The Sun.
London, England, 1836-09-03 00:00:00

TfIE SUN, LONDON, SA

Belgians, 104; Dutch, —f. —c. ; Haytians, —f. —c. ;
Miguels, —; Brabant Bank, —; Belgian Bank, 26 ; Con-
tinuation, —C. ; New Differes, —; Five per Cent. Perpe-
tuelles, —; Royal Loan, —.

. -
Bills. Money.
AAipiiniitpsgtetoir;l 103 10234
Ditto illitto 4 per cent. 99 9534
Ditto
Russian Loan
ditto 3 per cent.
lanii:l:k.Arei :::Ilat, Bi:i:Unqe
:tit,: , B 5
°p
per
ScEe
cent.
HALLS,
1334 1334
Russian S per cents. Metal.
1054 105%
6 per cent —
Russian 1 ascription, Hope and Co., Wand 4th
Series
Ditto, Cert. ticates
tortuguese Regency Booth. 5 per cent 7l.
Ditto, 3 per cent. 42% 42%
Dutch *4 per Cents.
Ditto 5 per Cents —
Polish hands, 3 per cents.
New Ticke:s
Anglo-Danish Loan, :5 per reins 73lk 7 %
Norwegian Lean of Rt.l4, 4 prr cents.
Spanish, in piastres, 3 per Cents —
Cortes Loan, 5 per Cent
Greek I per cents. 1833, guaranteed by France
EXCHANGES ON LONDON.
1-lAmituao, AtTu. W.-13 8 • two months. 13 6%.
CHRIsTIANIA„ AUG. W.—..filree months, 5 O.
LEINIC, .Auu. 2,..—Tw0 months, 6 15.
hiimum, AGO. 27.—Three m•iths, 6. 23%
BREMEN, AUG 20 —Tao months, 520 598.
STOCKHOLM, Atm. 23.—Two months, 11 31.
—.Hamburg Papers, Aug. 30.

Our readers will perceive, from the tone of the
ournals which are known to be under the influence of
Tory gold or Tory prejudice, that these base organs of
a base faction are labouring, might and main, to stave
off that reform of the House of Lords of which they
augur the approach. A little while ago, this ques-
tion was thought too far removed from the ordinary
thoughts of men, and too little mixed up with their
feelings, to deserve serious discussion., To hint at the
possibility of making any change in the constitution
of the House of Lords, was considered the height of
extravagance, and little less than treason against
society ; and the subject, if ever it came under the
view of a Tory writer, was dismissed with an air of
swaggering indifference, disdainful of argument. But,
bless us I how things are altered I We now see the
Tory Journals, day after day—not indeed arguing
the question, but hammering away at it as if all they
possessed in the world depended upon the issue. The
little cloud, it seems, " no bigger than a man's hand,"
which appeared in the distant horizon, has increased,
—is approaching—but instead of being hailed by them
with joy and gratitude, is viewed with horror and dis-
may, because it brings with it a national blessing.
These overbearing gentry now feel the necessity of
condescending to disabuse the people of the foolish
notion they have taken into their heads, that the Lords
not only ought to be reformed, but must be reformed.
To expect anything like a fair discussion of this or
any other question by men in the deplorable predica-
ment of the writers to whom we have alluded, would
be vain—not to say ridiculous. The poor devils are
most of them not in a situation to be candid. Those
of them who have any talent are bound hand and foot
to the Carlton Club. Those of them again who have
any honesty, are so devoid of talent, that they
cannot understand the merits of the question. Look,
for instance, at the article in the Times of this
morning, in which the writer first endeavours to mys-
tify his readers, and blink the reform of the House of
Lords, by dwelling upon the defects of the House of
Commons. Granting all that he alleges (which, by
the bye, we do not), how does it bear upon his argu-
ment that there is no necessity for " Peerage Reform ?"
Not at all. Nobody contends that the House of
Commons is yet what it ought to be—far from it—
but all will allow that it speaks the sense of the people
much more truly, and is much more under popular
controul than it was, before the passing of the Reform
Bill. In both these respects it would, too, have- been
far more perfect than it is, if the Reform Act had had
fair play. But the want of principle, on the part of
the Tories, particularly as regards their tyrannical
conduct towards their tenantry, has greatly marred its
efficacy. There is, however, a remedy for this, and we
shall no doubt see it applied in due time. At all
events, it does not become the Tories and their hire-
lings to urge the scantiness of reform in the one House
as an argument for no reform at all in the other; for the
rna►► to whom they looked up as to a Deity before the
LYNDHURST star was in the ascendant, declared that
if the Reform Bill, imperfect as it was, should pass,
no human power could avert " Peerage Reform I"

