The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-31 00:00:00

THE VICISSITUDES, OF TIME.

Of all the vicissitudes which time has brought
about, none is more remarkable than that which was
exemplified the day before yesterday on the Ter-
race at Windsor Castle. If there was a spot in the
kingdom consecrated to the traditions, or, we may say,
to the prejudices of a past generation, it was this. On
this terrace King George 111. took his habitual walk
during a period at which the affairs of the whole world
took their colour from the antagonism of France and Eng-
land. There that venerable monarch listened to the music
of militia bands, or looked down into the park below
upon musters of yeomanry and volunteers, all in-
flamed with an intense spirit of loyalty, and with
what in those days was an identical sentiment a
martial animosity against France, Frenchmen, French
soldiers, and the name of Napoleon Bonaparte. What
was the scene on Sunday afternoon ? There were the
Castle, the Terrace, the Town, and the Slopes. There
was the Sovereign of England, with the Royal Family.
There were the band and the music, and every other
accompaniment of the traditional scene. There were
soldiers in the garden aid officers on the Bread Walk.
But who were these soldiers ? They were the soldiers
of the Emperor Napoleon, who, arrayed in the costumet
Windsoref theE mcpiereet,lehafedr cotmhee
gwrietthifietahteiierebaenf band to
British
play
a
tish
Queen ! What would have been thought 50yearsagon
if any one had prophesied the occurrence of
such
an
event
extraor-
dinary in h
? There t
e
legendarys really
separrecdeitilcyaonnythmgore s
of Mother Shipton
or Merlin.—Times.

change and out of d
rs .
ndant
NN-illthbeesse occasionshut. The
Wednesday,
Money continues_oaobu both in the Stock Ex-
the Ist of November, being the period
for the half-yearly balance at the Bank of England, the
Stock Exchange at a
butt
whether such is to be the case in the present instance
offices rso ati!e usstauballilsyh emloesnetd
on
will depend probably upon the character of the news to-
morrow atransfer-
nd the expectations that may be entertained of
subsequent arrivals.
LIVERPOOL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.--.A special
meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, under the presi-
dency of Mr. Thomas Bouch, was held yesterday after-
noon in the Exchange-buildings, to consider the ques-
tion of the proposed dock extension. The attendance
was not numerous. The meeting came to a conclusion
favourable to the extension of the docks, but considered
that before the commencement the opinion of the great
engiuterd iheuld be taken on the subject.

LITERATUBE.

