The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-29 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Bleak Rouse. No. XI. By Charles Dickens.
Another instalment of " Bleak House," a"
still confusion—perhaps even confusion worse Ol'
founded. Scarcely ever was a plot more splintered
up into separate fragments. Indeed, the loose,
ness of the whole construction of the story is in
cated in the very style of its composition---tmu o
work being, at uncertain intervals, written in till
first and third person, some chapters penned, asui
were, avowedly by the novelist, and some again s,
huiol
an imaginary autobiographer. From the first
has been to us a source of discomfort in the Pertirri
and we regret every number to find the diseerao
rather increasing than otherwise. We long for 0111,1,
thing or the other. We yearn for a story ei.,?;)
sively from the hand of Charles Dickens, like t-u-fer
glorious fictions for which he has rendered us„ '-er
ever grateful—such fictions as " Oliver Twist', it
" Nicholas Nicldeby," Or, again, we yearn for
tale exclusively penned by an imaginary eharatia
—such as our favourite of favourites, "P3,;011
Copperfield." But to have the two jostling e"„ -
other in the same volume—now the author sPc'age
ing, now Esther Summerson—we acknowle
plainly that we regard that arrangement as 3 Jjlot
take—rather, perchance, should we say that W
far
of arrangement. Howbeit, the work is now e°oot
advanced that we must accept it as it is, with we
any qualms whatever, and thankful only (a/3,_ ries
are) that we have still amongst us dear Onos
Dickens, telling us a story at his own proper P
sure. It may seem horrible to say so, but thero i
ber
some capital fun in the first chapter of the
before us—the instalment for this current 1110 the
of January,—suggested by the death of Kroo',l /qr.
rag-and-bottle Lord Chancellor, the party (asßy
Snagsby calls him) who has been combustecl•these
the way, one of the most horridly droll of au ntion
same ghastly gleams of humour, is the
of the good, simple-minded law-stationer at he
watchful wife supposing for one moment tD'Ajr
would go spontaneously combusting people loiver
other is the juvenile facetiousness of young,-1- that
and Young Perkins, who, "as members 010, the
restless juvenile circle which is the terror °f lasites
foot-passengers in Chancery-lane crumble dor
behind the pump and under thei archway,
f
long ; where wild yells and hootings take plat then,
their remains !" After this chapter comes a7ords,
giving " A Turn of the Screw ; or, in other George
showing how honest, brave-hearted Mr• f thoP
finds himself ground down under the grasP °df,tbof
detestable old scarecrow of a miser, GI-3'1,1,00
Smallweed. To release himself from the °-"__bv to
of the vampire, even for an interval, and thereby is
release the Bagnets from danger, Mr. T,Ge wdod°
compelled to hand over some of Captain 17-3 Lodi
coveted writing to Mr. Tulkinghorn• -AY olior°
Dedlock's that Old Man of the name of Tullato
is accidentally encountered, we may obsehi oo
passant (for the apparently trivial event ativo),
doubt its importance in regard to the narr Frool
by the Young Man of the name of Guppy' 0 subse:
Esther's narrative, which is resumed in the
quent chapter, the final chapter in the nuni_. _
01, of
the
January, we learn that she has recovered
o,..ects
small-pox, but seemingly disgured by
e
that dreadful malady. Mr. Woodcone, to pig_
hear from little Miss Flite—has return „r bitio
land after having been shipwrecked. Thus.
the incident a of the plot already advalloec'• '
the us() vl_

T H FRENCH EMPIRE.

The news from France still relate to the Em-
peror's marriage, which excites a lively interest all
over the country, while Paris itself has become un-
usually full of visitors, attracted, no doubt, by the
Pageant which is to take place to-morrow. In the
Moniteur we find the following announcement on
this subject :—" The grand master of the cere-
monies has the honour to inform the public that he
has not even a single ticket left for the ceremony
of the religious marriage of his Majesty. The
grand master of the ceremonies takes this opportu-
. nay of announcing that no person will be admitted
to the interior of the Cathedral without a ticket
bearing a particular stamp. The members of the
Senate, Legislative Body, and Council of State,
who aro to be present at the ceremony, are informed
that they are to be in full dress with white trousers."
An immense number of workmen are employed
in the line which is to be followed by the procession
on Sunday. In the middle of the Louvre the basin
is being filled with mould, and is intended to re-
present a corbeille of evergreens and flowering
Shrubs, which have been already planted. The
two gardens of the Colonnade of the Louvre are in
a very advanced state • green trees have been
Planted there, and the borders are now being laid
down. The ground between the two gardens has
been levelled and paved. In the new Rue de
Rivoli the parts which were not levelled are being
cleared, and sand is being laid down both on the
Carriage way and on the unfinished footpaths.
Poles, intended to be ornamented with streamers,
are being placed throughout the whole line to be
followed by the cortege. The Hotel de Ville will
be dressed out with flags, and long streamers will
Wave from the towers of gotre-Dame.