The next artifice of this writer is to confound
" Peerage Reform" with Peerage abolition, and then
he goes on to show what dreadful things the Long
Parliament did when the Peers had been voted
a nuisance and abated. No doubt the Long Par-
liament did many unjustifiable things, as long Par-
liaments will always do. But where is the ne-
cessity for long Parliaments ? Let us shorten them,
and all this apparent danger vanishes. They will not
then, as they did 200 years ago, act in opposition to
public opinion, which, indeed, could hardly be said to
exist at that time, when we look to its growth since,

and its present power.
But, after all, we are not told of any national cala-
mity which occurred from the dissolution of the House
of Peers. Here is the writer's weak paint. And ac-
cordingly he slily keeps out of view the main fact, that
England was never more respected and feared abroad,
nor more prosperous at home, than when the House of
Peers was in abeyance. _

The Operative Conservative Associations which the
Tories are now busily endeavouring to form in every
district where they have the slightest influence, is the
last frantic attempt of this despair-stricken faction to
stir up dissensions among the working classes, by hood-
winking their better judgment, and nolding out lures
to their self-interest. The scheme is a plausible
one, but it will fail—miserably fail, as every Conserva-
tive intrigue has failed, for the last four or five years
and upwards. A few well-intentioned, but blinded
Operatives may, indeed, be caught by the gilded bait ;
but the majority will be quick-sighted enough to detest
the hook concealed beneath it. It is not now, as it
was in the old days of Tory ascendancy. The mass
of the working community are no longer ignorant,
bigoted, and ductile as wax to every impression that a
" Church-and-State" and " Passive-Obedience" Mi-
nistry may choose to stamp upon them ; the general
spread of education, aided by years spent in that best
of all schools, Adversity, has taught them to think for
themselves ; to discriminate between their friends and
.foes; between those who really have their interest at
heart, and those who would use them only for their own
purposes, and flatter them, like JUDAS, only like him, to
betray them.

But though the majority of the Operatives are
thus sound of head and heart, and strenuous in their
attachment to Reform, because they see that Reform
alone can enable them to improve their condition, there
may be possibly, as we observed before, a small—a
very small—minority, who are still liable to be duped
by the honied promises which the Tories are ever so
ready to make, and so much more ready to forget. To
this misguided few we would address a few words o
advice and remonstrance, not in anger or bitterness of
spirit, but with the kindliest feeling towards them. We
would say to them=—Look about you,:make use of the
God has given
or-
dinary faculties which you, in common
with the rest of your fellow-creatures ; and having thus
exerted your own common sense, instead of blindly
receiving impressions from those who have an interest
in misleading you, ask yourselves these questions—by
whom and by what has the country been brought to its
present unprecedented state of prosperity ? What is the
system that is enabling you at this moment to receive
higher wages for your labour than you ever received
before ? By whose exertions is it that you have now
got a House of Commons, which, though still capable

URDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 136.

of improve►tient, no longer dares to laugh at, or turn
a deaf ear to your petitions, but pays as much respect
to the poor man's apron, as the rich Lord's coronet ?
Who have reduced your taxes ? Who have kept you
at peace with Europe—given you an interest in the
welfare of your country—and held out to you hopes
of still further bettering your condition ? Have the
Tories, who are now endeavouring to win you over to
their side, done this ? Have they been your
practical benefactors, during the half century that
they held office? Did they give you Reform ?
Did they promote retrenchment ? Did they advo-
cate the principles of cheap and expeditious jus-
tice ? Did they ever recognize your claims to
respect; treat you as men instead of slaves; and attend
to your complaints, instead of cutting you down at
Peterloo ? Never.

