
our Australian mercantile marine, and the emigrant
ships with their precious freights, from capture by the
Russian frigates now at large, two of which of 50 guns
each, you will be aware were at Valparaiso by the last
advices. What would be more easy for them than to
put themselves in the track of our homeward bound ships
by Cape Horn, with their valuable gold freights, and th.,
captui e of one of these galleons would amply repay them
the trouble, and act as a very strong incentive to recom-
mence operations ? A few days inure sail would also
bring them in the route of our "outward bounders,"
with their large living cargoes, and from what we know
of the Russians from recent events, their treatment, in
the event of being taken, would be none of the tenderest,
devoid as their captors are both of honour and commo❑
humanity.
I do not assume in these remarks that our interests
are not attended to in this respect. but I certainly think
there should b. some definite assurance given that they
really are so, for the tranquilising of a large number of
individuals in this question, amongst whom is—Your
obedient servant,
Scarborough, May, 1854.

LETTERT S, &c , FOR TIIE BRITISII FORCES IN
TURKEY AND THE BLACK SEA.

The French Government having liberally offered to
place the British forces in Turkey and the Black Sea 1
upon the same advantageous footing with the French
Mediterranean packets, and her Majesty's Government.
having accepted this offer, closed mails will hereafter be
sent to the British forces in Turkey by the route of
France ; and all letters and newspapers upon which the
requisite amount of postage has been pre-paid will be
sent in these mails, unless otherwise addressed. Upon
the correspondence so conveyed, the following combined
British and French rates of postage must be paid in
advance, viz. :
For a letter addressed to .an officer of the British army
or navy, or to a non commissioned officer or private
soldier or seaman in Turkey or the Black Sea—weighing
under t oz. 3d. ; weighing oz. and under t oz., 6d. ;
exceeding oz , and not exceeding 1 oz., ls. ; exceeding
1 oz. and not exceeding 2 oz., ls 2tl. ;exceeding 2 oz.
and not exceeding 3 oz., ls. 4d. ; exceeding 3 oz. an d
under 34 oz., ls. 6d. ; exceeding 3& oz., an,l not exceed-
ing 4 oz., 2s. 4,1, And so on, adding 2d. British for
each additional ounce, and 10d. French postage for
every 3i ounces.
Newspapers will be liable to a postage of 2d. each,
y
which must also be paid in advance.
the
ostae is b
As the French mode of charging p
quarter ounce, it is necessary that a letter should be,
under a quarter of an ounce in weight, in order to secure
the advantage of the lowest rate.
The French mail packets leave Marseilles for Constan-
tinople on the Ist, 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, and 26th of
each month, and the latest period for posting in London
letters and newspapers intended to be forwarded by these
packets will be the evenings of the 3d, Bth, 13th, 18th,
23d, and 28th ; but when the month has 31 days,
letters, &c., may be posted on the 29th instead of the
28th.
Letters must be posted on the previous evenings
when any of the above dates fall on a Sunday.
Letters for soldiers and seamen serving in the British
army or navy in Turkey or the Black Sea may still be
forwarded under the usual regulations for a postage of
one penny, in the British packets by the route of South-
ampton and Malta, and thence by a vessel of war ; but
the opportunities for the transmission of these letters
beyond Malta are ilecessarily uncertain.

TRANSPORTS SPO KEN.—'The Taurus screw steamer,
just arrived at Live rpool frost Malta, spoke the follow-
ing transport ships : viz., The Pride of the Ocean (tpt.)
and Melbourne (s.s) , both 4th May, 37 N. 6 E. •, Arno
(5.14.), 7th, off Mala. ; Dunbar, same day, off Gibraltar;
Medway (s.), same day, Gibraltar Bay ; Transport, No.
47, 10th, off Oporto,.