At the ball which is to be given by the Senate at
the Luxembourg on the 7th of next month to the
iiiperor, the parts of the building which are to be
used are the ground floor and the first floor. The
rooms below will be employed principally as yes-
tiaires, and the state apartments above will be
ascended by the grand staircase. All the rooms
on the east and west sides of the building will be
thrown open upon the occasion, the principal ball-
room being the old Chamber of Peers, where the
Public sittings of that body were held for so many
Years. Near this room is placed the private saloon
reserved for the Emperor. It is in the Museum
that will be set out tables for a first supper of 200
covers, offered to the Emperor, and afterwards will
be served successively three other suppers of 250
Places each, reserved for the ladies. The male por-
tion of the guests will find a buffet amply provided
for them in the gallery of the rez-de-chaussee,
Where a substantial supper will be served without
interruption all night. The decorations of the
Principal rooms will be marked by simple elegance
rather than by magnificence, the only striking or-
nament of the grand gallery upstairs being the Im-
Perial throne, placed at one end, raised about three
feet from the ground. It is the old throne of Na-
Venn 1., which has been regilt for the occasion.
• very precaution has been taken to facilitate the
ingress and egress of the guests, and all the ar-
fitgements made seem to promise that this fête
be one of the most brilliant of the season.
The f „ Municipal Council of Nantes, has voted the
nvring address to the Emperor, on the occasion
his marriage
Sire, the Mayor and Municipal Council of the town
oi Nantes desire to be amongst the first to congratulate
tour Majesty on the occasion of the great event which,
assuring the continuance of your dynasty, consoli-
-I.44ect the fortunes of the country. • The noble and na-
-4°1141 language of your Majesty to the great bodies of
e state, have found in the population of this important
dace a sympathetic echo; of which we are happy to be
e organs. The union which your Majesty is about to
i'lelntract naturally carries back every remembrance to
e august Empress Josephine, so well known for her
byuevolence, and so beloved by the people. It is, then,
el a deep-felt joy that the people of Nantes join in
,u acclamations with which all France will desire to
~,w 're to 'her glorious liberator a new testimony of her
profound gratitude and faithful devotedness. We
are &c.

The Commissaries of Police of the department of
the Seine called on Thursday at the various factories
the department, and announced to the directors
that the Emperor " would see with pleasure the
c'eratives assemble on Sunday and form part of
the cortege." A considerable number of banners
844 streamers have been prepared for the occasion ;
by it is probable that these emblems will be borne
"3r the corporations of trades. Some bear the
French colours, some French and Spanish united,
8.44 Some the red and yellow of the Spanish flag
c'ttlY. On one side are the words " Vive Empe-
-I:eur," and on the other " Vive Imperatrice."
'I grand review is also spoken of after the mar-
riage, either at the Champ de Mars or in the
Champs Elysees, for the presentation of the Em-
Aress to the people and the troops.
A decree of the 25th ratifies and promulgates the
regulations between France, Belgium, and the Ne-
therlands, relative to international "communicationslced
by railways. They are to the effect that
good
in waggons which are sealed or locked shall notpa be
examined by the customs officers at the respective
frontiers ; that each administration of customs shall
respect the seals and locks of the two other states ;
that custom officers shall accompany the trains to
the nearest custom-house in the neighbouring
country ; and that the luggage of passengers shall
generally be examined at the frontiers, but that
when that shall not be done it shall be placed in
closed waggcns.
The Moniteur in announcing the fact of the
French Ambassador at St. Petersburg, the Marquis
de Castelbajac, having presented his new letters of
credence to the Emperor of Russia, says :—" His Ma-
jesty expressed to the Ambassador in warm terms
the great satisfaction that he felt at seeing official
relations established with the Government of his
Imperial Majesty." _ _

A decree in the Moniteur declares that the com-
mission of revision for the distribution of the re-
mainder of the indemnity paid by Mexico, in virtue
of the convention of March 9, 1839, having termi-
nated its labours, is dissolved. All the appropria-
tions of this indemnity fixed by the commission
will be paid integrally by the Caisse des Depots et
Consignations. The employment of whatever funds
May remain over will be determined at a later
period, on a report presented to the Emperor by
the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
A rumour having been current that some cases
of Asia tic cholera had occurred in Paris, the Union
Medical states on authority, that the number of
eases of cholera in the hospitals during the last six
Months has not exceeded 12, which is not higher
than the annual average for years past. In these
a„cases, only one of which was of a serious character,
the Asiatic symptoms were absent, and the patients
were cured. Influenza, (grippe), says the same jour-
nal, has been very frequent, but the disease has sel-
goin resisted the medical treatment.
The Moniteur publishes the returns of the pro-
nee of the customs and indirect taxes in Decem-
; 1852, which amounted to 13,405,987 f. They
had been, in the corresponding month of 1851,
9,692,.026f. The receipts of the entire year were
'39,760,264f., showing an increase of 22,600,000 f.
compared with those of 1851. The salt tax gave,
In 1852 32,275,402 f., or 5,641,000 more than last
Year.