Misguided Operatives—you few whom we now
see with regret about to fall into the trap which
the Tories have laid for you—ask yourselves these ques-
tions ; weigh them calmly and dispassionately ; and
having done so, sure we are that your own good sense
will induce you to retrace your steps, and enlist with
the majority of your brethren under the banner of Re-
form. Why, even self-interest, to say nothing of
nobler considerations, should teach you to forswear all
connection with the Tories I What practical benefit
will these men ever achieve for you ? Supposing—
the hypothesis by-the-bye is absurd—but supposing,
we say, for the sake of argument, that they were ever
to wriggle themselves into power, do you imagine that
you would be the gainers by their elevation ? That
they would look to your interests in preference to their
own ? Legislate for your welfare, instead of for that
of their subordinates ? Not a bit of it I The very
first thing the Tories would do on regaining possession
of Downing-street, would be, not only to turn their
backs on you ; not only to laugh at you for having
been such fools as to rely on their good faith ;
but to trample you in the dust like noxious rep-
tiles ; and if you dared to breathe even a whisper
of complaint, to indulge you with another Pe-
tcrloo. Remember, Toryism is unchanged, un-
changeable. As it was, so it is, so it will ever be.
The ground-work of its creed—the first article of its
faith—is hatred of all innovation. It has no reliance
on the present—no hope of the future ; but swears by
the past, and legislates only for itself. As for the
people, it knows them not. As for the " spirit of the
age," no such phrase is to be found in its political
vocabulary. And yet this is the party, that a few
well-meaning, but weak Lancashire Operatives ac-
tually think has no interests incompatible with theirs.
Shame on such infatuation

LITERATURE.

BILBERRY THURLAND. 3 Vois.
Bentley, London, 1836.

" Bilberry Thurland" is a work as full of incident,
as the Irish Church of Pluralists. The writer, we
suspect, is a young man, for many of his conceptions
of character are immature, though promising, and his
style, and sometimes his thoughts, are modelled too
much on the imitative—a never-failing sign of inex-
perience in authorship. But, with the exception of
these blemishes, which are by no means of frequent
occurrence, and vanish as the writer begins to feel his
work growing on his fancy, we have nothing to object
to in " Bilberry Thurland." It is the history of a
youth, born in the very lowest class of society,
but who, notwithstanding the disadvantages of early
neglect, makes way in the world—though not to
any very great extent—by dint of tact and energy,
and finally marries the girl of his choice, lives
comfortably with her for years, and dies at a good old
age, a doating and happy grandfather. The great merit
of this clever work, is the constant shifting of the scenes
and incidents, and the skill with which Mrs. Thur-
land—a female pedlar, and mother of our hero—is sus-
tained throughout. We have a great respect for the
ingenious qualities of this good lady, whose invention
is ever fertile, and who contrives to maintain herself
out of nothing, with all the ease of a Gil Bias. There
is infinite liveliness in the detail of her adventures, es-
pecially of a " skrimmage" in which, being something
disguised by liquor, she happened to be inveigled
into, during a night's sojourn at a way-side
public-house. The language, too, of the narrative, is
airy and sparkling, and in its more serious portions
rises almost to eloquence. Those—and who do not?
—who desire to enjoy a hearty laugh, should read
" Bilberry Thurland." We subjoin, by way of spe-
cimen of the author's manner, Mrs. Thurland's ad-
vice to her son, when the young scape-gtace is about
to enter the world as a candidate for petty larceny ce-
lebrity :

