The Sun.
London, England, 1849-09-03 00:00:00

AINSWORTH.

After the republication of "Crichton" the Ad-
mirable, perhaps a stronger contrast of subject
could not have been selected than that which
is afforded by the reprint of Harrison Ainsworth's
ficticiti-founded upon the story of " Fawkes" the Con-
spirator. In the former effective composition the
reader's attention was assisted by the fanciful etchingg
of "Phis ;" in the latter are reproduced the quaint
illustrations of Cruikshank. The present instalment
(being one of agreeable length) presents once more the
plates so familiar to our recollection—Guy Fawkes
preventing Sir William Radcliffe from joining
the conspiracy, and the vision of Guy Fawkes
at Saint Ronan's Well. Chapter the seventh
of " Cambrian Tales" is devoted to some
entertaining reminiscences. One William Auburn,
Esq., favours the readers of .Ainsworth with a trifle
called " The Haunted House, a legend of Edmon-
ton"--of which we defy any one to make head or
tail, good, bad, or indifferent. Carpenter's verses
"Dreaming and Waking" are graceful; and among
the rest of the contributions we may mention the
continuation of the " Countess de Rudolstadt," and
some attractive magazine tales about " Jacob Van
Der Neess," about a "Fallen Merchant," and about
" Mesmerism."

THE UNITED SESERVICE.
We have, on more than occasion, recorded our
sense of the monstrous injustice inflicted upon Captain
Douglas, and we consequently feel much pleasure in
drawing attention to the clear and masterly manner
in which the trial of that ill-used officer is treated in
the opening article of this spirited periodical :
" A trial," says the writer, " which we hope, for the
sake of humanity and justice, and for the honour and
security of the military service, may stand alone without
a parallel, as a solitary instance of the fallibility of hu-
man judgment, the total misapprehension of the result
of evidence, and of the misconception of the nature and
character of military law."
A few opening pages on " The Hungarian Cam-
paign" will be perused with interest by the sympa-
thisers with the gallant Magyars. There is a very
graphic and accurate account of the memorable
combat between the Shannon and Chesapeake, from
the lame familiar pen which has previously sketched
the celebrated frigate actions of the Arethusa and
Belle Poule, and of the Blanche and Pique. In a
short account of the proceedings of the Indian
Army, connected with the passage of the Chenaub,
and the action at Soodolapore, there is a handsome
and convincing tribute to the merits of the gallant
Thackwell, whose services in the field have been hi-
therto very inadequately acknowledged. The tour in the
rich and magnificent province of Mazanderan is con-
cluded, and the remaining papers are of an average
excellence. Nothing, indeed, unworthy of perusal,
is ever found to disfigure the pages of this
in enrd
taining and instructive magazine. l'K to r
the papers on " The Army Movement
otehceserious
and attentive consideration of all well-wishers to the
service.

UNIVERSITY.
The nTuilmEberportfiLs IN
national magazine for the pre..
sent month very appr.opriately opens with a notice of
our Gracious Queens visit to the sister isle. It is
overflowing with the most fervid loyalty and affection.
~ Ave glory," says the writer, "in our Queen, and we
are proud of our countrymen for the reception which
they gave her. There is not a man of the thousands
who rushed forward to tender his homage, and give
assurance of his loyalty, who does not feel his breast
glow with a conscious satisfaction, that in no part of
her dominions has her Majesty met with such a
reception, and that it never can be surpassed. Of
strong passions, of ardent imagination, and with a
deference to rank and sex unequalled at this age in
any country, Irishmen found, in devotion to their
Queen, the true object for one of the strongest and
most generous emotions of their nature." The second
paper is A notice of An interesting " Memoir And Cor•

.';?t

respondence of Sir _Robert Murray Keith, K. 8.,"
edited by Mrs. Gillespie Smyth ; then follows a con-
tinuation of the series of "Wicked Wdmen," contain-
ing a graphic' tistcrry of the famed Catherine de
Medicis. The next is a paper on what our learned
contemporary is pleased to term " Railway
Literature." And we cannot better illustrate
his opinion of these cheap publications " these
catchpenny prints of the railway and steam-
boat saloon," than by transferring to our columns the
anecdote which he records of the late Daniel O'Con-
nell, who " Meeting one day an author newly.fledged
and greatly elated by the hit of his literary first-born,
shook him heartily by the hand, saying, Well, my
dear fellow, I congratulate you sincerely on the suc-
cess of your book ; I have seen something extremely
good in it." What was it—eh ?' said the delighted
author, rubbing his hands and blushing. ' A mutton
pie, my dear fellow,' replied the Liberator, chuckling
slyly." We cannot avoid extracting as an offering to
our readers who sympathise with the brave, though
unfortunate Magyars, the following stanzas on Hun-
gary :