THE PORTLAND BAZAAR. —Yesterday arid the two
preceding days the committee of the London Ragged
Schools had a fancy fair, under the patronage of the
Earl and Countess of Shaftesbury, at the above well-
known b ,zaar, nssrs. Cremer, the proprietors of the
Portland Bazaar, b caving generously placed at the dis-
posal of the comet ,*ittee for the three days above men-
tioned both ends of Vieir gallery for the sale of the new
patent art toys, m zide exclusively by the children of the
schools, and-also the whole of the profits arising from
the sale of their own valuable stock during that
period. On Saturday most of the articles made by
the children we re privately exhibited at the resi-
dence of the Ea rl of Shaftesbury. On Monday the
admission being is., the attendance was not largs,
but 301. were t ,aken at the doors, in addition to a
very considerabl e sale which was effected in the Bazaar.
On Tuesday ti ,e galleries were thrown open to the
public, and as we 6,000 persons, among whom were
many members of the aristocracy, visited the Bazaar.
Nearly the vvl Lobe of the articles manufactured by the
children, and the greater portion of the stock were dis-
posed of dining the day. Yesterday, though the at-
tendance was not so tare as on the previous day, the
galleries were, -thronged during the hours ofathnission,
and the whole of the patent toys and remainder of the
I stock were sob 1 13..f0re the evening. The committee con-
sider the untb nttaking eminently successful, and arrange
'fleas are o• ,(betted to be shortly made with 111.ssrs.
Cremer to V ,eep a portion of their bazaar exclusively for
the sale of articles made by the children of the ragged

• -----
The CHAIRMAN said the directors had hoped to have
seen one of the trustees present, but as none had attended
he was called to occupy the chair in their absence. Mr.
John Abel Smith, who promised to come, had suddenly
been called from town. After carefully considering the
resolution which had just been read, the board had
Arrived at the decision announced in the advertisement,
viz., that there should be three clerks and four widows
of clerks elected upon that occasion. He could have
wished sincerely that there had been no contest, but,
unfortunately, two candidates would be disappointed,
though he trusted that in this, as in former instances,
they would not forget those who were unsuccessful
(Hear, hear.) He might mention that another candi-
date who had been admitted had died, and that his
widow applied to be placed on the list in his place,
but as this could not be done under the rules of the
society, the board, owingto her distressed circumstances,
gave her a gratuity of 101. (Hear, bear.) He would
take that opportunity of mentioning that a widow of a
clerk had expressed to him her desire to get one of her
children admitted into the London Orphan Asylum at
Clapton. The child's name*was Charles Win. Kennett,
and he was the son of James Kennett, formerly a
member of the association, He alluded to this case, in
the hope that some meuabers who were subscribers to the
association in question might interest themselves on
behalf of the widow: The Oases of the different candi-
dates before the meeting had already been fully pub-
lished, the desire of the board being that the members
should judge for themselves, and not be influenced by
'tames, or indeed any other extraneous circumstance.
The cases were stated just as they had appeared before
the board, whose only wish was that the best and most
deserving persons should be elected. It was a most
pleasing occupation of the board to carry out in this
way one of the main objects for which the insti-
tution was formed. In this branch of the society
they had 34 annuitants, at the cost of 6001. a
year, and they were now going to add to
that number. Considering the time they had been esta-
blished and the means at their disposal, be thought all
would agree that they had fulfilled the promises with
which they commenced their career. (Hear, hear.) If
any who were not members were present he could as-
sure them that, by a comparatively trifling subscription
to the society, they would' aid in doing a great good,
and, then, little did they know what they might them-
selves require hereafter. So many cases had transpired,
showing the necessity of belonging to such an associa-
tion, that he felt it his duty to urge all clerks, for whose
relief and assistance it was specially designed, to become
members without delay. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. THOMSON HANKEY here entered the room, and
was received with cheers.