" She gave him similar instructions respecting the principal
conspicuous charocters of mankind ; and, finally, made Bil-
berry thank her for her seasonable advice, which made such an
impression on his mind that he never once forgot it.
" Afterwards she informed him, that as people had grown so
stingy and uncharitable, that it was almost impossible to live
amongst them in a common way, it would be well, now he had
arrives at years sufficient to enable him to distinguish between
stealing a thing and finding one, if, in addition to all the rest,
he was to be continually on the look-out for what he could find.
" In this world,' she observed, nothing is certain ; it is
full of change, and people are always losing something. If
we could but find every thing that is lost, I should bid good-
bye to this basket ; but things cannot be found if people do
not look for them ; and what harm is there in looking for
them ?' She then told him it would not be amiss if, when he
chanced to alight by mere accident upon any little matter left by
the washerwomen on the hedges or the grass, which, after be-
ing washed and brought out to dry, was not worth carrying
home again, he should be sure to put it into his pocket for her,
as she could make any of those little worthless matters come
in, though everybody else turned up their noses at them : at
the same time, with the most considerate caution, she warned
him not to take up the least trifle if any person observed him,
because the world was such a wicked place for judging by ap-
pearances and putting the worst construction upon people's
actions ; and therefore, he being but a ragged boy, they would
be certain to construe it into robbery.
" Hens, too,' she continued, sometimes lay eggs in the
hedge bottoms and about stack-yards ;—if Providence should
ever direct you to any of those unknown nests where the eggs
would be liable to go rotten and get wasted, bring them to me,
as it would be pitiable to have good Christian meat spoiled for
want of being eaten. It often happens also that barn-door
fowls, when they have strayed far from the roost, get winged
or otherwise maimed so as to be unable to get back again. It
is very cruel to leave the poor things dying in the fields,—
catch all you can of that sort, and twist their necks round to
put them out of their misery; but be sure not to fling them
away again for rats and foumarts, because to people that can
stomach them, they are as good eating as if regularly killed.
And now, Bilberry,' she observed after a pause, as I
am about telling you these things, let me point out another
matter of the same kind ; though you must be particu-
larly careful indeed how you manage it, for people
have got to that pass now that one can hardly do them a
kindness, unless it be behind their backs, without bring-
ing one's self into trouble. And yet lam naturally of
such a good disposition that I cannot persuade myself to leave
a good action undone, when the opportunity for it falls in my
way, though I should run the risk of being misunderstood and
abused for it. You have the advantage of a good mother to
point out right and wrong to you, which at your age I had not.
I wish to make you very tender-hearted, especially towards
brute beasts ; for I have seen snch abominable cruelty prac-
tised during my time that my heart aches to think on it.
" I dare say when we have been going over the fields early
in the morning, and late in the afternoon, you have seen cows
that wanted milking very much, waiting against the gates, or
looking over the hedges, and lowing for the milkmaid. This
is very cruel. Milkmaids are the laziest people in the world,
and nothing can be worse than so keep a poor thing in such
anxiety because of people's idleness. When you see anything,
of that sort again, make bold, if there be nobody about, to re-
lieve the poor creatures a little. So useful as they are, and
to serve them in that manner ! But, my lad, you are not
obliged to milk them on the to ground, because that would be
making waste where there is no occasion. Always tell me
when you see a cow in that state, and I will give you one of
those tin tea caddies of mine, which will catch enough to ease
her till the milkmaid comes, and the sup of milk will just and
barely pay us for our trouble ; because when we have got it,
we might as well drink it as fling it away."

A Paris paper says that France has made a great
mistake in the importance it has given to one of the late Mi-
nisters. It fancied him to be a Cardinal Richelieu, while the
facts prove that he is only M. Thiers.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

(THIS DAY.)

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

Mary Anne Regan was charged by a sister nymph, Mary
Wilson, with having assaulted her on the previous evening,
and torn her straw bonnet to pieces.

MAGISTRATE—WeII, Mary Anne, what have you got to say
to this. These Irish rows wont do in England ? Defendant
—I never touched her, your Worship. It must have been
the drop of drink I took.
MAGISTRATE—You must satisfy the complainant for the in-
jury you have done her bonnet? Defendant—Oh certainly,
any thing in reason.
The parties were allowed to confer outside the office, and
the complainant on her return expressed herself satisfied, hav-
ing received 181, with a promise of 2s. more.
MAGISTRATF.—WeII, if you take her word for it I can have
no objection.
After the night charges had been gone through, a respect-
able looking elderly man approached the table, and addressing
the sitting Magistrate, said he wished to consult him upon a
very important matter. He had some time since married a
young wife who had brought him some money, but she had
contrived to run through it all, and was now making away
with his own property.
MAGISTRATE—In what way ? Complainant—(raising his
hand to his mouth significantly)—an unfortunate propensity for
gin, your Worship. I have threatened to give her in charge if
she does not restore my property.
MAGISTRATE—You cannot do that—the husband and wife
have all goods in common.
Complainant—But, your Worship, she has eloped to her
sister, and of course a man is entitled to follow his goods and
take them wherever they are.
MAGISTRATE—I would advise you to get some friend to in-
terfere, instead of bringing the matter before the public.
Complainant—'Tis cruel, Sir, 'tis cruel.
The old gentleman then bowed and withdrew.

SHIPPING.-(THIS DAY.)

(FROM LLOYD'S.)

DEAL, SEPT. 2.-I.Wind W., fresh breezes.—Arrived the
Favourite, Cobdern, from Berbice, and Justinia, Young, from
Grenada. Arrived from the River and remain, the Elizabeth,
Matlock, for Quebec ; Columbus, Thornton, for Sidney ;
Aurigna, Chalmers, for Hobart Town, and Flirt, Dare, for
Bordeaux.