The. Edinburgh Review. October.
The most interesting article here met with is
that on "Macaulay's Speeches." Before discusa-
ing their merits, some observations are made es
the manner in which they were brought before the
public. It is generally known that two copies ap-
Apfera.revdiz,
eetneellyw;ate ethershan"auwthaosriissesdued pubbliy Lcatoinongm,"anby,
containing the speeches corrected by Mr. Macaulay
himself. After attentively considering the sub-
ject, no one can deny the superiority of the revised
edition ; and, indeed, there is little doubt, as the
author of this article observes, that " the volume
will, in a little time, banish from the market its
less attractive rival." It is here stated that many
have said that Mr. Macaulay is' too imaginative
&c., to attain the height of the true oratorical styles
which was set by Aristotle and Demosthenes ; but
that he never devoted his powers exclusively- to
to the development of oratory, and, therefore, it
is not his falling short of any requirements that
surprises the observer, but his amazing adaptation
to thorn. The .‘ Essays," " History," and
" Speeches," are all different in style, but each is
excellent in its peculiar manner. Further on, the
reviewer affirms that if these speeohes are mea-
sured with due reference to the variable structure
of different minds, they will sustain comparison
with any in the whole range of British oratory.
The similarity between Burke and Macaulay is
thus considered :
" The orator whom lir. Macaulay most resembles —and
it must strike every reader—is Edmund Burke. We may go
a step further; we affirm that measured by the usual prac-
tical tests—some we will shortly mention—these speeches,
approximationn i g with
Mr. th e
t o Macaulayw
merely as speeches;
Burke,characteristics
ha what
te in
ts hut
ehp ees rt
main
00l
fare i tonmo f
hasi
nthosedde la.wi i
no fc. Burke.
which
d ist i Gi
al
he we a.
demands than Burke did • has exerted fngil closer
control over the splendid tbatearimanteoidvr
more successful
s eloquence
uac
er essfnl
alljmwers which may so easily, in
subordinated more rigorously into
" BPleridecia
"41
r
relation to eloquence,
mind to the duties and functions and
the entire elements of his
of the public speaker.
Informed, like Burke, with the spirit of political philoso-
phy, he more discreetly limits gelricircuit of its mus-
ings,' and makes it the servant, not the master,. of his elo-
quence; equally affluent in vivid and original imagery imagery which, like that of Burke, is fed by sources al '• t boundless, and to which every realm of human knowledge
is made tributary,—he has, in no -case, fallen into the ex-
travagancies into which Burke's daring genius not seldom
hurried him. Possessed, like Burke, of an imperial com-
mand over all the treasures of the English language, Mr.
Macaulay in the best passages of his speeches has attained,
if not the ever various, flexile ease of his great prototype,
yet greater point, condensation, and energy than it would
he easy to parallel from Burke's most successful speeches.
Whatever the resemblances, and they are very striking,
between the speeches of Burke and those of Mr. Macaulay,
nothing can more clearly show what we have said as to the
greater adaptation of the latter to the conditions cf effec-
tive deliberative eloquence than in the contrast between
the impatience with which the house listened to Burke, at
least in his latter years, and the hearty welcome which it
has always accorded to Mr. Macaulay. If this be not the
solution, then all that can be said is, that the House of
Commons must be a very different assembly from what it
was in the time of the elder orator. Burke often managed
to empty the house ; Mr. Macaulay, if it be known that he
is likely to speak, never fails to fill it. If the benches are
empty when he begins, no sooner is it known that he is
speaking than numbers flock in, and hang on his accents
with breathless attention. Certainly he does not want the
testimonies to signal eloquence enumerated by Cicero,
" coronary multiplicem, judicium erectum, crebras amen.
siones, multas admirationes." Another, and perhaps more
effective proof of the power of his speeches is, that they
have generally had an immediate effect in shaping the
course of the debate ; sometimes an appreciable, and, in
one or two cases, if we are correctly informed, a decisive
effect on the instant judgment of the house."
It is mentioned that one great merit displayed ii
these speeches is their being suited, in a remark-
able degree, both for the moment of delivery and
subsequent perusals :
" There is one praise to which we rather think every one
will allow Mr. Macaulay to be entitled above almost every
-orator that ever lived—that of having managed in an emi-
nent degree to solve the difficult problem of uniting the
qualities of a discourse adapted to the meridian of a popu-
lar assembly (the most fastidious of all such assemblies
listens to him with the most marked attention) with those
which will make it interesting as a speech to all readers
and for all time. The things, in fact, are to a certain ex-
tent incompatible, and have generally been in no tolerable
measure combined. The more perfect the orator's skill—
the more exact his adaptation to the claims of his subject
and the character of his audience, the more completely his
speech is evolved cx visceribus taunts, the feebler will be
his hold on readers in general, especially when a few years
have passed away, and made allusions obscure or robbed
the topics themselves of all interest. On the other hand, the
more adapted his discourse to excite universal interest and
to appeal to the sympathies of after ages—the more rich in
maxims of universal application, and the more adorned
with beauties which cannot fade by time—the less exact
will be the adjustment to the occasion and the audience.
Demosthenes would probably inspire a more general in-
terest, though less admiration of his oratorical skill, if he
had inure freely expatiated on such topics as Burke loved
to treat, and Burke would have less moved the impatience
of the house,—which, with all his vast powers, he often
fairly put to flight, —had he more severely excluded the
topics which make him the delight of all posterity."
" The Arab Tribes of the Great Desert" enters
into the detail of the condition of the races, &c.
A comparison is instituted between Christianity
and Mahommedanism. One fundamental difference
is apparent in the spirit of religious persecution ;
while in Christianity it has almost disappeared, in
Mahommedaeism it is the same as when first
founded. There is no spirit of progress evinced
in its existence. " Civilisation, after centuries of
contact, cannot advance within its precincts."
Other articles of interest are given ; among them
we may mention " The Reform of the War De-
partments," and the " Memoirs of King Joseph,"
the eldest brother of Napoleon.