HUNGARY.
Away ! would you own the dread rapture of war
Seek the host- rolling plain of the mighty Magyar;
Where the giants of yore from their mansions come down,
O'er the oceaa-wide floor play the game of renown.
Hark ! hark ! how the earth 'neath their armamentreelsp
In the hurricane charge—in the thunder of wheels ;
How the hearts of the forests rebound as they pass,
In their mantles of smoke, through the quaking morass !
In the tent of Dembinski the taper is dim,
But no need for the dusk light of tapers for him:
In the mind of the chief—in his intellect's ray—
All the war stands revealed with the splendour of dny.
God! the battle is joined! Lord of Battles, rejoice!
Freedom thunders her hymn in the battery's voice—
In the soaring hurrah—in the half-stifled moan—
Sends the voice of her praise to the foot of thy throne.
Oh hear, God of Freedom, thy people's appeal ;
Let the edges of slaughter be sharp on their steel,
And the weight of destruction and swiftness of fear
Speed death to his mark in their bullets' career!
Holy Nature, arise! from thy bosom in wrath
Shake the pestilence forth on the enemy's path,
That the tyrant invaders may march by the road
Of Sennacherib invading the city of God 1
As the stars in their courses 'gainst Sisera strove,
Fight, mists of the fens, in the sick air above;
As Scamander his carcasses flung on the foe,
Fight, floods of the Theiss, in your torrents below !
As the snail of the Psalmist consuming away
Let the moon-melted masses in silence decay
Till the track of corruption alone in the air
Shall tell sickened Europe the Russ has been there I
Stay! stay! in thy fervour of sympathy pause,
Nor become inhumane in humanity's cause ;
If the poor Russian slave have to wrong been abused,
Are the ties of Christ's brotherhood all to be loosed?
The mothers of Moscow who offer the breast
To their orphans, have hearts, as the mothers of Pest;
Nor aro love's aspirations more tenderly drawn
From the bosoms of youth by the Theiss than the Don.
God of Russian and Maygar, who ne'er hest designed
Save one shedding of blood for the sins of mankind,
No demon of battle and bloodshed art thou,
To the war-wearied nations be pitiful now !
Turn the hearts of the kings—let the Maygar again
Reap the harvests of peace on his bountiful plain;
And if not with renown, with affections and lives,
Send the poor Russians home to their children and wives!
But you fill all my bosom with tumult once more—
What! Georgey surrendered! What! Bern's battles o'er!
What! the horrible Haynau victorious!—Oh God,
Give us patience to bow to thy terrible rod!
Weep, Freedom! in all thy last citadels, weep,
From the Adrian mole to the Adrian deep ;
And England, seducer, deserter! prepare
On the heights of the Koosh for the hug of the Bear!
" Ceylon and the Cingalese" is continued, and is, as
usual, full of entertaining and useful information, and
will be read with deep attention by all who feel an
interest in one of the most important of our colonial
possessions. We hare lately been favoured with a
view of a most beautifully executed map of this
colony, about to be brought out under the auspices of
C. W. Payne, Esq., to whom the British public owe
a debt of gratitude for the energy and perseverance
with which he directs public attention to the great
advantages to be gained by developing the resources of
this great and fertile island. The next is " A Septem-
ber Garland," by D. F. M. C., being poetical trans-
lations from several languages, all admirable. Our
space will not permit us to add to the extracts already
made ; we must, therefore, dismiss the " September
Garland" with this tribute to its merits, that its tints
resemble an autumnal landscape, which though " in
colour may vary, in beauty may vie." The other
papers of this month's number are, " The Canadas—
How long can we hold them ?" "The Undergraduate—
My First Day at College;" " Philip Marsden, or the
Experiment," a graphic and stirring tale ; " Lament
of a Roman Patriot;" " Lines, written the day before
the Queen's arrival in Dublin ;" "Venice, a poem ;"
concluding with " The City of London and the New
Plantation."