Mr. J. W. WELCH, deputy-chairman of the board, said
it was extremely gratifying to find that the association had
been enabled to confer such benefits upon its members,
And particularly so to himself who had very strongly anti
very frequently called upon clerks to give it their sup-
port. Perhaps his appeals were not responded to to
the extent they might have been, but still he was glad to
see that they had not been without their effect, and that
there was a growing disposition on the part of clerks
throughout the country 'to become members of this noble
institution. (Cheers.) A circumstance had recently
come within his knowledge which induced him to view
with greater leniency the backwardness of some clerks
joining it earlier. He had interested himself on behalf
of a widow lady, whose husband die i recently, and he
was happy to say that he had been instrumental in pro-
curing three of her sons situations. He then pressed on
them the necessity of joining an institution like this,
which, he said, was always ready, through its influence
with bankers and merchants, to endeavour to obtain
situations for deserving members, and which might be of
;rent use to them on a future occasion, if they happened
to lose the friends they now possessed. They promised
to become members, and the day before yesterday he re-
,;eived a very beautiful letter from their mother, thank-
ing him fur what he had done, and alluding to the desire
,epressed by her sons to belong to the association. She
assured him that the only reason they had not fulfilled
their promise was, that being placed in very painful cir-
cumstances by the death of her husband and the illness
of one of those sons, the salary received by one of the
young men--- he was quite a youth—was totally absorbed
in supporting the family in a state of respectability; but,
he added, that so soon as they overcame their little dif-
acuities they would join the society without delay.
(Hear, hear.) He mentioned this to show that clerks
could not always be in a position to subscribe their
guinea in consequence of having, like those boys,
mothers or other relatives to support, or to assist in
supporting. Therefore it was that the institution had
a claim on the general commercial community of the
country. They had already aided it nobly, yet still it
required to be more known, and he was sure they might
calculate on a large amount of additional assistance from
the great body of traders if they made them acquainted
with the good which the society did to that class of per-
sons who were so essential to their welfare. He thought
:hey were fully justified in appealing to the public for
support, and he doubted not that the fact of the associa-
tion transacting its business with a degree of delicacy
which could not wound the feelings of those who hail
once held a respectable position in society, would induce
many humane and benevolent individuals to come for-
ward and subscribe to their funds in proportion to their
'means. (Cheers.)
Mr. THoMSON HANHEY, M.P., could not forbear say-
mg a few words before the opening of the poll, upon
what had lately very forcibly struck him as a matter
likely to affect the institution. He meant the increased
amount of income-tax which was about to be' imposed
on all classes in the country in consequence of the neces-
sary expenditure of the war. As that tax had not long
ego been extended to a lower class of incomes than for-
merly, it necessarily fell with pecuiiar severity on many
of those in whom the association took a particular in-
terest, and whom it numbered among its menabsrs and
supporters ; but now that it was about to be doubled in
amount over the whole year, and rendered, moreover, in
a certain degree, a tax of a permanent character, its
payment by this class, who only had very moderate sala-
ries, would be still more keenly felt, especially when it
was considered that they had just come through a
period when they had unusual difficulties to encounter,
arising from the high price of provisions. (Hear.) It
could not, therefore, be too strongly impressed on clerks
generally, that here was an institution, by subscribing
to which they would not only make a provision for
themselves in the event of being overtaken by misfor-
tune, but, if they were lucky enough not to want that,
would know they were benefitting their less fortunate
fellow-clerks. (Hear, hear.) If the advantages of the
association were felt formerly, how much more so would
they be now, and how peculiarly gratifying it must be to
those who had taken time by the forelock by becoming
members, and thus, as it were, anticipated a period when
the lower or middle classes would be limited in their
mean' by being obliged to contribute a larger share to
the taxation of the United Kingdom. (near.) This
was a point which he thought deserved some notice. It
was, just one of those circumstances which corroborated
and strengthened the arguments ou behalf of the associa-
tion.
The ballot was then proceeded with, and was kept
open from two till five o'clock.
Shortly after the close of the poll, the CHAIRMAN an
uounced the numbers to be as follows :- -

WIDOWS OF CLERKS.
F. G 2,898
M. A. G 1,799
A. S. 3,779
E. S 1,191
S. B. H.
The CHAIRMAN, therefore, declared the election had
fallen on

CLERKS.