Cambridge University Transactions. Collected by
J. Heywood, M.P., F.R.S., Arc., and T. Wright,
M.A., F.S.A., d:c. 2 vols. Bohn.
Much interest having been excited by the recent
discussions on university reform and the general
management of such institutions, these volumes
will no doubt excite -80114-0- attention. They contain
the different statutes passed during the Puritan
controversies of the sixteenth and seventeenth cen-
turies, when great excitement prevailed on reli-
gious differences. It is observed in the introduc-
tion that " the documents contained in the present
volumes belong to a period of great importance in
the history of the University of Cambridge ; and
they relate to almost every part of its internal go-
vernment and external privileges. They com-
mence with the University Statutes of 1570, in-
tended to check the rising power of Puritanism,
and they terminate with the Act of Uniformity of
1662, and the diary of the Rev. Dr. Worthington,
who was ejected from the Mastership of Jesus.
College, Cambridge." The curious state of public
opinion in the sixteenth century is shown. by
some portions of the .
.work. Archbishop
iInV hlsi tBg4i t
t,
hteli d otuob te d
printingge
con-
tinue in the University, and recommended
.that no
yofofTarllinowit.yingColle
books should be printed
.there, unless. previously
eexpMedasietenrc
allowed by lawful authorities. Much. information
respecting the academical proceedings of that trou-
bled period may be gathered from these pages,
more especially from the letters and similar docu-
ments contained in them. The documents relating
to the Chancellorship of Lord Burghley have been
copied from the Burghley papers in the British
Museum, and the Parliamentary Journals have
been consulted for the illustration of academical
history. A portrait of Sir Thomas Smyth, Princi-
pal Secretary of State to Queen Elizabeth, is pre-
fixed to the first volume, and one of Lord Burgh-
ley, who was Chancellor of the University, from
1558 to 1598, is given in the second. A copious
index is added, which will be found useful for
reference.

...J
Types of Mankind. By .. C. Nott, M.D., and
Geo. R. Gliddon. Trubner and Co.
To all who interest themselves in ethnological
studies this work offers considerable attractions.
It contains selections from the unedited papers of
Samuel Merton M.D.' the late President of the
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
subject. It
rTehaee
hwe work ka itselfseeen ids and has
explanatory
eodfittrioann.satritsicaorvigierny,
co
mplete
made the subject
and valuable work, and gives a thorough analy •
of all the characteristics and peculiarities of :hies
different races of makind. From its considerable
andafuliaccount is given
size it is able to enter largely into the
fiisgiucluessyraEteadchwitdlifri aergernetatrancuemisber of
the
i rh ee r
variouse n t
speculations chapter,
memoir of the late Samuel Morton,and discoveries. A
me-
mory the work is dedicated, ' to whose
Pro-
fessor Patterson, M.D
ofof aalld
and is contributed by
to it. Though not "att a portrait is prefixed
reader, all who are 0 attractive to the general
science of ethnology occupied in the study of the
them a vast will find this
amount of • volume afford
information.

Index to the Lives of7e
Queens of England.
Oolburn.
All who ssess the l'l3 (IT of iss i rry ei io
Strickland's po
celebrated work will findn this little
volume a most useful addition. It has been com-
piled with much care and trouble, and forms a
valuable supplement to the work. It is arranged
alphabetically, so that the required name may be
immediately found. Under the names of the
Queens the chief events of their lives are arranged,
with the number of the page and volume in which
they are mentioned. It is in a small compass, and
will be found a mos tconvenient little volume.

SEOZEDITCH NEW ALDisHousza.—The half-yearly
general meeting of the subscribers to this charity was
yesterday, in Haggerston Schoolroom,oc,m, adjoining
the Almshouses, for the purpose of receiving the report
of the Managing Committee for the past year, to apitut
the chairman, deputy-chairman, managing committee,
and other officers of the institution, to elect an iinate
in room of one of the inmates of the houses, deceased,
and to transact the general busmen of the institution.