PORTSMOUTH, SEPT. 2. Wind W. to N.W., fresh.—No
arrivals or sailings.
PLYMOUTH, SEPT. I.—Wind W., squally.— Arrived the
Thomas King, Williamson, from Demerara, sailed I ith of
July ; from Barbadocs 24th, where the Lyra packet was left at
anchor in Carlisle Bay, with his Majesty's ship Belvidere, and
Carron steamer. No sailings reported.
DARTMOUTH, SEPT. 2.—Arrived off, the Thomas Lowry,
Bulky, from Canton—sailed April 19, Anger May 22, and
St. Helena July 20.

BRISTOL, SEPT. L —Arrived the Caroline, Smith, from
Jamaica ; Charles, Smith, from Nevis.
NEWPORT, SEPT. I.—Arrived the Thomas Baker, Hudson,
and Amity, Shaw, from St. John's, New Brunswick.
LIVERPOOL, SEPT. I.—Arrived the Nimrod, Daurrell, from
Bahia ; Superb, Cook, from Jamaica ; Ann, —, from An-
tigua ; Minerva, Lieber, from St. Thomas's ; Ensack, Jones,
from Burin. Off port, the Sowler, —, from Paraiba ; Ta-
citus, —, from New Orleans ; and Nimrod, —, New York.
DUBLIN, SEPT. I.—Arrived the Maria, Carr, from Bathurst.
Off port, the Fortescue, —, from London.
BELFAST, SEPT. I.—Arrived the Courier, Smith, London.

FALMOUTH, SEPT. I.—Arrived his Majesty's ship Espoir,
--, from Lisbon—sailed 21st ult. Off port, the Ealing
Grove, Falkner, from Dominica.

THE FUNDS.-(TIIIS DAY.)

CITY, TWELVE O'CLOCK.

Our arrivals this morning are the French and Hamburg
mails, and ship letters from China, Demerara, Barbadoes, and
Grenada.

Canton papers have been received to the 13th April. From
these papers we make the following extract :
" In a Supplement to the Commercial Price Current is a
statement of the quantities of teas exported from Canton to
Great Britain since the expiration of the East India Company's
charter, on the 22d of April, 1834, to the 31st March, 1836.
This statement, although it is borrowed from the one drawn
up and published by the Secretary to the British Chamber of
Commerce, is evidently altered in its details, in order to show
a different result in the quantities of the crops of the years
1834 and 1835. To our Price Current of to-day we beg to
refer our readers for further information. The Supplement
of the Commercial Price Current of the 9th inst. gives the
quantities of teas exported from Canton, from the 24th April,
1834, to the Ist April, 1836:
Black teas, total
Green teas 16,246,727

Total lbs. 94,116,787
" COMMERCIAL REMARKS.—IMPORTS.

" COTTON.-The recent sales have placed the principal
remaining stock, of about 43,000 bales, in the hands of the
Chinese ; the deliveries during the last week have been slack.
" OPIUM. —The market has been very dull, and with the
exception of a few transactions in Nlalwa, little has been done.
We have not heard of the arrival of the Governor Findlay,
with 908 chests of Malwa, as yet.
" Advices from Batavia report the Government sale on the
13th February of 10,000 peculs of tin. Our trade is gene-
rally dull, and we have no further alterations to notice."

TITS FUNDS.

Consols opened this morning at 91+ for the Account; for
Money 901- 91, with little doing ; Exchequer Bills, 4 6 ;
India Bonds, I dis. ; Bank Stock, shut ; India Stock, 2581
259 L
In the Foreign Market, Spanish Active Bonds 30 to 301 ;
Passive, 91 ; Deferred, 13i ; Portuguese, 684 69+ ; Three
per Cents., 421 43 ; Dutch Two-and-a-Half per Cents. 63i
lIALF.PAST 01V E.