J. G. 32'
W. H. S 2,767
H. W. S. 2,674
R. W. 1,976

CLERKS. WIDOWS OF CLERKS.
W.H.S., tonal anruityof 225 i G. F., to an annuity of 215
H. W. S. PP 25 M. A. G. 15
R. W. PP VP 25 A. S. 15
E S. 15
PP

A vote of thanks to the chairman was then moved by
Mr. H. B. Reynolds, and seconded by Mr. R. H. Menzie.,
of Prescot, Lancashire, after which the meeting termi-
nated.

REPRESENTATION OF HULL.—A monstrous process is
going on at Hull The report of Commissioner Flood
has demonstrated that the bribery at Hull was originated,
conducted, and avowed, by one of the members unseated
by a committee of the House of Commons—the same
who, it appears from the report, says. "no Reformer
can be elected at Hull along with Colonel Thompson."
—viz., because Colonel Thompson will not wink at
bribery. And now the so-called Liberal paper at Hull
announces that they will have nobody but this indivi-
dual's nominee. So the unfortunate freemen who have
yielded to the solicitations of this individual are to be
disfranchised for ever. But the individual who was the
author of all the mischief is only to be ineligible till
another Parliament, and, in the meantime, is to appoint
his nominee. Colonel Thompson was asked if he would
come in as his nominee ; and replied, that he would as
soon sell his daughter for a concubine at New Orleans.
—Berwick .4 drertiser.
ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.—The anniversary
meeting of this society for the election of officers, ,&w.,
will be held at Regent-street on Monday the 22d inst.,
at one o'clock. During the ballot the royal medals "for
the encouragement of geographical science and disco-
very," will be presented to Rear-Admiral W. H. Smyth
and Captain Le M. McClure, R.N., by the president,
the Earl of Ellesmere, who will then deliver his annual,
address. The dinner will take place at the Freemasons
Tavern.
ST. PETERSBURG.—The letters from St. Petersburg
reach to the 9th inst., but contain nothing new, except-
ing that, in consequence of the amount of produce still
in course of exportation, the rate of exchange on Lon-
don has recovered from 351 d to Id. From Riga the
dates are to the 11th, when the weather was exceedingly
warm and fine. "Although the British cruisers," it is
remarked, " have not made their appearance here again,
they have refused neutral vessels at Domesness to enter
of Bagster's compre-
hensive Domesness is a neighbouring Russian port.
PRESENTATION TO MR. SHERIDAN KNOWLES —On
copy of
with silver. Mr.
Friday last, the anniversary of his birthday, the stu-
dents of R.epney BAptist College, presented to this dis-
thtgsuiviseließdibaleu.theobribaorsaptleeiyididm
his 70th year to
Knowles has for wale weeks been delivering lectures on
elocution at the college, and the students availed them-
selves of the occasion of his entering
offer him this mark of their esteem.

Aubrey. By the Authoress of " Emilia Wynd-
ham." 3 vols. Hurst and Blackett.
The writings of the authoress of " Emilia Wynd-
ham" have a peculiar fascination. They are quite
dissimilar, both in the freshness of their style, and
the originality of their sentiments, to the majority of
those three-volumed fictions which, to the habitual
novel-reader, present such a wonderful resemblance
to oue another. Mrs. Marsh, for such we believe
is the name of the authoress of " Emilia Wynd-
ham," has a most delightful manner of narrating
her story, even although, at times, it degenerates
into mannerism—she appears herself so heartily
interested in her own characters, she talks
i
of them as if they were realities, as f she
knew them. and loved them, and sympathised
with them. Those who speak from their own
hearts appeal most forcibly to the hearts of their
hearers, and the earnest interest which this au-
thoress feels in her own creations is one cause, and
not an insignificant one, of the vivid interest
which they inspire in the reader. In the incidents,
as well as in the narration of her story, Mrs.