MANUAL POWER v. HORSE AND
STEAM POWER.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
ESTEEMED FRlEND,—Startling as it may appear to
some' unacquainted with the subject, to assert that,
under certain circumstances, manual power might be
availed of as more economical than horse or even
steam power, which I will proceed in the endeavour
to prove. Let it be supposed that in a level, fenny,
marshy, or peat district—say ten or twelve miles in
length—on which there are no natural obstacles be-
yond streams or drains of from ten to twelve .feet
wide On the surface of such a district, I am prepared
to prove (by a plan patented) that a firm and durable
railway might be constructed without the aid of
ballasting, or of requiring ballasting repairs, and
thereby avoiding the heavy annual expense in raising
and adjusting, as all the present systems require, of
sufficient strength to sustain loads not exceeding five
to six tans on four wheels, that such railway would
continue firm and effective until time and use produce
the natural decay, at a cost, exclusive of fencing and
land, not exceeding from 7001. to 8001. per mile, in-
cluding requisite stations, &c. Now, let us
imagine such a railway made through or upon
the kind of land I have mentioned, the land
I apprehend would be increased in value far more
than the expense. On some districts, for want
of a good road, large tracts of land are not worth more
`han from 10/. to 201. per acre, where, if such a road
vas made, hundreds, nay thousands, of acres would,
-obably, be doubled or trebled in value, provided
hischeap and convenient mode to convey the produce
Ica market be made, especially in the colonies. The
xpensive modes hitherto adopted for branch railways
through agricultural districts experience has amply
proved will not remunerate for the cost, and, there-
fore, attention should now be directed to more econo-
mical modes—sous to afford agricultural and mineral
districts the desirable advantage and convenience of
railways, made so as to be mutually advantageous to
the public and the proprietors. It is time that the
talented and eminent engineers should begin to study
economy and real utility, instead of adopting costly
methods, whereby to prove how they can make art
overcome nature, by making costly tunnels, cuttings,
and embankments,
.which might have been advan-
tageously avoided; or constructing bridges and
viaducts at two or three times the needful expense for
obtaining the desired object, in order, one would think,
• that their mighty deeds might tend to their advantage,
or be handed down to posterity 83 proofs of what bold
talent and a reckless use of money can accomplish.
I will now proceed to show under what circum-
stances manual power will, or may be, more economi•
cal than either horse or steam-power. It will not be
disputed that six able-bodied men at a windlass are
equal for power to a good horse. Now, it is well
known that, formerly on the Edinburgh and Dal-
keith Railway, one horse drew 40 to 50 passengers at
the rate of ten miles per hour ; and it is demonstrable
that the united efforts of eight men, even allowing 25
per cent. off for friction of machinery, would propel,
or draw, the same amount by each man exerting a
power equal to lifting 351bs. 3i ft. high per second,
which it is allowed a man can exert for ten hours per
day ; :the same proportion of power exerted by eight
men will propel, or draw, five to six tons at the rate
of (say) twelve miles per hour, or double that load at
half or four times at a quarter of that speed. It is,
therefore, not unreasonable to suppose that a gang of
eight men would accomplish 96 miles in one day,
which is equal to the power of eight good horses; and
the reason is obvious—because the men do not tire
theniselves by having to carry their own weight like
the horse. The utmost disadvantage they labour
under is the friction of four or five lbs., occasioned
by their own weight on the engine or carriage.
Having stated thus much, I will proceed to detail
the advantages and disadvantages of the several sys-
tems. To make a railway adapted for horse-power,
a firm road must be made for the horse track, which
would make an extra expense of about 2501. per mile;
so that a horse railway even constructed on the plan
I propose would cost from 1,0001. to 1,100/. per mile;
and to keep the same in good repair would, I imagine
not be less than 151. per annum per mile. To work
the same by steam, although it would not require the
horse track, yet the extra cost of the engine; extra
wages to the enginemen, and the well-known expense
in wear and tear of the engine, I apprehend, would
be fully equal to the disadvantages of the horse track,
so that I think they may be put upon a par in that
respect. Now, let us imagine a road of this kind
made through a district of (say) 12 miles, having a
surrounding population of from 15,000 to 20,000, re-
siding within the compass of 6 to 8 miles of its loca-
lity ; I think it is reasonable to suppose that the
traffic would amount to 150 each way per day, pro-
vided the charge does not exceed id. and ld. per
mile,
which
would be 300 per day over 12 miles.
low, if the united efforts of eight men would convey
passengers the distance in one hour, then, by mak-
i Le,ght journeys in a day, 40 passengers each time
iMild be 320. Let us now suppose that the twelve
miles of manual railway cost, including all expenses,
10,0001., and the horse railway 12,5001., the com-
parison may be thus stated :
Capital Account.
Cost of cons!ruction of manual road ... £lO,OOO 0 0
Pit to of engine ... •.• 100 0 0
Ditto of c,lrriago (for passengers) 250 0 0

Dr. Working Account.
To interest on capital ...
Wear and tear on stock, 3501., at 25
per cent ...
Eight men at 2s. per day ...
Balance, or profit

Total

£10,350 0 0

Cr.
300 passengers. at 61. each
Capital Account.