Accounts have been received from Bahia of the Bth of July;
all was tranquil there. Sugars had riser. ; a great deal was
doing in the above article. Exchange 40 to 41. We have no
further intelligence to the present hour from the Peninsula.
Although some of the morning journals have made much
ado about the Bank Directors raising the rate of Discounts to
5 per Cent., it has not had the least effect in the British Funds,
which are firm at present, but the above measure has caused
great difficulty in the sale of American Securities.
Consols may be quoted at present 9l for the Account ; 90,1
91 for Money. Exchequer Bills 4to 3 ; India Bonds, 3 dis.
In the Foreign Market Spanish Active 29i 30 ; Passive,
9i ; Deferred, 13-1-; Portuguese, 691 1,1.; Three per Cents ,
421 ; Columbian, 25 ; Mexican, 261 2;1 ; Dutch Two-and-
a- Half per Cents., 55i.
In Shares, Cundy's has risen to a prem ; Stephenson's
Brighton, 4} preen.
Consols for the Account, 9lk.

THREE O'CLOCK.

The Bombay Gazette of tile 17th February says—
" The Imaum of Senna is dead, and has been succeeded by
his son Ally-ben-Abdoola Munsoor, who is about 05 years of
age : the people of Senna give out that their new prince is
about to set out on an expedition to recover his country from
the Turks. The communication betweeen Mocha and Senna
is completely interrupted, the Imaum having established posts
where troops are stationed to prevent any one from passing
into the interior. Mohammed Ali's attempt to establish a
monopoly for the purchase of coffee at Mocha and the other
ports in his possession, is said to have been foiled by the mer-
chants threatening to have recourse to other ports not under
his influence ; a compromise is said to have been effected, by
which half of the coffee produce is to be taken by the Pacha
and half by the merchants. Owing to the failure of the rains
this year a great scarcity prevails throughout Yemen and the
greater part of Arabia. In the country of the powerful tribe
of the Beni Aseer hundreds are dying of actual starvation, and
at Senna the people are said to be suffering much from the
same cause ; the coffee crop also had very generally failed. It
is said to be his Highness the Paella's intention to send an-
other expedition of 40,000 men into the Aseer country, to en-
deavour to conquer that very powerful tribe. The general
scarcity of grain, it is expected, will occasion a considerable
demand for that produce in India."

The following extract of a letter is taken from the
Calcutta Courier of the 6th inst. :—" We arrived last night
in Dacca, after a melancholy winding up of our shooting ex-
cursion. We had intelligence of an immense tiger which had
killed several bullocks, &c. On Saturday we hunted him for
several hours, but could not get him. On Sunday Mr. C.,
Mr. 8., Mr. E. sen., and Mr. E. jun., went out and sprung
the tiger, and wounded him severely. He charged the ele-
phants six times, wounded three of them, and pulled poor E.
sen. from the howdah, and killed him instantly. There are
half a dozen deep wounds on the neck, at the juncture of the
spine, and several on his face and breast, although the body
was picked up by the rest of the party immediately the vital
spark had fled. This is a dreadful business, and almost enough
to satisfy any one of tiger shooting, and has thrown all Dacca
into a ferment." An in the obituary of the same paper we
find the following :—" On the 31st January, at Meerzaporc,
Dacca, while on a hunting excursion, John Demetrius Ellias,
Esq., aged 36 years, deeply and sincerely regretted by those
who knew arid could appreciate him," from which we suppose
Mr. Ellias to be the person alluded to in the above letter.
DEVONPORT, AUG. 30.—Sir C. Paget has offi-
cially reported to the Admiralty that the Vanguard has had
a decided advantage in every point of sailing over the other
ships of his squadron during the late trials, and that the Pem-
broke beats the Bellerophon: others nowhere. During the
late visit of the Admiralty to Portsmouth Lord Tinto ordered
the new steam-packet Volcano to be commissioned, and has
given the command to Sir Frederick Maitland's Flag Lieute-
nant. The Volcano is splendidly fitted out, and intended to
run between Falmouth and Malta ; it is expected she will be
ready to take out the November mail.
The Quotidienne says that the note sent to the
:Mallow to contradict the order of the day of General Le.
beau was written by the hand of an illustrious personage, and
that the editor has kept it as a valuable memorandum for bet-
ter times.

IRRADIATION OF LIGHT.—It is a curious fact
that if the same letters of the same size precisely arc painted
el two boards, the one white on a black ground, and the other
black on a white ground, that the white letters will appear
larger and be read at a greater distance than the black.
This is owing to what is called the irradiation of light. It de-
pends on this, that the impression made on the bottom of the
eye by bright objects extends a little wider than the actual
portion of the organ struck by the light, and invading the
space occupied by the darker objects makes the brighter appear
larger than they really are.—Railway Magazine.