The receipts of the Paris and Orleans Railway
C").Pany with its extensions for the week ending
the 22d inst., amount to 537,571 f., being an in-
Zease of 100,978 f., as compared with the corres-
-e°llcling week of Lst year.
The Bourse, which closed so firm on Thursday,
'AJelled yesterday with every appearance of a further
lnlprovement in the price of public securities, and
the Three per Cents., which opened at 80f. 70c.,
I.oBe to 80f. 90c. Shortly afterwards it was stated.
that
M. Hubner, the Austrian Minister, had de-
clared that he would not appear at the Tuileries
unta he had received further instructions from
Vienna . This caused the Three per Cents.
4. fall
to 80f. 40c. The announcement in the
.i_Moniteur de 1 'Armee that General Reyau had
Rio appointed to the command of the Active Di-
rn of Cavalry assembled at Luneville, pro-
lice(' further uneasiness, and the Three
.Itn. Cents, fell to 80f. 30c., at which price
they closed for the end of the month, being a fall
of 4oc. as compared with the closing price of yes-
terday The Four-and-a-Half per Cents. closed at
104 f. 80c. It was mentioned after the Bourse that
three
„decrees would appear in the Moniteur
L-0 first reducing the budget of the Minister
°£ Public
Public Works by 30,000,000 f. ; the second re-
`,,t_ll.,l.llg the army by 60,000 men ; and the third re-
`24_lLjeng Generals Changarnier and Lammiciere from
___"2:ll • Railway Shares were more firm than Go-
lfer
98or cr_rnt rentes. Orleans closed at 995 f. ; Rouen,
; Havre, 490 f. ; Great Northern, 835 f. ; Bale,
°47 50c. ; Paris and Strasburg, 761 f. 25c. ; Paris
Bald Lyons, 860 f. • Lyons to the Mediterranean, 730. ; Western of France,.
675 f ; Bordeaux and
eette, 560 f. ; Caen to Cherbourg, 605 f. ; Shares of
the Bank of Credit Mobilier (issued at 500 f.),
735 f.

SSIA.
In addition to the mPßUotion -which the Baron von
Waldbott has made in the
Second Chamber, for
the withdrawal of certain instructions lately issued
by the Government to the
active
authorities,
and. directed against the active encreachments of
the Jesuits in Prussia, the eight Oath)lie Bishops
have signed and presented a petition or remon-
strance to the King, which has been ty him sub-
Initted to the deliberations of the Cabiret on seve-
ral occasions. A decision it is said. has been come
to on the subject, but neither this her tie subject

matter of the petition has been allowed, to tran-
spire.
The above-mentioned motion of the Baron von
Waldbott has been made the subject of preliminary
discussion in the various general sections of the
Chamber, and after maturer investigation in a spe-
cial committee will come before the whole Rouse
for final decision.

SPAIN.

We have received the Madrid journals of the
23d, but their contents are without importance.
By Royal decree, dated the 21st, Don Gabriel de
Aristizabal Reutt, ex-minister of Finances, is
named Director-General, President of the Junta of
public debt. The Diario Espanol states that its
first edition of the 23d had been seized. A Madrid
letter of the 23d says :
• -

" The Bishop of Malaga has addressed a circular to
the archdeacons of his diocese to be by them communi-
cated to the clergy. It prescribes to the clergy the
conduct which they are to observe during the coming
elections, telling that they ought to remain at a distance
from party strife, and give an example of that modera-
tion which ought always to characterise their sacred
calling. The address concludes as follows :--‘ Let the
clergy not forget that there can be no prosperity in any
state without a rigorous observance of the laws and with-
out due respect for the constituted authorities. He who
votes ought not to forget in giving his suffrage that dis-

sension and disorder ire contrary to the spirit of the
Gospel, trouble the peace of families, and, in the end,
lead to the ruin of society.' "

ITALY.

According to the last accounts received from
Rome the commission appointed for calling in the
paper-money, and of which Cardinal Marini is the
president, has published the result of its operations
from the time of its creation to the 31st December,
1852. The amount withdrawn from circulation is
31 millions of Roman crowns, which is more than
half the amount of the paper-money which existed
at the time the commission was formed. The em-
barrassment produced by the forced circulation of
this paper has gone on increasing, and has at length
arrived at such a point that a premium of two per
cent. must be given for changing a large note into
small ones, or copper coin. The long talked-of
iron wire suspension bridges over the Tiber are at
length in course of execution. A Frenchman, M.
Bodin-Montgolfier, is the author of the plan and

the contractor for the works. There are to be three
bridges. One will be a continuation of the Ponte
Roito, a part of which still exists ; the second will
be at the place where the passage-boat now crosses,
and the third will unite the Port of the Ripetta to
the populous quarter behind Fort St. Angelo. The
first-named bridge will be completed as rapidly as
possible, and the others will be commenced in suc-
cession. The plans and models of the bridges have
been submitted to the Pope and approved of by
him.