Marsh oftens ventures to deviate widely from
established routine. In " Emilia Wyndham" she
did not hesitate, in opposition to every custom of
fictitious justice, to render her heroine ulti-
mately happy with the unattractive Mr.
Darby, instead of following the custom of
other novelists, by making Emilia a widow
in the beginning of the third volume, and
the happy wife of her early lover in the last chap-
ter. " Aubrey" has, however, no such satisfactory
termination. It is a record of the sufferings of sin
and error, rather than a picture of the triumphs
of virtue. The story is in many parts painful, and
' in some quite improbable ; nevertheless, it displays
a wonderful degree of power both in the conception
and delineation of the characters. Granted that
many of the incidents of the tale are most impro-
bable—those incidents are but the framework for
the development of the characters, and the un-
natural circumstances serve to exhibit a very
natural picture of human passion and action.. The
truth of this may be seen by a hasty glimpse
at the main features of the story. Lady Emma is
one of those heroines whom Mrs. Marsh loves to
describe, endowed with every natural pe,rfection,
with good impulses, and a good heart ; out that
heart being undisciplined by guidance, and those
impulses unstrengthened by principles, she is weak
and yielding as a child to the circumstances
around her, yet she evinces throughout her many
sorrows so much gentleness and sweetness that
we love and pity even while we blame her. In
the first scene of this eventful history, Lady Emma
is in a ball-room, and sitting on a little couch in
a retired corner, listening to the conversation of
an old admiral, she wins the heart of William
Aubrey, who stands at a distance contemplating her.
The admiral's conversation is about the gallantry
and heroism recently evinced by a young naval
captain—Edward Aubrey, the twin-brother of Wil-
liam—and while Emma's eyes are yet dimmed by
the tale she has been listening to, the young
captain enters, is introduced to her, and, like
his brother, loses his heart, but, unlike him,
obtains an equivalent for the loss. The char-
acters and the contrast of these two brothers
afford one of the happiest evidences of the author's
skill. Edward, who is the elder, is the darling of
his father's heart and the heir to his immense
wealth, whilst William is neglected and disliked,
and allowed but the merest pittance, lest his claims
should encroach upon those of the elder sou, though
the difference of their ages counts by minutes
rather than years. Edward's disposition is genial as
the sunshine, easy, happy, and loving ; he regards his
brother with affection, which, however, William
finds it difficult to repay, fur from infancy his
brother has unconsciou •ly robbed him of all he
coveted—not his father's fortune only, but his
father's heart, and the hearts of all around him.
William is by far his brother's superior in intellect;
his temperament is of that exquisitely nervous, and
sensitive nature which renders neglect and unkind-
ness doubly severe. In the opening of the story our
sympathies areentirely with William, most especially
when, with a passion peculiar to such a nature, he
attaches himself to Lady Emma, only to find her
immediately afterwards destined to his brother. Ed-
ward Aubrey, with his good nature, is weak, and
easily led away by evil companions. Lord Alger-
non, the brother of Lady Emma, entices him to
the gambling-house. The jealousy of the over-
affectionate father is aroused by his favourite son's
frequent absences from home, and want of con-
fidence towards him, and William for a time stands
nobly between his father and brother as the advo-
cate of the latter, his own successful rival. We
cannot pursue all the mazes of the story ; suffice
it to say, that at last comes the catastrophe.
' Lord Algernon (and this is one of the improbable
incidents to which we have alluded) forges a cheque
in Edward's writing on Mr. Aubrey's banker, and,
leaving the country immediately, draws away his
unconscious friend. The banker, perceiving the
mistake, sends to Mr. Aubrey, who, believing the
writing to be his sun's, orders the money to be
paid forthwith, and makes no inquiry. Edward's
absence is deemed a confirmation of his guilt—he
loses his place in his father's affection, and
the inheritance is transferred to William. The
hitherto neglected William now sees life open-
ing to him in a new aspect, and Lady Emma is
within his reach, for Lady Euama's family are them-
selves so impoverished that a wealthy suitor is cer-
-1 tain of success. Poor Emma had just begun to
dream of happiness. Edward was coming to hold
important converse with her father the very day
her unworthy brother summoned him to his side.
