The Sun.
London, England, 1849-06-28 00:00:00

Singapore at the end of the current month en route
to Europe, by the Mail steamer, leaving Captain
the Hon. H. Keppel in command of the naval forces.
The dispersion of the fl'et had commenced. H. 4.5.
Hastings had sailed for Singapore, the Albatross for
Labuan, and the Scout for England.

THE ESCAPE of RANEE CHUNDA.
The only authentic account of her Highness's
doings is given by the Benares Recorder, from
which paper we take the following :
" Oar readers will natura►ly look to us for authentic
information as to the escape of the Maha Itanee Chunda
Konwur of Lahore. We have consequently endeavoured
to obtain such, and here offer the result of our inquiries.
" In our last issue we echoed the opinion of others,
though upon no better grounds, it appears, than mere
surmise, that her slippery highness never was lodged in
Chunar at all. We beg then to say that it has been clearly
proved that she was there, and escaped in the disguise of a
person called the Seenawalle, the very afternoon after her
arrival, viz., of the 6th. It appears that this Seenawaile, as
she is called, is the wife of one of the male attendants, and
lived out of the prison and had ingress and egress, and
on the afternoon of the 6th inst., when the priscn gates
were opened to admit the Bhistee and Sweeper, a slave
girl named Mujee, pointing to the Ranee in disguise,
told the Havildar on duty to let her out, as she was
the Seenawallee who lived in the brie tar, and was
ulways allowed to pass in and out of the Ranee's apart
meats, both at Benares and here. The Havildar at first
refused to do so, but was talked over by the girls, and he
let her out ; she had got as far as the gate of the prison
enclosure, where she was stopped by the sentry posted
there ; the Havildar ordered him to let her out as she
was only the Seenawallee, and out she went ; this being
accomplished, sho had nothing more to do, but to walk
out of the fort without further interruption ; the woman
being at that time in Benares, though she must have
reached Chunar the next day in company with the Ra-
nee's baggage, and in order not to awaken any suspicion in
the Havildar's mind, the venerable Senawallee made her
appearance at the prison gate, and was passed in and out
by him until the morning of the 19th inst., when doubt-
less the slave-girls, thinking that their mistress had a
good start, considered it time to declare her departure.
The Court of Inquiry is still sitting, but it is very doubt-
ful whether any more satisfactory information will be
gained. No suspicion seems to be entertained as to the
Havildar having erred except through sheer stupidity.
Various reports have been current as to how the Ranee
acted after once getting clear of the fort, but nothing
can be depended upon."

LITERATURE.
VALERIE. By Captain Marryat. 2 Vols.
This novel will take Captain Marryatt's admirers
by surprise. It is not a nautical romance ; it bears
no reference whatever to the blue waters or to those
who sail thereon ; it is simply the narrative of a
young lady's fortunes, supposed to be related by her-
self. In the graceful style and spirited descriptions
of " Valerie" we recognise the talent of its author.
De mortibus nil nisi bonum is a motto which effectually
disarms criticism. The hand which penned these
pages, the hand which pourtrayed so many stirring
Ferries and rendered us familiar with Peter Simple,
and Midshipman Easy, and the immortal Snarleyow,
is cold. The pen of Marryat will delight us no more.
How, then, can we deal in a criticising spirit with
his last legacy ? As such—as Captain Marry at 's
last legacy to that literature which he has already so
much enriched—we commend " Valerie" to the kind
consideration of the public. It is written in a very
attractive manner, which pleasantly allures the
reader's attention.

JULAMERK : a Tale of the Nestorians.
Mrs. Webb. 3 Vols.

Mrs. Webb possesses many qualities for a novel-
writer. Her characters are individually interesting,
and some of them are most attractive. In pourtraying
those mental conflicts and cruel heart. struggles which
era more or less common to the whole human family,
r hand is not unskilful. The subject of her present
novel is not an attractive one. The sect to which
we are introduced in these pages is one with the
peculiarities of which the people of this country are
little acquainted. Mrs. Webb has, it is true, ren-
dered the history in which the Nestorians bear part
very interesting; but we should be glad, if, in her
next attempt, she select some more generally attrac-
tive theme.

THE ALBATROSS; or Voices from the Ocean.
By W. G. Kingston. 3 Vols.
This is a work of a very different character to its
swhor's former very excellent novel, "The Prime
The second title of " The Albatross"
sufficiently describes it. These three volumes are
the utterance of voices from the ocean, which relate,
occasionally with much spirit, various adventures at
sea. Among other things, are the eventful history of
Pepe the Pirate, and some interesting details respect-
ing the difficulty which beset those engaged in the
suppression of the slave-trade.

THE LOTTERY OF MARRIAGE. By Mrs.
Trollope. 3 Vols.
Mrs. Trollope's sarcastic powers have been exer-
cised with considerable effect in some passages of this
novel. The story of the fortune-hunter and the for-
tune-huntress who mutually deceive each other and
elope together, the gentleman believing that he is
running off with an heiress, and the lady supposing
her partner to be one of the best matches of the day,
whereas their united property, like that of the man in
the play, "amounts to the good round figure—nought,"
is capital. A work which, like this "Lottery,"
relates to the fortunes of a large number of
persons, is almost invariably deficient in one
great desideratum for a novel—interest. Our
attention is directed in so many quarters that,
however much we may be amused, we are not so
vividly impressed or so powerfully attracted as when
our thoughts are concentrated upon a few indi-
viduals.

THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF
SCOTLAND. By the Duke of Argyle. Second
Edition.
The Duke of Argyle's thoughtful remarks upon
the ecclesiastical history of Scotland have been re-
printed in a more condensed form.