The picture of Emma's eager happiness and gradual
disappointment and heartrending suspense, as hour
after hour on that day passed by, and he
came not, is most vividly portrayed. The
alternations of hope and fear—" the hope that
keeps alive despair"—at length give way to heart-
breaking certainty. Information is given her of
Edward's guilt ; her parents renounce him, and,
with the prevailing gentleness of her disposition,
she believes the terrible story she is told, and submits
to the threatened separation,e yen while she cherishes
in her heart her warm affection. Meanwhile
Mr. Aubrey is dying. Edward has discovered his
friend's treachery, and writes a long letter of excul-
pation to his brother, imploring him to explain
everything to his father, and then he hastens to
that father's death-bed. What a temptation to
place in the hands of William !—a letter that is to
rob him, not only of the rich inheritance, but of
all chance of obtaining her whom lie loves, not
wisely, but too well. William is absent from his
father when he receives the letter. He does not
deliberately yield to temptation, but he hesitates—
he delays his journey a little, and at last, gaining a
tardy victory, sets forward—too late. Mr. Aubrey
is dead. Edward has arrived in time to receive
his dying curse. We shall betray no further the
incidents of the drama, but what we have done
was necessary to corroborate both our commenda-
tion and our censure. Here is abundant evidence
of the painful nature of the story, and of the im-
probability of some of the circumstances which it
narrates, but the position of the characters is one
well qualified to exhibit their individual peculiari-
ties. Throughout the novel the character of William
is admirably sustained. Yielding to the influences of
an overwhelming passion he wanders in the path of
duty, but no happiness can alleviate his after-
sufferings. A little of that courage which springs
from au inherent principle of right would have
rendered William Aubrey a noble and a happy man. 1
A similar lesson is conveyed by the experience of
each of the chief actors. Edward Aubrey is of an-
other order of being to his serious and sensitive
brother. Such a fault as William committed would
have been impossible to his frank nature ;
but he toof
yields to another temptation, to otne. asistusiecdolynsoe.
less powerful
.attraction, and .
queuces fraught with misery lynec.alclunfltable.l The ,
lesson which " Aubrey' teaches is,.a er al ,t le
lesson of life. The best of human beings,. the mhst
intellectual and the most generous, the highest in-
gentlest heart, are alike as-
telligence and the
aailai de by temptation, o. f. one kind or an•
Without au abiding
.sense of duty
'other.
—without an adherence to principle rather than
a blind following of a good impulse no virtue can
endure, no individual excellence of temperament
can sustain its possession in the clay of trial. Such
lessons are hackneyed enough, such sayings are trite
and commonplace, and yet it is necessary that they
should be occasionally presented to our contem-
plation, awl most unostentatiously is the lesson set
forth in " Aubrey." Not a word of sermonising
is to be found. The moral may be drawn by every
reader from the picture of life presented in these
volumes. One character we have not men-
tioned—Alice Craven, the nurse of William. Her
conduct is in many parts exaggerated, but her
affection and her jealousy are naturally portrayed.
A t the close of the third volume we learn that she is
in reality the mother of her nursling, and this fact,
which we had surmised long before, affects nothing
as regards this story of " Aubrey ;" but from a
hint in the concluding lines, we are led to expect
that " Aubrey," like " The Wilmingtons," will
have a sequel, and in consequence of the non-
relationship of William and Edward, the widow
of the one may, we imagine, in the next book,
become the wife of the other thus differ-
ing from the sequel of " Emilia Wyndham."
More than once Mrs. Marsh has continued in a
second novel the history of its predecessor, anl
this is, we believe, attributable to the characteristic
we have alluded to, her intense realisation of
ht me
individuality of her heroes and heroines. To.
hert
they are living beings ; she cannot bear to lose sig
of them—she must follow their fortunes yet fur-
ther than. the prescribed period. Although We